
Student Advisory Council: Spring 2022 Meeting
The Student Advisory Council gathered for its final meeting of the 2021-2022 school year to discuss work-based learning, networking, and dual credit, plus send off the Class of 2022.
The Student Advisory Council gathered for its final meeting of the 2021-2022 school year to discuss work-based learning, networking, and dual credit, plus send off the Class of 2022.
D214 highlights work-based learning experiences for students in the law and culinary arts pathways.
The Regional Workforce Alliance in Greater Peoria has been busy implementing a holistic approach to mapping its regional talent pipeline to gain a more comprehensive
Science and theater teachers from Hersey High School teamed up to create “John Hersey Medical Center,” in which Introduction to Heath Care students were doctors
MEAC, in partnership with Evanston Township High School (ETHS) is currently recruiting students and employers for the iKit Spring Job Shadow Program and the iKit
In February, Black Hawk Region Pathways completed a region-wide PaCE training with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Schools from Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer Counties
The Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce, the voice of and catalyst for business success in the Aurora region, is elated to announce that it is one of
Illinois’ leading postsecondary attainment network announces a new name, the Illinois Education and Career Success Network.
The 2022 Illinois 60 by 25 Network Annual Conference on February 28 to March 3 will be virtual and free to attend.
The 10th anniversary of the annual career exploration fair featured 102 booths and over 100 volunteers helping run the event
conomic Development Corporation (CSEDC) successfully hosted their annual Manufacturing Day virtual sessions with businesses and high schools from across the Chicago Southland.
The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and their partners at Junior Achievement of Central Illinois collaborated with local volunteer employers to create 48 industry-specific virtual booths representing eight different career clusters.
Through the information collected on the NECSS Student Data Dashboard, the Equity for All taskforce seeks to analyze and identify achievement gaps of special populations.
SVCC receives U.S. Department of Labor approval as a registered apprenticeship site for Maintenance Electrician Program plus new Impact Program allows students to earn up to 3 years of tuition and fees in exchange for volunteering.
Dr. Darryl Hogue, Superintendent of River Bend CUSD # 2, and Robert Gosch, Principle of Fulton High School, presented at the Illinois School Board Convention on program options that exist at River Bend Schools for completing authentic work opportunities.
The iKit Summer Internship Program hosted 16 graduating seniors from Evanston Township High School.
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth joined a gathering of community leaders and educators at Evanston Township High School.
The Little Village Education Collaborative convened by Enlace Chicago is implementing individualized Equity Response Teams with their local postsecondary partners to increase student support in college access and persistence.
Buffalo Grove High School students are named national INCubatoredu finalists, D214 student earns National Cyber Scholar honor, D220 is expanding its education pathway, and elected officials visit Wheeling High School’s METT pathway.
The Boone County community has secured a grant through ISBE, to support the region’s ability to identify and develop innovative resources to promote Career Exploration and Career Development Experiences.
In this webinar, recorded on September 28, 2021, the Illinois 60 by 25 Network Organizers and our partners discuss strategies to engage adult learners to increase postsecondary attainment equity in Illinois.
The Illinois 60 by 25 Network has designated Boone County as a new Leadership Community.
In May, the Mayor’s Employer Advisory Council (MEAC) and North Chicago Community High School presented to the Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network (I-WIN) community on
Golden Corridor Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (GCAMP) and Acme Industries partnered to bring real-world experiences to a Rolling Meadows High School manufacturing class. This virtual project
This school year, three students from Fulton High School and one from Morrison High School graduated with their College and Career Pathway Endorsement in the
The Evanston iKit Summer Internship Program featuring twelve-week paid internships has kicked off with sixteen interns going into local employer locations starting in mid-June. Three
Despite a challenging pandemic year, the East St. Louis Senior High School Class of 2021 collectively earned over $16.6 million in college scholarships.
In our May 2021 meeting of the Student Advisory Council, the departing seniors shared lessons learned and future plans with the underclassmen members. Check out their insights!
In the May 2021 convening of the Student Advisory Council, Juan Jose Gonzalez of Education Systems Center at NIU introduced the concept of the living wage and shared resources for learning more about career opportunities that meet the living wage threshold.
The Student Advisory Council developed creative ways to share the ISAC Student Portal and the Illinois Postsecondary Profiles tools with their fellow students. Check them out!
Culinary Arts Pathway serves up a learning buffet while Education Pathway winds through classroom experience.
Sauk Valley Community College, in partnership with Making Opportunities Real for Everyone (MORE) has applied for and was awarded a grant to fund educational pathways for local high school students.
