Academic Career Planning (ACP)

The mission of the Shell Lake School district is to ensure all students are college and career ready upon graduation. Academic and Career Planning, or ACP, is a student-driven, adult-supported process in which students create and cultivate their own unique and information-based visions for post secondary success, obtained through self-exploration, career exploration, and the development of career management and planning skills.

2024-25 Career Planning & Course Description Guide

District PI-26 ACP Plan

Student Academic Plan

Senior Student Academic Plan

There are thousands of jobs from which to choose. As a way of organizing them, the U.S. Department of Education has developed 16 Career Clusters. Career Clusters are groupings of similar jobs and the industries to which they belong. These groupings are similar to groupings of music: pop, rock, hip-hop, country, classical, etc. The clusters of music help you find the songs you want to listen to. This works the same way for career clusters. Grouping related jobs into clusters helps you find those you may prefer and makes them easier to learn about. Similarly, clusters of study provide a way to organize and tailor coursework and learning experiences around your preferred areas of interest.

To see what courses and opportunities are offered in our school for each of the clusters, please click on the coordinating Career Cluster icon below.

Agriculture isn't just farming anymore. Opportunities abound in this wide-open field, from working with small animals to designing new tools and machines for farming and processing foods; from sports turf management and outdoor recreation to bioengineering new plant life. Those with technical skills and an interest in math, science, and the environment can find their places in the sun in the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources cluster.

In the building trades, you roll up your sleeves and hold on to your hat, because your work in the field can lead to owning your own firm. Architecture and Construction is one of the last industries in which you can start as an apprentice and rise to the top of the ladder. Opportunities abound—if you’re an artist, you can design buildings, if you like hands-on work, you can make the designs a reality.

The arts are all about self-expression, but unless you refine the techniques you need to get your message to your audience, you might as well be talking to yourself. This career cluster focuses both on the act of creation and on the technologies that make artistic creation and communication possible. Whether you prefer crafting the message or delivering it, plenty of satisfying jobs in the arts exist.

Business, Management, and Administration include everything from small Mom-and-Pop shops to sprawling manufacturing plants.  This field needs employees with strong financial, organizational, time-management, and communication abilities. If you choose the Business, Management, and Administration cluster, you’ll acquire all of these valuable skills while also building a rock-solid academic foundation in math, science, and English.

Everyone wants to make a difference, but teachers may have the best claim to being able to shape the future. By helping children learn how best to make their way through life, teachers prepare our future adults who will be responsible for mankind’s fate 50 years from now.

A career in Finance offers endless possibilities with jobs ranging from insurance to investment banking and accounting. The finance and insurance industry is all about managing money and making financial transactions—from a child’s first savings account to multimillion-dollar corporate loans. For people interested in math, organization, and technical expertise, this could be your ideal career path.

As one of the nation’s top employers, Government and Public Administration has boundless career opportunities for people with all skill sets. You can be a city manager, global imaging specialist, security specialist, computer programmer, court clerk, linguist, social worker, and, of course, that little job called President. The list just goes on and on. If you’re comfortable with organization and discipline, and you have good communication skills, the Government and Public Administration cluster may be a good fit for you.

Health Science is the fastest-growing sector, and there is a high demand for healthcare workers. As the population ages and more people need healthcare services, opportunities expand for employees who like working with people and have mastered the basics in math, science, and communications. You don’t have to go to school for 10 or more years, either—plenty of good healthcare jobs require only associate’s (technical school) or bachelor’s degrees (college).

Each state has natural and cultural attractions that draw millions of visitors every year.  This creates a demand for the Hospitality and Tourism industry. From start-up jobs in restaurants to high-level corporate management of multimillion-dollar hotel chains, Hospitality and Tourism offers engaging, people-oriented work in picturesque surroundings. The ultimate goal is to help people have a good time.

A career in Human Services connects people. Meeting human needs is a part of everyday life, and individuals in Human Services careers are committed to improving the quality of life for people. Career choices include dietitians, cosmetologists, consumer advocates, counselors, social workers, and religious leaders.

Information Technology, or IT, has transformed the way the world does business, has boosted workers’ ability to produce, and even changed the forms of global art and culture. Computers are vitally important to America’s present and future prosperity, and the key to our continued leadership in this field is the talented IT specialists who make the "thinking machines" think. If you’ve got top-notch math skills, a mind that locks onto details, and the creativity to devise solutions to any problem, you could have a future in IT.

Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security offer rewarding opportunities and unique positions not available in other industries. Jobs range from protective services such as homeland and computer security, firefighters, and police officers to rescuers, lawyers, judges, and legal assistants. Typically, these types of positions are for outgoing people who can think on their feet and enjoy helping and protecting others.

When it comes to a career in Manufacturing the field ranges from plastics to technology, and pharmaceuticals to automobiles and airplanes. Among the most important manufacturing industries are those that produce aircraft, automobiles, chemicals, clothing, computers, consumer electronics, electrical equipment, furniture, heavy machinery, refined petroleum products, ships, steel, and tools and dies. Manufacturers in Wisconsin employ about 16%, or 1 in 6, of the workforce.

Marketing, Sales, and Service is about closing the gap between consumers (buyers) and what it is they’re looking for. Within the world of Marketing, Sales, and Service is a wide range of jobs that allow individuals not only to use their interpersonal and communication skills but to help people get what they’re searching for with continued ease. If helping promote a product, selling a service, or working directly with a consumer sounds like something you’re interested in then a job in Marketing, Sales, and Service could be for you.

To boldly go where no one has gone before is the hallmark of human progress and the prevailing spirit in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers. If you’ve got the urge to figure out how things work and advance the frontiers of knowledge, a STEM career might be right for you. These jobs pay well because technological progress is so important to the growth of our economy, our country’s security, and the quality of future life on Earth.

Taking the road to a career in Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics is well worth the ride. Doing business in America means moving people, raw materials, and products by road, rail, air, and water. To keep things moving requires millions of workers in supporting industries such as infrastructure planning and management, logistics, and maintenance of vehicles and facilities. The variety of opportunities is dizzying, but to get ahead it helps to have a solid technical background. Individuals from automobile service technicians to airline pilots find their jobs improved and enriched by technical advances.