Alignment Collaborative for Education - ACE
Please review Alignment’s Annual Report for 2023 demonstrating our shared commitment to providing students with the necessary opportunities to graduate academic and career ready. This level of work could not be accomplished without your continued engagement.
Working with Northern Kane County Region 110, Alignment had the opportunity to partner students and teachers with local manufacturers celebrating October as Manufacturing Month. School districts U-46, 300, 301, and 303 all partnered together to provide this experience to students.
Bartlett High School’s Freshmen STEM Academy students, just beginning to consider different roles in engineering within the manufacturing industry, toured both Harting and Matrix as part of celebrating Manufacturing Month. Approximately 85 students benefited from this experience while another 45 seniors from Larkin High School and St. Charles North High School visited Hoffer Plastics and Lakeview Precision, learning about employment opportunities available following graduation in May.
Alignment and Northern Kane County Region 110 thank the participating companies for generously opening their doors to students. Employer enthusiasm for the day made it such a successful experience. Joe Paglia, Director of Team and Member Services, tied it to Matrix’s mission “Develop Great People. Build a Great Company. Deliver Great Results. We love sharing that with anyone and everyone who will listen!”
On Wednesday, October 18, 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 from Larkin, Elgin, Dundee Crown, and Central with a keynote address, followed by various breakout sessions. Students finished the day listening to a panel of current education students who talked about classes and postsecondary advice.
“A day like today is important for two reasons,” says Jason Kline, Senior Director of Learning Partnerships at NIU. “The teacher pipeline pathway work that we all partner in is critical for ensuring high-quality teachers that represent our diverse student population. The second reason is being sure that NIU attracts students that represent this regional diversity with success for all students being central to our mission.”
Thank you Northern Illinois University and Northern Kane County Region 110 for your partnership hosting this event!
More than 25 universities, colleges, and organizations joined Alignment and School District U-46 for the second Senior Postsecondary Virtual Day on October 11. There were 683 individual seniors who attended the event with university and college admissions staff and visiting faculty along with receiving assistance with FAFSA, future employment opportunities, military service, and NCAA eligibility.
For students who are undecided about their interest in postsecondary colleges and universities, sessions were also facilitated by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). The session reviewed the current labor market, hiring projections within the local community, and tips on how to best access job openings and navigate the application process.
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
College of DuPage
DePaul University
Elgin Community College
Elmhurst University
Harper College
Honest Game – NCAA Academic Eligibility
Illinois Department of Employment Security
Illinois State University
Iowa State University
Judson University
Lewis University
Loyola University
Marquette University
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Morehouse College
North Central College
Northern Illinois University
Purdue University
Roosevelt University
Southern Illinois University
Universal Technical Institute
University of Dayton
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Missouri
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
U.S. Armed Forces
Western Illinois University
One of our first steps in preparing students to graduate academic and career ready is ensuring middle school students transition to high school knowing the career opportunities available to them as part of their high school experience. On October 4 and 5 Alignment offered, in partnership with School District U-46, its annual Explore event to more than 2,400 8th grade students. Greater than 300 business community volunteers, U-46 teachers, administrators, and high school students joined together to fill the NOW Arena with career exploration. The student photos in the Gallery below tell the story.
U-46 automotive teachers from Bartlett, Elgin, South Elgin, and Streamwood spent the day with Altorfer’s trainers to learn more about the large equipment maintenance industry. The Altorfer team highlighted troubleshooting and research processes commonly used in the industry. This training held at Elgin High School was provided “hands on” because of the generous donation of engines to U-46’s automotive programs. The day also gave opportunities for networking and team building across the high schools.
Clint Peterson, automotive teacher and event host from Elgin High School, described the training as a “valuable opportunity to learn together and a great experience for collaborating with peers and business partners.” The Alignment Collaborative for Education thanks Altorfer and the AED Foundation for introducing teachers and students to career exploration and employment opportunities in the large equipment maintenance industry.
ACE is a member of the Alignment USA communities of collaboration and collective impact.
