Career Readiness Collection:: Student-Created Personal Success Plans

Career Readiness Collection:
Student-Created Personal Success Plans

University Heights High School
success will only be achieved through integration of

Overview college and career advising at the school level, so
University Heights High School helps students build that all students have an understanding of a broad
postsecondary bridges through student-created array of career pathways and how to enter them.
Personal Success Plans—a ten-week series of Specifically, this practice:
advisory-based activities in which students envision
• Is strength based, emphasizing the assets
and begin taking steps toward realizing their futures
students already possess to make their
after high school. This resource spotlights two
dreams a reality.
groups of lessons that feed into the Personal Success
Plan. Crafting a Letter to Future Self is a low-stakes • Builds confidence and agency, by
launching pad (it is not graded) for students to reconceiving of self as a unique and amazing
imagine/articulate life after high school and how to brand that has value in the postsecondary
get there. The Personal Branding/Logo activities market.
require students to identify and represent the inner
• Develops skills and materials needed for
resources they will bring into the postsecondary
college applications and job hunting.
market. Together, these lessons serve as a call to
action for what needs to happen senior year for • Opens students’ minds — Thinking and
students to achieve postsecondary goals. writing about the future is a statement of
faith that one can and will be successful—no
Impact small thing for many students.
On a macro level, postsecondary access and
Sample Documents that Helpful Resources*

you can adopt or adapt* Small Business Association — source of many
templates/slides
Lesson: Letter to Future Self
Success magazine: The YouEconomy —
Lesson: Personal Branding undergirds the practice, particularly this June 10,
2016 issue
Personal Success Plan — Template Success for Teens — book and facilitator’s guide
Personal Success Plan — Sample How Design University — free material on

building and promoting a personal brand
Student Logo — Samples Richer Picture — a site students can use to
document academic progress, including their
Letter to Future Self — Sample Personal Success Plans
Exit Ticket
*These sample documents and resources are part of a larger collection, including some materials not
listed here. Additional materials and full URLs can be found at WeTeachNYC.org.
1
Student-Created Personal Success Plans: University Heights High School
How to Use Student-Created Personal Success Plans (PSPs)

at Your School
Before…
1. Meet with grade/advisory team and College & Career advisor to

Collaborate ✓ Discuss purpose and outcomes for the series overall
✓ Integrate with other C&C happenings
✓
2. Create a PSP template using SBA.gov as a guide
3. Advisor creates own PSP as one model (see PSP Instructions on WeTeach)
4. Draw materials from:
How Design University — branding, logo design, marketing oneself
Design
Success magazine — youth economy, you as a marketable entity
Success for Teens — Attitude Is Everything, No Such Thing as Failure
5. Prepare slides and worksheets
6. Loop back with team to fine-tune lesson and materials
During…
7. Individual advisors tailor (choice of text, stationery, in-class vs. homework, etc.)
Lesson: Letter 8. Provide Sample Letter to Future Self
to Future Self
(2–3 sessions) 9. Circulate and support; 1-on-1s off-line as needed
10. Administer exit ticket
11. Select recognizable brand for setup (e.g., Michael Jordan, Gabby Douglas,
Lesson: Kardashians)
Personal 12. Share Sample Student Logos
Branding/Logo 13. Circulate and support; 1-on-1s off-line as needed
(3–4 sessions)
14. Make sure students include PSPs in their portfolios (used to write senior
reflections)
After…
15. Analyze exit ticket feedback from students

16. Keep sealed Letters to Future Self in safe place
Follow-up 17. Debrief how lessons went with team; iterate for future
18. Assess student portfolios as part of graduation requirements
19. Hand out Letters to Future Self at graduation
This is part of the Career Readiness Collection. Additional/editable materials for this practice can be found here. 2
Tips for Implementing

