2 | May 20, 2017 • The ‘Burgh Sun
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Beekmantown Central bus fleet now equipped with Wi-Fi Advancement part of district’s growing technology-based learning efforts By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
BEEKMANTOWN Ñ No longer will school bus rides be boring for Beekmantown Central students. The district has expanded its offering of free Wi-Fi on 12 school buses, which is half their transport vehicles. About 60 percent of the student body will benefit, said Superintendent Dan Mannix, when going to and from school, sporting events and field trips. District officials hope this will aid educational purposes. A Wi-Fi access point is added to each bus and provides students with 500 megabytes of data per day, or 3,000 a month, said Director of 21st Century Learning Gary Lambert. Students spend on average almost four hours on a bus each day, he said. The district currently pays $1,000 for each access point and around $1,600 a year for data, which is paid for through the districtÕ s Extended Learning Time grant. Officials are currently exploring increasing the data limit on the buses that have the longest routes. Ò ThereÕ s nothing to do on the bus during those long trips,Ó said Lambert. Ò We know the kids are definitely using it because the data is getting depleted down.Ó Officials are currently exploring increasing the data limit on the buses that have the longest routes, said
Superintendent Dan Mannix, who also shared the possibility of having all buses equipped with Wi-Fi access one day. Ò We want our students to be productive no matter where they are,Ó said Mannix. Ò This is a way to do just that.Ó This milestone is part of the districtÕ s ongoing efforts to expose students to a world filled with technology. The effort started back in 2015 when the district launched its One-to-One Digital Literacy initiative to match one student with one Dell Chromebook and grow educational technology in the classroom. That April, 670 students got Chromebooks. Now, all
the students from 1st to 11th grade have access to devices thanks to $1.5 million in state funds awarded last year. The district anticipates having close to 100 percent of the student body having access, said Lambert. Along with the Wi-Fi on buses, the district introduced the HotSpot program in 2015, which offers wireless devices to students who donÕ t have internet access at home. Currently, about 7 percent of the districtÕ s students donÕ t have readily available access. District officials are still seeking more ways to increase their technological offerings to students.
NCVA seeking funds to launch proposed expansion Veterans group aims to raise $240,000 for Phase 2 of expansion project By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
PLATTSBURGH Ñ The North Country Veterans Association (NCVA) is starting Phase 2 of its expansion
efforts. NCVA Ñ a Plattsburgh-based organization that provides services to veterans in the tri-county area Ñ is looking to expand its center, museum, library and food shelf offerings. Plans include adding a 1,330 square-foot addition to the 5,600 square-foot building on Town Line Road. The expansion will add a new curatorÕ s office, computer server room and food shelf storage area, said NCVA Secretary Ken Hynes. The administrative offices, media library and computer service room will be upgraded. New computer systems, museum display cases and office equipment will be purchased. This project is expected to cost around $350,000, said Hynes. So far, the association has secured $110,000 through donations and a state grant. The NCVA is currently seeking more grant funding, said Hynes. Fundraisers are being planned.
