More than 1,000 pieces of artwork created by students from 15 Capital Region school districts will be on view on the Empire State Plaza Concourse through March 18.

Guilderland’s $100.7 million school budget proposal closes a $1.6 million gap partly by using $930,000 from the district’s fund balance.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission will offer a variety of programs at the Discovery Center during the upcoming school break, from Feb. 19 to 23. Programs include a series of bird-themed activities and a family trivia night.

Enterprising students from local high schools are competing to develop the best pitches for their product ideas.

A program of five minutes a day a few times a week at school and five minutes at home each night works better than traditional longer therapy sessions, say two Guilderland school district speech-language pathologists.

Vocational courses provide students with useful skills and often a job with a sizeable paycheck upon high school graduation.

A nationwide cumulative student-loan debt $1.36 trillion and a burgeoning local “middle-skill” job market has some students, their families, and educators questioning if a four-year degree is still the ticket to a better life.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission will be offering programs at the Discovery Center during the school break, from Dec. 26 to 30:

— The ninth annual Cookie Burner Stroll is on Tuesday, Dec. 26.  This 2.6-mile hike is for people 8 and older;

Students who come from poverty have a more difficult time learning, and local schools are tackling the problem at home and in the classroom.

A proposed JROTC program at Berne-Knox-Westerlo Secondary School would depend on the feedback of the parents and students, as 10 percent of students must participate for federal funding.