Academic and Career Planning at WDMS

What is ACP?

ACP stands for Academic and Career Planning and is required for full implementation in grades six through twelve. The Department of Public Instruction defines ACP as both:

An ongoing process to actively engage students to:

• develop an understanding of his or her self
• create a vision of his or her future
• develop individual goals
• prepare a personal plan for achieving the vision and goals; and

A product that documents and reflects students’:

• coursework, learning, and assessment results
• post-secondary plans aligned to career goals & financial reality
• record of college and career readiness skills.

Through this student-driven process, students will discover more about themselves, their futures, and their short-term and long-term goals.  The end product is a plan to help steer students in the direction they have set for themselves.  It should entail coursework, post-secondary plans, and a record of college and career readiness skills.

The reasoning behind ACP is to assist students in becoming college and career ready.  Students will go through four stages of learning more about themselves: learning to know themselves better, exploring where they want to go, creating a plan to get there, and putting that plan into action.  The intention is not to create one plan and stick to it rigorously but to continue to update and revise it as personal interests, skills, talents, and awareness change.  

ACP is intended to equip students and their families with the tools necessary to make more informed choices about postsecondary education and training as it leads to careers.

More information can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's ACP web page.