An ACP workflow for Wisconsin high schools
Software your district can use to run its academic and career planning process for grades 9–12, alongside Xello.
A tour of GradLaunch · 1:21Read the transcriptHide the transcript
Every student has a plan. Most just haven't said it out loud yet. This is GradLaunch. It starts with a conversation, not a form. Talk it through and your plan builds itself. Academic keeps your classes, homework and a four-year course plan in one place. Career builds your resume with a live score and finds real events to join. Planning puts every college deadline on one timeline, next to a career path that updates as you go. Ask career chat anything. It already knows your plan. And message the teachers who can help. GradLaunch. Personalized ACP software.
What the rules ask, and where GradLaunch helps
The ACP is your district’s process. These are three of its requirements and what GradLaunch does for each.
| The requirement | In GradLaunch |
|---|---|
| Every student in grades 6–12 has an academic and career plan, run by the district.Wis. Stat. §115.28(59); PI 26 | GradLaunch covers grades 9–12. Middle school ACP work stays in Xello or the tool you use now. |
| Students can download their academic and career plan.PI 26.02(3) | Each student's plan downloads as a PDF: their career path, interest results and four-year course plan. |
| The district informs and updates parents each year and gives them chances to take part.PI 26.03(1)(b) | A counselor or the student can email the plan home as a PDF. Families do not need an account; there is no parent portal. |
How a student’s plan comes together
Interests
Students take the O*NET Interest Profiler, from the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET program, and see careers that match their results.
A career path, talked through
Students describe what they like and what they are willing to do. Their path takes shape from that conversation, and they can change any stage of it.
A four-year course plan
Students plan their courses year by year and see progress against your graduation requirements. Each school sets its own; in Wisconsin, the state minimum is the default.
Counselor review
Counselors see each plan and mark it reviewed. They review plans; they do not edit them.
A plan families can read
The plan downloads as a PDF and can be emailed home, so families see it without signing up for anything.
Alongside Xello
DPI provides Xello to every Wisconsin district. Its new five-year contract began July 1, 2026, with renewals possible through 2035. A district that adds another platform pays for it locally.
GradLaunch is for districts that want more around the plan itself: a career path students talk through, a course plan checked against your requirements, and a counselor caseload ranked by urgency. Past the ACP, the same students get a college application hub, essay coaching that never writes the essay, and resume tools.
Questions Wisconsin districts ask
Is GradLaunch approved by DPI?
DPI approves district ACP programs under PI 26.05, not vendor products, and publishes no approved-vendor list. GradLaunch is software your district can use as part of its own program.
Do we have to stop using Xello?
No. GradLaunch is built to run alongside Xello, not instead of it. The two do not exchange data today, so students would use both.
Which grades does GradLaunch cover?
Grades 9–12, plus college students. Wisconsin's ACP starts in grade 6, so middle school ACP work stays in Xello or your current tool.
How is GradLaunch paid for?
Schools are quoted per student per year. DPI funds Xello for every district; a district that adds another platform pays for it from local funds.
Do parents need an account?
No. The plan goes home as a PDF by email. There is no parent portal or parent login.
See GradLaunch for your district
Tell us about your schools and staff, and we will follow up with a quote.
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