Week of September 6 – September 12, 2013
Free College Continued from Page 1
and it’s great for interested students to get an understanding of college students’ work.” The ECHS curriculum, once further developed with P-TECH, will provide mentoring, job shadowing, workplace visits and field experiences. Logan-King said the district is hoping to recruit up to 60 ninth-graders for the program in 2014. “P-TECH is a seven-year grant, so this year is our planning year and we hope to have up to 60 ninth grade students enroll and build up from there,” she explained. In addition to Ballston Spa students, teens who attend Washington-Saratoga-WarrenHamilton-Essex BOCES will partner with SUNY Adirondack to expand on its already existent BOCES Advanced Manufacturing program.
“The program gives students the opportunity to be innovators and use their creativity towards real-world applications,” said Joseph Greco, K-12 director of math, science and technology integration at SSCSD. “Through our partnership with BOCES, SUNY and GlobalFoundries, students will be honing their 21ST century life skills to be a strong contributor to both our social and economic community.” Only seven Saratoga students are currently enrolled in the advanced manufacturing program due to a single class of 20 students being shared with two other districts, Greco said. In 2014, the seven juniors will progress into their second year which will make room for seven more students, making a total of 14 Saratoga students who will participate in the enhanced P-TECH program when it begins. Greco said the exposure to the program will benefit all participating
Education students when it comes to finding a job after graduation. “Part of the program is to have students do job shadowing and internships,” Greco said. “Through this early exposure to the hands-on manufacturing, we believe that students will have the potential to be employed at entry-level positions immediately after graduation or have a 28-credit head-start toward a 2- or 4-year degree in manufacturing.” “Students will earn an associate degree at no cost to their families and will be first in line for jobs with participating companies when they graduate,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “These public-private partnerships are a model for success for our students, our employers and our regional economies.” Gov. Cuomo said the program is the country’s first to combine education and economic development. It was launched with the help of IBM and is supported by the State Education Department. The 2013-14 state budget included $4 million requested by Cuomo for the P-TECH program, with additional funding
Ballston Spa School District Celebrates Opening Day BALLSTON SPA – The Ballston Spa Central School District staff joined together with business and community partners during the annual opening day assembly held at Ballston Spa High School on September 3, 2013. Over 650 employees were in attendance to recognize the official start of the 2013-14 school year and to celebrate the district motto Educating Everyone Takes Everyone. This year, the district formally recognized Albany Medical Center as they announced an expansion of their partnership with the district. Through the newly created Albany Medical Center Health Discovery Program, middle school and high school students will have the opportunity to meet health care professionals and learn more
Ballston Spa superintendent Joseph Dragone (L) and Board of Education president Jeanne Obermayer (R) present a plaque of appreciation to Pamela Sawchuck
about careers in health care and related information provided by Albany Medical Center. A new partnership with Parsons Child and Family Center was also announced and will offer a mental health clinic in the Milton Terrace North Elementary School for all families in the district. The district also announced that they will be hosting a Fall
Family Festival at Ellms Family Farm for the entire school community on October 19th from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Contact Courtney Lamport at (518)884-7195 ext. 1369 for additional details. Also, please visit the Ballston Spa Central School District website at www.bscsd.org or call the District Office at (518) 884-7195 for back to school information and events.
expected to come through the state Department of Education. The programs established in the region will begin recruiting
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students and building partnerships starting this academic year and will enroll their first students in September 2014.