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    Career Ready PA

    PA Career Ready Skills Toolkit​

    Pennsylvania’s economic future depends on having a well-educated and skilled workforce that is prepared to meet both the current and projected demands of a global, knowledge-based, 21st century economy. It is imperative that Pennsylvania students, at all educational levels, have access to high-quality academic and technical education. Also important is the opportunity for students to identify aptitudes, develop employability skills, and explore career pathways that align with their post-graduation career plans. These priorities reinforce Pennsylvania’s commitment to ensure that all residents of the commonwealth benefit from schools that teach, jobs that pay, and government that works.  This commitment positions departments serving Pennsylvania’s children and youth to work together to prepare all high school graduates to hold the academic, technical, and employability skills necessary to be college and career ready.

    Purpose

    This toolkit introduces the PA Career Ready Skills (PA CRS) and Continuum and provides resources for LEA and teacher implementation The integration of these skills into classrooms and schools is optional; however, when the PA CRS are woven into the mission and vision for each school and implemented into classrooms or whole school approaches with fidelity, schools will improve student capacity to engage in academic learning and better prepare them to meet college and career readiness standards

    Adapted from: Tennessee Department of Education, Personal Competencies Resource Guide (PDF)​

    Implementations

    LEA​

    Implementation Resources

    Implementing the PA CRS should begin at the LEA level. A three-phase process has been developed to assist LEAs with determining readiness, support the planning process for integration of the PA CRS into schools and classrooms and, implement the PA CRS into the school community.

    Step 1​​

    School lead​ers commit to schoolwide Career Ready Skills integration.

    • Understand PA CRS as a framework for employability skills.
    • Determine the role PA CRS play in the district's mission and vision.
    • Share vision of PA CRS importance in the school community.​

    ​Step 2​

    School leaders engage stakeholders and form a steering committee.

    • Share PA CRS framework with all stakeholders.
    • Recruit committee (teachers, families, student support personnel, business & community members) for PA CRS steering committee.
    • LEA stakeholders jointly complete the LEA Self-Assessment.​

    St​​ep 3

    The school community develops, articulates, and effectively communicates a shared vision of student social, emotional, and academic development via the Career Ready Skills framework.

    • LEA administrators complete the LEA Self- Assessment.
    • School stakeholders create a shared vision for the PA CRS.
    • PA CRS vision aligns to school's mission statement, comprehensive school plan and vision.

    St​ep 4

    The steering committee conducts a needs and resources assessment.

    Use existing data:  Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), School Climate Survey, Safe Schools Report data, SAP data, etc., to answer the following questions:

    • How socially and emotionally competent are our students?
    • What problems are our students experiencing?
    • What is the quality of the learning environment?
    • What are the needs of school staff, families, and business and community partners?
    • What is the readiness of the school community to implement Career Ready Skills as a schoolwide priority?
    • In what ways do our existing policies, programs, and practices promote social and emotional development?
    • Do our programs use consistent language and strategies for teaching our children Career Ready Skills?
    • Are our efforts coordinated and systematic, creating a synergy that enhances desired outcomes and effectively using our resources? 
    • What's missing?​​

    Ste​​p 5

    The steering committee develops an implementation action plan.

    Use the school vision (Step 3) and needs and resources assessment results (Step 4) to develop an implementation action plan.  Include systematic actions and a timeline for integration in the plan.

    Step 6​​

    Instructional leaders provide initial professional development for those launching the initiative.

    District trainers provide initial professional development to ensure staff is grounded in the theory, principles, and strategies that make the program effective.

    The broader school community should be introduced to the core components of the Career Ready Skills and details about how it will be introduced.

    Step ​​7 

    Educators piloting the program launch Career Ready Skill integration in select classrooms.

    Educators begin to integrate Career Ready Skills in their classrooms.

    Educators meet regularly with school leaders and each other to receive additional coaching and support, and to reflect on and strategize about schoolwide implementation.

    Step​​ 8

    All school staff engage in instruction and integrate Career Ready Skills.

    All educators receive in-depth professional development. Once the pilot staff becomes proficient in Career Ready Skill integration, ongoing professional development should be provided to enhance staff's capacity to integrate Career Ready Skill concepts & instructional strategies into core curriculums.

    Ste​​p 9

    The school community revisits activities and adjusts for improvement.

    School leaders and the steering committee, with input from the school community revisit all the steps at regular intervals to determine what (if any) adaptations are needed to improve, adjust, and/or expand Career Ready Skills integration. This focus on continual assessment also provides an opportunity to celebrate successes along the way and develop both classroom and other special programming that may contribute to expanding students' Career Ready Skills growth.​

    The LEA self- assessment is a guided assessment to assist LEAs with each phase of PA CRS implementation.  A definition for each stage of implementation is provided at the end of the assessment.

    Stages of Implementation: Definitions

    Stage
    		​D​​efinition
    Pre-Initiation Stage

    The school has not yet begun to address this principle or practice.

    Initiation Stage

    The school has made an effort to address this principle or practice, but the effort has not yet begun to impact a critical mass of staff members.

    Implementation Stage

    A critical mass of staff members is participating in implementing the principle or practice, but many approach the task with a sense of compliance rather than commitment. There is some uncertainty regarding what needs to be done and why it should be done.

    Developing Stage

    Structures are being altered to support the changes, and resources are being devoted to moving them forward. Members are becoming more receptive to the principle, practice, or process because they have experienced some of its benefits. The focus has shifted from "Why are we doing this?" to "How can we do this more effectively?"

    Sustaining Stage

    The principle or practice is deeply embedded in the culture of the school. It is a driving force in the daily work of staff. It is deeply internalized, and staff would resist attempts to abandon the principle or practice.

    ​Adapted from: The Professio​​nal Learning Community Continuum Rubric

    Adapted from: Leading an SEL School

    Integration Phases:  Readiness, Planning, and Implementation

    A school LEA would develop an integrated K-12 Career Ready Skills system through three phases—Readiness, Planning, and Implementation.

    Educator

    Implementation Resources

    This section of the toolkit is designed to support educators with implementing the PA Career Ready Skills in the classroom.  The section consists of general practices/behaviors that can be readily implemented as well as specific practices and strategies for each of the Career Ready Skills.  A readiness assessment is provided to support educators in determining their capacity for implementation of the PA Career Ready Skills.

    The self-assessment tool was created by the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders.  It is designed to help educators reflect upon current teaching practices that impact student social-emotional learning (SEL), and their own SEL competencies to implement those teaching practices.

    Essentially, the aims of this tool are as follows:

    • Enable teachers to reflect and self-assess on SEL as an integral part of high-quality teaching and learning.
    • Provide a broad measure of the teacher's ability to promote student SEL through instructional practices.
    • Provide a mechanism for teachers to reflect on their own SEL competencies and to consider what impact their capabilities have on the implementation of practices that support SEL.
    • To provide teachers with self-reflective feedback that can be used as part of their professional development plans or educator evaluations.

    The tool can be accessed at:  The SEL school

    The chart that follows provides 10 teaching practices that support the ongoing implementation of the PA Career Ready Skills in the school and classroom. When implemented consistently, students are provided opportunities to consistently use and practice the PA Career Ready Skills.

    Social Teaching Practices

    Practice​​​Definition​Video Lesson Examples
    Student-Centered Discipline

    Disciplinary strategies that are developmentally appropriate for their students and that motivate students to want to behave in the classroom.

    Student-Centered Discipline: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Student -Centered Discipline: High School (YouTube)

    Teacher LanguageHow the teacher talks to students. Teachers should encourage student effort and work, restating what the student did and what that student needs to do in order to improve.

    Teacher Language: Elementary School (YouTube

    ​Teacher Language: High School (YouTube)

    Responsibility and Choice

    		Degree to which teachers allow students to make responsible decisions about their work in the classroom.

    Responsibility and Choice: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Responsibility and Choice: Middle School (YouTube)

    Warmth & Support

    		Academic and social support students receive from their teacher and peers. Teachers create classrooms where the students know that teachers care about them.

    Warmth & Support: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Warmth & Support: Middle School (YouTube)

    Instructional Teaching Practices

    ​Practice​Definition​Video Lesson Examples
    Cooperative LearningSpecific instructional task in which teachers have students work together toward a collective goal. Teachers ask students to do more than group work; students are actively working with their peers using content in a meaningful way.

    Cooperative Learning: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Classroom Discussions

    		Conversations students and teachers have regarding content. During classroom discussions, teachers ask more open-ended questions and prompt students to elaborate on their own thinking and that of their peers.

    Classroom Discussions: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Classroom Discussions: Middle School (YouTube)

    Self Reflection & Self Assessment

    		Instructional tasks whereby teachers ask students to think actively about their own work.

    Self Reflection & Self Assessment: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Self Reflection & Self Assessment: High School (YouTube)

    Balanced Instruction

    		Using an appropriate balance between active instruction and direct instruction, as well as the appropriate balance between individual and collaborative learning.; teachers provide students opportunities to directly learn about the material as well as engage with the material.

