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U-46 8th Graders ‘Explore’ Their Futures

U-46, Alignment Collaborative for Education partner for career expo

Photo by James Harvey, James Harvey Photography

While a representative from Colony Display talked about potential careers with the company, 8th grader Kitzya Morales-Tellez closely examined several clear display cases and colorful installations its welders and machinists had created for retail stores.

Before moving on to another exhibit, Kitzya said she’s thinking about pursuing the welding educational pathway offered in School District U-46, although she was intrigued as well by several other careers she learned about Thursday at Explore 2022. The event is U-46’s annual expo designed to expose 8th grade students to various professions and demonstrate the connection between academic curriculum and future careers.  

“It’s been fun because they tell us about each program that could lead to careers and jobs when we’re older,” said Kitzya, a student at Ellis Middle School in Elgin who was one of more than 2,500 8th graders who attended Explore 2022 at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. 

Michael Bullerman, Colony’s human resources manager, said he enjoyed talking to the students, especially because he graduated from U-46’s Streamwood High School.

“I’m really thankful to see something like this happen. I’m glad to be a part of it,” Bullerman said. “It gives kids an opportunity to see jobs they may never think of on their own.”  

The Alignment Collaborative for Education, a non-profit local organization that brings together community resources and initiatives to support District priorities, once again partnered with U-46 to organize the event. 

“It’s all about seeing the excitement on the students’ faces about making that career decision that doesn’t have to be a final decision, but at least they are beginning to explore what they are interested in as possible career pathways,” said Alignment Executive Director Nancy Coleman.

Students from the District’s 8th middle schools attended Explore during the school day in two different shifts. Ahead of time, each student worked in Naviance — a digital college and career planning system —  to learn which career clusters align with their current interests and aptitudes. Using information gathered from Naviance and guided by counselors, students selected two career pathways to focus on.

About 60 local businesses, industries, governmental organizations, and nonprofits had exhibits at Explore and representatives who engaged in discussions with students. In addition, each of the District’s five Magnet Academies had exhibits, teachers, and high schoolers present to talk to 8th grade students (the application process for Magnet Academies is now open to 8th graders) and U-46’s culinary, health sciences, automotive, welding, and precision manufacturing programs were represented as well. The veterinary assistant program at Burlington Central School District 301 – which is offered to U-46 students – brought along a real dog, Monte, who was quite a draw.

Another popular exhibit was brought by HLR, a civil engineering firm. It was a sandbox with a topographic map being beamed onto it from a digital projector above. Students pushed the sand into piles to form hills, valleys, and roads; placing their hands above the sandbox caused “rain” to fall, forming pools of water (represented by blue wavy lines) in the depressions in the sand. 

“It was a very good example,” Alex Kalinski, a student at Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, said after spending some time talking to HLR employees. “I liked how they explained and went into depth about everything, and then they gave us details about what you’d need to do if you wanted a job in engineering.” 

Alex and his friend Michael Lombardo, also an 8th grader at Kenyon Woods, both said they are interested in a career in engineering, and considering whether to apply for the Science, Engineering, and High Technology Magnet Academy at Bartlett High School.

Kunal Modi, a student at Eastview Middle School in Bartlett, said his favorite exhibit at Explore was one from Nicor Gas, although he enjoyed performing CPR on a patient simulator, too. 

“Today was very fun,” Kunal said. “It gave me some experiences I’d never usually get.” 

U-46 Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders greeted students as they exited the school buses that brought them to Explore. After the previous two editions of the event were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Sanders said it was good to be back in person.

“Nothing else can replicate this experience of being a hands-on and interactive introduction to career pathways,” Dr. Sanders said. “It’s great to be back at the NOW Arena, and I appreciate all our business partners who help make this event possible.” 

Magnet School Accreditation and Educational Pathways Prepare Students for Success

Magnet School Accreditation and Educational Pathways Prepare Students for Success

Bartlett, Larkin, and Streamwood High Schools are now nationally certified magnet schools! The certification is another way in which School District U-46 continues to prepare students for success after high school, either in a career or at university.

In addition to the magnet school curriculum, U-46 has partnered with Alignment to enhance their educational pathways for students not part of an academy. Through the educational pathway program, Alignment placed students from all five high schools in summer internship programs throughout the community. The internships offered real-world experience in many different industry clusters.

For eighth graders, their first educational pathway opportunity will be Explore 2022, taking place October 6 at the NOW Arena. Explore is a career showcase that gives students the opportunity to experience a variety of career paths, while also showing them the connection between academics and available career paths.

