Dear JHCP Parents/Guardians and Soaring Eagle Students,                                      🦅

As a reminder, we are excited to invite you to our Annual John Hancock College Preparatory Counseling Department đź’«College & Career Fair đź’«on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. Hosting an in-house fair for our JHCP school community is a tradition that has been going strong for over a decade!

JHCP's College & Career Fair continues to be recognized by the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC). This recognition affirms that our fair meets the highest professional standards for connecting students and families with college, career, and postsecondary opportunities.

JHCP’s College & Career Fair is not a “one-and-done” postsecondary event. As CPS School Counselors, we advise and support students across all grade levels in the college and career domain through a layered, cross-functional, multi-tier, multi-domain approach to readiness. This fair serves as a kick-off to a year of Counseling Department programming that includes:

  • A plethora of ongoing onsite college and career/postsecondary representatives for equity and access (extending beyond College Fair representative attendees), aligned with CPS Postsecondary Pathways.

  • Access to information about in-state and out-of-state colleges/universities, technical programs, apprenticeships, and workforce pathways (college/university, community college/vocational/trade school, employment, military, job training/apprenticeship. 

  • Ongoing opportunities for college and career-related tours/field trips (on and off-site) throughout the school year- yes, many are already booked, and grade-level announcements are in full force. This year, we are working to elevate our efforts beyond promoting upper-grade independent student fly-outs to out-of-state college tours, which we will also plan and execute in-house, in addition to fostering external opportunities (more exciting information forthcoming).

  • Ongoing schoolwide postsecondary focus with interdisciplinary, grade-level–infused academic, social-emotional, and college/career workshops, along with town hall and colloquium-style initiatives focused on Individual Learning Plans (ILPs)/SchooLinks-based college readiness planning. This is in addition to one-on-one/small group efficacious planning.

Exposure drives access; attending the JHCP college fair opens doors to opportunities and ignites inquiry based on students’ potential career interests.  It’s a high-value event and an excellent opportunity for us to plan for our students' postsecondary futures collectively.

đź“Ž Please see the attachments for College & Career Fair QuickTips to help make the most of your experience.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, September 10th, between 4:30 and 6:30 pm (postsecondary representatives will be wrapping up at 6:30 pm, so plan your arrival time). Light refreshments will be served.

 
Respectfully,
 
JHCP Administration & Counseling Department