District 88 partners with local businesses to provide students with real-world opportunities in the workplace

At District 88, our mission is to work for the continuous improvement of student achievement.

As part of that mission, the district has been working with local businesses to provide students with real-world experiences in the workforce. Those opportunities have helped prepare students for college and career.

Greater Oak Brook Economic Development Partnership

Top row: (From left) Susan Lindquist, Chief Talent Officer for BCS Financial and Chair of the Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Valentina Tomov, CEO of the Greater Oak Brook Economic Development Partnership; Tamryn Hennessy, Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce Program Director; and Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause share their thoughts on the Greater Oak Brook Economic Development Partnership's STEM Bridge Partnership program during a culmination ceremony on May 16. Bottom left: Pictured are the Willowbrook students who participated in the Math in Marketing portion of the program. They're pictured with Hennessy (left), Shannon Kelly with Ace Hardware (next to Hennessy) and Willowbrook Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher Laura Lopez (behind Hennessy). Bottom right: Pictured are the Willowbrook students who participated in the Architecture/Engineering portion of the program. They're pictured with Willowbrook CTE teacher Kevin Quinn (left), Hennessy (in front of Quinn), Rich Blair with GEA Architects, Ltd. (next to Quinn) and Sean Toolan with Terracon Construction LLC (right). To view more photos from the program, go to http://tinyurl.com/mpzxg86.

Willowbrook has partnered with this group to develop a “near-peer” mentoring experience called the STEM Bridge Partnership program, which matches young business professionals from the Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce with students interested in pursuing in-demand Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. This program had young leaders from Ace Hardware, GEA Architects, Ltd., Terracon Construction LLC, SWC Technology Partners and Northwestern Mutual working with 40 Willowbrook students on real-life work simulations during an eight-week period. Those students were part of an Architecture/Engineering program or a Math in Marketing program. To read more, go to https://www.dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=3440. To view photos from the process, go to http://tinyurl.com/mpzxg86.

Addison Workforce Development Committee

Addison Trail and Willowbrook students visit The Cary Company as part of an initiative to provide students with real-world experiences in the workplace. They're pictured with Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden (left), Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause (right), Ken Tyrrell, President of The Cary Company (front row, center), Jamie Benson, Human Resources Administrator with The Cary Company (to the left of Tyrrell) and Thomas (TJ) Tyrrell, VP of Marketing & Operations with The Cary Company (back row, second from right).

Addison Trail and Willowbrook students tour SWD Inc. as part of an initiative to provide students with real-world experiences in the workplace. Leading the tour is Bob Reibel, Director of Metal Finishing with SWD Inc. During their visit, they met with employees from various departments of the company, including President Rick Delawder.

This committee is comprised of the Village of Addison and local businesses and organizations. The focus of the group is two-fold:

  1. Collaborate to provide opportunities to train students and adults for jobs available in the area (as well as offer programs such as internships and job shadowing)

  2. Develop a directory of local businesses (including contact information, open positions and skills employees need to have)

The committee’s focus is to discover the needs of employers and train local students and adults to meet those needs. To help reach that goal, the group coordinated student field trips in April to SWD Inc. and The Cary Company. During those visits, about 25 students from Addison Trail and Willowbrook were able to learn about the various departments and career opportunities at the companies, as well as ask questions of employees. They also toured the manufacturing facility at SWD Inc. Ken Tyrrell, President of The Cary Company, said the objective was to enlighten students to the various career paths within a business organization, using current employees to describe those opportunities, along with the educational background and other requirements needed at any level within the organization. Another goal was to provide students with tips on interview and hiring practices and advice on what to include on a résumé.