    Balanced Instruction: Middle School Video 1 (YouTube)

    Balanced Instruction: Middle School Video 2 (YouTube)

    Academic Press and Expectations

    		Implementation of meaningful and challenging work; academic expectations focus on the teacher's belief that all students can and will succeed. Students should sense that academics are extremely important, that the teacher wants students to succeed, and that they have to exert effort in challenging work in order to succeed.

    Academic Press and Expectations: Middle School (YouTube)

    Academic Press and Expectations: High School (YouTube)

    Competence Building–Modeling, Practicing, Feedback, and Coaching

    		When teachers help develop social-emotional competencies systematically through the typical instructional cycle: goals and objectives of the lesson, introduction to new material or modeling, group and individual practice, and conclusion and reflection. Each part of the cycle helps reinforce particular social-emotional competencies when the teacher integrates them into the lesson.

    Competence Building: Elementary School (YouTube)

    Competence Building: Middle School (YouTube)

    Adapted from: Teaching​ the Wh​ole Child (PDF)​

    Specific Practices and Teaching Strategies

    The document below is divided by domain and specific Career Ready Skill, performance indicators directly related to the skill, supportive practices that will provide adults with specific behaviors to engage students with practicing the skill and specific teaching strategies for use in the classroom and school environment.  They are listed by grade level band.

    Self Awareness & Self Management

    ​Self Awareness & Self Management - Pre-K-K

    Recognize and label basic feelings

    ​Performance Indicator(s)
    The learner will:
    ​Supportive Practices
    The adult will:
    		​Teaching Strategies
    ​
    • Recognize and label feelings. (e.g., frustrated, anxious, embarrassed)
    • Name feelings of self and others in real or imagined situations.
    		​
    • Engage children in discussions about how they feel when they experience certain situations (both positive and negative).
    • Model genuine, appropriate emotional responses.
    • Use expressions (e.g., "I feel …" or "That must have made you feel …") when interacting with children.
    • Encourage open expression of feelings by asking children how they feel.  Respond to children's verbal and non-verbal cues. 
    • Use the Pyramid Model to support children's social and emotional success. 
    • Model and explain an appropriate cool-down strategy. (e.g., deep breathing, counting slowly to 5, give yourself a bear hug).
    • Establish and state clear behavior expectations. (e.g., "At school we do not throw things. If you feel angry, you can visit the peace table and choose something to work on.").
    		​
    • Read books about feelings and talk about what the characters are feeling and the outcomes.
    • Teach students to manage their emotions using the PIE approach –processing, identifying, and expressing their emotions.
    • Create a check-in board where students place their name or photo next to a feeling picture. Provide alternate symbols that could represent feelings (e.g., colors, weather patterns).
    • Read stories or show picture books with themes and ask students to discover the words or phrases used to describe emotions.
    • Help students increase their dictionary of feeling words through books, role-play, and modeling that includes various settings (i.e., classroom and work environments).

    Demonstrate awareness of self and one’s own preferences

    Performance Indicator(s)
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • State independent thoughts and feelings.
    • Name one's own abilities and accomplishments.
    • Make choices based on personal preferences.
    • Demonstrate awareness of self and one's own preferences.
    • Provide children with opportunities to make decisions and choices.
    • Ask children to share opinions about classroom activities and other experiences.
    • Graph children's likes and dislikes.
    • Share enthusiasm and describe child's abilities and preferences. (e.g., "I see you enjoy building with blocks.")
    • Display children's work at their eye level.
    • Ask children about their decisions. (e.g., "Why did you decide to play with Legos today?"
    • Respond positively and respectfully to each child's strengths and limitations.

     

    • Using picture books, ask students to identify likes and dislikes of each character.
    • Create and use character puppets to exemplify the quality of a character from a story or a historical event.
    • Ask students to create an "All about Me Report" or "This is Your Life" storybook using pictures and language to describe themselves and their families.
    • Play a bingo game in which students find classmates with similar characteristics or likes and dislikes.
    • Have student draw a Venn diagram comparing/ contrasting two people.
    • Have a career day for which students dress up as a career that they are interested in and share what they like about that career.
    • Invite adults in different career fields to speak to your class about why they chose their career.
    • Have students put on a mini talent show to showcase interests and strengths for families and other classes.
    • Do a "show and tell" presentation for students about a hobby or a skill. Identify a job where having that skill would be beneficial.

    Distinguish between situations that elicit positive or negative feelings

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies

    • Identify one's feelings specific to a context
    • Express preferred and non-preferred activities
    • Identify challenging situations
    • Encourage an environment where cultural and personal diversity are valued.
    • Provide opportunities to make decisions and choices.
    • Support students in sharing opinions about classroom activities, choices, and other experiences.
    • Graph students' likes and dislikes
    • Share enthusiasm and describe students' abilities and preferences. (e.g ., "I see you enjoy building blocks today.")

    Express a want and the means to achieve it

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Establish goals independently.
    • Sequence steps needed to accomplish goals.

       

       
    • Explicitly use words such as "goal," "plan," "achieve," "met," "change."
    • Use "Plan-Do-Review" strategy to encourage planning and discussion about goals and follow-through.
    • Establish and maintain a safe climate in which reasonable risks are accepted and encouraged.
    • Discuss students' choices in terms of "goals" to be met and alternative strategies in meeting them.
    • Have students routinely develop and complete age-appropriate, short-term classroom goals (e.g., reduce time during transitions, put supplies away quicker, line up for lunch).
    • Have students write a list of short-term wishes and/or dreams as they relate to school, sports, etc., and have them prioritize the list.
    • Teach students decision-making skills to build self-confidence and self-control by providing a variety of choices throughout the day.
    • Set aside a time for students to describe and celebrate a goal they have accomplished.
    • Have students participate in a step-by-step art or baking project and celebrate successful completion.

    ​Self-Awareness and Self-Management - Grades 1-5

    Identify different ways of expressing a feeling

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify a variety of ways to respond to a feeling.
    • Identify and express feelings that are appropriate to the situation.
    • Identify and express feelings in multiple ways. (e.g., gestures, actions, language or drawing)
    • Discuss the relationship of emotions and behaviors.
    • Have students role play different emotions and their responses to those emotions.
    • Draw an 'anger thermometer,' and ask students to discuss why they might move up and down the thermometer; discuss the physical responses as they move higher.
    • Students create a book of feeling words using photographs taken of the students demonstrating those feelings.
    • Discuss with students how one might act differently depending on the emotion.
    • Create a peaceful or cozy corner where students can go and reflect on their feelings.
    • Have students role-play and discuss situations that might trigger emotions. Include different future job situations and how feelings and emotions might impact their work in these jobs (e.g., fireman, teacher, actor, scientist, etc.).
    • Utilize Go Noodle or similar activities that focus on identification of feelings.
    • Ask students to write a short story, complete with illustrations, which describes a situation that made them angry without using the words anger, angry, or mad.
    • Ask students to name the emotions experienced by characters in a story and discuss how they were affected by those emotions.

    Identify one’s own strengths, needs, and preferences

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Express one's own needs and wants within a context.
    • Select activities based on personal preferences.
    • Identify personal strengths as a member of a group.
    • Have students interview a classmate, then report on their unique characteristics.
    • Invite students to dress like a person or character who shares an interest or personal qualities with the student.
    • Highlight a character trait or personal quality of the week or month schoolwide through daily announcements, bulletin boards, newsletters, etc.
    • Conduct a career day.
    • Have students draw self-portraits and include descriptions of interests, skills, and character traits they possess.
    • Ask students to research a career/occupation and share what they liked and disliked about it.
    • Have students compose a list of interests; then, work with them to match those to a career or job.
    • Have students complete a persuasive writing assignment on an activity or study of interest.
    • Assign students a personal reflection journal activity on how a decision has impacted their life.
    • Utilize cooperative learning strategies to reinforce student strengths.
    • As a journal activity, invite students to analyze what is easy or difficult for them in school.

    Select coping skill strategies in response to adverse situations (e.g., positive self-talk, talking to others, taking a break, taking care of oneself, avoiding negative self-talk)

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify a coping skill when faced with adversity.
    • Demonstrate persistence in solving challenging situations.
    • Use prior knowledge to accomplish a challenging task.
    • Routinely practice with students self-control techniques to meet demands of situations (e.g., taking a deep breath, counting to 10, self-talk, etc.).
    • Routinely provide authentic praise to students when you observe them managing themselves appropriately.
    • As a teacher, model effective self-management in an age-appropriate way for students (e.g., "I'm feeling a little frustrated, so I am going to stop and take a deep breath before I decide what to do next.").
    • Teach students that emotions are okay. However, recognize that how we respond to emotions may not be okay (e.g., It is okay to be mad, but it is not okay to hit someone when you are mad).
    • Have students practice using fill-in-the-blank "I" messages to identify relationships between thoughts, emotions, and actions (e.g., When you__, I feel___. What I would like for you to do is __).

