CE & CDE Pilot Resource Hub
ISBE Grant Opportunity Resource Page: Career Exploration and Career Development Experience Pilot
- Identify and develop innovative resources Illinois needs to promote Career Exploration and Career Development Experiences
- What are we lacking?
- Does COVID recovery change our students’ needs?
- How can we provide more equitable access?
- Development of a statewide resource bank to be released in June 2022
- Documentation of best practices, models and lessons learned from pilot schools will be used to develop a resource bank of innovative models, resources and templates that can be adapted and utilized statewide for implementing Career Exploration and Career Development Experiences
How does the State of Illinois define Career Exploration and Career Development Experiences?
Career Exploration
Career Development Experience
Source: Career Pathways Dictionary
Meeting Recordings and Presentations
A gathering of communities across Illinois who are piloting Career Exploration and Career Development experiences as part of a grant opportunity from the Illinois State Board of Education. This session included an overview of resources and community presentations from Hoopeston Area School District and River Bend School District. Hosted by ISBE and EdSystems, this meeting was held on February 24, 2022.
A gathering of communities across Illinois who are piloting a Career Exploration experience as part of a grant opportunity from the Illinois State Board of Education at the elementary/middle school level, to share pilot plans and make connections. Hosted by ISBE and EdSystems, this meeting was held on November 16, 2021.
The Community of Practice held on October 26, 2021, included:
- Overview of ISBE Grant Opportunity
- Community Presentations from Paula Waterman, Career Advisor at Hoffman Estates High School; Lamont Holifield, Executive Director at the Career Preparation Network and Math/CTE Division Leader at Crete Monee High School; Terry Stroh, Director at Northern Kane County Regional Vocational System
On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, schools across Illinois who are piloting a Career Exploration and/or Career Development Experience as a part of a grant opportunity from the Illinois State Board of Education convened. The session includes an introduction to the team at Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University who will be supporting participating schools through professional development and technical assistance opportunities throughout the 2021-2022 school year, and covered the following:
- Guidance, tools, and state frameworks on Career Exploration and Career Development Experiences
- Resource banks of innovative community models and materials that are applicable across industry areas, as well as sector-specific models
- Facilitated breakout rooms for participants to discuss their plans and questions to build connections and form a network of peers
Resources
Statewide Frameworks

Recommended Technical and Essential Employability Competencies

Career Development Experience Toolkit

Career Development Experience Toolkit Companion Piece
Career Exploration Resources
Career Development Experience Resources
Northern Kane County Regional Vocational System Resources
Additional Resources
The Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network (I-WIN) is designed to:
- Highlight and explore innovative models for work-based learning with a current focus on virtual opportunities.
- Engage in conversations on creating sustainable, high-quality models that provide broader and more equitable access to work-based learning, building social capital for Black and Latinx students.
- Build connections among communities to offer best practices, learnings, and resources.
- Identify needs for state policy changes or support systems.
Join the Pilot Listservs
Join one or both listservs with fellow ISBE pilot contacts, to share resources and best practices via email beyond our Communities of Practice. (This is an additional subscription to support cross-community collaboration; you do not need to subscribe to these to receive general communication and invites related to the ISBE pilot).