News

CollegeNow@TC3 Recognizes Local High Schools

May 12, 2008

DRYDEN, N.Y. — At an April 30 banquet, TC3's CollegeNow program honored four local educators and a TC3 faculty member for their work in helping high school students earn college credits and gain valuable classroom experience. Gerri-Ann Hartnett and Kim Capalongo of Marathon High School, Mike Blegen of TST BOCES, Rick Pawlewicz of Newfield High School, and TC3 math instructor Sophia Georgiakaki were recognized by the program.

The banquet was an opportunity for CollegeNow, including Concurrent Enrollment and Tech Prep, to also recognize the efforts of educators from more than 30 local school districts, all of whom, with the coordinated work of TC3 faculty liaisons, helped this year's participating graduating seniors earn 17,315 college credits through Concurrent Enrollment and Tech Prep during their high school careers.

“Last spring we began administering the ‘TC3 Evaluation of Course Instructor’ survey to high school concurrent enrollment students, and the results have been impressive,” said CollegeNow Director Karl Madeo. “On these surveys - a total of about 2,600 student evaluations over two semesters - more than 86 percent of these students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, ‘my concurrent enrollment instructor is an excellent teacher.’ That's pretty amazing.”

This year's award recipients:

Distinguished Concurrent Enrollment Teacher(s)

Gerri-Ann Hartnett & Kim Capalongo, Marathon High School

Hartnett and Capalongo taught Intro to Psychology and so impressed TC3 liaison Professor Matty Hamel she said she was, “thrilled to note the depth with which the students addressed the issues as they were able to discuss not just the etiology of mental illnesses, but the financial, emotional, and social aspects of these illnesses, as well.” Hamel even recommended the students present their findings to the Marathon Board of Education.

Counselor Recognition Award

Rick Pawlewicz, Newfield High School

Pawlewicz, who moved from the middle school to Newfield High School two years ago, was honored by CollegeNow for his dogged persistence in pursuit of opportunities with the program on behalf of his students. “He didn't know much about the programs when he started, but it didn't take him long to become well-versed in the workings of the program and how it could benefit Newfield students. Now, Rick achieved this by essentially never leaving us alone,” said Madeo, with a smile.

Distinguished Tech Prep Teacher

Mike Blegen, TST BOCES

Blegen oversees the computer technology program at TST BOCES - a CISCO certification course that has grown to offer students opportunities to explore digital media, web design, and Javascript. The program is so popular BOCES added another section and another teacher to meet student demand. Tech Prep Director Victoria Zeppelin said, “Mike's program could be considered a model Tech Prep program since students completing the two-year sequence may earn an industry-recognized credential as a CISCO Networking Specialist, receive college credits, and complete a work internship.”

Faculty Liaison Recognition Award

Sophia Georgiakaki, TC3

CollegeNow launched its faculty liaison program last year to offer guidance and support to high school teachers charged with the work of providing college-level courses in their respective districts. The program has been a great success, yielding benefits on both sides. And Georgiakaki, a math instructor at TC3, has become in that short time “a role model,” according to Madeo. “From the very start, Sophia Georgiakaki, tackled the role with energy and enthusiasm - pretty much the way she approaches everything else she does. She contacted all the concurrent enrollment instructors she was assigned, arranged meetings and school visitations, observed classes, met students, gave out TC3 pencils, provided books and other resources to the high school teachers, completed site visit reports promptly, and generally became the poster child for what we were envisioning a faculty liaison to be.”