Throughout our time in high school, we are continuously told to prepare for the futures.

Whether it is preparing for graduation, pursuing our major, starting our career, or even learning to pay our taxes, what happens after high school
is the top priority. At Paoli, we are offered different career pathways ranging from veterinary science to welding to help us determine what our future
careers might be.

Our media staff believes that since we are currently supporting STEM-related careers at Paoli with various college pathways offered if the school is looking to add more in the future, we should add a business, cosmetology or even a social services pathway. Our staff believes it is important to feel prepared for our future, but currently, the majority of us do not.

In an article from District Administration, “Why many high school graduates don’t feel ready for college and career decisions,” the research found that three-quarters of high school graduates feel as though they are not prepared to make important decisions about their future careers. In the article, Edson Barton explains it is time for educational leaders to help guide and support students when determining their career pathways, which is exactly what is happening here at Paoli High School for most students.

Recently, our high school invested in the STEM Lab, where students who are taking or interested in a STEM-related pathway are encouraged to use. The STEM Lab consists of three sections: the lesson area, workshop area and video-podcast space. Currently, the school’s STEM club and the junior high STEM programs utilize the area, but any class can book the space to use it.

The purpose of the STEM lab is to introduce new possibilities and opportunities for students participating in STEM career pathways.

However, our staff stated that on a scale of one to five for their chances of pursuing a STEM-related field, the majority voted only a three. This may be because a quarter of our staff still are unsure of what job they would like to pursue after high school. So, how do we make our students feel more prepared for their life after high school? When we asked our staff what could make them feel more prepared for life after high school, beyond the career-pathway courses, many responded with a clear and simple request: understanding money. Our staff feels unprepared for their financial responsibilities, such as budgeting, doing taxes, paying bills, or learning how to fill out a job application. The majority of our students stated that they wished our school would add an elective to teach them about financial responsibility.

Although students requested our school focus more on financial responsibilities, the majority of our staff believes our school has been very helpful with our career-related courses. We, as staff, can all agree that having the opportunity to take college courses and pathways during high school is extremely beneficial in getting us prepared for our future outside of high school. We asked media students for their suggestions and the majority of them agreed that our school just needs to help teach real-life situations, whether that be financially or just how to navigate the world outside of high school. As of now, for students wanting to feel prepared for college courses, our high school covers that in the numerous college courses available each
semester.