For suburban residents, it’s easy to lose sight of where our food comes from and the journey it takes to reach our kitchen or restaurant tables. The Northwest suburbs are a powerful business and economic engine – just not one typically associated with agriculture. As for suburban consumers? On our supermarket trips, we’re usually focused more on checking off recipe items and comparing prices than reflecting on where all these food choices originated.

That picture is shifting, though, as restaurants and food retailers increasingly focus on local sourcing. And it definitely is changing in High School District 214 and at Rolling Meadows High School, where students have options in agricultural study, including the pursuit of career pathways related to Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources. 

Six District 214 education professionals were honored by the Illinois State Board of Education in its 45th annual Those Who Excel awards program. The six, who were chosen in five categories from nominations statewide, were recognized for making significant contributions to secondary education at a banquet Oct. 19.

For Wheeling High School Students Lizeth Leon and Karen Pliego, the College Nursing Assistant Training course they took their junior year is paying off in terms of active employment as well as preparation for their future careers.

Leon and Pliego, now seniors, were among 54 High School District 214 students who earned their state certifications last spring—a 100% pass rate for the district—as part of their training in the Health Science Pathway. They used their certification to start working as certified nursing assistants at the Greek American Rehabilitation and Care Centre in Wheeling during the summer. 

Manufacturing is welcoming people with open arms, and District 214 students are benefitting. 

Innovative partnerships with local companies and District 214 schools are creating opportunities for students to earn a living wage while still in high school, and at the same time gain skills to prepare them for their futures. Local industry, in turn, benefits from a skilled workforce to support ongoing labor demands. These mutually beneficial partnerships –– the foundation of District 214’s Career Pathway program in Manufacturing –– were the focus of a recent community event that set the stage for Manufacturing Month in October.

Successfully preparing for college academically and financially poses a challenge for any high school student and family. The degree of difficulty rises sharply for low-income families and students who are the first in their family to navigate the maze of tasks and steps required.

Enter the District 214 Education Foundation, which has launched a game-changing program: the Next Generation Pathway to Completion, which is engaging students, families and District 214 alumni to provide broad-based strategic support for select first-generation students from the district’s high schools.