MALTA — Kishwaukee College hosted its annual School Administrators’ Breakfast meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26 on campus. Dr. Laurie Borowicz, President of Kishwaukee College, moderated a wide-ranging discussion designed to build partnerships between the College, local school districts and Northern Illinois University.
The Administrators’ Breakfast was instituted by Dr. Borowicz. This is the third meeting of local administrators on the Kish campus. This year marked the first time NIU has been able to attend. Dr. Lisa Freeman, Acting President of NIU, and Dr. Borowicz have been working to establish a closer connection between their respective institutions to offer area students multiple options for their post-secondary educational goals.
The administrators discussed a variety of topics of importance in assisting students to gain a clearer and more successful entry to college and the workforce. Topics covered by the group included how best to collaborate to enhance existing programs such as Dual Credit offerings in the high schools; the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act (PWR) transition courses; communications strategies with parents of local students; and pathways/programs of study.

Dr. Borowicz emphasized that it benefits the entire Kishwaukee College district if community school districts, Kishwaukee College, and NIU work together to promote staying local.
Dr. Freeman noted that NIU is actively working with Kishwaukee College to expand options for area students by promoting staying local. Together, NIU and Kish are collaborating to enhance the EMSA program by creating stronger partnership and pathway for students interested in engineering to transition to either Kish or NIU after high school.
Topics also covered were recruitment of local athletes, high achieving students, engaging K- 12 Boards of Education, and helping make students aware of scholarship opportunities available through the Kishwaukee College Foundation.
Local school administrators in attendance included: Jamie Craven, Superintendent of DeKalb CUSD #428; Kathy Countryman, Superintendent of Sycamore CUSD #427; Jason Harper, Superintendent of Rochelle CUSD #212; Stan Adcock, Superintendent of Paw Paw CUSD #271; Brent O’Daniell, Superintendent of Genoa-Kingston CUSD #424; Chad Willis, Superintendent of CUSD #425; Jared Poynter, Pre-K – 8 Principal of Hiawatha CUSD #426; Tom Crouch, Executive Director of Kishwaukee Education Consortium (KEC); Dr. Amy Horn, College and Career Readiness for KEC; and Bruce Griffith, Special Projects Consultant for KEC.ª