Feb2020LMhi

Graduating With a Plan

U-46 to Offer 24 Educational Pathways

By Jason Nevel IASA Director of Social Media and Publications

School districts across Illinois continue to innovate and develop new programs that prepare students for life after high school. Over the past year, IASA highlighted some of these innovative practices, including how Okaw Valley CUSD #302 teamed up with the US Army Corps of Engineers and sponsors to develop a unique agriculture program, how Maine Township High School District 207 re-examined career and college advisement and how students at Abingdon-Avon CUSD #276 can earn an associate degree before graduation.

In this issue, we share another example of innovation happening at School District U-46 in Elgin, the state’s second largest district with 38,395 students. This article is an overview and just one way to learn about the Educational Pathways initiative at U-46. To learn more, click on the icon to the right to listen to an IASA Podcast with Lela Majstorovic, assistant superintendent for secondary education. CreatingEducational Pathways Beginning in the 2021–22 school year, U-46 will launch its Educational Pathways initiative, aimed at preparing all U-46 students for the rigors of college and tomorrow’s career skills, while also providing students opportunities to earn college credit and industry credentials. The initiative builds and expands upon U-46’s magnet academies, which have been offered to select groups of

high school students for two decades as a way to take students to new levels of creative, interdisciplinary learning, as well as give them a head start on higher education. The Educational Pathway initiative calls for all U-46 high schools to each house the same five college and career academies: • Fine Arts • Business • Human Services • STEM • Liberal Arts Within the college and career academies, 24 different educational pathways will be offered to high school students. For example, the human services academies will offer pathways in early childhood education, hospitality, culinary arts, law, medical assistant, patient care technician and social advocacy. (See the complete breakdown on page 7.)

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LM February 2020