BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Education Foundation (BSEF) recently presented $5,694.24 in Fall 2022 grant awards to educators in the Ballston Spa Central School District for educational enrichment projects in the schools. 

The recent fall cycle included the following grants: 

• $1420 for Prevocational Kits in the Speech Department at Ballston Spa Middle School (BSMS).

• $1825 to purchase Gaga Ball equipment for use in the Physical Education Department at BSMS.

• $449.24 to purchase Yoga Mats for use in the Health Department at BSMS.

• $2,000 for Coping Kits to use in the Counseling Office at Ballston Spa High School.

With these latest grant awards, the BSEF has, since its inception in 1996, funded over $428,402.76 in enrichment grants to the school district. The Ballston Spa Education Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with an all-volunteer board made up of community members whose mission is to raise and distribute resources for educational enrichment opportunities outside the realm of the daily operational needs of the Ballston Spa Central School District. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Academy for Lifelong Learning continues its 30-plus year tradition of presenting educational and social opportunities for adults 55 and over by offering sixteen, five-week courses starting the week of January 23. Registration is now open. 

Course brochures are available at local libraries, YMCA’s and retirement communities or by request at 518-290-6988 or jeff@allsaratoga.org. Please note, some changes have been made. Registrations will be accepted throughout the term until courses are full. Some courses will sell out. Annual membership is $75 and goes for 365 days from join date. Five-week courses are $50 each.

Topics for these volunteer-led, noncredit courses include music, literature, teas, Italian language, investing, variety speaker series, Art History and Anatomy, ancient game of Go, hiking, snow shoeing, Chinese writings, history, art at the Tang, science, and more. Join A.L.L. locally for classroom and outdoor courses, or from anywhere for Zoom options. 

Founded in 1992, the Academy is a non-profit, membership organization. A self-funded entity, A.L.L. is designed to offer lifelong learning and comradery among seniors, A.L.L. also offers a spring and fall term, Special Interest Groups, (SIGs) and special events that are held throughout the year.

BALLSTON SPA — Around the holiday season, many nine-year-old children are eagerly awaiting their haul from Santa. Aidan McFarland, however, was more concerned with how he could give back.

McFarland, with help from the local community, delivered Christmas Eve dinners and Christmas morning breakfasts to the Saratoga County Jail, Ballston Spa Police Department, and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Patrol Division.

“I have a friend, and they have a dad that’s a sheriff,” said McFarland. “I noticed that sheriffs have been protecting us for a long time, and I wanted to start serving lunch, dinner, and breakfast. I wanted to support them because they didn’t get to spend time with their family, and they are protecting us.”

Cassandra McFarland, Aidan’s mom, said he hopes to become a sheriff when he grows up. His grandfather, Bill Roner, is also a retired sheriff with the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department. 

“It was just something he kind of noticed,” said Cassandra McFarland. “The sheriffs work on the holidays; they don’t get days off.”

Roner said they are “having a very difficult time filling positions,” leading to mandatory overtime for many employees. 

“Some of these guys are getting minimal sleep and right back at it, and then they’re missing their families,” said Cassandra McFarland. “So we kind of talked about ‘What can we do to brighten up their spirits on a holiday?’, and Aidan said, ‘Let’s bring them food.’”

Cassandra then contacted Roner, her father.

“I got talking to my dad, and he said there’s a lot of guys. If you do just the jail, that’s a lot of guys, but then there’s also the road and the communications, that’s a lot of guys and girls,” said Cassandra. “What about doing Ballston Spa too, not just Saratoga County? It became a big picture at that point.”

Aidan and his mom then recorded a video discussing their goal and uploaded it to Facebook. It caught the attention of members of the American Legion Post 234, who invited Aidan to speak at their next meeting.

Aidan said speaking at the meeting was “really cool, because it was my first time.” He admitted that he was “kind of” nervous, but also said it was exciting.

