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Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

Career Education

Alignment Hosts College Panels for U-46 Juniors and Seniors

Elgin Community College, Judson University, Northern University and Roosevelt University joined Alignment to provide a live introduction to the admissions and college search process.  Each institution’s admissions representative shared:

  • The admission requirements for their institution to include GPA requirements, standardized test scores, and placement testing.
  • Sources of financial aid and scholarship funding available to freshmen students.
  • The institution’s programs of study and how to access more specific information about individual programs.
  • Critical dates within the academic calendar for admissions, financial aid and scholarship applications.
  • Best advice to students participating in the college search and decision process.

Students were then given the opportunity to ask individual questions on an assortment of topics. Feedback from students, high school counselors and the admissions representatives was overwhelmingly positive with plans to implement virtual college panels in all U-46 high schools in the fall.

Dream Academy, Larkin and Streamwood graduating seniors also benefited from a Virtual, ZOOM experience of the ECC Admissions Office meeting multiple ECC representatives.  The step by step workshop covered all necessary requirements to enter ECC in August to include the application process, placement testing, advising, financial aid, apprenticeships, and college work study programs.  Students had the opportunity to ask multiple questions to help clarify the college admission process.  Thank you to ECC and our partner universities for sharing their time and expertise with our U-46 students!

Alignment Partners with Gail Borden Public Library to Offer Resume and Interviewing Skills Workshop

Alignment and Gail Borden Public Library (GBPL) partnered to provide students with work-based learning skills to include resume preparation and interviewing skills assistance.  Billie Moffitt, coordinator of GBPL’s Teen Center, led students in discussion of application tips, resume styles, often asked interview questions, etc.  Students were eager to learn where to find employment within the community and tips on how to acquire that information.  Alignment also offered interested students the opportunity to have their resumes reviewed and edited by local human resources partners within the Alignment Collaborative and also through Junior Achievement.  Thank you to Billie and GBPL for leading this workshop!

Work-Based Learning Initiated in all U-46 High Schools

Work-Based Learning Initiated in all U-46 High Schools
Streamwood Academy students participate in entrepreneurial and international business career panel

Alignment in partnership with School District U-46 is launching U-46’s system wide work based learning plan.  Working with each high school principal, Alignment is providing career panels in each of the five high schools and the Dream Academy partnering with industry professionals representing various industry clusters. Alignment will also provide industry and professional tours for specific student audiences to include such programs as automotive, early education, engineering, health care and manufacturing.  Career panels to date have served over 1,100 students. 

Thank you to our panelists representing the following companies and organizations:  Advocate Sherman Hospital, AVID CNA, City of Elgin Police Department, Elgin Community College, Elgin Sweeper, HLR, ITW Shakeproof, Junior Achievement, Nokia, PNC Bank, SGS, School District U-46, Streamwood Behavioral Healthcare System, Taylor Family YMCA, The Overture Group, and Village of Streamwood.

U-46 District-Wide Work Based Learning Plan

School District U-46 high school principals gathered on January 9th to collaborate with Alignment on a district-wide plan to implement work based learning opportunities for all students.  The plan will follow guidelines established in the Illinois Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework, ensuring students meet career-related benchmarks at each grade level.

A pilot will launch in February 2020 with career panels in all five high schools and the Dream Academy. Throughout the remainder of the semester, the pilot will include industry tours and job shadowing experiences for sophomore students, an expansion of the 40-hour internship pilot for junior students, and a job fair for senior students intending to enter the workforce immediately following graduation.

The district-wide work based learning plan will be a key component to the U-46 Educational Pathways implementation to support U-46 College and Career Academies.

“We are hoping to empower students to explore a field of interest and learn more about themselves in the process,” says Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Lela Majstorovic. “The end goal is not simply graduating from high school; the end goal is for our students to graduate with a plan and multiple options for the next step in their journey.”

