Jaden Pocock, third from left, is the winner of the 2017 Character Award at the 13th Annual Liberty Partnerships Empire Promise Youth Summit at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. He is pictured with his brother Logan, his father Joel and Shelly Bartow, Ph.D., Conference chairperson.
Photo and info submitted by Patrick McGee.
Sofia Branche and Sheldon Silverling were named outstanding students for the month at last night's City schools board meeting. They were honored for their leadership examples they set at John Kennedy School.
Teresa Morrill, named Outstanding Employee.
Jane Haggett and the students and staff involved with Winter Guard were honored for their efforts with a proclamation. Students pictured, Mina Sanchez and Mary Murphy.
Lisa Robinson, right, and the volunteers who helped organization Mr. Batavia, were recognized with a proclamation by the board. Students pictured, Lindsie Cook and Madison Moore.
Aimee Nelson, named Outstanding Employee.
Caryn Wood and Daniel Grillo along with the cast and crew of "Hairspray" were recognized with a proclamation recognizing their efforts to stage the musical.
Eileen Ognibene, named Outstanding Employee.
Rob Vanderwerf, named Outstanding Employee.
Press release:
Le Roy Jr.-Sr. High School was awarded a Silver Medal in the national rankings of U.S. News & World Report, placing in the top 10.3 percent of schools in the country. In New York State, the Oatkan Knights ranked 170 (moving up 10 spots from last year) out of 1,270 high schools and are among 206 schools who were awarded either Gold or Silver.
U.S. News & World Report started ranking schools in 2007; last year was Le Roy's first time being awarded a medal, winning a silver.
Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases its annual Best High Schools rankings awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to top performing public schools at both the state level and national level. The 2017 rankings include data on more than 22,000 public high schools across the country.
The report’s criteria are based on overall performance of students on state tests, participation and performance on advanced placement exams, and graduation rates. The goal of these rankings is to provide an unbiased picture of the top performing schools and how well those schools serve all of their students. There were 500 high schools or 2.4 percent that received Gold medals; 2,109 or 10.3 percent of schools earned Silver and 3,432 or 16.8 percent took home Bronze.
"As an entire district and school community, we are thrilled and excited to receive this prestigious recognition. This is just one of the many examples of the hard work and dedication from our administrators, teachers, support staff, and students that occur on a daily basis. We are proud and will look to build off this positive trend upward as we shoot for the gold!" said Merritt Holly, Le Roy Central Schools superintendent.
“The Silver Medal reflects our community’s commitment and dedication to offering an innovative school experience for all students. It also represents a growing number of students who desire to challenge themselves and use this school as a launching pad to their college and career aspirations. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated staff throughout our entire district that goes above and beyond the call of duty every day growing our Oatkan Knights!” said Tim McArdle, Jr.-Sr. High School principal.
Press release:
Camp Invention, a nationally recognized, nonprofit summer enrichment camp program, is coming to Wolcott Street School in Le Roy the week of July 17 - 21.
Camp Invention is a program of the National Inventors Hall of Fame® — a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing inventors and invention, promoting creativity, and advancing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship — and supported by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
What makes this camp truly unique is that the curriculum is inspired by some of our nation’s most brilliant minds — the Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
For students entering kindergarten through sixth grade, Camp Invention is a weeklong adventure that turns the summer from ordinary to extraordinary through hands-on problem solving, collaboration, and the use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Inventive young minds can exercise their creativity and use their imagination, all while learning and developing new skills they typically don’t get to use in the classroom. Children are empowered to have big ideas while they take on challenges that inspire them to question, brainstorm, work as a team and build amazing invention prototypes.
This year’s fresh, action-packed Camp Invention curriculum features several hands-on modules:
* Duct Tape Billionaire™: Campers design duct tape products they can market and sell to mock investors;
* Have a Blast™: Children build high-tech Bubble Blasters and compete as a team in friendly air battles that use physics to boost their advantage;
* Mission Space Makers™: Teams hatch eggs, sprout living plants and grow crystal trees, all while on a mission to locate and prepare a new planet
for human habitation; and
* Operation Keep Out™: Campers learn to reverse engineer old machines and devices, and use their parts to create the ultimate Spy Gadget Alarm Box.
More about this year’s all-new curriculum:
All local Camp Invention programs are facilitated and taught by certified educators who reside and teach in the community. Camp Invention serves more than 130,000 students every year and partners with more than 1,400 schools and districts across the nation. For additional information or to find the camp nearest you, visit campinvention.org.
