When it comes to the Environmental Conservation program at Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES, students learn as much from their instructors out-of-doors as in.
Class time is divided between the classroom/lab and the garages, lumber mill and worksite out back, with instructors Adam Cancio, Craig Newkirk, and Ryan England favoring a practical, hands-on style of teaching that students appreciate. All are members of Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES Teachers Association.
Internships and other work-based learning opportunities are a cornerstone of students’ Career and Technical Education at HFM BOCES.
During a recent classroom visit England walks students through a math lesson that focuses on payroll taxes, while Adam Cancio reviews the art of cleanly felling a tree, and Craig Newkirk takes a group of students through the paces of detaching the shovel from an excavator next to the program’s heavy equipment garages.
England and many of his colleagues came from the private sector, and they brought with them industry-specific know-how that is helping them create a roadmap for students who want to find jobs in well-paying, high-demand fields like forestry, logging, surveying, hydroponics, heavy equipment operation, and aquaculture.
Historically, attracting professionals to CTE teaching has not always been easy, because they make, on average, twice as much in the private sector as they do teaching.
“We try to be as competitive as possible with pay, but we have lost instructors because of the pay differential. They can make so much more in the private sector,” said Nancy Turnbull, president of the HFM BOCES TA.
CTE teacher shortages across the state have limited the number of students programs can accommodate, leading to frustration for both students and the employers who would like to hire them.
Fortunately, this year’s enacted state budget includes big wins for CTE programs like this one.
First, the BOCES salary cap will increase from $30,000 to $60,000, modernizing BOCES funding and addressing the issue of insufficient state reimbursement for CTE instructor salaries.
The enacted budget also includes changes to BOCES and Special Services Aid. Special Services Aid will rise from $3,900 to $4,100 per student and will no longer be limited to grades 10 through 12, ensuring that more students gain access to these important learning opportunities.
Students in Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES’s Environmental Conservation class learn from instructor Craig Newkirk how to detach a shovel from an excavator. Students are responsible for the care and maintenance of all heavy equipment used in the class.
Lauren Wohlgemuth, medical assisting instructor at Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES helps students reconstitute powder medications.
The CTE program at Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES prepares students from for a wide variety of in-demand occupations, including medical assisting, cybersecurity, graphic design, engineering, IT, emergency services, culinary arts, and auto repair — all while integrating the necessary math, ELA and science credits for high school graduation. Students are also paired with local employers for internships that often lead to jobs right out of high school. The facility enrolls 550 students from 15 component districts.
“This is the purpose of BOCES — to be able to give students more opportunities by sharing services in a cost-effective way,” said Michael DiMezza, principal at HFM BOCES.
This is Lauren Wohlgemuth’s first year teaching medical assisting at BOCES. Prior to this, she was a nurse. “I like teaching. For me, teaching was the real highlight of nursing, making people understand their care, and helping influence the next generation of nurses,” said Wohlgemuth. HFM BOCES’ medical assisting curriculum combines classroom teaching with clinical rotations at nearby medical centers. “It’s been fun to see how lighted up they are when they return from their internships,” Wohlgemuth said. “They can see that patient care is really a team effort.”
In the digital multimedia program, students are consistently trying out their skills with the public, whether it’s designing the school yearbook, taking portraits at the YMCA Easter Bunny Breakfast or designing logos for a local band. “I try to push them out of their comfort zone a little, offer them some intrinsic motivation,” said Karen Garrison, digital multimedia instructor. “Then it’s not just me telling them they’re good, they’re getting accolades from customers.”
Over in the airgapped computer lab, students in the cybersecurity and computer technology program are doing IT reconnaissance, scanning a computer network to become familiar with potential weaknesses. A wall-sized digital map of the world shows computer threats taking place on various continents in real-time. Authenticity is important to IT instructor Sean Mahon. Along with top-of-the-line computers, his students also have access to the latest curriculum, which is revised continually. Upon graduation, students are prepared to take the Comp TIA A+ certification exams, the industry standard for an IT career. “That’s the genuineness of it,” Mahon said. “I want my students to see, ‘What I’m doing is real.”
Typically, all four of these programs have waitlists, because like so many other BOCES across the state, there’s a strong student desire for these hands-on learning experiences. Educators are grateful for the funding changes because now they will be able to register more students. “The advocacy that’s been behind this has been huge,” Turnbull said. “We’re so happy to see it finally become reality.”