Officials are shooting for a late 2018 completion date. Ò Success breeds success,Ó he said. Ò We find ourselves now with the need to implement Phase 2 of our development plan.Ó HEIGHTENING EFFORTS The NCVA serves over 200 veterans, offering a number of support services, including group counseling. Ò We will do anything for a vet who needs help,Ó said Treasurer Frank McGrath. Hynes said the on-site library and service center is used on a day-to-day basis. So far this year, local vets in need have filled over 80 cardboard boxes of food from the on-site food shelf, said McGrath. Over 100 baskets are filled on average per year. The NCVAÕ s annual Christmas food basket program serves 80 to 90 families each year. Ò The federal, state and local fundraising efforts have progressed us to a pivotal point,Ó Hynes said. Ò We must provide additional and improved services to our area veterans.Ó
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The ‘Burgh Sun • May 20, 2017 | 9
CFES talk career readiness at workshop Students, schools, tech leaders and politicians tackle readiness connections to higher education By Kim Dedam
kim@suncommunitynews.com
ESSEX Ñ Over 50 stakeholders from schools, colleges, businesses, non-profits and elected seats pushed to define Ò college and career readyÓ at the recent Intersections Summit, a conference at College for Every Student facilities here. CFES President and CEO Rick Dalton said requirements that purport Ò competencyÓ provide only murky, confusing and often contradictory definitions. Ò Frankly, we were not helping our kids enough,Ó he said of issues his organization uncovered as curricula tried to connect education and training with real world career fields. Ò They had college degrees but no jobs.Ó Among key obstacles, Dalton said, is high-school de-facto Ò tracking,Ó which set kids down a pre-determined path. Ò Competency,Ó he said, Ò is not to be confused with competence. A first look toward answers came as students shared how they found a path to college from diverse ends of the spectrum. From rural Crown Point High School, senior MacKenzie Bertsche said what proved a significant resource to her were engaged teachers and participation in CFES workshops with mentors. Bertsche applied to nine colleges and was accepted at all of them. Learning what college requires, both socially and academically, she said, helped her visualize a plan. Ò And I feel like IÕ m ready.Ó
For Ryan McLennon, a junior at SUNY Plattsburgh, the journey to college started with immigrating from Jamaica. Ò Six years ago, if you asked me if I was going to be in this position (at college, nearing a four-year degree), I would laugh at you,Ó he said. It wasnÕ t until age 16, he said, that his mom achieved paperwork to bring him into the U.S. And he attended high school in a income challenged part of New York City. It was then, McLennon said, he encountered CFES during a conference held at Skidmore College. Ò And it was life changing,Ó he said. Ò Laying on a dorm bed, I thought, this could be me ... I could make something of myself.Ó From that point on, McLennon said, he made sure to stay on task and achieve all requirements needed to apply for college with a goal toward law in public service. McLennon has since served as an International Affairs intern in Washington, D.C. and plans to attend law school after graduation. Each student said theyÕ ve faced challenges, from both rural and urban sides, in realizing a goal for higher education. Both are first in their families to attend college. Asked what he would do to create opportunity for first time college students if he were President of the United States, McLennon said he would build opportunity for access, especially through urban after-school programs. Ò Students without resources get lost in the streets. ThatÕ s just the nitty gritty. They need people to push them, to believe in them.Ó Asked what she would tell the next
generation coming forward about higher education, Bertsche said visits to college campuses helped her. Ò Think about college as soon as possible,Ó she said. Ò Go where you want to go.Ó Following the studentsÕ presentations, was keynote speaker Dean Garfield, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industrial Council, which helps set the tech national policy agenda. Ò We are truly facing an existential crisis in this country,Ó Garfield said. But that crisis isnÕ t seated in government, he said. It is a reflection of what led to this election. Ò We are viewing diversity as divergent, because we see difference as difficulty,Ó the tech industry chief said. Rural white or urban black, communities face a common challenge, he said. Ò What we need right now is clarity around career pathways (to jobs and industry growth) and a much deeper connection between communities, employers and schools. The other reality is that every student should have the opportunity to go to college.Ó Asked after the session what he thinks
of New YorkÕ s Excelsior Scholarship, which moves to provide college tuition for middle and low-income students at New YorkÕ s public colleges, Garfield called it Ò a significant game changer. Ò It gives everyone the opportunity to get on a path toward a career,Ó Garfield said. Ò What we need right now in education is experimentation with rigor and discipline.Ó Asked separately for his thoughts about Excelsior, Dalton gave a very similar response. Ò When kids begin to think Ô I can afford to go to college,Õ that eliminates a huge burden. They can then see themselves on a college campus.Ó Dalton said research shows Ò the bottom economic quartile (of high school students) are almost 10-times less likely to get a college degree than students in the top quartile.Ó During his presentation, former Gov. George Pataki said the data points to a serious problem. Ò One of the things that segregates Americans beyond economics,Ó Pataki said, Ò is education.Ó