Buffalo Grove High School this school year redesigned a computer laboratory into a collaborative, flexible space that allows staff to enhance reading, writing and critical thinking skills among students.

The room, called the BGenius Lab, is one way Buffalo Grove is focusing on literacy, a skill needed in high school and beyond. 

Literacy coaches Kate Glass and Jeff Vlk help teachers design literacy lessons and often coteach alongside the curriculum experts or teach the lessons in the lab. The two have connected with every teacher in the building and have seen classes from criminal law to biology to Spanish and world history, among others, stop in to help students in prep, regular, honors and Advanced Placement courses. 

Rolling Meadows High School is now in its second year of offering a Geometry in Construction course, which allows students to transfer math concepts learned in the classroom to a construction setting. 

By combining these two areas, students can visually apply geometry lessons and concepts like the Pythagorean theorem to physical and tangible projects, such as circuit-making and constructing walls, said instructors Dave Wietrzak and Brett Olson.

Last summer, 40 District 214 students participated in the English Language Learners (ELL) Career Academy, a program that provides resources and opportunities for postsecondary success.

The program, now in its second year, gives current and former ELL students hands-on, relevant learning experiences that may have been unavailable to them in the past.

When Buffalo Grove student Nicole Relias needed inspiration for a business idea in her entrepreneurship class, she turned to a problem her dog had experienced – being skunked. 

Through District 214’s innovative entrepreneurship curriculum, Relias and her classmates invented Skunk Aid, a kit to de-skunk dogs.

On Thursday, Oct. 20, District 214 educators showed how they prepare students to be College, Career and Life Ready using #214ready on Twitter. 

Some examples:

• Computer programming students at Buffalo Grove High School are coding in Swift for iOS. They're also trouble shooting and developing solutions using industry-level development tools.
• Spanish language students at Prospect High School use EdPuzzle to transform learning
• Elk Grove physics students use real-world scenarios, such as football games and field goals, to calculate distance 

October is Redefining Ready! month in High School District 214: a month dedicated to promoting the opportunities educators are providing our students to demonstrate postsecondary readiness and the awesome things our students are accomplishing to make them Career, College and Life ready.