Align4edu

Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

Community Awareness

Building a Village of Support for Elgin’s Youth

As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, the Elgin Neighborhood Network (ENN) is reflecting on the power of a supportive community. We are committed to making the transition from identifying a need to receiving professional care as seamless as possible.

Navigating Care Together

The ENN Youth Mental Health Workgroup has worked diligently to map out local referral pathways. We invite you to utilize our new resource directory to help families access behavioral health support and crisis intervention.

For further educational materials, we also recommend resources from NAMI and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Youth Leadership in Action

We are thrilled to celebrate the Larkin High School HOSA team, which recently placed third at the state competition in the Mental Health Promotion category! Their campaign, Connectable, focuses on building meaningful human connections beyond social media across Larkin High School and U-46 elementary schools. The team includes our very own ENN Youth Mental Health Workgroup student representative, Emily O’Hearn. They will be taking their impactful campaign to the international competition in Indiana this June—please join us in wishing them the best of luck!

alignment youth leadership dual language class
alignment youth leadership hosa students

Thanking Our Partners

We want to thank our clinical partners, as well as Elgin Township, the Hanover Township Mental Health Board, Kane County Health Department, and School District U-46, for the vital efforts that keep our youth healthy and thriving.

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Thank you for your partnership in ensuring every Elgin family has the resources to succeed.

Region 110 Celebrates Nancy Coleman as the IACTE Carl Perkins Community Service Award Winner

Northern Kane County Vocational Region 110 proudly announces that Nancy Coleman, Executive Director of the Alignment Collaborative for Education, has been named the State of Illinois Carl Perkins Community Service Award Winner by the Illinois Association of Career and Technical Education (IACTE).

Named in honor of the late Congressman Carl Perkins, this prestigious award recognizes IACTE members who use Career and Technical Education (CTE) to make a significant, humanitarian impact on their communities. Nancy’s selection exemplifies her spirit of collaboration, relentless innovation, and unwavering commitment to student success.

As Executive Director of the Alignment Collaborative for Education, Nancy has built a powerful, partnership-driven workforce model across northern Kane County. By mobilizing a 30-member board and more than 200 business and community partners, she has successfully expanded equitable career pathways and meaningful service-learning opportunities for thousands of local students.

Under her visionary leadership, the collaborative has achieved remarkable milestones:

  • Skill Development: 3,418 students strengthened their resumes through regional workshops.
  • Exponential Growth: Internship applications skyrocketed from 65 in 2022 to 1,006 in 2025, alongside the engagement of 55 dedicated employer partners.
  • Career Placements: Student internship placements increased from 52 to 243, supported by $240,000 in student stipends.
  • Community Investment: Employers contributed 14,580 volunteer hours, representing an estimated $729,000 investment into the local community.

Beyond these achievements, Nancy spearheads the U-46 Explore initiative, which serves 2,300 eighth graders annually, ensuring that career readiness begins early. In 2025 alone, Alignment and its partners contributed more than 14,000 volunteer hours to local schools. Her transformative work has previously earned recognition from United Way Metro Chicago and School District U-46.

Nancy’s leadership serves as a prime example of how strategic community partnerships create lasting, generational impact. As the Illinois state winner, she will advance to regional consideration late this spring, with the potential for national consideration in the fall of 2026.

Nancy Coleman of Alignment accepts the IACTE Carl Perkins Community Service Award
Dr. Chris Merrill, Executive Director, Illinois ACTE (left), Nancy Coleman (center), Kaleb Smith, President, Illinois ACTE (right). Nancy Coleman, Executive Director of the Alignment Collaborative for Education, has been named the State of Illinois Carl Perkins Community Service Award Winner by the Illinois Association of Career and Technical Education (IACTE).

Explore 2025 Highlights

EXPLORE 2025 NOW Arena Overview

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.

EXPLORE 2025 NOW Arena Overview

Strong Collaborations Lead to $8 Million for Youth Apprenticeships

Brian McGuire, President and CEO, AED Foundation; Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro; U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi; Mark Toulos, Operating Engineers Local 150; Melissa Owens, President, U-46 Board of Education; Eric Hill, CEO, Youth Workforce Development Foundation

Thank you to Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation and Youth Workforce Development Foundation (YWDF)

South Elgin High School made the news serving as the announcement site for an $8 million dollar grant awarded through the Build America program to help high school students across the state access apprenticeship programs in heavy machine maintenance and operations. Led by Alignment’s partner, the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation, in partnership with the Youth Workforce Development Foundation (YWDF), and  SkillsUSA Illinois, Eric Hill, CEO of YWDF, shared with the greater Elgin community the framework for the grant to build youth-focused apprenticeships that create a “pipeline to long-term career opportunities in the heavy equipment space”.  

Brian McGuire, president of the AED Foundation joined by U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro, together shared the importance and significance of this grant to train the future workforce in a career field projecting 40,000 job vacancies. Across the region, Terry Stroh, director, Northern Kane County Region 110, has worked in partnership with school districts U-46, 300, and 301 to expand career options for students enrolled in the region’s automotive CTE programs.  