    Distinguish among and set short term, mid-range, and long-term goals

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Discriminate between short and long-term goals.
    • Identify preliminary short and long-term goals related to individual and career interests.
    • Adopt strategies to meet short and long-term goals.
    • Have students set daily or weekly short- and long-term social and/or academic goal(s), and have students list the steps and skills necessary to achieve their goal(s).
    • Have students make charts and visual reminders so they can track progress on daily and weekly goal(s).
    • Reward students for meeting goal(s).
    • Implement collaborative learning projects that utilize the jigsaw technique to help students create their own learning and improve social interactions.
    • Have students research and summarize the education path required to achieve a specific career goal.

    ​Self-Awareness and Self-Management - Grades 6-8

    Identify behavioral expressions of feelings within a context

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Communicate in ways that demonstrate respect for the feelings of self and others.
    • Adapt one's communication with regard to context.
    • Adapt one's communication with regard to the needs of others.
    • Describe how expressing emotions may impact others.
    • Role-play with students using situations that occur in the classroom (e.g., have one student act as a bully while another is the victim); then, have them process how they might feel.
    • Help students understand that anger is a secondary emotion and to identify that before anger, an often-unnoticed primary emotion is evident such as sadness, jealousy, or embarrassment.

       
    • Ask students to examine historical characters and how they communicated their emotions.
    • Ask students to write a short story, complete with illustrations, which describes a situation that made them angry without using the words anger, angry, or mad.
    • Ask students to role-play a customer service situation with an angry customer. Discuss the different feelings the employee helping the angry customer may have in this situation and the outcome of acting on each of those feelings.  Students can make a T-chart of those actions and feelings.

    Explain to others one's own strengths, needs, and preferences specific to a context

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Explain how personal strengths align to career pathways.
    • Contribute in group/team activities utilizing one's strengths.
    • Identify characteristics of effective teams and how one contributes to team efforts.
    • Identify strategies to secure support based on needs and wants.

     

    • Ask the class to design an activity together to ensure that all members have a task aligned to their interests and/or strengths.
    • Create opportunities for group work activities. Utilize a rubric that reflects each team member's contribution to the group.

       

       

      .

       

       
    • Conduct a persuasive essay contest on what clubs or activities should be added to the school.
    • Hold a career fair for students to begin thinking about how to align interest to a career.
    • Have students complete a career interest inventory.
    • Have students complete a character study from required class reading on how the characters' personal qualities and interests impacted their decisions.
    • Students analyze a historic event to determine participant's strengths and needs.
    • Have students reflect and write a paper on potential areas of growth identified through self-reflection.
    • Ask students to design and complete a project based on strengths and interests and how to apply those to postsecondary opportunities.

    Identify and select coping skills relevant to adverse situations

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Determine relevant information to assist in selection of coping skills.
    • Persevere in adverse situations.

     

    • Discuss with students hypothetical stressful situations they may encounter and ways to manage them.
    • Teach students to use the cognitive "brake" using the acronym SOLD (S=Stop what you are doing. O=Observe how you are doing. L=Look at whether your feeling matches what is going on. D=Decide how you will behave.).
    • Incorporate stress management techniques in the classroom (e.g., deep breathing, stretching, yoga movements, and affirmations), and identify appropriate settings for each of these strategies.
    • Use literary characters to discuss with students strategies that the characters used to handle their stressors.
    • Have students develop a graphic organizer that compares and contrasts ways to express feelings.

       

    Identify and evaluate distractors that impact reaching ones' goals

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify and manage common distractors and the means to overcome them.
    • Analyze and evaluate alternative strategies in meeting goals.

     

    • Have students set academic and personal SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) goals that are short and long term.
    • Have students create an action plan for each SMART goal that lists what resources (i.e., home, school, and community) they would utilize.
    • Have students reflect on the progress of each goal, why the goal was important, and what they would do differently.
    • Via peer-to-peer interviews, have students set a character goal on a virtue that is most important to them.
    • Create a visual timeline to show students how much of a person's life is spent working, going to school, spending time with family, sleeping, and having personal time.
    • Use biographies and autobiographies to discuss how people persevered through hard times to turn their lives around or reach a goal.
    • Assist students in creating a high school plan that includes transition to postsecondary and the workforce.

       

       

    ​Self-Awareness and Self-Management - Grades 9-12

    Evaluate behaviors in relation to the impact on self and others.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Evaluate how self-esteem and self-image impact relationships.
    • Self-assess one's actions and their effects on others
    • Adapt to others' working styles.
    • Collaborate in a team setting by creating an environment that supports consensus.

     

    • Ask students to journal about a time when they reassessed an event and felt completely different at the end.
    • Ask students to reflect and analyze in journals or in pair shares how their thoughts and emotions affect decision-making and responsible behavior.
    • Talk with students about body language and the message it portrays.
    • Ask students to reflect on a time they had to consider the feelings of others.
    • When students are involved in a conflict, help them to understand how the other person feels.
    • Have students create gratitude journals to acknowledge and appreciate the kindness of others.
    • Conduct a morning meeting for seniors and discuss helpful strategies for handling potential conflict between college roommates or co-workers.
    • Have students' role-play different responses to a rude customer in a store.
    • Have students write an acrostic poem in which each letter of an emotion's name would represent a reason for feeling that way (e.g., G in guilt could start the phrase "Gave away my friend's secret.").
    • Discuss with students historical events and how misinterpretation triggered a negative event.

     

    Advocate for oneself in education, employment, and within the community.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Promote one's strengths.
    • Demonstrate initiative and self-direction in planning for employability.
    • Utilize a strategy to secure support when needed.

     

     

    • Highlight students for character qualities in addition to academic and athletic achievements.
    • Have students develop picture books about character and personal qualities to be shared with preschool and kindergarten students.
    • Have students complete the interest, skills, work values, etc. inventories on CollegeforTN.org required for 10th grade.
    • Have students compose a resume for a dream job.

       

       
    • Ask students to develop postsecondary, career, and lifestyle success plans.
    • Conduct a school-wide college and career fair.
    • As a writing assignment, have students develop resumes along with a cover letter to "sell" their qualifications.
    • Have students' research career and college interests and learn about specific job responsibilities. Then, have students write a cover letter for the job detailing how they can perform the responsibilities.
    • Teach students job interview skills and invite members of the business community to conduct mock interviews with students.

    Analyze adverse situations for the purpose of identifying and selecting healthy coping skills

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Analyze and evaluate information to select specific coping skills.
    • Recognize the ideas, perspectives, and contributions of others.
    • Determine a response strategy with respect to the ideas, perspectives, and contributions of others.

     

    • Have students share a work product in which they receive constructive feedback from the teacher and their peers and develop next steps to improve.
    • Discuss with students the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to manage stress and achieve a work/life balance.
    • Notice and reinforce qualities that are key to resilience (e.g., empathy, optimism, or forgiveness), and give students a chance to practice them.
    • When students have a conflict with another person, help them to keep things in perspective and to remember that someone else's opinion doesn't define them.
    • Provide authentic feedback when students persevere (e.g., "I know how hard that was, but you never gave up. I'm very proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself.").
    • Ask students to demonstrate in a science class or in a math class ways to reframe the problem and compare that to ways to reframe life problems.
    • Have students' select and participate in a cross-cultural learning activity in their school or community that includes a reflection activity about what they learned.
    • Involve students' in planning a multi-cultural day or event to celebrate all ethnic groups represented in the school and in the community.

       

     

    Establish and pursue goals for post-secondary education, employment, and living within the community

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Create a plan for adult living that reflects interests, skills, and aptitudes.

     

    • Pair students with mentors from the business community in areas of career interest in relation to their future goals.
    • Encourage students to participate in leadership programs that align with postsecondary and career goals.
    • Have students create their personal "people" web of support. Next to each person's name, write one strategy they could use to maintain that support and relationship.
    • Discuss with students the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to manage stress and achieve a work/life balance.

       

       

     

    • Students research a company's human resources policies about acceptable and unacceptable behavior and how it affects the employee and employer.
    • Have students email a professional in a career in which they are interested to seek support in achieving future goals.
    • Teach students to make good choices when confronted with negative peer pressure. Include situations in work settings (e.g., having friends come to your workplace who want you to give them free food/product).
    • Ask students to conduct an interview with a business/industry representative to explore opportunities within a career field and the skills and education required for success. 

    Establishing and Maintaining Relationships

    ​Establishing and Maintaining Relationships - Pre-K - K

    Interact in pro-social ways (e.g., reciprocal conversatio​n, turn taking, sharing) with peers and adults

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Engage in reciprocal conversation with familiar peers and adults.
    • Respond to familiar adult's questions and directions.
    • Interact with others for a purpose
    • Play cooperatively for a sustained period of time.
    • Respect feelings and belongings of others.

