When Bayfield Middle School teacher Poul Heminger first agreed to teach a new elective called Career Explorations, he wasn’t sure how middle school students would respond to topics like career pathways, professional skills, and financial literacy.
“Like a lot of people, I thought they were a little young to learn this subject matter,” Heminger said. “But I quickly found out they are not too young — they enjoy it. It’s because it’s about them.”
Now in its fifth year, the program has grown from a single 8th-grade class into a full 6th–8th grade sequence that helps students connect what they’re learning in school to their future lives and careers.
“This is the first year that we’ve expanded it even more,” Heminger explained. “Now it has become a full program.”
Heminger says the class’s goal is simple but powerful: to expose students to as many possibilities as possible — especially important in a small-town setting where exposure to career diversity can be limited.
“My goal is to expose them to as many opportunities that are out there for them,” he said. “In the first class, I explain that this class is all about you.”
The curriculum, developed with the support of the Southwest Education Collaborative and BMS administrators, is designed to flow naturally from one grade to the next. Sixth graders focus on self-discovery and the importance of education, seventh graders explore career clusters and research potential fields, and eighth graders dive into real-world readiness skills and hands-on experience.
Sixth Grade: Discovering Interests and the Value of Learning
The journey begins in sixth grade, where students spend the first several weeks exploring their own learning styles, strengths, and interests. From there, they move into a “career foundations” unit that connects their current studies to future goals.
“We talk about why the classes they’re taking now matter,” Heminger said. “How does math relate to what you want to do? How does writing help you in the workplace?”
Students also learn the basics of teamwork, communication, and digital literacy while examining the local career landscape and identifying how education supports opportunity.
“For sixth grade, it all goes back to the importance of education,” Heminger emphasized.
Seventh Grade: Exploring Career Clusters and Skills
By seventh grade, students are ready to take a deeper dive into career clusters — the 16 broad industries that encompass most career fields.
“We spend a lot of time explaining what those jobs do, what kind of education is needed, and what types of skills are important,” Heminger said.
Students take aptitude and personality assessments to help them understand how their strengths align with potential careers. They also practice writing and research through essays on jobs that interest them.
“The seventh grade gets into a lot more of the career research,” Heminger said. “They’re doing essays and starting to choose careers that interest them. I try to let them explore all of the options — a four-year college might not be for everyone.”
Guest speakers and local professionals visit the classroom to share real-world experiences, helping students connect academic concepts with practical applications.
“Things that aren’t just needed in school, but in the workplace as well,” Heminger said. “Hard and soft skills both matter.”
Eighth Grade: Readiness, Confidence, and Real-World Application
Eighth graders put everything together through hands-on projects that simulate professional experiences. They practice completing job applications, writing cover letters and résumés, and taking part in mock job interviews with a panel of adults from the community.
“I don’t grade them — the interviewers do, based on a point system I created,” Heminger said. “Some of the most confident students we see on campus stand in front of the door going into the interview and become so nervous — and I want them to feel that way, because that’s how you feel in a real job interview.”
To prepare, Heminger incorporates public speaking exercises throughout the semester.
“You can literally see the confidence build in these students,” he said. “That’s one of the primary benefits of this class.”
Students also get firsthand exposure to different postsecondary environments through field trips to Fort Lewis College, University of Colorado–Colorado Springs, and CU Boulder, as well as visits to local technical programs.
“We really start talking about the skills that are needed, whether it be in college or joining the workforce,” Heminger explained.
Helping Students Enter High School with Purpose
The Career Explorations program doesn’t just end in eighth grade — it bridges directly into students’ high school experience. Each student’s career projects are linked to SchoolLinks, a tool used by both middle and high school counselors to help guide students toward their goals.
“My goal is to have them enter high school as freshmen with those options in mind, and start setting goals,” Heminger said. “That makes high school more goal-oriented for them, and from what I’ve heard it really helps the counselors too.”
Students who might have otherwise waited until junior or senior year to think about their futures are now stepping into high school already focused on what they want to pursue.
“Every parent tells me they wish they had this when they were in middle school,” Heminger said, crediting the program’s success to strong administrative and community support.
For Superintendent Dylan Connell, the Career Explorations program represents what education should look like.
“It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate to kids that school is relevant to their future,” Connell said. “The skills they are learning in there will last them for a lifetime, no matter what they decide to do.”
Heminger acknowledges that having the backing of administrators, counselors, teachers and the community has been a difference-maker in the program’s success.
“I could not have done this without the full support of Dr. Hoerl, Nicole Machallister, and the Southwest Education Collaborative,” he said. “When you start new things like this, especially at a middle school level, that support is greatly appreciated.”
He hopes the program will continue to grow in both enrollment and community involvement.
“It’s become more popular among the students, so hopefully next year we can get a bigger turnout,” Heminger said. “My biggest prize as a teacher is seeing those kids in their first jobs.”
The district’s superintendent sees the program as a model for how schools can connect classroom learning with real-world outcomes.
“I think it is what school should be — and can be — for every kid,” Connell stated. “Kids are learning more about themselves, what they care about, and who they want to be in the world. They’re exploring things that are exciting to them or that they could be passionate about doing.”
