The New Mexico Next Step Plan, a postsecondary career transition plan for grades 8 through 12, aims to enhance relationships between all educational stakeholders: students, parents/caregivers, community, and administrators. These stakeholder relationships are intended to close the achievement gap among all students, in particular, ethnic youth. Professional school counselors need to lead this charge. Qualitative feedback from a survey and a compliance audit demonstrate how the school counseling curriculum can utilize stakeholders in career development activities to promote students' academic success.