For the full article, click here

High School Interns Gain Career Experience in Municipalities and Community Service Agencies

Students Experience Public Service Careers

Alignment joining with the City of Elgin, the Downtown Neighborhood Association, Hanover Township, Streamwood Park District, Taylor Family YMCA, Village of Bartlett, and the Village of Hanover Park, offered 26 high school students the opportunity to gain experience in Business, Marketing, Public Service, and Education settings as part of a summer, work-based learning experience.

Ronin Shah, a student at Bartlett High School and intern for the Downtown Neighborhood Association, described his experience as “being able to gain real life experience working at the DNA. I was able to get that one-on-one community collaboration experience that I would not have had over the summer if I didn’t experience this opportunity.”

These internship experiences showed students “firsthand” the importance of community service and the positive impact that municipalities and community organizations contribute to the quality of life for families. Students also worked to improve their future employability skills as City of Elgin interns participated in resume development led by Billie Moffett from Gail Borden Public Library and interview skills with the assistance of Alignment’s staff at the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce.

Hosting organizations also benefited. Jeff Janda, Executive Director of the Streamwood Park District, “readily agreed to host a team of summer interns. The interns contributed their ideas and creativity to enhance our marketing and communications efforts throughout the community.”

Thank you to our community partners and municipalities for making these experiences possible.

Alignment Launches New Fiscal Year with Generous Support from the Seigle Foundation

Seigle Foundation Awards Grant to Alignment

Alignment was recognized by the Seigle Foundation with a $25,000 grant award to kickoff its new fiscal year. The Seigle Foundation selected Alignment for this award based on its work in the Elgin and Dundee communities to prepare youth for future personal and career success.  

Alignment will utilize this generous funding to expand its work-based learning initiatives for middle and high school students throughout the Elgin and Dundee communities. That work includes career exploration as early as middle school advancing to more specialized, industry specific opportunities for high school students. Students have the opportunity to be placed in various work-based learning settings across multiple industry clusters. These opportunities are made available by Alignment’s large network of over 200 partners committed to building a future workforce that meets the economic and social growth of the community.  

Thank you to the Seigle Family for providing this investment in our youth, the community, and the region’s future workforce development.

Elgin Area Chamber’s Women’s Leadership Circle Features Alignment’s Work in the Community

Alignment is featured non-profit at the Elgin Area Chamber's Women's Leadership Circle

Alignment joined the Elgin Area Chamber’s Women’s Leadership Circle as the featured non-profit at its July 26th networking event at Pinot’s Palette in St. Charles.  

The event provided a great opportunity to update community leaders about Alignment’s summer internship program as well as upcoming fall events like Explore 2022 scheduled for October 5th and 6th at the NOW Centre. Nancy Coleman as part of the networking group shared “this event is a great opportunity to recruit additional volunteers to serve as role models for our students as we work to increase opportunities to grow career interests and leadership skills within the region’s future workforce”. 

Thank you to the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce for this networking opportunity.

High School Interns Gain Engineering, Manufacturing, and Operations Experience

Alignment Summer 2022 Manufacturing Internships

Alignment joining with Electri-flex, Elgin Sweeper, ITW Shakeproof, and Reishauer offered seven high school juniors opportunities to gain experience in engineering and manufacturing settings as part of a summer, work-based learning experience.

Students combined their interest in engineering and applied it in manufacturing settings. Project based assignments led by experienced engineering and operations professionals guided students to address a combination of design, quality, and safety challenges requiring innovative solutions to traditional manufacturing processes.

Kush Patel, a student at Bartlett High School and intern for Elgin Sweeper, described his experience as “giving him the real workforce experience that opened my mind to see how things we learn in school apply in real life.” Mitchell Briesemeister, Director of Educational Pathways for School District U-46, confirmed that this is exactly the intent of the summer internships. “Manufacturing is a critical economic driver for our region and internships are a great way for our students to learn about the multitude of high wage careers available in the industry and the skillsets they require.”

Alignment partnering with Northern Kane County Region 110 CTE programs placed 52 students in paid, summer internship opportunities because of the outstanding support received from its corporate partners. Tom King, Engineering Manager, ITW Shakeproof, emphasized that commitment “everyone involved here at Shakeproof was impressed with the interns and the program. Students were able to come up with an innovative solution to a real-world safety issue we deal with every day.”

Thank you to our corporate partners for making these experiences possible.