This school year, MEAC co-sponsored with Evanston Township High School (ETHS) seven virtual career pathway panel events each attended by 30-50 students and others.
Council members are from Illinois 60 by 25 Network Leadership communities and bring diverse perspectives. We look forward to working with these outstanding young people to better understand how students across the state experience various initiatives that the Network supports, and understand what kinds of supports would be helpful to students as they navigate the education system.
We have re-imagined the annual Illinois 60 by 25 Network Conference for 2021. We will bring the high-quality conference content you have counted on since 2014 over four days: February 22–25, 2021.
Now several months into its second year, High School District 214’s apprenticeship program is building on the success of its inaugural year by branching out to serve more students in more fields.
Plans are underway for a virtual work-based internship in the second semester through a WIOA grant received in July 2020.
A new pathway system is being established so that all district students on any pathway will follow one means for reporting and storing data.
Representatives from East St. Louis School District 189 and Township High School District 214 in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago shared how they have implemented trauma-informed practices in their districts in partnership with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and community partners.
Hear about the strategies and resources East St. Louis School District 189 and Township High School District 214 are using to support the needs of students and community members as they deal with challenges related to COVID-19, racial unrest, and adjusting to remote learning.
The Health Occupations instructors at Danville Area Community College (DACC) have been working hard to ensure content delivery still happens if a student is suddenly removed
In Rockford, partners are working together to prepare students for college, career, and life through the Great Lakes College and Career Pathways Partnership. Read more…
Illinois Central College (ICC), in partnership with Peoria’s CEO Council and Regional Workforce Alliance, Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), Jobs
Yennifer Velazquez, an Elk Grove High School grad, completed her first year of college with no student loan debt, thanks to Middle College! When Yennifer
In August 2014, members of the NECSS partnership embarked on the Power of 15 initiative. The mission of the Power of 15 is to ensure
The McLean Compact brought on two AmeriCorps VISTA members in June, launched a new website at mcleancocompact.org and conducted the Becoming BN program virtually in July.
This summer, Evanston Township High School (ETHS), the City of Evanston Youth and Young Adult Division, Evanston Community Foundation, and the Mayor’s Employer Advisory Council
To support communities during COVID-19, the McLean Chamber of Commerce, which serves as the backbone organization for the McLean County Leadership Community, has developed a new, jointly-sponsored website with resources for community access.
This spring, the East St Louis School District Class of 2020 celebrated nine seniors who earned their associate’s degrees while graduating from high school.
The Mayor’s Employer Advisory Council (MEAC) and its partners in Evanston have been providing virtual career readiness training resources and training to support seniors from Evanston Township High School who are about to graduate.
Arielle Bell earned a college-level certification in Hospitality and Tourism Management before even graduating from high school.
Since the Network’s inception, a core tenet has been to focus on opportunities for learning and sharing across communities, which includes our annual conference. “The
With help from SWIC, students learned to design and write code for a CNC machine.
JAG helps high school students discover their individual talents, develop skills, and seize opportunities to achieve their personal potential.
2019 was a busy year in McLean County. They piloted Becoming BN, developed the Education to Employer Summit, launched the Essential Workplace Skills in partnership, and continued work with the College and Career Pathways Endorsements.
Diana earned the coveted Dr. Helen Nash High School Internship for Excellence in Healthcare.
The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program at East St. Louis Senior High School hosted an Open House Hair and Car Show on Saturday, September 14, 2019, to highlight student achievements and the exciting CTE opportunities available to the community.
Tucked away in a corner of the second floor at Danville High School is an office where students can be paired with a job or an internship at a local business.
Danville District 118 students will have a better idea about what they would like to do with their life after high school thanks to a newly enhanced Career and Technical Education (CTE) program.
High School District 214 hosted a Construction Trades Pathway Development Advisory Team in August.
The LaSalle County Regional Office of Education in partnership with Illinois Valley Community College sponsored a Postsecondary and Career Expectations Framework event for regional educators.
With grant funding assistance from EdSystems, committees are working to complete education and training pathways and stackable credentials in identified industry clusters.
The new Weisner Family Center for Career Development at Aurora West School District 129 opening on August 29, 2019. The center helps support the Pathways
Rock Valley College (RVC) conducted their dual credit boot camp for MET 100 (Introductory CAD and Print Reading).
Whiteside Area Career Center has expanded credentialing and dual credit for coursework taken at the Center and has increased student enrollment by over 100 students compared to 2018.
