As a result of a new requirement for all middle schools in Virginia to provide a course in career investigations and for students to develop an academic and career plan, WHRO Public Media partnered with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to create and provide Middle School Career Investigations (MSCI) content for free to all schools across the Commonwealth. Through this content, students explore Virginia's 16 Career Clusters, established by the VDOE. 

WHRO Education built this engaging, media-rich, instructional content around different types of careers related to a fictional amusement park, Commonwealth Cascades. Students explore the 16 career clusters and the associated career pathways with the help of two middle school characters, Caleb and Makayla. Students also examine skills, education requirements, and salaries for various jobs and military positions while Caleb and Makayla interact with park employees.

Schools can utilize the MSCI content in a variety of instructional settings including fully online, blended, flipped, or face-to-face environments. If desired, school divisions can put the material into a learning management system (LMS), where the LMS tools can be used to create a self-paced course. The format of the content allows for parts of it or all of it to be utilized. Teachers also have the ability to modify the content to meet the needs of their local school divisions and individual students. 

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Find more free educational content for students, teachers or parents in our online learning platform eMediaVA.org