Adirondack Educators Gather to Build Readiness Plan for their Students

60 educators from 12 Adirondack schools gathered at the CFES Center to plan their 2017-18 CFES programs (Credit: CFES)

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

About CFES Brilliant Pathways

CFES Brilliant Pathways is a global leader in helping K-12 underserved students from rural and urban communities become college and career ready, giving students an opportunity to forge their own route to a bright future. For 29 years, CFES has worked closely with schools, colleges and businesses in urban and rural areas to help students become college and career ready through mentoring and by equipping them with the EssentialSkills that include perseverance, agility, goal setting, networking, teamwork and leadership (www.brilliantpathways.org)