Vermont schools must ensure that all students in grades 7 through 12 have a Personalized Learning Plan (PLP). It is a written document developed by the student, a representative of the school and, if the student is a minor, the student's parent or legal guardian, and it is reviewed at least annually. The requirement comes from the Flexible Pathways Initiative in 16 V.S.A. § 941 and the State Board of Education's Education Quality Standards.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

Flexible pathways sit at the center of the PLP. Options such as career and technical education, work-based learning, dual enrollment and early college only help a student who knows where those pathways can go. Without exploration, the annual review can become a routine update, and the plan can lose the personal direction it is meant to carry.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Vermont schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Vermont

Vermont's statewide Dual Enrollment Program, created in 16 V.S.A. § 944 as a potential component of a student's flexible pathway, includes up to two college courses for eligible Vermont high school students. The Vermont Agency of Education manages the program and describes the courses as tuition free for eligible students. Vermont also funds Early College for grade 12 students under 16 V.S.A. § 946, and enrollment in an early college program must be part of the student's personalized learning plan.

Students who explore their interests early can use their limited Dual Enrollment courses on subjects tied to a real goal, and daily exploration (for example on a 13th Year™ kiosk) can help them decide.

Official program information: Vermont Agency of Education →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Explore before the annual review. The PLP is reviewed at least annually. Students who have looked at colleges, trades, military service and careers since the last review have something new to add.
  • Link exploration to flexible pathways. Vermont's pathways include career and technical education, work-based learning, dual enrollment and early college. Exploration helps a student see which pathway serves a real goal.
  • Begin in grade 7. The PLP starts in the middle grades. Early exploration gives younger students ideas to build on as the plan grows through grade 12.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students who explore on their own time bring clearer goals to the Personalized Learning Plan and to the flexible pathways it documents. It supports, and does not replace, Vermont's Personalized Learning Plan process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Vermont high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.