In November of 2023, RPS announced our plan to implement a software known as Xello to help plan for post-secondary education and career pathways. Xello does many things, but there are four areas to highlight that help RPS students plan for their future:
Discovering careers;
Declaring aspirations and seeing what they look like in a post-secondary setting;
Setting concrete goals and,
Making concrete action steps to achieve them.
In January of this year, we began a soft launch of Xello at some of our schools. Since then, students and staff have expressed excitement about the platform.
Xello is an interactive online platform that provides more information to students to help them dream and plan for their future. We want Xello to be reachable for every student in RPS. From kindergarten through 12th grade, students can use Xello to discover their strengths and interests and match them with post-secondary education options and career pathways.
For elementary students, counselors work in the classroom with students to use Xello four to five times a year. They are introduced to the software through games. From kindergarten through second grade, the game centers around career exposure. From grades 3-5, students start to name what they are good at and build a portfolio. At the elementary schools where we've begun using Xello, we've received positive feedback from the students who have gotten to try this out.
Starting at the middle school level, Xello begins to look more personalized. Students complete the “Three Pillars of Discovery”:
About Me
Explore
Plans
Students start taking assessments in the About Me section, which helps them get linked to different careers or pathways. They can then explore the different pathways they have been matched with and start planning their chosen path.
At the high school level, the Three Pillars of Discovery become more detailed, and counselors collaborate with teachers to ensure students continue using Xello as a tool and assist them throughout their planning. The more students interact with Xello, the more Xello helps them match with different career pathways and post-secondary education options.
Throughout this whole K-12 experience, the students engage in lessons and activities to learn the skills of goal setting, effective decision-making, self-reflection, and other key lessons that support their access to postsecondary pathways after high school.
We have also partnered with local companies and organizations through Xello, allowing students to see where they could work in Rochester based on their matches. Through these partnerships, students can learn about various businesses in our area and potential careers they can hold. Students can also look for potential colleges and scholarships they can apply to using Xello.
With Xello, we aim to empower students and give them confidence about their future and plans after they graduate from RPS. Not knowing what to do after graduation can be very stressful. If our students can start using Xello as a tool in kindergarten, the hope is that they will feel well-established with their interests and goals and confident in their abilities to be successful in whatever they plan on doing in the future.