For Schoharie, top honors went to two students - a tie for the award of Outstanding Student of the Year: Cosmetology student Crystal Collins (Cobleskill-Richmondville HS) and Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment student Andrew Cortese (Berne-Knox-Westerlo HS). Outstanding Students are honored for demonstrating growth in achievement, citizenship and pride in their chosen occupations. They are active in Career & Tech activities and are leaders among their peers.

The Joseph N. Fuchs Award for Uniquely Challenged Students is bestowed at each year's Awards and Recognition Ceremonies upon a student who has overcome significant challenges to excel at Career & Tech and who is a role model for others. Congratulations to Hospitality & Culinary Technology senior Sarah Terry (Duanesburg HS) on being named 2009 Fuchs Award winner for Schoharie campus. She was presented with the honor by retired Career & Tech Principal Dave Terry, who is also her uncle.

For Career & Tech's Albany campus, congratulations to Jose Galvez (Schenectady HS) for winning the Joseph N. Fuchs Award for Uniquely Challenged Students. Galvez studied Food Services and was also named outstanding student for his class, taught by Career & Tech alumnus Chef Scott Cooper.   Read the news release about the awards.l

On June 30, 115 adult students celebrated their successful completion of Career & Tech's Practical Nursing Program for Adult Students at a graduation ceremony at Proctors Theatre. The joyous event was attended by a packed house of families, friends, and BOCES Board of Education members, business and educational partners and staff, all of whom witnessed the awarding of Nursing pins, certificates and more than 40 special student awards.

Jasmine Jones, Barbra Namfukwe and Linda Siconolfi received awards for General Excellence Awards. Siconolfi and Nirmala Eriyamulla were honored for having the Highest Academic Average in the program. Career & Tech offers both part-time and full-day study options in the Practical Nursing program, a popular and growing program in the Capital Region.
 

International Virtual Business student honored by Business & Marketing Educators’ Association
Tamara Sooknanan of Schenectady, a senior in Career & Tech’s International Virtual Business program, was honored in May by the Business & Marketing Educators’ Association of the Capital District and the Business and Marketing Honor Society of New York State for her achievement, citizenship and positive attitude. Sooknanan iserved as chief executive officer of Kustom Kickz, a company formed and run by her International Virtual Business class.

Students had to do doubly well to qualify for National Technical Honor Society
Seventeen students enrolled in courses offered through Career & Tech were honored for excellence in their studies at both Career & Tech and their home high schools by being inducted into the National Technical Honor Society on May 28. 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. In the photo from left: Kristina White (Nurse Assistant/Guilderland HS), Mark deRoziere (New Visions: Health Careers/Schoharie HS), Cassandra Diamond (Early Childhood Education/BKW HS), Amanda Caswell (Floral Design/RCS HS), Katlyn Prescott (Early Childhood Education/BKW HS), and Denise Willsey (Early Childhood Education/BKW HS). Read more

Enlist now for Theatre Tech Boot Camp
Explore the jobs, learn the skills and experience the magic behind the scenes in theatre at Theatre Tech Boot Camp! Proctors has partnered with the Capital Region Career and Technical School’s Theatre Technology class to provide incoming 9th through 12th grade students a week of intense career exploration. Through working on a real production with theatre professionals, students will learn about the technical elements of scenery, lights, sound, props and wardrobe all while tackling life skills of teamwork, safety and creative problem solving! Led by Career & Tech Theatre Technology teacher and performing arts professional Jeff Knorr, Theatre Tech Boot Camp will run from August 3 -7, from 12-4 p.m., at the Hearst Education Center at Proctors on State Street, Schenectady. Theatre Tech Boot Camp is designed for ages 15-18 (grades 9-12), and tuition is $125. For registration information, download the Proctors Summer Adventures 09 catalog, or contact Proctors at (518) 382-3884, ext. 139.
 

Why study here? Read our students' Top 10!
Why do high school students choose to spend half their school day at the Capital Region Career & Technical School? Our anonymous survey gave us the Top Ten Reasons Students Choose Career & Tech!
 

Special services programs launch self-esteem, career skills, success in life
Being treated as an equal among peers is important to all of us, and can be particularly challenging for students with special educational needs. Kids can be cruel, and school can be frustrating. Learning disabilities can heighten the turbulence of the high school years, when students are called upon to define their future paths. Career & Tech’s courses for special needs students, or services programs as they are known, provide a safe place for individuals to learn, grow and mature while building marketable career and life skills. Services programs also can be a foundation for further Career & Tech education, with students progressing to a higher level program after mastering basic skills. Read more
 

If they build it, it will race
With a blazing midday sun providing the clean, green fuel, campers raced their fleet of custom-built solar cars to the finish in the parking lot of Career & Tech's Albany campus on July 15 during Future Green: An Exploration of Green Energy Technologies, a Career Pathways Summer Institute offered by the school at no cost to the students and their families. Fifteen 9th and 10th graders from throughout the region took part in the weeklong camp, where they also learned about an electrically powered bus, explored fuel cells, and visited GE's wind energy center. Their counselors include Computer & Network Technician Teacher Dave Patzarian and Science Teacher Don Orlando.
 

