OCM BOCES program receives PEB Partnership of the Year award; Four students receive Student of the Year nominations

The Media Marketing Communications program at Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (OCM BOCES) received the Partnership of the Year Award from Partnership for Education and Business, Inc. (PEB) at the organization's Annual Awards ceremony held June 10 at Le Moyne College. Additionally, four OCM BOCES students, Kimberly Cusson (Culinary Arts), Alizabeth Knout (Health Occupations), Hunter Moore (Graphic Communications) and Kristin Rogers (Laboratory Technology) were recognized at the event for receiving prestigious Student of the Year nominations.

L-R: Debbie Stack, Director of Education and Community Engagement, WCNY Public Broadcasting; Colleen Viggiano, Assistant Superintendent, OCM BOCES; Phil Grome, Director of CTE, OCM BOCES; Michael Kaminski, OCC Instructor/Department Co-Chair Electronic Media Communications

The PEB Partnership of the Year award is given to successful partnerships that have clear and well-understood goals, are committed to continuous improvement, are characterized by curriculum which integrates academic and workplace skills, and demonstrates the partnership’s effectiveness through documentation of outcomes. The Media Marketing Communications Program is a partnership between OCM BOCES, WCNY, and Onondaga Community College. There are currently 10 students in the program, which began at the start of the school year in September 2014.

The two-year program offers a rigorous high school and college level of study that pairs hands-on learning in a real world setting at WCNY, Central New York’s public media organization. WCNY’s Broadcast and Education Center serves as a 21st century classroom for students under the instructional guidance of OCM BOCES, Onondaga Community College and WCNY professionals. In this course, students work alongside WCNY staff on projects across TV, social media, radio, web and print platforms, learning firsthand the fundamentals of the work of broadcast media, marketing and communications.

L-R: Kristin Rogers, Alizabeth Knout, Hunter Moore (not pictured: Kimberly Cusson)

Another integral component of the program is the dual credit courses offered through Onondaga Community College, where students begin building their transcript by taking college courses on-site with college instructors. Students are also eligible to earn a Career & Technical Education Endorsement on their diploma by successfully passing an industry-based technical assessment.

“The awards are intended to increase the quality and effectiveness of school/business partnership activity in the CNY region in order to enhance the career preparation of our students," says PEB Executive Director Joe Vargo. "At the same time, the awards provide an opportunity to recognize the level of commitment that many schools and businesses share for the benefit of youth in our community."

PEB’s Partnership of the Year Award has been a traditional part of PEB’s awards for more than 20 years.  PEB was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1993, one of its original programs was the “Adopt-a-School” program—a partnership between local businesses and organizations and schools within the Syracuse City School District.  For more information about PEB, visit their website, macny.org/partnersforeducationbusiness.aspx. For more information about OCM BOCES, visit ocmboces.org.