Henrico Schools implementing online platform to help students find career paths

Henrico students have started using an online platform that's designed to help them map out potential career paths.

The platform, MajorClarity, is designed to help students explore future careers that closely align with their interests, personality and skills.

Some students already have started using the platform, and the remaining students in grades 4 through 12 will begin navigating the program in the spring semester.

Henrico County Public Schools entered into a contract with MajorClarity in fall 2020. Last school year, the back end work was done to customize the system to make it specific to HCPS course options.

More than 75 of Virginia’s 133 school divisions use MajorClarity, according to CEO Joe Belsterling.

The MajorClarity platform is specifically tailored for each school division and school based on its course selections and graduation requirements.

More than 80 different HCPS-specific academic pathways have been mapped into the platform including all course options specific to each comprehensive high school and specialty center program.

“That's one of our biggest innovations, but also our biggest area of work,” Belsterling said. “A lot of what we do is alignment with the state by state requirements for college and career readiness, or academic and career planning.”

Students use the platform to explore the Virginia career clusters and various occupations associated with each. They do this by traveling through an interactive map and “meeting” residents of each region to learn about them. Through the program, students can take tests that suggest different personality types.

“As students become more aware of their individual strengths, interests and preferred styles of learning, they become more invested and intentional when making academic and career planning decisions,” said HCPS Chief Learning Officer Leslie Hughes at last week’s Henrico School Board meeting. “MajorClarity directly integrates student career exploration into the academic and course planning process by aligning students’ career pathways of interest with HCPS-specific academic career plans.”

The Richmond-based company, which was founded by Belsterling in 2016, is partnered with school districts in 24 states.

MajorClarity’s biggest competitor Naviance, which was recently acquired by PowerSchool, is largely focused on college applications, while MajorClarity additionally offers alternative pathways.

“We looked at how they were doing it, and we didn't think it was the right way,” Belsterling said. “We thought students needed to be exposed to all types of career paths. If they go to college, great, but if they go to a technical school, that's great as well.”

According to the contract between HCPS and MajorClarity obtained by the Citizen, licensing costs $1.50 per student. HCPS is paying $59,650 yearly, according to HCPS spokeswoman Eileen Cox.

“We're homegrown here in Virginia,” Belsterling said. “We did this to help students. We’re the most affordable product on the market, compared to Naviance which is about two-and-a-half times our cost.”

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.