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Embedding 21st
Century skills into school culture
HFM BOCES/BEA seeks inspiration in tour of Albany's Tech Valley
HS
The HFM Business Education Alliance will host a field trip to
Tech Valley High School in Rennselaer for business, school and
elected officials from Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery counties
on Wednesday, March 31. The group will explore ways schools and
businesses can work closer together.
Along with HFM BOCES Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lorraine
Hohenforst and BEA Chairperson Dr. James Hoffman, 22 people are
scheduled to participate in the field trip/tour, including
school leaders from Amsterdam, Broadalbin-Perth, Edinburg,
Fonda-Fultonville, Ft. Plain, Gloversville, Johnstown, Lake
Pleasant, Mayfield, and Wheelerville.
Fulton County Chamber of Commerce President Wally Hart,
Montgomery County Chamber President Deborah Auspelmyer,
Gloversville Mayor Dayton King and other business and community
leaders are also part of the contingent.
Tech Valley High School is attempting an innovative way of
teaching the tools and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st
Century. TVHS was created in partnership with Capital Region
businesses seeking a school to educate students with 21st
Century Skills that equipped them for the demands and rigors of
the modern workplace.
Because of that partnership, students work hand-in-hand
throughout the school year with business executives, researchers
and others outside the education world on projects that teach
them those advanced problem-solving skills, as well as the basic
education skills necessary to graduate high school.
For example, students in TVHS' Mandarin Chinese language course
- the only foreign language offered at the school - worked with
medical product developer XOS to develop a cell-phone
application that helps XOS executives who travel to China on
business. The "app" provides basic translation services, as well
as information on Chinese culture, such as how to shake hands,
when to present gifts, etc.
 The
HFM group will arrive at Tech Valley High early Wednesday
morning, where they will meet with faculty and students to talk
about how their school is different from other high schools. The
group will then be taken on a tour of the school by students,
where they will be able to witness classes and students'
project-based learning in action. A question-and-answer session
with faculty, students and Principal Dan Liebert will follow.
TVHS hosts study tours throughout the year, drawing interest
from as far away as Indiana. The school was created in 2007
through a partnership between Capital Region BOCES and Questar
III, and serves students from 39 public schools in seven Capital
Region and mid-Hudson Valley counties – Albany, Rensselaer,
Schenectady, Columbia, Greene, Schoharie and Saratoga counties. |
