Muskego-Norway outlines expanded Academic and Career Planning; students describe paid work and apprenticeship steps

On Jan. 13, 2025, Muskego-Norway School District staff and students updated the school board on the district's Academic and Career Planning (ACP) and Education for Employment work, describing monthly career lessons, employer visits and student work and apprenticeship experiences.

The district said ACP is delivered at each grade level through structured lessons and adviser relationships, and that the program aims to give students exposure to career clusters, postsecondary options and workplace skills. "We developed an ACP committee and kicked off our monthly Timber Wolf Pathfinder lessons in 2023," Lake Denoon counselor Pam Grohl told the board.

District presenters said ACP has four continuing goals: a monthly, schoolwide lesson sequence; building staff knowledge of the Xello platform and ACP practices; offering experiential opportunities such as tours and worksite visits; and improving family engagement through events and student-led conferences. Grohl said the monthly lessons run on Fridays before lunch for 45 minutes so students can continue conversations during the school day.

Middle-school and high-school staff described a range of on‑site experiences tied to career clusters. Grohl recounted 8th-grade visits in November to Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) and to two businesses; she identified career fair speakers including the Waukesha County executive, a lawyer, a physical therapist, a vet tech and an air-traffic controller. Muskego Lakes counselor Jim Rickwick said his building's community day dedicates a half day to ACP and that the 8th-grade career fair this year included 13 professionals from the surrounding community.

At the high school, counselors said the program pairs students with the same adviser across four years, and the district reported that this year's high-school career fair had 59 businesses participating. "Some of these businesses are actually looking to hire when they come into our building," a high-school counselor said, noting the fair also connects students to internships, certifications and college-credit opportunities.

Students who attended employer visits and gained employment or internships described next steps. A.J. Glecky, Emma Mauer and Sofia Trezise (8th graders) spoke about visits to welding and plastics companies and to WCTC. One student, Lucas, described applying and interviewing: "I interviewed with Koelo in April and I was offered a job. I've been working with them doing concrete foundations since June. I plan to continue at Koelo until I am accepted into the apprenticeship program to the union." Another student described a part‑time public‑works job arranged through a school connection that allowed him to combine work and school this year and maintain straight A's.

Presenters said the district is adding industry-recognized certifications and sustaining ties to technical colleges and local employers so students can earn credentials while in high school and enter college, technical school, the military or employment upon graduation. Board members praised the program and asked staff to continue expanding options where local labor shortages exist, including allied‑health and technical roles.

The district said it will host ACP-focused student-led spring conferences in May 2025 and will continue collecting longitudinal data to track postsecondary outcomes.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke at the Jan. 13 meeting; quotes and details are drawn from district presentations and student remarks recorded in the meeting transcript.