2026 ISBE Career Connections Conference has ended

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2026 ISBE Career Connections Conference

7:00am CDT

WiFi Information

8:00am CDT

Registration and Breakfast Brown Ballroom - 1st Floor

9:00am CDT

Welcome and Opening Remarks Braden Auditorium - 1st Floor

9:20am CDT

Breaking Barriers: Integrating Math, Science, & CTE for Real-World Learning Experiences Prairie I - 2nd Floor Igniting Career Pathways: A Leadership Lab for Student Voice, Skills, and Career Identity Prairie II - 2nd Floor Leverage Free Statewide EdTech Services to Maximize Impact 4E Lounge - 4th Floor Make Your Life Easier! Spotlight Room - 1st Floor Navig8Lake - County Wide Approach to Career Exploration 1W Lounge - 1st Floor No More Novices: How AI is Replacing the “Junior” Role Old Main - 1st Floor Paving the Way to an Improved Pathway to Success 4W Lounge - 4th Floor Prepare the Next Generation for Success in an AI-Driven World Prairie III - 2nd Floor Designing Team Based Challenges Aligned to ISBE Guidelines and CCPE Expectations Founders Suite - 1st Floor

10:15am CDT

Cultural Wealth & Digital Innovation: Igniting PaCE-Aligned Equity in CTE 4W Lounge - 4th Floor Fusing High School with Community College: A Welding Dual Enrollment Cohort Pilot for Career Readiness Old Main - 1st Floor Illinois Programs of Study Alignment Initiative Prairie III - 2nd Floor Physical Computing Skills for all CTE Clusters Prairie I - 2nd Floor The Fives Framework: Building Consistent, Engaging Instruction Across CTE 4E Lounge - 4th Floor Three’s Company: When High Schools, EFEs, and Colleges Work in Sync 1W Lounge - 1st Floor Using HOSA to connect Work-Based Learning, Leadership, and Career Skills into your Health Prairie II - 2nd Floor The Modernized Career Clusters Framework Founders Suite - 1st Floor

11:10am CDT

Aligning Assets and Action for Rural CTE Success: New Insights from the Rural IL CTE Project Prairie I - 2nd Floor From Circuits to Smart Systems: A Free Curriculum to Demystify Hardware, Software, and AI Prairie III - 2nd Floor From Student to Future Educator: Cultivating Belonging and Leadership Through the Redbird Educator Scholarship 4W Lounge - 4th Floor Igniting Employability: Innovation Challenges for CTE Success Prairie II - 2nd Floor In the Workplace Aurora 1W Lounge - 1st Floor Roots to Rise: Growing the Educator Pipeline 4E Lounge - 4th Floor The Achievement of the Dual Credit Quality Act (DCQA): Highlights and Opportunities Founders Suite - 1st Floor Work-based Learning Renewal Trainers Collaboration Session Old Main - 1st Floor

12:10pm CDT

Lunch and Networking Brown Ballroom - 1st Floor

12:40pm CDT

Poster Walk and Vendor Showcase Brown Ballroom - 1st Floor

1:50pm CDT

Alumni Career Connection Prairie II - 2nd Floor Assessments That Drive Growth in a Work-Based Learning (WBL) Program 4E Lounge - 4th Floor Designing Career-Ready Computer Science Pathways Dobski Conference Room Essential Employability Skills – Resources and Strategies for Implementation, empathy 4W Lounge - 4th Floor From Classroom to Career – Building Career Pathways That Prepare Students for College, Military, and Workforce Success Prairie III - 2nd Floor Leadership Coaching, Data, and Advising - A District Community Approach to College and Career Readiness and Success Spotlight Room - 1st Floor Real World Ready: Empowering Middle School CTE with Learning Blade 1W Lounge - 1st Floor The Power and Potential of Rural PharmTech Programs Prairie I - 2nd Floor Aligning OSFM Fire Standards with High School Curriculum: Pathways to Certification Founders Suite - 1st Floor CTE Essentials: Tools and Supports for New Educators Circus Room

2:25pm CDT

Afternoon Beverage and Snack Break Brown Ballroom - 1st Floor

2:45pm CDT

Building CTE Pathways Through AP Business with Personal Finance 4E Lounge - 4th Floor CTE is the Key to Our Future Workforce – CTE Academics and Workforce Ties 4W Lounge - 4th Floor Navigate a World Built on Code: Computational Thinking for All Learners Prairie III - 2nd Floor Solar Solutionaries Spotlight Room - 1st Floor Strengthening K12 Career Development Through Community Advisory Collaboration Prairie I - 2nd Floor The Blueprint for Alignment: Integrating Curriculum, Industry, and Learning Spaces 1W Lounge - 1st Floor Trading Up the Next Generation Prairie II - 2nd Floor ASAP Framework for Enhancing HST Pathways Founders Suite - 1st Floor