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.

Other Guilderland schools may follow the Lesley University training that has lifted Lynnwood’s test scores.

The Voorheesville Board of Education approved new reserve funds that will help the sometimes-difficult process of school budgeting.

BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Secondary School is excited to announce the formation of a Future Farmers of America chapter. The FFA is an organization that provides agricultural, educational, and leadership opportunities for students and young adults across the country.

At Berne-Knox-Westerlo, a new program will teach students the many aspects of agriculture, from water pH to horse care.

Parents of Altamont Elementary kindergartners asked the school board on Tuesday to create another classroom this year, to relieve overcrowding.