About Camp Invention:
Camp Invention is the only nationally recognized summer program focused oncreativity, innovation, real-world problem solving and the spirit of invention. Through hands-on programming, Camp Invention encourages children entering kindergarten through sixth grade to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum inspired by some of the world's great inventors. Camp Invention is a program of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Press release:
Byron-Bergen Central Schools has named two alumni to the district’s Hall of Fame for 2017. Dr. Paul Brill (class of 1982) and the late Barry Miller (class of 1983) join the ranks of other distinguished Byron-Bergen alumni honored with a place in the Alumni Hall of Fame for their achievements after graduation.
The Byron-Bergen Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of the district’s graduates, providing young people with positive adult role models and showing that graduates of Byron-Bergen can achieve high levels of accomplishment in their lives. This honor is in its 14th year and has become part of the school district culture. It is a permanent reminder to students about the outcome of hard work and diligence.
While at Byron-Bergen, Dr. Brill was involved in junior varsity and varsity baseball and track, along with Boys’ State. He also participated in peer counseling, yearbook planning and the Campus Life Club. After graduation, he attended Roberts Wesleyan College for two years prior to transferring to The College at Brockport where he graduated summa cum laude in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
He obtained his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, graduating magna cum laude in 1991. Dr. Brill served an internship in internal medicine at Allegheny General Hospital and residency training in diagnostic radiology at the University of Cincinnati. He switched career paths in 1994, and returned to at Allegheny General for his neurology residency. An additional fellowship year of training in neuromuscular was done at Duke University.
In 1998, he joined Anderson Neurological Associates (a group practice in Anderson, South Carolina), and has worked there as a neurologist ever since. Dr. Brill serves as the Neurology Clinical Director for the Medical University of South Carolina – AnMed Campus. He also has a teaching responsibility at The Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2014, Dr. Brill received the Patients’ Choice award, the Compassionate Doctor Recognition award, and was selected as one of the Top 10 Doctors in the State of South Carolina. Dr. Brill and his wife have two children, and are active in their local church and home school association.
In consideration of his civic duty and his dedication to healthcare and human services, Dr. Paul Brill serves as an inspirational role model to the youth of Byron-Bergen.
Barry Miller was Byron-Bergen’s senior class president in 1983, and worked with the lighting and sound crews for school musicals. He attended Genesee Community College and, in 1985, earned an Associate of Applied Science in computer repair technology. Three years later, he received a Bachelor of Science in organizational management. Miller was part of the graduating class of Leadership Genesee in 2008.
From 1986 through 1995, he worked at Business Methods, Inc., working his way up to the position of vice president of customer support. In 1996, he started Miller Millworks, Inc., his own company that provided cabinet and finish carpentry in Bergen. Additionally, he was one of the proprietors of the Beaver River Lodge in Stillwater, New York.
Miller served as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT) for Bergen Volunteer Fire Department from 1983 to 2015, having held the position of president, secretary, and a member of the Board of Directors. A dedicated member of the rescue squad, he served as lieutenant, captain, and assistant chief. Miller also started the Bergen Fire Department EMT Explorer program, where he mentored members and provided training for becoming an emergency medical technician.
He served as one of the Genesee County coroners and was a member of the Bergen Town Board, Bergen Business and Civic Association, and Bergen United Methodist Church.
Miller was killed in 2015 while responding to an emergency call with the Bergen Fire Department. In 2016, through legislation proposed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, Congressman Chris Collins, and signed by then-President Obama, the Bergen Post Office was renamed the “Barry G. Miller Post Office.” Miller was posthumously awarded the Liberty Medal, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an individual by the New York State Senate. The award is given to individuals who have merited special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts on behalf of fellow New Yorkers.
Miller continues to inspire the youth of the Byron-Bergen learning community through the legacy of his love, service, and support for the people in his hometown of Bergen and his passion and dedication to helping others.
The 2017 Byron-Bergen Alumni Hall of Fame inductees will be honored on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at 7 p.m. in the Byron-Bergen High School Auditorium. Dr. Brill and a member of the Miller family will briefly speak to students and receive their Alumni Hall of Fame plaques during the school’s National Senior Honor Society induction ceremony. Dr. Brill will spend the day visiting with Byron-Bergen students and sharing how his school experience influenced his life.
Elementary school students in Pavilion were entertained today by Jill Jayne, who travels the country using a face-based, rock-show format called Jump with Jill to teach kids about nutrition. The hour-long show is participatory and educational, with messages about taking care of "my body" and that fruit is sweet like candy, but gives you energy and is better for your body.
