Education & Families News
Local students got their hands dirty this summer learning valuable and fundamental job skills through ComEd's Tools of the Trade program, a seven-week course taking place at the ComEd Training Center at 3536 S. Iron St.
McKinley Park neighborhood resident Phillip Chavez graduated alongside his peers in the program that puts tools and training in the hands of young people looking at careers in the trades.
"I'm interested in this," Chavez said. "I want to work on the smart grid."
Read more: ComEd Tools of the Trade Builds Hands-On Career Skills in Young Learners
Namaste Charter School, which educates Kindergartners through eighth graders, has announced continuing open enrollment for its Kindergarten class this year, plus limited enrollment opportunities across all its grades. This dovetails with recent changes in programming and operations, said Namaste Executive Director April Shaw.
"We’re making strong efforts to involve our families and the local community as much as possible throughout the year," Shaw said. "Aligned with these principles are several new programming initiatives."
Notably, Namaste is implementing more small group instruction, a bigger rotation of electives like football, tech media and volleyball, and one-to-one availability of technology devices for students, Shaw said.
"More coaching and support for our amazing educators" is another initiative for this year, she said.
Aquinas Literacy Center continued its ongoing program of language education with the training of 17 new volunteer tutors, who will work one-on-one with local learners who wish to speak, read and write English.
Over the past weekend, Aquinas conducted its first training session of the academic season, instructing and certifying the volunteers during its standing schedule of a training workshop over a Friday night and Saturday day.
"Without the support of many volunteers, Aquinas would not be able to carry out its mission of empowering adults to learn English and become more engaged in their community," said Sabrina Poulin, volunteer coordinator at Aquinas.
Read more: Aquinas Trains New Cadre of Volunteer Language Tutors
Ninth District Community Policing Officer Jason Sollis wants McKinley Park neighborhood residents to get to know the Chicago Police Department through its Citizens Police Academy, he said. Now accepting applications for the free 10-week course, the academy is designed to educate, build community trust and improve engagement with police.
"Everyone who has been to the Citizens Police Academy said that it was extremely informative and enjoyable," he said. The program, which runs for three hours on Tuesday nights, offers a condensed version of the instruction that police recruits receive at the academy.
Read more: Learn What It Takes to be a Cop at the Citizens Police Academy
Matthew Haughey has joined the board of the National Latino Education Institute.The National Latino Education Institute (NLEI) has welcomed local executive Matthew Haughey to its board of directors, bringing technical focus and a range of business process expertise to the McKinley Park neighborhood-based trade school.
"Matt is a key leader in helping the organization reach its next level of innovation," the institute announced. "We are excited to have Matt join the NLEI family."
Haughey comes to NLEI as an executive from the Chicago corporate headquarters of SDI Presence LLC, an information technology service provider focusing on consulting, infrastructure, managed services and security. As a vice president at SDI Presence, Haughey manages the company's public sector practice across its infrastructure.
