Career Pathways
A career pathway is a career-focused series of courses that build upon each other. Pathways are meant to help students follow their interests and prepare for further study, training, or work opportunities within a career field. As students learn more about their interests, they can explore one or more pathways, which can help them:
- plan their education at Simley and beyond
- prepare for college and career
- explore classes that might interest them
- understand how classes and careers fit together
Simley’s career wheel, pictured above, highlights career pathways by defining career clusters, which are groups of occupations and broad industries that require similar knowledge and skills.
Students are not limited by the pathways. Each pathway is intended to help students find courses that match their interests, but they can take courses from many different pathways, as long as they fulfill Simley’s graduation requirements.
In addition to the classes that many high schools offer, Simley also offers opportunities for students to earn profession-based experience at the end of a pathway that has a value-added aspect, such as a certification, concurrent enrollment, or internship. These professional mentorship opportunities may also incorporate collaboration with a business or community partner to enhance the authenticity of the learning experience.
At this time, opportunities include:
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate course
- Emergency Medical Services courses
- Genesys Works internship course
- Introduction to Urban Education course
- TriDistrict Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) courses
- TriDistrict CAPS Business & Entrepreneurship
- TriDistrict CAPS Computer Science & Information Technology
- TriDistrict CAPS Healthcare
- TriDistrict CAPS Natural Resources, Sustainability, and Food Systems
- TriDistrict CAPS Transportation & Skilled Trades
CNA Certificate Course
Simley offers a semester-long Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate course through Inver Hills Community College. The course provides training required for basic entry into healthcare as a nursing assistant or home health aide. A registered nurse teaches skills required for certification during classroom lectures, and students practice the skills in our hands-on lab. Students also complete 24 hours of supervised clinical experience in a long-term care facility.
Many colleges require this class for entry into their nursing programs. Students are prepared to take the state registry exam for certification upon completion of the course for placement on the state Nursing Assistant registry. Additionally, students earn college credits and Simley elective credits.
Genesys Works Internship Course
Genesys Works is a Twin Cities non-profit organization that partners with the TriDistrict high schools: Simley, Two Rivers, and South St. Paul. The partnership seeks to bring diversity to the IT workforce. The free 14-month program empowers high school students to succeed through skills training, paid internships, and college and career planning support.
Students apply for this program in February of their junior year and must complete the application and the following interview to be eligible for summer skills training. Students participate in eight weeks of skills training in the summer before their senior year. This training earns Simley elective credits for the student. After completion of the summer skills training, students are placed in a paid year-long professional internship at one of many partner companies.
Through Genesys Works, students can learn and develop in-demand job skills, attain their first professional work experience, earn more than $13,000 during senior year, have a guided pathway to college and career success, and gain confidence and elevated career aspirations.
Emergency Medical Services Courses
Simley offers an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) course and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course through its partnership with Inver Hills Community College. Students learn real-world skills and can even earn certifications to work as an EMR or EMT immediately after high school graduation. Students also earn college credit and high school credit in both classes.
Students with or without previous emergency care course experience can take EMR classes. Students learn the skills to manage patient care until the arrival of ambulance personnel. While they learn important lessons on anatomy and physiology, patient assessment, and medical skills, they earn their AHA CPR Certification and become a Minnesota State-registered Emergency Medical Responder. Students also earn concurrent enrollment credits.
The EMT course is available to students upon successful completion of the EMR course. Students work with equipment and have the opportunity to participate in additional off-campus experiences, which have included professional drills with the Inver Grove Heights Fire Department and local hospitals. The EMT course meets or exceeds the United States Department of Transportation National EMS Education Standards for the Emergency Medical Technician, so students who have successfully completed the class and are at least 18 years old can take the National Registry EMT written exam.
Introduction to Urban Education
Simley's Introduction to Urban Education is a year-long course for juniors and seniors who are interested in becoming a teacher or working in education. Offered with concurrent enrollment at Metropolitan State University (MSU) in St. Paul, the class explores issues facing K-12 classrooms today. Students will earn observation hours in classrooms around the district and six college credits from MSU for EDUC 200 and 203, the first two courses required for earning a degree from MSU's School of Urban Education and becoming a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota.
TriDistrict Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS)
The TriDistrict Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program is a unique partnership that has developed between Inver Grove Heights Schools, South St. Paul Public Schools, and West. St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Area Schools. This partnership is a collaborative effort to guarantee that all students at Simley, Two Rivers High School, and South St. Paul High School graduate with a plan for their “next step” and have the skills, knowledge, attributes, and attitudes to be successful. The collaboration of the TriDistrict schools provides its students with a wide array of career and college readiness experiences, exposures, and explorations. To support the goals of our program, the TriDistrict schools, in collaboration with community and business partners, have developed unique and immersive learning experiences for TriDistrict juniors and seniors.
