Summer Institute on The Future of Education set for Aug. 11
(June 25, 2009)—Capital Region BOCES and Questar III will offer The Future of Education, a daylong Summer Institute, on Aug. 11. This program is geared for administrators, teachers, board of education members and anyone interested in preparing students for success in the 21st century’ global and technology based economy. Teams of three or more educators from a district are encouraged to attend. The keynote speaker will be John Cavalier, one of the founders of Tech Valley High School and former CEO of MapInfo, who will discuss the future of the region’s high tech industry that will drive the need to change the way students are educated. The program will run from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Union College's Park Hall, Nott Street, Schenectady.
   The Summer Institute is free to Questar III and Capital Region BOCES component schools. More details, including a link to register, are available in the Summer Institute flyer (PDF format).
 

SED Commissioner appoints Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Charles Dedrick as WSWHE BOCES interim district superintendent
(June 24, 2009)—Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Charles Dedrick has been appointed to serve as the interim district superintendent for the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES, effective July 1. [READ MORE]
 

Congratulations to Career & Tech's 2009 Outstanding Students of the Year
(June 24, 2009)—Career & Tech named the 2009 Outstanding Students of the Year at the annual June Awards and Recognition Ceremonies. Congratulations to Michael D'Agostino (Duanesburg High School), a Medium/Heavy Duty Truck Repair student and New York State SkillsUSA Diesel Technology champion on receiving the award for the Albany campus, and to Cosmetology student Crystal Collins (Cobleskill-Richmondville High School) and Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment student Andrew Cortese (Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School) for sharing top honors for the Schoharie campus.
 

eBooks provide students with reliable information 24/7
(June 15, 2009)—Through its eBooks Consortium, Capital Region BOCES Library Services offers school districts a collection of online curriculum-related eBooks. EBooks provide unlimited, reliable information that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Learn how one district's librarians, teachers and students are using eBooks in the most recent issue of Bright Futures (PDF format).
 

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver appoints BOCES’ Nancy Jones to Advisory Council on Underage Alcohol Consumption
(June 11, 2009)—Nancy Jones, School Improvement Systems Analyst for Capital Region BOCES, has been appointed by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to serve on the Advisory Council on Underage Alcohol Consumption. The council consists of 21 members from all over the state who are experts or stakeholders in the effort to combat underage alcohol consumption.  [READ MORE]
 

Input welcome in Capital Region BOCES Web site redesign
(June 8, 2009)—The Capital Region BOCES Web site will be redesigned and reorganized in the coming months. The new site, expected to debut in winter or spring 2010, will offer streamlined navigation and enhanced functionality, taking advantage of new approaches for delivering content online. Because feedback from visitors about the current site is central to the process, the Communications Service has developed a brief online survey that we hope you will take a moment to complete. Your feedback is appreciated!  
 

Capital Region BOCES appoints energy education specialist
(June 4, 2009)—The Capital Region BOCES Board of Education has appointed Doug Harple, a teacher in BOCES' Career & Technical Education Building Trades program, as the organization's part-time energy education specialist on staff. The position is part of an energy conservation and management program BOCES launched recently to contain escalating energy usage and costs.  [READ MORE]
 

Voorheesville team takes third place in Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

(June 3, 2009)—A team from Voorheesville Middle School won third place in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Iowa May 27-30. Coached by Jean Mackay, the team of Matt Feller, Wolfie Gehring, Ben Mackay, Braeden Morrison, Sarah Murray, Lydia Parker and Alex Relyea competed against 45 other teams to win The Lost Labor of Heracles (problem 3, division II). Congrats to all!

 

ALPHA students showcase eco friendly projects

(May 14, 2009)—Students in Amy Brennan-Strack's ALPHA classes recently learned how a little environmental engineering can make their communities more eco friendly. According to Strack, student teams gave new purpose to items that are usually thrown away or recycled. On May 13, her ALPHA class comprised of students from the Green Island, Menands and Watervliet school districts displayed their projects during their "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repurpose" showcase in Watervliet. Some of the projects included a bird house feeder using plastic juice containers, shopping bags made from t-shirts, a coin sorter using cardboard, a milk carton and a CD disk, and musical instruments featuring tins can drums, straw oboes and coffee can bongos. Learn more about BOCES' ALPHA program.
Caption: Menands students Emma Notarino (left) and Jenna LaFleur (right) show their ALPHA teacher Amy Brennan-Strack the fish tank they made out of milk cartons.
 

National, state and regional educational and business leaders engaqe in discussion to better prepare students for future success
(May 1, 2009)—National education leaders Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and Paige Kuni, global manager for Intel Corp.'s K-12 education division, concluded two days of meeting with national, state and regional educational leaders and business officials on May 1. [READ MORE]

Caption: Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Charles Dedrick speaks at a May 1 meeting of state and national education leaders and business leaders from throughout the Capital Region on the importance of preparing students with 21st century skills. The meeting was held at Tech Valley High School.
 

Component boards approve BOCES administrative budget and elect three to BOCES Board of Education
On April 20, component board members voted 22-1 in support of BOCES proposed $7 million administrative budget for the 2009-10 school year. They also elected incumbents Jeff Bradt and Lynne Lenhardt and new member Barbara Mauro to the BOCES Board of Education.