This guide is for school and school board staff who are planning and delivering SHSM programs.

Overview

Careful planning is the best way to ensure a high-quality SHSM program.

Your SHSM plan is a continually evolving document that drives the design, implementation and success of your program.

  • If you are developing a new SHSM, your plan will have more detail about strategic topics such as the local market, program design and capacity building.
  • If your school already has an SHSM, your plan will be more focused on implementation, evaluation and modification.

This page outlines the planning steps for schools and school boards.

Choosing which SHSM to offer

If your school is planning to offer a new SHSM, work closely with your school board and other schools. By working together, you can decide how to build capacity and provide a range of opportunities for students.

Existing pathways programs may provide many of the components of the new SHSM. Choosing an SHSM requires a deep understanding of these components and the sector-specific requirements of SHSM programs.

Key criteria to address in your strategic planning

Your plan should consider the following when selecting an SHSM:

  • available resources and facilities at the school and in the community
  • community support
  • current regional employment trends in the related sector
  • existing pathway programs with potential to expand to all 4 pathways
  • labour market data
  • opportunities for:
    • Indigenous students
    • English language learners
    • students with special education needs
    • reach ahead experiences
    • sector-specific co-op placements
    • sector-specific experiential learning and career exploration
    • sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)
    • students to complete required certifications and training programs
  • partnerships with:
    • business, industry or community sectors
    • colleges, universities and apprenticeship training centres
    • other schools and boards
  • student enrolment and interest
  • support from administration
  • teacher expertise and willingness to champion the SHSM

Developing the SHSM plan

Your school SHSM team creates the SHSM plan. Before developing the plan, the team should:

This information becomes the basis of the school SHSM plan that addresses all key aspects of your intended or existing SHSM program.

SHSM plans should:

  • describe the activities and their sequence
  • include strategies, responsibilities, schedules and budgets
  • have both strategic and implementation aspects based on your school’s situation

Strategic planning

Strategic planning helps you provide high-quality SHSMs that: 

Planning for a new SHSM

If you are developing a new SHSM, your plan should have a focus on choosing which SHSM(s) to offer. Your plan should also have activities to:

  • analyze local market needs and resources
  • discover the SHSM sectors that interest the school community and students
  • identify priority SHSM sectors and program offerings
  • determine which SHSM programs your school has capacity to offer
  • identify the resources needed for success
  • provide for, allocate and deploy these resources (for example, set budgets)
  • form the school SHSM team and set meeting schedules
  • choose SHSM advisors
  • form, grow or sustain SHSM sector partnerships
  • select the program delivery model
  • decide the SHSM bundles of credits to offer

We must approve all new SHSMs and we require this information in new SHSM applications. School boards submit proposals to us annually through the SHSM online reporting tool. Submitting proposals for new SHSM programs is a school board decision. 

Implementation planning

Implementation planning ensures your SHSM:

  • delivers the 5 components of an SHSM in line with our requirements
  • meets the needs of students and sector partners

Your plan will have short-term and long-term activities. 

Short-term activities include:

  • assigning responsibilities at the school level
  • setting schedules and budgets
  • promoting the SHSM program to students and sector partners
  • establishing school and student timetables
  • organizing student enrolment
  • providing accommodations for students with special needs
  • tracking and recording of student progress

Long-term activities help sustain your SHSM over time and are based on an ongoing analysis of:

  • the local market, for example:
    • student demand (enrolment)
    • sector support (variety and quality of experiential learning activities, training and certifications)
  • SHSM success (for example, student graduation rates and postsecondary outcomes)

Long-term activities may include:

  • strengthening your school SHSM team’s connections to local, regional and provincial networks
  • establishing professional learning communities
  • promoting the SHSM to students, families and sector partners

Learn more about implementing an SHSM program at your school.

Evaluation planning

Evaluation planning helps ensure your SHSM is sustainable and continues to provide high-quality opportunities for students.

Your plan should outline strategies to:

  • collect and analyze information
  • measure program success (for example, using indicators like retention and SHSM seal graduate rates)
  • document student progress

Learn more about SHSM program evaluation.

Reviewing the SHSM plan

Review and update your SHSM plan at least twice a year to assess your SHSM program’s progress:

  • mid-year (February)
  • end of the year (June)