The Sauk and Mississippi Valley region stretches from Dixon, IL to Clinton, IA. Through school, industry, and business partnerships, professionals collaborate to bring opportunities to students and employers. Regional partnerships formed to create a manufacturing multi-craft program that connected HS/college students to paid internships while attending school. Partnerships continue to support each other and expand opportunities for students in dual credit, internships, agriculture expansion, business/professional skills training for high school students, manufacturing day/week tours and hands-on activities, career planning with employer support, and creating an education pathway. The multitude of partners supporting the region has allowed the rural communities to work together and support each other.
Whiteside Area Career Center, Sauk Valley Community College, Morrison Tech, Sauk Valley Chamber of Commerce, ROE 47, and area school districts
Northwest Illinois’ Mississippi and Rock River Regions
How high schools, community colleges, and employers are collaborating to provide opportunities for students plus Sauk Valley Community College receives new funding to support healthcare workforce development and sees strong enrollment in manufacturing programs.
SVCC receives U.S. Department of Labor approval as a registered apprenticeship site for Maintenance Electrician Program plus new Impact Program allows students to earn up to 3 years of tuition and fees in exchange for volunteering.
Dr. Darryl Hogue, Superintendent of River Bend CUSD # 2, and Robert Gosch, Principle of Fulton High School, presented at the Illinois School Board Convention on program options that exist at River Bend Schools for completing authentic work opportunities.
This school year, three students from Fulton High School and one from Morrison High School graduated with their College and Career Pathway Endorsement in the
Sauk Valley Community College, in partnership with Making Opportunities Real for Everyone (MORE) has applied for and was awarded a grant to fund educational pathways for local high school students.
A new pathway system is being established so that all district students on any pathway will follow one means for reporting and storing data.
Whiteside Area Career Center has expanded credentialing and dual credit for coursework taken at the Center and has increased student enrollment by over 100 students compared to 2018.
A lot has been happening in the MORE region including expansion of the multicraft internship program (MEIP), and STEM/Robotics activities.
In the MORE communities, representatives from area employers, higher education, and K-12 schools are meeting and creating a model/template for high school endorsements in agriculture, manufacturing, and education.
Through a collaborative process that included administrators, teachers and other stakeholders, River Bend Community Unit District #2, which is in the MORE Leadership Community, has adapted the PaCE Framework.
Fulton High School recently invited Timkin Drives, a local manufacturer to meet with graduating seniors to present the Timkin/Sauk Multicraft Intern opportunity as part of the region’s Multicraft Extended Internship Program.