       

       
    • Conduct a morning meeting during which students share a compliment with their peers.
    •  Model appropriate methods and strategies of interaction based on school and community culture.
    • Talk about ideas related to school work, play, and home life.
    • Arrange the environment to encourage collaboration.
    •  Provide duplicate materials so students can play together. 
    • Set timers to encourage material or equipment sharing.
    •  Incorporate daily blocks of time for uninterrupted student-directed play.
    •  Provide daily opportunities for individual conversations between students and adults.
    • Describe others' feelings during difficult situations.
    • Use literature as a teaching strategy for appropriate and inappropriate interaction
    • Use children's literature for teaching students friendship skills (e.g., Hunter's Best Friend at School and Best Friends for Frances).
    • Have students practice saying "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" when appropriate.
    • Use specific feedback to encourage students when they listen well (e.g., Thank you for listening when I was talking.).
    • Ask students to find and share three things they have in common with a friend and three things that are different.
    • Rehearse appropriate questions students can ask guest speakers about their jobs for an upcoming career day.

    Engage in reciprocal communication with peers and adults

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Provide responses related to topic posed by adults and peers.
    • Communicate using detail related to topic.  
    • Allow wait time before responding.
    • Engage in turn taking when communicating with others.
       
    • Explicitly restate comments made by students and encourage those responding to add further detail or contribute further to the topic being discussed.
    •  Explicitly teach students what a question is.
    • Help students create and pose questions to initiate or continue a conversation.
    • Model acceptable conversational cues. (e.g., wait time, turn-taking).
    • Talk about events that are currently relevant to students.
    • Have students practice posing and answering questions with peers and adults.

    Recognize that conflict occurs and identify ways to respond

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Use words and actions to express one's own desires in ways that respect others.
    • Identify a problem and discuss possible solutions.
    • Solve simple conflicts with peers. (e.g., share, take turns, apologize, try something else, ask for help)
    • Use words to negotiate conflicts before seeking help.
    • Model, teach, and discuss possible strategies for resolving conflict. (e.g., use of puppets, role-playing, stories demonstrating conflict resolution)
    • Be open and available to help students resolve conflicts. (e.g., "I" messages) 
    • Teacher holds class discussions so students can solve class problems.
    • Teach students to use "I" messages to communicate feelings in a conflict situation.
    • Design an area in the room that encourages students to solve conflicts.
    • Utilize children's literature to discuss ways the characters resolved a conflict.  Students can illustrate that part of the story.
    • Have students work in pairs using puppets to identify conflicts and show responses. Use class discussion to determine whether the conflict needs an adult helper.
    • Provide students with opportunities to problem solve by stating the problem clearly and providing ground rules to discuss the problem rationally to arrive at a solution.

    ​Establishing and Maintaining Relationships - Grades 1-5

     Explain ways to establish relationships that are positive and supportive of others

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify strategies to build relationships.
    • Describe how pro-social behavior builds positive and supportive relationships.
    • Identify effective individual and group interactions (e.g. consensus building, establishing ground rules, listening to others, communicating effectively.

     

    • Have students work in small groups to discuss and report out on the verbal, physical, or situational cues that indicate how others may feel.
    • Give student teams separate lists of emotions. Have them design and perform skits showing all the emotions, while the other teams try to guess what emotions were on their list.
    • Have students describe and discuss what characteristics a good friend should have and compare them to their own personal characteristics.
    • Have students dress up as characters in history or literature and act out how those individuals were feeling and how it affected their behavior.
    • Students complete a before and after comparison chart.

       

     Demonstrate respect for the uniqueness of others

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Compare and contrast unique characteristics of self and others.
    • Acknowledge that the thoughts and feelings of others may differ from self 
    • Recognize others' abilities and strengths.
    • Use cooperative learning groups to promote students working together.
    • Have students create a bulletin board showing photos of community helpers, and label how they help others.
    • Ask students to trace each other's hands and write a quality they learned about helping. Display the hands around the room as the 'helping hands.'
    • Select and adopt a classroom community service project that serves others in the school or community.
    • With students, visit school resources (e.g., nurse, counselor, secretary, etc.) to find out what services they provide Have students identify in what context they would access those services.
    • As a journal writing assignment, have students journal about ways they can help and why it is important.
    • Draw an "Impact Web," and ask students to show how their actions could potentially affect others or how a historical figure's actions affected society.
    • Have students write a letter to an adult they admire explaining why they consider them a role model.

       

       

       

     Select and utilize expressive communication strategies (e.g., tone, body language, facial expressions) with an understanding of its effect on others

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Utilize communication strategies with regard to audience.
    • Explain how non-verbal. communication may impact others.
    • Have a Compliment Day in which students give and receive three compliments.
    • Talk with students about body language and the message it portrays.
    • In groups, have students build 'towers' using only the materials provided. Have students discuss how they cooperated as a group to build the tower.
    • Help students understand that a loss can be a valuable life lesson through "teachable moments" when playing games either in class or on the playground.
    • Establish class or morning meetings that give students the opportunity to interact with each other and practice speaking and listening skills.
    • Have students read the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? Then, have students fill a class bucket with compliments for other students.
    • Give students a listening task (e.g., describe a process or task, then have students turn to a partner and explain what they heard).
    • Invite a business/industry representative to speak to the class about his/her job. Students should listen for specific skills, education or training required, rewards and challenges in the job, and should ask appropriate questions.

       

     Identify multiple ways to solve conflicts and practice solving problems

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Determine possible solutions to resolve conflicts.
    • Evaluate others' ideas on strategies to solve a conflict.
    • Acknowledge one's part in managing and resolving conflict. (e.g., staying calm, listening to all sides, being open to different solutions)

     

    • Teach students problem-solving skills and provide support as needed when they are working to resolve a conflict.
    • Observe students on the playground, noting conflicts and how they were handled. If the conflict was poorly handled, ask students to problem solve how they could modify the response.
    • Implement a peer mediation program.
    • Provide role play scenarios for students that show the causes and effects of conflicts and ways to peacefully resolve conflicts.
    • Use conflict resolution and problem-solving skills as a topic for a class meeting.
    • Have students read a story or history lesson that demonstrates conflict. Discuss the cause-and-effect relationship of the conflict and how the conflict may have been avoided.

       

       

    ​Establishing and Maintaining Relationships - Grades 6-8

     Explain how empathy and perspective taking foster relationship building.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Demonstrate empathy in a variety of settings and situations.
    • Identify situations in which stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice affects self and others.
    • Acknowledge diverse points of view.
    • Conduct class meetings in which students are given the opportunity to support each other and validate their emotions.
    • Identify professionals in the school and community that provide support for others.
    • Build diverse work groups through the use of cooperative learning and project-based learning activities.
    • Have students write alternative endings to stories through changing the behavior of one character
    • Assign students books to read such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory to recognize the value of all groups and cultures.

    Interact with others demonstrating respect, cooperation, and acceptance

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Demonstrate a variety of strategies for collaborating with others.
    • Acknowledge others' abilities and strengths.
    • Seek to understand the perspectives of others.
    • Model ways to demonstrate respect for others.

       
    • Have students read a book (e.g., The Outsiders), then discuss why the characters responded in a certain way.
    • Invite a representative from a human resources department to speak about the implications of social media on hiring practices. Have students respond by writing a social media pledge for themselves, outlining how they will use social media responsibly.
    • Students examine current or historical events from various countries and through an oral or written report shares how those countries' cultures impacted those events.

     Explain how expressive communication strategies can affect others.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Explain how clarifying questions builds better understanding between others.
    • List different styles of expression and their impact on others.
    • List different modes of expression and their impact on others.
    • Explain how to respond in a pro-active manner to peer pressure on self and others.
    • Model respectful ways to respond to others' points of views.
    • Have students discuss a topic, either as a class or in small groups, then use reflective listening to paraphrase key discussion points.

       

       
    • Have students perform different roles in cooperative learning groups (i.e., leader, recorder, reporter, time-keeper) to develop and practice communication skills.

       

     Identify conflict resolution skills to deescalate, diffuse, and resolve differences.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Use conflict resolution strategies to resolve differences in group settings.
    • Demonstrate receptiveness to others' feedback when resolving differences in opinions.
    • Explain how conflict can escalate behaviors.
    • Demonstrate flexibility in one's thinking or actions when resolving a conflict (e.g., ask for suggestions, think of alternatives; adapt to unexpected changes).
    • Have students discuss how actions may impact create conflict for others, (e.g., spreading rumors, use of social media, wrongful accusations).
    • Provide students with a six -step approach to resolve conflict: 1) cool off; 2) use "I" messages; 3) restate the conflict; 4) take responsibility; 5) brainstorm solutions; and, 6) affirm, forgive, or thank.
    • Ask students to identify at least one person to provide support when dealing with a conflict.
    • Conduct class debates over a particular issue that must end in a win-win for the class to be successful.
    • Have students write and perform conflict resolution skits.
    • Have students research and write a paper on how conflict resolution is portrayed in the media.

    ​Establishing and Maintaining Relationships - Grades 9-12

     Establish pro-social relationships to support self and others.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Communicate clearly, effectively, and with reason.
    • Select strategies for building and maintaining relationships.
    • Demonstrate cooperation, consensus building and collaboration skills.

