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About Austin Polytech
| Austin Polytechnical Academy is an engineering- and manufacturing-focused and college prep public high school on Chicago's West Side.
Thanks to over 60 partner companies, our students learn about the many different career opportunities in manufacturing through field trips, guest speaker visits, job shadowing opportunities, internships, and more.
Austin Polytech is a project of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council. Our career program is operated by the Center for Labor and Community Research.
Learn more at austinpolytech.org |
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Support our Students
| It takes more than a traditional high school budget to help our students engineer their future.
We need to invest in our world class machine shop, college- and career-prep program, and work-based projects and activities.
For example, APA has a SkillsUSA chapter in which students meet weekly to work on school and community leadership projects, attend regional and state conferences and participate in job skill competitions.
Please help by sending us a check, payable to the Center for Labor and
Community Research, at 3411 West Diversey, Suite 10, Chicago, Illinois 60647.
You can also contribute online securely through PayPal by clicking below:
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| Career Program | The career program at Austin Polytech is operated by the not-for-profit Center for Labor and Community Research.
If you have any questions, please call our office at (773) 534-6326 or visit us in Room 140. |
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Contact
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Austin Polytechnical Academy
231 N. Pine Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60644
Main Office: (773) 534-6301
Career Services: (773) 534-6326
Fax: (773) 534-6046
austinpolytech.org |
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The Road to NIMS Accreditation
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The Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) at Austin Polytech recently underwent an audit for NIMS accreditation. Although the audit lasted only two days, the preparation period began two years ago when the center was first established. The purpose of striving for NIMS national accreditation is to ensure the quality of our training program can be considered on the leading edge of training programs in the country. Students who train in our facility will know they will be competitive in today's workforce. Accreditation involves three steps: registration with NIMS, the completion of a self-analysis and an on-site audit. If APA receives NIMS accreditation then it will be the only high school in Illinois to have it and it will be one of 122 programs nationwide.
The design of the MTC and its curriculum was guided by an industry advisory committee comprised of manufacturers with extensive experience running modern manufacturing operations. The advisory committee met over the last two years to make sure that the curriculum and the MTC facility would be able to meet NIMS's high standards for accreditation.
MTC Advisor Don Ruesch sums it up the best: "What we have at Austin is a real world approach: We educate and train students the way employers used to train their employees when apprenticeships were prevalent all over the world. With the NIMS certification and the credential that has taken place in the past year, we can now prove without question to the industrial community and to the Chicago Public School community that Austin students are receiving the skills needed to be successful in industry whether they choose machining or engineering as a goal."
One of the 42 standards required to meet for accreditation includes having students who have achieved a NIMS credential. To date APA has 86 students with NIMS credential, four of which so far have earned two.
"Receiving a national accreditation by NIMS has strengthened our training programs" said Pablo Varela, MTC Teacher, "Students and faculty can have pride for being a part of the national undertaking to help create a globally competitive workforce."
We will keep you posted on the results of the audit when they are released later in the summer.
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Summer Jobs Program Starts
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APA is gearing up to do it's summer job program. So far eight partners have signed up to give students the opportunity to spend time earning valuable work experience and a few extra dollars. Partners like Matrix Tooling, Freedman Seating, and WaterSaver Faucet will be hiring our students for a wide variety positions for up to eight weeks. Summer Job orientations for students are underway and the program starts on June 20th. If you're a student, make sure you have your application in at the Career Department, Room 140. If you're a Partner who is providing a Summer Job, we give you a special "THANK YOU!!." If you're a Partner who are interested in hiring a student for a Summer Job call us at 773-534-6326 and our Industrial Coordinator will visit you. |
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Tech Trip | Juniors Tour Arrow Gear
by Torres Hughes
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On May 10, 2011, 25 APA students went to Arrow Gear. We all had a great time. We were able to tour the outstandingly huge plant. There are 200+ employees who work at Arrow Gear. When we got there, we were met by the head of the Human Resources department, Mary Ann Cervinka who gave us a brief introduction of the company, and then we broke into groups and went on a tour of the factory. We learned about a wide variety of things like the process used to find out if a part was damaged during grinding, which is called the Surface Temper Inspection (STI). Desmond Bryant, a junior at APA, asked a lot of great questions, and the tour guides were eager to answer any question asked. Mr. Slater, the Digital Electronics teacher at APA, pointed out the importance of working on a team. Overall, the tour was a great learning experience, and we all had a great time!
Click here to view more photos.
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| Staff vs Student Basketball Game |
After a challenging year in the classrooms, students and staff blew-off some end-of-the-year steam on the basketball court. Although the teachers were victorious in the game, everyone had a good time showing off their extracurricular skills.
Click here to view more photos.
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