education

Press release:

Jackson Primary’s Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) program was introduced with the traditional and always-entertaining play by staff for the students. This year’s theme is Wild About Reading and, in the opening performance, the students were confronted with a lot of confused behavior among the residents of Jackson Zoo.

With monkeys eating potato chips, giraffes roaring about their prowess at protecting the zoo while lions are playfully dancing nearby, and polar bears mistakenly caught in a warm exhibit area while elephants are freezing in theirs – there is a lot of craziness at the Zoo.

But there is hope! Between now and March 29, Jackson students can read with a partner at home for 15 minutes or more each day, and that will bring some facts – and order – back to the Zoo, helping the animals return to their proper foods, activities and habitats.

While this year’s goal is to restore order to the Zoo, the goal every year is to build excitement for and a love of reading that not only contributes to academic success but also enriches students’ (and their reading partners') lives immeasurably.

Press release:

“The growth mindset of this district was what really attracted me to Byron-Bergen,” said Byron-Bergen Elementary School’s new Assistant Principal Betsy Brown. “The approach to education is innovative and forward-thinking. I’m so impressed with the opportunities our students have here.”

“We’re fortunate to have an administrator with Betsy’s depth and experience,” said Elementary School Principal Brian Meister. “She is a great addition to our team, and I think she will bring a wonderful combination of commitment, caring, innovation, and humor to her role.”

Brown has 15 years of experience in elementary education. She came to the district from Avon Central Schools, where she supported students and staff as a literacy coach for three years. Prior to that, she taught third and fourth grade, and kindergarten.

Brown holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and a Master of Education degree in literacy, earned at the State University of New York at Geneseo. Her administrative coursework was completed at the University of Rochester.

Getting to know the students has been Brown’s first priority. She has been meeting them all, one classroom at a time.

“I don’t want them to be nervous around me,” she said. “It’s important that students know that I am always here to help them.”

“I’m particularly excited about the Character Education program here,” she said "I love the enthusiasm our students have for supporting one another and keeping their school safe. From classroom visits, I can see that the teachers do an amazing job of teaching students in ways that are fun and engaging."

“I really am passionate about English Language Arts (ELA),” she said, “and Byron-Bergen has a great Reading Recovery program for early intervention. I’m looking forward to supporting our teachers with that and helping them continue to build a strong ELA program that incorporates the latest standards."

Brown was an active member of the video coaching professional development team at Avon, and will continue her activity as a coach at Byron-Bergen.

“Byron-Bergen has been the regional leader in offering video coaching as a way for teachers to grow and to improve their teaching methods,” she said. “Teachers here have embraced the technology, and students are benefitting from the results.”

Open communication, Brown believes, is an essential part of any school. She is looking forward to meeting families and parents and working with them to ensure an exceptional school experience for their students. She encourages parents to call or stop in.

“We have an active social media presence on Twitter and Facebook, too,” she said. “They provide a window into all the activities students are doing in the classroom.”

The community can follow the assistant principal on Twitter @MrsBetsyMBrown.

Press release:

Renowned ballerina Aesha Ash encourages Byron-Bergen students to dream bigger.

Ballet star Aesha Ash told the hundreds of students at Byron-Bergen Elementary School that when she was growing up in Rochester, “there were no princesses or fairies that looked like me. There were no magical creatures, unicorns or swans that looked like me.”

When she dreamed of being a ballerina, she was told that there were no black ballerinas and that she would never succeed. She dreamed anyway, and she did succeed. She was accepted to the legendary School of American Ballet where she was chosen to join the New York City Ballet when she was 18 — one of the first black dancers in the corps.

How did this world-famous dancer and winner of the National Women’s History Museum's 2016 Women Making History Award, come to be in Byron-Bergen? Fourth-grade teacher Alyson Tardy heard about Ash’s Swan Dreams Project, which was founded in 2011. This project uses powerful imagery to counter negative stereotypes of race and socio-economic background and inspire children to dream bigger.