Peoria partners recently hosted a 15-person delegation of Puerto Rican mayors, employers, and educators to learn about Pathways to Prosperity program.
District 214 has started 5 registered youth apprenticeships in 3 career areas: Cybersecurity, Automotive Technology, and HVAC.
A lot has been happening in the MORE region including expansion of the multicraft internship program (MEIP), and STEM/Robotics activities.
This year’s 60 by 25 Conference featured many dynamic speakers from Illinois and across the country. Our engaging keynote speakers, Vela Institute, provided an interactive
NECSS hosted a summit on the Suburbanization of Poverty on Friday, November 9th at Harper College.
In the MORE communities, representatives from area employers, higher education, and K-12 schools are meeting and creating a model/template for high school endorsements in agriculture, manufacturing, and education.
Innovate Springfield, the intermediary organization for the Sangamon County Continuum of Learning, is now a unit of the University of Illinois Springfield and has been named as the first hub of the statewide Illinois Innovation Network.
Over the last several months the McLean County Compact action teams have developed a logic model that outlines resources, activities, products and outcomes related to joint goals, including the 60 by 25 goal.
Through a collaborative process that included administrators, teachers and other stakeholders, River Bend Community Unit District #2, which is in the MORE Leadership Community, has adapted the PaCE Framework.
At Thrive Chicago’s Opportunity Youth Summit on May 24, 2018, Mayor Emanuel, DFSS, and Thrive Chicago Announced the latest investments to advance 10 citywide recommendations on opportunity youth.
The Peoria Pathways to Prosperity team and its partners completed a pilot manufacturing pre-apprenticeship and are scaling it to engage approximately 40 students across four school districts and multiple manufacturing employers for AY 2018.
On April 14, 2018, Southworks organized a Robotics and Engineering Olympics event featuring SUMO, Autonomous Racer, S Bricks, and Pathfinder competitions.
Fulton High School recently invited Timkin Drives, a local manufacturer to meet with graduating seniors to present the Timkin/Sauk Multicraft Intern opportunity as part of the region’s Multicraft Extended Internship Program.
Montez Holton, Valedictorian of the East St. Louis Senior High School Class of 2018, walked across two stages in May: earning a high school diploma and associate’s degree.
Danville Area Community College and Vermilion County Works secured a WIOA grant to create short-term training opportunities in manufacturing. Plus, Vermilion Advantage has taken steps to strengthening the career advisor process.
The framework provides counselors with a tool that indicates what is expected for students to ensure they are making progress on meeting college and career readiness standards.
The McLean County 60 by 25 Network leadership team has taken a big step to strengthen their efforts toward the 60 by 25 goal.
Equity, innovation and scaling impact emphasized at 5th Annual 60 by 25 Network Conference Jocelyn Sharif has been interested in cooking since she was a
Fifteen collaborative entities are now formally involved in strategic planning regarding the 60 by 25 goal in McLean County.
With funding from the Telligen Community Initiative, HPEC established strategic partnerships with regional healthcare employers to better align education and training with the regional workforce needs in health informatics. This work includes increasing awareness for and the adoption of apprenticeship programs that benefit both students and employers.
In McLean County, over a dozen education, employer, and community entities adopted the 60 by 25 goal and have made it part of their strategic planning toward workforce development.
In Vermilion County, the dual credit Career and Technical Education program known as College Express started on August 21st.
The initial success of Peoria Pathways to Prosperity has drawn attention as a promising demonstration of the community’s capacity to embrace change to meet the challenges ahead. This success was highlighted recently in Peoria Magazine.
The Starved Rock Region is focused on promoting libraries as learning centers to support their 60 by 25 goal.
In AY 2016-17, HPEC provided healthcare career exploration field trips to students from 11 high schools, and 63 students from four high schools participated in
In AY 2016-17 Peoria Pathways to Prosperity placed sixty interns at 16 unique employers.
The McLean County Leadership Community effort is utilizing existing structures to promote the 60 by 25 goal, while embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process that will help it to streamline and leverage its education to careers efforts more effectively.
Districts 211 and 214, working with partners in the Golden Corridor, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, and employers across the region, held the first Illinois Energy Efficient Vehicle Competition on May 8th.
Thank you to the presenters, attendees, sponsors, and staff who participated in the 2016 Illinois 60 by 25 Network Meeting! Conference Materials 60 by 25
Thank you to the presenters, attendees, sponsors, and staff who participated in the 2016 Illinois 60 by 25 Network Meeting! Conference Materials Education is Everyone’s