Mayor Kaptain Names Alignment as a Priority in 2020

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain

When asked by the Daily Herald to identify the most important thing he hopes the community can accomplish in 2020, Mayor Kaptain responded “Our greatest successes happen when we plan for the long-term needs of our community. A prepared and educated workforce is fundamental to that. The city will continue to be a leader in the Alignment Collaborative for Education, a partnership with Elgin Area School District U-46, with commitments from more than 130 organizations to work together on new ways to improve educational outcomes and better connect our students to local jobs. From our youngest students to those ready for a career, we are all working hard to set up our future generations for success.”

Read the full Daily Herald article here.

U-46, Alignment Collaborative for Education to Host 5th Annual Curriculum and Career Expo

Explore 2019 gives 8th graders up-close view of career options.

More than 3,000 U-46 8th graders will get the opportunity next month to talk with local professionals who will share their journey from post-secondary education to the workforce. The District’s annual curriculum and career expo aims to show students the connection between academics and future careers at a time when they are beginning to recognize their interests and, together with their parents, teachers, and guidance counselors, plan for high school and beyond.

As in recent years, the Alignment Collaborative for Education is partnering with U-46 to organize the event, and for the second year, it will be held at the Sears Centre, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. Eighth grade students will attend during the school day on Sept. 11 with their teachers. More than 90 local companies and organizations will showcase their careers at the event which will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

New this year, parents and guardians of U-46 8th grade students are invited to attend a special “preview” of Explore 2019 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the Sears Centre.

“Explore offers students a unique opportunity to learn first hand about various professions and to think about what college or career path they might want to follow,” said U-46 CEO Tony Sanders. “I’m excited that this year we can offer parents a chance to experience our expo as well and to meet some of the inspiring professionals who are volunteering to talk with students and explain how their education and career path led them to their current roles.”

The Citizens’ Advisory Council helped the District launch the first expo. The Alignment Collaborative for Education, a non-profit local organization that brings together community resources and initiatives to support District priorities, has since helped expand the expo in the past four years, first as a weekend event at Elgin Community College and starting in 2018, as a weekday event at the Sears Centre. The new location was necessary to accommodate both the growing exhibitor demonstrations and equipment and 8th grade students from all eight U-46 middle schools. U-46 buses will be used to transport the students to the event.

“We are thrilled to see so many local businesses invest in our future workforce,” said Nancy Coleman, executive director of Alignment. “We look forward to hosting parents on the 10th and giving them the opportunity to experience the expo and become better equipped to discuss the event as well as future college and career options with their children.”

Explore 2019 supports the District’s ongoing efforts to improve college and career readiness. The first aspiration outlined in the District’s Strategic Plan focuses on student achievement and educating the whole student by providing an enriched, high-quality experience that empowers graduates to be competitive members of the global society.

Another part of that effort is Naviance, a web-based college and career readiness platform that helps middle and high school students explore their strengths and interests. Before Explore 2019, school counselors will visit 8th grade classrooms, helping students use the Naviance tool to determine the career cluster they want to focus on at the event. Also before the event, students and parents will be provided with tips about how they can discuss the student’s career interests at home, as well as an expo map so that students can plan their route.

At both the school-day Explore 2019 and the parent preview the night before, U-46 faculty and staff will be present to explain core classes, electives, and popular course sequences that are based on students’ career interests, such as courses in automotive, welding, healthcare science, and manufacturing, as well as additional college and career preparatory curriculum. Representatives from the District’s five magnet academies, which require an application process, will be present at both events as well. Children can attend the preview night with their parents.

Exhibitors, which include businesses, hospitals, local governmental organizations, industry partners, universities, and non-profits, in total representing about a dozen career clusters, will be provided with suggestions for how to best interact with students.

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School District U-46 serves families in 11 communities: Bartlett, Elgin, Hanover Park, South Elgin, Streamwood and Wayne, as well as portions of Carol Stream, Hoffman Estates, St. Charles, Schaumburg, and West Chicago. In total, the District encompasses 90 square miles within the Fox River Valley, approximately 45 minutes west of downtown Chicago, and includes communities within Cook, DuPage and Kane counties. More than 38,000 pre-K through twelfth graders attend the 57 District schools and programs. To learn more, Visit the U-46 website,or like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.