The foremost objective of Life Skills, Health, and Career & Vocational Education at Village Glen High School is to build self-esteem and to provide students with the essential knowledge and skills required to behave responsibly and care for themselves and others.
 

Methodologies include lecture, discussion, film, class activities, text readings, group work, and independent research. As a general rule, students are placed in specific courses by grade level.

Ninth grade students are enrolled in a one-semester Life Skills course followed by a one-semester Health course. Twelfth grade students are enrolled in a year-long Career Pathways course. All of these courses are designed to increase student knowledge and ability in skills necessary for everyday living. The courses emphasize defining personal values, goal-setting and planning, making decisions and solving problems, evaluating information and dealing with media and peer pressure, communication and relationships, wellness and personal safety, and contributing to your community.
 

Course Descriptions:
 

Life Skills for the 21st Century, 1 semester life skills credit
In this course, students explore their talents and  begin to consider options for their future. The course begins to prepare them to transition into college, vocational school, or the working world. Students will determine possible career choices, develop basic job related skills, and examine requirements for pursuing college or vocational training. Additionally, students will develop an understanding of the skills required for eventual independent living and will build a portfolio of their work and skills to assist them in future post-secondary and employment opportunities.
 

Health, 1 semester health credit
This course promotes wellness and health literacy by encouraging positive behavior to ensure a lifetime of health. The program also incorporates life skills to help students learn skills to protect, enhance, and maintain their health with an emphasis on decision-making and refusal skills.
 

Career Pathways, 1 year career pathways credit
This course is designed to help students explore the different aspects of preparing for a successful future after high school. Students will learn to define terms that are related to post high school education and the work force, as well as many terms related to daily living skills that may previously have been unfamiliar. Many of the assignments do not have right-or-wrong answers but will require personal investigation regarding individual student’s desires, hopes, and dreams for the future. In conjunction with each unit covered in the textbook, students explore a “hypothetical world” where each student applies for a job, finds an apartment, determines a means of transportation, earns income, develops a budget, pays bills and generally explores some of the costs involved with everyday life. Students develop a better understanding of working and living independently in order to build confidence in their ability to make independent positive choices.