     

    • Hold class debates in which peers provide constructive feedback to the speakers on their use of tone and delivery.
    • Help students develop a growth mindset by providing feedback on effort over results, being persistent, and facing challenges as an opportunity.
    • Teach about the difference between assertive, aggressive, and passive behavior.
    • Hold regular class meetings or advisory times to build class unity and empowerment for students.
    • Conduct a Socratic seminar on a selected text on stereotyping and/or prejudice of others.
    • Provide opportunities for students to role play situations in which they must manage their emotions and behaviors constructively. For example, best friends apply to the same college, and one is accepted and the other is not.  How do they support each other and maintain the relationship?

     Explain how you situate yourself in a diverse community.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Describe ways to adjust and express one's views specific to a setting.
    • Identify one's potential roles in a variety of diverse settings.

     

    • Do pair-shares in which one student must tell their partner's perspective on an issue.
    • Have students interview other peers to discover what they have in common both within and outside the school.

       

       
    • As a classroom project, have students develop a public service announcement advertising extracurricular activities at school, and include how that activity can prepare students for college and/or careers and why students should join.
    • Have students' select and participate in a cross-cultural learning activity in their school or community that includes a reflection activity about what they learned.

     Select expressive communication strategies specific to context.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Select a style of expression specific to context.
    • Select a mode of expression specific to context.
    • Adapt to the communication styles of others.

     

    • Ask students to participate in an integrity analysis to help determine if behavior aligns with their personal core principles. Reflect on results and how they will influence career choices.
    • Invite students to keep a personal journal.
    • Have students write an advice column about the influence of media and peers on one's decisions.
    • Have students play a game where the rules are unfair in some way. Discuss students' behaviors and feelings in playing the game.
    • Have students review three different current news reports about the same event, comparing and contrasting the perspective each report brings to the story

     Evaluate a situation to identify skills and strategies to prevent and resolve conflicts.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Apply a strategy to resolve conflict with regard to the context of a situation.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of a specific strategy as related to its outcome.
    • Collaborate with others to create an environment that preempts conflicts and creates an environment of respect.
    • Determine occasions in which logical fallacies, bias, hypocrisy, contradiction, ambiguity, distortion, and rationalization are apparent.
    • Provide students with a six-step approach to resolve conflict: 1) cool off; 2) use "I" messages; 3) restate the conflict; 4) take responsibility; 5) brainstorm solutions; and 6) affirm, forgive, or thank.
    • In a class meeting, have students select a problem or conflict and take an active role in resolving the issue.
    • As a class, develop a resource map of adults, counselors, and youth-serving professionals who students can utilize to assist in resolving conflicts and/or problems.
    • Teach students a formula for making good decisions (e.g., stop, calm down, identify the problem, consider the alternatives, make a choice, try it out, re-evaluate).
    • As a class project, have students' research processes available in a workplace to help resolve conflicts between employees.

       

    Social Problem-Solving Engagement Resources

    ​Social Problem-Solving Skills -
    Pre K - K

    Acknowledge the consequences of choices

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Explain how actions have an impact on self and others.
    • Explain school rules and consequences.
    • Identify how self-care practices affect oneself.
    • Provide opportunities for children to contribute to rule making.
    • Offer opportunities to discuss reasons for having rules.
    • Post rules visually created by students in the classroom.
    • Model and teach a variety of decision-making strategies. (e.g., vocabulary associated with decision-making strategies and consequences).
    • Provide reminders of rules and consequences when students test the rules.
    • Demonstrate application of school rules in all areas of the school.
    • Use natural consequences (e.g., falling due to running in the classroom.
    • Utilize children's literature to predict and discuss how choices affect the outcome of the story. Use questions such as, "What if the character did this instead…would the outcome be different?"

     

     Identify similarities and differences of various social contexts

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Transition between places and people with minimal distress.
    • Apply behavioral rules to new situations.
    • Adjust to changes in routines and activities.

       
    • Discuss expectations of differing environments. (e.g., library, hallway, restroom, cafeteria, classroom, outside).
    •  Discuss expectations of a new or unfamiliar environment or situation (e.g., field trip, classroom visitor).
    • Model appropriate behavior.
    •  Provide consistent rules and expectations in classroom environment.
    • Encourage families to provide consistent rules and expectations in home environment.
    • Provide literacy experiences related to socially acceptable ways to behave in different places.

     Recognize and respond to the feelings of others

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify cues that may indicate what others are feeling.
    • Respond with empathy to others.
    • Offer assistance when someone needs help.

     

    • Encourage peers to help one another rather than offering adult assistance.
    • Identify and describe other people's feelings, including use of nonverbal cues.
    • Read and discuss books about empathy.
    • Provide specific feedback and acknowledgement on students' efforts to help others.
    • Have students create a gratitude collage about the people and things in their life they are grateful for.

    ​Social Problem-Solving Skills - Grades 1-5

    Identify consequences of a decision to oneself and others prior to action

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Identify possible outcomes prior to making a decision.
    • Explain how a decision's outcome will affect others.
    • Identify how self-care practices affect oneself and others.

     

    • Have students develop skits on bullying and the different roles (i.e., target of bullying, student who bullies, bystander, and defender) to present to elementary students.
    • Discuss with students what they would do when confronted with a moral dilemma (e.g., finding a lost cell phone, being with a friend who steals).
    • Bring in a guest speaker who works to prevent or investigate incidents of cyber-bullying.
    • Discuss with students logical consequences for positive and negative actions in school and in the community.
    • Have students research the influences (negative and positive) of social media and present findings either in a paper or presentation.
    • Have students identify bullying and harassment situations in history, literature, the workplace, and/or current events, and ask them to analyze the strategies used by persons involved for effectiveness.

       

     Identify possible behaviors and anticipate reaction in response to a specific social context

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Describe how one may react in familiar and unfamiliar contexts.
    • Describe how differing social settings may require different responses.

     

    • Allow students the opportunity to make decisions about appropriate class rules and identify the consequences when rules are broken.
    • Teach students to use "when-then" and "either-or" statements to determine consequences of their actions in a variety of settings.
    • Provide students with role-play scenarios on peer pressure that take place in and outside of school and discuss possible responses.
    • Have students create a chart of the pros and cons of either a personal decision or a classroom/school decision.
    • Teach students a formula for making good decisions (e.g., identify the problem, consider the alternatives, make a choice, try it out, re-evaluate)
    • Discuss consequences of making both good and poor choices in a workplace setting.
    • Read stories to students in which characters have made a choice or decision, and discuss the consequences, both positive and negative.

       

       

     Respond to others given a sense of the others' point of view

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Demonstrate active listening techniques to gain a deeper understanding of other's point of view.
    • Respond to others based on an understanding of their needs and preferences.
    • Have students work in small groups to discuss and report out on the verbal, physical, or situational cues that indicate how others may feel.
    • Give student teams separate lists of emotions. Have them design and perform skits showing all the emotions, while the other teams try to guess what emotions were on their list.
    • Discuss with students how recognizing different points of view is important for different jobs (e.g., judge, teacher, police officer, reporter, teacher, etc.).
    • Have students dress up as characters in history or literature and act out how those individuals were feeling and how it affected their behavior.

       

    ​Social Problem-Solving Skills - Grades 6-8

    Make a decision based upon anticipated consequences.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Analyze the consequences of a decision prior to making the decision.
    • Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a decision.
    • Evaluate how external influences can impact decision making.
    • Apply models of decision making. (e.g., authoritative, consensus, democratic, individual) relevant to making a decision
    • Have students write and perform their own role plays for resisting peer pressure to avoid risky behavior.
    • Help students identify and seek outside sources of information to inform decision making.
    • Have students keep a weekly planner to organize studies.
    • Teach students a formula for making good decisions (e.g., identify the problem, consider the alternatives, make a choice, try it out, re-evaluate).
    • Invite guest speakers to share with students the importance of decision-making in their job and the impact decisions made as teenagers and young adults influenced their ability to achieve career goals.
    • Have students write a reflection based on a public figure (sports, entertainment, political, historic etc.), a decision made by that figure, and the consequence(s) of that decision.

     Distinguish among various social contexts and how they impact personal feelings.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Analyze how various group dynamics affect one's feelings.
    • Analyze social situations to determine strategies to manage feelings and behavior.

     

    • Have students role play various responses to social settings: (e.g., wedding, funeral, workplace training, company party, etc.).

       

       

       

    • Have students examine global needs and participate in a discussion around what they would do to help if they were president.
    • Have students identify bullying and harassment situations in history, literature, the workplace, and/or current events, and ask them to analyze the strategies used by persons involved for effectiveness.
    • Have students write an article or paper on the impact of their involvement in a school, home, or community initiative and evaluate what they would do the same or differently. Have them reflect on how that activity might influence their career interests.

     Analyze various perspectives on a situation.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Consider others' points of view.
    • Distinguish strategies others may use when framing a perspective.
    • Explain how individual, societal and cultural differences may impact perspective.
    • Hold classroom debates where the students must prepare to both support a concept and argue against the concept.

