Students graduate from Clean Tech ECHS

2016 Jun 29

Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries Early College High School congratulates 2016 graduate Tatum Wilkson, who plans to attend Clarkson University.

The regional program now serves almost 300 students from 25 school districts in 10 counties. It was developed by the Ballston Spa Central School District in partnership with Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). It now has over 50 partners from business and industry, higher education, and non-profit and government agencies, including the Center for Economic Growth (CEG), Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and local Chambers of Commerce.

This year's graduating seniors earned up to 24 college credits from HVCC in the ECHS model that was established in 2011. Clean Tech ECHS was awarded a NYS Pathways in Technology Early College High School (NYS P-TECH) grant by Governor Cuomo in 2013 and expanded opportunities for students in the program to take college coursework in one of four career pathways: Clean Energy, Computer Science & Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Innovation, and Nanotechnology/Mechatronics.

Graduation speakers included Tom Caulfield, senior vice president and general manager of Fab 8 at GlobalFoundries; Johanna Duncan-Poitier, senior vice chancellor for community colleges and the education pipeline at State University of New York; Michael J. Hickey, vice president and chief of staff at Siena College; and Hon. Carrie Woerner, assemblywoman of the NYS Assembly District 113.

Astria Solutions Group Vice Presidents Greg Laird and Jeffrey Frankel presented their second annual STEM Scholarships to Clean Tech ECHS seniors. The scholarship was split this year between the two students, each will receive $250 a semester for up to 8 semesters while they pursue college coursework and a career in a STEM field.

The event concluded with the Junior and Senior Capstone Project Exhibition where students shared their innovative solutions to real word problems, describing their technology and business plans to partners. More information on the students' innovative projects and their future plans can be found on the website in the 2016 Graduation Program.

The Ballston Spa CSD has become a leader in the development of STEM learning in K-12 education, especially in the creation of partnerships with business and higher education via their Partnership for Innovation in Education program, through which the district has developed a variety of new courses, curricula and enrichment opportunities for students. Hudson Valley Community College's TEC-SMART in Malta, NY hosts the Clean Tech ECHS and is a LEED-certified classroom building at NYSERDA's Saratoga Technology and Energy Park? (STEP?) campus that uses renewable energy sources.