Jeff Maziel, of Nickle City Reptiles and Exotics, brought out a boa constrictor and invited some of the children in the audience to come up and hold it during Family Night at Batavia Middle School on Tuesday night.
Isabelle Stearns meets Paris, a tracking K-9 with State Police. Paris's handler is Trooper Frank Velletta.
Zharia Newton, 12, and Jeannine Mobley, work on a Mexican-themed collage.
Asa Wooten, 13, dances to some mariachi music.
Hailey Kirkpatric, 11, draws a book cover.
Ladi Terry leads an exercise using photos to help foster creative engagement during one of the seminar classes at today's creative conference at Genesee Community College.
The half-day event included an opening speaker and several seminar sessions on a variety of topics.
Below, Shawn Adamson talks about storytelling frame and form using examples from Pulp Fiction. Bottom photo, a marketing session.
Staff made this video for the Mr. Batavia show last week showing just how happy they are to be working at the school.
Press release:
Almost a decade ago, Gerald Sheridan made a single visit to Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School Technology Education teacher Jay Wolcott’s classroom. A member of the Finger Lakes Woodturners (FLWT), he was there to demonstrate the art of woodturning to a new generation of artisans.
Now, many years and many visits later, committed FLWT volunteers like Sheridan and Michael Hachey are on campus almost daily for six weeks every spring. They’ve added woodturning to the wide range of skills, including construction, metal work, and parts making, that young men and women learn in the school’s manufacturing systems class.
“We would never have been able to give our students this rich experience without the help of these volunteers,” Wolcott said. “They are able to give each student personalized instruction on the wood lathe.
"With their one-on-one attention, all our students get comfortable with the equipment and learn to operate it correctly and safely. Their passion for the art is something that our kids can really relate to.”
In the beginning, Sheridan, Hachey, and other FLWT members like David Harp and David Leupold brought their own home equipment into the classroom. The group applied for, and was awarded, a grant from the American Association of Woodturners several years ago, which the district matched. Wolcott was able to purchase two new woodturning equipment stations for the school.
Woodturning instruction begins with two introductory projects: turning handcrafted pens and small spinning tops. Each employs the wood lathe plus one or two additional tools.
“We begin with demos,” Sheridan said. “But Michael (Hachey) instituted step-by-step instructional photos that have been a huge help to kids trying to follow the process after the demo. They are a great teaching aid!”
After completion of the two beginner’s projects, students choose a personal project, like a bowl or a birdhouse. One student even combined woodturning and metalwork to create a wedding ring.
“You can see students working on the lathes almost every day,” Wolcott said. “They are very creative. A lot of their work goes far beyond craft into art.”
The Finger Lakes Woodturners (FLWT) Association Inc. is a nonprofit organization with more than 75 members of all skill levels operating in the Rochester area. They are active volunteers in many parts of the community. Visit http://www.fingerlakeswoodturners.com/
Le Roy Central Schools has been named one of the best communities in the nation for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants. It was one of only 527 schools, or 4 percent of the eligible schools, in the United States to earn the award.
Le Roy High School Principal Tim McArdle said the award recognizes the efforts of teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have helped make music education an important part of students' lives.
"This award represents our district's long-standing commitment to valuing what music education does for our students and the true pleasure it brings to our community," McArdle said. "We are so proud of all of our music students and staff that year in and year out produce high-level performances on our stages, in the pit, in competition, on the field, and in many places across the region. Our strong music program is one of the many aspects of our school that makes being an Oatkan Knight so special!"
Press release:
Genesee Community College is pleased to announce that Bill Kauffman will help congratulate and send off the College's 49th graduating class on Sunday, May 21 when the homegrown political writer serves as the commencement speaker for the event. Kauffman's selection was announced at the last Board of Trustees' monthly meeting. The ceremony will take place in the College's Anthony T. Zambito Gymnasium and will begin at approximately 1 p.m.
Born and raised in Batavia, Bill has been a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and also written for publications such as The American Conservative, The American Scholar, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, The Nation, New York History, Newsday, The Australian and The Spectator of London.
Kauffman has authored 10 books, including "Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Port Anarchists," which the American Library Association named one of the best books of 2006 and won the Andrew Eiseman Writers Award. His book "Ain't My America, The Long Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle American Anti-Imperialism" was named by Barnes & Noble as one of the best books of 2008. Locally, he is probably best known for his "Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette: A Mostly Affectionate Account of a Small Town's Fight to Survive (2003)," the story of Batavia and its changing fortunes.
