COEUR d’ALENE — Eighth-graders in the Coeur d’Alene School District got a glimpse of the future this week when they made four-year plans for high school.

The district has implemented the new Career Cruising Program that helps students create a plan for high school and post-graduation and connects their coursework with real opportunities in the future.

“We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback on this and we can see the level of engagement in our students,” said Mike Nelson, the school district’s director of curriculum and assessments. “We want kids to start thinking about graduation and after graduation when they’re in middle school so that their high school courses can be cohesive toward their goals and not just a scatter of classes.”

The Career Cruising Program is used by all the district's students in grades eight through 12. Students take personality questionnaires and get career suggestions they might be interested in based on their answers.

They can then explore different careers and look at what a job would entail, what it might pay, the education needed to get that job, what schools offer that required education and what high school classes would be optimal to take.

Students can also use the program to complete resumes, the Common App for university and college applications, look at financial aid and scholarship options and, eventually, connect with community businesses for internships and job shadows.

All teachers, counselors and parents have access to their students’ profiles so they can help them stay on track and make suggestions for coursework.

Kari Hynes is a college and career counselor at Coeur d’Alene High School and has been working with students to help find their path through education.

“It’s a great way to help them start thinking about how what they do in high school can connect them to what they want to do after high school,” she said. “As students get closer to graduation, it starts to take on more meaning.”

Hynes is one of two college and career advisers the school district hired in the fall to help high school students prepare for their post-high school lives.

When she works with students to create their four-year plan, she always emphasizes it’s a rough draft and will change, and that’s normal.

Kristi Granier, a counselor at Lake City High School, is glad to have a college and career counselor on staff as well.

“It’s a stress relief for students and parents to have an extra resource, an extra person to sit down with them and talk about post-secondary options,” she said, noting the Career Cruising Program has helped students better understand the benefits of their high school education. “Some kids don’t see the purpose of a class, but now they can see how it helps them achieve their long-term goals.”

Tiara Garcia, an eighth-grader at Woodland Middle School, said looking at high school classes and scheduling was overwhelming and scary at times. But, with the new way to plan for classes, she’s a bit more confident.

“I didn’t know what kind of classes they had,” the aspiring photographer said. “Now this helps me see how my classes might be.”

Another eighth-grader at Woodland Middle School, Spencer Morgan, said the program helped him figure out he’s interested in studying psychology.

“This definitely helped steer me to what I want to do,” he said. “I wasn’t really focused on anything before and now it’s helped me decide on what I want to do, at least for now.”