Tardy thought that Ash’s message would be a great tie-in to the school’s character education program. She invited Ash and coordinated the special visit. Students surprised their visitor with a hallway lined with artwork featuring swans of many shapes and colors.

“The art is so beautiful,” Ash said. “I’m honored that the kids welcomed me this way.”

At the crowded assembly, Ash shared her story with attentive students, beginning with her passion for dance and her determination to become a ballerina.

She explained how she was part of Rochester’s Urban Suburban program, and constantly faced questions and misunderstanding from peers about her background and city neighborhood. Her family was not rich; she told the story of borrowing toe shoes for her first tryout. Even when Ash became a professional ballet dancer, she felt a sense of not belonging, of being different.

“All my life, I’ve fought to change perceptions and dispel myths — for myself, my family and my Rochester community,” she said. “The more that people told me that I couldn’t do something, the more I wanted to do it.”

Ash’s professional dance career lasted 13 years. It included eight years with the NYC Ballet along with performing in the Bejart Ballet in Switzerland and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, and with many other companies as a freelance artist.

She and her family currently live in California where she is working to make the Swan Dreams Project an afterschool program. She hopes to open a studio where she can teach ballet to children who are not able to afford lessons.

The Swan Dreams Project video she shared with Byron-Bergen students can be found here.

Press release:

Genesee County Sheriff William A. Sheron Jr. hosted a meeting last week with Genesee County school superintendents, local police officials, local government representatives, along with state representatives Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer, to discuss school safety concerns and the viability of having School Resource officers within each school district.

"School Resource officers can play an important role in our school districts, from helping to resolve conflict to preventing tragedies," said Senator Ranzenhofer.

"I fully support placing these officers in our local school districts, and I have been working to secure state funding to expand School Resource officers in Genesee County and across New York State. I commend Sheriff Sheron for his leadership on this issue, and I will continue to work with him to keep our children safe."

While it was the consensus of most of those in attendance that there should be a School Resource Officer in each school within the county, concerns were expressed of how to fund the position and identifying the source of this funding.

The attendees discussed a variety of possible federal, state and local options and agreed to explore funding sources to offset the cost of the potential School Resource officers.

“I was pleased to meet with Sheriff Sheron, local educators and community stakeholders to discuss how we can increase school safety," said Assemblyman Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia). "The state needs to take action to help our schools become the most secure and comfortable environments they can be.

"We need to look at working with retired law enforcement and veterans in our schools because our children’s safety should be our number one priority.”

Currently, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has School Resource officers at the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership’s (BOCES) Batavia Campus (for the past 15 years) and in the Byron-Bergen Central School District (for the past three years).

Additionally, the Village of Le Roy Police Department provides a School Resource Officer to the Le Roy School District, and the Batavia City School District has security aides within its facilities.

During the meeting, representatives from Genesee Valley Educational Partnership’s (BOCES) Batavia Campus and the Byron-Bergen School District spoke highly about the advantages of having a School Resource Officer.

They explained that it not only provides a safe environment for the students and faculty but also provides for direct interaction and guidance with the students.

Both officials agreed that the benefits of having a School Resource Officer far outweigh the expense associated with the position.

“When we started our SRO Program 15 years ago, the prevailing question was, 'Why?' " said Christopher Hayward, Le Roy Police Chief. “With everything that has happened in the last 15 years, and sadly will continue to happen, the question has to be, ‘Why not?' "

Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch stated, “the City Police Department remains dedicated to the safety and security of all schools within its district. The time has come for the lawmakers in this state to step up and allow school districts to utilize their aid in establishing programs that make sense on a local level.

"This type of flexibility would go a long way to allowing each district in Genesee County to partner with local law enforcement to provide a School Resource Officer.”

Sheriff Sheron stated that it his goal to establish a School Resource Officer in all county schools to ensure the safety and protection of the students and faculty.

“Although the cost associated with placing a School Resource Officer in the schools is significant, I believe the safety and security of our children should be of the utmost precedence,” the sheriff said.

Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputies will be visiting schools on a regular basis and assist during school safety drills. This will aid in familiarizing Deputies with the school’s faculty and students along with the layout and procedures of each school.

Submitted photos. Top photo, Deputy Matt Butler, resource officer for Byron-Bergen, discusses his job with officials.

Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, left, Sheriff William Sheron, right.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley

The Batavia City School District continues to adopt technology as part of the learning process and coursework, IT Coordinator Jeff McKinney told the school board during its meeting Tuesday night.

His presentation was followed by demonstrations of some of the robots and programming projects students have been working on this year.

McKinney said 2,000 Chromebooks have been deployed to students. Students have visited more than one million websites. There are 266 active Google classrooms and students are creating 50,000 new documents each month.

Internet access has become so critical to the educational process that McKinney has come up with a plan for a backup bandwidth provider so that if the primary provider goes offline, teachers and students don't lose access.

"I'm really proud of where we're going and what we've done," McKinney said.

He said a key advantage of the STEM program currently in place is it helps students learn through discovery and studies show students retain new knowledge better when it comes through discovery.

It isn't always the teacher teaching anymore, either, said Melissa Calandra, a STEM teacher at John Kennedy Elementary School.

"It's kind of hard as a teacher not to know all of the answers but that's the world we live in now," she said.

Other faculty participating in the presentation, Katelin LaGreca, JK Library Media Specialist, Karen Shuskey, JK ACE Teacher, and Marie Martell, JK Computer Literacy/Math AIS Teacher.

Top photo: Phoebe Beal, grade 3; Brock Bigsby, grade 3; Ryan Bigsby, grade 3; Ella Shamp, grade 4; Landon Hamilton, grade 4;Tosh Spilberg, grade 4.

The Batavia City School District Board of Trustees honored several people at the start of Tuesday's meeting with certificates of appreciation for the difference they're making at the Batavia schools.

Above, Board President Pat Burk with Lucy Lefevre.

Amelia Tripp

Luca Garland

Landon Minuto

Ottoniel Ramirez-Garcia

Camden Reimer

Members of the STAR staff.

Detective Richard Schauff

Article by Drew Muehlig. Photo by Dan Carnevale​.

High school graduation rates increased slightly across New York in 2017 -- to 80.2 percent, up from 79.7 percent in 2016, according to data released Wednesday by the New York State Department of Education.

And some Genesee Region schools had a lot to do with that.

Elba, Lyndonville and Pembroke high schools all boasted 97-percent graduation rates last year, while Attica (94 percent), Pavilion (93 percent), Le Roy (93 percent), Alexander (91 percent), Batavia (91 percent), Byron-Bergen (91 percent), Holley (91 percent) and Kendall (90 percent) all came in with more than 90-percent commencement numbers.

Elba saw the biggest increase in graduation rates, climbing from 89 percent in 2016.

Elba’s superintendent, Keith Palmer, attributes the results to the school’s size and the teacher-student relationship building over time.

“Given our small size and low student to staff ratio, the faculty is better able to work with students one-on-one or in small groups,” Palmer said. “This allows for knowing and responding to individual student needs as well as developing meaningful relationships.”

For a complete list of 2017 graduation rates click here. 

Anyone who is looking for some help in enrolling in college will get that opportunity at two upcoming College Entry Help Sessions, offered free of charge at Genesee Community College.

The first one scheduled is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Room T121 of the Conable Technology Building at the Batavia Campus, One College Road. The second one will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, at the same location.

Both appointment and walk-in sessions will be available on both dates. Appointments are also available on additional dates by request. To schedule any appointment, please email AEOC@genesee.edu or contact Adult Education Director Kate Trombley, M.S. at (585) 343-0055, ext. 6285.

This is a continuation of the Adult Educational Opportunity Center's yearlong schedule of open monthly sessions designed to get anyone started on their way to a college degree.