       
    • Assign students a current topic and ask them to interview important people in their lives to gather different perspectives, opinions, and points of view. Students can then present their results either in an oral or written report.

    ​Social Problem-Solving Skills - Grades 9-12

    Evaluate consequences from a personal and civic perspective to inform decision-making.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Model integrity, ethical leadership, and effective management in making decisions.
    • Analyze how individual perspective affect decisions.
    • Analyze decisions with regard to civic roles and responsibilities.

     

    • Discuss with students the connection between their academics and future life goals.
    • Have students evaluate their postsecondary plan to align to postsecondary and career goals.
    • Provide planners for students to meet deadlines, goals, etc. 
    • Teach students a formula for making good decisions (e.g., identify the problem, consider the alternatives, make a choice, try it out, re-evaluate).
    • Review the PA Youth Risk Behavior Survey data for adolescents. Identify a pertinent issue and discuss with students strategies they could use to address the issue.
    • Utilize Sean Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens in classroom discussions and lessons.
    • Have students' interview professionals in a field of interest for a short paper on why they entered that profession and what decisions they have to make daily.
    • Involve students in youth vote and have them identify a cultural/civic group that addresses common good.

       

       

     Situate self in any social context as a means to determine a response.

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Respond with personal integrity in various social contexts.
    • Apply teamwork and leadership skills in a work setting.
    • Apply strategies to motivate, encourage, and build trust with others.
    • Demonstrate a willingness to teach/assist others in order to improve a team.
    • Ask students to participate in an integrity analysis to help determine if behavior aligns with their personal core principles. Reflect on results and how they will influence career choices.
    • Encourage students to participate in leadership programs that align with postsecondary and career goals.
    • Use current events to have students analyze how the context of that event influenced the outcome.
    • Assign student teams a research project about what community resources are available and applicable in specific situations. Include information about the educational or workplace training required to serve in those professions.

     Evaluate how societal conventions may influence the perspectives of individuals

    Performance Indicators
    The learner will:    		Supportive Practices
    The adult will:    		Teaching Strategies
    • Acknowledge diversity and respect cultural differences.
    • Evaluate how societal and cultural norms and mores influence personal interactions.
    • Evaluate the impact of diverse perspectives for the purpose of engaging others.

     

    • Have students participate in culturally sensitive conflict resolution/mediation training

       
    • Use literary text to analyze how characters respond to setting.
    • Use informational text to analyze current international news and how situations and culture reflect the point of view.
    • Assign students a short research paper in which they compare the outcome of a social issue from various perspectives.
    • Evaluate text from the perspective of how society impacts action (e.g., Romeo and Juliet vs. West Side Story).

    A Career Ready Graduate

    Pennsylvania 21st Century graduates possess the knowledge, abilities, and habits to enter and complete postsecondary education and move to a successful career. To achieve this outcome, students must possess robust employability skills. Students must be able to communicate, solve problems, think critically, persevere, set goals and work in teams. These employability skills are essential to equipping students to pursue their career opportunities with confidence and contribute positively to their communities. The chart below illustrates the direct connection of the PA Career Ready Skills to those robust employability skills needed for employment and adult life, thus, equipping students to pursue their career opportunities with confidence and contribute positively to their communities. The chart below illustrates the direct connection of the PA Career Ready Skills to those robust employability skills needed for employment and adult life.

    Career Ready SkillsRelated Employability Skills
    Self-Awareness & Self-Management
    Recognize and regulate emotions    		Respect, Dependability & Reliability, Communication, Professionalism, Teamwork, Integrity, Business Fundamentals, Adaptability, Initiative, Planning & Organizing
    Establishing and Maintaining Relationships
    Communicate and collaborate amongst diversity    		Problem Solving, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Integrity, Teamwork, Adaptability, Professionalism, Communication, Respect
    Social Problem-Solving Skills
    Demonstrate empathy and respectful choice    		Teamwork, Integrity, Communication, Respect, Customer Focus, Critical Thinking, Professionalism, Reading, Writing, Problem Solving

    Continuum

    The PA CRS continuum describes what students should know and do from Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. The PA CRS Continuum is organized by domain and related employability skills, skill and grade level band.  To view the progression of a specific skill from Pre-K through grade 12, move across the continuum horizontally by skill.   To view all skills within a specific grade level band, view the skills horizontally.  A student should acquire each Career Ready Skill by the end of the grade level band.

    Skills in the Classroom

    The PA Career Ready Skills provide a target for instruction for all educators, stakeholders, families, and communities. These skills are not a curriculum but are to be used as a foundation for creating or reinforcing curriculum that is specific to each LEA's student population; they transcend grade levels and content areas. Career Ready Skills are not meant to be an area to be scheduled and addressed, but infused, promoted, modeled and expected throughout the family, school, and community in every aspect of a student's day. Multiple opportunities for practice and a variety of assessment strategies need to be utilized for students to internalize these skills.

    Integrating these skills into the classroom does not call for a shift "from" academics "to" social and personal learning but rather is a process of creating a school and classroom community that is supportive, and responsive to the social and personal needs of all students and staff. If students are embedded in a learning process that gives them exposure to and practice with using PA Career Ready Skills with fidelity, they are much more likely to acquire and apply these skills over the course of their academic and non-academic lives. Schools that incorporate them will show increased academic achievement, improved positive social behaviors, and a decrease in conduct problems and behavior interventions.

    Changing Structure of 21st Century Education

    The type of skills required of our 21st Century graduates has shifted from 20th Century rote memorization tasks and tasks related to mastery of content to the ability to analyze and synthesize information, solve problems, take risks and communicate complex thoughts and work with others from varied backgrounds and cultures and more. Similarly, graduates entering the workforce are required to interact and think on a far more sophisticated level than those of employees of the 20th Century. The ability to analyze and solve problems, communicate clearly across multiple forms of media as well as collaborating as a part of a team are needed for jobs of all types.

    ​Subject​20th Century Model
    		​21st Century Model
    Math
    • Memorization of low-level procedures
    • Pattern recognition
    • Ability to perform calculations by hand
    • Speed
    • Accuracy
    • Ability to perform well under pressure
    • Deeply understanding the problem
    • Structuring the problem and representing it symbolically
    • Creative problem solving
    • Pattern recognition to understand which math tools are relevant
    • Adept use of computational resources
    • Critical evaluation of first-pass results
    • Estimation, statistics, and decision-making
    • Taking chances, risking failure, and iterating to refine and perfect
    • Synthesizing results
    • Presenting/communicating complex quantitative information
    • Collaboration
    • Asking questions about complex quantitative information
    Language Arts
    • Clear penmanship
    • Proper spelling and grammar
    • Sound vocabulary
    • Ability to read written materials (novels, poems, plays)
    • Ability to write in complete sentences
    • Use sound vocabulary
    • Read a wide variety of written materials (novels, poems, plays, essays, news) critically
    • Communicate clearly across multiple media forms, with a range of styles
    • Form and justify independent bold perspectives
    • Ask thoughtful questions
    • Engage in constructive debate
    History
    • Coverage of important events and figures
    • Ability to recall important historical facts
    • Write short essays clearly recounting historical information
    • Critically analyze historical events and sources
    • Form independent views on dynamics and implications
    • Write clear and thought-provoking theses
    • Ask questions and engage in historical debate
    • Relate historical developments to current issues shaping the world we live in
    Science
    • Cover core disciplines – physics, chemistry, biology
    • Cover key definitions, formulas, and concepts
    • Gain familiarity with basic lab procedures
    • Understand how the world works
    • Be able to form and test scientific hypotheses
    • Be able to ask insightful questions and design experiments
    • Build things based on scientific principles
    • Apply principles across disciplines
    • Develop scientific creativity

    Appendix A: Family Engagement Resources

    Parent Toolkit
    The 5 SEL Skills are broken down in ages from Pre-K to post high school and provide practical advice through resources.

    CASEL in the Home
    CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning) is the nationally recognized Social Emotional Learning platform that supports families being involved in their children’s learning.  

    Parent Cue Cards
    Great Schools provides common challenges parent’s might have around various social and emotional issues

    Getting Smart
    Site includes informational content with supportive practices for parents as it pertains to SEL, including blogs and a weekly newsletter.

    Confident Parents, Confident Kids
    The site includes blogs, articles, and book lists for parents actively supporting kids' social and emotional development for every age group.

    Harvard Graduate School of Education
    Harvard’s activities guide for children (birth through adolescence) includes practices for schools to engage families in SEL and for families to use at home to extend SEL learning. 

    Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
    The website provides tip sheets from zero to three, parent training modules including presentations, story scripts and relationship activities (available in Spanish).  

    Educating the Heart
    This website focuses on educating the heart and the mind with resources that include parental guidance and teacher lesson plans

    Center for the Promotion of Social and Emotional Learning
    This central site provides a variety of practical resources, including toolkits and playbooks. 

    PINTEREST Social and Emotional Learning
    Pinterest includes visually appealing simple and powerful messages as it pertains to SEL, as well as activities for the classroom and home.

