At the Southern Regional Education Board's recent 2024 conference in Nashville, an innovative approach to career counseling in Maryland's Carroll County was in the spotlight. Carroll County's Department of Economic Development joined forces with Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) to showcase their method for smoothing out the transition from classroom to career. Their program, as detailed on the county's website, aims to properly align educational pathways with workforce needs, as part of the broader Blueprint for Maryland’s Future initiative.
A key feature of the program is its emphasis on starting early to prepare students to fully integrate into their future careers or higher education, with career counseling beginning as early as grade six. Heather Powell and Stan Whiteman from Carroll County Workforce Development (CCWD), along with CCPS’ Angie McCauslin and Bill Eckles, co-delivered the presentation, demonstrating how to deeply root such programs in community partnerships. Their mission is not only to effectively prepare students but also to invest in the local economy by keeping talent within the community. “We are fortunate, in Carroll, to have a strong working relationship between CCWD and CCPS,” Powell said. “We are deeply committed to helping students envision a future where they live and work in their community and staff are excited and inspired to collaborate with our school system, working toward positive outcomes for our youth,” she explained as reported on the county's news release.
According to a Carroll County press release, Denise Beaver, Director of the Department of Economic Development, chimed in regarding the national acclaim the program received. "It was an honor to have our outstanding program recognized at this national conference, and we were thrilled to share more details with the education audience,” she said. This approach not only fulfills the county's immediate workforce needs, it strategically starts to also lay the groundwork for the next generation's participation in local industries. CCWD is dedicated to this cause, offering services throughout the week and administering programs like the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act. With a recent federal funding package of over $2.7 million for the Program Year 2023, the initiative is poised to bridge the gap between education and employment for the youth of Carroll County.