He is profiled in Who's Who in America and Contemporary Authors and his screenplay adaptation of Harold Fredric's novella, "The Copperhead," was filmed in King's Landing, New Brunswick, Canada, and visited theaters in 2013. The DVD was released in 2014 and more information is available at www.copperheadthemovie.com.
While his political views may be difficult to categorize, Kauffman is critical of development and often writes approvingly of distributism and agrarianism, and is strongly anti-corporate. He has described his politics as "a blend of Catholic Worker, Old Right libertarian, Yorker transcendentalist, and delirious localist," and considers himself an independent as well as a "a peace-loving football fan."
Bill has lectured or given readings at many colleges, including Alfred University, Brown University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, the University of Louisville, Utica College and Wellesley College.
A familiar face in the local community, Bill is vice president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, which owns the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn Baseball league. He can be found at Muckdogs' games during the summer months along the third baseline at Dwyer Stadium.
Bill earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester before joining the staff of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the U.S. Senate. After leaving Moynihan's team for the West Coast, Kauffman relocated back to Batavia from California in 1988 with his wife, Lucine. The couple now resides in Elba and has a grown daughter, Gretel.
The College anticipates recognizing more than 800 students at commencement, including those completing programs of study in August 2016, January 2017, May 2017 and the anticipated graduates in August 2017. Approximately 220 graduates with their families will be participating in May 21 ceremony.
While the event is open to the public, seats in the gymnasium are reserved for family and friends of graduates. The ceremony will be streamed live on monitors across the Batavia campus and also around the globe. To view the live streaming, just go to the GCC website www.genesee.edu and click on the Live Streaming link directly from the homepage.
Immediately following commencement, a reception with punch and light refreshments will be hosted in the William S. Stuart Forum for all guests and graduates.
The college is also offering free child care services during commencement for children 8 weeks to 5 years of age. Please sign your children up in the Student Activities office or call 585-343-0055, ext. 6261.
School Board Member Peter Cecere used a not-too-obscure cultural reference to emphasize the point last night that the proposed tax-rate increase for Batavia City Schools in the proposed budget remains at 0.00.
"That's also Blutarsky grade-point average in Animal House," Cecere said.
Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said the no-increase tax rate should remain the same regardless of the outcome of the overdue state budget.
At the time of last night's meeting, legislators in Albany had not yet come to an agreement on the state budget, which includes provisions to aid to local school districts, which left the district, Rozanski said, trying to calculate a budget with a key missing component.
Since last night, the folks in Albany have come to terms on a state budget, but this morning, Rozanski said he hasn't yet seen the breakout on state aid to schools.
Regardless, the only change anticipated to the budget, he said, if aid is less than anticipated then the cost of four new aides, at $150,000, would come from reserve funds and if the aid does come in at the anticipated rate or higher, those funds would be replenished.
In three of the past five years, the school district hasn't raised the local property tax rate.
If the district had raised taxes at the rate allowable under the state's tax cap over the past five years, the district's levy would be up $2.8 million. There were rate increases of 1.9953 percent in 2012-13 and 1.99 percent in 2014-15, for a levy increase total of $715,867. The difference between what would have been allowed and what was actually raised is $2.1 million.
This year, the district could have raised the levy by 4 percent and remained under the tax cap. That would have increased the levy by $740,000.
The total levy with no increase is $18.5 million.
The total budget is $49 million.
The school board approved the budget, which will be voted on by district residents for final approval in May.
There's a student in the Batavia City School District who a few weeks ago was failing all of her classes. Now she's getting passing grades and is eligible for spring sports.
The student benefited, according to school officials, from an after-school program called WIN (What I Need).
The innovative program started in the school district this year and according to Scott Wilson, principal at the high school, Ashley John Grillo, principal at the middle school, and Teresa Morrill, a middle school teacher, the program is showing great results this year.
"This started as an idea and has come together as a really effective intervention program," Grillo said.
Of the 20 students who have participated so far, 16 have shown academic improvement.
As a testament to the program's success, the school officials noted, some who have been with the program have wanted to continue even after their grades improved enough that it was no longer required.
“It’s nice to see where reluctant learners are becoming really engrossed and engaged in the content and making improvements," Grillo said.
The program consists of two and a half hours of tutoring and study time at the high school, for both HS and middle school students, in an atmosphere that is described as "light." Students can take breaks as needed and snacks are often available.
"The best part of what I love is that every time I walk in, there is the relationship there that the teachers are developing with the students who haven't found their way yet academically," Wilson said. "They're making those connections."
