It is never too early to start planning for the futures of our future

On Oct. 31, 2023, in Gillespie, Ill., The Partnership for Educational Excellence was delighted to participate in the Gillespie High School’s fourth annual Career Fair on Oct. 31.The CUSD7 educational foundation was on hand to ask GHS students “Would $1,000 help?” as they look forward to post-high school educational and career opportunities.

The Partnership routinely gives $1,000 awards to 20 - 30 percent of each GHS graduation class. “In the past 30-plus years we have awarded more than $320,000 to 515 GHS graduates,” says Partnership president John Fassero, Jr. “Our students have proven they have what it takes to succeed in technical schools as well as colleges of all sizes. And we’re proud to encourage and support each new crop of graduates.”

In addition, classroom grants over the past 30 years have brought The Partnership’s total gift to CUSD7 to more than $1 million. Nearly every dollar has been donated by local alumni, families, businesses, and foundations. GHS guidance counselor Jill Strole reports that this year “we had 148 students attend the fair and/or simultaneous parent/teacher conferences. That’s 43 percent of our student body!”

There were 32 recruiters on hand including private and public colleges and universities; local and regional community colleges; trade schools; the South Central Innovation Center, a vocational high school in Litchfield that is open to GHS students; several branches of the military; local businesses; and college finance organizations. “I was extremely pleased with the number of students and families that attended the event.” says Strole. “It is never too early for students to start making post-secondary plans.”

Donna Prevedell, vice president of The Partnership, echoes Strole’s enthusiasm for the turnout. “This is our second year at the fair, and we were impressed with the larger number and enthusiasm of the many students who stopped by our table. We were able to put sample applications and rosters of past scholars into the hands of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

“We agree with Jill that it’s good for any and all high school students to familiarize themselves with application requirements so that they can begin to cultivate references and build their resumes with volunteer and community activities to boost their appeal to post-secondary institutions.”

The Partnership thanks Jill Strole for the opportunity to reach out to potential scholars in plenty of time to apply. Applications will be available in the GHS guidance office in about March 2024. The Partnership joins Jill Strole in thanking the CUSD7 administrators and board for their support of the fair.