Grant Year: 2025
Magnolia Project, in partnership with four West Marin school districts—Bolinas-Stinson, Nicasio, Shoreline Unified, and Lagunitas—are developing a semester-long Career Exploration Pathway for middle school students at four schools in West Marin. Magnolia Project’s Career Exploration pathway consists of three key phases: first, students complete 12-15 sessions of pre-work curriculum, aligned with Common Core English Language Arts standards, embedded within a core academic class such as English Language Arts. The pre-work curriculum is designed to help students know themselves better, think critically about their future plans, weigh potential options, and prepare for an immersive, off-campus experience with a mentor. After the pre-work curriculum is complete, students participate in an Interview Day, where all Career Explorations mentors come to their school campus, and interview their potential mentees. After Interview Day, students participate in a four-day, full-time on or off-campus career exploration experience with a mentor from a local business, nonprofit, or government agency.
Finally, after these immersive experiences, students engage in 8-10 sessions of post-work at their school sites, where they reflect on their time with their mentor, what they’ve learned, and how their immersive experience might fit into their future plans. Students also complete a meaningful next phase planning tool, to help them and their families think long-term about their academic and career goals.
Magnolia Project leads the recruitment, training, and vetting of mentors from the local community. As part of the implementation of our Career Exploration pathways program, Magnolia Project provides professional development for teachers across all four West Marin school sites. This training will be conducted jointly, bringing teachers together from four schools, fostering cross-school collaboration, and ensuring a unified approach to career exploration for all students in West Marin, from Bolinas to Tomales.