College and Career Ready
Getting Ready for College and Career
While enrolled in the Hampton Bays School District, all students have the opportunity to explore a variety of career paths through a multitude of programs. Below, you can read more about the career-related programs offered at the elementary and middle schools and watch a video about how the high school is preparing students who are interested in careers in childcare or the culinary arts.
Careers in the Classroom at the High School
Exploring Careers in Middle School
Career Fair
Sixth-graders at HBMS have the opportunity to explore a myriad of vocations that await them by participating in a Career Day Fair.
During the fair, held every June, students meet professionals in various fields throughout the school day. Professionals, including scientists, police officers and teachers, volunteer to speak with students about their individual career paths.
The goal of the program, said Principal Dennis Schug, Jr., is to not only introduce students to various careers, but also give them a sense that what they are doing in school today will lead them to bigger and better things.
Career Study
To learn more about themselves, and the careers and vocations, which would suit them, eighth-grade students have the opportunity to participate in a career exploration in their consumer science class.
During a three-week period, middle school students use an online program, called Guidance Direct, to not only get an idea about possible careers by completing a survey, but they also research the paths that need to be taken to land a job. For example, they can research the various colleges that cater to the career in which they are interested.
“During this unit, students come to realize that they can have a career doing the things that they really love to do,” said Mr. Schug.
College Field Trips
To get students acquainted with the idea of college, middle school students in grades six, seven and eight all have the opportunity to visit a college campus.
According to Mr. Schug each of the school’s benchmark trips also incorporates a trip to a nearby college campus. For example, when eighth-graders visit Washington, D.C., they also tour George Washington University. In seventh-grade, while visiting Frost Valley, students stop by Marist College to tour the dorms and eat in the cafeteria. Sixth-grade students stop at St. Joseph’s College on their way back from New York City field trips. Students have also had the opportunity to tour Hofstra University.
“Eventually, we’d like to get our fifth-graders on a campus as well, and we are exploring ways to do that,” said Mr. Schug. “Anytime we can get students on a college campus, we jump at the opportunity.”
College Student Visit
To learn more about college life, every January, the middle school holds an annual College Awareness Day for seventh- and eighth-graders.
During the event, which is organized by middle school counselor Laurie O’Halloran, students hear from college students, who either graduated from Hampton Bays High School or are the children of school staff.
The college students take the time to answer questions and share insights and perspectives about attending college. They also speak about college schedules, factors that go into college selection, financial aid, and extracurricular activities offered at college.
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Learning About Careers in Elementary School
Enrichment Program
The elementary school offers a popular after-school enrichment program
to provide its students with experiences above and beyond their average
school day.
The program, which is held for three weeks in the fall and spring,
allows students to learn more about subject areas such as science,
social studies, music, foreign language or reading.
One of the most popular courses, said cultural arts coordinator Karen
Lombardo, who heads up the program, is introduction to band, where
students can try out and learn about various instruments.
The science course, Little Wizards, is also popular, noted Ms. Lombardo,
who said students conduct a variety of experiments in that class.
All of the programs provide students with high-level thinking and
enrichment skills. “At the end of the day, they get a little boost,”
said Ms. Lombardo.
Paws in Jobland
Each year, third- and fourth-grade elementary students have a chance to
learn more about themselves and a career that might be right for them
through a computer program, Paws in Jobland.
The kid-friendly program, said technology teacher Wendy Alberti, narrows
down possible careers for each child based on their responses to 26
questions.
“It provides a map of careers that the student showed interest in,
including fields related to technology, education, medicine and the
military,” said Ms. Alberti.
With possible career choices in hand, students are then encouraged to select one to explore through research.
“This has been a great way to show our students all the different types of careers that are out there,” said Alberti.
Junior Achievement Program
For the past 17 years, second-grade teacher Rich Berglin has led the
national Junior Achievement program, which is offered through the
nonprofit Junior Achievement Foundation.
The program, which is taught by volunteer parents, educates students on
the value of free enterprise through a variety of in-class lessons. In
the third grade, for example, students learn about the engineering field
by designing a city, the restaurant industry by crafting and running
their own mock restaurant, the newspaper trade by finding out what it
takes to manage a newspaper, and the banking field by researching
checkbooks and credit cards.
Through the program, Hampton Bays Elementary School has been named a Silver Partnership School.
Introduction to Robotics
Twice a year, elementary school students have the opportunity to take a
two-week after-school Introduction to Robotics class, run by special
education math teacher Anthony Schmidt.
Through the program, Mr. Schmidt said, students hone in on their
problem-solving skills and learn how science and technology are
impacting the world around them.
For example, during the session, students are introduced to a real-world
problem and are encouraged to use their imagination to solve the
problem. Problems typically focus on outer space or the ocean.
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Under the terms of Section 211 of the Retirement and Social Security Law and Section 80-5.5 of Commissioner's Regulations, Mr. Weiss is approved for service as the High School Career Education Culinary Arts Teacher. His compensation package is approved annually by the Board of Education at 40% full-time, in alignment with that of the contractually-bound salary scale of the Hampton Bays Teachers' Association. This approval is required so that Mr. Weiss does not lose his previously earned pension benefits.