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Yorkville District 115’s students get start on post-high school success through pathways program · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Yorkville District 115 students get start on post-high school success through Pathways
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  Program. This article is being read by an automated
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  voice brought to you by Everlett. As the labor force continues to
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  evolve, Yorkville School District 115 is committed to creating opportunities to help
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  students with post high school success. Superintendent Matt Zeddecker said the district
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  is proud of its College and Careers pathway, initiative. He called it
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  a foundational piece to career success that the district continues to expand.
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  The initiative is available to students beginning in their sophomore year as
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  they take certain classes oriented toward their future field. Around 110 students
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  are enrolled in the Health Occupations Pathway, 42 students in the education
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  pathway, 110 enrolled in a career field experience, and another 516
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  students enrolled at Indian Valley Vocational Center in Sandwich for trade work
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  ranging from construction and welding to aviation mechanics. Zediker
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  said 435 students are enrolled in dual-credit studies across 21 different courses
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  at the high school and another 23 at IVVC. About 206 students
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  received the AP coursework credit by receiving scores of three or higher
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  higher on their final exams. Another three students were recipients of the
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  AP seminar and research certificates. Zediker said the increased participation in the
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  AP coursework is emphasized by The high school's 97 graduation rate. Building
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  a strong teaching culture Zeddecker said the district works on developing a
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  culture that inspires young teachers to see Yorkville as a destination to
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  build a strong career. He said the district has prioritized paid student
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  teaching opportunities and stronger networks with local colleges to attract greater talent.
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  The district employed 37 student teachers over the course of the year.
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  Zeddecker said them emphasis is on attracting clinical and student teachers who
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  are sophomores and juniors in college. He said this strategy makes Yorkville
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  a prime target when those students graduate and look for a teaching
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  job. We want to make sure we have those relationships and we
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  create those touch points with those young people because We
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  want the to choose Y115. Zedeker said during the state of the
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  district on September 14th. It's really important that we reach out to
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  them and we bring them to the district office to talk about
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  the profession of teaching and that a noble profession it is. Zediker
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  said.
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  Developing strong foundations with local colleges and broadening opportunities for teaching helps
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  build a culture to attract the right people. We want the culture
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  that people want to come to and that people want to stay,
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  he said. Retention of teaching staff increased to 94.7
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  in 2026 compared to 92.5 in 2025 and 92.8
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  in 2024. We are creating this pipeline to make sure that we
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  don't have vacancies in our district, that our kids have high-quality people
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  in front of them, Zedeker said. Starting in the fall semester of
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  2025, the district began offering 4,000 stipends for student teachers.