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Modesto City Schools launches 'Map Your Mission' to expand college and career readiness districtwide
Summary
District leaders unveiled "Map Your Mission," a districtwide college-and-career readiness strategy centered on eight pathways and a Schoolinks planning platform that will expand from high school down to third grade and add bilingual communications and family engagement.
Amanda Shroyer, senior director of school leadership for Modesto City Schools, presented a new district initiative called "Map Your Mission" on Sept. 8, 2025, describing it as the district's unified approach to preparing students for life after high school. The program pairs a public-facing campaign with Schoolinks, a digital planning platform, and aims to make eight separate readiness pathways clear and accessible to students and families.
Shroyer said the goal is "not simply for students to graduate, but to graduate truly ready with skills, confidence, and the readiness to take charge of their next steps." She told the board the framework is aligned with district goals and the California state college-and-career indicators and is designed to preserve A-G coursework while expanding options such as CTE pathways, dual enrollment and the state seal of biliteracy.
Schoolinks, the district's student-planning system, is already live at grades 7-12, the presentation said, and the district plans to expand the platform to third grade this year so families and counselors can build four-year plans and monitor milestones earlier. Ryan Reynolds, senior director of assessment and evaluation, described Schoolinks features that sync to PowerSchool, enable parent accounts and produce district reports to identify where students need outreach.
The presentation included an explainer video and a suite of bilingual materials. Linda Muma Solorio, the district's public information officer, said communications will deploy the video and 16 pathway-specific clips in English and Spanish, plus classroom posters and one-page handouts with QR links to resources.
Trustees and members of the public asked how Map Your Mission would work for students who are behind in foundational skills and whether early emphasis on future planning could add stress. Trustee Irvin and others pressed staff on supports for students who enter high school not yet ready for A-G coursework. In response, staff said the strategy is meant to reinforce, not replace, high-quality instruction: articulation and transition meetings with feeder districts, California Ed Partners work to smooth eighth-to-ninth-grade transitions, targeted professional development, and expanded counseling supports are intended to close gaps.
Dr. Petrago, the superintendent, described Map Your Mission as part of a broader set of initiatives including "Be the Change," intended to build belonging and social-emotional skills alongside academic preparation. Staff also said Schoolinks will use single sign-on (PowerSchool's parent portal) and that Spanish captions are built into the YouTube-hosted videos and can be translated into other languages.
Next steps outlined to the board included expanding Schoolinks to lower grades, rolling out pathway videos and family-facing materials, and continued professional development for counselors and teachers. The district plans periodic reporting on implementation metrics such as Schoolinks logins, milestones achieved and enrollment in AP, IB and dual enrollment as measures of early success.
What happens next: the district will expand Schoolinks access to additional grades this year, publish pathway videos and begin family outreach to increase parent accounts and awareness.
