Align4edu

Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

Community Partnerships

Over 2,200 8th Grade Students Preview 85 Careers at Explore 2021

Alignment again partnered with School District U-46 to organize and facilitate Explore 2021 on May 3, 2021. While current circumstances did not allow for all of us to be together in live, exhibit settings, we were able to hold a successful virtual career expo for over 2,200 students. Students worked with counselors and teachers to identify their career interests, and then met with panelists to discuss their educational journeys and real-world experiences. Explore was able to demonstrate the important connection between education and future careers, as evidenced by the engaging and thorough questions received from students.

In addition to offering the students a way to explore careers earlier in their education, the Explore event is also a way for our partners and panelists to show their investment in the community and the future workforce. As stated by one of our 2021 panelists, “Being able to engage and connect with one of the upcoming generations was revitalizing and refreshing. I found it enjoyable to speak to them about various career options and to also talk about my journey to where I am now professionally.”

From all of us at Alignment, we want to thank School District U-46, our community partners, volunteers, and students for making Explore 2021 a tremendous success.

Welcome Alignment’s New Governing Board Members!

We are proud to announce the addition of four new members to our Governing Board.

Sheri Deshazo serves as president of Advocate Sherman Hospital.  Prior to her current role, Sheri was the Senior Vice President and Hospital Administrator for WakeMed in Raleigh, North Carolina.  She has over 30 years of experience in key leadership roles within the healthcare industry and continues to be an active supporter of community and economic development, as evidenced by her recent appointment to the Greater Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce Board and her previous service with the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Eric Echevarria joined the City of Elgin Police Department in 1999 as a police officer and now serves as a Commander.  Prior to his service with the City of Elgin, Eric served as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He has a demonstrated history of government administration and support of non-profit organizations within the community, including his volunteer coordination with Alignment’s Explore events. In addition to being a staunch advocate for Elgin’s diverse community, he is also fluent in English and Spanish.

Karen Fox is an active community volunteer supporting numerous non-profit organizations within the Elgin community.  Prior to her retirement, Karen was a U-46 teacher for 17 years, culminating with a role leading family and community engagement. Karen’s volunteer service has encompassed supporting the Community Crisis Center, Gail Borden Public Library, United Way, along with assisting in leading critical community efforts, like the Census 2020 engagement. Karen and her husband Don were the recipients of the Jack Shales Spirit of Community Award in 2018.

Adam Hogan has served as the Vice President of Business Banking for Blackhawk Bank since 2019. Prior to joining Blackhawk Bank, he specialized for over seven years in commercial lending at St. Charles Bank & Trust. Adam is an active community volunteer with Cal’s Angels, and we all know him best as an Alignment volunteer for more than five years, offering his expertise to Alignment’s Educational Pathways A-Team and the annual EXPLORE event.

Elgin Backs Education Initiative as Economic Development Tool

Elgin approved a three-year $60,000 contract with the Alignment Collaborative for Education to continue with its efforts in early education awareness and providing career pathways for School District U-46 students.

The city was a founding member of Alignment Collaborative for Education, known as ACE, when it was created in 2015 to coordinate efforts among the 11 communities in School District U-46, business, and community leaders to promote early education, provide resources for students dealing with trauma, and create programs for career readiness.

The group’s focus has been in those three areas since its inception. It has become known for its partnerships with local business and programs to help U-46 students develop job skills, Executive Director Nancy Coleman said. However, the nonprofit has also been dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ learning and mental health, she said.

Coleman doesn’t like the term “learning gap,” but U-46 is aware of the learning loss students have had in the last year due to the pandemic. There’s also an increase in trauma among students due to the coronavirus pandemic, she said. “Children are in an environment now that they are not used to, that they are not comfortable with, and we are seeing an increased effect of trauma in those children.”

Statistics show one out of four children in the district was dealing with trauma before the pandemic, district officials said. “I think that situation has escalated way beyond that, but we are doing what we can in the community,” Coleman said.

The collective has continued working on its goals throughout the pandemic and is doing some events surrounding career readiness like career panels with experts in different fields, industry workshops, internships, and an upcoming senior job fair.

“Our whole goal behind all of this work is to build Elgin’s future workforce,” Coleman said. “We don’t want that workforce leaving Elgin, so we want to be sure they know about the opportunities here.”

Councilman Toby Shaw appreciates the work the group is doing and the results it’s getting. But he feels it’s not the city’s role to fund U-46 programs.

“Yes, I believe in the mission. Yes, I understand what you are doing. It’s the right mission but just not the right funding source,” he said.

“When we started this, the goal was partly to help U-46, but it was really as an economic development tool,” Mayor Dave Kaptain said. “I can tell you personally by meeting with business leaders this has brought millions of dollars of investment back to the city of Elgin. The businesses that come here see the need for training and education for a workforce.”

“This is an economic development tool. It pays great dividends for us,” Kaptain said.

By GLORIA CASAS
MAR 30, 2021 AT 5:07 PM
ELGIN COURIER-NEWS

Original article: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/ct-ecn-u46-contract-st-0330-20210330-jgvj4melvngczcbaycva526adm-story.html

HARTING Roadshow Truck Visits Larkin High School

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and STEM Academy students had the opportunity to visit with Harting’s engineering and human resources teams. The Harting Technology Group is a global leader in providing connectivity solutions with 14 production sites and 43 sales companies providing data, signals, and power to meet industrial technology solutions.

The Harting Team brought its Roadshow Truck to Larkin High School to share their connectivity technology and engineering applications with over 180 students via Zoom. Students had the opportunity to meet members of the engineering and human resources teams to learn more about careers at Harting, including specific engineering disciplines, product development applications, global sourcing, and customer support roles.

Thank you to our partners at Harting for making this work-based learning experience a reality for our U-46 students!

Alignment Awarded Workforce Development Grant from Kiwanis

Alignment Awarded Workforce Development Grant from Kiwanis

Thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Elgin for your grant of $1,500 to support Alignment’s work-based learning initiatives in the high schools. This grant will specifically work to support U-46 seniors graduating in May to connect with employers regarding local employment opportunities.  

Seniors enrolled in such programs as U-46’s automotive, culinary arts, early education, engineering, nursing assistant, precision manufacturing, welding, etc., will receive assistance with resume development and interview skills along with a virtual job fair setting where they can speak with local companies about employment opportunities.  

We greatly appreciate our Kiwanis members and their assistance with preparing U-46 students to contribute to our local workforce!

Alignment Collaborative Progress 2020 Thanksgiving Message

Alignment's Thank You to Business & Community Partners

Please join us in acknowledging our 160 business and community partners that have invested 4,475 volunteer hours this past school year supporting School District U-46 students and future workforce development for the region. As U-46 graduates over 2,500 students a year, the District plays a critical role in providing a qualified pool of current and future employees that are academic and career ready.