Martins Ferry City School District Board of Education 

7.34 Policy Manual 

Chapter VII – Instructional Program 

CAREER ADVISING This policy on career advising is to be updated at least once every two years and made available to students, parents, guardians and custodians, local post-secondary institutions, and District residents. The policy is to be posted in a prominent location on the District’s website. This policy shall also be uploaded to the Department of Education and Workforce’s (“DEW”) compliance web system. 

The District shall provide: 

1. Grade-level examples that link students’ schoolwork to one or more career fields by implementing the Career Connections Learning Strategies offered by the DEW. 

2. Career advising to students in grades 6-12, which includes meeting with each student at least once annually to discuss academic and career pathway opportunities. 

3. Additional interventions and career advising for students who are identified as at risk of dropping out of school. These include: 

     a. Identifying students who are at risk of dropping out of school using a local, research-based method with input from teachers, school counselors, and other appropriate school staff.

     b. Developing a Student Success Plan for each at-risk student that addresses both the student’s academic and career pathway to successful graduation and the role of career-technical education,                 competency-based education, and experiential learning, when appropriate. Before developing a student’s Student Success Plan, District staff will invite the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian to assist. If          that adult does not participate in the plan development, the District will provide the adult a copy of the plan, a statement of the importance of a high school diploma, and a listing of the pathways to     graduation available to the student. 

4. Training for employees on how to advise students on career pathways, including use of the tools available in OhioMeansJobs K-12 and other online sources provided by the District. 

5. Multiple academic and career pathways through high school that students may choose to earn a high school diploma, including opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials and postsecondary course credit. 

6. Information on courses that can award students both traditional academic and careertechnical credit. 

7. Documentation on career advising for each student and student’s parent, guardian, or custodian to review, as well as schools that the student may attend in the future. These include activities that support the student’s academic, career, and social/emotional development. 

8. The supports necessary for students to transition successfully from high school to their postsecondary destinations, including interventions and services necessary for students who need remediation in mathematics and English language arts. 

9. Information regarding career fields that require an industry-recognized credential, certificate, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, or professional degree; 

10. Information about ways a student may offset the costs of a post-secondary education, including programs such as all of the following: a. The reserve officer training corps; b. The college credit plus program; c. The Ohio guaranteed transfer pathways initiative; d. Joint academic programming or dual enrollment opportunities.

 LEGAL REF.: O.R.C. §3313.6020 Adopted: June 30, 2026