Students from Saratoga Springs High School will have the opportunity to join Ballston Spa’s Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries program offered at Hudson Valley Community College’s TEC-SMART facility.
The Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies facility is located in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Saratoga Technology + Energy Park in Malta.
Saratoga school officials announced the district is joining the “Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries” program, launched in January as a collaboration between the Ballston Spa Central School District, Hudson Valley Community College and NYSERDA. Saratoga Springs High School students now can participate in a model that provides them the opportunity to earn their high school diploma and more than 20 college credits concurrently.
“The implementation of this new model not only emphasizes the importance of collaboration with higher education and business partners, but also exemplifies college and career readiness and 21st Century skills. We are proud to welcome Saratoga Springs CSD as a new partner in this innovative program,” Superintendent Joseph Dragone.
Students will attend half-day sessions at the TEC-SMART facility and the other half of the day at their high school, to complete their high school credits while also earning up to 11 college credits in the first year of the program. Second-year coursework will include the opportunity for internships in the industries and partners located in or affiliated with the technology park campus. Students will complete up to a total of 13 credit hours in the second year, in addition to their mandated high school credits, and will potentially graduate from high school with more than 20 college credit hours.
“As more high school students become interested in the high-technology careers that will dominate the 21st Century industry landscape, TEC-SMART will provide them the initial educational experience, and college credits, that will be vital to the decisions they make about their futures,” said Andrew Matonak, president of Hudson Valley Community College.
The “Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries” program includes high school coursework in Environmental Technologies, Sustainable Design, Exploration of Nanotechnology, Nanoeconomics, and Renewable Energy Public Policy. The college-level coursework includes Introduction to Wind Power, 2D AutoCAD, Legal and Ethical Environment of Business, and Photovoltaic Systems Theory & Design, and will be taught by Hudson Valley instructors. The program will continue to develop new curriculum and learning opportunities as the industry evolves in the coming years. Additionally, as the program develops, there will be significant opportunities for the participation of students from other school districts in the region.
“NYSERDA salutes the leaders of the Saratoga Springs CSD as they join Ballston Spa CSD for providing their students the chance to explore opportunities in the clean technologies and sustainable industries. By working cooperatively with the world-class TEC-SMART facility, they are giving students a head start into the fields that will help create the jobs of the future,” said NYSERDA President Francis J. Murray.
For information, please visit the respective school district’s website at www.bscsd.org or www.saratogaschools.org; or contact the appropriate high school guidance office.
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