Education

The New York State Board of Regents is considering a proposal to create two new education tracks that would better prepare high school students for jobs in the manufacturing and technical sectors. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says adding these diplomas would help increase graduation rates in New York state as well as bolster the economy.

A new center dedicated to bridging the divide between man and machine was launched Tuesday at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. The new Center for Cognition, Communication, and Culture (CCC) will focus on improving ways humans can interact with and learn from computers.

Student debt levels rose by five percent last year according to a study by the Institute for College Access and Success.

Educators across the country agree schools need more students to excel in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Yet hooking students on these subjects remains a challenge, especially for generally low performing schools with few resources.

With dropping enrollments and less money coming from the state, many school districts across New York are looking into joining forces. That is the case in the Mohawk Valley near Utica, where a school merger is on the ballot this week.

The research on this is pretty clear: between the ages one and five, the human brain develops faster than at any other time. In Chemung County, a project called the School Readiness Project sends nurses to the hospital whenever a baby is born.

WRVO News reporter Ryan Delaney covered the Dalai Lama's two-day visit to Syracuse. He shares some observations on the visit.

I was already nervous enough. Just on the other side of the door I was about to walk into probably the biggest press conference I had ever attended. Certainly the most heavily guarded.

In the latest Innovation Trail report for New York NOW, we're taking a look at STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education in the Capital Region. High-tech multinational companies have moved into the area and they're hiring. Meanwhile some local school districts are struggling with graduation rates around 50 percent.

New York State has similar rates of student disengagement as the rest of the nation.

With dropout rates at almost 30 per cent in New York, the Alliance for Excellent Education warns that this crisis is damaging to the economy as well as the future of individuals.

The Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) received good news last year: its four-year graduation rate rose by seven percent. Still, nearly half the district’s high school students failed to earn a diploma. The struggling urban school system continues to look for dramatic fixes. This year, the district is starting in kindergarten.