Questar III is part of a six-member consortium led by the Capital Region BOCES that recently applied for a $6.25 million grant to radically change the structure and outcomes of three area high schools.
The Tech Valley SLC21 Consortium, which also includes the Greater Capital Region Teacher Center, City School District of Albany, South Colonie Central School District and Mohonasen School District, aims to create “Smaller Learning Communities” in the Albany, South Colonie and Mohonasen high schools.
Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs), sometimes referred to as “schools within a school,” are created by dividing large schools into smaller, independent groups of students and teachers. Each SLC will incorporate project-based learning, teaching 21st century skills, and higher education and business partnerships to connect students to post-secondary and career opportunities in the Tech Valley region.
The grant application outlines a five-year plan, with goals including that by 2015 all three SLCs will show increased college readiness of students (to 80 percent), offer post-secondary credit or industry certification programs, and show increased teacher capacity and leadership skills.
“The aim is to implement a model at these diverse high schools to not only increase their outcomes, but create a model for change and reform across the region,” said Capital Region BOCES Assistant District Superintendent Kathryn Gerbino. She said the high schools were chosen because of their size and desire to be regional leaders.
Gerbino noted that even if the consortium doesn’t receive the grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education, it will still work to implement many of the proposed changes beginning in 2011.
