TECH VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL APPOINTS
PRINCIPAL & DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

TROY (November 3, 2006) – In the continuing evolution of Tech Valley High School, its first principal and director of institutional advancement were appointed last night at the charter meeting of the Tech Valley High School Board of Education. The announcement was made today at MapInfo Corporation headquarters here.

The president of the board, Paul Puccio, said it approved a veteran educator and well-known community leader for the newly created positions at Tech Valley High, the model public school set to open in September 2007, which will focus on math, science and technology. A joint venture of Questar III BOCES and Capital Region BOCES, the innovative school is being created in cooperation with 48 school districts in seven counties to expand the range of educational opportunities available to more than 124,000 students.

Dan Liebert, of Delmar, who designed the “Essential School,” the successful school-within-a-school at Albany High School, will assume the position of principal and chief academic officer as of Nov. 27. Raona Roy, of West Sand Lake, who oversaw the growth of the Arts Center of the Capital Region from a small local program to one of the region’s preeminent arts organizations, began work today as director of institutional advancement.

“We believe we have found two dynamic, experienced, inspiring and entrepreneurial leaders who share our vision and passion for creating new opportunities for students of the Capital Region, New York State and beyond. Dan and Raona bring boundless enthusiasm, great creativity and a strong belief in the value of collaboration to what we believe will launch a new era in public education,” said James N. Baldwin, district superintendent of Questar III, and Dr. Barbara Nagler, district superintendent of Capital Region BOCES.

Mr. Liebert, who has spent 20 years as a teacher, most recently was the co-founder and director of Albany High School’s “Essential School,” part of a national movement that places great emphasis on project-based learning environments with student externships – which will be hallmarks of Tech Valley High. He has extensive experience in developing curriculum and professional development programs for teachers as well as extensive knowledge of the New York State learning standards and testing systems. 

“We were struck by the many parallels of Dan‘s experience with ours as we design Tech Valley High. He has created a school; he understands the challenges of developing new curriculum; he has used project-based learning for years. He understands the New York State educational system and has a broad awareness of secondary school reform and improvement,” said Dr. Nagler. “And very importantly, Dan shares our belief that education for the 21st century cannot be created in a vacuum but must encompass the best thinking of all stakeholders. We believe that Dan has the vision and academic leadership to lead Tech Valley High.”

As principal and chief academic officer, Mr. Liebert is responsible for the supervision and outcome of all aspects of Tech Valley High’s student-centered, project-based learning educational program. He will play a leadership role in establishing the curriculum, culture and overall academic program. In addition, he will support the school’s implementation in partnership with business, higher education, organized labor, government and the New Technology Foundation, a leading foundation that recently announced a $400,000 grant to Tech Valley High School, making it the first school in the Northeast to receive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to foster innovation in education.

“Tech Valley High will be a center for educational innovation and a source of educational professional development,” Mr. Liebert said. “It will be a catalyst for improvement of secondary education throughout the region. Many areas schools will benefit from having an innovative model right here in the area where teachers, parents, business people, academics from higher education can see, touch and experience creative secondary education.”

In her role as director of institutional advancement for Tech Valley High, Ms. Roy is responsible for fund-raising, marketing, communications, public affairs and student recruitment. She will work closely with John C. Cavalier, the chairman of MapInfo Corporation, who is chairing the board of directors of the Tech Valley School Foundation.

“Raona Roy is a natural for Tech Valley High’s director of institutional advancement. Her past experience mirrors our challenge. She ‘grew’ the Arts Center to a significant regional force. Clearly the skills she brought to that endeavor can be readily applied to Tech Valley High as it starts down the path to creating a sustainable institution,” Mr. Baldwin said.

“Her accomplishments are legion and her work highly respected. Her vision, passion and leadership are responsible for making the Arts Center what it is today,” he continued. “She is creative, she is pragmatic and she produces results. She is well respected for her acumen in public affairs, her marketing skills and her ability to fund-raise. We cannot imagine anyone more suited to this position at Tech Valley High.”

Ms. Roy said she was attracted to the position because it gives her the opportunity to put her skills to work again. She said: “Tech Valley High School’s unique strength is its close collaboration with stakeholders; in addition to educators, the business community, organized labor and government leaders have all played a role in this new venture. Its success and excellence are dependant on the ongoing vitality of those relationships. I am pleased to be able to play a role in making that a reality.”

