Career exploration for middle schoolers.

Why middle school?

In as early as sixth grade, Boston Public School (BPS) students choose a high school that determines their access to different career and academic opportunities, including Career and Technical Education (CTE), Innovation Programs, Early College Pathways, Advanced Placement (AP) Courses, and more. However, many students make this decision without adequate guidance or support.

Of the 86 schools serving the middle grades in Boston, only 3 have guidance counselors.

Without a dedicated staff member in schools to support implementation, initiatives centered around academic and career planning fail to gain traction.

That’s where One Bead comes in.

With support from community leaders, we engage students in meaningful conversations about their future. Our partnership model is adaptable. We partner with schools and provide tailored support based on infrastructure and capacity. Current services offered by our organization include:

  • One Bead’s biggest event of the year is our Career Expo, open to students in grades 6–12. Explore highlights from our past expos and stay updated on upcoming events here.

    In addition to our annual Career Expo, One Bead supports schools interested in hosting their own events promoting career exploration.

    Learn more about our annual Career Expo

  • One Bead’s core focus in schools is on providing weekly or bi-weekly programming to address critical capacity gaps related to career and academic planning.

    The target audience for this programming is 6th grade.

    Read more about our weekly programming below.

  • We support our school partners by sourcing diverse speakers for events like all-school assemblies, cultural heritage month celebrations, and other standalone events.

  • We provide students with opportunities for career exploration in the community by organizing field trips to local work spaces.

  • Juan Sosa, a local yoga instructor led a class for 8th grade students at the Higginson-Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury.

  • Melanie Robinson Findlay, CEO of Upwards N Onwards LLC spoke to students at KIPP Academy Lynn during an assembly to celebrate Black History Month.

  • Emmanuelle Dubuisson, a self-taught artist, led a special, interactive session for students at The Russell.

  • Nick DeJesus, a software engineer, spoke to 7th grade students about how being a professional video gamer influenced his career as a software engineer.

Explore our Speaker Community

Our guest speakers are leaders in their industries, but many are also Boston Public School graduates themselves.

Unpacking our weekly programming.

One Bead’s weekly programming supports middle schoolers, with a focus on 6th graders navigating the high school choice process. When we partner with a school, we typically serve the entire grade level. Sessions are offered on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly cadence depending on the school’s capacity. At the start of the year, One Bead instructors meet with teachers to review curriculum objectives. From there, instructors identify guest speakers who can effectively translate these goals into engaging learning experiences.

Every session is structured as an interactive workshop that ties back to the school choice process and its impact on college and career readiness. An example of the agenda for each session is provided below:

  • One Bead instructors collaborate with speakers to align their background and experiences with a clear intention for the session, ensuring meaningful connections with students.

  • Students take the lead in a youth-driven Q&A, asking speakers insightful questions about their careers and experiences.

  • Each session features an interactive component that brings the speaker’s work to life.

  • We close by connecting the discussion to the high school choice process and have students complete a survey to reflect on what they’ve learned.