Engaging parents directly and early can help high school students not only with their academic achievement, but it can help them as they navigate their way through their options for after they get their high school diplomas. One of Illinois’ biggest school districts is seeing the impact in the community.
Asa Gordon, director of middle and secondary college and career readiness, East Aurora School District 131 in Aurora, Illinois, says educators have created various parent support groups to address the needs of a diverse student body. “We know that the more we’re able to empower and inform our parents, the better they can support their students at home and when they’re in the school.”
Gordon joined WorkingNation’s editor-in-chief Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation Overheard at College Board Forum 2024 in Austin, Texas.
“Our high school has over 4,000 students. About 87% are Latino. 7% are African American. About 70% of our students are low income. We estimate about 40% of our students who go on to college are first generation,” he says.
“Our schools have a lot of potential, and that potential comes from our students,” says Gordon. “With 4,000 students in one single building, there’s a lot of limitations that can occur. So, one of the things we try and do is get as many students [as possible] outside of the building to explore different careers that are available to them.”
Recently, a national gas company in the area reached out to the district asking for the opportunity to introduce ninth and tenth grade students to jobs in the energy sector. “We were able to take those students and say, ‘Hey, in the future, if you decide to go to college, great, but if not, here’s a viable career and opportunity for you that’s really right next door.’”
Gordon says the district’s career exploration efforts are having impact, “We have students who come back and they’ll give testimonials. ‘Ms. Jackson, look at what I’ve been able to do. Hey, Mr. Hernandez, I was able to now go on and get a viable career.’
“Because of the nature of our community, the majority of our students don’t leave. 40% of our graduates stay locally, whether that’s going to college or finding employment. So, we see the immediate impact, because when they leave high school, they don’t leave our community. That really adds emphasis on the work that we do because it has an immediate impact, not just on them and their families, but on the surrounding community.”
Learn more about East Aurora School District 131.
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Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.
Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.
Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.
Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.
Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.
Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.