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Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

Education

StoryWalks Bring Books Outside in Elgin

StoryWalks
Lauryn Ellis, 3, of Elgin reacts to a page while taking a StoryWalk with her mom Felicia at Lords Park in Elgin on Thursday. The Elgin Partnership for Early Learning and Alignment Collaborative for Education have used a grant to make bilingual StoryWalks they can deploy around town. The StoryWalks are deconstructed picture books on signs and kids walk from one page to the next. One side of the sign is English and the other Spanish. (Rick West | Daily Herald Staff Photographer)

A new program in Elgin makes it possible for kids to enjoy the outdoors and read a book at the same time.

The Elgin Partnership for Early Learning (EPEL) and Alignment Collaborative for Education hosted their first StoryWalk on Thursday at Lords Park. The StoryWalk features a picture book broken down by pages and mounted on metal frames along a path. Kids walk from page to page to read the story. The book is offered in English on one side and Spanish on the other.

“The thing I like about a StoryWalk is that it’s an innovative way to explore literature and not just your regular book,” said Amber Peters, executive director of EPEL. “It gets you out in nature, which I think is important for kids because you learn through being outside and in the community.”

EPEL is a nonprofit organization working to ensure children have access to quality early care and education in Elgin and the surrounding neighborhoods. It partners with other area stakeholders to provide resources, early childhood initiatives, information, and support for families and providers for children under 5 years of age.

Four stories were chosen by the Gail Borden Public Library to use on the StoryWalks, each with about 18 pages. Peters said the library chose stories that were culturally and linguistically responsive and inclusive, while offering readers colorful pages to interact with while building critical kindergarten reading skills and boosting brain development.

Reaching young kids before they start their formal schooling is important, said Kathleen Cox, director of early learning for Elgin Area School District U-46. She also sits on EPEL’s board.

“Eighty-five percent of a child’s brain development happens before their fifth birthday, so the more work the school district does partnering with child care providers to get the same message out about language development and social skills, the stronger all of our kids are going to be when they come in to school.”

Copyright issues prevented EPEL from using reproductions of the pages, so they bought a couple of copies of each book and broke them down, laminated the pages and mounted them on boards that are inserted in the frames that can be stuck in the grass. The program is funded by a collaborative partner grant written to Making Kane County Fit for Kids, Kiwanis of Elgin, and Elgin Township.

The plan is to have story walks where their audience is already gathered, be it block parties, city events, or, like Thursday, near a Gail Borden story time at Lords Park Zoo. Peters said people can reserve the StoryWalk materials for family parties or school events. “They’re for the community to use,” she said.

Peters said StoryWalks is a perfect fit for EPEL’s “learning on the go” model.

“These movable story walks allow us to relocate them to different locations during the year,” she said. “Anywhere you go, there’s opportunity to learn. It’s just a matter of you engaging the child.”

By Rick West
Original story appeared in the Daily Herald 8/6/2021 5:08 PM


Alignment’s Goals in Support of U-46 Equity Plan

Alignment - Equity Plan word cloud

For the 2021-22 school year, Alignment has three specific organizational goals that shape its program priorities and resource implementation in support of School District U-46’s Equity Plan to include:

Goal 1: Provide a central role in facilitating community leaders and organizations coming together to address common community challenges at the local, state, and national levels.

Goal 2: Encourage community organizations to convene together as collaborations where the strengths of the various organizations are maximized to address current and future challenges facing communities.

Goal 3: Retain and grow Alignment’s leadership capacity and volunteer expertise in the community utilizing team structures to identify and deploy leaders that represent the community and school’s composition specifically related to race, culture, career preparation, and geographical location.

These three goal statements direct how Alignment supports the students and families of U-46 to enhance learning experiences for all children and youth of the greater Elgin community.  Central to being able to provide that support is the ability of Alignment to bring together organizations and individuals that are diverse and understand the community’s challenges, which impact the ability of the community currently and in the future to achieve greater equity. 

Examples include how we address the preparation of our community’s early education and elementary age children best utilizing resources at the local to national levels.  It also directs Alignment’s work with these organizations and the community’s mental health professionals to ensure that children and youth benefit from a safe and supportive environment during school and while in after school programs.  These programs must model a trauma informed care culture that works with children, youth and their families to foster resiliency especially in the areas of our community that have the largest equity gaps and underserved populations. 

