Our students are winners . . .
New Visions: Law & Government students are of strong Constitution
Defying data that show Americans know little about the United States Constitution and their own government, Mr. Bader's New Visions: Law & Government students outperformed more than 40 of their peers on January 31, 2009 to win the regional “We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution” competition at Albany Law School. They will proceed to the statewide competition in Albany on March 7. Read the news release

Excellence times 2:
Students had to do doubly well to qualify for National Technical Honor Society
Eight Career & Tech Albany campus students and a Schoharie campus student have been honored for excellence in their career and technical and academic studies at both Career & Tech and their home high schools by being inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. The students had to earn a 92 average or higher at Career & Tech, an overall average of 85 or higher at their high schools, and have five or fewer absences.

At Schoharie on February 26, Rebecca Marshall was recognized as an excellent student at Schoharie Career & Tech and Middleburgh H.S. by being inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. Marshall, who studies Hospitality Technology & Culinary Arts with Chef Iannacone, was joined at the induction ceremony by her Career & Tech classmates. "Rebecca is very bright, creative, quick and not afraid to learn new things," noted Chef. "Her attention to detail is impressive, and she has a great professional attitude."

At Albany Career & Tech in November, the following students were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society:
• Angelina Brown (RCS HS), Criminal Justice
• Larissa Dean (Mohonasen), Cosmetology
• Matthew Pellerin (Duanesburg), Electrical Trades
• Ian Pengel (BKW) International Virtual Business
• Katlyn Prescott (BKW), Early Childhood Education
• Meghan Stilson (Schenectady), Culinary Arts Tech Prep
• Denise Willsey (BKW), Early Childhood Education
• April Zwack (Bethlehem) Early Childhood Education

 . . . and so are our teachers
Honors for Children & Education Career Academy teacher
Children & Education Career Academy teacher Deb Hall was named Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year by the New York State Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers. Ms. Hall's classroom is located at Cobleskill-Richmondville High School. which offers the Children & Education Career Academy in partnership with the Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical School.

NYS Theatre Institute taps New Visions: Human Services & Special/Elementary Ed teacher’s expertise
New Visions: Human Services & Special/Elementary Education teacher Happy Scherer recently presented several in-service trainings for educators at the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI) in conjunction with their musical, "Orphan Train.” She explained how to integrate the performance into middle and high school classes and discussed comparisons between the Orphan Trains movement and current child welfare issues. Scherer developed lessons for her own New Visions students about the Orphan Trains movement as part of their study of the child welfare system. Considered to be the beginning of foster care in the United States, Orphan Trains carried an estimated 200,000 street children from New York City to homes in farming communities in the midwest from1854 to 1929.
 

Serving fellow students

Creativity, talent transform cast-off chair into beautiful addition for Early Childhood Ed classroom
Thanks to the ingenuity and efforts of Mr. Roberts' Building Maintenance students Michael Simmons and Billy Farrell (pictured: Simmons at right, Farrell at left), an old, broken chair found along the roadside by teaching assistant Chris Foster has a new life in Ms. Jennings' Early Childhood Education classroom. The formerly cast-off chair with a torn cane seat is now a sturdy, stained and refinished, green-cushioned, ladder-back rocker that will be used for reading to youngsters and for practicing lessons. "I saw the chair as an excellent project," said Mr. Foster, "and Mike decided we should donate it after it was restored." Simmons noted, "We had to take the chair apart gently, then sand it and fabricate new pegs before we could put it back together, make a new seat for it and stain it." Farrell added, "I had learned how to re-cane chair seats, but we decided to make a cushioned seat instead." Simmons worked with Ms. Hicks' Global Fashion Studies class to obtain fabric for the cushion. "I know the chair is sturdy, because we both tested it and it held our weight fine," Simmons said. Simmons, Farrell and Foster presented the chair to Ms. Jennings' class on February 25, explaining their project and receiving a hardy round of applause from the Early Childhood Education students. 

Fashion students provide guidance on dressing for success
Do's and don'ts of dressing for business success was the theme of a presentation and workshop presented recently by students in Ms. Hicks' Global Fashion Studies program. The Fashion students worked with young people at a transition conference held by the Capital Region BOCES Special Education division for young people nearing graduation. Career & Tech students are called upon frequently to share their knowledge and talents with their peers.

Serving the community
Student-built home hits the road for Better Neighborhoods of Schenectady
How do you merge a house into traffic? Very carefully! As a long line of school buses left Career & Tech's Albany campus on December 4 after discharging their students, they were followed by huge flatbed trucks carrying two halves of a house. The event was not something you see at school every day, but Career & Tech is not your usual school. The event was a culmination of three years of effort by Building Trades students and their teacher, Doug Harple, who built the house for Better Neighborhoods of Schenectady.

Just the day before, the most recently completed half of the house was eased through the overhead doors of the Building Trades classroom, out of its cozy berth in F building, and into the parking lot, where the students steadied it and readied it for its December 4 excursion. On that day, movers contracted by Better Neighborhoods Inc. jacked up and flatbedded the home to 411 Hulett St. in Schenectady, where it will be finished and sold for an affordable price to a deserving family. Read more!

Bridal show models shine thanks to Schoharie Cosmetology students
Ms. Whitehead's Cosmetology class at Career & Tech's Schoharie campus recently volunteered their Sunday to style hair for models participating in a bridal fashion show at the Cobleskill Best Western. The students worked from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on January 25, and provided their own transportation to and from the event. "Many of the participating vendors complimented the nice work our students did," noted Ms. Whitehead, "and also our school. The students met a lot of business owners from this and other areas who may be helpful down the road."
 