ABOUT TECH VALLEY HIGH: Tech Valley High will be a “small school” with no more than 400 students in grades 9-12 and will be located on a business campus. It will draw from 48 school districts within Questar III and Capital Region BOCES, which serve seven counties, including Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Saratoga and Greene. It will launch in 2007 with 30 freshmen at MapInfo in the Rensselaer Technology Park, Troy; in fall 2008, there will be 30 freshmen and 30 sophomores at that site. In fall 2009, the high school will open in its own building in Rensselaer County.

Its academically rigorous college-preparatory curriculum will focus on math, science and technology and will cultivate an appreciation for the technologies for which Tech Valley is recognized: biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, energy technology and advanced materials. Curriculum will meet New York State’s Regents requirements for post-secondary education, and all students will earn college credits.

ABOUT DAN LIEBERT: Dan Liebert is a social studies teacher who has taught for more than 20 years.

In addition, to creating the Essential School at Albany High, he co-founded the Albany High School Professional Development Center; served on the district-wide Professional Development Plan Committee, the Comprehensive District Education Plan, the Facilities Development Committee and Capital Are School Development Association (CASDA) Select Seminar on Teacher as Change Agent. He also wrote and administered numerous successful state and local grants.

Prior to joining the faculty of Albany High School in 1991, Mr. Liebert was a research associate at the National Association of State Boards of Education and the Council of Chief State School Officers. He also taught high school social studies at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., where he was site director for the Higher Achievement Program.

Mr. Liebert holds multiple degrees, including C.A.S., in educational administration from The College of Saint Rose; a master’s of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland; a master of arts in philosophy from Georgetown University; and a bachelor of arts in history from Wichita State University.

He resides in Delmar with his wife, Anne Kuppinger, a state and national consultant on children’s mental health issues, and their three sons.

DAN LIEBERT ON EDUCATION & TECH VALLEY HIGH: “Tech Valley High will create a new model that will prepare students for the opportunities of the 21st century and the challenges of our global economy.”

“The essential skills needed in the 21st century will be flexibility and adaptability; the ability to solve unforeseen problems; and the ability to do the best work in teams. Although projects that encourage the development of these dispositions exist in most high schools, a four-year curriculum built around these principles doesn’t exist. Tech Valley High School will prepare students to meet New York state learning standards while at the same time develop the skills, and dispositions necessary to thrive in the current and future world.”

“I have seen the impact that a relevant, meaningful high school experience can have on adolescents. My proudest moments in 20 years of secondary teaching and learning have come as graduates return to confirm that they were prepared for college, life and work – ready to utilize the habits of mind we guided them to develop.”

ABOUT RAONA ROY: Raona Roy, who served as president of The Arts Center of the Capital Region for 23 years, was born and raised in Hawaii. She studied studio art at Manhattanville College, and later earned a master’s degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to joining The Arts Center in 1983, Ms. Roy served for 10 years as special projects coordinator of the Ithaca City School District.

In 1983, when Ms. Roy was named executive director of the Arts Center, its budget was $80,000 with a deficit of  $40,000. Under her leadership, it established regular sources of income in an era of declining government funding. In January 2006, when Ms. Roy retired, the Arts Center budget was $1.1 million with 10 full-time administrative employees and 85 artists.

Most recently, she advanced economic and cultural development in the community by making a new and vital Arts Center in downtown Troy a reality. Working with board and community leaders, five Victorian-era mercantile buildings on Monument Square were converted into a multi-arts center, creating a home for the arts in the heart of downtown. The $5 million project was completed in January 2000 when more than 5,000 people attended the grand opening celebrations. 

She has served on numerous community boards and is currently a trustee and officer of WMHT Educational Telecommunications as well as a member of the President's Advisory Committee of The Sage Colleges and the Arts Advisory Committee at Hudson Valley Community College. She has been has been recognized by the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce as a “Woman of Excellence,” by the Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Association, and with the Governor’s Arts Awards as an arts leader. 

She resides in West Sand Lake with her husband, John, a professor at Hudson Valley Community College. They have three sons.