1. Individual Learning Plans
College and Career Readiness Webinar Series
May 12, 2015
Lisa Harney
College and Career Readiness
Welcome to the webinar.

2. Individual Learning Plans AGENDA
College and Career Readiness
Planning for success
ILP: Process and Instrument
ILP Policies and Practices
ILP Components
Connections to Other Plans
Examples of Early Implementation
A brief look at the topics we will be coverinig in this session:
Please feel free to type in your questions in the chat box. We will answer questions as they come in.
We have two district - Weymouth Hampden Wilbraham who have been working hard and strategically to implement ILPs and we will share some ideas from them. 2
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

3. Integration of College and Career Readiness (ICCR)
In June 2012, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted the Report and recommendations of the ICCR Task Force
Recognition that Success After High School includes:
completion of postsecondary education or training
attainment of a career that provides a family sustaining wage
active, informed citizenship
So let’s begin with a bit of history – In December 2011 a task force was created to study the integration of college and career readiness. The result of this high level study was a report and many recommendations that the Board of Elementary and Secoondary Education adopted in Key in this report (and there is a link to the report on the last slide) was the recognition that Success After High School includes three primary targets: completion of post secondary education and/or training leading to a credential and the attainment of a career (not just a job) that provides a family sustaining wage and that adults who are successful are able to make informed decisions and contribute to society.

4. Integration of College and Career Readiness (ICCR)
Key statement in the report:
“academic preparation as a prerequisite for success following high school is an essential domain of secondary education. Yet we are increasingly aware that personal and social developments as well as workplace readiness are also of paramount importance in a young person’s K-12 education.”
The report begins with a statement that has always resonated with me and which opens up the world of education – read statement
So education is not strictly about academics. I am sure anyone who has worked in a school is saying A”I know that” But it is important that it is recognized at a high level. 4
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

5. MA Definition of College and Career Readiness
The Boards of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and the Higher Education (BHE) voted to adopt a common definition of “college and career readiness” in February and March 2013.
These end goals are based on students acquiring knowledge, skills and experiences in three domains: Learning (academic), Workplace Readiness, and Qualities and Strategies (personal/social) with the ultimate goal in each domain being competency attainment.
From this report came discussions with higher education and an historic agreement on what it means to be college and career ready – And we again hear about the three domains in which students need to acquire knowledge, skills and experiences Academic, personal social and workplace readiness.

6. College and career readiness means an individual has the requisite knowledge, skills and experiences in the academic, workplace readiness, and personal/social domains to successfully navigate to completion an economically viable career pathway in a 21st century economy.
You have likely seen this icon and will continue to see it as it makes clear the definition of college and career readiness – read def
And isn’t great that we now know this? For me, it led to a couple of questions

7. Planning for Success
How does a student know what careers are possible and appropriate and what it takes to make that possibility a reality?
What role does the school play in guiding and supporting students in achieving their goals? How can parents/families influence and support their children?
What physical, social, and emotional supports are available to students who have risk factors that may hinder their academic and professional success?
How/Where do we capture students’ planning?
It’s great that “we” know what should happen but (read questions)
As you may know, we have been engaged in much technical assistance and professional development through the MassGrad program. We have held many convenings and we talk with many professionals – administrators, teachers, counselors, etc. And throughout the life of this grant, we have had increasing numbers of inquiries about planning for success and using plans - learning plans, student success plans, academic enrichment plans, graduation success plans, any number of names but all for the same idea - and that is a plan for every student that at a minimum identifies the supports and interventions for academic needs for graduation and at its fullest addresses the three domains and the myriad needs, barriers and goals faced by each student.
What became clear to us was that we needed to provide guidance so that common language, common understandings, and a common format is available for use by all schools and districts. Please keep in mind that at this time this is not a mandate Rather we have created guidance for a best practice that many schools are at least having conversations about while others are beginning to implement. And I will share some highlights from schools shortly.