✓ Fall of senior year is ideal timing, especially for the Branding/Logo elements. Letter to Future Self
could happen sooner—even as early as ninth grade.
✓ It’s good to let students (especially seniors) grapple with these activities; they benefit from figuring it
out themselves, as this mirrors the career-finding process.
✓ That said, it is important for advisors to circulate and be a facilitative and supportive presence while
students grapple.
✓ Letter to Future Self is non-evaluative—it isn’t graded and advisors don’t read them—so students
feel a greater sense of ownership and honesty.
✓ Make the letter formal/awesome/special—get nice paper and envelopes.
✓ Simple, clear examples/exemplars throughout are key to helping students concretize and stay on track.
✓ Push past student resistance! When students push back on the process, often it is because they have
a difficult time envisioning a future self. This creates a great opportunity to have an honest 1-on-1
conversation about real feelings/obstacles.
✓ This practice can be strength based for the grade team as well. Each advisor builds on their talents
and diversifies the curriculum through different subject matter (a math teacher embeds
mathematics in the curriculum; the digital portfolio maven helps students navigate technically; Econ
does a unit called The Economics of You, etc.).
✓ Student-Created Personal Success Plans feed nicely into digital portfolios – a graduation requirement
at University Heights. So it’s important to have ample laptops and wireless for these lessons so
students remain engaged and work efficiently.
✓ University Heights uses ideasconsulting.com but other schools could create a similar platform in
Google, which is free to NYC schools.
Standards
Components of College & Career Readiness Connection to Danielson Framework [Danielson
Domains covered Framework NYC 2014–15]: Teachers who do this
(from College & Career Readiness Tool Kit): type of career planning are engaging in the following
Danielson domains and components:
Getting In ✓ Component 2b: Establishing a Culture for
Learning
✓ Component 3c: Engaging Students in
Use of Technology & Media
Learning
✓ Component 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility
and Responsiveness
Creativity & Adaptability
About the School

and career-ready but also happy, compassionate
A long-standing member of the Coalition of people.
Essential Schools and NY Performance Standards
Consortium, University Heights is a community of Alan Hilliard, cultivating his craft for twenty years at
learners—including students, staff, parents, and University Heights, now teaches English, has a
university/community partners. Located in the twelfth-grade advisory, and is director of the twelfth
South Bronx, we provide a rich and authentic grade. He received his master of science in urban and
learning environment that is rigorous, college and multicultural education from the College of Mount
career focused, family oriented, and dedicated to Saint Vincent and bachelor of arts in communications
cultivating successive generations of citizens from the City College of New York, which influences
prepared to constructively participate in the his passion for the media arts. Alan hopes that
society of their time. Students can earn up to students will be exposed to technical and leadership
eighteen college credits through our partnership skills that broaden their perspectives and ultimately
with CUNY and choose from advanced placement give them an edge to success as they develop their
courses and STEM electives. The student body of college and career paths.
approximately 475 ninth through twelfth graders is
29 percent black, 66 percent Hispanic, 3 percent
Asian, and 1 percent white, with 13 percent About the Fellowship
classified as students with special needs and 2
percent as English Language Learners. Program
In 2016–17, the New York City Department of
About the Authors Education’s Office of Postsecondary
Readiness brought together a select group of
twelve schools identified based on their promising
practices for supporting students’ career readiness.
From these schools, a total of 27 teachers and
counselors served as Career Readiness Fellows. The
semester-long program—designed and facilitated
by Eskolta School Research and Design and
Suzanne Tillman—involved professional
development, community learning, and coaching.
This is one of twelve publications generated by the
fellowship to codify career-readiness practices,
promote integration of college and career advising,
This resource is based on the work of Career and make tools available to schools citywide.
Readiness Fellows Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan
Hilliard. Lillian de Jesus-Martinez is the director of
Collaborative Programs and the College & Career
About the Publication
Counseling Office. She received a master of science in Written and Edited by: Suzanne Tillman
supervision and administration from City University
of New York’s Baruch School of Public Affairs, and a The production of this document was made
master of social work from New York University. possible through the generous support of the
Lillian is a self-motivated mother who made sure that Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the
her children got the best education possible. She Center for Youth Employment.
channels this same passion and dedication to other
families and her students—to be not only college-
University Heights High School Spring, 2017 Page 1 of 2

