On October 24, 2025, VALEES (EFE #130), with the support of Waubonsee Community College and the City of Aurora, hosted 1,262 ninth-grade students from the Aurora area leadership community schools, including Batavia High School, East Aurora High School, Kaneland High School, and West Aurora High School, at the Illuminate Career Pathways event.
Ninth-grade students met with industry partners from all seven College and Career Pathway Endorsement areas, engaging in highly interactive demonstrations and having their questions about career pathways answered. Sixty-seven business and community partners exhibited at the event, with 175 industry professionals engaging with young people. The event was strategically placed in advance of course selection to inform students’ career course-taking decisions.
As Dr. Bob Halverson, East Aurora Superintendent, and Dr. Michael Smith, West Aurora Superintendent, stated in a recent Aurora Education Commission meeting, this event supports the 9th-grade on-track rate by providing students with real-world relevance to their high school experience. It supports the implementation of the PaCE framework and the comprehensive counseling model with industry partner engagement of young people.