CLEAR Community of Practice

Career Learning, Exploration, and Readiness (CLEAR)

Empowering middle school educators to build career pathways early!

The CLEAR Community of Practice (CoP) is designed to deepen middle school educators’ understanding of the importance of providing career readiness learning opportunities before high school, in addition to the critical role transferable skills play in preparing students for future success.

CLEAR is a six-session virtual CoP that brings together key student influencers at the middle school level to explore how early exposure to career skills and Career Technical Education (CTE) programming can empower students and expand their future options. Grounded in design thinking, the series guides participants through a human-centered approach to reimagining career readiness learning in middle school settings.

Program Highlights:

This series will explore practical ways to strengthen career readiness for middle school students.

Uncovering the truth about CTE - addressing common biases and myths.
Building transferable skills - understanding how CTE develops essential life and career abilities.
Creating actionable strategies - co-developing plans to integrate career-ready learning across the curriculum.
Encouraging a growth mindset - rethinking perceptions of CTE and equipping families with simple, effective strategies to support student success.
Fostering collaboration - providing a space for networking, resource sharing, and exchanging best practices.
Showcasing local opportunities - highlighting CTE programs and offerings across West Virginia.
$500 stipend for participation and successful completion of CLEAR monthly sessions and activities

Target Audience:

🍎 Middle school educators and counselors, who are eager to learn and reflect on how their influence shapes student pathways are encouraged to apply.

🤝 A willingness to co-create and collaborate to build a strong learning community is required.

⏳ Space is LIMITED!

Program Format:

Duration: October 2026 – March 2027

Format: Monthly virtual Zoom sessions + self-paced learning via our Thinkific learning platform (Date and Time TBD)

Commitment: ~1-2 hours/month for sessions + 1-2 hours of independent exploration/self-paced learning

⏰ Schedule: Time/dates will be determined by participant response during the application process

Findings & Insight Report

what we learned from the
2025–26 CLEAR cohort

This report shares what emerged from the 2025–26 CLEAR cohort, including changes in educator practice, student awareness of transferable skills and career pathways, and professional collaboration. It also brings in facilitator reflections on what worked, where challenges surfaced, and what these lessons may mean for future career-connected learning.