Learning Target/Objective:
Students will
• provide a record of their life and who they are now..
• anchor in time your current views, attitudes, philosophy, and outlook.
• explore their feelings and opinions about college and career choices.
• create a document that, years from now, will have significant value to them.
Overview:
The purpose of the letter is to have the seniors think about where they see themselves after graduation. We
chose to have the seniors date the letter the day of graduation (June 22, 2017) to make it reachable and
relatable. At first we were going to use white legal size lined paper and white envelopes, but instead we used
it for drafting the letter and bought stationery paper to accentuate the importance of their thinking, imagination
and future self.
Materials: Quality Stationary & envelopes, markers, colored pencils, thesaurus, glue sticks.
Essential Question: What Do You Have to Say?
Write a Letter to Your Future Self
We introduced the Letter to Your Future Self to our senior advisees a week before to have them think
about what they may want to write to themselves and repeated the task on the day of the letter writing.
One example of a prompt:
‘You have been writing for others for a long time...since elementary school to the present… you have
written for your teachers, for exams, for PBATs and currently personal essays for your colleges or careers
knowing that you will be measured or assessed by another. This time you are the writer and the reader of
your own future story without judgment, assessment, or grade. Where do you see yourself on June 22nd?
What has happened to get you there and where are you going after commencement begins. We will not
be reading your letter and will ask that you seal it when you are done. You will receive your letter on the
day of graduation. When you open this letter it will be an intimate moment with you… you will be reading
what you wrote to yourself, what would you like to see?’
As you write, consider:
• What You Do: hobbies, pastimes, sports, school activities, what you do with friends,
favorite snacks and foods, chores, how you spend my weekends and vacations, special
activities you do, organizations I belong to, etc.
• People In Your Life: family, siblings, aunts & uncles, grandparents, friends, best friend(s),
teachers, boyfriend, girlfriend, who you like, people you’d like to know better, people you
admire and respect, important people in your life, people who annoy you, etc.
Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 5

This is part of the Career Readiness Collection. Additional/editable materials for this practice can be found here.
Page 2 of 2
• Your Future: predictions, what you want to do, your long range intentions,
what you’re looking forward to; what you’re dreading; your goals, your hopes and fears for
the world; summer vacation, high school, college, marriage, employment, etc.
• What hopes do you hold for yourself in the future? (dreams, intentions, goals, ; what I like
about myself; ; what I’m proud of; what I think about; what bothers me; who I am, etc.)
• What fears and obstacles do you currently face that you wish to overcome? (problems,
concerns, likes, dislikes, joys, frustrations; what I don’t like about myself
• What internal resources do you inherently possess that will help you, now and always?
• What goals do you have that you aspire to? Tip: Commit to the vision, but be flexible to
the form.
• What is the ultimate and underlying reason why these goals matter to you? (i.e.: I want to
be a public speaker. Why? Because I want to share my knowledge openly!
• What faith do you hold in your own strengths?
• How will you remember what you have to offer, and how will you continue to know
yourself and your presence as a contribution to this world?
• How would you react if you met your future self? How would you interact? Create a
sample dialogue—see where it goes!
• And finally: What are ways that you can seek to love your future self no matter how much
the future varies from what you expect it would be?
Use today’s date for your letter. For the inside address, make up an imaginary future
address for yourself. In your writer’s identification, use your current address.

Lesson: Personal Branding
University Heights High School Spring, 2017 Page 1 of 2

Lesson: Introduction to Branding___
Learning Target/Objective:
This lesson introduces the concept of “brand” as a distinctive identity that evokes certain thoughts and feelings. While
this concept is particularly useful for marketing, brand or branding is not unique to marketing. Students will
understand the importance of branding, and will analyze their perception of various brands.
Standards:
Materials: Article: “the career-long project of You” by Robin Landa

--“Family Influence: Choosing to Follow Your Parent's Career Path”
Dictionaries, Laptop, Newsprint, markers…
Essential Question: What’s in a Brand?
Do Now: Journal Response. (In Reader’s Notebook)

“You now have to decide what 'image' you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products,
like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place.”
~David Ogilvy (1911-1991)
[Scottish born British military intelligence officer and later top advertising executive]
Activity:
1. Present your brand (12 mins)
The teacher explains the initial activity and asks a few students to volunteer for it. In the activity, students are
asked to choose and present one distinct identity in a real-life situation. For example, the student could be a
contestant auditioning for the American Idol show facing the panel of judges, or an applicant for graduate
studies before a panel of professors. The student has to present a personal brand that attempts to influence the
choice of the selectors in his/her favor. The teacher explains that they have to differentiate themselves from the
crowd (brand themselves).
The students now present their brand. They will first have to inform the class about their supposed physical
description — what clothes, accessories, attitude, posture, etc. they will be presenting. Depending on the
situation they present themselves, and are interviewed by the class or a select panel of students.
2. Class Discussion (10 mins)
The teacher leads the class in analyzing the meanings of each brand that was presented, and the branding
strategies used by the volunteers. The teacher pulls up the glossary explanation of “brand”: The dictionary