New Visions News
New Visions: Journalism & Media Studies students cited as "Exceptions to the Rule"
Former TV news anchor and Times Union blogger Lydia Kulbida recently wrote of the supposed death of print newspapers and of being "hopeful for the future because today, I met the exceptions to the rule." Kulbida applauded Ann-Marie Sheehan's New Visions: Journalism & Media Studies class for being "bright, eloquent and passionate about the future need for . . . mainstream media" and an informed citizenry during the students' appearance on public radio station WAMC's Youth Media Project.

New Visions: Law & Gov't students meet top national leaders; alumni are a strong presence in Washington, D.C.Mr. Bader's New Visions: Law & Government class returned from their annual trip to Washington, D.C. with exciting reports of meetings with top national leaders. Bader reports, "Among the highlights of the trip, we met U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and spoke with her general counsel; met and spoke with U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko and Scott Murphy together on the steps of the Capitol; and met and spoke with two of Supreme Court Justice Alito's law clerks and with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Maj. General William Suter (former Judge Advocate General of the Army) at the Supreme Court." read more

Medical school, nursing, speech therapy:
New Visions: Health Careers alumni take many paths New Visions: Health Careers Class of 2001 alumna MaryBre Mackenzie was awarded an M.D. degree at Albany Medical College's graduation ceremony on May 21, 2009. Dr. MacKenzie, who was a New Visions: Health Careers student while a senior at Shenendehowa High School, attended Union College and earned her B.S. in 2005 and M.S. in 2006. At Union, she was awarded Phi Beta Kappa for outstanding academic achievement. Read more!

Food Bank harvests help of New Visions: Human Services & Special/Elementary Education students
Students from Ms. Scherer's New Visions: Human Services & Special/Elementary Education program recently helped out at the Regional Food Bank, lending a much-needed hand to an increasingly busy agency. Pictured from left: Chrissy Shepard (RCS), Erin Montrello (Niskayuna), Christina Baker (Maple Hill), Christine Cary (RCS) Katie McCarthy (Heatly), and Michelle Frasier (Scotia-Glenville). Scherer reports that her class of 14, who have spent the year interning at the Wildwood School, Center for Disability Services, St. Catherine's Center for Children, Pine Bush Elementary School, BOCES classes for the deaf and hard of hearing at Westmere School, and many other locations, will attend college in the fall to study occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, psychology, and elementary, secondary and special education.
 

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.
 

Adult Ed: Training Tech Valley Today

Test day surprise was no match for Melissa
For some, knowledge is power. For Melissa Chiarini, knowledge is the power to heal. Seriously injured in a sledding accident 10 years ago, the now 25-year-old Schenectady resident cites learning about her traumatic brain injury and subsequent stroke as giving her "new tools to solve my problems." Coupled with a can-do attitude and a "drive to do stuff," Chiarini's pursuit of knowledge equipped her to pass the exam for her New York State General Equivalency Diploma (GED) on the very first try - despite a surprise on test day. Read more

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.
 

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.

News FLASH: Adult Welder Certification program is launched
Responding to the need for an expertly trained technical workforce in Tech Valley, the Capital Region BOCES Adult Education program is launching a new, 450-hour Welder Certification Program for Adult Students. Students will earn valuable national credentials by learning through technical shop coursework and classroom lessons in weld theory. Classes will run from September to February, Monday through Thursday, from 2:30-8 pm at Career & Tech's Albany campus. For more information, download the flier or contact Rick Rose at 862-4722.

Schoharie Career & Tech offers adult courses in Heavy Equipment/CDL Prep, and Building & Grounds Maintenance
Area adults are welcome to sign up for courses in Heavy Equipment Operation/CDL Permit Preparation, or Building & Grounds Maintenance for Adult Students to be offered at Career & Tech’s Schoharie campus this fall. Classes will run from Sept. 9 - Nov. 14, on Wednesdays from 4:30-8:30 pm and Saturdays from 8 am - 4 pm, and cost just $65. For more information, contact Career & Tech's Schoharie campus at 295-3000.
 

Who is served by Career & Tech?
The Capital Region Career & Technical School offers 40 programs of study for high school-age and adult learners of all abilities, interests, talents and backgrounds. Our students come from 25 school districts, which include 22 public high schools and private and parochial schools, and we have students who are home-schooled. In addition, Career & Tech serves students from neighboring BOCES through cross-contracted enrollment and adult students who study both individually and through local employers.

Career & Tech is operated by the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), which serves residents of Albany, Schoharie, Schenectady and southern Saratoga counties.

Read our vision, mission and values statements

Visit our school Web site: www.bocescareertech.org

How to reach us
Contact information for Career & Tech

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

[7/17/09]