Most districts plan spring courses later in the fall. Rankin County School District didn’t wait.
Bridge to Career, planned a semester early
On September 2, RCSD brought together its College and Career Readiness teachers, school counselors and CMPDD Career Coaches to plan Bridge to Career classes launching in spring 2027. The district asked CMPDD up front what role coaches should play, so that role will be clear from day one.
In Bridge to Career, coaches will:
- Build a career plan with each student
- Walk students through Mississippi’s priority occupations and the MS Pathfinder website
- Screen and place students in internships, apprenticeships and job shadowing
- Plan campus and industry visits tied to high-value career pathways
- Help students with the skills employers ask for first: a resume, an interview and the habit of showing up
Bank It: learning money by doing
Eight days later, on September 10, every Rankin County Career Coach was at Puckett High School for Bank It, a hands-on financial literacy program from the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Students rotate through booths run by Extension staff and local industry partners: writing a check, making a deposit and withdrawal, counting change, figuring sales tax. No lecture, just practice.
Career Coach Vallery Temple piloted Bank It at Puckett last year, and Career Coach Eric Brooks ran a second test at Pelahatchie High School. It went well enough that MSU Extension plans to publish the program for every county in Mississippi, and asked to film it at Puckett before taking it statewide. One coach saying yes to a pilot is turning into a program for 82 counties.
This story first appeared in the October 2026 issue of Central Update, CMPDD’s quarterly newsletter. Find this issue and past editions on our Publications page.