The William S. Hart Union High School District will hold a special meeting Wednesday regarding two programs meant to help students better prepare themselves for future careers.

The Common Core State Standards implementation plan is meant to set a universal expectation of students across the country, said Vicki Engbrecht, Hart district assistant superintendent for educational services.

“Up until now every state had its own content standards that talked about what students should do in every grade level, this change is substantial it creates common as it creates common expectations for math, literacy, language and arts,” Engbrecht said.

 

Implementation will begin in the 2014/15 school year and will be followed by a new version of the yearly assessment test, she said.

“Students will now take it online and be asked to use different sources,” Engbrecht said.  “There’s less multiple choice and more data and info they’ll have to analyze and evaluate it.”

Engbrecht said the advantages include getting students familiar with using technology that they will need in their future careers to get results faster, sometimes almost instantaneously.

Expansion of the District Careers Pathway program will also be discussed at the meeting.

The program is meant to help students find their passion in life by helping them work directly with industry professionals, such as cosmetology, tomorrow’s presentation will discuss the implementation of 13 new programs and the possible closure of some active ones, said Joe Messina, Hart district school board president.

“We’ll take a look at what’s working and what are not,” Messina said. “It’s a tweaking, a cleanup, and tune up of the program.”

The special meeting will be held at the Administrative Center at 21525 Centre Pointe Parkway at 5:30 p.m.