Approximately 96 percent of kids living at the Oasis Mobile Home Park live below the poverty line, and don’t have access to park districts or libraries without paying additional fees. Elk Grove High School teacher Ricky Castro saw the gap in this community’s access to such resources as an opportunity for change and started a weeklong summer camp.

Oscar Gonzalez didn’t know what manufacturing could offer until he took a course at Elk Grove High School. Now, Oscar is leaning toward a career in CNC-based manufacturing or tool and die making and will compete against students from across the country in automated manufacturing.

One of the most in-demand industries – cyber and network security – is having difficulty recruiting and retaining talented workers.

Instead of waiting for colleges and universities to solve the problem, District 214 educators are teaching cyber skills to students now so they can leave our doors with the skills needed to find internships and jobs.

Jackie Molloy took her first entrepreneurship class as a sophomore. Now, the Buffalo Grove High School junior is co-running a startup that is selling its product in stores across Chicago.

Jackie and her classmates created Skunk Aid – a deskunking kit for dogs – in their entrepreneurship course, which is part of a District 214 entrepreneurship program that engages students in all aspects of building a business, from identifying and solving a problem to creating a business model and testing their product in the real world.

Educators from across the country visited with High School District 214 students and staff on March 2 to learn more about the District’s Career Pathways program that provides students with real-world experiences and rigorous academic courses to discover their futures.  

Visitors also heard first-hand from District 214 students with internships coordinated by the District’s Center for Career Discovery. Students discussed how their internships confirmed what they want and do not want to pursue beyond high school.  

A summer internship at a physical therapist’s office affirmed Wheeling High School student Hannah DeGraff’s decision to pursue a career in the field.

The internship – coordinated through District 214’s Center for Career Discovery – gave Hannah a better understanding of what physical therapists do every day. It also provided her a behind the scenes look at running a healthcare business, from calling insurance companies to cleaning medical supplies and the importance of taking detailed notes to track patients’ progress.