During these sessions, the AEOC's outreach specialists will help potential college applicants with a variety of services, including:

• Financial Aid Counseling: help completing the FAFSA, understanding various financial aid options including student loans and Pell grants, retrieving transcripts, and assistance with special circumstance applications.
• Enrollment Assistance: completing college applications or enrollment forms, ACT Test registration and completing Entrance Exam Prep through Accuplacer. 
• Veterans Services: AEOC outreach specialists are trained to assist any veteran in navigating services available for higher education.

It is important to note that these College Entry Point Sessions are not limited to students attending or planning to attend GCC. Anyone interested in attending ANY college or in need of assistance in getting started can participate. Information regarding GCC and all other area colleges will be available at these sessions. 

Additional details and a list of the session dates for all of 2018 is available here.

Press release:

With a projected 18 percent growth in job opportunities in the next five years, it is an exciting time to be in or entering the medical profession. To meet the workforce demand, The BEST Center at Genesee Community College is offering three exciting professional training opportunities with tuition scholarships available! With registration deadlines just two weeks away, interested applicants should apply today! 

Patient Access & Registration Professional -- This 90-hour comprehensive program prepares students for patient intake and healthcare experience coordination including patient confidentiality, medical ethics and law, medical terminology, insurance billing and coding basics, appointment scheduling, medical records management and much more! This course costs $1,950 which includes required textbooks. Registration deadline is Feb. 26 and the course runs Mondays and Wednesdays, March 5 through May 14!

Clinical Medical Assistant -- This 140-hour course includes an optional 160-hour clinical externship. During the course, students will train to assist physicians by preparing patients for exams and treatments, routine laboratory procedures and diagnostic testing. Students will review technical aspects of phlebotomy, pharmacology, the proper use and administration of medications, taking and documenting vital signs, cardiology including proper lead placements and the legal aspects of healthcare. This course costs $2,599 which includes required textbooks. The optional externship costs an additional $350 which includes CPR Certification, background check, immunizations, drug screening, uniforms and more. Registration deadline is February 26, 2018, and the course runs March 5 through June 11, 2018!

Phlebotomy Technician -- This 90-hour hands-on program prepares students to collect blood specimens for laboratory analysis. Classroom and lab work includes coverage of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, blood collection procedures, and skills and techniques for performing puncture methods. This course costs $1,799 which includes required textbooks. Registration deadline is Feb. 27 and the course runs Tuesdays and Thursdays, March 6 through May 6!

All of these training programs take place at GCC's Batavia Campus located at One College Road in Batavia. Registration for these programs requires a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent.

Additional information on each of these programs is available at www.genesee.edu/cms/best/development/certificate-programs/healthcare-certificate-programs/. All participants can register under "View our classes now" at www.genesee.edu/best. 

Those who are underemployed, unemployed and under skilled may be eligible for tuition scholarships through NY INSPIRE. GCC is part of the statewide program that focuses on training qualified candidates for high demand growing industries in the areas healthcare, advanced manufacturing and information technology.

The $20,000 grant to GCC will help offset tuition costs qualified recipients in this year's healthcare training programs. Scholarships are designated for those who are over 17 years of age and do not exceed the income threshold of $40,000 per year.

Don't delay! Contact The BEST Center at (585) 343-6868 or visit www.genesee.edu/best to find out if you are eligible!

Press release:

Dear STEM educators and friends of STEM,

The Finger Lakes STEM Hub is pleased to announce the application for the 2018 STEM Program Awards is now OPEN! The goal of this recognition event is to honor exemplary STEM programs in our community, and to inspire others to incorporate STEM opportunities in their work with youth.

Who is Eligible? Classrooms, schools, districts, and afterschool programs from the STEM Hub’s nine-county service area: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties, that incorporate STEM education into their curriculum.

How to Apply? Complete the application on the Finger Lakes STEM Hub website: http://www.empirestem-fl.org/ Award categories are based on the NYS STEM Quality Rubric, also found on our website, and applicants self-select their program’s level of achievement in each of the 9 categories, highlighting what their program does best! Applications must be received by March 1.

When is the STEM Program Awards Event? The awards dinner reception is Wednesday, May 16^th from 5-8 p.m. at the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Riedman Gallery.

