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FEB. 5, 2026—In early January, students at Pal-Mac Intermediate School gathered in a downstairs classroom to take turns sharing their stories on camera.

They answered questions about the goals they set at the start of the school year and whether those goals had changed. A few weeks later, primary school students took part in the same activity.

The short interviews were a part of a larger effort by the District to bridge the gap between classroom experiences and future careers.

PMP and PMI specifically use a “Responsive Classroom” approach, which incorporates “hopes and dreams” as a goal-setting process. As part of the process, students had to consider how they wanted to grow and what they wanted to learn during the upcoming school year. They then share those hopes and dreams through pictures or writing.

You can also click here to view the PMI Hopes and Dreams video below on our YouTube page

At the end of the year, students will come back to their  goals to consider what they have learned and celebrate how much they have grown. This process involves personal commitment and reflection, which allows students to take greater ownership for their own learning and development into who they want to be.

PMP Principal Mrs. Jamie Murphy, along with PMI Principal Mrs. Jennifer Check, said the approach is similar to the college and career readiness efforts at the middle and high school levels, with an elementary-level twist.

“Rather than exploring what we want to be, our focus with our youngest learners is on who we want to be,” Mrs. Murphy said.

You can also click here to view the PMP Hopes and Dreams video below on our YouTube page

The work is part of the District’s Blueprint for Action Plan 1.1, which is to ”provide specific learning experiences and paths toward future careers.”

Hopes and dreams are just a piece of the full pie, as both PMI and PMP students do still explore career paths through unique school day activities. Students have explored fields like photography, meteorology, and even paleontology, among others.

Mrs. Check said both principals are using the New York State Education Department (NYSED)’s “Learning Standards for Career Development and Occupational Studies” to guide this career path work. Mrs. Check said the first standard emphasizes helping students identify their interests and what kinds of things they are good at.

“These types of experiences, which highlight what can be possible in the future, are integrated into what we teach to help students make deeper connections in their learning,” Check said.

The work also aligns with both schools’ “Learner Profile Traits and our Approaches to Learning,” which include, among several traits, being inquirers and communicators, and having strong self-management and research skills.

During a Board of Education (BOE) meeting in early February, Check and Murphy presented on the project, including the previously mentioned videos. Both told the Board that the future work will involve educators directly in the curriculum-building process.

This includes enhancing the UPK-5 curriculum to align seamlessly with the 6–12 experience. Additionally, the schools will pilot student-centered tools like Xello and Junior Achievement to bring career exploration to life.