Align4edu

Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE

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Seniors Share How Internships Change Trajectory of Life After High School

2025 Internship Host Breakfast

Alignment, Northern Kane County Region 110, and ECC Celebrate Industry Host Partners

Partnering with Northern Kane County Region 110 and Elgin Community College, Alignment hosted its first Internship Recognition Breakfast for all organizations hosting summer interns in 2024. More than 100 guests attended the event at ECC with 41 organizations honored for hosting the 146 students that participated in the program during 2024. The event also attracted more than a dozen organizations interested in learning how they might become an internship host site in 2025.

Six student interns from Central, Dundee Crown, Hampshire, Larkin, and Streamwood high schools shared how their internship experiences shaped their future career plans as they prepare to graduate in May.  Industry representatives from Advocate Sherman Hospital, Bartlett Police Department, Bob Loquercio Auto Group, Elgin State Bank, Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc., Hoffer Plastics, and West Side Tractor discussed their internship model with prospective companies describing how their organizations designed the internship opportunity to meet the minimum 60 hour requirement for students to receive academic credit combined with students being paid for those hours.

Gina De rosier Cook, Dean of Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Elgin Community College, announced a second year of Take Back the Trades grant funding to sponsor 75 high school students this year, a 50% increase from 2024 along with funding provided by corporate partners, municipalities, the United Way Elgin Neighborhood Network, Elgin Township, the Seigle Foundation and investments by School Districts U-46, 300, 301, and recently committed St. Charles Community Unit School District 303. Terry Stroh, Director, Northern Kane County Region 110, predicts that with this funding base and the support of the business community, 200 students could be placed throughout the region’s industry sectors to include automotive, business, culinary, engineering, financial services, health care, heavy equipment, manufacturing, municipal services, and welding.

Alignment and Northern Kane County Region 110 are working to identify all internship opportunities with completed position descriptions by March 3, 2025 opening the application process to 11 high schools by March 10, 2025. If your organization is interested in offering internships for Summer 2025, please contact Nancy Coleman at colemanace@align4edu.org or Terry Stroh at terry.stroh@central301.net for further information.

For highlights of the Breakfast, please see Rick West’s Daily Herald article ‘We really are changing lives’: Internship program helps students make post-high school plans

Alignment Welcomes New Elgin Neighborhood Network Facilitator

Alignment Collaborative for Education is pleased to announce the addition of Parker Thompson as the Elgin Neighborhood Network (ENN) facilitator as it expands the ENN focus to include additional community needs such as public health, food and nutrition, housing, transportation, and education, as well as continuation of future workforce development initiatives.

Parker recently joined Well Child Center as Senior Program Manager. He will support the ENN as well as lead Well Child Center’s programming focused on the expansion of behavioral health support and services through one of the largest Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs in Illinois. His responsibilities include support for a grant-funded program focused on the integration of mental, human, and health services support.

In his facilitator role of the Elgin Neighborhood Network, Parker’s responsibilities will include building and maintaining relationships across the greater Elgin area and convening various stakeholder groups, such as the Elgin Human Services Council, to review the needs of the community and help identify priorities for the Neighborhood Network Steering Committee.  

Parker brings over a decade of experience in non-profit management and program implementation. Prior to joining Well Child Center, Parker founded and led the community based nonprofit Elgin Community Bikes, which provides community programming and works with local and regional government on equitable transportation and planning policy. With a passion for community health and equity, Parker will be implementing Well Child Center’s Connections: Integration of Maternal Mental Health Support and Services, as well as supporting the growing efforts of the Elgin Neighborhood Network.

Happy Holidays to our business, community and school partners!

Happy Holidays 2024

Happy Holidays to our business, community and school partners! 
We wish you a prosperous 2025.

Your time and talents are critical to the success of Alignment’s work as we launch programs throughout school districts U-46, 300, and 301. Upcoming events include:

  • January 15 – Streamwood HS Career and Technical Panel
  • January 16 – U-46 Resume, Interview, and Internship Preparation Workshop
  • January 22 – ECC Education Day
  • January 23 – D301 Resume, Interview, and Internship Preparation Workshop
  • January 29 – Internship Host Breakfast
  • February 6 – U-46 Resume, Interview, and Internship Preparation Workshop
  • February 25 – D300 Resume, Interview, and Internship Preparation Workshop
  • March 4 – U-46 Sophomore/Junior Postsecondary Day
  • March 13 – U-46 Resume, Interview, and Internship Preparation Workshop
  • April 15 – Judson University Education Visit
  • April 24 – Career & Technical Education (CTE) Job Fair
  • June/July – Summer Internships

Our goal is simple:
Give students the opportunity to graduate academic and career ready by exposing them to quality, work-based learning opportunities aligned with their interest and talents.

Thank you for all you do to help us achieve that goal.

Robert (Bob) Malm recognized by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce

Non-Profit Volunteer of the Year, 2024

Bob Malm, Alignment's 2024 Volunteer of the Year
Bob Malm, far left, is Alignment’s Volunteer of the Year

The Alignment Collaborative for Education (Alignment) nominated Bob Malm as one of the Elgin Area Chamber’s Volunteer of the Year at the annual Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving recognition held on November 26, 2024 at Elgin Community College. Bob and his wife Carolyn have been role models of the community for over a decade.  Passionate about workforce development and community, Bob has worked tirelessly to ensure students and families have the resources needed to prepare for future economic and social success.

Bob began his service mindset in the military followed by years of service with the City of Elgin and later retiring to help the business community with workforce development.  During that time, Bob became a chief advocate of Alignment encouraging the community to invest in middle and high school students preparing them to graduate academic and career ready.  Bob continues in this leadership role and has for over five years served on Alignment’s Operating Board and currently chairs Alignment’s Educational Pathways A-Team.  Under his leadership, Alignment reached a milestone of serving over 10,000 students in 2024.  

Bob believes in the power of education to change lives and to shape the future prosperity of a community, the region, and the state.  It is befitting to be able to recognize Bob for the many contributions he has made to Alignment and the Elgin community.

Giving Thanks for Our Partners

Giving Thanks 2024

As we celebrate this season of gratitude, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for your generous support and partnership. Your continued commitment has made a significant impact, and we are truly grateful for all that you do.

Wishing you a joyous and peaceful Thanksgiving filled with warmth and happiness!

To learn more about the impact of your support, please review our interactive Annual Report highlighting our 2024 results.

As you generously give on Giving Tuesday, we kindly ask to be remembered, as your support continues to make a meaningful difference in our shared mission to prepare students to be academically and career ready.

The future of our workforce depends on it!

Zurich Hosts Second Annual Tour for U-46 Students

Thank you to Junior Achievement (JA) and Zurich Insurance for hosting the second annual Zurich Insurance tour for students from Bartlett, Larkin, and Streamwood high schools.  Approximately 80 students spent the day at Zurich touring the company’s headquarters and learning about its apprenticeship programs. Previous U-46 graduates currently working for Zurich served as tour guides for the event along with JA and Zurich employees leading workshops in “It’s My Future”. 

Alignment and School District U-46 continue to have strong partnerships with both JA and Zurich.  Nancy Coleman, Alignment’s executive director, described the partnership as ” a shared mission between Alignment, JA, and Zurich to expose students to the corporate world and the steps necessary to be successful in that workplace. This partnership is long standing as evidenced by Zurich providing employment opportunities for U-46 graduates as a result of the three partners working together to help prepare students for the future workforce.”