TechBuffalo has convened regional superintendents with an eye toward the future economy
There is a first-grader somewhere in Western New York right now who will graduate into a job that does not yet exist.
The Future Ready Forum was built to ensure that job exists here in Buffalo.
Last week, a few dozen superintendents from school districts across Western New York gathered at M&T Bank’s downtown clubhouse, convened by TechBuffalo.
The Future Ready Forum pulls superintendents into direct, ongoing contact with the innovation economy.
Leaders of K-12 education can hear and see directly where the future of the local economy is headed, and take that information back to their districts to ensure relentless alignment of education to future opportunity.
"Our job isn't to tell superintendents how to run their schools," said Jeffrey Botteron, President and CEO of TechBuffalo. "It's to bring the right people to the table. When the leaders shaping education in this region are connected to where the economy is actually headed, everyone benefits, the students most of all."
Co-chaired by Dr. Brian Graham, superintendent of Grand Island Central School District, and Dr. Joseph Polat, executive director of Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School, the Forum is structured to keep the conversation honest and collaborative. It meets ten times a year over lunch (even superintendents deserve a summer).
It's part of the K-to-gray talent strategy that TechBuffalo has implemented, addressing the urgency of today while building a deep bench for tomorrow. The organization runs an Innovation Fellowship, a train-the-trainer model that stipends educators to bring Tech Clubs and Family Code Nights to their school's after-school window, and is increasingly moving into the school day with full school implementation pilots in private, public, and charter environments.
And it is built to keep growing. The plan is for future convenings to bring in experts from across higher education, so the next rung on each pathway is clear and represented, the handoff from a district to a college to a career mapped out instead of left to chance.
In the meantime, that hypothetical first-grader will eventually graduate and choose a path. By that time, AI will have rewritten the skills required across every industry in our region. The question is whether our region, and our school districts, are building toward that future or reacting to it.
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