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Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

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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.

Alignment Hosts University Admission Workshops for U-46 Students

Alignment College Panels

Throughout the pandemic it has been more important than ever to continue offering the students of U-46 the opportunity to learn about educational and career paths available to them. We are proud to say that Alignment has been able to provide the students with four university panels and two step-by-step admissions workshops hosted by Elgin Community College.

The participating universities were chosen based on attendance rates for U-46 students over the past five years. The panels included representation from Aurora University, DePaul University, Illinois State University, Judson University, Loyola University, Northern Illinois University, Purdue University, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Iowa, and University of Missouri.

We are so grateful to all our panelists and the participating high schools. We were able to reach over 1,000 students and enjoyed listening to the thoughtful questions and conversations they had with the representatives. In addition to the college panels, the ECC workshops were able to shed light on the complicated and important topics of admissions and financial aid.

Each panel was recorded and made available to students at all high schools. We look forward to providing U-46 students with more opportunities in the near future.

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.