Batavia High School Hosts Future Teacher Signing Day
Batavia High School seniors in the Intro to Education classes participated in a special signing day in spring 2026. These seniors have learned the ins and outs of teaching over the past year through hands-on classroom experiences in BPS101 and are now headed to colleges where they will major in education. Students were able to […]
West Aurora Weisner Center Welcomes Business Partners for Advisory Meeting and Student Mock Interviews
West Aurora Weisner Center welcomed 28 business partners on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, for an advisory meeting and student mock interviews. Business partners provided input on the technical and essential employability skills needed for today’s workforce, shared current and projected hiring trends, and listened to capstone student presentations during the advisory. Following the advisory, business […]
West Aurora High School Students Participate in Mock Interviews
Nine industry professionals from Kane County Department of Transportation, Matco Tools, Mechanics’ Local 701, Midas Auto Service, Village of North Aurora and Vermeer Midwest shared their time with over 70 West Aurora High School automotive students on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Industry professionals provided all juniors and seniors with a mock interview experience. Mock interviews […]
Painters District Council 30 and VALEES Host the 7th Annual Apprenticeship Expo
Painters District Council 30 and VALEES hosted the 7th annual Apprenticeship Expo on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. 454 high school students from 22 high schools across Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, and DuPage Counties attended. Construction trade union Apprenticeship Coordinators and current apprentices greeted students at booths with materials from their trades, demonstrations, and virtual reality experiences. […]
Supporting Career Development in the Aurora Region
At its February 2026 meeting, the Aurora Education Commission (AEC) workgroup on college and career readiness affirmed the following goals drafted in December: These goals build on existing efforts to prepare students for college and careers. AEC schools recently participated in the following regional work-based learning organized and supported by VALEES and Waubonsee Community College. […]
Aurora Region Hosts Illuminate Career Pathways Event
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 […]
1,789 Students from Leadership Communities Receive College and Career Pathway Endorsements
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Elementary School Partners with High School CTE Students for Career Day
Aurora’s Hall Elementary School hosted a Career Day for 3rd-grade students on March 6. Hall Elementary serves approximately 575 students from Pre-K to 5th grade, 40% of whom are multilingual learners. A bilingual 3rd-grade teacher organizes this event. Typically, she invites current 3rd-grade parents to showcase their careers in a career fair format, and this […]
727 Students from Leadership Communities Receive College and Career Pathway Endorsements
Congratulations to all the school districts who awarded College and Career Pathway Endorsements to 1,072 students in the Class of 2023. We’re thrilled to share that 727 of those students are from nine of our Success Network Leadership Communities: Aurora Regional Pathways, Black Hawk Region Pathways, Boone County, Greater Peoria Pathways, Lake County, McLean County, […]
Accelerating Career Connections in Aurora
The Aurora Regional Chamber is implementing the Career Accelerator Grant program, which has supported over 50 community college students with funds for books, course materials, gas cards, and other resources.