The Hickman Mills C-1 School District offers a variety of courses and programs that align to the Missouri Career Clusters. Career Clusters provide a progressive framework to organize the world of work and career information. Missouri uses 16 Career Clusters as a way of organizing occupations and careers to assist educators in tailoring rigorous coursework and related activities for all students. Instruction and other learning experiences organized by Career Clusters offer students core academics and other activities that match student skills and interests. Career clusters are beneficial in helping students develop personal plans of study (PPOS) to facilitate the planning of educational and career goals. A personal plan of study is a student-specific and customized scope and sequence of coursework that includes high school graduation requirements, applicable coursework for the students’ educational and career goals, and developmentally-appropriate, work-based learning experiences.

In Hickman Mills, we have mapped the Missouri Career Clusters to each of our four Small Learning Communities (SLC's). Students have the opportunity to take a variety of elective courses within each of the four pathways offered in the SLC's. These elective courses are designed to provide students with experiences and knowledge that align to the Missouri Career Clusters. 

We also provide a variety of on and off campus experiences for students in grades K-12. Students in grades K-6 explore personal strengths and careers through Missouri Career Connections and the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Curriculum. Elementary students also have the opportunity to attend college visits. Middle School students participate in exploratory activities to determine the career cluster in which their strengths lie. Middle school students also have the opportunity to participate in a career fair, attend off campus field trips at area businesses, take courses in Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and earn high school credit in Spanish, Health, and Personal Finance. Students in grades 9-12 participate in college and career fairs, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Financial Aid) events, attend at least one experience per year off campus, and have access to a variety of early college courses and programs.