District 214 programs pathway to IT success

Margaux Cummings, a junior at Prospect High School, already knows what she plans to do in the future: She wants to become a computer programmer.

Thanks to her high school studies through the Northwest Suburban High School District 214's Programming and Software Development Career Pathway, she's well on her way.

So far, she has completed all four courses in the pathway; designed her own math-focused app, Magmatics, that's available on Apple's App Store; and had an internship.

For her senior year, she plans to do independent study, working on app ideas and helping teach coding to lower-level classes.

"I've gone further than I thought I could get," Cummings said of the IT pathway experience. "I didn't think I could get an app published on the App Store (for example). It's helped a lot in other situations as well because I learned more problem-solving skills in the classes, and that transfers to other things."

The demand for computer and information technology professionals is growing - IT jobs are expected to increase 13 percent by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. District 214's programming and software pathway offers career-focused courses, including dual-credit classes that give students college credits, along with internships and other related activities.

This helps students prepare for careers as a computer programmer, computer hardware engineer, network architect and software developer.

For Buffalo Grove High School senior Troy Nelson, a 2017 summer internship at Shultes Precision Manufacturing in web development gave him real-world exposure to IT work.

"I (worked) on the website they currently have, adding new information to it, making it look more vibrant, (adding) more new ways to introduce it to the customers and the workers so they can really see what the company is about," Nelson said, adding that the experience broadened his view of how businesses function and the role of IT beyond the basics.

The Programming and Software Development Pathway started in the 2014-15 school year with the introduction of a mobile app development course, which teaches students coding and programming languages.

At the time, District 214 schools were among a handful in the country to offer the curriculum, which was developed by MobileMakersEDU.

To make his AP computer science classes even more interesting, Prospect High School career and technical educator Paul Hennig introduced an app development course that ties in entrepreneurship.

"The students are the programmers and the faculty are the clients. I'm trying to replicate a real-life dev shop," Hennig said. "Over the past three years, my students have created awesome apps that benefit the students and teachers."

Taking advantage of his IT classes, John Hersey High School junior John Dattilo in December won the 2017 Congressional App Challenge for the Illinois 9th District for his app DiaLog, which helps people with diabetes manage and track their disease, including calculating insulin dosages quickly. The app is available on the App Store, and Dattilo said he intends to keep it up to date.

Dattilo, who plans to study economics and computer science in college, said he has benefitted from his teacher and the computer programming pathway.

"The computer science classes have helped teach me all the basic information that I need to know to code."

About this series, and how you can help

This story is part of a 16-week series looking at Northwest Suburban High School District 214's Career Pathways program.

To join District 214's Career Pathways effort as an internship host, career mentor or classroom speaker, contact Barb Kain in the Teaching and Learning Department, barb.kain@d214.org.

To support the program financially through a sponsorship, early career credentials or college credits for students, naming or other contribution, contact Erin Brooks with the District 214 Education Foundation, erin.brooks@d214.org.