Lesson: Personal Branding
definition of a brand is a mark, a name or a logo indicating who made a product. However, Page 2 of 2
brand means more than that. Brand is better-defined as a reputation, the meaning including all
of the thoughts and feelings associated with that name or logo.
3. Work with HowDesign article “the career-long project of you” (8 mins)
The teacher now distributes copies of the article: “When a Black Tee Shirt Is More than a Black Tee Shirt: Why
Brands Aren’t Losing Their Luster.” The sixth paragraph under the section Revitalize Rather than Replace
gives a historical perspective of branding and how branding began to be used. This is followed by how
branding is relevant today. After reading this section students are asked to read the earlier section titled,
The Thin White Cord.
4. Class Discussion (10 mins)
The teacher leads a class discussion linking all the ideas to the marketing concept of branding. Even for a
student applying for graduate studies, it is important to be able to differentiate himself or herself from the crowd.
From a marketing perspective, with the range of products available, it is important to build a brand for your
product — and to design your branding strategy in conjunction with market segmentation and customer value. It
is important to give your product a name, associate it with quality, and build up a brand to make customers want
to buy your product and keep buying. Brands may compete against each other, but to be unbranded is a huge
risk — then nothing differentiates your product, nobody knows your product for itself.
Wrap-up
Tying It All Together: Branding is a central concept in marketing, but it is also a concept that is found across
disciplines and regions. The marketing concept of branding, in this lesson, is arrived at from a more general
concept that every individual having a distinct personality is essentially a brand. Thus branding is a strategy
used to differentiate oneself. This concept is then examined from the marketing perspective. The HowDesign
article also provides a historical perspective that explains the importance of branding and its relevance to
marketing in today’s world.
Practice Outside of the Classroom: The next time you purchase a branded product/service, list the attributes
you associate with the brand.
What Worked and What I Would Do Differently: Branding is a concept that is not limited to marketing.
Individuals branding themselves, countries branding themselves, concepts and ideas that become branded, can
all be incorporated depending on student interest and cultural relevance. For example, if the school itself has a
brand image, that too can be discussed. Or, if the country itself is going through a brand makeover, like India
during the Shining India campaign, this lesson can be integrated with a social science or economics lesson.
4-Point Summary
• What was the main idea of this lesson?
• What are two important details you remember?
• What personal connections can you make to this lesson?
• What questions do you still have about this lesson?
• What personal connections can you make to this lesson?
• What questions do you still have about this lesson?

Personal Success Plan – Template
Personal Success Plan Template [UHHS] Page 1 of 2
Step 1:
Important goals that I want to achieve:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Step 2:
Out of all goals, this one is the most important to me:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Step 3:
How long will it take me to achieve this goal: ___________
Do I commit 100% to achieve this goal: ☐YES ☐NO
Reward I will give to myself once I achieved this goal: ______________________________
Step 4:
Strengths I have that can help me to achieve this goal:
1.
2.
3.
Step 5:
Things I choose to start doing and stop doing which will help me to achieve my goal:
START DOING STOP DOING

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
Step 6:
Adapted from MindOfWinner. Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 9
Personal Success Plan – Template
Page 2 of 2
Which new skills/knowledge will help me to achieve my goal?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Step 7:
Which actions do I need to take to achieve this goal?
Action 1:
Action 2:
Action 3:
Action 4:
Action 5:
Step 8:
Who can help me to achieve this goal faster?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Step 9:
My progress:
What’s working well (my

What do I need to change (improve)
accomplishments)
Adapted from MindOfWinner. Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 10
Personal Success Plan - Sample
Page 1 of 2
Student Name
Personal Success Plan [UHHS]
Step 1:
Important goals that I want to achieve:
1. Finish all of my PBATS before June 1st (done)

