Tagged: education

New York NOW traveled to one of the most remote parts of the Adirondack Park to tell the story of a rural school district that has been able to stave off closing its doors - by opening them to international students. 

Smaller districts like this one in Newcomb, N.Y. are now pushing for a new law that will allow foreign students to stay longer than the one year currently allowed. 

Watch the full story:

A rural school district in a remote corner of the Adirondack Park is a hotbed of internationalism.

This week, New York NOW travels to Newcomb, N.Y. to tell the story of how one school district has been able to stave off closing its doors - by opening them to international students.

Students from as far away as Spain and Brazil make up about half of the total number in most high school classes. Since the international students pay tuition, the tiny Newcomb Central School District is thriving.

Now a group of New York legislators is pushing for a new federal law that would allow foreign students to stay longer than the one year currently allowed.

See the entire story this weekend on your local PBS station.

It's 4 p.m. on a Thursday. And instead of sitting in front of office computer screens, a group of employees from M5 Networks is in the middle of band practice.

The ragtag four-piece - crammed into rented jam space in Rochester's High Falls district - is banging out Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" as an instructor from the Hochstein School of Music looks on.

The banter is friendly, the thud of the kick drum is heavy, and the song is surprisingly well played.

There's only one rule for the M5 workers: you can't play an instrument you already know how to play.

This story is part of WSKG's 9 Seconds series about high school dropouts. It's part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Graduate Initiative. You can read the rest of the stories in this series at WSKGNews.org.

Tony DiLucci grew up in a working class family. When he was in high school, his counselors sized him and his family up, and guided him toward a life of factory jobs.

"I had a high school counselor who said to me, 'College, why do you want to go to college? Your dad works in a factory, your mom is a homemaker, graduate from high school and get a job at one of the local factories.' "

Why DiLucci wanted to go to college was because of his dad: his father had always urged him to do so.  So he did, and now he's the director of the technical education center at the BOCES near Ithaca.

But DiLucci says the pressures he faced as a young person are different than what today's students face.  Had he opted for a manufacturing job right out of school, it would have been an option for him.  

Increasingly though, that's not the case for today's kids - and never mind what happens if you don't graduate.

Ten years ago, No Child Left Behind was signed into law, promising to revolutionize the American education system.

Now, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is among those calling for its overhaul.

Back in August the legislature tabled measures that would have given the SUNY system more autonomy. But SUNY officials say they'll be back - they just don't know when, or in what form. 

SUNY's Chancellor, Nancy Zimpher, lobbied hard for legislation, which included the ability to generate additional revenue to fill growing gaps in SUNY's budget. The Empowerment Act would have given SUNY more freedom to enter into public-private partnerships, set and raise tuition rates, and purchase goods and services.