The Packer Profile

The Packer Profile directly results from feedback from students, staff, and family stakeholder groups during the 2021-22 strategic planning process. The Packer Profile identifies the community's shared aspirations for students and what it means to be a graduate of APS. It reflects what our students, staff, and families desire each day for our students and supports their preparation to become college, career, and life-ready.

APS graduates are entering an ever-changing world filled with endless possibilities. To support our students in achieving their dreams after high school, APS staff will model and guide students towards their development of the Packer Core Values. The core values will hold our system accountable to focusing our instruction, student engagement, and community collaboration in supporting our students to make a difference in the world.

Minnesota State Statute requires that all students beginning no later than 9^th grade have access to a Personal Learning Plan. This plan should include academic scheduling, career exploration, career and employment-related skills, community partnerships, college access, all forms of postsecondary training, and experiential learning opportunities.

Students at Austin High School will develop their Personal Learning Plan during their 9^th grade year and will continue to interact with that plan throughout their four years at AHS. Additionally, they will create a personal portfolio highlighting their work.

Learn more about the work at AHS by clicking the button below!

The Packer Profile at AHS

Career Pathways

At APS, we've designed multiple Career Pathways to help students discover their strengths and interests in order to explore career opportunities and make a plan for the future.

Packer Profile Seminar FAQ

Starting in the fall of 2024, we're launching a new orientation class for 9th graders called the Packer Profile Seminar. Below are some frequently asked questions to help you get familiar with these changes.

Why did APS add a 9th-grade Packer Profile Seminar?

Minnesota Statute 120B.125 requires all students beginning no later than 9th grade to have access to a Personal Learning Plan. This plan should include academic scheduling, career exploration, career and employment-related skills, community partnerships, college access, post-secondary training, and experiential learning opportunities. Austin Public School's Packer Profile aligns with this new statute.
The nationwide transition from eighth to ninth grade is academically and socially challenging for students. Research shows ninth-grade success is among the strongest predictors of students graduating on time. Further studies have shown that students on track at the end of their 9th-grade year are as much as four times more likely to graduate from high school than their off-track peers.
The Packer Profile seminar class will assist students transition to high school by identifying personally relevant career interests and aptitudes and helping students and their families develop a plan for postsecondary education or employment.

What is the purpose of the 9th Grade Packer Profile Seminar?

The seminar is designed to support students beginning their high school careers. The seminar will focus on providing support in academic, social, and soft skills (Packer Core Values) needed to succeed in high school and beyond. Students will learn about organization, time management, self-advocacy, study skills and learning strategies, digital literacy, creating a four-year plan, and developing personal aptitudes and learning strengths. Students will also focus on career exploration and ways to serve within their community in addition to building their Packer Portfolio.

How many credits can a Freshmen student earn?

What classes are Freshmen required to take?

Is the new Packer Profile Seminar a semester or full-year course?

Do Freshmen need to take Health and Physical Education during their ninth-grade year?

Can a Freshmen take both music and world language?

If you have any questions, please email or call 507-460-1800. Stay tuned for additional updates on our progress!

Community Input Sessions

December 19, 2022

On December 19, 47 regional and community stakeholders worked with APS Administration to learn more about the Packer Profile and provide feedback and considerations on the work AHS/ELLIS design teams have completed regarding career pathways, meaningful learning experiences and the packer portfolio. It was a great opportunity for our stakeholders to see the amazing passion our teams have to prepare our students to be career and life ready!

In true educator form, we asked our participants to complete an exit ticket answering the question “what do you know now that you didn’t know before.” Here are just a few things we heard:

“I appreciate that the school district is taking an interest in the after high school life of students!”
“Excited for my granddaughter’s future.”
“APS has a focused approach to developing students.”
“We all can make it happen.”
“I am impressed with the progress and thought made so far on the Packer Profile – keep up the progress and good work.”
“Our community is more engaged in the growth & success of our students than I previously knew. This is fantastic!!”
“Tons of awesome people in our community care about our kids and their education.”

March 8. 2023

On March 8^th, 2023 community stakeholders worked with APS administration to learn about updates regarding the Packer Profile and provide feedback regarding career pathways, meaningful learning experiences and the Packer Portfolio. The collaboration between APS and the community continues to show how passionate Austin is about helping our students be successful.

Below is some of the feedback/topics that was shared:

Liked the idea that students would be taking a career inventory to explore areas of interest
The new course registration guide and online course descriptions was well received.
- The ability to search by department and pathway was appreciated
- Liked the idea that examples of meaningful learning experiences would be pictured in the course descriptions
The naming of the five pathways at AHS was understandable. The committee liked that specific careers were detailed under each pathway
Liked that students can move pathways as their interests change
Liked that AHS Core Values (soft skills) are a focus area and will be trophied in student’s portfolio
Wondering how we can continue to help students learn about additional careers, specifically ones that are in need in our community.

