A new kind of high school coming to Central New York - Innovation Tech to open in September 2014

The world has changed. Work has changed. Technology has changed. Communication has changed. The pace of the world has changed. But for the large part, schools in Central New York have stayed the same. Until now that is. In September of 2014, Central New York will open the doors to Innovation Tech, the area’s first-ever New Tech High School. 

While there are more than 130 New Tech schools across the country, Innovation Tech will be the first in Central New York and will be located at the Lee G. Peters Career Training Center in Liverpool.

Innovation Tech is a school that understands the changes that are rapidly taking place in the world and recognizes and supports the need to be prepared with 21^st Century Skills for life and work in our changing world. 

Innovation Tech provides an empowering culture, with learning that is relevant, student-driven and truly reflects 21^st Century Learning and the global environment in which we live. 

“Without a doubt, New Tech Schools are redefining secondary education,” said Jody Manning, district superintendent for OCM BOCES. “Students become self-directed learners who no longer depend on teachers and textbooks in a search of a single, right answer. They use technology on a regular basis, not just for special projects.”

At Innovation Tech, the approach to learning begins with teaching that is engaging, utilizing a project based learning approach. 

Karen Clark has been the OCM BOCES Director of Alternative Education for seven years and is excited about her role in bringing Innovation Tech to Central New York. She said, “This model truly engages students through a technology-based approach to solving real world problems by employing business partnerships for authentic learning and meaningful collaboration.”

At Innovation Tech, students work in teams on authentic projects to develop critical thinking and communication skills. Teamwork builds social skills and encourages the strong work ethic that is absolutely critical in today's business environment. Teams embrace the talents and perspectives that each team member brings to the project.

All students at Innovation Tech earn college credit, participate in internships, and give back to the community through service learning. The program is available for students in grades 9-12. 

Students are invited to apply through their home school district administrator of school counselor. School districts identify their pool of candidates for Innovation Tech. If needed, a lottery system is employed when the number of candidates exceeds the availability of seats at Innovation Tech. Once applications are reviewed, all potential candidates and their families will have an interview with staff from Innovation Tech. Enrollment is limited. If a student is selected to enroll at Innovation Tech, he/she will participate in orientation activities prior to the first day of school.

BOCES is holding an information night for parents and students interested in Innovation Tech at the school (4500 Crown Road) in Liverpool from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 9. Interested students should also talk to their school guidance counselors for more information. 

For additional information about Innovation Tech, visit us online at innovationtech.us. 

Click here to watch the News Channel 9 video news story about Innovation Tech.

Click here to read the Syracuse.com 3/27/14 article on Innovation Tech.

Click here to read the letter to the editor about Innovation Tech from District Superintendent Jody Manning. 

OCM BOCES Annual Meeting - April 2

OCM BOCES will hold their 2014 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Irvin E. Henry Campus (6820 Thompson Road) in Syracuse. The Board of Cooperative Educational Services will present its tentative administrative, capital and program budgets for 2014-2015 to the trustees and members of the boards of education of component school districts in attendance for their review.

The following are summaries of the tentative administrative, capital and program budgets. The amounts stated are based on current estimates and may be subject to change. Copies of the complete tentative administrative, capital and program budgets are available for inspection by the public between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the reception areas at:

the LGP Career Training Center (4500 Crown Road) in Liverpool, and the McEvoy Education Center (1710 NYS Route 13) in Cortland and

at the Office of the Clerk at the Irvin E. Henry Campus Administration Building (6820 Thompson Road) in Syracuse.

OCM BOCES Adult Literacy Celebration - May 21, 2014

On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 7:00 pm, OCM BOCES will hold its 31st Annual Adult Literacy Celebration and program graduation for Syracuse and Cortland graduates. This year’s celebration will take place at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.  Hundreds of graduates from the OCM BOCES GED, External Diploma and other literacy programs will be invited to attend and be recognized for their accomplishments.

Several student testimonials, illustrating personal and educational struggles prior to coming to OCM BOCES, will be given. OCM BOCES will also recognize their 2014 Partner in Literacy.

The public and media are asked to mark their calendars and plan to attend this celebration. For more information on the 31st Annual Adult Literacy Celebration, contact the OCM BOCES Adult and Continuing Education Program at 315-453-4466.