Is There a Cost to Apply or Attend? There is no cost to apply for this recognition event. Applicants receive two complimentary tickets for the dinner reception. Additional tickets can be purchased for $36 each beginning in April.

If you, or someone you know, is inspiring kids through STEM education, please apply! For questions or to learn more, visit the Finger Lakes STEM Hub’s 2018 STEM Program Awards webpage: http://www.empirestem-fl.org/

Nadia Harvieux

STEM Program Award Committee

Finger Lakes STEM Hub

Students from Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School who are participating in Sandy Auer's pottery classes traveled to Rochester today for the class's annual visit to the Flower City Arts Center, where they could experience throwing pottery for a first time on a pottery wheel. The students then work with Mrs. Auer one-on-one in class throwing their own pottery pieces. 

"It's a great experience for the students," Mrs. Auer said.

Photos and info provided by Byron-Bergen High School.

A big part of what makes Genesee Community College special are the 50 or more student clubs available to enrich any student's college experience.

On Tuesday, Feb. 13, each of the student clubs will be showcased at the annual Club Fair. Each club will have representatives at booths from 11:30 a.m. 'til 2 p.m. in the Batavia Campus Forum. All GCC students are encouraged to visit the club booths, ask questions, join the clubs and "Go for the Gold"!

Speaking of the Gold, this year, there will be something a little extra at the Club Fair. GCC's Multicultural Communications Club will host Olympic Gold Medalist Cathy Turner! Turner, in photo above, will be at the Club Fair to meet the students, sign autographs and pose for photos!

Turner is a two-time Gold Medalist in short track speed skating (1992 and 1994), and a Silver and Bronze Medalist as anchor of the 3000m Relay Team. She is one of only two people ever to win Gold Medals in consecutive Winter Olympic Games. With a total of four medals, she ranks fourth for the most medals ever won by a Winter Olympian.

Multi-talented and outgoing, Turner enjoys combining her Olympic success and her amazing story to motivate people of all ages whenever she has the opportunity. Nine years after retiring from her sport to pursue a professional singing career, Turner returned to speed skating and competed in the 1992 Olympic Games. Her childhood dream of winning an Olympic Gold Medal was now within her grasp.

Critics scoffed at the notion that a woman in her 20s could overcome such a tremendous setback, especially being away from the sport so long. Turner proved them wrong by making her dream a reality, winning both Gold and Silver medals in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Draped in the American flag, Turner took her much-deserved "Victory Lap" with the whole world watching.

She retired immediately after the 1992 Games, only to make a stunning comeback just seven months prior to the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Once again, her amazing determination and strong will prevailed as she added two more medals to her collection -- a Gold and Bronze. Once again, Turner challenged herself and came out of retirement in 1998 and earned fifth place in the 3000m Relay in her third Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Turner wrote a chapter in a book entitled, "Awaken the Olympian Within." Her chapter is entitled "See it, believe it, be it." To Turner, "See it, believe it, be it" were essential steps in fulfilling her lifelong dream.

Turner now works as a database administrator at PAYCHEX in Rochester and focuses on her two daughters Britney, 18 and Bayli, 17. Like their Mom, both are very athletic and have participated in many sports including Tae Kwon Do (with Mom), skiing, tennis, gymnastics and of course, speed skating. Bayli is currently a level-10 (out of 10) gymnast, which now has Turner traveling to meets on weekends just like her own parents did for her. Her daughter, Britney, was on the high school tennis team since middle school and is now a sophomore at Ithaca College with a double major, Film Production and German.

Press release:

Want to appreciate the challenge of accurate weather predictions? Understand world events? Or improve your business communications? You can learn all of these things and more with late start, 12-week classes at GCC. Register now for the session which begins Feb. 12.

GCC offers more than 30 classes in a variety of subjects during the 12-week session with many courses offered online. Here are a few of the options:

* Introduction to Meteorology (MET101): Stop blaming the weatherman and learn for yourself how to read weather maps and charts; how to observe, study, and predict storm systems; and how fronts develop, as well as thunderstorms and tornadoes.

