LC Poised to Make a “Bigger Impact” with a “Smaller Footprint” in Carlinville

Carlinville - A new agreement between the Carlinville Community Unit School District 1 and Lewis and Clark Community College will allow the college to directly provide educational opportunities to the students of Carlinville and Macoupin County.

Lewis and Clark has a longstanding history of providing direct services to the residents of Macoupin County with a physical presence in Carlinville. In 2003, the college opened the Macoupin County Community Education Center on Shipman Road to expand programming and support current and prospective students.

Earlier this year, the college co-located its advising and student support services inside the Carlinville School District through a leased space in the former middle school central offices located at 110 Illinois St. in Carlinville.

"We are very excited about being able to more directly and collaboratively serve students in the Carlinville School District and Macoupin County by moving into the district's facility," LC President Ken Trzaska said. "This move will allow the college to operate much more efficiently in Macoupin County, while simultaneously allowing us to directly serve students in Carlinville."

This new Community Education Center arrangement is similar to the arrangement the college has at its Tri-County Community Education Center in Jerseyville, where these services are co-located with the administrative offices of Jersey Community School District.

"This new model allows us to have a smaller footprint, while making a bigger impact through collaboration directly with school district staff and students," Trzaska said.

In recent years, the school district combined the middle school and high school offices into a centralized district office now located in the high school portion of the district's facility. This move created an opportunity for Lewis and Clark to move its personnel and services into the former middle school office, allowing the college to work directly with district teachers, administrators and students to better serve them with educational advising and opportunities.

"We are thrilled to welcome Lewis and Clark Community College to our campus," said Carlinville Superintendent Becky Schuchman. "This partnership is the first step in removing barriers between secondary and higher education. The collaboration isn't just about sharing space; it's about providing students with a seamless bridge to their future. The transition will provide more opportunities in the region to collaborate while ensuring all high school students have access to advanced coursework and additional professional resources."

President Trzaska said the ability to co-locate with the district will create improved communication and opportunities for the students in the region, while also decreasing annual operating costs.

"We are so grateful to the Carlinville School District and Superintendent Schuchman for allowing us the opportunity to more directly work to provide not just high school partnership opportunities to the students of the district, but to more efficiently serve our Macoupin County residents," Trzaska said.

The new LC location has a separate entrance (the previous middle school entrance) and is located just across the hall from the district guidance counselor. The college's previous center, located at 18400 Shipman Rd., was recently sold through public auction.

College operations in Carlinville are led by High School Liaison Cora Gill and Office Assistant Laura Stayton.

"As a proud graduate of Carlinville High School, I'm excited to return to the school building not as a student, but as a partner," Gill said. "Being located right here in the school allows us to better connect with and be more accessible to CHS students while still serving the residents of Macoupin County. I'm looking forward to working alongside the Carlinville school district staff to create new ways for us to serve and support our students."

For more information about services provided at this location, you can contact the LC staff directly at (217) 854-5400.