As the community works to ensure a future workforce prepared to successfully live and work in the community, that preparation must begin as early as the elementary grades escalating that work with middle and high school students.  The work must prepare them for academic and career success leading to financial security, but it also must develop within them the necessary social and emotional competencies to be contributing members of the community embracing diversity, inclusion, and shared progress.

Streamwood Park District Once Again Partners with Alignment Collaborative for Education

Learning on the Go partnership With Streamwood Park District

On Tuesday, June 8, members of the Streamwood Park District joined forces with Alignment Collaborative for Education to kick off “Learning on the Go”, a summer reading program.

After the success of the inaugural program in 2020, which was held at Kiddie Corner Park, 2021’s edition was moved to a larger, more drive-up friendly location at Parkwood Elementary in Hanover Park.

Children between the ages of 0-8 and their parents are invited to join the weekly event for story time and a parent/child activity. A free grab-n-go lunch, sponsored by School District U-46, will be provided for the children. Learning on the Go takes place every Tuesday from June 8 through July 27 between 10:30 am, and 12:30 pm. Parkwood Elementary is located at 2150 Laurel Avenue in Hanover Park.

On June 8, 98 boxes of food, equivalent to feeding 490 children, were distributed. Over 30 children participated this first week in the summer reading program.

Nancy Coleman of Alignment Collaborative for Education said, “So glad to kick off Learning on the Go at Parkwood Elementary School in Hanover Park. With the partnership of the Streamwood Park District, School District U-46, Elgin Partnership for Early Learning, Streamwood Police Department, and Poplar Creek Library, the community has come together to serve a purpose that aligns with each of their missions.”

“What a fantastic day to start off the Summer Reading Program. The Alignment Collaborative for Education, School District U-46, Poplar Creek Library, and the Streamwood Police Department help prepare our children to succeed. The number of families and children who participated in the educational activities at Parkwood Elementary School today exceed my first week’s expectations. It is great to see people out and kids learning through play.”- Streamwood Park District Executive Director Jeff Janda.

Lisa Fabris, Children Services Assistant Manager at Poplar Creek Library said, “It is great to see so many community agencies come together during the summer to encourage families to learn together, read together, and have fun together.”

“Today was special because you got to interact with the kids instead of just dropping off a box of food and a few books like we did last year. I hope we can do even more after we enter into Phase 5.” – Streamwood Park District Park Board Commissioner Bill Wright.

Recreation Manager Cindy Babicz said, “The term “It takes a Village” is what today is all about. Working with and seeing so many organizations come together for the betterment of our community and our children is what makes me love what I do.”

For more information on the “Learning On the Go” program, please contact Alignment Collaborative for Education Executive Director Nancy Coleman at 224.227.7534 or colemannace@align4edu.org.

ABOUT STREAMWOOD PARK DISTRICT

The Streamwood Park District serves over 40,000 Streamwood residents, offering hundreds of seasonal programs. Ranging from fitness, aquatics, youth, and adult athletics, the Streamwood Park District strives to accommodate the diverse Streamwood community on a daily basis with a multitude of programs, events, and classes.

The Streamwood Park District has been serving the Streamwood community since 1966.

This article was published in the Daily Herald on June 9, 2021. 
https://www.dailyherald.com/submitted/20210609/streamwood-park-district-once-again-partners-with-alignment-collaborative-for-education

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 Launches Freshman Experience at Larkin High School

In February 2021, Alignment began the pilot for our Freshman Experience with two classes at Larkin High School. The eight-week program is designed to help students develop the social and emotional skills needed for success in high school, their future careers, and everyday life. Each week focuses on a different topic including: Respect, Identity, and Inclusion; Teaming; Listening and Conflict Resolution; Valuing Diversity; Using Voice to Advocate for Self, Equity, and Social Justice; and Leadership and Career Skills.

Barbara Lynn Murray, a member of our Governing Board and esteemed HR professional, developed the modules, and with the support of ACE members and community volunteers, has taught five segments thus far. Even in the Zoom classrooms, we can see the content of this program has resonated with the participants and school staff. We have enjoyed being alongside the students while they learn more about who they are and how others perceive them and look forward to completing the remaining modules when in person teaching resumes in April.