* International Relations (POS203): Examine interactions on the global stage and discern recurring patterns including the rise and fall of great powers. This online course is taught by Professor Charles Scruggs and will cover everything from nuclear proliferation to terrorism.

* Business Communications (BUS106): Explore integrated communications and strategy as best applied in a business context. This online course is taught by Professor Lauren Paisley.

Check out all the course offerings at http://www.genesee.edu/courses/schedule/. To apply online for classes at any of Genesee Community College's seven campus locations, new students should go to http://www.genesee.edu/Admissions or call the Admissions office at 585-345-6800.

Besides the 12-week session, GCC also offers late start eight-week classes, which begin March 19.

The community is also invited to check out GCC at an upcoming Open House or Friday Visit Day at the Batavia Campus.

--- The Open House is an opportunity to tour the college which includes seeing College Village, our new Student Success Center and the Richard C. Call Arena (athletic facility). In addition, attendees will meet representatives from all student services offices and can choose to attend a financial aid session.

--- Friday Visit Days are another great opportunity to visit GCC! During a Friday Visit attendees will learn about applying to GCC, receiving financial aid, take a tour of campus and sit in on a college class!

Batavia Campus Open Houses

March 7 ~ 5 to 7 p.m.

April 14 ~  9 to 11 a.m.

Friday Visit Days (at Batavia Campus)

March 2 -- 9 a.m. to noon

(Saturday) April 14 -- 9 to 11 a.m.

March 23 -- 9 a.m. to noon

April 20 --  9 a.m. to noon

May 4 -- 9 a.m. to noon

"There's only one way to really experience GCC and that's to visit our main campus or one of our campus centers," said Virginia (Ginny) Taylor, Ph.D., vice president for Student and Enrollment Services.

"We hope many people take advantage of these opportunities to check us out and see what makes GCC a great place to learn. We are devoted to helping students of all ages achieve their goals."

Press release:

Children who reside in the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District and who will be 4 years old by Dec. 1, 2018 are eligible to be registered for our Universal Pre-Kindergarten program for the 2018-2019 school year.

The children attend five days per week, each day, for 180 days, at no cost to you.

Transportation is provided for students who are 4 years old. Students that start the program at 3 years old must be transported by the family until they turn 4 years old.

We will have full-day and half-day classes available. Full day hours are 8:35 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and half day hours are 8:35-11:30 a.m.

Registration packets have been mailed. If you do not receive a packet by Feb. 12, please call the elementary office at 585-948-5211, ext. 3211, or email kfisher@oahornets.org to request one. 

Registration paperwork needs to be returned by mail or in person to the Elementary Office by March 9. Space is limited so please return your paperwork as soon as possible in order to avoid being placed on a wait list.

Alexander Central School hosted a Health and Wellness Fair on Thursday night sponsored by Alexander United Teachers.

Meghan Ripstein said the organization was looking for a way to give back to the community and she hoped families and vendors would find something at the fair that they could get involved in or find something missing from their lives.

She said the response was beyond expectations.

"We have a great turnout," she said. "We have so many incredible vendors here and so many people have given so much. I’m very impressed and overwhelmed by the support that we’ve gotten."

Press release:

The BEST (Business and Employee Skills Training) Center at Genesee Community College has released its SAT Prep course schedule. The SAT Prep course is designed to prepare students for the English and Math components of the SAT exam.

The course familiarizes students with the format of the exam and provides practice using questions similar to those that will appear on the SAT. In preparation for the English component, course participants will practice critical reading, sentence completion, grammar usage and writing. The Math component practice will focus on pre-algebra, algebra and geometry.

The SAT Prep course costs $149 per participant, which includes the course prep textbook. Participants are required to bring their own calculators.

The BEST Center will offer the SAT Prep course at three locations this year -- Warsaw, Lima and Dansville. Each course will consist of six sessions totaling 18 hours. Participants are encouraged to sign up now for one of the following courses:

GCC's Warsaw Campus Center -- 115 Linwood Ave, Warsaw

Thursday evenings beginning March 1 through April 5 from 6 - 9 p.m.