OCM BOCES students compete and place in Regional SkillsUSA Competition

Congratulations to the 12 OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) students who recently competed and placed in the Regional SkillsUSA competition. Held at the State University of New York at Morrisville in mid-February, this annual competition gave OCM BOCES the opportunity to compete against 18 other schools in timed technical, trade and leadership contests. The OCM BOCES students who placed in the competition are:

1. Joshua Ptaszek, OCM BOCES Automotive Technology junior from the Liverpool Central School District – 1^st place in Basic Vehicle Maintenance
2. Aaron Negus, OCM BOCES Computer Technology senior from the Westhill Central School District – 1^st place in the Computer Maintenance Technology category
3. Bryan DeGone, OCM BOCES Automotive Technology senior from the Baldwinsville Central School District – 1^st place in Automotive Service Technology category
4. Hunter Moore, OCM BOCES Graphic Communications Technology junior from the Cortland Enlarged City School District – 1^st place in Photography category
5. Vi Nguyen, OCM BOCES Cosmetology senior from the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District – 2^nd place in the Nail Care category
6. Crista Baird, OCM BOCES Culinary Arts senior from the North Syracuse Central School District – 2^nd place in Food Prep Assistant category
7. Breanna Hare, OCM BOCES Culinary Arts junior from the DeRuyter Central School District – 3^rd place in Job Demonstration category
8. Tyler Purvis, OCM BOCES Automotive Technology junior from the Homer Central School District – 3^rd place in the Automotive Maintenance Technology
9. Yesenia Rodriguez-Abelar, OCM BOCES Cosmetology senior from the Cazenovia Central School District – 3^rd place in the Cosmetology Junior category
10. Jessica McCarthy, OCM BOCES Pastry Arts senior from the West Genesee Central School District – 3^rd place in the Commercial Baking category
11. Gabrielle Coon, OCM BOCES Pastry Arts junior from the Marcellus Central School District – 3^rd place in the Customer Service category
12. Connor Oakes, OCM BOCES Career Academy/Laboratory Technology junior from the Baldwinsville Central School District – 3^rd place in Medical Math category

About Skills USA: Skills USA is a national organization serving teachers and high school/college students preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. The organization provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development and builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills.

For more information about OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education Programs, contact Robert Leslie at 431-8407.

Bryan DeGone - Baldwinsville

Connor Oakes - Baldwinsville

Yesenia Rodriguez - Cazenovia

Josh Ptaszek - Liverpool

Gabby Coon - Marcellus

Crista Baird - North Syracuse

Jessica McCarthy - West Genesee

Aaron Negus - Westhill

Vi Nguyen - Fayetteville-Manlius & Madeline Perras - Liverpool

"Our Kids, Our Schools, Our Future" Community Forum Rescheduled for March 12

The Central New York School Boards Association (CNYSBA) community forum originally scheduled for February has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2014 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the West Genesee High School Auditorium (5201 West Genesee Street) in Camillus.

The forum, "Our Kids, Our Schools...Our FUTURE!" is free and open to parents, students, community members, educators, school board members and business leaders from all area school districts. The event is sponsored by Central New York School Boards Association, OCM BOCES, T.S.T. BOCES, Oswego County BOCES, and Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES.

WHEN: March 12, 2014

TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: West Genesee High School Auditorium, 5201 West Genesee Street, Camillus, NY 13031

The program is designed to empower the community in becoming advocates for equal educational opportunities for our children. Learn the important issues and know how to make a difference on behalf of our public schools.

Dr. Rick Timbs, Executive Director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium, will address attendees, providing easy-to-understand information about how school districts have been negatively impacted for years by Albany's lack of fairness. Additionally, attendees will receive tools, information and insights that will arm and inspire them to become effective advocates for Our kids, Our Schools and OUR FUTURE.

For additional information about this event, download the flier here. For information about CNYSBA, visit their website at www.cnysba.org.

2014 New York State Academic Decathlon Section III Competition Results

About 80 students from six Central New York school districts recently took part in the 2014 New York State Academic Decathlon Section III Competition sponsored by OCM BOCES.

The team from Cazenovia High School took first place in the daylong competition. The Westhill High School team came in second place and West Genesee High School took third place. 

Those three teams qualified for, and will advance to, the state competition, which is being held February 28 through March 1 at SUNY Brockport. The state winner will go on to represent New York State at the national USAD competition, which is scheduled for April 24-26 in Honolulu, Hawii. 

The following awards were also presented:

Super Quiz (Team) - 

First place: Cazenovia

Second place: West Genesee

Third place: North Syracuse

Overall - 

First place: Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Jennifer Root (Westhill) and Robert Louis (Cazenovia).

Second place: Craig Blume (North Syracuse), Danielle Axelson (Cazenovia) and Stephen Burgay (Westhill).

Third place: Piper McKinnon (Cazenovia), Nathan Gillette (West Genesse) and Emma Dudley (Cazenovia).

Art - 

First place: Piper McKinnon, Danielle Axelson and Robert Louis (all from Cazenovia).

Second place: Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Jennifer Root (Westhill) and Emma Dudley (Cazenovia).

