SOE Partners with Questar III to Prepare the Next Generation of Educators

High school students are getting a college experience and a taste of the education curriculum through a partnership between BOCES and the SOE. (provided photo)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2020) — This semester, for the first time in decades, the School of Education welcomes more than a dozen high school students to campus to prepare the next generation of educators in the Capital Region. The SOE has partnered with Questar III BOCES on the New Visions initiative called Pathway Into Education which allows students who are interested in becoming teachers the opportunity to participate in college learning on campus.

Housed in the Catskill building, the students and their teacher meet in a designated classroom set up for social distancing and for virtual participants. To show their excitement for the profession and to help them imagine themselves in the educator role, students have set up their individual tables as teacher desks. Additionally, they have embraced UAlbany’s “purple spirit Friday” by wearing their purple School of Education T-shirts on Fridays.

"We know there is a shortage of candidates going into education careers in the Capital Region and our Pathways in Education program can help close that gap,” said Gladys I. Cruz, district superintendent, Questar III BOCES in Castleton. “We are proud to partner with the University at Albany, where many local teachers start their journey to a fulfilling career in education. The work we do as a BOCES thrives on collaboration, and we are so grateful to expand our longstanding relationship with the University and work together to help train the next generation of educators.”

“The New Visions program allows us to return to our Milne Lab School roots of educating K-12 students by hosting high school seniors in the beautifully renovated Catskill Building with a particular focus on supporting future teachers,” said Jason Lane, dean of the School of Education. “We’re very excited to be working with Questar III on this powerful new initiative to strengthen and diversify the pipeline of teachers.”

What do the future teachers think about the program? Here are some of their thoughts on the collaborative program:

Bella Truncale: “I like that this program grants us as seniors the opportunity to get our foot in the door with not only the college experience but teaching as well. Having the chance to take classes at UAlbany has shown me college campuses aren’t as scary as I thought and being surrounded by peers who hold the same interests as me is motivating. Having such an amazing teacher like Mrs. Tolan has been amazing so far and I'm excited to spend the rest of the year in her class.”

Sabrina Craven: "We get the chance to shadow a teacher and learn what teaching is all about. It gives us the chance to decide whether or not teaching is the career we would like to pursue before going to college."

Kamarin Meiller: “The location of this program, at UAlbany, is great because it separates you from your high school classes and it helps many students to be able to focus on the career they think they might want to pursue. The UAlbany campus is very beautiful and makes me feel like I’m actually a college student.

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