Chicago Real World Learning

Schools We’re Visiting

Background

Chicago, IL is known as the “second city” because of its miraculous efforts to rebuild itself after the Great Fire of 1871 destroyed much of the city. Today, Chicago is the nation’s 3rd largest metropolis located on the shores of Lake Michigan known as an international hub for finance, commerce, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. The greatest challenge the city faces is the oscillation between its reputation as a bustling, vibrant, multicultural city and a metropolis faced with challenges in equity, racial tensions, and violence. 

School Overviews

Central High School

Located in the rural Burlington, IL, Central High School places value on college and career readiness for their 1,300 student population. Beginning in 8th grade, students self-assess their interests, in 9th and 10th grade they explore college and career options, in 11th grade they analyze their interests and experiences to start to make a plan and then in 12th grade they create their individualized postsecondary plan. Counselors utilize SchoolLinks (recently navigated away from Naviance) for college and career guidance and exploration with students. Juniors and seniors can earn dual credit from the local community college as either a part-time or full-time student, with the potential to earn an Associates of Arts or Science in high school. Students participate in one of eleven CTE pathway programs that each have robust community partnerships.

Barrington High School

Barrington Community Unit School District 220 is a preK-12 nationally recognized school district that is known for its rich history, sense of community and innovative curriculum. They offer nearly a dozen innovative programs to students, starting as early as kindergarten and continuing through high school; high school highlights include a Health Sciences Lab (a hospital room environment and lab), Business INCubatoredu (a program of Uncharted Learning), and green learning (there are new developments with CTE pathways in this area that we will hear more about on our tour).Barrington High School is the sole high school in D220, educating about 3,000 students of the district’s 8,000, with the mission “to develop in our students a love for life-long learning, the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, and take risks willingly to realize their potential.” Throughout its history, two presidents have visited Barrington, including President John F. Kennedy in 1960 and President Barack Obama in 2006. Utilizing Transeo to help students own the path to their future, Barrington offers 24 pathway programs in 7 career fields. They partner with Project Lead the Way in many of their Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology and Trades courses. The Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning from D220 will join us for dinner.

Uncharted Learning

Uncharted Learning (UL) helps schools and districts nationwide integrate entrepreneurship courses into curriculum. Offering a suite of five courses, students in elementary through high school can gain skills in entrepreneurship, business, tech literacy, and explore career interests. UL offers courses at Huntley High School, Barrington High School, and in high schools throughout D214. We will get to see some of these classes in action when we tour! Also, several staff from Uncharted Learning will join us for dinner.

Elk Grove High School

With six comprehensive high schools, and several specialized and alternative options, Township High School District 214 serves an area of nearly 300,000 residents. The district offers sixteen career clusters, with many pathways offering supporting experiences through clubs and activities as well as internships, work-based learning experiences, and industry certifications. Staffing roles at the Center for Career Discovery (CCD) have been designed to support students along their pathways journey, including a Career Discovery Supervisor, Partnership Manager, Student Success Coach, Director and Assistant Director of Programs and Pathways, Job Placement Specialists, and a Special Education Vocational Specialist.

The CCD engages with more than 1,000 industry partners to support student work-based learning and career exploration opportunities. Annually, the Center supports 2,500+ work-based learning experiences. D214 is helping students make connections and gain invaluable job skills while also addressing the employment needs of local businesses and industries.  The CCD also provides career-related activities such as Career Nights and Career Treks, site visits, industry speakers in the classroom and career exploration presentations. The district also offers summer experiences for all students, from more traditional summer coursework to enrichment experiences to summer athletic camps.

GPS Education Partners

GPS “helps students transition from the learning environment to the working environment by providing first-hand experience in meaningful technical careers. This early career exposure prepares students for life as working adults and creates opportunities for schools, businesses and communities.” GPS offers talent development, career navigation, and an education center and youth development program, uniting business, education, and community partnerships.

Comer Education Campus

Gary Comer College Prep and Gary Comer Middle School are part of the 18 school college prep focused Noble Network. They share a campus with Comer Youth Center and together they offer extensive out of school programming for middle and high school students, employment opportunities, homework assistance and tutoring, and college and career prep. Their programs span a broad range of areas including urban agriculture, media and tech, fitness classes, summer camps, and leadership and social development. Soon, they will add programming for adults and seniors.

Art in Motion

Founded in 2019 as a part of the Distinctive Schools charter network, and backed by rap artist Common, Art in Motion seeks to empower the creative in each child to “provide the resources and opportunities needed for [their] dreams to take flight”. There are about 500 students in grades 7-8 and 9-12 on two campuses and are currently under construction to be able to soon serve 900 students. Through real-world projects, self-directed learning and small group instruction, AIM offers pathways at the high school level in music, dance, visual arts, literary arts and digital arts. Each student meets with a mentor weekly.

Tour Guides

In addition to the school and organization leaders outlined in the agenda, the following members of the Getting Smart team will be acting as tour guides:

Shawnee Caruthers is Vice President of Advocacy at Getting Smart. Shawnee is passionate about advocating for others and making sure all educators and students are engaged. She believes true engagement is achievable through human centered learning experiences, real world learning experiences and a dedication to not only powerful learning for youth, but for adults as well. Shawnee started her career in advertising and journalism and eventually pivoted to the classroom where she taught English and business due to her industry experience prior to teaching. This enabled her to supervise and oversee their career and technical education offerings in Chiefs Kingdom (Kansas City) where she resides.

Victoria Andrews is Director of Learning Design at Getting Smart. She recently served as the Assistant Director for an International Baccalaureate School and guided students and staff through virtual and in person learning. Previously, she served as a Dean at Energy Institute High School, a magnet school with a project-based learning focus on energy. Here, Victoria paired students with summer programs based on their unique interests, developed an internship program for multiple grade levels, created experiential learning opportunities, coordinated field trips, and worked closely with the community and industry partners. Victoria is passionate about serving as a connector and collaborator for underrepresented communities while supporting unique learning environments. 

About Getting Smart: As a mission-driven organization, Getting Smart® is passionate about accelerating and amplifying innovations in teaching and learning. We help people and organizations learn, grow, and innovate. Our blog, GettingSmart.com is a community of learners and contributors that cover important events, trends, products and publications across K-12, early, postsecondary education and lifelong learning opportunities all centered around learning innovations.