Four Key Areas with Challenges in Southwestern Illinois
Business and Economic Development
Promote entrepreneurism in Southwestern Illinois and concentrate on strengthening existing businesses
Address a growing shortage of healthcare professionals
Reduce regional "brain drain" and actively encourage professionals to return to the area
Post-Secondary Education
Encourage the One Stops and community colleges to become pro-active in meeting training and other workforce needs of employers in Southwestern Illinois. Increase direct interaction between educators and the business community
Align education, training, and career preparation with Southwestern Illinois' major economic clusters and those of the greater St. Louis region
Enhance content and broaden the scope of the One Stops' market research
Primary and Secondary Education
Reduce high school dropout rates and raise graduation rates. Ensure full compliance with ISBE procedures for accurately recording dropouts and calculating dropout and graduation rates in all area high schools
Improve the academic performance of all Southwestern Illinois primary and secondary students as measured by Illinois standardized tests. But also emphasize teamwork, customer service, and other "soft" skills
Career Guidance
Enhance the quality of career and guidance counseling in all public high schools, the One Stops, and the community colleges
Dramatically improve the quality, quantity and attractiveness of vocational high school curricula. This is important both to prepare non-college bound students for productive places in the workforce as well as to provide learning experiences for students who find conventional academic environments ill-suited to their learning styles and/or interests