Our TriDistrict CAPS program and courses are modeled after the nationally recognized CAPS Network of schools and programs. The nationwide CAPS places student learning in context. Students learn about broad career opportunities within a career field and the specific professional skills needed to succeed in the industry encompassed by the course. Students also learn to transfer these skills to other career areas as well as their personal and professional lives.
TriDistrict CAPS Fall Semester: Classroom Experience
TriDistrict students report each afternoon to the host business partner site for the first semester. Students work with TriDistrict staff and business partners from the host business and across the industry. Students have expansive experiences with and exposure to career opportunities within the career field while learning the professional skills required in the current, dynamic business environments.
Each course’s curriculum is designed to meet the Minnesota state standards for the course in the context of the career field and the demands it has of its employees to be successful. Students will earn Simley elective and English credits upon completion of the course, in addition to hands-on professional experience.
TriDistrict CAPS Spring Semester: Individual Internship
Students will serve as an intern, working directly with area businesses and mentors to continue to develop and apply professional skills while collaborating on authentic projects and tasks. Students will continue to meet weekly with TriDistrict staff to refine professional skills and continue to meet elective and core requirements. Internship placement is competitive, and it is the goal of the TriDistrict to find a good fit for every student.
TriDistrict CAPS Course Options
Business & Entrepreneurship
Students who enroll in the TriDistrict CAPS Business and Entrepreneurship course will get a dynamic introduction to business with unparalleled access to local businesses and entrepreneurs. Students will partner with leading experts from local and regional business centers to learn the principles of all aspects of the professions within the business environment. Students will also begin to develop their “entrepreneurial mindset” and learn from area entrepreneurs about how to bring great ideas to market.
The hands-on, project-driven curriculum will include, but is not limited to: marketing, sales, hospitality, event planning, entrepreneurship, human resources training and development, and leadership and management skills. Students will also get immersive experience as entrepreneurs through BizInnovator, a program of the University of Iowa's Jacobson Institute, and an opportunity to earn college credit.
Computer Science & Information Technology
Students in the TriDistrict CAPS Computer Science and Information Technology course will develop the professional skills and the technical knowledge needed to explore multiple areas of information technology, computer science, and the related fields that drive the industry. They will discover a vast array of specialty areas available in technology careers where professionals utilize technology to solve business problems and design products. Students who successfully complete this course will earn HS credits for AP Statistics and AP Computer Science Principles, and they will have the opportunity to take AP exams for both courses.
Healthcare
The TriDistrict CAPS Healthcare course focuses on transferable professional skills and career exploration in the healthcare field. Students will engage in a variety of opportunities including case studies, problem- and project-based learning, and on- and off-site shadowing experiences. They will advance their knowledge of healthcare systems, legal issues, medical terminology, a few of the body systems, professionalism, and ethics and explore many career opportunities in healthcare. Students will also have an opportunity to complete an internship during the spring.
Natural Resources, Sustainability, & Food Systems
The TriDistrict CAPS Natural Resources, Sustainability, and Food Systems class will give students a first-hand look at careers in the integrated industries of natural resources, sustainability, agriculture, and food systems.
Students will learn about the interconnectedness of our natural resources and food systems and how sustainability is used within various industries. They will study air, water, and soil chemistries through research and exploratory activities, earning a chemistry credit that satisfies state graduation requirements.
During the class, they will also design a project of their own aimed at improving local sustainability efforts. They will address issues surrounding access to food, the local management of natural resources, or any topic connected to the course that interests students.
Classes will be hosted off-site by local environmental education leader Dodge Nature Center five days per week in the fall semester before students can apply for internships in the spring.
Transportation & the Skilled Trades
The TriDistrict CAPS Transportation and Skilled Trades course fully immerses students in leading local transportation and related industry businesses. The course provides students unprecedented exposure to real world experiences in the dynamic field of transportation and the technologies that literally keep it running.
Students partner with experienced industry professionals and advance their understanding of transportation systems, logistics, communications, regulations at the local, regional, and federal levels, terminology, client services, professionalism, and ethics. Students explore a wide range of career opportunities in the many different transportation sectors. The TriDistrict course requires students to be active, independent learners and fosters empowerment, self-discovery, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. Students will engage in a variety of opportunities including case studies, problem- and project-based learning, and on- and off-site shadowing experiences.