About Us

Questar III BOCES delivers more than 275 educational and administrative services to 22 school districts in Rensselaer, Columbia, and Greene counties. Questar III also provides statewide services to more than 670 school districts and BOCES in New York.

What is a BOCES?

There are 37 BOCES, or Board of Cooperative Educational Services, in New York State. The State Legislature created BOCES in 1948 to provide shared educational programs and services. Together they serve all but nine of the state’s 721 school districts. Learn about BOCES statewide.

Founded separately in the 1950s and 1960s, the BOCES merged to become Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene BOCES in 1977. It later adopted the name Questar III in 1994, emphasizing its cooperative leadership in excellence and innovation.

How Does It Work?

BOCES services are created when 2 or more districts have similar needs that can be met by sharing staff members, classroom/office space, equipment, time or expertise.

Like public school systems, BOCES are governed by a policy-making board of education. The 11 members of the Questar III board serve 3-year terms and are elected by component boards from Rensselaer, Columbia, and Greene counties through a special vote held each April. Learn more about our Board of Education.

What Services Do You Provide?

Questar III educates approximately 1,600 students in various programs including career and technical education (CTE), New Visions, pre-K and special education. It also provides affordable management and administrative services ranging from grant writing to financial planning.

Questar III Core Values

• Commitment to Excellence – Honing Our Craftsmanship To Deliver High-Quality Work.
• Commitment to Leadership & Service – Moving The Organization, Departments, And School Districts Forward By Exceeding Client Expectations.
• Commitment to:
  • Innovation – Creating Programs And Services To Address Client Needs.
  • innovation – Continuously Improving Our Programs And Operations.

The Leading Edge

Change is inevitable, and it requires educational service agencies like Questar III to be on the cutting edge of innovation. As public education evolves, so too must our organization.

For the past two decades, Questar III has developed strategic plans to guide our work. We have made significant progress, but the work ahead requires us to be more strategic, creative, and collaborative to unleash the full power of the BOCES.
Moving forward, we will continue our quest for innovation and growth through "The Leading Edge," our framework for success. It answers five fundamental questions about our organization that will guide our planning and communication.

1. Why do we exist?
2. How do we behave?
3. What do we do?
4. How do we succeed?
5. What are the most important things to do right now?

The most fundamental of these questions – why we exist – focuses on our moral imperative, or what compels us, as individuals and a cooperative, to act.

Questar III is “changing lives, realizing dreams, and doing together what can’t be done alone.” This is the core of Questar III. Ultimately, we exist because our districts and students need us.

Vision

Creating a student-centered culture (putting students first) of excellence, leadership, service, and innovation.

Mission

Changing lives, realizing dreams, and doing together what can’t be done alone.

Questar III Staff Characteristics – Reflect Core Values Plus

• Collaboration – Seeking The Input And Talent Of Others (Including Our Staff, School Districts, And Community Partners) To Leverage Resources, Build On Strengths And Best Practices, And Spur Innovation And Efficiencies.
• Continuous Learning & Self-Improvement – Embracing Lifelong Learning And Curiosity.
• High Expectations & Engagement – Ensuring Rigor, Relevance, And Productivity.
• Work Ethic – Demonstrating Competency And Energy.
• Integrity and respect for others – valuing equity, opportunity and access and doing what's right.
• Positive And Fun Attitude – Enjoying Your Work And Choosing Positivity.
• Communicate – Sharing Necessary Information In A Clear And Timely Fashion.

Questar III Board Goals

• Build The Capacity Of Our Employees Through Ongoing Targeted Professional Learning And Other Resources To Enable Questar III BOCES To Lead Our Region With Innovative, High-Quality, And Cost-Effective Programs And Services That Are Accountable To The Region.
• Develop A Diverse Pipeline Of Future Leaders To Serve The Organization, The Region, And Beyond.
• Develop Innovative Programs And Services To Assist School Districts In Creatively Addressing Fiscal And Programmatic Challenges And Evolving Teaching And Learning So All Students Are Prepared For Their Future.
• Develop A State-Of-The-Art HR Approach That Recruits, Trains, And Retains The Best Staff To Serve Our Students And School Districts.

Questar III Organizational Goals

• Develop The Capacity Of Employees To Serve Each Other, Students, And School Districts.
• Create a healthy organizational culture that embraces equity, opportunity and access for students and staff.
• Develop, Improve, And Reevaluate Programs And Services.
• Recruit, Hire, Train, And Retain The Best Staff To Serve Our Students And School Districts.

Questar III Departmental Goals

• Perform Annual Program Reviews And Analysis.
• Develop Program Goals And Scorecards Or Dashboards.
• Implement And Monitor The Activities Needed To Accomplish Such Goals.