What are success skills?
Success skills are the personal attributes one has that are necessary to succeed in a workplace environment. These skills include communication abilities, leadership capacity, organization, flexibility, and collaboration abilities. Soft skills are in contrast to hard skills, which are the skills and abilities that are content related and directly relevant to the job at hand, like the ability to use Microsoft Office or the ability to understand medical terminology.
How do we help students develop success skills at winchester community early college?
At Winchester Community Early College, we take several steps to ensure students are developing soft skills necessary for success in college and careers.
These include:
- RC PRIDE- Implementation of a corporation PRIDE program emphasizing the development Persistence, Respectfulness, Initiative, Dependability, Efficiency in all students in grades K-12 with culminating work ethic certificates to be awarded at grades 2, 5, and 8 and the Governor's Work Ethic Certificate to be awarded at grade 12.
- Developing a growth mindset focus- Winchester Community Early College works to help students develop a growth mindset focus through targeted goal setting opportunities that begin at the middle school level. Students set goals for their progress throughout chosen pathways and are provided with academic and personal counseling and support to ensure success, even through inevitable "bumps in the road."
- Providing leadership opportunities- Early College students are provided with various leadership opportunities at Winchester Community High School, including peer tutoring, extra-curricular clubs and organizations, music and other fine art organizations, and sports teams. Additionally, exemplar EC students are asked to serve as Early College ambassadors and are given opportunities to help lead 8th grade parent nights, commitment form signing sessions, and to provide personal experience and feedback to other students.
- Establishing opportunities for varied communication- Students who participate in the Early College program experience various opportunities for written, oral, and multimedia communication through classwork, participation in marketing opportunities, and through leadership opportunities described above.
- Providing mock interview practice- Early College students have the opportunity to participate in mock interviews to prepare for scholarship and job interviews. These interviews take place with our administrative staff.
- Experiencing careers "firsthand"- Students participating in the Winchester Community Early College program have the opportunity to travel on various career field trips and experience the possibilities of life beyond high school, thus helping to establish an understanding of soft skills needed for various career fields.
- Forming a foundation of self-advocacy- Students in the Early College program learn to self-advocate by taking control of their future plans and goals. They learn how to be organized, dedicated, and persistent in the process of pursuing their goals for future success.
success Skills resources
The following websites provide valuable resources about the further development of soft skills for college and career success.
Monster Article: "Soft Skills to Improve Your Career"
Department of Labor: "Soft Skills to Pay the Bills" PDF with Activities to Develop Skills Included
Soft Skills Resource Document
Monster Article: "Soft Skills to Improve Your Career"
Department of Labor: "Soft Skills to Pay the Bills" PDF with Activities to Develop Skills Included
Soft Skills Resource Document