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Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

What’s New

Best of the Best Award, Illinois Park and Recreation Association

Streamwood Park District and Alignment were recognized on Thursday, November 12, 2020, by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association at the Best of the Best Awards Virtual Gala for their partnership to provide a summer reading distribution at Kiddie Corner Park. 

Alignment and the Streamwood Parks District were joined by the Elgin Partnership for Early Learning, School District U-46 Food Services, and the Streamwood Police Department this summer to bring early education and food resources to more than 1,000 children. 

Thank you to the Streamwood Park District for the great partnership.

Alignment Launches Engineering and Architecture Career Panel

Alignment successfully delivered its first career panel for the Fall Semester hosted by Bartlett High School featuring engineering and architecture careers.  Our panelists for the event included Elgin Sweeper, HLR Engineering, Judson University and Purdue University.

We greatly appreciated the collaboration with the BHS STEM Academy and Administration to recruit 160 students to participate in the panel.  The students made us all proud by preparing very specific career questions about the fields of mechanical engineering, civil engineering and architecture.  The combination of industry professionals along with senior level students proved very effective in addressing the students questions about future career opportunities.

Alignment will host an additional 14 panels representing 16 industry clusters hosted by the various high schools and the Dream Academy.  Recordings of each panel at the host high school will then be shared with all the high schools.

University Panels Launched in October

Alignment College Panels

Alignment in partnership with School District U-46 high school counselors will host 12 universities during the Fall Semester to provide assistance to U-46 students with the admissions process.  Institutions that will be represented include Aurora University, DePaul University, Illinois State University, Judson University, Loyola University, Northern Illinois University, Purdue University, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana, University of Iowa, and the University of Missouri.

Child Care Options, Training on E-learning and Return to School Information for Parents

Child Care and Remote Learning Support for Older Children

As children return to school many community agencies are now offering child care for older students with the ability to support remote learning. Child care providers are preparing to help students with synchronous and asynchronous learning during the school day using Canvas, the U-46 online learning platform. Information for individual providers and links to their program information are listed below.

U-46 Complete Return to School Information

School District U-46 has created a website page for parents and students which is a comprehensive source of information regarding the return to school:  https://www.u-46.org/backtoschool

Child Care Options

For help finding child care for younger children, visit the Elgin Partnership for Early Learning website: elginpartnership.org.

Download a pdf of Childcare Options for Children Ages 5 and Older with E-learning Opportunities here.

Training on Canvas and Chromebooks for E-Learning

School District U-46 is offering webinar training on e-learning technology. Attendance is limited to the first 500 registered.

Chromebook 101 – Click here to register

7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26 | 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27
Learn about the basic functions of a Chromebook, some of the various tools and how a Chromebook differs from a traditional laptop.

Getting Started with Canvas – Click here to register

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2 | 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3
What is Canvas? This webinar will provide an introductory hands-on experience in setting up and navigating Canvas.

Engaging Students in Distance Learning – Click here to register

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 | 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10
U-46 staff will share some principles to guide student learning in the digital setting at home and review some of the education technology tools available in the District.

Promoting Self-Care for Parents & Caregivers – Click here to register

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 | 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 17
In collaboration with the Family Service Association of Greater Elgin, U-46 lead social worker will explore ways to promote resilience and well-being in families so parents and caregivers remain strong and positive as we start planning to return to school.

Summer Reading in the Parks Expands in 2020

Expansion plans began early in January to expand the Summer Reading in the Parks program for Summer 2020. Generous sponsors included Elgin Township, Hoffer Foundation, Kiwanis and School District U-46.

By March with the impact of COVID-19, Alignment’s Early Education A-Team and the Elgin Partnership for Early Learning knew the program must be delivered differently to practice safe distancing. The program was quickly converted to a Summer Reading Grab and Go at Cornerstone and launched for the first time at Buena Vista and Channing parks in Elgin and Kiddie Corner Park in Streamwood.

Partnering with School District U-46, parents could drive by and receive food supplies along with an early education weekly curriculum. The program began in June and will conclude in early August serving over 250 children each week.

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!