The Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University just received a $1.5 million grant to help more high school students earn a college & career pathway endorsement.
The endorsement is meant to show that a high school student is prepared for their career. They have to do an internship and earn college credit to get the endorsement — a literal stamp on their diploma — when they graduate.
EdSystems' Kyle Westbrook says even though the number of districts who’ve issued these endorsements has grown dramatically, the number of students earning them hasn’t.
“We'll work with districts to help them build out individual learning plans for students that are aligned to their career aspirations," he said. "We’ll support students in learning more about those careers through work-based learning opportunities.”
With the grant from StriveTogether, EdSystems will work with schools in a few cities, including Aurora, to improve the endorsement options they offer and help schools share data.
“Right now," said Westbrook, "there's no current structure in Illinois and in most states to be able to connect the data that the high school has about its student population to its community college."
So, now when a student enrolls at the community college, the school will have a much better idea of the sorts of classes they’re interested in.
Legislation in 2022 expanded the pathway system. Now, all Illinois high schools have to offer an endorsement in at least one area unless they opt out, which Westbrook says is rare.
Statewide, there are seven total endorsement areas, but multiple endorsements that fall within those areas. For example, Human and Public Services includes everything from education and law to corrections and security.
Westbrook says they chose Aurora partially based on its size and partially based on the diversity of the students: many who go right into the workforce and many who’ll pursue a four-year degree.