    Ideas and Tools for Working with Parents and Families
    CASEL and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory for Student Success developed this guide to offer practical information on how schools, administrators, and teachers can support families in social and emotional learning opportunities with their children.

    Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning: Collaborating Districts
    This resource is designed as a comprehensive site to support LEAs and schools with each phase of implementation.

    Center on Great Teachers and Leaders: The SEL School: Connecting Social Emotional Learning to Effective Teaching
    This website provides tools to facilitate implementation of social emotional learning in classrooms.

    The CASEL Guide to Schoolwide Social and Emotional Learning
    The online guide provides school-specific tools for the planning, implementation, and improvement of SEL skills integrated in classrooms around three areas:  Organize, Implement, and Improve

    Appendix B: I CAN Statements

    A. Self-Awareness and Self-Management

    PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    The learner will…    		​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    I CAN…
    ​Recognize and label basic feelings.
    • ​Recognize and label feelings (e.g., frustrated, anxious, embarrassed)
    • Name feelings of self and others in real or imagined situations
    • ​Recognize when I am happy, sad, mad, etc.
    • Communicate when I am happy, sad, mad, etc.
    Demonstrate awareness of self and one's own preferences.
    • ​State independent thoughts and feelings.
    • Name one's own abilities and accomplishments
    • Make choices based on personal preferences
    • Demonstrate awareness of self and one's own preferences
    • ​Say what I like
    • Share about me
    ​Distinguish between situations that elicit positive or negative feelings.
    • ​Identify one's feelings specific to a context
    • Express preferred and non-preferred activities
    • Identify challenging situations
    • ​Tell you what makes me happy and what makes me sad
    • Tee you when I am having a hard time
    ​Express a want and the means to achieve it.
    • ​Establish goals independently
    • Sequence steps needed to accomplish goals
    • ​Say what I want
    • Tell you how I try to get what I want (e.g., first, I do; next, I do)

     

    PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)​PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    The learner will…    		​PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    I CAN…
    Identify different ways of expressing a feeling.
    • ​Identify a variety of ways to respond to a feeling
    • Identify and express feelings that are appropriate to the situation
    • Identify and express feelings in multiple ways (e.g., gestures, actions, language or drawing)
    • Discuss the relationship of emotions and behaviors
    • ​Identify strategies to respond to a feeling
    • Express my feelings in different ways based on the situation
    • Share the different ways to respond to a situation
    • Explain how my feelings guide my behavior
    ​Identify one's own strengths, needs, and preferences.
    • ​Express one's own needs and wants within a context
    • Select activities based on personal preferences
    • Identify personal strengths as a member of a group
    • ​Express my needs and wants in different settings
    • Select activities that I enjoy
    • Name tasks I am good at doing to help a group
    • Apply my strengths in a group setting
    ​Select coping skill strategies in response to adverse situations (e.g., positive self-talk, talking to others, taking a break, taking care of oneself, avoiding negative self-talk)
    • ​Identify a coping skill when faced with adversity
    • Demonstrate persistence in solving challenging situations.
    • Use prior knowledge to accomplish a challenging task
    • ​Describe how I can help myself through a challenge
    • Stick to a challenging task
    • Use my past experience to help me solve a challenging task
    Distinguish among and set short term, mid-range, and long-term goals.
    • ​Discriminate between short and long-term goals
    • Identify preliminary short and long-term goals related to individual and career interests
    • Adopt strategies to meet short and long-term goals
    • ​Differentiate between a short and long- term goal
    • Identify short- and long-term goals to help me in career planning
    • Make plans to help me now and in the future pursue my career interests

    B. Establishing and Maintaining Relationships

    ​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    The learner will…    		​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    I CAN…
    Interact in pro-social ways (e.g., reciprocal conversation, turn taking, sharing) with peers and adults.
    • ​Engage in reciprocal conversation with familiar peers and adults
    • Respond to familiar adult's questions and directions
    • Interact with others for a purpose
    • Play cooperatively for a sustained period of time
    • Respect feelings and belongings of others
    • Help
    • Share
    • Take turns
    • Answer adults' questions and follow directions
    • Play with my friends for 20 minutes or more
    • Accept when others are happy, sad, mad, etc.
    • Accept that others have items that belong to them
    ​Identify similarities and differences between self and others.
    • ​Identify specific characteristics of self and others
    • Classify similarities between self and others
    • Demonstrate respect for children's difference. (e.g., including differences in thoughts and feelings)
    • Label personal characteristics
    • ​Explain what is the same and different between others and me
    • Understand and accept that others look different from me
    • Describe how I look and talk
    ​Engage in reciprocal communication with peers and adults
    • ​Provide responses related to topic posed by adults and peers
    • Communicate using detail related to topic
    • Allow wait time before responding
    • Engage in turn taking when communicating with others
    • ​Interact and respond to my friends
    • Interact and respond to adults
    • Take turns when talking to others
    Recognize that conflict occurs and identify ways to respond.
    • ​Use words and actions to express one's own desires in ways that respect others
    • Identify a problem and discuss possible solutions
    • Solve simple conflicts with peers (e.g., share, take turns, apologize, try something else, ask for help)
    • Use words to negotiate conflicts before seeking help
    • ​Use my words and actions in a kind way to share what I want
    • Identify a problem and how I might solve it
    • Share things
    • Take turns
    • Try something new
    • Ask for help

     

    PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)​PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    The learner will…    		​PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    I CAN…
    ​Explain ways to establish relationships that are positive and supportive of others.
    • ​Identify strategies to build relationships
    • Describe how pro-social behavior builds positive and supportive relationships
    • Identify effective individual and group interactions (e.g. consensus building, establishing ground rules, listening to others, communicating effectively)
    • Explain how to build relationships
    • Explain how positive actions build healthy relationships
    • Describe helpful strategies in interactions others
    ​Demonstrate respect for the uniqueness of others.
    • ​Compare and contrast unique characteristics of self and others
    • Acknowledge that the thoughts and feelings of others may differ from self
    • Recognize others' abilities and strengths
    • ​Explain how I am similar and unique from others
    • Accept that others may think and feel differently than I do
    • Identify strengths of others
    Select and utilize expressive communication strategies (e.g., tone, body language, facial expressions) with an understanding of its effect on others.
    • ​Utilize communication strategies with regard to audience
    • Explain how non-verbal communication may impact others
    • ​Vary my communication to meet needs of audience
    • Explain how my body language can send a message
    ​Identify multiple ways to solve conflicts and practice solving problems.
    • ​Determine possible solutions to resolve conflicts
    • Evaluate others' ideas on strategies to solve a conflict
    • Acknowledge one's part in managing and resolving conflict (e.g., staying calm, listening to all sides, being open to different solutions)
    • ​List different ways to solve a conflict
    • Consider people's ideas on how to solve a conflict
    • Identify strategies to resolve a conflict

    C. Social Problem-Solving Skills

    ​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)​PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    The learner will…    		PA CRS Grade Band (PK-K)
    I CAN…
    ​Acknowledge the consequences of choices.
    • ​Explain how actions have an impact on self and others
    • Explain school rules and consequences
    • Identify how self-care practices affect oneself
    • ​Describe how my actions can affect others
    • Explain what school rules mean
    • Explain how my taking care of myself makes others feel
    ​Identify similarities and differences of various social contexts.
    • Transition between places and people with minimal distress
    • Apply behavioral rules to new situations
    • Adjust to changes in routines and activities
    • ​Move calmly from place to place during the school day
    • Follow different rules in different classrooms
    ​Recognize and respond to the feelings of others.
    • Identify cues that may indicate what others are feeling
    • Respond with empathy to others
    • Offer assistance when someone needs help
    • ​Identify the feelings of others (e.g., happy, sad, mad)
    • React with kindness to the feelings of peers and adults
    • Help others in need

     

    PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)​PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    The learner will…    		PA CRS Grade Band (1-5)
    I CAN…
    ​Identify consequences of a decision to oneself and others prior to action.
    • Identify possible outcomes prior to making a decision
    • Explain how a decision's outcome will affect others
    • Identify how self-care practices affect oneself and others
    • Anticipate how a situation can play out before making decision
    • Explain how a decision can affect others
    • Explain how taking care of myself affects myself and others
    ​Identify possible behaviors and anticipate reaction in response to a specific social context.
    • Describe how one may react in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
    • Describe how differing social settings may require different responses
    • Describe how a setting may alter my behavior
    Respond to others given a sense of the others' point of view.
    • Demonstrate active listening techniques to gain a deeper understanding of other's point of view
    • Respond to others based on an understanding of their needs and preferences
    • Listen to others to gain an understanding of their perspective
    • Demonstrate that I am listening to others' point of view.
    • Acknowledge needs of others as I interact with them

    A. Self-Awareness and Self-Management

    PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)
    The learner will…    		I CAN…

    Identify behavioral expressions of feelings within a context.

