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Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

Career Education

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

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

Celebrating Student Success – Region 110 Newsletter

Northern Kane County Region 110 shares their latest newsletter which highlights the incredible growth and impact of our Regional Summer Internship Program and other exciting initiatives. This issue, Giving Thanks – Celebrating Summer Internships 2026, showcases the inspiring stories of 243 high school students who gained real-world, hands-on experiences across multiple career pathways this past summer. None of this progress would be possible without the extraordinary commitment of our school districts, community partners, and local businesses who continue to invest in shaping tomorrow’s workforce.

Inside this edition, you will find:

  • Internship highlights across healthcare, manufacturing, IT, education, public safety, and more.
  • An invitation to participate in the 2026 Regional Summer Internship Program.
  • Updates on upcoming Manufacturing Month tours (October 16), the Educators’ Rising Mini Conference (October 30), and other student-centered opportunities.
  • Stories of students exploring careers in dentistry, first response, and skilled trades.

On behalf of Region 110 and the Alignment Collaborative for Education, thank you for your continued support of our students and schools. Together, we are building pathways that help students find their purpose, strengthen our workforce, and ensure lasting success for our communities.

We invite you to read through the newsletter and consider ways your organization might get involved in preparing the future workforce across our region.

Alignment and Northern Kane County Region 110 Job Fair Attracts Students Across the Region

More than 550 students from eleven high schools across School Districts U-46, 300, 301, and 303 attended the annual Regional Job Fair sponsored by Alignment and Northern Kane County Region 110 hosted at Elgin Community College. The students had the opportunity to connect with 74 businesses and community organizations representing a wide range of industries, including automotive, business, culinary, education, energy, financial services, healthcare, IT, and manufacturing. Thanks to resume workshops held beforehand, many students arrived prepared with resumes to share with potential employers. This year’s fair also featured 18 organizations offering summer employment, allowing students to complete job applications on the spot.

Thank you to our Sponsors

Advocate Sherman Hospital
AED Foundation
Baran Family
City of Elgin
John and Niki Devereux
Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce
Elgin Community College
Elgin Sweeper

Elgin Township
First Mid Bank & Trust
Grand Victoria Foundation
Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc.
Hoffer Family and Foundation
David and Sandy Kaptain
KCT Credit Union
Nicor

Rosati’s Pizza
Saint Joseph Hospital
Seigle Foundation
Peter Sikorski Family
United Way Metro Chicago
Village of Hanover Park
Wintrust
Wolko Design Group

Thank you to our Exhibitors

Advanced Compressors
AHW
Altorfer CAT
Association for Individual Development
A-TEC Ambulance
AVID CNA School
Black Diamond Plumbing & Mechanical
Bob Loquercio Auto Group
Boys and Girls Clubs of Elgin
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Northwest Suburbs
Bria of Geneva Nursing and Rehabilitation
Bucher Hydraulics
Business and Career Services, Inc.
City of Elgin
COLLARS
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northern Illinois
Convergint
Cosmetology and Spa Academy
Culvers
Custom Aluminum Products
D301 Facilities/Building and Grounds
D301 Food Service
D301 Human Resources
Dundee Township Park District
Durham School Services
Edward Jones Financial Advisor

Elgin Community College – Apprenticeship Program
Elgin Community College – Culinary Department
Elgin Community College – Dental Assisting Program
Elgin Community College – Phlebotomy Program
Elgin Community College – Talent Search
Elgin Community College – Welding
Elgin Community College – WIOA program
Elgin Industries
Elgin Neighborhood Network Mental Health Initiative
Elgin Sweeper
Gail Borden Public Library
GCAMP, Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership
General Kinematics
Golden Corridor Family YMCA
Highland Oaks of Elgin
Hoffer Plastics
IL Secretary of State – Department of Personnel
John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Fisher Nuts)
Judson University
Keller Williams Success Realty
LifeLine Ambulance

Lincoln College of Technology
LyondellBasell
MKD Electric
NICOR
Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association
Official Finders
Old Second National Bank
Opiquad, LLC
Organic Life Smart Food Service
Pace Suburban Bus
Prime Healthcare: Saint Joseph Hospital Elgin
ProDriven Global Brands
Rosati’s Pizza
Santa’s Village
Streamwood Behavioral Healthcare System
Streamwood Park District
Target
Truck Country
U-46 Human Resources
U-46 Plant Operations
Universal Technical Institute
Village of Hanover Park
VNA Health Care
West Dundee Fire Department
Wintrust / Elgin State Bank
workNet Batavia
Young Rembrandts

Sophomore and Junior Postsecondary Day reaches over 4,200 students!

District U-46 High Schools

More than 25 universities, colleges, and organizations joined Alignment and School District U-46 for the Sophomore and Junior Postsecondary Virtual Day on March 4. Reaching the largest number of students to date, 4,238 individual students attended the event with university and college admissions staff and visiting faculty. Students received information about FAFSA, learned about program admission and apprenticeships at Elgin Community College, and also had the opportunity to learn about corporate-based apprenticeships from Zurich Insurance. Students received advice from U-46 alumni now in college, learned about military service, along with student athletes receiving assistance in NCAA eligibility.

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

Aurora University

Bradley University
DePaul University

Elgin Community College

Elmhurst University
Grand Valley State University

Harper College

Honest Game – NCAA Academic Eligibility

Illinois State University

Judson University
Lincoln College of Technology

Loyola University

Marquette University
North Central College

Northern Illinois University
Purdue University

Southern Illinois University

Universal Technical Institute

University of Dayton

University of Illinois Chicago

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin Whitewater

U.S. Armed Forces

Western Illinois University
Xavier University
Zurich Insurance

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, Elgin Community College, and Northern Kane County Region 110, who facilitated 32 different sessions for students.

Zurich Hosts Second Annual Tour for U-46 Students

Thank you to Junior Achievement (JA) and Zurich Insurance for hosting the second annual Zurich Insurance tour for students from Bartlett, Larkin, and Streamwood high schools.  Approximately 80 students spent the day at Zurich touring the company’s headquarters and learning about its apprenticeship programs. Previous U-46 graduates currently working for Zurich served as tour guides for the event along with JA and Zurich employees leading workshops in “It’s My Future”. 

Alignment and School District U-46 continue to have strong partnerships with both JA and Zurich.  Nancy Coleman, Alignment’s executive director, described the partnership as ” a shared mission between Alignment, JA, and Zurich to expose students to the corporate world and the steps necessary to be successful in that workplace. This partnership is long standing as evidenced by Zurich providing employment opportunities for U-46 graduates as a result of the three partners working together to help prepare students for the future workforce.”

Senior Postsecondary Virtual Day

More than 25 universities, colleges, and organizations joined Alignment and School District U-46 for the third annual Senior Postsecondary Virtual Day on October 16. A record number of students attended with 794 individual seniors participating. Seniors who attended the event were able to get information from university and college admissions staff, current college students, FAFSA, military service, and NCAA eligibility, etc.

For students who are undecided about their interest in postsecondary colleges and universities, a session was included about future employment and apprenticeship opportunities with information about Elgin Community College’s apprenticeship programs and the outlook for future employment in the region and state.

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
DePaul University
Elgin Community College
Elmhurst University
Harper College
Honest Game – NCAA Academic Eligibility
Illinois Department of Employment Security
Illinois State University
Judson University
Lincoln College of Technology
Loyola University
Marquette University
North Central College
Northern Illinois University
Nova Southeastern University
Purdue University
Southern Illinois University
Universal Technical Institute
University of Dayton
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
U.S. Armed Forces
Western Illinois University
Xavier University