The following was originally published by The Daily Star.
Representatives from an education-focused nonprofit led a discussion at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown with local educators, centered around ongoing changes facing education locally and beyond, Thursday, Jan. 22.
The nonprofit, Brilliant Pathways, spearheaded the event as part of its Winter Symposia series. Its 13 partner institutions in the region include Cherry Valley-Springfield, Cooperstown, Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, Laurens, Milford, Morris, Mount Markham, Owen D. Young, Richfield Springs, Schenevus, Worcester central school districts and Otsego Area Occupational Center. Representatives from these districts attended the discussion.
According to its website, Brilliant Pathways produces content for its partner schools and its students centered around mentoring, essential skills and college and career readiness.
At the start of the event, Brilliant Pathways CEO Tara Smith said that there is a “fundamental interest or want for our students,” which Brilliant Pathways shares with its partners, to ensure they are prepared and excited for their futures.
She thanked Doug Bauer, the executive director of the Clark Foundation, William Crankshaw, director of the Clark Foundation Scholarship Program and Maureen Schuermann, associate director of the scholarship program.
Smith said during a break in the program that the Clark Foundation office in New York City has funded Brilliant Pathways for more than 20 years. She said the Clark Foundation Scholarship Office offers pathways scholarships to students in the 13 partner schools.
Crankshaw said that since 1961, the Clark Foundation has supported more than 15,000 students.
“One thing is for sure, the future that students may see for themselves and the hopes and dreams they hold, they look to the world around them, and to you, and to all of us, for inspiration, direction and hope,” Crankshaw said.
He added that students are entering a workforce that has been shaped by post-COVID-19 pandemic realities, changing political climates and the rise of artificial intelligence.
The first presentation of the event was led by Ray McNulty, a strategic thought leader at Brilliant Pathways and former Vermont commissioner of education, and addressed the importance of failure in education, especially in its shifting climate.
McNulty said that over time, there have been many changes in technology that have impacted the way people go about their lives. He said, for instance, the introduction of the interstate highway system drew people away from smaller stores within their immediate communities to larger stores and malls.
Today, he said AI is posing major changes to everyday lives. Educators need to spend time in schools focusing on the future, McNulty said. Everybody loves to adapt to change once it happens, but not necessarily prepare in advance for it, he said.
“If you anticipate the future, you are ready for it,” McNulty said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, districts that already had established online systems were able to easier transition, he added.
“The primary aim of education is really not to have our kids be successful in school,” McNulty said. “It is to have them be successful in the life that they lead outside of school.”
The state Board of Regents adopted the state Portrait of a Graduate at its July 2025 board meeting. According to the state Department of Education website, it “serves as a forward-looking framework, where academic excellence intersects with the demands of a dynamic, rapidly changing world.”
McNulty said the portrait identifies attributes like being a creative innovator, a critical thinker and a global citizen, among others. Educators, he added, are trained by discipline and are “sliced and diced to create an English class, a math class, a science class.”
A big shift that has occurred in education, McNulty said, is that educators are moving from content being the “critical piece of our work,” to content as the “agent for developing the skills.” The skills are now what are sought after, especially in job searches, he said.
After McNulty’s talk, Leroy Nesbitt, a program director, gave a talk regarding the different influences shaping Generation Alpha, which Smith said is the first AI-native generation.
In information Nesbitt sent to The Daily Star, he said Brilliant Pathways is learning how to apply the “art of influencing” to its programs and approaches.
Toward the end of the program, Smith and McNulty were set to discuss how to put the different concepts discussed into “more actionable steps,” Smith said.
McNulty concluded his talk with a message on failure, and its role in not just education, but in climbing the career ladder.
“The brain learns more when it makes and corrects a mistake,” McNulty said. “Our brain is better when we make a mistake. When we fix it, we never forget it. It’s always with us. It’s interesting. Resilience is not innate. It is built through the repeated experiences of overcoming failure.”