District outlines K–12 college and career plan: Xello, BizTown pilots and a paraprofessional apprenticeship launch

Kim Sharping, the district’s coordinator of student support services and office of Indian education, summarized 2025–26 goals to expand CTE Academy enrollment, extend STEM work at Marcel Lab, expand middle-school CLCs, grow dual-credit and work-based learning partnerships, and improve the registration website to make personal learning plans more usable for families.

Renee Oines, the district’s K–12 career counselor (and half-time high-school counselor at the CTE Academy), described tools and services that create continuity from kindergarten through postsecondary launch, including Xello, the district’s career-exploration and planning platform. "A big one is Xello," she said, describing it as a resource students can use to explore interests and plan courses.

At the elementary level, Carmen Machin (Discovery Elementary) described classroom counseling lessons, one-time Career Cafe events with community partners and a new mascot activity intended to put careers in front of nearly 900 elementary students. At the middle-school level, staff highlighted BizTown pilots for sixth graders, JA Finance Park for seventh graders and the JA Inspire event for eighth graders; Rachel Anderson (Ben Bridal Middle School) described using Xello’s career matchmaker with eighth graders and preparing them for career-cluster visits.

At the high-school level, counselors are moving freshman career day to the fall to inform course registration and four-year plans earlier. Presenters described dual-credit opportunities with Southeast Tech and partnerships including Junior Achievement, Promising Futures, Talent Search (University of South Dakota) and Upward Bound (SDSU). Renee said the district completed paperwork to launch 20 paraprofessional apprenticeship students this semester with Dakota State University and the Department of Labor, a program she described as portable beyond the district.

Board members raised operational questions about counselor caseloads (about 25.5 high-school counselors districtwide), parent access to personal learning plans (maintained in Infinite Campus with parent/guardian view access), and expanding BizTown beyond a single pilot school (administrators said they plan districtwide rollout after the pilot). Presenters emphasized that teachers, counselors and community partners will coordinate to identify and support students who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

District leaders said survey results from 2025 show 64 percent of seniors plan to attend a four-year university, 23 percent plan two-year postsecondary institutions, 2 percent plan military service, 8 percent plan to enter the workforce and 2 percent are undecided, indicating most seniors leave with a plan.

The district said it will continue outreach to families, strengthen partnerships and monitor caseloads as it scales programming.