Archives for October 2025

Manufacturing Day Grows Across School Districts U-46, 300, 301 and 303

October 23, 2025

Thank you to Northern Kane County Region 110 and our Manufacturing Partners

Thank you to Northern Kane County Region 110 for a most successful fourth annual Manufacturing Day. Approximately 600 students from school districts U-46, 300, 301, and 303 participated in industry tours with the region’s most prominent manufacturing companies, opening their doors and welcoming students to tour their facilities and learn more about manufacturing professions.

Walking the site floors, students met industry professionals who shared their experiences and advisement for multiple manufacturing careers. Region 110 Work-Based Learning Specialist, Dr. Todd Stirn, coordinated the tours sharing why these tours are so valuable. “There are hundreds of thousands of well-paying, satisfying jobs in manufacturing going unfilled, yet many young people aren’t aware of these opportunities. Bringing students and manufacturers together through these tours is the perfect solution.”

As students make plans for their future career, Terry Stroh, Region 110’s EFE director, shared that “many students during the tour discovered opportunities to join the region’s competitive summer internship program, connecting classroom learning to real-world experience”. Through this partnership of manufacturing companies, both students and local manufacturers look toward the promise of a strong future workforce. Nancy Lesincki, senior talent advisor for HARTING, posted “We undoubtedly have the best community partners working alongside us with the aim of facilitating manufacturing growth and careers in Illinois.”

Thank You to Our Host Manufacturing Companies

Advanced Compressor Technology
AFC Materials
AJR Filtration
Babbitting Service Inc.
Bucher Hydraulics
Clarke Environmental
Custom Aluminum
Echo USA

Elgin Sweeper
Flender
General Kinematics
Genesis Automation
HARTING Americas
Hoffer Plastics
ITW Shakeproof
Lakeview Precision Machining

Mazak
Middleby Marshall
McCormick FONA
Pactiv Evergreen
Richardson Electronics
Sauber Manufacturing
Swiss Automation
Wittenstein

Senior Postsecondary Day Reaches Over 1,300 Students!

October 21, 2025

More than 25 universities, colleges, and organizations joined Alignment and School District U-46 for the Senior Virtual Postsecondary Day on October 15. Reaching the largest number of seniors to date, 1,342 students were exposed to a multitude of college and career pathways.

As they met with admissions counselors and visiting faculty, students were able to gain valuable guidance as they envisioned the next steps in their academic and professional endeavors. Specialized sessions also provided students vital tools and resources through college essay tutoring and financial literacy discussions for FAFSA preparation and personal finance. From learning about different apprenticeship and technical programs at Elgin Community College, to exploring military service opportunities, to hearing from U-46 alumni share their personal postsecondary experiences at various institutions, there was something for every student to feel empowered in pursuing their postsecondary plans.

Thank you to the following colleges, universities, and organizations for partnering with Alignment and U-46 to offer the Senior Postsecondary Day:

Aurora University
Bradley University
Butler University
College of DuPage
DePaul University Dominican University
Elgin Community College
Grand Valley State University
Harper College
Honest Game – NCAA Academic Eligibility

Illinois State University
Indiana University
Judson University
Lincoln College of Technology
Loyola University
Marquette University
Northern Illinois University
Pathways Planning and Insights
Purdue University
rich and REGULAR (Personal Financial Management)

Roosevelt University
Southern Illinois University
Universal Technical Institute
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Wisconsin Madison
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
U.S. Armed Forces
Western Illinois University

Thank you to all the volunteers from these organizations who made this event a huge success, as well as to our Alignment partners from the U-46 Postsecondary Success Team, and Northern Kane County Region 110, who facilitated 16 different sessions for students.

Explore 2025 Highlights

October 8, 2025

Thank you to our business community partners, U-46 and volunteers for the most successful Explore to-date!

On October 1 and 2 more than 2,300 8th grade students from eight U-46 middle schools visited Explore 2025. This annual event connects students preparing to enter high school with more than a hundred careers to explore. Joined by 81 business and community partners as exhibitors, Explore showcases the fastest growing careers in the greater Elgin area from automotive and manufacturing opportunities to healthcare professions.

Nancy Coleman, Executive Director of Alignment shared: “Explore has become a model of how business and school partnerships should work that many other districts and communities wish to replicate. The business and school community is committed to investing early in building the future workforce for the region. We are truly grateful for that vision.”

Thank you to our fantastic board members, community volunteers, U-46 volunteers, teachers, administrators, and high school students who filled the NOW Arena with career exploration. The student photos tell the story along with the Daily Herald coverage by Rick West.