This Thanksgiving season, we’re celebrating the incredible variety of CTE programs that help students build real-world skills and bright futures. We asked you to share your unique CTE program and show us what makes it special, whether it’s a classroom project, community partnership, or student success story. Let’s give thanks for hands-on learning, career exploration, and the dedicated educators and students who make CTE thrive.
Early Childhood Education Pathways at Effingham CUSD 40
With the support of an ISBE Early Childhood Education Grant, our district has been able to grow and expand our Early Childhood Education and Care program. With the grant and support throughout the district, we have been able to do some restructuring to our program and add curriculum components in alignment with early childhood education. Our 9 students have dedicated classroom time where they complete the Early Childhood Education Level 1 through INCCRRA, earning a variety of credentials such as, SIDS training, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Infant CPR, and of course the ECE Level 1. A large portion of the course is students’ hands-on experience in our district-owned child care facility, Little Hearts daycare, our Pre-K program at Eastside Preschool, and a semester at our Kindergarten Center, Early Learning Center (ELC). When students are in these facilities, they are a part of the educational team, working alongside of professionals. Students are also training to become early childhood educators and creating developmentally appropriate lesson plans for the age group they are working with and preparing the materials to demonstrate the lesson in the classroom! Next year we hope to offer Dual Credit with Lake Land College, which will help our students get one step closer to working in a classroom.
With the support of the grant program and teaching staff, we have started our own Educators Rising Club. This club is dedicated to introducing students to the teaching profession and showing them the skills needed to be successful. We have 27 club members in our first year! Some club activities include a retired teacher panel, a local children’s book author, and tips on “ace-ing” a teaching job interview. Club activities are aligned with Educators Rising and are designed to help prepare our students for competing in the State competition. We hope to continue to grow the club and class participation, as well as create a scholarship for students who complete the program.
Apprenticeship Successes at Litchfield CUSD 12
Litchfield CUSD 12 has worked hard to create its unique Laborers Construction Craft Apprenticeship Program through partnerships with the Illinois Laborers Joint Apprenticeship Training Program and the South Central Illinois Regional Workforce Training and Innovation Center (SCI). “We wanted to make sure we took a different niche. It’s union curriculum, the same curriculum that adults receive. It includes several different modules, so not only does it prepare students to be laborers, but it also exposes them to several different trades,” said Juletta Ellis, SCI Director and Coordinator.
The pre-apprenticeship is a two-year program beginning in a student’s junior year, giving them industry and union experience before graduation. “Our students get about 70% of their pre-apprenticeship coursework done, and then we help them take the next steps to sign on with a local union hall,” said Ellis.
At the end of their training, students can sign on with local union halls to complete the remaining requirements while simultaneously earning union wages and benefits. “We really worked to make sure that we were communicating not only with the students, but also with the parents about what this could potentially lead to,” said Ellis.
The pre-apprenticeship program is not only unique but also highly engaging and successful. “We had seven students. I know for a fact that four of them signed on with union halls in the area, some as close as Hillsboro, some in East St. Louis, and the Wood River area,” said Ellis. “Two others entered construction. One of our students received a full scholarship to continue in construction management at Lincoln Land Community College.”
For Ellis, breaking down barriers that prevent students from accessing career pathway opportunities is essential. While the hope is that students will continue into union halls, the bigger goal is exposing them to opportunities. “We would like to see them go on to the union halls, and we will give them the opportunities to do that, but we also recognize that some students may simply have an interest in the trade, or maybe even another union. We help facilitate that as well,” said Ellis.
Ellis hopes to see the program continue to expand and create more opportunities for students to engage with their communities and showcase their work. “One of our goals this year is getting our name out there and doing things for the community. Our laborers class has gone to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds and done concrete work for them,” said Ellis. “For the City of Litchfield, they’ve done sidewalk and concrete work. We’re trying to connect with the community and show what we have here, to get their support and backing, but also show that we’re a resource for them as well.”
Programs like this allow students to get ahead without ever leaving their county. “We serve high-poverty areas. Just within the Litchfield school district, about 60% of our kids are low socioeconomic, and it’s not a lot different throughout Montgomery and Macoupin County,” said Ellis. “We’re providing avenues to well-paying jobs, which we hope will have an impact on the cycles of poverty that are often really difficult to break.”
These opportunities can stimulate the local economy and highlight the strengths of rural communities, strengths rooted in close connections and collaboration. “Showing students that there are good-paying jobs right here in this region is important. For rural towns that are dying out and losing population, this is a way to keep people here and keep our rural communities alive,” said Ellis.
New Career Pathways at Staunton CUSD 6
Staunton CUSD 6 is getting some big upgrades to expand its CTE programs. The district has been working closely with ISBE to introduce new Health Science (CNA) and Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology (Welding) pathways for students, in partnership with the South Central Illinois Regional Workforce Training and Innovation Center (SCI) and OneGoal.
“Both the Health Science (CNA) pathway and the METT (welding) pathway have already begun,” said Renee Vai, Postsecondary Leadership Coach at OneGoal. “Staunton has current juniors, seniors, and some sophomores taking pathway courses both at Staunton and at the South Central Illinois Regional Workforce Training and Innovation Center (SCI).”
The newly expanded Health Sciences pathway extends services beyond the Staunton campus through partnerships with Lincoln Land Community College and SCI. These partnerships provide students with easier access to courses, reduced transportation time, and more affordable course fees. “SCI is an amazing facility that serves nine local districts within the region, providing access to dual credit–certified instructors, industry-based equipment, and certification opportunities that individual districts cannot always provide due to lack of funding and accessibility, especially in our rural region,” said Vai.
These types of community partnerships are critical in rural areas because they can have a significant impact on students, industry, and the local community. “We hope to expand awareness of the opportunities our local communities and industry partners have to support our economies by partnering with schools to create relevant pathways that translate to local jobs post-graduation,” said Vai. “Industries have the opportunity to foster relationships and build skills for the future workforce. Ideally, we want to remove any barriers that currently prevent students from accessing these pathways, which can range from a lack of certified instructors and limited schedule availability to transportation challenges and the cost of necessary pathway-related resources.”
The group is excited to see how the programs grow and is looking forward to the new opportunities that come with them. “Since the ISBE CCPE pathways are new, we are excited to see how many students decide to pursue the endorsement over the next couple of years […] We are always looking for ways to be innovative and utilize our resources to the best of our abilities,” said Vai.
Shout-out to Staunton Principal, Carrie Griffith, and OneGoal Postsecondary Leadership Coach, Renee Vai, for their collaboration in getting these pathways approved.
The Prairie Career Advocate: Deep Dives into Outstanding CTE Programming
The Prairie Career Advocate is a quarterly publication featuring CTE success in rural and small schools in IL. We encourage you to read the available issues below to learn more about their CTE programming and how your district could potentially start a similar program in your community. You can view all issues of the Advocate at any time by visiting airssedu.org/cte/pca.
Winter 2025 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate
Fall 2025 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate
Summer 2025 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate
Spring 2025 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate
Winter 2024 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate
