Waukegan CUSD 60 staff walk parents through SchoolLinks platform, account setup and features

Waukegan CUSD 60 college and career staff introduced parents to SchoolLinks, the district’s college-and-career readiness platform, and explained how guardians can claim accounts and use the platform to monitor and support students’ postsecondary planning.

"SchoolLinks is a true all in 1 student success platform," said Destiny Boyd, college and career manager, describing tools for college research, applications, financial aid and career exploration. Staff said the district uses SchoolLinks beginning in middle school so counselors and managers can track student goals over time.

The presentation outlined how parents claim guardian access. Destiny Boyd said parents should receive an email with a claim code and then "sign up as a guardian," enter their relationship to the student and log in; Julio, a college and career manager for the Brookside campus, added that the team organizes students’ college lists so students can return to earlier research when they are juniors or seniors. Presenters emphasized that there is "1 code for each student," which parents must enter when creating a guardian account.

Staff walked through core features available to students and guardians: an initial career interest inventory and other self-paced learning modules (staff said assessments take about 15–45 minutes); an "Explore careers" tab that links to real job openings and salary ranges; college comparison tools with virtual tours and the ability to favorite and track schools; and scholarship search and application tools. "We always have scholarships on SchoolLinks, especially the local ones," one presenter said, noting local scholarship opportunities and that award amounts can "range from $500 to a thousand dollars to $5,000." The team said counselors and college-and-career managers can view student profiles to better support applications and advising.

Presenters described guardian capabilities: parents can complete the same learning assessments, view uploaded PSAT/ACT/SAT scores and students’ graduation plans, and create recommended college lists for their children. Destiny Boyd also highlighted language accessibility: "this is available for all on the platform" and the department is working on Spanish translations and dubbed videos to help non-English-speaking parents.

For support, the presenters pointed attendees to SchoolLinks’ built-in help center and said a staff member (Jaleel) was monitoring the chat for claim-code requests. Julio acknowledged a "slight difficulty adding the links to the chat" during the live event but promised the team would add links to the YouTube video’s comment section after the recording is posted. Presenters closed by asking attendees to complete a feedback form that will be linked with the recording and said they will work with the high school to distribute the video and links to students who could not attend live.

The presentation did not include formal motions or votes; it was an informational session focused on platform access and family supports. Staff encouraged parents to contact the college-and-career managers at their child’s campus for one-on-one assistance and to use the platform’s help center for technical questions.