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!

How the Business & Education Partnership Program has helped enrich learning opportunities

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Cairo Durham
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Hudson CSD - Supported district Lunch and Learn programs, recruiting business guest speakers educating students about future career opportunities around the region

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Coxsackie Athens CSD - Supported district Lunch and Learn programs, recruiting business guest speakers educating students about future career opportunities around the region.

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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.

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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:

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

Capital District Planning Commission

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

Habitat for Humanity

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

Greene County Chamber of Commerce

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

 

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

Are you interested in working with local schools to better prepare your future workforce?

Contact Jim Church, Director of Strategic Initiatives
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