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Boone County

Leadership Community

By partnering with local employers and organizations, such as Belvidere CUSD 100 and North Boone CUSD 200, we have helped strengthen the connection between career pathways and community workforce needs. These collaborations ensure that students gain personalized learning experiences and develop the academic and adaptive competencies necessary for career and college readiness, furthering the district’s mission of creating lifelong learners equipped to contribute to society.

The districts are committed to fostering student success by prioritizing work-based learning opportunities, offering pathway endorsements, and providing industry-recognized credentials. We are collaborating with The Workforce Connection and Rock Valley College to build a future workforce network.

Led By

Growth Dimensions Economic Development

Areas of Expertise

  • Business Engagement
  • Community Partnership Development
  • Curriculum Alignment – Standards-Based Grading
  • Early College Credit Opportunities
  • Pathways Curriculum Development
  • Standards-Based Education

Prioritized Focus Areas

  • Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (including food processing)
  • Automation & Robotics
  • Energy
  • Health Sciences
  • Information Technology
  • Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology & Trades

Key Successes

  • Created a coalition of over 30 partners to advance education and workforce efforts in Boone County.
  • District 100 currently has four approved College and Career Pathway Endorsements from the state. Five students received the endorsement for education in spring 2024, the first endorsement earners for D100.
  • District 100 has awarded 11 scholarships to pay for students to complete the welding training and certification through Rock Valley College.
  • Piloted summer internships with local manufacturers.
  • Streamlined communication between local businesses, schools, and community organizations to foster connections for site visits, classroom presentations, internships, job fairs, and funding sponsorships.

2-Year Goals

Support collaboration between District 100 and District 200 to implement the following goals and expand opportunities for students in Boone County:

  • Support D100 & D200 in implementing College and Career Pathway Endorsements, as outlined in the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act. Pathways aligned to the endorsement must demonstrate to students a clear path from secondary to postsecondary education and eventual careers.
    • Increase the number of students completing the existing pathways.
  • Expand student participation in manufacturing career development activities.
  • Support D100 & D200 in identifying and implementing relevant industry certifications in CTE courses.
  • Work with Rock Valley College to expand their early college credit options by exploring articulated and dual credit course offerings in the secondary buildings and dual credit options at RVC’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC).
  • Expand the scholarship program to allow D100 students who are exploring non-traditional postsecondary opportunities to attend postsecondary coursework.
  • Identify local training opportunities at the ATC and connect employers to interested secondary students.
  • Review data to evaluate and validate the direction of the Boone County Leadership Community’s focus.

Leadership Community Updates

2025 Conference

Our 12th annual conference is coming to Champaign, Illinois! Please mark your calendars today and plan to join us on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at...

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Copyright © 2025 – Illinois Education and Career Success Network

Network Organizers: Advance Illinois, Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission