Explore 2018 highlights career opportunities
Now in its fourth year, Explore 2018: A Community, Curriculum and Career Expo is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 12, at a new location, the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
This free daytime event will be held on a weekday for the first time and will be specifically aimed at educating middle schoolers about the connection between U-46 middle and high school classes and opportunities that best prepare them for further education and careers following high school graduation.
With the support of Alignment Collaborative for Education (ACE) and the Citizens' Advisory Council (CAC), Explore gathers local business and industry leaders to showcase career options, demonstrate skills used in those fields and explain what courses will prepare students to work in a particular area.
"Explore gives our students a hands-on opportunity to see how today's classes can intersect with tomorrow's careers," said U-46 Chief Executive Officer Tony Sanders.
"It's always a successful event, but I'm excited that by holding it on a weekday, middle schoolers and their teachers will be able to attend the expo together and build on career exploration discussions."
The Citizens' Advisory Council helped the district launch the first expo four years ago, and ACE took on leading the work last year as part of its work to support the District's Strategic Plan and goals to better prepare students for college and careers.
ACE is an organization that helps bring together community resources to better support U-46 students so that they leave high school prepared to be contributing adults eager to live and work in their community.
The expo aims to inform and guide U-46 students and will feature several dozen District faculty and staff members who will explain core classes and electives in which students may enroll.
In 2018, all eighth-grade students and their teachers will be bused to the Sears Centre between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to explore the career options ahead of them.
Information about registration for exhibitors will be available in mid-April on the School District U-46 website and through the Alignment Collaborative for Education.
Explore 2017 was held recently and attracted about 1,000 students and family members, who took in health care demonstrations, culinary displays and a demo by the district's award-winning, all-female competitive engine teardown team.
Students who attended the event at Elgin Community College toured themed career clusters such as architecture and construction, hospitality and tourism, and government and public administration.
The district will host parental informational sessions about the expo in September, prior to the event. To learn more about Explore 2018, visit https://youtu.be/0AK43tWNa78.