Register for this session by Feb. 22.

GCC's Lima Campus Center -- 7285 Gale Road, Lima

Tuesday evenings beginning March 20 through May 1 from 6 - 9 p.m.

Register for this session by March 13.

GCC's Dansville Campus Center -- 31 Clara Barton St., Dansville

Thursday evenings beginning April 26 through May 31 from 6 - 9 p.m.

Register for this session by April 19.

To register for any of the SAT Prep courses, please visit www.bestcenter.org or call (585) 345-6868.

Press release:

Enrollment is open at Genesee Community College for the spring semester and it is focused on preparing students for the region's specific job opportunities.

The entire schedule of more than 500 courses is available athttps://www.genesee.edu/courses/schedule/. Search by subject, location, term or time of day. With classes starting on Tuesday, Jan. 16, the time to enroll is now!

A study by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI) predicts an 18-percent increase in the number of medical assistant jobs in our region from 2016 to 2023. This semester, there are seven medical-related courses available to kick off a high-demand career by earning for Medical Office Assistant Certificate usually in one year, or a Medical Administrative Assistant, AAS degree in approximately two years.

GCC's other healthcare related degrees are also on the list of EMSI's high-demand careers. Physical therapist assistants, nurses, respiratory care therapists, sleep technologists and veterinary technologists are all great options for long-term career success.

"Healthcare education remains a priority here at GCC. We have excellent professors and instructors, and with state-of-the-art labs and our small class sizes, students' hands-on learning is second to none!" Virginia (Ginny) Taylor, Ph.D., vice president for Student & Enrollment Services said.

"Sometimes people forget that the spring semester is a great time to launch new career aspirations and academic goals."

For those interested in website development career, basic HTML coding and web page design is covered in Web Publishing (CIS113). Microcomputers (CIS116) and Programming and Problem Solving (CIS125) are also offered this spring semester. ESMI projects more than 125 new job opportunities in this sector in the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Ontario and Wyoming) region in the next six years making a Web Design certificate or associate degree a perfect resume builder.

Supply chain management is a key element to every major industry today. To get started on this career, consider a Business Administration: Supply Chain Management, AAS degree which can be earned entirely online. Begin with Principles of Business Logistics (BLM101), which reviews the efficient and cost effective flow of everything from initial raw materials to finished products.

Specifically, students cover accurate and timely information sharing, purchasing, transportation and distribution management, warehousing and inventory controls and so much more. Register today as classes are filling up!

In addition to courses at all seven campus locations in Albion, Arcade, Batavia, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw, GCC offers more than 150 online courses.

With so many concentrations to choose from and so many online opportunities, making a personal appointment with GCC student success coach is a perfect way to start the conversation about what is best for you. Call 585-345-6805 to set up an appointment or email SSC@geneseee.edu.

Press release:

More than 200 local high school students will be participating in the inaugural Health Career Day at Genesee Community College in Batavia on Tuesday, Jan. 9^th.

The event is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will provide Genesee County students the opportunity to learn about high-growth and high-demand health careers and meet with medical professionals from over 10 different fields, including laboratory technologists, first responders, nurses, physical therapists, sonographers, radiologists and more.

Students will also participate in the Health Care College and Career Fair in the William W. Stuart Forum from 12 to 1 p.m., where they will meet with representatives from more than 20 colleges and health care providers.

The BEA Health Career Day is a special collaboration between the Genesee County Business Education Alliance (BEA), Rochester Regional Health United Memorial Medical Center, Genesee Community College Accelerated College Enrollment Programs, and the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.

Our mission is to promote employment opportunities with tomorrow’s workforce, as jobs in healthcare occupations is projected to grow 19 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations. The BEA Health Career Day will help secure the health and wellness of Genesee County for generations to come.

For more information, contact Genesee County Business Education Alliance Director Karyn Winters at KWinters@GeneseeNY.com or 343-7440.