Author: Gina Schuyler, CTE Department Chair for Careers and Community Partnerships at Grayslake Community High School District 127

Building Pathways: Grayslake D127’s Summer Manufacturing Camps Empower Students and Strengthen Industry Ties

, Date: August 25, 2025

This summer, Grayslake Community High School District 127 (D127) brought the future of manufacturing to life for students across Lake County with three dynamic camps that combined hands-on learning, career exploration, and industry collaboration. Designed to align with the goals of the Lake County Manufacturing Alliance, these camps—two for middle school students and a new inclusive program—highlight how education and local industry can join forces to shape tomorrow’s workforce today.

Igniting Interest in Middle School with SPARKFORCE

In June, D127 hosted two exciting middle school camps through a powerful partnership with the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) under the SPARKFORCE initiative. Now in its third year, these camps are more than just summer activities—they’re a launching pad for students’ career exploration journeys.

  • Light Saber Design Camp: Students dove into CAD design, learning how to bring Star Wars-inspired light sabers from concept to creation. Through hands-on design software and digital modeling, participants explored what it takes to be an engineer or industrial designer in today’s high-tech manufacturing world.

  • Welding & Fabrication Camp: Students donned safety gear and got to work welding their own custom fire pits. With sparks flying (literally and figuratively), they developed basic skills in welding and fabrication, leaving with a sense of accomplishment and a tangible product of their efforts.

Both camps culminated in a site visit to Laser Precision in Libertyville, offering students a firsthand look at real-world applications of the skills they learned. The tour underscored the connection between classroom experiences and industry careers.

“When students walk through a plant like Laser Precision, they see how the things they build in our labs can translate into meaningful work,” said Chris Ellingsen, D127 Manufacturing Instructor. “It’s eye-opening and inspiring.”

The camps were such a hit that several parents asked if there were additional opportunities available. Chris gladly pointed them toward College of Lake County’s SPARKFORCE camp in July—demonstrating the power of a united Lake County approach to student success.

“This collaboration between school districts, postsecondary institutions, and employers is exactly what the Lake County Manufacturing Alliance stands for,” noted Jim Connell, Director of the Manufacturing Alliance at the College of Lake County. “When we align, we give students real, guided access to rewarding career pathways.”

Expanding Access Through Inclusion Camp

Inspired by last fall’s SPARKFORCE Gala, D127 applied for and received funding to pilot a three-week inclusion camp designed for students with unique skills and learning needs. This camp focused on essential “soft” skills—communication, teamwork, problem-solving—while introducing manufacturing through interactive experiences and local plant tours.

The program kicked off with a unique partnership with Liberty Prairie Farms, where students participated in an assembly line simulation using an egg washing station. This hands-on activity served as a foundation for exploring manufacturing principles and workforce habits.

From there, students practiced essential job skills and visited a range of Lake County manufacturers, including Fischer Paper Products, Image Group, and Gold Bond, Inc.

Local leaders noted that these visits weren’t just learning opportunities for the students—they were equally impactful for the employers. “Meeting these students helped us see potential in a population we don’t always connect with,” shared Kim Wimer of Laser Precision. “They’re motivated, capable, and bring a fresh perspective to the work we do.”

“These camps are about more than teaching skills,” added Gina Schuyler, D127’s Community Partnerships Coordinator. “They’re about building bridges—between schools, communities, and industries—so every student sees a place for themselves in the workforce.”

Collaboration in Action

The success of these camps is a direct reflection of the shared commitment among Grayslake D127, FMA, SPARKFORCE, CLC, and Lake County manufacturers to invest in the next generation. Whether it’s introducing middle schoolers to CAD software or helping students with unique abilities explore assembly lines, the common goal is clear: empower every learner and strengthen our regional workforce.

“SPARKFORCE exists to inspire students to explore careers in manufacturing and connect them with opportunities,” Ed Dernulc, FMA/SPARKFORCE. “The work D127 is doing exemplifies what this movement is all about.”

As the manufacturing industry evolves, so must our approach to talent development. Grayslake D127’s summer programs are a powerful reminder that when educators and employers work together, we don’t just prepare students for jobs—we prepare them for meaningful futures.

To learn more about and tap into local initiatives to support growing manufacturers in Lake County, Illinois, connect with us here.

The Bold Future of Education in Lake County

, Date: July 13, 2022

Lake County Partners is fortunate to work with incredibly skilled educational leaders who are training the next generation of talent in Lake County. In pursuit of the best way to arm young students with the in-demand skills that they need to flourish in the workplace, innovators like Gina Schuyler at Grayslake D127 are shaking up the traditional mold and charting a new path forward in education. Illinois schools and the businesses they serve will benefit immensely.

For years in Lake County, we have talked collectively about the need for a means to recognize students and employers who both engage with early career exploration and readiness. The Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) has provided those means to us, and local Lake County Schools are already taking advantage of the opportunity.

In the 2019/2020 school year, Grayslake D127 became a pilot for the Illinois State Career Pathway Endorsement Process. They were one of 12 schools in the state at the time that decided to dive into this project. A grant through Ed System NIU allowed the district to help begin this groundbreaking project. It consists of 4 main parts to highlight to businesses that students are invested in a career pathway. The endorsement is a seal on a student’s transcript that clearly demonstrates the student has dedicated his or her high school education to fully learning about a career pathway and participating in activities and classes that distinguish them from other peers entering the field.

