Last week 60 educators from 12 Adirondack schools gathered at the CFES Center to plan their 2017-18 CFES programs that will build college and career readiness for some 3,000 students.

This gathering for Adirondack educators at the CFES Center was one of 12 planning and training workshops that CFES hosted in Essex and around the United States for over 500 educators in September. These annual workshops provide educators with support to reflect on past activities and develop innovative ways to guide their students through the CFES core practices: Pathways to College and Career, Essential Skills, and Mentoring.

Rachael Charron, an English teacher at Crown Point Central School, found the workshop useful as an opportunity to connect with other educators and exchange ideas.

“We love attending this event and it is especially refreshing to hear how CFES programs work in other schools and to gather their ideas to strengthen our own.”

Each Adirondack school personalizes CFES programs to fit their culture to best prepare their scholars for college and career. For example, during the 2016-17 school year at Keeseville Elementary, the 6th grade class built leadership skills when they organized and ran a basketball tournament to raise money for a family whose home was devastated by fire; scholars at Saranac Central School developed and implemented a peer mentoring program that matched middle schoolers with high school students; and across all 12 schools, 2,700 Adirondack students visited at least one college campus.

Tara Smith, CFES Vice President for Programs, was inspired by the commitment of these Adirondack educators.

“Our world changes so quickly that we don’t know what specific careers will be available to our students in 10 years,” she said. “But these students have support from their teachers and community to help them navigate those changes and put them the pathway to success.”

The 12 Adirondack schools participating in CFES are:

• Ausable Valley Central School – Ausable Forks Elementary
• Ausable Valley Central School – Keeseville Elementary
• Beekmantown Central School District
• Crown Point Central School
• Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School
• Keene Central School
• Lake Placid Central School
• Peru Central School
• Plattsburgh High School
• Saranac Central School District
• Ticonderoga Central School District
• Westport Central School District
• Willsboro Central School