Evanston Mayor’s Employer Advisory Council (MEAC) has been very active in the 2020-21 school year. This school year, they co-sponsored with Evanston Township High School (ETHS) seven virtual career pathway panel events each attended by 30-50 students and others. These hour-long panel discussions involved local employers specific to the subject pathway and representatives from Oakton Community College connecting students and employers to courses of study available to support the subject pathway. The added benefit to conducting these sessions virtually is that parents can also see them. They are recorded and posted on the ETHS website for viewing any time.
MEAC has several other initiatives in process:
- Funding for 15 paid 12-week iKit Summer 2021 Internship Program positions has been secured. This program provides career-focused internships with local MEAC employers for Class of 2021 graduates not going on to college right away.
- They are collaborating with their local middle schools (District 65) to support the new administration’s interest in promoting career information and activities that support the ultimate transition of students from middle school to high school. ETHS and District 65 administrators are keen to have students transitioning having areas of interest more clearly articulated to facilitate the course selection for freshman year which is done each spring with 8th-grade students.
- A virtual Career Options night is scheduled for March 17 which will allow students to talk directly with 16 local employers about careers in their organization that do not require a four-year degree.
ETHS has transitioned from the Naviance platform to the SchooLinks Career Preparation platform where students, parents, counselors and teachers can among other things connect directly with MEAC and other local employers to find out more about their organizations including benefits like tuition reimbursement and career opportunities.
