FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Cary’s Education Program Leader Ashley Alred said that the collaboration between Alden and the Cary Institute has been going on for as long as she can remember, but this was the first year for a new component: a “Meet the Scientist” day during which students were able to interact with scientists on a more personal level to discuss their projects while they were still working on them.

Alred said that she was thrilled for the additional opportunity for experts from Cary to meet with students to help them plan out their projects – and offer words of encouragement as well.

“It’s all about motivation and getting them excited about what they’re doing,” she said. “They chatted with us, asked questions and received feedback that we hoped was helpful. I think it also helped them feel more comfortable with us later on, while we were judging at the fair.”

Anna said that she enjoyed speaking with the experts in advance, as it helped her refine her process and sparked an added enthusiasm for her work.

“I think it was helpful and it definitely made me more excited,” she said.

For many students, this fair marked their first foray into conducting experiments and research projects. The process was entirely student-driven, from conceptualization to execution. Alred emphasized the significance of this approach.

“It's a really cool thing because these kids are getting practice with communication and putting together physical projects,” she said. “The teachers at Alden Place have created an excellent framework for students to hone various skills."

“We really love pitching in and are excited to do this again next year,” she continued. “It’s our way of giving back to the local community and hope that sharing our expertise gets them excited about science.”

Millbrook High School students filled the building’s auditorium on February 9 for the second annual Electives Fair, a presentation highlighting the various electives that students will have access to during the 2024-25 school year. 

This new milestone in the high school academic calendar served a dual purpose: to inform students about elective offerings as well as foster direct interaction between elective instructors and their potential students. Teachers presented an overview of each of their electives followed by a question-and-answer session, providing them a platform to showcase classes in their own words.

Next year’s offerings include 13 courses that range from graphic design and engineering to psychology, forensics and a Dutchess Community College bridge course in biology. High School Principal Eric Seipp said that the idea of the fair was conceived last year to help students plan their course selections for the following school year.

“I thought it would be more helpful for students not only to get a preview of possible course offerings, but also to hear directly from the teachers who run the courses,” said Seipp. 

Students meet with school counselors individually to discuss their interests and goals as well as set up their schedules each year. Seipp said that while these meetings are crucial to students’ academic development, he hopes that the Electives Fair inspires them to think more deeply about their interests in advance of finalizing their upcoming schedules.

“The hope is that students will now have a head start to give them some thought to specific classes based on their emerging interests and goals,” he said. “It gives them time to process it.”

High School Counselor Tom Chanowsky emphasized the importance of electives in shaping students' academic pathways.

"New York State has 50 different academic pathways that students can take and the electives play an important role in driving that experience for them,” he said. 

High School Counselor Lauren Prince spoke to the significance of the new approach offered by the Electives Fair, also stressing the importance of following up with individual meetings.

“It’s great that they now have this information up front and can consider it before we meet,” she said. “Meeting with kids individually later helps us monitor how they’re doing and make sure they’re not missing anything. We also speak to them in classrooms as well as individually on a sort of ‘pop-in’ basis.

“All of this intertwines to provide them with the best experience.”

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