Ballston Spa High School Sophomores to Visit TEC-SMART Facility at HVCC

BALLSTON SPA —On Friday, October 21, sophomores at Ballston Spa High will be given a tour of Hudson Valley Community College’s TEC-SMART facilities in hopes to pique their interest in a career revolving manufacturing and alternative energies. Hudson Valley Community College’s TEC-SMART facility in Malta features more than a dozen state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories to train students to enter the STEM-related workforce. The TEC-SMART or Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies, has become a critical component of not only HVCC’s curricula but also the local economy in Malta with Global Foundries also being located there. The goal of TEC-SMART is to prepare students for a new economy that promotes job growth, environmental sustainability and technological innovation. Through TEC-SMART, Hudson Valley is producing a workforce to serve major employers including General Electric, SunPower Inc., Solar City and of course, Global Foundries. 

This partnership between HVCC and Ballston Spa High School has been in existence for over a decade. The Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries Early College High School in Malta was developed by the Ballston Spa Central School District in partnership with HVCC and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in 2011. It now has over 50 partners from business and industry, higher education, and non-profit and government agencies. The Clean Tech ECHS was awarded a NYS P-TECH grant which expanded opportunities for students in the program to take college coursework in one of several career pathways. Students in the program create solutions to real world problems during their experiences in the program while collaborating and connecting with business and industry partners. They also enroll in college coursework with college professors at Hudson Valley Community College’s TEC-SMART in Malta (at no cost to families). Some of the career pathways include clean energy, community health navigation/public health, cybersecurity, engineering sciences, entrepreneurship and surgical technician. 

On Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. an information night for prospective students, currently in 8th grade, who are interested in joining the Clean Tech ECHS P-TECH Program will be offered at Ballston Spa High School. School district leaders, parents and 8th grade students interested in learning more about the program are invited to attend. The agenda for the evening includes presentations from current students and program staff. For more information and to register, please visit the website at www.bscsd.org/domain/839 or contact ECHS Program Coordinator Adrienne Snow at asnow@bscsd.org.