Historically, 67 percent of Community School District 300’s graduating class goes to college. A third of those graduates have no plans for higher education, according to statistics.
“We have roughly 1,500 graduates a year, a third of those do go out directly to the work force,” District 300 Chief Academic Officer Benjamin Churchill said. “We were concerned what are we doing to prepare those students.”
The district polled its students and asked if they were not going to college, what their plans were, he said. “Students didn’t really have an idea. They didn’t’ know what they would do after high school. We wanted to expose them to a variety of paths and give them a skill. If they chose to go to college, they can. If not, they will be career ready,” Churchill said. “We felt it was our obligation to provide skills to those students (who) chose to go directly to work,” he said.
“We can’t just focus on college-bound kids, we have to focus on all kids,” he said.
District 300 is preparing a new workforce through an Advanced Manufacturing program at Hampshire High School introduced this year to teach teens skills that will help them get into a manufacturing job directly after high school or enter Elgin Community College to work toward an associate degree.
It is one of three marquee programs the district started. The programs are sort of like a magnet school where students are able to transfer to the high school offering the program they are interested in, Churchill said. Dundee-Crown High School has an entrepreneur programs while Harry D. Jacobs High School has a computer science program.
Advanced Manufacturing has 48 freshman enrolled for four years, Churchill said. Students can transfer into the program as sophomores, he said. The curriculum is aligned with ECC’s program so District 300 students can take classes their senior year for college credit, he said.
Churchill spent time researching and talking with employers to determine what kind of skills are needed for the manufacturing industry. “We realized that area manufacturers are finding it challenging to place entry level employees because students out of high school don’t have the skills they” need, he said.
“We heard the same things over and over,” Churchill said. “Manufacturing companies in the area are looking for students who can solve problems creatively, who can take their job seriously and are looking for students with some background (in) manufacturing.”
Employers also want employees with strong critical thinking, math, communication and reading skills, he said.
Entry manufacturing positions can provide a living wage for recent high school graduates, Churchill said. And, there is the potential to move up in a company within a few years and make a good salary, he said.
The district invested $300,000 into equipment for the program, he said. “We are proud of the equipment we have on site,” Churchill said. “We are looking forward to see how much the program will grow. We have every indication it will grow.”
District 300 is also looking at continuing to build relationships with business owners and other programs aimed at creating a more skilled workforce.
The Fox Valley Career Center, based in Maple Park, works with teens in five school districts within the Aurora area to teach not only practical skills but “soft” skills, said Director Rick Burchell. He recently spoke at a Kane County Jobs Committee meeting. The Jobs Committee invited four speakers to discuss programs preparing teens to join the workforce: District 300’s Manufacturing Pathway, Fox Valley Career Center, Institute for Collaboration Aurora University and Aurora Regional Pathways to Prosperity Project.
Fox Valley Career Center offers 17 programs including automotive technologies, computer technology, fire science, graphic communications, welding and early childhood education. Soft skills include stressing the importance of attendance and professionalism, he said.
“Our goal is to get them ready for whatever it is,” Burchell said.
Aurora Regional Pathways to Prosperity Project found the graduation rate in four school districts within Aurora was 78 percent while only 42.3 percent of graduates were college ready, President and CEO Joseph Henning said. The project focuses on preparing students for careers in health sciences, manufacturing and professional/technology.
Its goal is to increase the graduation rate to 90 percent and improve college readiness to 60 percent by 2025, Henning said. Pathways saw a 25 percent increase in the courses it offers at seven high schools this school year, he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
