When Wheeling High School graduate Taran Lichtenberger learned of an award recognizing educators, one person immediately came to mind – her high school biology teacher.

More than 300 students from across District 214 schools participated in a campus visit on April 16 to Eastern Illinois University. The visit marks the first time students across District 214 schools toured a college campus together.

To prepare students for careers in broadcasting, reporting and digital communications, District 214 offers classes in its Journalism and Broadcasting Career Pathway. The pathway supplements these courses with practical experience through student newspapers, websites, webcasts, podcasts, yearbooks and broadcasts, as well as internships.

We partnered with the Daily Herald in the beginning of spring 2018 to produce a 16-week series looking at our Career Pathways program. Miss a story? We've compiled the published pieces here.

On the outside, it looks like a suburban high school. But inside, Buffalo Grove High School is home to The Bison Grill, a student-run restaurant that handles an average of 20 catering jobs a year for community outreach events, school meetings and professional luncheons that host local and state officials.

Michael Rooney has known for a long time that he wanted to be an engineer. But until he got involved in District 214’s Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program at Rolling Meadows High School, he didn’t know what kind of engineering he wanted to pursue.

Today, thanks to his courses through the PLTW program in Rolling Meadow’s Engineering Career Pathway, Rooney is a sophomore studying to be a manufacturing engineer at Bradley University in Peoria.

University of Illinois freshman Deirdra Day is studying to be a financial consultant — a course motivated by her Career Pathway studies at Buffalo Grove High School. 

Day took AP classes throughout her high school years, but started her business education with an introductory course during her sophomore year as part of the Business Management and Administration Career Pathway. From there, she moved on to higher-level classes.

A recent grant from GCAMP has allowed District 214 to expand an after-school STEM program for middle school students. Elk Grove and John Hersey educators share how the Next Generation of Engineers program is helping these students explore STEM and manufacturing careers before they begin high school.