Mars Area Middle School Guidance, teachers and staff recognize that we are just one part of the developmental journey in our student’s lives. We have the unique part of the road between young children and young adults. It is a complicated time for students as their lives go through such dramatic changes physically, socially, developmentally, emotionally and academically. The teachers and staff at Mars Area Middle School are very responsive to these changes as it is a time of self-discovery and self-understanding on many levels. It is a time when students need a great deal of encouragement, support and patience. It is very important that after the two years we have with our students, we have them properly prepared for high school and beyond.

The more empowered students feel, the more confident the feel, the more successful they will be. The more information that students have about who they are, where their strengths lie, and what their interests are, the more they can make informed decisions about friendships, courses, activities, and eventually career interests they might want to explore. When students explore their interests in a purposeful manner, they have the security of knowing they have a plan through small goals with the finale being a career they worked toward and obtained.

The Middle School Guidance Department and the Computer Department are working together to provide students with opportunities to learn more about their interests, abilities, independent skills, how the world works and how what they are learning today is the foundation for what they will do in years to come. The activities are based on Mars Area School District curriculum as well as the Naviance career assessment program.