Supporting Counselors Through New York Graduation Changes with SchoolTool and Xello

High school counselors have always balanced multiple responsibilities—from course scheduling and student advising to monitoring progress toward graduation. With New York State’s 2027–2028 graduation requirements evolving under NY Inspires and the Portrait of a Graduate framework, that landscape is shifting. Regents exams will no longer be the sole path to a diploma. Students will now demonstrate readiness through coursework, alternative assessments, work-based experiences, and civic engagement projects. 

This expanded framework offers a more holistic view of student achievement but also introduces new challenges for counselors managing progress across multiple domains. 

Understanding the Requirements 

Counselors must track various student milestones, including: 

• Academic Credits: Completion of courses in core subjects like English, math, science, and social studies.
• Work-Based Learning: Participation in internships, apprenticeships, or other career-related experiences.
• Civic Engagement: Community service or civic projects that reflect New York’s emphasis on well-rounded graduates.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE): Coursework and assessments aligned with career pathways. 

Tracking these pathways simultaneously can be overwhelming. Manual systems such as spreadsheets, binders, and disconnected platforms are time-consuming and prone to error. A 2025 article from District Administration reported that a majority of counselors said "compliance-related administrative tasks" consume a significant amount of time that could be better spent with students. This is important because when counselors are bogged down by administrative work, they have less capacity to provide individualized guidance, identify students who may be struggling, and support meaningful college, career, and civic readiness planning. 

How SchoolTool CCCR Supports Counselors 

SchoolTool is a student management system designed specifically for New York State school districts. Its CCCR (College, Career, and Civic Readiness) module simplifies the complex task of tracking student progress toward graduation. 

At its core, SchoolTool CCCR organizes student progress around diploma or credential types, which are divided into categories such as academic credits, work-based learning hours, or civic engagement milestones. Each category contains requirements, which are the individual criteria a student must meet. 

Requirements can be tracked automatically through courses completed or hours logged, or they can be manually adjusted when necessary. Points can be assigned, and categories can be nested, allowing districts to model flexible pathways such as the Seal of Civic Readiness or multiple CTE options. 

Once requirements are set, districts can assign courses, assessments, or hour-based activities to them. The system calculates progress automatically, showing for example that a student has completed three out of four English courses needed for graduation. Visual alerts highlight if a student is off track, enabling counselors to intervene early. 

Integrating Xello for a Connected Experience 

While SchoolTool CCCR provides a counselor-focused view of student progress, Xello captures the student perspective. Students use Xello to explore careers, complete interest assessments, set goals, and plan for college and beyond. SchoolTool CCCR securely shares student data with Xello, ensuring that students’ plans and achievements in Xello stay aligned with their academic information in SchoolTool. This creates a seamless connection between counselor insights and student-driven planning.

A Clear View of Progress 

In SchoolTool CCCR, the student page consolidates all relevant information for counselors. They see each student’s academic history, current and scheduled courses, assessment results, and hours for work-based learning, CTE, and civic engagement. Visual summaries, such as pie charts for categories and overall credential progress, make it easy to identify students who are on track and those who may need support. Notes can be private for counselors or shared with other users, and basic student information such as grade, enrollment type, and home district is clearly displayed.

Sharing student data from SchoolTool CCCR with Xello allows counselors to verify that the information students see in Xello, including goals and plans, is consistent with their academic records. This connected workflow helps counselors combine administrative tracking with insight into students’ planning in one cohesive view.

Planning for the Future 

SchoolTool CCCR is flexible and designed to grow with district needs. Templates aligned to New York State requirements make setup faster, while the configuration system allows districts to track any type of requirement. Over time, CCCR can also support course scheduling, allowing students to select courses that align with graduation pathways. 

By centralizing data and providing a clear, flexible framework, SchoolTool CCCR allows counselors to focus less on manual recordkeeping and more on guiding students toward college, career, and civic readiness. With Xello integrated, that guidance is more connected and actionable than ever.