Summit Focused on Career Planning Program

OK State Dept of Ed sent this bulletin at 10/09/2019 08:00 AM CDT
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Steffie Corcoran
Director of Communications
(405) 522-5324, c: (405) 312-9558
steffie.corcoran@sde.ok.gov

Carrie Burkhart
Assistant Director of Communications
(405) 521-3371, c: (405) 760-7881
carrie.burkhart@sde.ok.gov

Erin Corbin
Communications Specialist
(405) 521-3375
erin.corbin@sde.ok.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Student Success Summit gives educators tools
to help students start career planning

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 9, 2019) – Nearly 650 educators statewide Monday learned about a tool to better prepare their students for life after high school, as the Oklahoma State Department of Education hosted a Student Success Summit on the Individual Career Academic Planning (ICAP) program.

ICAP is an interactive, student-driven process that encourages kids to evaluate their personal interests and strengths, develop postsecondary goals and create a plan to achieve them. Beginning this school year, ICAP is required statewide for all ninth-graders.

“ICAP is built around the idea that every student can be successful if provided the appropriate opportunities to plan for life after high school,” said Joy Hofmeister, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “We can help ensure that all students in Oklahoma are well prepared for the future, no matter what each student decides to pursue after high school – college, career or military.”

The summit featured keynote speaker Dr. Chan Hellman, a professor of quantitative psychology at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and the founder of the Hope Research Center. Hellman is leading pioneering research on the science of hope.

“Hope is the belief that your future will be better today, and you have the power to make it so,” Hellman said in his keynote address. “There are 2,000 published studies in hope across disciplines. In educational studies, hope has significant impacts on engagement, well-being, GPA and attendance.”

“We learned in our pilot program that ICAP brought hope to students of all ages,” said Hofmeister. “While the two may not sound like a natural pair – planning for life after high school and hope – the research and science are clear that a lack of hope can have devastating consequences to a student’s health, well-being and future.”

The free summit was funded through a $2 million, three-year JPMorgan Chase New Skills for Youth grant. For more information on ICAP, visit okedge.com.

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