Grillo talked about one student who participates in sports who was cleared to play and Grillo told him he could reduce his participation to just a half hour after school at the middle school. The student immediately asked if he could still show up at the program at the high school after practice.
"He likes the fact he has a quiet place and every teacher is available and he can get his work done," Grillo said. That quiet place, a place to study alone is something not available to the student at home, he said.
Part of the one-on-one tutoring is also talking with students about why they're in the situation they're in, whether it's lack of motivation, issues at home, or anything else, Morrill said.
"it's not just two-and-a-half hours just in a book," Morrill said. "We spend time talking about what's going on and why you're having these issues."
The success of the program could mean it expands at some point, Wilson acknowledged. He said there is already additional staff qualified for the tutoring and mentoring. and since the program takes place after school, there is room to expand.
Not all the students want to stay in the program after their grades improve, so right now, the schools have been able to make room for new students who need help as other students move out of the program. Getting out of the program is its own kind of motivation for some students.
"They know why they have to be there and they have a goal," Morrill said. "They want to get out. If that’s their goal, they don’t want to waste their two-and-a-half hours after school. They want to get it done so they can get out.”
Students at Batavia's middle school and high school are getting exposed to a variety of technology and learning opportunities, Robert Mullen told City School District trustrees during a technology department review at the board's meeting Tuesday night.
While he spoke, Dylan Gaus (top photo), a student at Batavia HS, replaced a broken screen on a Google Chrome laptop computer.
Technology infrastructure goes beyond just computer and networking classes, Mullen explained. Middle school students get a bit of technology instruction with culinary courses or embroidery and STEM/STEAM instruction is woven into the district's curriculum.
There's also the traditional technology classes such as robotics, computer operations, and networking.
Mullen is a Cisco Network Certified Associate Instructor and an AP Plus Certified Instructor.
He described his computer classes as noisy and chaotic with no traditional desks but a series of workstations, with one central workstation where the class comes together "to solve big problems."
The course of instruction is rigorous and difficult, he said, and he's thinking of breaking the course into two components: hands-on repair work and the more academic side of computing (how things work and why) so students can take the path most suitable to them because there is so much to learn.
He said he encourages resilience.
"Most students have a strong fear of failure," Mullen said. "I try to get them more comfortable with the failure process because many times that’s the only time to begin again more intelligently."
One of the technology classes at BHS is computer repair, were students fix the Chromebooks other students have brought in for repair.
So far this year, there have been 59 repairs for equipment assigned to high school students, and since January, 19 for middle school students. The average cost of each repair is $30.
“I think it’s still a significant savings for the district," Mullen said. "It’s just the parts. The school district doesn’t have to pay anybody to do the repairs and our kids have picked up some great skills in the process of doing it.”
The Batavia High School wrestling team, and boys and girls track teams, were honored by the City School District board on Tuesday night with proclamations for their 2016-17 Section V titles.
The wrestling team: Joseph Allegue, Richard Lamkin, Lazavia Price, Bohdan Andriychuk, John Folger, Eric Gimlin, Zeshan Armstrong, Jeffrey Cherry, Ryan Kuhn, Gavin Schmidt, Dylan Zurek and Kaden Marucci, and coaches – Richard Stewart, Kenneth Darch and Thomas Garlock.
Boys track: Campbell Andersen, Samuel Bartz, Ryan Bieniek, Isaiah Ciociola, Freddie Cunningham, Trey Kemp, Jerry Reinhart, Ian SanFratello, Chandler Baker, Andrew Cunningham, Eric Davis Jr., Damian Escobar, Marques Hargrave, Ryan Kabel, Nathan Loria, Luke Maltese, Nichalas Neid, Anthony Ray, Tyler Stewart, Julio Vazquez, Valentino Zinni, Matthew Adams, Cameron Austin, John Bruggman, Evan Bartz, Taiyo Iburi-Bethel, Zakariah Jantzi, David Pillo, Jaheim Smith, Jaydon Barber, Brock Every, Garrick Havens, Daemon Konieczny, Mario Rosales, Nate Crane (Letchworth CSD), Job Smith (Alexander CSD), and Kyle VanSlyke (Letchworth), and coaches – Nick Burk, William McMullen, Richard Boyce, William Buckenmeyer, Andrew Cowan, Daniel Geiger, Aaron Sherman and John Williams.