8. What is an Individual Learning Plan (ILP)?
An ILP is:
a student-directed, multi-year, dynamic tool that maps academic plans, personal/social/emotional skill development, and career development education while taking into account each student’s unique interests, needs and goals for post-secondary success.
a process and an instrument.
So enter the Massachusetts Guide for Implementing Individual Learning Plans. What is an ILP? (read slide) When we talk about an ILP we are talking about a two prong tool – it is both a process and an instrument.
I will talk about each of these prongs beginning with the instrument
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9. The ILP as Instrument
Is often an online planning tool such as: YourPlanforthe Future, Naviance, Career Cruising and MassCIS.
Maps a student’s skill attainment across three domains - Academic, Personal/Social, and Workplace Readiness.
Captures the student’s interests, strengths, barriers, and short- and long-term goals.
Includes action steps for moving towards goals.
While our guidance document includes a template for the ILP, most schools will use an online tool/instrument to document the student’s journey
We look at the instrument as an interactive map of the students journey to post-secondary success:
so for academic domain: recording course selections, grades, supports and interventions, assessment results, capstone projects and/or portfolios
Personal/Social: might include an in-school activity such as joining the debate club to improve communication skills or an out-of-school activity such as completing driver’s education and obtaining a driver’s license so the student can access a job (and this goal could be part of the workplace readiness domain as well)
Capturing the student’s interests, goals, and potential barriers – for instance documenting interest surveys results; recording participation in career awareness, exploration and immersion activities; noting any referrals to other agencies- homeless student and referral to someone else;
Action steps: so if a student identifies a goal as, say, obtaining a driver’s license, then the steps may include researching education programs, signing up for classes, doing practice driving time, always identifying stetps to reaching the goal

10. The ILP Process
Student-directed: The student drives this process; the student leads discussions; researches information, identifies his/her interests and skills as well as barriers and challenges. It is an opportunity for students to voice their opinions about their life and to own their future.
Multi-year: This is not a “one and done” process. Not only is it multi-year but there should be multiple meetings throughout the year
Dynamic Tool: Engages students, parents and school staff, particularly a “school mentor”- an adult in the school who regularly works with the student implementing the ILP
Maps: Captures the development of academic, personal/social and workplace readiness skills
This is a very robust, very active, very involved process designed to encourage every student to take charge of his/her future. When this process – student directed, multi year, dynamic, mapping – is implemented in a designated time through a particular curriculum, with the guidance of a particular adult the student is more likely to own their future. Career development education will help influence the decisions and choices a student makes through awareness, exploration and immersion activities. By attending to all domains, the student has a greater chance of success.

11. The ILP Process Students engaged in ILP development report:
stronger goal-setting skills
being more engaged in their learning
increased motivation to attend school
making connections between their course selections and their career interests
increasingly confident in their ability to speak for themselves.
Research has shown the ILP process improves certain student outcomes. Students engaged in ILP development have reported stronger goal-setting skills, being more engaged in their learning, increased motivation to attend school, they make connections between their course selections and their career interests and they are more confident in their ability to speak for themselves.
The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth has been involved in ILP research for over 5 years. There is a link at the end of the power point to their site and I would highly recommend you look at it if you are beginning ILP work

12. Who Is Involved?
So . . .
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

13. Individual Learning Plan Who is Involved?
Student: Creates a realistic plan for success after high school taking into account personal interests, strengths, challenges, and barriers. Establishing short and long-term goals and assists in generating action steps. Self-reflection provides continual improvement and refined goal setting. Families: The ILP process can be an opportunity for conversations between a child and identified adult supporters about the student’s dreams, choices, learning needs, and goals.
Number 1 is the student. This must be a student-driven process. Only the student can identify his/her interests; while we adults – with our wisdom that comes with age - may think we know what students want or need the reality is the student knows best and we need to ask them and invite them to share this with us.
Families: I wish my children had an ILP process when they were in high school. Tryiing to have a personal, caring (or antagonistic) conversation of what do you want to be when you grow up in my house was always perceived as a judgment conversation so it usually ended in great frustration. Talking about what the career interest survey showed, asking what their career research has told them about options for their field of intersets would have been so much less confrontational. The ILP really can be a neutralizer

14. Individual Learning Plan Who is Involved? (cont.)
School Staff:
Leadership: Sets the vision and ensures adequate time and resources are available to implement ILP(s) with fidelity.
School Mentor: (e.g., teacher, administrator, counselor)
Provides guidance and support in aligning learning with unique interests and goals, accessing career development opportunities and identifying appropriate postsecondary pathways.
Teachers and other school staff: Can use data from students’ ILPs to identify additional experiences to support a students’ learning. (e.g. course selections or differentiated in-class projects).
We all know buy-in is key for any school-wide initiative. This is no different.
Important to remember that this is not a Guidance initiative. It should be developed with input from all areas of school staff. And the school mentor does not need to be a guidance person nor does the mentor need to do and be everything for the student. The mentor merely needs to know how to encourage the student and to find the resources to connect students with when necessary.
Teacher use: (especially for those not mentoring)
Imagine the most challenging student – every teacher faces one periodically. And imagine the power the ILP can wield when it becomes the conversation rather than the personalities struggling for power? So an English teacher has a quiet, disengaged student. The conversation regarding a writing assignment is stunted – “I don’t know” and “nothing” being common answers. Could questions such as “hey, have you done your interest survey for the ILP? What fields of interest have shown up? Which of those is your favorite?” And maybe, just maybe, a teacher could connect and/or adapt an assignment to an identified interest.

15. Individual Learning Plan Who is Involved? (cont.)
District:
Develops policies for ILP implementation and monitoring and provides adequate resources such as professional development, access to technology, and time for appropriate planning and implementation.
If the ILP is going to be implemented in a middle school setting and the goal is for it to carry through high school then the district needs to fully support the development of the process.

16. Policies and Practices
These are some of the basic policies and practices that are necessary for successful implentation.

17. Individual Learning Plan District and School Policies
Establish district and school level leadership teams.
Communicate clear rationale for ILP implementation and connectivity to the varied school-level innovation and improvement efforts.
Create Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to support teachers and other key adults in understanding the value of the ILP, their role in the ILP process, and the design and implementation of strategies.
Provide professional development to address roles and responsibilities, as well as strategies for engaging families and community partners.
A crazy analogy that I think of is a school play (likely a musical) I actually had sports anology but given headlines these days I had to think of something else. There is a lead (the student), there is usually the supporting roles (mentors), there is a bigger cast/chorus (whole school, families), there may be an orchestra seated in their space away off the stage which can be community resources. And it takes all of these people knowing their roles and their steps and their lines to make the show happen and to help the lead be the best actor or actress.
The ILP process requires the same kind of planning – everyone knowing who they are, what their role is, when they come in, what they say – all for the benefit of the student

18. Individual Learning Plan District and School Policies (cont.)
Create a systematic process and time in student, staff and school schedules for every student and school mentor to develop, review, and update the ILP on a regular basis.
Establish protocols for how the school and district will follow-through on implementing the student plans.
Create methods for monitoring the effectiveness of the ILP process by using student data.
Ensure that district support systems for students with limited English proficiency (LEP) are in place to ensure clear communication and access in ILP implementation.
Every school will choose a systematic process that is appropriate for their school – based on time and curriculum. Many use Advisory periods, some use homeroom, some have a College and Career planning session and incorporate the ILP into that; some use the MA Model for School Counseling. You must determine what works best for your schedule but the ILP is most successful when implemented with fidelity to a curriculum and a designated time period.
Checks and balances
Student data: attendance, office referrals/disciplinary records, participation on school activities, etc. are all data points that you may decide can help evaluate the success of the ILP in your school

19. Implementation – Best Practices
Begin the ILP process for ALL students no later than 6th grade.
Identify a school mentor for every student.
Implement ILP development in a structured environment such as advisory, homeroom, college and career planning time, etc.
Consider a college and career readiness framework such as the MA Model for School Counseling to foster development.
Encourage active participation from student, staff, and families.
Identify and document key adults who will share responsibility for action items to support implementation of student plans.
Establish procedures for regular communication between school and parent/guardian including student-led parent/teacher conferences.
The schools I will refence shortly have both targeted middle school for first time implementation and plan to grow the program from there.
School mentor does not have to be the guidance counselor. It could be the Advisory Teacher – so a mentor will have mentees. Or it may be a para – it all depends on the design of the program
Regular communication between school and families is a key piece of this initiative; ILPs have shown promise as improving communication between families and schools
Documenting key adult different from the mentor role. This may be someone that a student has been referred to or another adult with whom the student has a relationship

20. Implementation – Best Practices (cont.)
Use an online tool designed to allow students to search, explore, build skills, and plan for success in all domains.
Include written reflections by students on strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement across all three domains.
Include written reflections by school personnel and parents to express their goals and aspirations for the student and identify progress.
Connect ILP implementation with other student plans, such as the Education Proficiency Plan (EPP) and Special Education Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and Transition Plan.
Reflect on students’ goals, challenges, strengths, and activities that are identified through the ILP process and/or documented in the ILP when planning for school and district improvements.
Some tools include: YourPlanfortheFuture, Naviance, Mass CIS, and Career Cruising.
Written reflections can challenge students to evaluate themselves honestly and challenges them to own their behavior and their decision making. So if they had wanted to achieve a B in a history course and they only got a C they may just have to admit that they didn’t turn in their homework or didn’t pass a test because they didn’t think they had to study for the test. Who knows what they will write
When a shared need is identified by school mentors, schools may have to make a change – for instance students identify the medical field for career interest, and several discover

21. Components of Individual Learning Plans

22. ILP Components Personal Information:
Basic student information such as name, address, date of birth, grade, parent/guardian information, etc.
Student self-identified strengths and areas of interest.
Recognition of in and out-of-school barriers to success.
Identification of short- and long-term goals.
Reflections from the student, parent/guardian, and school should happen at the beginning and at the end of the school year.