New Visions News
Attention college-bound juniors:
New Visions is THE college advantage
Save the date for open house
New Visions offers college-bound high school seniors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in career fields through honors-level and college-credit-granting study at off-campus locations including the Times Union, NYS Capitol/downtown Albany, Wildwood School and St. Peter's and Ellis Hospitals. On Weds., March 18, an evening open house will be held at the Capital Region BOCES Administrative Building, 1031 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Colonie,  from 6-8 pm for all New Visions programs. Information will also be provided on Questar III New Visions programs. Download our one-sheet flier about New Visions.

New Visions on the airwaves
Students in Rich Bader's New Visions: Law & Government class recently appeared on WAMC Northeast Public Radio as Student Town Meeting participants. They discussed the potential for upward mobility in socio-economic status during times of economic crisis with Albany City Council member Corey Ellis, University at Albany sociology professor Richard Lachmann, and NYS Fiscal Policy Institute Executive Director Frank Mauro. Listen to the broadcast.

Partnerships are good business
More than 300 representatives of local business, industry and higher education partner with Career & Tech as members of our Advisory Committees. They provide our students with opportunities to intern, job shadow, secure employment and explore many pathways to success. Business and educational partners also guide Career & Tech in designing and revising programs to meet the changing demands of a global economy.

Why Alt Ed?
From likely dropout to health care professional: Alt Ed turns a life around
When Laura's family moved south in 2002, she chose to remain in the Capital Region with friends to finish her junior and senior years of high school. Not too far into the academic year, her difficulties at the large suburban school had escalated to the point where it was suggested that she consider dropping out.

“I said, ‘No, I am going to graduate.’ I didn’t want them to defeat me,” Laura recalled. She was “two weeks away from dropping out of high school” when she applied, wrote an essay and was accepted into Career & Tech's Alternative Education (Alt. Ed.) program. "Without Alt. Ed., I would probably be a dropout and [living] on the streets.” Read more

Adult Ed Update
CSX workers put welding skills on the right track through custom Career & Tech program
CSX railroad machinist Matt Clark positioned an electrode into a holder as he prepared to practice vertical sheet metal arc welding. Suited in a protective coat, leather welding gloves, safety glasses, face shield and helmet, the railroad machinist focused intently on his assignment, one of many he'd tackle during an intensive week of training at Career & Tech's Albany campus. Clark and several colleagues from rail transportation company CSX Corp. in Selkirk advanced their professional skills this past August through a special 40-hour course developed and taught by Career & Tech Welding & Metal Fabrication teachers Michael Todd and Christopher Lanese and coordinated by our Adult & Continuing Education department. Want to know more? Link to a pdf of the Oct/Nov. BOCES Bright Futures newsletter.

Tomorrow's nurses are learning here today
Did you know the Capital Region BOCES offers part- and full-day study programs in Practical Nursing for adult students? Our students come from near and far, from the Capital Region, New York City and around the globe. Many are career changers, some are advancing from the Nurse Assistant level, others are beginning an exciting new career. While they study hard on campus and at clinical locations throughout the area, they also form lasting friendships and professional connections on their way to becoming NYS Licensed Practical Nurses. Some benefit from financial aid. Want to learn more? Visit our Practical Nursing page or contact the Health Careers office today.

Why did the nursing student cross the road?
Classrooms and labs for the Practical Nursing program for adult students have moved across Watervliet-Shaker Road to Rosewood Plaza. The new location across from Albany campus should provide greater space for a very busy program, plus conveniences such as a bank, sub shop and pizza parlor. Contact information (staff, phone numbers, mailing addresses) remain unchanged. Students in the Nurse Assistant program are being bussed when needed to the new lab location for safety reasons.

Earn your GED or learn English here!
The Capital Region BOCES Adult Education program offers classroom and home-study classes for people seeking their General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or becoming English Language Leaners (ELL). Programs can be set up on-site, as well, for employers. Learn more by contacting the Adult Education office at 862-4707 or via email.

Career & Tech Education by the numbers
Capital Region Career & Technical School enrollment: an unofficial "snapshot" as of February 24, 2009:
Albany campus
(including New Visions and Theatre Technology)
Career & Tech Education (CTE) programs: 877
Special Ed/CTE programs: 123
Alternative Education: 43
CTE/GED:12
Total Albany campus enrollment: 1055

Adult Education
GED and ELL: 450
Home-study GED and ELL: 250
Adults in CTE programs: 15

Health Careers & Services for Adult Students
Practical Nursing for Adult Students enrollment: Full-day program: 94
Part-time program: 56

Schoharie campus
(including Children & Education Career Academy)
Career & Tech Education (CTE) programs: 179
Special Ed/CTE programs: 23
CTE/GED: 9
Total Schoharie campus enrollment: 211

The Capital Region Career & Technical School serves students from 25 school districts, which include 22 public high schools, private and parochial schools and home-schooled students. We also serve students from neighboring BOCES through cross-contracted enrollment and adult students both individually and through local employers.

We offer 40 programs of study for learners of all abilities, interests, talents and backgrounds and are operated by the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

Albany gets Connect-ED
Attention parents and guardians of Albany campus Career & Tech students: Albany Career & Tech will be using a calling program known as Connect-Ed to contact you regarding events, activities and attendance. Letters and forms are being sent to all Albany campus parents/guardians so you may designate phone numbers and contact info. (note: Schoharie campus is not using Connect-ED at this time.)

What's happening?
Check out our school calendar.

Visit our school Web site: www.bocescareertech.org

Read our vision, mission and values statements.

How to reach us
Contact information for Career & Tech

Comments?
We welcome your comments! Email  Monique Jacobs with your feedback, ideas or reactions. Thanks!

[3/2/09]