Shelby County Schools Partners with Naviance by Hobsons to Improve Graduation Rates and Student Career Readiness

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Shelby County Schools (SCS) is partnering with Hobsons, Inc., the education technology leader behind Naviance, to provide college, career, and life readiness (CCLR) solutions to students. SCS joins a growing number of schools in Tennessee to work exclusively with Naviance by Hobsons. Naviance is an innovative, equitable and proven college and career planning solution designed to increase graduation rates and prepare students for their futures.

"It is necessary to develop partnerships that align with the District's mission to prepare students for success in learning, leadership, and life," said Superintendent Dr. Joris Ray. "The collaboration with Naviance and its devotion to boost student outcomes, amplifies our efforts to improve and prepare students for opportunities in post-secondary education and their careers."

"Naviance by Hobsons is honored to support Shelby County Schools with its efforts to prepare students for academic and post-secondary success," said Paul McConville, Senior Vice President of Sales and Account Management for Hobsons. "Together, we are committed to helping students stay on track in understanding and attaining college, career, and life success no matter the challenges."

With the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, SCS quickly adapted to a virtual environment and deployed Naviance for the 2020-21 school year. Naviance allows all students to access their CCLR planning in a virtual environment, anytime, anywhere. Additionally, Naviance will help SCS meet the Tennessee Ready Graduate requirements and indicators. As the largest public-school district in Tennessee, SCS serves more than 30,200 8^th – 12^th graders who will now have access to Naviance, the most widely adopted CCLR platform in the country.

"At Shelby County Schools, we're focused on improving academic and lifelong outcomes for all students," said Dr. Antonio M. Burt, Chief Academic Officer. "Naviance by Hobsons offers a scalable solution with the necessary tools to equitably support our students through their college and career planning. We want students to be inspired by their possibilities and to be empowered to chart their own course."

Naviance equips students to discover personal interests and strengths and real-world careers that match, research and apply for colleges and scholarship opportunities and build resumes and portfolios. As part of Destination 2025, Naviance will help SCS work toward its goals of 80% of students being college- and career-ready, 90% of seniors graduating on time, and 100% of graduates enrolling in a postsecondary opportunity.

"Even in challenging times, our commitment to support our students in every way possible does not cease, it gets stronger. I'm delighted that this tool helps ease the decision-making process as our students plan for their futures," said SCS Board Chair Miska Clay Bibbs.

Counselors and designated instructional staff are undergoing training to learn how to support students using the new tool. Students will begin using Naviance with their school counselors and teachers later in the fall.

About Shelby County Schools
Shelby County Schools is Tennessee's largest public-school district and is among the 25 largest public-school districts in the United States. Formerly composed of two smaller districts, Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, SCS serves over 100,000 students in more than 200 schools. SCS is the second largest employer in Shelby County with over 14,000 employees, including 6,500 teachers. SCS has placed a strong emphasis in five high-leverage areas: early literacy; improvement of post-secondary readiness; developing strong teachers, leaders, and support staff; expanding high-quality school options; and working closely with families and community partners. SCS partners with almost 3,900 volunteers and 1,100 total school adopters and community members to help impact student achievement.

About Naviance by Hobsons
Naviance by Hobsons is a college, career, and life readiness (CCLR) platform that helps students discover their strengths and interests, create actionable goals and find their best-fit path after high school. Trusted by more than 13,000 schools and districts, this robust solution promotes college and career readiness by encouraging academic rigor and aligning student strengths and interests to long-term goals. For more information, visit https://www.hobsons.com/naviance.

About Hobsons
A leader in education technology, Hobsons helps more than 19 million students make informed choices and realize successes throughout their life journeys. Through our solutions, students are able to identify their strengths, explore careers, match to best-fit educational opportunities, create academic plans, and reach their education and life goals. More than 15,000 K-12 and higher education institutions leverage Hobsons' expertise and solutions — Naviance, Intersect, and Starfish — for the success of students. Learn more at https://www.hobsons.com.

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