23. ILP Components (cont.) Academic Domain:
Examples of student activities/artifacts supporting and documenting acquisition of knowledge and skills in the academic domain needed to enter postsecondary degree/certificate programs to pursue career goals might include:
Course selections aligned with interests and skills and geared to an identified career pathway
Grades
Assessments
Learning opportunities (dual enrollment, AP, project-based, contextual learning, etc.)
Interventions and accommodations

24. ILP Components (cont.) Personal/Social Domain: Joining a club or team.
Examples of in and out-of-school student activities/artifacts supporting and documenting the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for personal and professional success might include:
Joining a club or team.
Participating in a restorative justice program for conflict resolution.
Becoming a mentor or peer leader.
Participating in a service learning project.
Volunteering for projects within the community.
Certificates of Achievement
In this domain it may be the activities that help promote healthy inerpersonal skills such as respect, communication skills, ability to be fair and open to others, appropriate behavior All are critical to success

25. ILP Components (cont.) Workplace Readiness Domain:
Examples of student activities/artifacts supporting and documenting acquisition of knowledge, skills and experiences in the workplace readiness domain* might include:
Awareness: Career Interest inventories, exploring the job market information through websites and publications, career speakers, participating in career days or fair, etc.
Exploration: Workshops or classes, “job shadowing”, informational interview with local professionals, career-related research projects.
Immersion: Career-related clubs and after-school activities, internships, capstone projects, entrepreneurial projects, community-based volunteer work, work-based learning, after-school/summer job or internship, MA Work-Based Learning Plan.
*Aligned with stages of ESE’s Career Development Education (CDE) Guide
This is where the whole process makes the most sense. It is when the student has taken an interest inventory - identified a field of interest – that the career planning begins. Students begin to make the connections of how what they do now and will fit in the future; they may begin to understand the importance of their academic work to a future career choice. And the experiences they gain in the exploration and immersion activities will be invaluable as they prepare for postsecondary choices.

26. Connections To Other Plans
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

27. ILP Connections Education Proficiency Plan (EPP)
An EPP is an educational planning tool to be developed for the subject area(s) in which students did not score at least 240 and includes:
A review of the student's strengths and weaknesses based on MCAS and other assessment results, coursework, grades, and teacher input.
The courses the student will be required to take and successfully complete in grades 11 and 12 in the relevant content area(s).
A description of the assessments the school will administer to the student annually to determine whether s/he is making progress toward proficiency.
All of this information is included in a student’s ILP. Therefore,

28. ILP Connections Education Proficiency Plan (cont.)
For students who are required to have an EPP, the ILP can be the place to document:
The learning of the skills and competencies needed to meet and exceed their objectives.
The steps towards successful completion of the Competency Determination (CD) by: (a) identifying CD completion as a student goal along; (b) identifying the subject area (Math or ELA) and the course title(s) the student is enrolled in to complete the EPP; and (c) the assessment measure and final grades for completion of the EPP.

29. ILP Connections Career Vocational Technical Education Career Plan (CVTE)
Chapter 74 and the Vocational Technical Education Regulations (603 CMR 4.03 (4) (d)) state:
Career guidance and placement services shall be provided to each student and shall include assessment of all vocational technical students to determine individual vocational technical and academic aptitude, interest and learning styles and assistance with the development of a four-year career plan based on the assessments. Services shall be provided to assist each student in making the transition to the workforce, post-secondary education and apprenticeship programs.

30. ILP Connections With CVTE (cont.)
Much like the ILP, a CVTE Career Plan is designed to facilitate the transition from high school to future learning or employment. The Career Plan can be thought of as both an instrument and a process for monitoring one’s career development. A Career Plan should be revisited and modified periodically.
The ILP has the potential to fulfill, and expand upon, the requirements of the Career Plan. Therefore, schools may consider using the ILP as the process and instrument to capture a student’s required Career Plan.

31. Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Transition Planning
IDEA and Transition Planning Definition:
A coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. Although IDEA requires transition planning begin at age 16, Massachusetts law requires beginning at age 14.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

32. Individual Learning Plan (ILP)
Connections to IEP and Transition Planning
IEP, Transition Planning and ILP similarities:
Goal is post-secondary success for all students.
Planning includes multiple stakeholders – student, family, school, community members (including related service providers).
Meetings have a defined (required) schedule.
Academic, personal/social, and workplace readiness domains along with independent living skills are addressed.
Students are encouraged to lead meetings.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

33. Individual Learning Plan (ILP)
Connections to IEP and Transition Planning
While the IEP and ILP have similar components, some key differences include:
The ILP may engage students with disabilities and their families in postsecondary planning before the state required age of 14 for transition planning.
The recommended guidance for ILPs is that they are reviewed and revised continuously during the year.
Because of more reviews, ILPs may provide more rapid response to need for interventions and supports.
ILPs have the potential to engage students in a more in-depth fashion than is possible at a single, annual IEP meeting.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

34. ILP Connections IEP (cont.)
Research indicates:
ILP(s) contribute to making the IEP Transition Planning meeting more efficient and improved overall quality of the meetings.
Students and families are able to be stronger advocates for ensuring accommodations were in place to support the course plans identified in the ILP that align with career goals.
Students and families are better able to advocate for work-based learning opportunities that help them develop the employability skills needed to support their career and life goals.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

35. Examples of Implementation Work

36. If you had been at the MassGra d Showcase last week you may have attend ed the ILP breakout in which Weymouth Middle School counselor eliot Johnson presented. This is Weymouth’s first year of planning and implementing ILPs and they made a conscious decision to begin in middle school.

37. Weymouth Middle School - Chapman Campus
Why Engage In this Work:
A significant percentage of our seventh and eighth grade students were unable to identify short and long-term goals (academic, college, and career) based on their individual interests and strengths.
A significant portion of our students were not receiving career development education within the classroom.
As a school we wanted to align with the district vision, “that students will graduate from Weymouth Public Schools with the academic skills, knowledge and mindset necessary to succeed in college and career,” and determined this was the best course of action building-wide.
In making their decision for middle school they did so based on the following

38. Weymouth Middle School - Chapman Campus
Strategies:
All 7th and 8th grade students create ILP
Use MassCIS as the planning tool
Career Development activities identified for each grade level
Key personnel: counselors, teacher, assistant principal
Classroom activities/lessons completed in History class
All activities documented in the ILP

39. Weymouth Middle School - Chapman Campus
What We Have Learned:
Students are able to develop future goals based on their individual interests and strengths.
As students become increasingly aware of their options and goals, they become more invested in their future.
When students are able to identify their weaknesses, they can focus on strengthening them.
Students are excited to think about their individual plan for the future.
The sooner the better!!
I think this list of what they have learned certainly supports the value of engaging in ILP implementation.

40. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District: Thornton Burgess Middle School Wilbraham Middle School Minnechaug Regional High School
Hampden Wilbraham is one of five districts that received a small amount of funding for two years as a demonstration site as directed by the ICCR task force. Their first year was a planning year and this is their first year of implementation.

41. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District
Goals of the Work:
establish and enact a continuum of college and career planning activities grades 7-12
incorporate CCR planning within guidance and advisory programs at the middle schools
launch an Advisory program at the high school that includes CCR planning and preparation with ILP development that will connect course selections with career interests
This first year of implementation they decided to focus on the middle school for ILPs

42. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District
Middle School:
Both middle schools have implemented Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) in grades 7 and 8
Your Plan for the Future is used in 7th & 8th grade health classes to help students complete interest and abilities inventories
Advisories participate in newly focused CCR activities during advisory
Increased communication to parents about CCR activities

43. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District
High School:
Developmental Guidance/Mass Model program complete and initiated
Full implementation of the program
Emphasis will be on ILP development and correlation of course selection to career interests
Plans have been developed to transfer middle school ILP data to the high school’s online resource (Naviance)

44. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District
Evaluation through Student and Faculty Surveys:
52% of advisors perceive connections forming among their advisory group members
72% perceive their students as feeling included within the advisory group
86% of advisors feel that their students are connecting with them
88% of advisors perceive themselves as fully engaged in the advisory program and connecting with their students
In order to evaluate the process they surveyed teachers and students. They used focus groups and surveys. They reviewed their advisory lessons throughout the year and are making changes as needed.

45. Thank you! The following links may be of interest:
Massachusetts Guide for Implementing Individual Learning Plans (ILP):
From Cradle to Career: Educating Our Students for Life Long Success:
College and Career Readiness:
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability (NCWD) for Youth:
Questions or comments please contact: Lisa Harney,