2. Graduate High School of course!!
3. Finish my job over the summer with WNYC radio (and do well)
4. Start at SVA (my number one choice college yay!!)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Take over the world >:)
Step 2:
Out of all goals, this one is the most important to me:
Out of all of these, the most important goal to me would be starting at SVA,
because it entails a lot of other mini goals. For instance, I want to get to know all of
my teachers for the semester, meet some of my classmates, and become more
comfortable with the environment.
Step 3:
How long will it take me to achieve this goal: Give or take 3 months (by
September!)
Do I commit 100% to achieve this goal: YES
Reward I will give to myself once I achieved this goal: Uuum.. I don’t know!? A
Successful year at the university I will be at for the next 4 years!?
Step 4:
Strengths I have that can help me to achieve this goal:
1. I’m social and comfortable speaking to others

2. Since I will be enjoying what I do, I know I’ll work harder than usual
3. I am also committed and persistent
Step 5:
Things I choose to start doing and stop doing which will help me to achieve my goal:
START DOING STOP DOING
Adapted from MindOfWinnerPage 1

Personal Success Plan - Sample

Personal Success Plan - Sample Page 2 of 2

Student Logo – Samples
Page 1 of 1

Letter to Future Self – Sample
Page 1 of 5

Page 2 of 5

Page 3 of 5

Letter to Future Self – Sample Page 4 of 5

Letter to Future Self – Sample Page 5 of 5

Exit Ticket
Page 1 of 1
Please Reflect about your experience with the Letter to Your Future Self...
Your responses below will help us make the Letter to Future Self writing experience as awesome as possible for
future
students in the Marketing For Life course – Thank you!
1) Circle One: Writing the Letter to My Future Self helped me think about my future career.
I strongly disagree I disagree a little I’m not sure I agree a little I strongly agree
2) Circle One: Writing the Letter taught me something about myself.
I strongly disagree I disagree a little I’m not sure I agree a little I strongly agree
Explain - What did doing the Letter to Your Future Self mean to you?
3) In what ways did your feelings about the Letter before your wrote it change after you wrote it?
4) If you found it difficult to complete the letter, or chose not to complete it, what got in your way?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Remember: You will be receiving your letter on June 22nd, on graduation day!!!!
Today’s Date: __________
Your Gender: Male / Female


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Career Readiness Collection:

Student-Created Personal Success Plans

success will only be achieved through integration of

Sample Documents that Helpful Resources*

Personal Success Plan — Sample How Design University — free material on

How to Use Student-Created Personal Success Plans (PSPs)

1. Meet with grade/advisory team and College & Career advisor to

15. Analyze exit ticket feedback from students

Tips for Implementing

About the School

University Heights High School Spring, 2017 Page 1 of 2

Essential Question: What Do You Have to Say?

Write a Letter to Your Future Self

As you write, consider:

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 5

• What faith do you hold in your own strengths?

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 6

University Heights High School Spring, 2017 Page 1 of 2

Materials: Article: “the career-long project of You” by Robin Landa

Essential Question: What’s in a Brand?

Do Now: Journal Response. (In Reader’s Notebook)

1. Present your brand (12 mins)

2. Class Discussion (10 mins)

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 7

3. Work with HowDesign article “the career-long project of you” (8 mins)

4. Class Discussion (10 mins)

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 8

Personal Success Plan Template [UHHS] Page 1 of 2

Important goals that I want to achieve:

Out of all goals, this one is the most important to me:

How long will it take me to achieve this goal: ___________

Do I commit 100% to achieve this goal: ☐YES ☐NO

Reward I will give to myself once I achieved this goal: ______________________________

Strengths I have that can help me to achieve this goal:

START DOING STOP DOING

Which actions do I need to take to achieve this goal?

Who can help me to achieve this goal faster?

What’s working well (my

Important goals that I want to achieve:

1. Finish all of my PBATS before June 1st (done)

Out of all goals, this one is the most important to me:

Do I commit 100% to achieve this goal: YES

Strengths I have that can help me to achieve this goal:

1. I’m social and comfortable speaking to others

START DOING STOP DOING

Adapted from MindOfWinnerPage 1

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 11

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 12

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 13

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 14

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 15

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 16

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 17

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 18

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 19

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Today’s Date: __________

Your Gender: Male / Female

Lillian de Jesus-Martinez and Alan Hilliard: University Heights High School 20

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