Questar III BOCES is partnering with schools in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties to develop collaborative opportunities between the business and education communities.
Questar III BOCES works with school districts to develop collaborative opportunities between educators and businesses to help prepare tomorrow’s workforce. This program is designed to develop relevancy between classroom instruction and its application in the real world, creating authentic student learning that aligns with the skill sets industries seek. Education must be connected with businesses to keep instruction current and ensure students are prepared for their future.
Experiential Learning
- Provide short term (one day) shadowing experiences for students
- Host a student(s) intern in your business and engage them in workplace activities for 55 hours over the course of the school year
- Mentor a student…engage, motivate, inspire
- Share resources and online information that help students understand what it’s like to work in your industry
Classroom Collaboration/Curriculum Enhancement
- Bring real world business thinking to classroom curriculum
- Share ideas to develop activities based on real-world projects and problem-solving tasks that are relevant to your business
- Work with educators to help better-align classroom instruction with the workplace
Workplace Tours
- Host students and educators to learn and see first-hand about your business-whether hosting in-person or virtually
- Highlight the different facets of your operations-share how your work relates to various content areas
- Spark curiosity, inspire and motivate
- Stress the opportunities available in your professional world for ALL students
Educator Professional Development
- Embed a teacher, school counselor or administrator for a day to learn about how your business operates
- Help educators understand the education and career pathways, highlighting the skills and training required
- Share how your business develops collaboration, leadership and management skills with their employees
Collaborate with Teachers and/or Students
- Help teachers bring relevancy to classroom learning
- Bring real world business thinking to classroom curriculum
- Help mentor students on real world projects and problem solving tasks that are relevant to your business
- Dedicate 8 hours of collaboration time with teachers
Speaking Opportunities
- Be a guest speaker-educate students about your career pathway, how your work relates to their studies, share your passions!
- Share the pathways and insights that lead to your profession
- Help students understand how what they’re learning in the classroom is relevant to the workplace
- Discuss the education and training required to pursue this career
- Discuss opportunities related to your field
Questar III BOCES works with school districts to develop collaborative opportunities between educators and businesses to help prepare tomorrow’s workforce. This program is designed to develop relevancy between classroom instruction and its application in the real world, creating authentic student learning that aligns with the skill sets industries seek. Education must be connected with businesses to keep instruction current and ensure students are prepared for their future.
Experiential Learning
- Provide short term (one day) shadowing experiences for students
- Host a student(s) intern in your business and engage them in workplace activities for 55 hours over the course of the school year
- Educate students regarding future opportunities in your industry
- Mentor a student…engage, motivate, inspire
- Bring the real world to students
Collaborate with Teachers and/or Students
- Help teachers bring relevancy to classroom learning
- Bring real world business thinking to classroom curriculum
- Help mentor students on real world projects and problem solving tasks that are relevant to your business
- Dedicate 8 hours of collaboration time with teachers
Workplace Tours
- Educate students about your business
- Highlight the knowledge, skills and training required
- Spark curiosity, inspire and motivate
- Stress the opportunities available in your professional world for ALL students
- Offers students firsthand opportunities to see industry operations
- Students see how classroom instruction applies to real-world situations
Teacher Professional Development
- Host a teacher for a day or longer
- Educate the teachers about your business, highlighting the skills and training required
- Share how your business develops collaboration, leadership and management skills with their employees
Collaborate with Teachers and/or Students
- Help teachers bring relevancy to classroom learning
- Bring real world business thinking to classroom curriculum
- Help mentor students on real world projects and problem solving tasks that are relevant to your business
- Dedicate 8 hours of collaboration time with teachers
Speaking Opportunities
- Share the pathways and insights that lead to your profession
- Discuss the education and training required to pursue this career
- Discuss opportunities related to your field
- Share your passion for the job!
103
Engagement Opportunities
Questar III offered teachers, students and administrators 103 events to engage with business partners in the 2018-2019 school year
595
Students Reached
Across 13 school districts in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene Counties
155
Teachers Engaged
Opportunities to collaborate & develop curriculum and bring a variety of activities to students
80
Business/Industries
Through this program, students and educators connected with 80 local businesses, organizations and higher education institutions
*Data from 2018-2019 school year, prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
Examples of previous activities facilitated by the service
East Greenbush CSD - Questar III recruited professionals from a variety of businesses and the trades, including Siemens, National Grid, Albany Molecular and Blizzard Games to join the district’s Business & Education Advisory Committee to help provide insights and guidance to better-align classroom instruction with industry best practices and needs.
Averill Park CSD - Questar III worked with a medical evacuation transport company to visit the middle school campus to discuss and highlight careers in the healthcare industry.
Hoosick Falls CSD - In response to a faculty request seeking a student tour to highlight science innovation, Questar III worked with Vital Vio, developer of antibacterial lighting, to learn about the research that created this technology and led students in science-based activities relative to their work.
Rensselaer CSD - Albany Medical Center’s interactive Patient Safety & Clinical Competency Center offered students interested in healthcare careers a tour to learn about the cutting-edge technology used to diagnose and treat illnesses as well as participate in hands-on activities with this equipment.
Cairo Durham CSD - Initiated engagement with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, beginning with a district administrative learning tour that led to follow-up collaboration opportunities with faculty and students.
Hudson CSD - Supported district Lunch and Learn programs, recruiting business guest speakers educating students about future career opportunities around the region
Coxsackie Athens CSD - Supported district Lunch and Learn programs, recruiting business guest speakers educating students about future career opportunities around the region.
Greenville CSD - In response to a middle school request to host a scientist to speak to students, the Business & Education Partnership service recruited a researcher and facilitated teacher/researcher collaboration that led to development of three classroom hands-on activities introduced during the visit.
Brunswick CSD - This service supported an innovative elementary school year-long project, recruiting guest speakers to share insights about their professions/industries that helped create relevancy between concepts introduced in the classroom and real-world applications.
Businesses we’ve partnered with:
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WTEN-News 10 National Grid Regeneron Pharmaceuticals SEFCU Siemens Corporation BBL St. Peter’s Health Network Ducommun Aerostructures |
Operating Engineers/Local 106 NY Independent Operator Systems Rensselaer County Alaant IBM Albany County Sheriffs Dept Peckham Industries Mack Molding |
Harrison Burrowes Proctor’s Theater/Capital Rep GlaxoSmithKline Albany Medical Center Columbia Physical Therapy Tri City Valley Cats Blizzard Entertainment Mosaic Associates Architecture |
East Greenbush Animal Hospital New York State Police Plug Power Curtis Lumber Crisafulli Brothers Velan Studios Pro-Tech Energy Solutions Adirondack Studios |
Carpenters Union/Local 291 Callanan Industries Concord Pools Ginsburgs Foods |
Bennington, VT Chamber of Commerce
Upstate Alliance for a Creative Economy
NYS Museum
Saratoga Shakespeare Company
Girl’s Inc
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Greene County Arts Center
Northeast Association for the Blind at Albany
NY Mesonet
Rensselaer Co One Stop Employment Ctr
Rensselaer Co Chamber of Commerce
Columbia Co Chamber of Commerce
Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers
Greene County Economic Development Dept
Zone 5 Training Academy
Olana State Historic Site
MiSci Museum
New York State Business Council
Troy Rehabilitation Improvement Program (TRIP)
Arts Center for the Capital Region
Albany Institute for History & Art
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The Sage Colleges Siena College Schenectady Co Community College UAlbany RPI Hudson Valley Community College |
SUNY Cobleskill College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security & Cybersecurity Columbia Greene Community College |