By Katarina Webb
As we gear up for the 2025-26 school year, I find myself reflecting on the incredible work our career coaches and school partners accomplished over the past year and looking ahead with excitement at what’s next. Each new school year brings an opportunity to strengthen our partnerships, fine-tune our strategies, and, most importantly, expand the impact we have on students’ futures.
At Career+ Pathways, our mission has always been clear: to help students find meaningful, informed pathways toward their future careers. But how we achieve that mission evolves each year in response to new challenges, new legislation, and new opportunities for growth.
Recharging and Refocusing with Our Career Coaches
This summer, I’ve been working closely with our career coaches to reflect on the past year and prepare for what’s to come. We’re setting clear goals, realigning around our student-centered mission, and refining the tools and systems that support our work. From updating student engagement trackers to building implementation guides for new programs, our focus remains on streamlining what we do so our coaches can spend more time doing what they do best: connecting with students.
In addition to planning for the upcoming school year, our coaches stayed active in the community by supporting Robotics in Manufacturing Camps hosted by Greater Lafayette Commerce. These weeklong summer camps gave elementary and middle school students hands-on exposure to in-demand skills like coding, 3D printing, circuitry, robotics, and digital design. Our coaches helped guide students through challenges and activities that sparked curiosity and built early awareness of career possibilities in advanced manufacturing and technology.
We’re also strengthening how we support our coaches. That means more professional development, easier access to resources, and opportunities to collaborate with each other across schools and regions. We want every coach to feel confident, equipped, and energized heading into August.
Deepening Partnerships with Schools
One of the most valuable parts of this work is the collaboration we have with school leaders, teachers, and counselors. They are the bridge to making career readiness real inside the school day. As we prepare for the fall, we’re hosting “Get to Know Me” events for both staff and students – building awareness of what career coaching looks like and ensuring everyone knows how to access our support.
We’re also meeting with administrators to review our shared goals and customize our support model for each building. Whether it’s supporting Locally Created Pathways (LCPs), implementing microcredentials, or planning hands-on career experiences, we’re designing our year together with students at the center of every decision.
What’s New This Year?
The 2025–26 school year brings some exciting updates:
- Tiered Support Model – We’re rolling out a more structured approach to career coaching, allowing us to match support to student needs – from large group experiences to individual guidance.
- Enhanced Career Exploration Tools – Students will have even more ways to explore careers, interests, and education paths using updated O*NET data and our customized Career+ resources.
- Middle School Expansion – With legislative shifts, we’re exploring how to bring career discovery opportunities to 8th graders in a way that’s developmentally appropriate and engaging.
Lifting Up the Impact: Data, Storytelling, and What Comes Next
While our coaches spent the summer engaging students and preparing for fall, the Career+ Pathways team was also compiling important data and stories from the past school year. From student meetings and event participation to outcomes tied to Locally Created Pathways and postsecondary planning, we’re gathering insights that help us demonstrate the impact of career coaching and guide our next steps.
This work is especially important as we prepare detailed reports for the Career Coaching and Navigation grant, ensuring transparency and accountability while highlighting the successes and growth areas of our program.
We’re excited to begin sharing some of these highlights in an upcoming blog series, where we’ll dive deeper into what’s working, where we’re growing, and how career coaching is making a measurable difference across our partner schools.
Looking Ahead
The work we do isn’t easy, but it matters . Every meeting, every resource, and every relationship we build brings us closer to ensuring all students leave high school with a strong sense of direction and purpose. I’m incredibly proud of the team we’ve built and the partnerships we’ve nurtured.
Here’s to a year of growth, impact, and possibility. Let’s get to work.
Bio
Katarina Webb, School Success Manager at Career+ Pathways™! Starting as a Career Advisor through a partnership with Ivy Tech, Katarina now leads a team supporting schools across the GLC region. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, the creative arts and spending time with her family and fur babies.
