How can high school juniors and seniors prepare for their future without knowledge of what is ahead? Homewood-Flossmoor High School believes it can point them in a positive direction through a new program the District 233 school board will consider at its Sept. 16 meeting.

Local nonprofit You Matter 2 has developed a variety of programs directly impacting youth. Its proposal for H-F students, called Discover U, will give them skills that will help them be college and career ready.

The program will be offered once a week for three months, according to Destiny Watson, CEO of You Matter 2. The program is designed to give students a look at careers, offer ways to build confidence in public speaking and active listening, and learn to build collaboration through working in teams, communicating professionally and preparing for various job opportunities.

For this first session, Watson said she will accept 15 students for the Wednesday afternoon sessions based at Flossmoor Community Church. The program will be free for students. The school board is expected to approve a contract with You Matter 2 for $11,500. That includes a one-time licensing fee of $3,000 for Education Design Lab, the company that sets out the program’s parameters. 

The program is designed to meet guidelines set by the Illinois State Board of Education’s College and Career Pathways Endorsements for high school graduates. H-F students will earn endorsements by completing an individualized learning plan, a career-focused instructional sequence, and professional learning opportunities.​​​ The You Matter 2 program can help students meet those goals.

“The basis for this program is that it connects to a student’s future, whether they go on to higher ed and/or careers,” Superintendent Jennifer Norrell told members of the board’s Planning Committee at an Aug. 28 meeting. 

H-F students will be expected to meet the ISBE mandates for 60 hours of skills and internships to graduate starting in 2028, Norrell said. 

“We’re going to have to call on many of our community partners, higher education partners, our alumni willing to take 10 or 15 of our kids (for internships) so we can get all juniors and seniors working towards the 60 hours that’s required,” she said.

The Discover U program is a good beginning, Norrell told board members, because it would enable the enrolled students a chance to earn credits they will need to meet the 60-hour requirement. Watson said the program has an assessment tool to encourage students to meet their targets of “real-life application, each theme is strategically mapped to a core durable skill,” such as collaboration, creative processes, empathy and critical thinking.