What’s New

Zurich Hosts Second Annual Tour for U-46 Students

November 1, 2024

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.”

Senior Postsecondary Virtual Day

October 23, 2024

More than 25 universities, colleges, and organizations joined Alignment and School District U-46 for the third annual Senior Postsecondary Virtual Day on October 16. A record number of students attended with 794 individual seniors participating. Seniors who attended the event were able to get information from university and college admissions staff, current college students, FAFSA, military service, and NCAA eligibility, etc.

For students who are undecided about their interest in postsecondary colleges and universities, a session was included about future employment and apprenticeship opportunities with information about Elgin Community College’s apprenticeship programs and the outlook for future employment in the region and state.

Thank you to the following colleges, universities, and organizations for partnering with Alignment and U-46 to offer the Senior Postsecondary Day:

Aurora University
Bradley University
DePaul University
Elgin Community College
Elmhurst University
Harper College
Honest Game – NCAA Academic Eligibility
Illinois Department of Employment Security
Illinois State University
Judson University
Lincoln College of Technology
Loyola University
Marquette University
North Central College
Northern Illinois University
Nova Southeastern University
Purdue University
Southern Illinois University
Universal Technical Institute
University of Dayton
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
U.S. Armed Forces
Western Illinois University
Xavier University

Large Equipment Career Day Attracts the Region’s Automotive Students

October 18, 2024

Johnsburg High School was the site for the first, Large Equipment Career Day attended by automotive students from high schools in school districts U-46, 300, and 301. Students had the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills gained in the high schools’ Automotive CTE programs to diesel applications within the Large Equipment industry. Sponsored by the AED Foundation, SkillsUSA, and the Youth Workforce Development Foundation, more than 400 students from Illinois and Wisconsin benefited from this “hands on” career experience operating large equipment on the Johnsburg High School campus.

Thank you to Johnsburg High School and West Side Tractor for hosting the experience for our region’s students.

Teacher Pipeline Education Day at Northern Illinois University

October 16, 2024

On Thursday, October 3, 225 students from School District U-46, District 300, and District 301 spent the day at Northern Illinois University’s Teacher Pipeline Conference. The morning started for students with a keynote address from 2023 North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year, Amber Jirsa, followed by a couple of breakout sessions. Students finished the day listening to a panel of current education students who talked about classes and postsecondary advice.

Thank you, Northern Illinois University and Northern Kane County Region 110, for your partnership hosting this event!

Explore 2024 Highlights

October 10, 2024

Thank you to our business community partners and U-46 for the most successful Explore to date!

On September 25 and 26, Alignment, in partnership with School District U-46, offered its annual Explore event to more than 2,300 8th graders. This event ensures middle-school students transition to high school knowing the career opportunities available to them as part of their high school experience. Students had the opportunity to explore over 70 exhibits across multiple industries and career pathways. Forty percent of those exhibiting organizations were first-time exhibitors, with 100% of individual and volunteer organizations committed to return in 2025.

Thank you to our fantastic board members, community volunteers, U-46 volunteers, teachers, administrators, and high school students who filled the NOW Arena with career exploration. The student photos tell the story, along with the Daily Herald coverage by Rick West.

Strong Collaborations Lead to $8 Million for Youth Apprenticeships

September 12, 2024

Brian McGuire, President and CEO, AED Foundation; Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro; U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi; Mark Toulos, Operating Engineers Local 150; Melissa Owens, President, U-46 Board of Education; Eric Hill, CEO, Youth Workforce Development Foundation

Thank you to Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation and Youth Workforce Development Foundation (YWDF)

South Elgin High School made the news serving as the announcement site for an $8 million dollar grant awarded through the Build America program to help high school students across the state access apprenticeship programs in heavy machine maintenance and operations. Led by Alignment’s partner, the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation, in partnership with the Youth Workforce Development Foundation (YWDF), and SkillsUSA Illinois, Eric Hill, CEO of YWDF, shared with the greater Elgin community the framework for the grant to build youth-focused apprenticeships that create a “pipeline to long-term career opportunities in the heavy equipment space”.

Brian McGuire, president of the AED Foundation joined by U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro, together shared the importance and significance of this grant to train the future workforce in a career field projecting 40,000 job vacancies. Across the region, Terry Stroh, director, Northern Kane County Region 110, has worked in partnership with school districts U-46, 300, and 301 to expand career options for students enrolled in the region’s automotive CTE programs.

Just this past summer, Alignment joined efforts across Region 110 to offer paid summer internship opportunities to automotive students hosted by ALTA, West Side Tractor, and the Bob Loquercio Auto Group. Sean Fitzgerrel, Vice President of the AED Foundation, led efforts to bring Alignment, Region 110, and YWDC together sharing that “the Alignment Collaborative played a pivotal role in securing ABA Round 2 funding. Through strategic partnerships and a shared vision, they amplified our effort, demonstrating the collective power of collaboration in driving workforce development and educational advancement.”