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Board of Education hears from Tech Valley principal and BC students attending the regional school
 Release Date: Nov. 10, 2008

About the budget presentations...

The presentations at the Board of Education meetings during the 2008-09 school year is an effort by the Board and Superintendent Michael Tebbano to examine the district from top-to-bottom this year by reviewing the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, departments and programs. They will also inform the 2009-10 budget development process and serve to educate the community about the variety of programs and services that are funded by the budget.

Two students from Bethlehem Central are attending Tech Valley High School, a regional initiative to develop a high school that can serve as a model for the area in how to prepare students for 21st Century success.

Tech Valley High School Principal Dan Liebert and students Rose Biggerstaff and Ben Maloney attended the Board of Education’s Nov. 5 meeting and spoke about the school, its mission, and the students’ experiences there.

The Tech Valley High School overview was part of the Board of Education’s budget presentation series, an effort by the Board and Superintendent Michael Tebbano to examine all aspects of the district’s budget throughout this year. The district pays $18,000 in tuition for each student to attend Tech Valley High School, an amount that is partially offset by state aid.

Tech Valley High School is a partnership between Capital Region BOCES and Questar III BOCES (Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties). It was launched in September 2007 with a freshman class of 40 students — each district in both of the BOCES was invited to send one student. Another class of 40 freshmen enrolled at Tech Valley this fall, bringing the total up to 80 students.

The discussion between Liebert, Biggerstaff, Maloney and the Board on Nov. 5 included the following information about the school:

• Tech Valley is contributing to the high school reform movement in the United States — how to prepare students with the set of skills they will need after high school and into the future.

• Students often work in groups and tackle real-life projects. One example is an exploration of Hudson River environmental concerns across various academic subjects. On such projects, the school often partners with business and higher education institutions.

• In addition to receiving grades in academic subjects, students are also graded on key “21st Century skills” such as technology literacy, communications and innovation.

• The school is committed to serving as a model for the rest region, and area educators have been to the school for “study tours” during the school year and to the school’s Summer Institute, focusing on how to bring project-based learning and other innovative approaches to their schools.

• Small 9th grade classes will continue to be added, as has been done for the past two years.

• Currently, the school is housed at Pitney Bowes Software in the Rensselaer Technology Park. It is searching for a permanent location.

• BC students are transported by Bethlehem Central buses to the school each day.

• There is an art program at Tech Valley High School, but no music program. There may be an opportunity for students to participate in their home school’s music program and other extracurricular activities.

• Students may participate in interscholastic athletics at their home high school. However, since they attend school in Rensselaer, this is not logistically possible in all cases.

• Biggerstaff and Maloney said that they are enjoying the hands-on projects they work on at the high school. They said that Tech Valley is a good fit for students who want to work hard, take on new challenges, are open-minded and work closely in teams of other students on projects.

 

 

 

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