     

    • Communicate in ways that demonstrate respect for the feelings of self and others
    • Adapt one's communication with regard to context
    • Adapt one's communication with regard to the needs of others
    • Describe how expressing emotions may impact others
    • Identify others' feelings and communicate in a respectful manner
    • Employ language and tone fitting for the situation
    • Respond to others based upon their perceived needs
    • Identify how others are impacted when communicating an emotional message

    Explain to others one's own strengths, needs, and preferences specific to a context.

     

    • Explain how personal strengths align to career pathways
    • Contribute in group/team activities utilizing one's strengths
    • Identify characteristics of effective teams and how one contributes to team efforts
    • Identify strategies to secure support based on needs and wants
    • Identify my personal strengths and how they relate to career pathways
    • Participate in work groups and apply my strengths to the group effort
    • Identify when help is needed to support an effort

    Identify and evaluate distractors that impact reaching ones' goals.

     

    • Identify and manage common distractors and the means to overcome them.
    • Analyze and evaluate alternative strategies in meeting goals
    • Stay focused on meeting my goals when faced with challenges
    • Create new or revised pathways to meet a goal when necessary

     

    PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)
    The learner will…    		I CAN…
    Evaluate behaviors in relation to the impact on self and others.
    • Evaluate how self-esteem and self-image impact relationships
    • Self-assess one's actions and their effects on others
    • Adapt to others' working styles
    • Collaborate in a team setting by creating an environment that supports consensus
    • Identify how my self-esteem and actions affects others
    • Identify how my actions affect others
    •  Adapt different work styles relative to a situation
    • Collaborate with others to demonstrate support
    Advocate for oneself in education, employment, and within the community.
    • Promote one's strengths
    • Demonstrate initiative and self-direction in planning for employability
    • Utilize a strategy to secure support when needed
    • Apply my strengths to advance myself
    • Initiate a plan to get a job
    • Seek support based on a need
    Establish and pursue goals or post- secondary education, employment, and living within the community.
    • Create a plan for adult living that reflects interests, skills, and aptitudes
    • Identify my skills and talents to create a plan for adult living

    B. Establishing and Maintaining Relationships

    ​PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)​PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)
    The learner will…    		​I CAN…

    Explain how empathy and perspective taking foster relationship building.

     

    • Demonstrate empathy in a variety of settings and situations
    • Identify situations in which stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice affects self and others
    • Acknowledge diverse points of view
    • Analyze a situation and show compassion appropriate to the situation
    • Analyze a situation to determine how to respond when confronted with negative feelings
    • Identify the perspectives of others when assessing a relationship and determine how to respond

    Interact with others demonstrating respect, cooperation, and acceptance.

     

    • Demonstrate a variety of strategies for collaborating with others
    • Acknowledge others' abilities and strengths
    • Seek to understand the perspectives of others
    • Identify strategies to support effective interactions with others
    • Work with others with an understanding of their strengths and needs

    Explain how expressive communication strategies can affect others.

     

    • Explain how clarifying questions builds better understanding between others
    • List different styles of expression and their impact on others
    • List different modes of expression and their impact on others
    • Explain how to respond in a pro-active manner to peer pressure on self and others
    • Model respectful ways to respond to others' points of views
    • Ask questions to better analyze a situation when working with others
    • Apply suitable communication strategy to match the situation
    • Respond to others' points of view in a respectful manner

    Identify conflict resolution skills to deescalate, diffuse, and resolve differences.

     

    • Use conflict resolution strategies to resolve differences in group settings
    • Demonstrate receptiveness to others' feedback when resolving differences in opinions
    • Explain how conflict can escalate behaviors
    • Demonstrate flexibility in one's thinking or actions when resolving a conflict (e.g., ask for suggestions, think of alternatives; adapt to unexpected changes)
    • Identify conflict resolution strategies and how they can be used to solve a problem
    • Accept feedback and apply the knowledge constructively in resolving a conflict
    • Describe behaviors that increase conflict
    • Describe strategies I can use to alter my thinking when faced with a conflict

     

    ​PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)​PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)
    The learner will…    		​I CAN…
    Establish pro-social relationships to support self and others.
    • Communicate clearly, effectively, and with reason
    • Select strategies for building and maintaining relationships
    • Demonstrate cooperation, consensus building and collaboration skills
    • Apply strategies to engage in effective communication
    • Employ strategies I can use to build and maintain positive relationships
    Explain how you situate yourself in a diverse community.
    • Describe ways to adjust and express one's views specific to a setting
    • Identify one's potential roles in a variety of diverse settings
    • Identify situations where I would modify/express myself differently based upon the setting
    Select expressive communication strategies specific to context.
    • Select a style of expression specific to context
    • Select a mode of expression specific to context
    • Adapt to the communication styles of others
    • Express myself appropriate to a context
    • Communicate with others regardless of their style of communication (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, different language)
    Evaluate a situation to identify skills and strategies to prevent and resolve conflicts.
    • Apply a strategy to resolve conflict with regard to the context of a situation
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of a specific strategy as related to its outcome
    • Collaborate with others to create an environment that preempts conflicts and creates an environment of respect
    • Determine occasions in which logical fallacies, bias, hypocrisy, contradiction, ambiguity, distortion, and rationalization are apparent
    • Identify two conflict resolution strategies and when I can use them
    • Analyze a conflict and evaluate the effectiveness of a conflict resolution strategy
    • Assess a situation to identify logical fallacies, bias, hypocrisy, contradiction, ambiguity, distortion, and rationalization

    C. Social Problem-Solving Skills

    PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)PA CRS Grade Band (6-8)
    The learner will…    		I CAN…

    Make a decision based upon anticipated consequences.

    • Analyze the consequences of a decision prior to making the decision
    • Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a decision
    • Evaluate how external influences can impact decision making
    • Apply models of decision making (e.g., authoritative, consensus, democratic, individual) relevant to making a decision
    • Describe the possible impact of a decision to determine the desired outcome
    • Evaluate the plusses and minuses of an impending decision
    • Describe how the environment can influence a decision
    • Identify decision making skills that help me make an informed decision

    Distinguish among various social contexts and how they impact personal feelings.

    • Analyze how various group dynamics affect one's feelings
    • Analyze social situations to determine strategies to manage feelings and behavior
    • Evaluate how individuals and groups may impact my feelings

    Analyze various perspectives on a situation.

     

    • Consider others' points of view
    • Distinguish strategies others may use when framing a perspective
    • Explain how individual, societal and cultural differences may impact perspective
    • Acknowledge the points of view of others and how they may differ from mine
    • Describe how my background and beliefs affect my perspective on a situation

     

    PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)PA CRS Grade Band (9-12)
    The learner will…    		I CAN…

    Evaluate consequences from a personal and civic perspective to inform decision- making.

     

    • Model integrity, ethical leadership, and effective management in making decisions
    • Analyze how individual perspective affect decisions
    • Analyze decisions with regard to civic roles and responsibilities
    • Make honest decisions with an objective perspective
    • Identify personal factors affecting my decision making
    • Identify factors from a civic perspective that impact decision making
    Situate self in any social context as a means to determine a response.
    • Respond with personal integrity in various social contexts
    • Apply teamwork and leadership skills in a work setting
    • Apply strategies to motivate, encourage, and build trust with others
    • Demonstrate a willingness to teach/assist others in order to improve a team
    • Analyze a situation and react/respond in a professional and respectful manner
    • Demonstrate  leadership skills when working on a team
    • Employ motivational strategies with others
    • Assess a team's need and offer constructive feedback
    Evaluate how societal conventions may influence the perspectives of individuals.
    • Acknowledge diversity and respect cultural differences
    • Evaluate how societal and cultural norms and mores influence personal interactions
    • Evaluate the impact of diverse perspectives for the purpose of engaging others
    • Respect diverse perspectives and respond objectively
    • Identify the social context of a situation and how they impact my behavior

    Acknowledgements

    The Career Ready Skills and accompanying toolkit are the result of the concerted efforts of dedicated educators and researchers.  A special thank you is extended to the core team, comprised of representation from the following agencies: Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning (OCDEL); Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN); Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; Pennsylvania Keys; PDE Bureau of Career and Technical Education; PDE Office for Safe Schools, PDE Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction; and Berks County Intermediate Unit 14.

    The following groups or agencies are recognized for their review of content and invaluable input: Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania School Counselors Association, Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation; Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology; Washington Greene County Job Training Agency, Inc.; Pennsylvania CareerLink; Social and Economic Development Association (SEDA) Council of Governments;  Monroe County District Justice; Disability Rights PA;  Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3; Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Pennsylvania Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health; TriStarr Staffing, Recruiting and Consulting; Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations; Reflective Wisdom, Inc.; and Health Care Connect: Youth Career Exploration Programs.

    Also recognized for their ongoing assistance and support are the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, American Institutes for Research:  Center for Great Leaders and Teachers, The Collaborative for Education and Social Emotional Collaborating States Partnership (CASEL) and, The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

    Most important, a special thanks to the many Pennsylvania administrators, counselors, classroom teachers, and parents who provided valuable feedback on the skills and their relevance to supporting development of employability skills.

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