Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July!       
June/July Newsletter

Special Thanks! 

Alignment Rockford wants to thank the Rockford Park District for their continuous support! As part of its partnership pledge with Alignment Rockford, Rockford Park District re-launched their commitment to Rockford Public Schools at their June 22nd all-staff meeting, encouraging employees to volunteer. Current RPD employees already involved in the schools, "school champions," engaged the audience in true pep rally fashion to encourage employees to sign up to volunteer within the Rockford Public Schools! 

Special thanks and congrats to Governing Board member Mr. Tim Dimke, on his retirement from the Park District after 44 years!




OPEN INVITATIONS TO PARTICIPATE

2017-2018 CAPSTONE KICK-OFF August 30th!
Volunteers Needed! Sign up for one day event or support throughout the year

There are many ways community members can get involved in student capstone projects. Sign up for a one day kick-off event the morning of August 30th or sign up to support the projects throughout the year! Read the Full Capstone Kick-Off Flyer


BE A KICK-OFF
INDUSTRY PANELIST
BE A KICK-OFF
TABLE FACILITATOR
BE A CLASSROOM
PROJECT CONSULTANT 





2017 ACADEMY EXPO October 4th!
Alignment Rockford invites you to host a booth at the 2017 Academy Expo at no charge, to meet with 9th grade Rockford Public School students and discuss your career with them. This will help 9th grade students make an informed decision on their College and Career Academy selection for 10th grade. Please register below by July 31st! 

Alignment Rockford is also seeking Hospitality Ambassador teams in the areas of: load-in/load-out, registration, food service, student engagement, and booth judging. 


FACES OF ALIGNMENT ROCKFORD
Keri Nelson 
Executive Director
Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity 
HPS College & Career Readiness Council Chair
EMITT College & Career Readiness Council Member

Keri Nelson, Executive Director for Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity, began volunteering for the organization when she was 20 years old. Keri's partnership with Alignment Rockford and Rockford Public Schools has impacted our students in significant ways bringing together public service with real-life work-based learning experiences!    Click here to learn more about Keri and her involvement!

"The students that built our home this year aren't all college bound - and that's okay - because at 17 years old, they built a house...not just any house, but a house that will help an amazing family live a better, safer, more financially stable life. That's why it's important - because I firmly believe that EVERY student has a chance to make a significant impact on our community, our state and our world and programs like this empower them to do just that!" -Keri Nelson

ACADEMIES UPDATE













ACADEMIES NEED YOU FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR!

Community members are needed to help plan and implement project-based learning and real-world experiences! Please consider joining an Academy Support Team (AST) at one of our high schools! 

Click the image below to read the job description. Check out the video from some of our current members to learn about their experience as an AST member! 



Congrats and gratitude! 

Congratulations and best wishes to Nik Butenhoff, Director of Career & Technical Education for RPS 205, as he moves into a new role of Director of Career Readiness for Belvidere School District beginning July 1st. 

Nik co-chaired Alignment Rockford's Academy Expo team leading the team in planning the massive career exploration event for over 2,000 RPS freshman and involving over 130 local organizations. Nik also assisted in leading various Alignment initiatives including piloting job shadow programs for RPS juniors. Nik helped forge critical partnerships with various community industries and post-secondary institutions to benefit RPS students for years to come. 

He has been an advocate for the Rockford Public Schools and Alignment Rockford and his leadership will be deeply missed! 
CHECK OUT OUR 2016 ANNUAL REPORT!
Explore Where You Can Get Involved

Click the image below to read about the work of our teams in 2016 and the exciting work ahead in our 2016 Annual Report! 

See anything that interests you and want to learn how you can get involved? Click on the survey below. 



Alignment Rockford's mission is to align community resources in support of public school strategies to raise student achievement, improve the health and happiness of our children, and advance the economic and social well-being of our community.