The McFarlands’ goal also reached members of VFW Post 358, who helped out as well. Between the VFW and Legion posts, coupled with help from friends and family, they raised nearly $850, as well as baked goods and other food, Cassandra McFarland said.

“It was a pretty big turnout,” said Cassandra McFarland.

“It was cool,” added Aidan.

Cassandra said she was “really impressed” with Aidan’s drive and determination, as he took the reins for much of the duration.

“I’d say to him, ‘Do you want to do a live and update people?’, and he was like, ‘Yeah!’,” said Cassandra. “Some days, I thought I was going to talk, and then he’s just babbling on in the video, and I’m like, ‘OK, you got this.’ … It was definitely humbling and emotional to watch your kid do something good.”

And according to Roner, the food was very well-received by employees of the three departments.

“Oh, they loved it,” said Roner. “They couldn’t thank him enough.”

Roner said he recently saw an officer in town, saying the officer told him he had set aside some of the mac and cheese that Aidan had delivered the week prior.

“He came over and said he just finished the last bit of mac and cheese that day,” Roner said. “He said he set it aside so he’d know where it was.”

And the local police gave back to Aidan as well, returning the favor by bringing him in for a tour of the communications department and a ride in a police car. 

“It was pretty neat. Christmas Eve, we went in and communications, they were tracking Santa on their computers,” Cassandra said.

“When I was putting on the siren and the light on, the person actually stopped,” said Aidan of his ride in the police car. 

Aidan also said it felt good to give back, and said he wants to continue his deliveries during next year’s holiday season. 

“It was definitely a rewarding experience, and it feels good to give back,” added Cassandra McFarland.

BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa schools were among the community organizations selected to receive funding from the GlobalFoundries – Town of Malta Foundation as they announced their awards for 2022. The grant awards included $18,000 for several Ballston Spa Central School District projects and programs.  

The Malta Avenue Elementary School PTA received $3,500 to fund Alternative Classroom Settings. The Ballston Spa High School received $4,000 for the Robotics Club and the District’s Ballston Spa Partnership for Innovation in Education Fund received $6,000 to support the District’s Robotics Competition. The Ballston Spa High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) received $4,500 to support Senior Class activities and the annual After Prom event.

“We are thrilled to receive the support of the GlobalFoundries – Town of Malta Foundation to enhance our programs throughout the district,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Gianleo Duca of the Ballston Spa CSD. “We appreciate their ongoing investment in providing the best learning experiences and opportunities for students.”

The GlobalFoundries – Town of Malta Foundation recently presented its 2022 slate of 24 grants, totaling $154,200 benefiting local organizations and community projects. The Foundation was developed to fund organizations, programs and projects that provide tangible benefits of a public nature to diverse groups serving the citizens of the Town of Malta, including not-for-profit corporations, charitable organizations, community arts and theater groups, community historical sites, special events, education programs, and sports and recreation activities

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Sponsor-A-Scholar (SSAS) held its annual Holiday Celebration on Dec. 15. Board members and mentors joined high school scholars as they were gifted sponsored donations for the holiday season.

SSAS selects 10 sophomore and juniors from the Saratoga Springs City School District annually and provides them with mentors, academic tutoring, PSAT and SAT training and other help with college preparation during their last three years of high school and yearly cash stipends while in college. 

For more information visit saratogasponsorascholar.org.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department recently provided the Ballston Spa Central School District with a donation of backpacks for students in the district. The backpacks will be filled with school supplies and available to students in need throughout the district. Shown in the photo receiving the donation are School Resource Officer Deputy Heflin, BSCSD Students in Transition Coordinator Mrs. Dugan, School Resource Officer Deputy Becker and Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Duca.

BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa High School World Language students recently performed an amazing Lip Sync concert of thirteen French and Spanish songs.  Over 150 International Baccalaureate and University in the High School juniors and seniors presented an array of musical performances with some students performing on stage while others provided support backstage in various roles.

The University in the High School teachers include Ms. Alverson, Ms. Gearwar, Ms. Judd and Ms. Quinn. Judges for the event included Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Duca, Interim Principal Mr. Murphy, and teachers Mrs. Kusnierz, Mrs. Rousseau and Mr. Poirier.

The students worked hard and through the music they learned vocabulary, grammar, and culture.  Best of all, they came together as a group, class, and school.  The language teachers indicated that “It was truly a memorable night” and would like to say a big “merci” and “gracias” to all those who performed as well as to those who attended and supported them.  

The winners were:  

1st Place:  Noches del Verano from UHS Spanish 5

2nd Place: Dancing Queen from UHS French 5

3rd Place: Beat it from UHS Spanish 4

The event was hosted by the BSHS International Club and its members helped with ticket sales, programs, etc. All donations will be utilized to fund scholarships for graduating seniors.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — At the latest Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, superintendent Michael Patton said he would ask the board to hire two SROs for the district’s elementary schools at their January meeting.

Patton said the district’s emergency response team agreed with a recommendation made by a safety audit from the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal to hire two SROs for elementary schools within the district. NYSIR Senior Risk Control Specialist Jim Victor was on hand to discuss the recommendation with board members.

Patton said the Board of Education requested the security assessment in July, and said that NYSIR representatives spent three days in the school district in October. The results of the assessment were discussed in a community safety and security forum on Dec. 1.

When asked about the process of the NYSIR recommendations, Victor said that two SROs was “a number that seemed reasonable,” saying NYSIR’s recommendation is for the district to hire one SRO for elementary schools within city limits, and one SRO for elementary schools outside of city limits.

“Two, one for the city schools and one for outside the city schools, seemed to us to be a reasonable recommendation,” said Victor.

When asked about studies in support of SROs in elementary schools, Patton said that while he can only reference experiences in the Saratoga district, concerns of mistreatment “has never been the case.”

“We have an outstanding relationship with those three individuals who serve our school district here in Saratoga Springs,” said Patton. “But I think it’s an important conversation to continue to have that’s essential for our school district and local law enforcement to work with both the chief and the sheriff himself, that we have clear and concise definitions of roles and responsibilities of an SRO in schools.”

Trustee John Brueggeman said the district also needs to discuss adding more mental health resources, saying that Caroline Street Elementary does not have a social worker, and that none of the district’s elementary schools have school counselors.

 Patton said the district has grown from one social worker to a total of ten in the past decade, but ultimately agreed with Brueggeman. Trustee Dean Kolligan said that the district has hired 17 additional mental health service providers in total in the last 10 years.

“It can’t be this or that, it’s got to be a combination of providing support at all levels,” said Patton.

Residents spoke both for and against the NYSIR recommendation during the meeting.

“For the life of me, I cannot see why anyone would not want to have police officers, such as the officers we already have, as SROs,” said resident Mark Crockett. “They’re a valuable resource, they’ve never been used in an emergency, and yet they’re still a valuable resource.”

Resident Jack Burger, who said he spent over 30 years teaching at Troy and Schuylerville High Schools, spoke in support of adding additional SROs, discussing his experiences with the SROs in those districts.

“I’ve seen what school resources officers can offer first-hand. The benefits to our school would be immense,” Burger said. “During my last 15 years working in schools, both of these schools have benefitted from these two great SROs that I have worked closely with, and have had a positive influence on our school.”

Resident Hollyday Hammond said the use of armed officers in schools “does nothing to promote the kind of environment our children and teachers need.”

“It sends a message. We need police to keep us safe because we are not safe,” said Hammond. “I’d rather the message be, we are safe because we create safety by caring about every single person in our school.”

Rebecca Lynch, another resident, said that many of the stated reasons and goals for adding SROs can be achieved by other adults instead of a police officer.

“Another person for kids to talk to. Someone to connect with the kids, to read stories in classrooms,” Lynch said. “That could be done by a social worker or a school counselor, or an aide. It doesn’t need to be done by someone wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a gun.”

The Board of Education’s next meeting will be held on Jan. 10 at Maple Avenue Middle School, according to the district website.