When a student comes out with this seal in “manufacturing,” “education,” “health science,” or ”information technology,” how are businesses recognizing these students? Do they receive preferred hiring or increased wages? How are post-secondary institutions recognizing this? Through scholarships or acceptance into programs or training? These discussions are vital to advancing the initiative as well as protecting the best interests of students and businesses alike. These days, talent is paramount, and workforce skills factor heavily into business location decisions. There is truly no better time for the educational system and community to work together and embark on a new frontier that will ultimately benefit employers, employees and the local economy.

HOW DOES THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS WORK?

The first tier is for students to identify a career area of interest. It is very important to note that this does not mean that students are locked into a career decision during their freshman year of high school. Instead, during a student’s freshman year, we begin engaging in a set of awareness activities to help the students narrow down their likes and dislikes to be able to make better-informed post-secondary education decisions. Students don’t know what they are not exposed to and frankly, some students are not exposed to enough career options. All too often, the only option that is shared with them after high school is a 4-year college or university.

This is where someone like Gina Schuyler comes into play – she is the CTE Department Chair for Careers & Community Partnerships at Grayslake D127. Gina connects the community and world of work with the students and the schools. She introduced the district to YouScience; YouScience is a set of 11 brain-based games the students play to help identify both their interest and aptitude in many different career options. This tool begins conversations on different careers that might interest a student, and establishes a mentorship framework that can support their interests.

For example, if a student expresses an interest in health science, the software offers hundreds of health science options – it does not limit the exploration to traditional, well-known positions like doctors and nurses. Additionally, a counselor can suggest classes that align with that pathway, such as anatomy, certified nursing assistant, biomedical, or medical assisting for consideration. There are also clubs and activities for students to join that align with their interests, such as future medical professionals, NTHS and SKILLS USA.

These classes and clubs give a student perspective, and help them put the experiences into two buckets of “I like it and I want to learn more” or “I didn’t like it and I am ready to explore another discipline,” and then we begin a conversation about what they did not like. We will be adding a career readiness product called SchooLinks to this to allow our counselors, CTE teachers and internship coordinators to all collaborate with students together.

The second tier in the career pathway endorsement process gives students the opportunity to take early college credit classes in their identified area of interest – minimally 6 credits (2 classes). Early college credit can be offered in dual credit, articulated credit or AP credit. This highlights the student’s commitment and interest in this career area. For example, if students are interested in becoming a teacher, Grayslake D127 offers about 4 different classes with early college credit (Child Development, Teaching Practicum, Parenting & Relationship and Early Education & Teaching (offered through the Lake County Tech Campus). In any pathway that is approved by the state, Gina aligns to ensure that students who gain the endorsement have at least two classes in their field that also earn them early college credit. This early college credit is a cost savings to the student or families as this class not does not need to be taken after high school. Many of these classes offer hands on lab experiences that tie into the third.

The third tier is for students to gain professional learning from the community and take learning beyond the traditional walls of the school or classroom. This includes awareness, preparation, and exploration activities that provide opportunities for students to interact with adults in the workplace. Our goal is to provide students the opportunity to gain 60 hours (over 4 years) of supervised career development opportunities. Examples include internships, job shadowing, practicums, employment and more.

In this third tier, we also want to provide students with career exploration activities as well as team challenges. Examples of career exploration activities could be, but are not limited to, site visits to employers, virtual experiences, career expos, and mock interviews. Team challenges can take place within a lab-based classroom such as a “skills check” through an employer or through involvement in Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) such as Skills USA, FBLA, FCCLA or NTHS. Schools such as Grayslake D127 continually seek employer participation and partnerships through their Careers & Community Partnership Chair. The SchooLinks product will also serve as our business partnership hub to push out invites to our community as well as keep track of students experiences.

The final tier is ensuring students are both reading and math ready for post-secondary options. Should a student choose to attend college, this would mean the student is entering into the collegiate system taking credit-bearing classes (and not remedial to address any deficiencies). If a student is entering the trades or other type of post-secondary education, there are means such as SAT score, class rank, and entrance exams that provide a window of readiness needed for that profession.

Grayslake D127 graduated its first “endorsed” students this year. Five students from Grayslake Central and Grayslake North High School graduated with the “Health Science Endorsement.” Many of these students also came out of high school having already passing their CNA exams. Through a private donor to the school, each student was awarded $1000 to use toward their career pursuit – but that is just the start.

WHAT IS ON THE HORIZON FOR STUDENTS & SCHOOLS?

As other schools in Lake County also begin to embrace this cutting-edge endorsement process for their students, Grayslake is pioneering a discussion with partners in the Lake County Workforce Ecosystem – including Lake County Partners, Lake County Workforce Development and Regional Superintendent Dr. Michael Karner – to garner support for the initiative, establish best practices, and chart a path forward that increases participation and support. This is especially pertinent as a new House Bill proposes offering the career endorsement process in all Illinois schools in the coming years.

To fuel this program and ensure its success, we need buy-in from the business community. This starts with educating and engaging local business leaders so that they can more quickly tap into Lake County’s extraordinary talent pipeline.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?

If your business is interested in getting involved and working with highly-skilled students in the endorsement pathway, contact us and we will be happy to connect you with Grayslake D127. Learn more about the innovative Lake County Workforce Ecosystem that is fueling local talent and connecting employers with job candidates here.