The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in collaboration with the Division of Career and Technical Education (DCTE) will continue to offer College and Career Readiness (CCR) Tool options for students enrolled in grades 8-12.  School Districts are strongly encouraged to participate, and if a district opts in for services, there is an expectation that the services will be used by the students. The approved vendor list remains the same along with the identified service packages from each vendor.  School Districts may select one vendor to provide covered services to eligible students. The tools available provide career awareness and exploration activities to participating students that creates links between what a student does in school and what a student wants to achieve in life. Other services may be available from the vendors but will be offered at an additional cost that must be covered by the school district.

Now that School Districts have worked with their chosen CCR Tool provider for several years, DESE is providing schools an opportunity to change their selected vendor before beginning a new three-year commitment. To facilitate selection, DESE will host a Virtual Vendor Fair on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, for the six approved providers of the CCR Tool. The links to each virtual session, time schedule, and virtual recording for each vendor can be found on the CCR Tool Webpage. 

To assist with selection of the most efficient and productive tool as well as effective implementation, districts are encouraged to have a staff team participate in the selection and implementation process.  Please consider the following roles when putting together the team: 

• CCR Tool Point of Contact 
•  Building Principals, Curriculum Coordinators, or other Administration
• Counselors, Career Coaches, Teacher Advisers, or other student Mentor program staff
• Classroom Teachers including Academic, ALE, CTE, Electives, GT, and SPED
• Other staff who work with scheduling, advising, or coaching students toward graduation and future planning 

Whether a district remains with their current provider for the coming cycle or elects to change providers, the focus should be on broadening student use of the resources and services provided. 

All sessions will be recorded and posted on the DESE Assessment webpage and Student Success Plan webpage.