Illinois

Freeport SD 145

The mission of Freeport SD 145 in Illinois is to create “an innovative, inclusive, and student-centered learning environment so that all students are equipped and empowered to choose their college, workplace and career path, while becoming productive members of their community.” To increase their postsecondary outcomes and optimize their career academy plans, they partnered with OneGoal.

The Challenge

Freeport School District 145 launched a Career Academy model in 2019 to enhance students’ college and career readiness by engaging students in postsecondary planning early in high school through curated classes focused on potential careers. When the pandemic hit, Freeport had to prioritize student safety and the prevention of learning loss. After spending a year outlining a path forward for advancing college and career readiness for their students, the school leadership and counseling team were looking for partners to accelerate their work and achieve real results for their students.

Freeport’s rollout of the new Career Academy model had to be significantly scaled back to focus on keeping students safe.

The Opportunity

Freeport saw their chance to relaunch their career academy work with the added benefit of receiving support and leadership training from OneGoal Coach Andraya White, who is experienced in supporting districts to optimize career academies.

District Profile

Solutions

Focus Areas

OneGoal has identified seven focus areas related to a district’s postsecondary practices. Each district selects 1-2 areas for improvement during its work with the OneGoal team.

OneGoal Leadership Network Coaches like Andraya White work with district partners to assess a school or district’s postsecondary readiness. Through consistent one-on-one coaching and analysis, Andraya has helped Freeport define a path to high-impact improvements tailored to their needs.

We tailored our approach by working with Freeport FSD 145 on identifying two focus areas to prioritize of the seven in our menu of practices to ensure a strong foundation for success across all areas. Based on our expert analysis, we recommended Freeport choose:

 

Shared Postsecondary Vision, Plan, + Framework
District has goals, plans, and an accountability framework reflective of a shared postsecondary vision.

 

Adult Capacity Building
Adults across the district are knowledgeable about the postsecondary pathway landscape and practice culturally responsive pedagogy.

 

“Andraya is fantastic. In every meeting that we’ve had, she’s always prepared and meets us right where we are. She remembers small details, which I’m amazed by given how many other schools that she meets. She knows exactly where we are and where we need to go to reach our goals.”

Sara Shockey
Counselor
Freeport FSD 145

Outcomes

“Within our own administrative team and even for our staff outside of our team, we feel a strong pull toward thinking about postsecondary and how to track our students’ progress. And there is definitely a broader awareness of that need. Before working with Andraya and OneGoal, postsecondary was not the most visible thing on our radar screens.”

Sarah Hasken

Associate Principal
Freeport FSD 145

Shared Postsecondary Vision

Plan, + Framework Results

District leaders leveraged the flexible and data-driven leadership coaching to solidify the district postsecondary priorities. Together, Freeport and OneGoal created actionable plans centered on the shared postsecondary vision and aimed at decreasing equity gaps among their students.

Adult Capacity Building Results

After piloting the OneGoal classroom model with a small group of students, the Freeport team were encouraged by the results of a survey conducted with the cohort which demonstrated positive attitudes about the course and the materials. Over 80% of the students responded that they were happy taking the course and 100% said they would recommend the course to their peers.

Looking Ahead

After implementing the OneGoal classroom model in the fall of 2022, Freeport is helping to ensure that their students are able to enroll and succeed in a postsecondary path of choice. “We see a bright future for our students at Freeport, whether it’s postsecondary or a career track, we want to be in a place where every student has a plan,” said Theodore (TJ) Jackson, Freeport High School’s college and career coach.

Expert Postsecondary Advising, Enrollment + Persistence, Progressive Pathways, Equity, Systems-Level Change

Let’s Connect

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