Girls track: Natalie Bigelow, Edmarie Calderon-Torres, Margaret Cecere, Samantha Cohen, Lindsie Cook, Alexis DeLong, Taler Fonda, Aja LeCointe-Wilkinson, Madison Moore, Katherine Wiseley, Rachel Denise, Kiaya Franklin, Tanner Kolb, Madison Murray, Alexis Stork, Paige Wasilewski, Claire Zickl, Brianna Bromley, Emily Caccamise, Elisabeth Cohen, Hannah Finkney, Regan Henrici, Sarah Adams, Juliana Branche, Arianna Brown, Camryn Buck, Sydney DellaPenna, Brianna Gutman, Madeline Taggart, Jadin Vasciannie and Kaitlin Ange, and Coaches – Nick Burk, William McMullen, Richard Boyce, William Buckenmeyer, Andrew Cowan, Daniel Geiger, Aaron Sherman and John Williams.
Photos: Top, wrestlers Joe Allegue and Jack Folger with school Board President Pat Burk and Coach Rick Steward; and girls track members Katherine Wiseley and Madison Murray with Burk and Coach Nick Burk.
Article submitted by Drew Muehlig:
Over the past year, Elba Central School District’s Board of Education has been moving forward with an initiative to bring international high school students from all over the world to their school. The approval, which comes from the United States Department of Homeland Security, was granted after a lengthy process, earlier this month.
These international students, known as F-1 students, will be paying tuition to attend Elba Central School for no more than 12 months. This also grants these students eligibility to participate in all activities as a traditional non-immigrant student.
“These international students typically want to perfect their English and experience the life of an American teenager,” said Laura Williams, Elba Central’s F-1 coordinator. “Attending a high school with cutting-edge academic programs, practicing with high school sport teams, and exploring after-school activities that make American schools what they are today: drama, model UN, cheerleading, band, choir, sports, etc., they are able to achieve this goal. The F-1 student is different than other international students who are strictly in the school district for the cultural interaction.”
“This has potential to be a tremendous opportunity for our families and District,” said Elba Superintendent Keith Palmer, who learned of the program in 2016 at a New York State Counsel of School Superintendents' workshop in Albany.
“Newcomb Central School, a smaller school in the Adirondacks, has been accepting international students for over ten years now,” Palmer explained. “They were initially looking to boost enrollment as a potential source of revenue, but their focus has shifted from a revenue opportunity to a cultural benefit. The impact International students have on the rest of the student body is significant and exposing students to different cultures has been a tremendous learning experience.”
Williams, who also teaches Global Social Studies at the high school, echoes the idea that this experience will be a valuable and exciting opportunity for Elba’s own students to learn the growing importance of globalism in the world beyond their high school education.
“The benefits are endless, but the important benefit is the cultural and international experience that our students will be exposed to as members of classes as well as host families," she said. “As our world is becoming smaller and the work force is becoming more and more globally connected, it is imperative that we introduce our students to the cultures, work ethics, and international experiences that they are bound to experience in college and the workforce.”
Elba Central School is the first school in Genesee County to be approved for this program, according to Williams. Elba’s small size, compared to other areas of the state and country, could actually aid in drawing the interests of international students.
“A surprising number of international students are looking for a safe educational environment, away from large urban areas, in which to perfect their English language and gain the educational benefits offered by a New York State education,” Williams said.
“The importance of creating a school profile that accurately describes our school district as one that provides an individualized education plan in a small rural setting will be important in order to match the specific needs of the international students into our school district.”
There was minimal cost to the school for processing the application which means this program will generate some revenue for the district, according to Palmer.
“International students must pay the subsidized cost per pupil which will be around $20,000," Palmer said. "Because class sizes are relatively low, there will be no need to hire extra staff. Host families will also receive a stipend for offsetting room and board costs.”
With everything set up and ready to go, Elba is looking to start this program as early as next year.
“We are working with a placement organization to finalize the requirements for admission so that we can start the 2017-2018 school year off with a very successful international program. We plan to start small and build as the years progress,” Williams said.
Press release:
The students at St. Joe’s Catholic School look forward to Career Day every year. This year the students had the opportunity to choose three professionals to visit with from more than 20 different professionals that came into their school.
Local businesses as well as many St. Joe’s parents took time out of their busy day to come in to discuss and help the students become more familiar with their career. From seeing what it’s like to be a part of Mercy Flight to learning the ins-and-outs of being a veterinarian, the students had a wide variety of careers to check out.
Here are the results of yesterday's vote in the Byron-Bergen Central School District:
The Mr. Batavia contest starts at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Batavia High School, but if you don't have tickets, better get their early, because the event is nearly sold out.
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