Speaking & PD

Discover how Alden Central School District empowers students to lead authentic, student-driven initiatives that build communication, leadership, and career-ready skills. In this interactive session, participants will learn how WACS News, our student-produced news program, and Bulldog Manufacturing, our student-run production enterprise, provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop real-world competencies while serving their school community.

Students from Alden will join the presentation live via Zoom to share their experiences, describe their roles and responsibilities, discuss challenges and successes, and answer audience questions directly. Attendees will gain practical ideas for creating student-led programs that elevate student agency, amplify student voice, foster collaboration, and connect learning to authentic audiences and workplace experiences. This session highlights students as leaders, creators, and innovators.

After many years of schooling based on standardized testing, standardized curriculum, and standardized dreams, it stands to reason that project-based learning can be a tough sell. For educators — and especially students — inured to the industrial environment still prevalent in our schools, the freedom of project-based approaches can be paralyzing.

How do we introduce a new method of teaching to students, administrators, fellow teachers, and even to ourselves, in a way that reveals its magic and potential up front? We’ll explore how to front-load and scaffold project-based ideas so that even students addicted to the game of school will want to play on a different platform.