Maine Township High School District 207

Adult learning pathways and professional development: The district has intentionally developed adult learning pathways, centered around annual instructional coaching plans, to create a true learning culture in their landscape. The district promotes a laboratory environment of experimentation and continuous growth to lower the cost of failure for educators and staff. The district’s innovation flows from this culture and ethos because teachers are the root system of truly driving and improving student learning conditions.

Individual career plans for students: Individual career plans for students: Each student in the district has an individual career plan based on research from Project Lead the Way, which immerses students in the career field of their choosing in order to increase retention in future concentration courses. Helping students identify career matches through internships, apprenticeships, and other tier one experiences, the district has grown the program from 74 to 700 business partners in just nine years. To support this approach, the district uses a suite of analytical tools to provide “return on investment career counseling” to help students find a career of high interest or passion that pays a livable wage and is accessible in a cost-responsible way. In addition, the district measures outcomes after high school to determine success and measure and improve designs.