Public schools nationwide, including New York state, are facing a teacher shortage, with vacancies most pronounced in areas like special education, STEM, and Career & Technical Education.
A new partnership between Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES and SUNY Fredonia may help to address some of those shortages.
New Visions in Education, which launched this fall from the LoGuidice Educational Center, is an immersive, one-year program designed for motivated and college-bound high schoolers who are passionate about careers in education.
“This initiative not only provides our students with a head start on their college journey but also strengthens the pipeline of future educators in areas where they are needed most,” LoGuidice Principal Jose Pagan said.
Students can earn up to 19 college credits through courses taken during their senior year of high school. Classes are held on the SUNY Fredonia campus, and college credits earned can be transferable to most post-secondary institutions.
“We’re very excited to have launched the program this year,” said Dr. Janeil Rey, Dean of the College of Education, Health Sciences, and Human Services at SUNY Fredonia. “Through this great partnership, we’re able to offer this opportunity locally to students who are considering a career in education.”
The program recently welcomed its first group of students. They include Gracia Domenico of Fredonia, Mateo Francisco of Dunkirk, Irelynd Henry of Silver Creek, Mia Norman of Eden, Megan Nye of Dunkirk, Grace Perry of Brocton, Madalyn Smith of Fredonia, and Finnigen Steward of Pine Valley.
Domenico’s interest in education was born at home; her mom currently teaches in the Dunkirk City School District.
“She just loves kids, so being around that really inspired me to want to do it as well,” said Domenico, who is eyeing a career as a Library Media Specialist in middle or high school.
“I’ve already learned a lot about being motivated as a teacher and having the right mindset in the classroom,” she continued.
Steward learned about New Visions in Education through his guidance counselor at Pine Valley. He came into the program highly motivated, having decided at a young age that he wanted to become a history teacher.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Steward said. “I’ve basically known my whole life I wanted to teach history.”
Henry grew up loving music and dreamed of being a singer. She now envisions becoming an educator to share her passion for the creative arts with students.
“I realized there are ways to spread the kind of joy music brings me to other people and introduce that to young children,” she said.
Henry said a former choral teacher at Silver Creek inspired her to consider a career in music education. “He is the reason why I want to become a teacher one day,” she said. “He just connected well with his students; I want to do that, too.”
The New Visions in Education program is being taught by Mary Galac, who comes with decades of teaching experience at almost every level in education. For more than 30 years, she worked as a special education teacher in the Hamburg Central School District. Since 2008, she has been an adjunct lecturer at SUNY Fredonia.
Galac is thrilled to be at the helm of the New Visions in Education program and to have the opportunity to help high school seniors discover their own passion for teaching.
“For me, it’s seeing light bulbs go off when students learn something new and how they might use it in their own classrooms one day,” she said.
Leo Fial, Director of P-TECH, CTE & Program Innovation at E2CCB, said the program provides students with a college experience before graduating high school. In addition to taking classes at SUNY Fredonia, he said, students also have access to the campus library and computer lab.
“With a shortage of certified teachers in our region, we felt the New Visions in Education program would be an excellent opportunity for students in our component districts who are interested in pursuing a career in education,” Fial said.
According to the most recent annual report by the U.S. Department of Education that identifies teacher shortages in each state, New York was found to be in need of teachers for Career & Technical Education programs, health science, English language arts, science, and special education. Many of the shortages are occurring at the middle and high school levels.
To learn more about the New Visions in Education program, contact Alycia Lacki, LoGuidice Educational Center counselor, at 716-672-4371 ext. 2001 or alacki@e2ccb.org.