Third place: Luke Faulkner (West Genesee), Hayley Bermel (North Syracuse), Stephen Burgay (Westhill) and Nicholas Serrao (West Genesee).

Economics - 

First place: Craig Blume (North Syracuse), Jennifer Root (Westhill) and Robert Louis (Cazenovia).

Second place: Luke Faulkner (West Genesee), Dana Demitri (North Syracuse), Meghan Geary (North Syracuse) and James Hickey (West Genesee).

Third place: Caitlin Hernandez (North Syracuse), Joseph Mevec (Cazenovia), Callie Campbell (West Genesee), Julie Kunnumpurath (Tully), Justin Wiszniewski (Liverpool) and Matthew Collins (Liverpool).

Language Literature - 

First place: Craig Blume (North Syracuse), Nathan Gillette (West Genesee) and Emma Dudley (Cazenovia).

Second place: Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Aden Orzell (Westhill), Matthew Wood (Tully), Jordan Roach (Westhill), James Hickey (West Genesee), Anastasija Useva (Westhill) and Elizabeth Meluni (Westhill).

Third place: Brock Houghton (Cazenovia), Kurt Gauss (Tully), John Lisi (West Genesee) and Stephen Burgay (Westhill).

Math -

First place: Caitlin Hernandez (North Syracuse), Aiden Kelly (Westhill), Marshal Clemens (Tully), Evan Janes-Rouse (West Genesee), Jennifer Root (Westhill), Madeline Pierce (Westhill) and Stephen Burgay (Westhill).

Second place: Vadim Shakhov (West Genesee), Danielle Axelson (Cazenovia), Matthew Wood (Tully), Elsa Gauss (Tully) and Kazmira Pitzrick (Liverpool).

Third place: Piper McKinnon (Cazenovia), Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Aden Orzell (Westhill), Jacob Mekker (North Syracuse), Riley Lloyd (Cazenovia), John Lisi (West Genesee), Robert Louis (Cazenovia) and Katie Warner (Tully).


Music -

First place: Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Danielle Axelson (Cazenovia) and Stephen Burgay (Westhill).

Second place: Piper McKinnon (Cazenovia), Hayley Bermel (North Syracuse), Nathan Gillette (West Genesee) and Robert Louis (Cazenovia).

Third place: Craig Blume (North Syracuse), Peter Barletta (Tully), Kurt Gauss (Tully), Matthew Wood (Tully), Meghan Geary (North Syracuse) and Kazmira Pitzrick (Liverpool).

Science -

First place: Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Jennifer Root (Westhill) and Robert Louis (Cazenovia).

Second place: Marshal Clemens (Tully), Luke Faulkner (West Genesee), Craig Blume (North Syracuse), John Lisi (West Genesee) and Emma Dudley (Cazenovia).

Third place: Evan Janes-Rouse (West Genesee), Riley Lloyd (Cazenovia), Kazmira Pitzrick (Liverpool), Elena Iaconis (North Syracuse) and Paul Dehm (North Syracuse).

Social Science -

First place: Craig Blume (North Syracuse), Remi Boissonnas (Cazenovia), Nathan Gillette (Westhille) and Robert Louis (Cazenovia).

Second place: Aden Orzell (Westhill), Caitlin Hernandez (North Syracuse), Jennifer Root (Westhill) and Anastasija Useva (Westhill).

Third place: Piper McKinnon (Cazenovia), John Lisi (West Genesee) and Nicholas Serrao (West Genesee).

Voters approve OCM BOCES Facilities Referendum

Local voters have agreed to OCM BOCES’ proposed facilities referendum with a 93% percent approval. 1,401 votes were cast, with the final tally being 1,293 yes votes and 105 no votes on the referendum, which will not increase costs for any of its 23 local component school districts.

OCM BOCES District Superintendent Jody Manning said, “I want to thank everyone that came out today to vote on this referendum. The purchase of the former Nationwide building will allow some of our programs to be moved from leased facilities into the new building, resulting in improved facilities and adequate instructional space for our students. Additionally, and very importantly, this purchase will result in long-term savings for our 23 component districts.”

OCM BOCES provides its component districts with instructional support for teachers and administrators; management services for all districts; workforce preparation for adults; and career and technical education, alternative education and special education for K-12 students. As such, residents in each of the component school districts have the opportunity to vote on OCM BOCES capital projects, including this referendum.

OCM BOCES currently owns two facilities and leases eight additional to accommodate students and support its 23 component districts. Part of OCM BOCES’ current rental budget will be reallocated allowing those funds to be used to purchase the new building.

Board of Education President Ann Wright expressed her gratitude, saying, “On behalf of the OCM BOCES Board of Education, I wish to thank all of you for your support. We are very excited to move forward with this project.”