Just this past summer, Alignment joined efforts across Region 110 to offer paid summer internship opportunities to automotive students hosted by ALTA, West Side Tractor, and the Bob Loquercio Auto Group. Sean Fitzgerrel, Vice President of the AED Foundation, led efforts to bring Alignment, Region 110, and YWDC together sharing that “the Alignment Collaborative played a pivotal role in securing ABA Round 2 funding. Through strategic partnerships and a shared vision, they amplified our effort, demonstrating the collective power of collaboration in driving workforce development and educational advancement.”

Brian McGuire, President and CEO, AED Foundation; Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro; U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi; Mark Toulos, Operating Engineers Local 150; Melissa Owens, President, U-46 Board of Education; Eric Hill, CEO, Youth Workforce Development Foundation
Steve Schertz, U-46 Automotive Teacher, State Senator Cristina Castro, Esther Mongan, Superintendent, Central Unit School District 301
U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
ALTA Interns
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West Side Tractor Interns
West Side Tractor Interns
Bob Loquercio Auto Group Interns

Alignment and Business Partners Serve Over 10,000 Students

Alignment's End-of-School-Year Highlights 2024

Alignment concludes the 2023-2024 school year serving over 10,000 students from School Districts 300, 301, and U-46.  Partners from across the region have come together to support preparing students to graduate academic and career ready.  We salute our school administrators, teachers, students, and business partners for a job well done!

Highlights include:

  • Alignment designs First Responder Pilot Internship Program partnering with the Bartlett Police Department, Hanover Park Fire Department, and Hanover Township Emergency Services.

  • District 300 students complete Advocate Sherman and the Well Child Center Medical Rotation Pilot Internship Program.
  • Bartlett, Elgin, South Elgin and Streamwood high schools receive Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation high school recognition certification.

  • Fifty-two (52) organizations recruited at the annual Senior CTE Job Fair attracting 549 students.
  • Edgar Montes graduates with the Elgin Leadership Academy Class of 2024.

  • Summer Internship Program attracts over 300 student applications from School Districts 300, 301 and U-46.

  • Alignment joins Larkin CTE teachers to congratulate graduates and parents recognizing them for their CTE program completion.

  • Alignment and Northern Kane County Region 110 judge the Bartlett STEM Showcase admiring the students’ creativity and technical expertise.
Advocate Sherman and Well Child Center Medical Rotation Pilot Internship Program
AED Foundation High School Recognition
Bartlett STEM Showcase
CTE Senior Job Fair Attracts 549 Students
Alignment and Larkin CTE Teachers Congratulate CTE Graduates
Alignment’s Edgar Montes graduates with the Elgin Leadership Academy Class of 2024

Nine regional high schools to participate in CTE Senior Job Fair on April 18

More than 800 students expected from Districts U-46, 300 and 301

Nine high schools from School Districts U-46, 300, and 301 will participate in the upcoming CTE Senior Job Fair on April 18, 2024, at Elgin Community College (ECC). Hosted by the Alignment Collaborative for Education and Northern Kane County Region 110, an expected 800 students will visit with more than 50 employers representing the automotive, business, culinary, education, engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, and welding industry clusters.

Students will also have the opportunity to meet with ECC’s Admissions, Financial Aid, and Student Support representatives as some plan to graduate in May and transition to ECC by August choosing both to work and go to school simultaneously.

This event in its fourth year gives students the opportunity to graduate with industry credentials earned in the high schools’ career and technical education (CTE) programs to immediately transition to the local workforce gainfully employed. “These students have a career plan upon graduation deployable to some of the best companies in the region offering upward mobility as experience grows.” shares Nancy Coleman, Alignment’s executive director.

Thank you to the following sponsors and exhibitors for making this event possible. We look forward to hearing that these students go to work in the greater Elgin area and the region.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

AED Foundation
Advocate Sherman Hospital
AT&T
City of Elgin
Elgin Community College
Elgin Sweeper

Elgin Township
Exelon
First Mid Bank & Trust
Grand Victoria Foundation
Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc.
Hoffer Foundation
KCT Credit Union

David and Sandy Kaptain
Lauderdale Electric
Nicor Gas
Seigle Foundation
United Way Metro Chicago
Wolko Design Group

Thank You Exhibitors

Advocate Sherman Hospital
Altorfer CAT
Aperion Care Fox River
Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital
A-TEC Ambulance
Avantara
Bartlett Park District
Black Diamond Plumbing & Mechanical
Bob Loquercio Auto Group
Boys and Girls Club of Elgin
Bria of Geneva
Business and Career Services Inc.
D300 Human Resources
D301 Human Resources
ECC Culinary Department
ECC Apprenticeship Program
ECC Ophthalmic Technician Program
ECC Welding

ECC WIOA program
Elgin Sweeper
Fox Valley Internet
Golden Corridor Family YMCA
High Point Dentistry
High Voltage Electric
Highland Oaks of Elgin
Hoffer Plastics
John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Fisher Nuts)
Judson University
KCT Credit Union
LifeLine Ambulance
Lincoln College of Technology
Luna Cakes
Manpower
MAPEI
Nicor Gas
NIU – PLEDGE Program

NIU – School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA)
Official Finders
Potbelly
Rosati’s/Rosati’s University
Standard Equipment
State Farm
Streamwood Park District
U-46 Human Resources
U-46 Plant Operations
U-46 Transportation
UTI
Village of South Elgin
Well Child Center
West Side Tractor Sales
Wintrust Bank