Sierra High School has earned the Career Choices Gold Medal, the highest level of recognition awarded by Academic Innovations.

The award honors top-performing schools that demonstrate exceptional, sustained outcomes in preparing students for success beyond high school.

Gold Medal recipients represent the highest standard of implementation of the Career Choices curriculum, showing consistent, measurable impact in student engagement, postsecondary planning, and long-term success.

For Sierra High School, this milestone marks a significant advancement from its previous Silver-level recognition and reflects years of intentional growth, refinement, and commitment to student success.

“Sierra High School continues to raise the bar for what’s possible when career and life planning is embedded into the student experience,” said Mindy Bingham, CEO of Academic Innovations and author of the Career Choices curriculum.

“Their students are not only prepared academically but they graduate with clarity, confidence, and a strong sense of purpose.”

At the core of Sierra’s success is the integration of the Career Choices curriculum and My10yearPlan.com into the freshman experience and beyond. Students develop personalized, skills-based 10-year plans that connect their academic decisions with long-term career and life goals. These plans serve as a foundation for ongoing reflection, helping students make informed choices throughout high school.

“The Career Choices program is continuing to grow at Sierra High, and we’re seeing the impact in how students think about their futures,” said Jeff Greene, teacher at Sierra High School.

“From the beginning, students are learning the importance of planning, but they’re also building self-advocacy skills, understanding how to ask questions, seek opportunities, and take ownership of their path.”

A defining feature of Sierra’s program is its strong emphasis on real-world application. Through structured experiences such as mock interviews, students engage directly with community members representing a wide range of professions that include business leaders, public servants, and educators. These interactions provide valuable insight into workplace expectations while helping students build communication and professional skills early in their high school journey.

“We bring in professionals from all different fields, and every freshman participates in a mock interview experience,” Greene added. “It’s one thing to talk about careers in the classroom, but when students actually practice those skills with real people, it makes a lasting impression.”

Sierra High School’s outcomes reflect the strength of its approach.

The school continues to exceed state averages in key indicators such as graduation rates and college readiness, demonstrating how deeply the program impacts students both academically and personally.

The Career Choices framework has become an integral part of the school’s culture supporting not just academic achievement, but long-term planning and personal growth.

The Gold Medal distinction also reflects Sierra’s commitment to equity and access, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to explore their interests, build a plan, and pursue a meaningful future.