Sept. 17, 2024 - Packer Profile Advisory Committee

The Packer Profile Advisory Committee has been formed to provide insights, feedback, and considerations as APS staff continue to support students’ preparation to become career and life ready. This group of diverse community leaders will work together to strengthen partnerships within the community and optimize stakeholder input to continue to align Packer Profile elements for all students. The Packer Profile Advisory Committee will meet on September 17, January 21, April 15 from 4-5pm in the Austin High School Conference Room.

Packer Profile Advisory Committee - September 2024

Task Force Meeting Notes

Members Include:

Joseph Bower (Chamber of Commerce)
Robin Garcia (AHS Packer Profile Teacher)
Matt Schmit (AHS Principal)
Gema Alvarado (Hormel Foods)
Ashley Donicht (Parent)
Cheryl Dunlap (Retired Teachers Association)
Samuel Zelinskas (Military)
Jane Carlson (Career Pathways Coordinator)
Mike Postma (Workforce Development)
Jill Rollie (Sumner Elementary School Principal)
Valentina Gallegos (APS Success Coach)
Cecilia Cifuentes-Rodriguez (West Oakland Auto)
Wendy Anderson (Little Wendy Bird)
Ashley Poutney (Mayo Health Systems)
Katie Baskin (APS District)
Craig Clark (City of Austin)
Dewey Schara (IJ Holton Intermediate School and Ellis Middle School Principal)
Kelly Vincelette (Hormel Institute)
Jayne Ekins (Parent)
Ryan Stanley (Perkins Grant Coordinator)
Taylor Flugge (Riverland Community College)
Emily Hovland (Packer Profile Coordinator)

Career Pathways Newsletters

Packer Profile Newsletters

Career Exploration Resources

As students work to explore their career options and pathways, these tools can be invaluable in helping them to make informed decisions.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) offers a wide variety of Career Exploration resources including a Career and Education Explorer, a Career Pathways Explorer, and an Employment Outlook tool.

Packer Profile Principles

The Packer Profile reflects 3 key principles to guide student experience throughout their education at Austin Public Schools:

Career Pathway Exploration: Students will leverage their interests and abilities to connect with local professionals and explore future careers and educational opportunities.
Meaningful Learning Experiences: Core content and instruction will provide students with meaningful lessons and skills relevant to their relationships, community, and future careers beyond Austin Public Schools.
Packer Portfolio: Beginning with the class of 2027, students will celebrate their progress by sharing a digital portfolio with the community that demonstrates their journey and growth in the Packer Core Values.

Packer Core Values

Responsible

Resilient

Learner

Communicator

Contributor

APS Packer Profile Task Force

During the 2023-24 school year, and first year of implementation of the Packer Profile, a task force was created to guide and support the alignment of the Packer Profile across the PK-12 system. This team was assembled to gather feedback, share ideas, and discuss how to support emerging elements of the Packer Profile as elementary, middle and high school teams begin to connect work at their sites to the three main elements (Career Exploration, Meaningful Learning Experiences, Packer Portfolio) of the Packer Profile.

Members Include: Matt Schmit, Bryce Hoffa, Emily Hovland, Jane Carlson, Jessica Cabeen, Dewey Schara, Karen Dunbar, Kirsten Norby, Kane Malo, Sheila Berger, Andrea Malo, Jill Rollie.

Community Partnerships

We are very excited to be implementing the Packer Profile at Austin Public Schools which will allow students to explore different career pathways, develop a personal learning portfolio, and engage in authentic learning in the classroom.

We are asking community members to complete the survey below as a way to continue to develop a contact list of community members who are willing to make connections with our students and staff. This is a great way to connect our schools and community, to help our students grow and explore through their learning, and to create connections for business in the future. We hope you will consider getting involved and that you will take a few minutes to complete the survey as a way for us to have a database of community members for staff and students to connect with in various ways.

https://forms.office.com/r/CG92MBPnmn

Please reach out to Packer Profile Coordinator, Emily Hovland, with any questions: emily.hovland@austin.k12.mn.us

School-Community Learning Partnerships: Essential to Expanded Learning Success

Program Coordinators

Emily Hovland
Packer Profile Coordinator
emily.hovland@austin.k12.mn.us
507-460-1800 ext: 1844

The Packer Profile Coordinator will develop Packer Profile Lessons supporting student growth in the area of our Packer Core Values and exploration of the Career Pathways, support students in development of their personal Packer Portfolio, and collaborate with staff and the community to facilitate meaningful learning opportunities in the classroom.

Jane Carlson
Career Pathway Coordinator
jane.carlson@austin.k12.mn.us
507-460-1800 ext: 0151

The Career Pathway Coordinator helps students discover their strengths and interests, explore career opportunities, identify a career pathway, purposefully select courses in their 4 year academic plan that align with their pathway, and assist in the journey to a successful career.

Austin Public Schools

In This Section