Career counselors may be needed more than ever in the coming years now that at least one state is emphasizing their role more at the grade school level. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Wisconsin's new model standards for school counseling now include giving seventh and eighth graders an opportunity to lay out long-term plans based on their own personal interests. Along with taking a look at the high school courses that will await them, students across the state also learn about extracurricular and other activities that would be consistent with their career interests. "If you wait until they get into high school to consider whether they want to go to college, their time is up," said Reginald Slaughter of the Milwaukee College Preparatory School. The charter school serves students from kindergarten through 8th grade, but gives those students an opportunity to have an early look at colleges in Wisconsin and other states. "Elementary school counselors don't work in isolation; rather they are integral to the total educational program," says the American School Counselor Association website.  |