Groton students ahead of the college game

The Groton Central School Board of Education meeting Nov. 7 began with a presentation by Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS) senior Julia Ramey, plus an in-depth look at the progress of GHS’s very first cohort of students involved in its ECHS (Early College High School) program.

Ramey was one of three students who attended the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) this past summer. The details on that may be found in the July 27 issue of “Groton on the Inside” (tinyurl.com/2y2rev5m), but this was an opportunity for the students to formally present their experience.

Braedy Dilger and Matthias Brehm also participated in RYLA, but due to conflicts in schedules, only Ramey was able to attend the Nov. 7 meeting. One of her focuses at RYLA was public speaking, and what she learned there really shined as she eloquently spoke through a slide presentation she had prepared for the occasion.

Present in the audience that evening was Groton Rotary member Gary Wood, who was able to see and hear firsthand how invaluable the Rotary’s sponsorship is to these students — particularly as Ramey concluded with her deep gratitude for the opportunity.

Next up was Babs Carr, who is the Early College High School coordinator and STEAM College and Career Prep teacher at GHS and the advisor for the Interact Club — GHS’s student club that partners with Groton Rotary for community service.

For the past decade, GHS has had June graduates who had earned their associate degree from Tompkins Cortland Community College via the CollegeNow program, but the ECHS program is a new initiative. It began three years ago with the class of freshmen who are now juniors and has added students each year.

Carr has been the coordinator for all of the above since inception at GHS, and thanks to the ARP ESSER (American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) grant awarded to GCS, the ECHS program is fully funded for participating students.

“Not all students have to get an associate degree,” Carr explained. “They have to have 24 college credits to be in the program, but can go on to fulfill a liberal arts degree in general studies or math/science. If not, they can accumulate as many credits as they wish beyond the 24. All credits are paid for by the grant.”

There are currently 27 juniors in the program who began as freshmen. The current freshmen class has 36, and there are 28 sophomores.

Some of the juniors shared their thoughts. Brynn Blasz said she chose to be in this program because she knew it would benefit her in the long run.

“It was great to be exposed early to classes and expectations I will see later in my career,” Blasz said. “A highlight of mine is being able to do the summer program for three weeks because I got to meet many different amazing people and explore different careers that others had interests in.”

Blasz said another highlight is the college career prep.

“I get to make an online profile for potential employers about hobbies, interests, goals and career aspirations,” she said. “It really gives me an opportunity to express what I like to do and give more of a personal connection to people I could potentially work for. I feel like if I hadn’t chosen this path, I would be extremely disappointed with myself in that I chose to not take this amazing opportunity to get ahead of the game while also just cutting me a bit of slack in the future.”

The summer college program mentioned by Blasz is another amazing opportunity these students have to expand their experience.

“We created the Summer Bridge Program to be very interactive, hands-on and fun so that students did not feel like they were attending school for another three weeks during the summer,” Carr said. “STEAM teachers come in and do workshops with the students so they can get a better idea of what each of those programs offer, and it helps to promote their programs.”

Nicholas Gamel said he chose to be in ECHS because it provided him with the opportunity to take high school classes for college credit and further his career experience through the multitude of summer programs.

“The best part of the program so far was the summer internship program,” Gamel said. “I got to meet people from all walks of life and get job experience in a career I was interested in. Without this program, I would likely not have been provided with these opportunities and would not have the ability to see what careers interest me.”

Taryn LaTray said, “I chose to be in this program because I thought it would be a great opportunity for me and a head start when going into college. It provided me the ability to achieve my associate degree before I graduate high school.”

Highlights of the program for LaTray were going on college tours, taking college courses, getting to see what professors are like and receiving support from people in ECHS.

“If I had not chosen to take this path in my high school career, I would likely not be as far advanced as I am now,” LaTray said. “I believe being in this program will help me further my education before college.”

Carr highlighted the plethora of activities the students participated in during the summer program, too numerous to list here, but aerobic conditioning, college success seminars, diversity, healthy relationships, life skills, basic first aid, English language arts and math focuses, and hands-on experiences at Coltivare, the TC3 Farm and Cornell Dining are just some of them.

“The freshmen have a class once every six days with me and monthly meetings,” Carr said. “And the sophomores and juniors each have a meeting every other month. All have workshops and lunch-and-learn sessions, and the juniors also have trips to things like colleges and leadership conferences.”

Carr added that the monthly or bimonthly meetings focus on academic success, career conversations and exploration, college prep, mental health and many other topics students want to talk about.

“We focus on leadership skills, building softs skills, career readiness skills, college prep, academic success, career research, teamwork, communication skills, diversity and many more topics,” Carr said.

Opportunities for students at Groton certainly abound, and students’ gratitude and appreciation are definitely as heartwarming as they are heartfelt.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

Thanksgiving pies and baked goods

The Groton Assembly of God’s Women’s Ministries will hold its annual Thanksgiving pie and bake sale from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 23 in the church foyer, 701 S. Main St.

Apple, Dutch apple, cherry, pumpkin and blueberry pies, as well as other varieties, will be available at $10 each. Cranberry, pumpkin, banana, zucchini and other sweet breads will also be on hand at $5 each. Various other breads, cookies, cupcakes and dessert bars may also be purchased.

New this year is a coffee and pastry café on site. Relax and have a refreshment break for yourself or with a friend or group of friends before you head home to begin preparing the meal for Thursday!

Happening at the library

The Groton Public Library will hold a Medicare informational meeting at 11 a.m. Nov. 17. Kimberly Petrella will present information about Medicare 2023 as well as answer any questions.

The Countdown to Christmas story time will take place at 6 p.m. Nov. 17. There will be a themed story, games and a craft. There is limited space, so contact the library to register or learn more at (607) 898-5055 or director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.

The GPL Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 17. This month’s book is “Change of Heart” by New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult.

PTO fundraiser

Happy Jack’s Maple is teaming up with the Groton Jr./Sr. High School PTO for its annual fundraiser. Please visit happyjacksmaple.com, pay with your credit card and apply the coupon code GCSFUND22 in order for the PTO to receive a portion of the funds. Your order will automatically be shipped free of charge, for pickup at school in early December.