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Vroom! BSpa Offers School Bus Test Drives

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Central School District is inviting any adults interested in learning more about driving a school bus to attend “Come Drive a Bus Day” at its Transportation Facility on Saturday, May 4. Attendees with a valid driver’s license will be able to test drive a school bus in the facility’s parking lot with a district school bus trainer.

The district currently has positions open for bus drivers, substitute bus attendants, and substitute drivers. The jobs include guaranteed hours, paid training, and possibility of a regular route with health benefits. Employees also get school breaks, holidays, and summers off.

The event will take place on May 4 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Transportation Facility on Rt. 50 (1458 Saratoga Road), just south of the Janet V Corners.

For more information, contact the Transportation Department at (518) 884-7140 or visit www.bscsd.org/departments/transportation/transportation-home/help-wanted.

Spa Academy Program “Paused” for 2024-2025 School Year

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Education.

BALLSTON SPA — Spa Academy, a unique program that allows Ballston Spa High School students to study in a college environment and earn college credits, is being “paused” for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, according to Superintendent Gianleo Duca.

For the last three years, Hudson Valley Community College’s North campus in Malta hosted the academy. But due to its expansion and increased enrollment, the college can no longer accommodate the program. Duca said he was notified of this in late February.

“The Spa Academy program takes up some pretty prime real estate at a really good time spot for college classes,” Duca said at an April 17 Ballston Spa Central School District Board of Education meeting. Duca said he hoped to restart the program in the Fall of 2025.

The district searched for an alternate site to house the program, but couldn’t secure one in time for the 24-25 school year.

While the district continues its search for a new site, current Spa Academy juniors will be able to finish their high school careers on the Hudson Valley campus, where they can take both high school and college classes. Current freshmen and sophomores (about 30 students total) will come back to Ballston Spa High School until a new academy site can be secured.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Duca said, “but I do think we’re going to be able to relaunch Spa Academy for Fall 2025.”

Hailed as a “new and innovative high school model” upon its launch in 2021, Spa Academy students can earn a high school Regents diploma while simultaneously enrolling in courses that give them college credits. 

Schuylerville School District Launches New Website

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville Central School District has launched a revamped website at www.schuylervilleschools.org. The site marked the end of the district’s 18-month re-branding initiative.

In addition to a new logo and district seal, other new website features include an updated forms and policies page, a quick link to breakfast and lunch menus, a coaches contact page, an information page for modified sports, and an athletics scores section that serves as an alternative to Schedule Galaxy.

Saratoga School District Transportation Workers Question Proposed Budget Cuts

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Education.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — At an April 18 Board of Education meeting, two Saratoga Springs City School District transportation department employees questioned proposed budget cuts that could eliminate two full-time positions in their department.

Dean Musgrove, a dispatcher, expressed his concerns during a public comment period, saying that he spoke on behalf of other transportation workers. “We’re very concerned about the situation that we’re in right now,” he said. “The cuts proposed are going to make things significantly worse.”

In a prior education board meeting on March 28, a budget presentation suggested that two full-time department positions could be eliminated: a bus mechanic and a bus dispatcher. 

Musgrove said his department was “at the end of our proverbial rope” and said fellow transportation workers in the audience were there to ask for the board’s help. 

David Gonzalez, a first-shift dispatcher who works with Musgrove, said he understood that “cuts have to happen, but we are putting safety at risk with cutting a mechanic, cutting a backup dispatcher.”

“I think these decisions need to be reconsidered,” Gonzalez said. “There are other options.”

Saratoga Springs, along with many other school districts nationwide, has struggled in recent years to hire bus drivers and maintain all of its bus routes. 

Ballston Spa Music Program Receives National Award

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

NAMM Foundation award image provided by Stuart Williams.

BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Central School District has received the NAMM Foundation’s Best Communities for Music Education award. Ballston Spa is one of only 4% of public school districts across the country to receive the award in 2024.

“This national recognition serves as a credit to our faculty for ensuring outstanding opportunities in music education are available to our students throughout the district,” said Gianleo Duca, Superintendent of Schools, in a statement. “It further demonstrates how important music education is to our students, our district, and our school community.”

The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Ballston Spa answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

Ballston Spa Teams Head to Odyssey of the Mind World Championships

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education, Featured.

Photo provided by Stuart Williams.

BALLSTON SPA — For the first time in more than 30 years, two Ballston Spa Central School District teams are going to the Odyssey of the Mind World Championships in Ames, Iowa in May.

The teams from Malta Ave. Elementary School and Ballston Spa Middle School earned a trip to Iowa by winning second-place trophies in their divisions at the state finals in Syracuse earlier this month. 

For some of the students, ranging in age from 8 to 13, this will be their second trip to the world finals. For others, it’ll be their third trip in only three years. In the past, students have competed against teams from Japan, France, Poland, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, and Germany.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international competitive program. Teams choose from a list of open-ended problems and solve one of them through a combination of an original theatrical sketch performance and engineering solutions using only inexpensive or recycled materials. Each team must also solve a second spontaneous problem.

The Problem 4 “Deep Space” Division One team from Malta Ave. Elementary School

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Ava Sorbero, 4th Grade 

Arlo Harrison, 3rd Grade 

Roebling Harrison, 5th Grade 

Bryson Skanes, 5th Grade 

Darren Vinson, 5th Grade 

Marlayna Goman, 5th Grade

Liam Caleb Yabut, 5th Grade 

Coaches: Jennifer Sorbero and Angela Harrison

The Problem 4 “Deep Space” Division Two team from Ballston Spa Middle School

Anthony Sorbero, 6th Grade 

Maxwell DeMeritt, 6th Grade 

Alex DeFabio, 7th Grade 

Danny Heggen, 6th Grade 

Adam Loomis, 6th Grade 

Coaches: Angela DeMeritt and Tina DeFabio

A GoFundMe page has been launched to help fund the teams’ trip to Iowa in May. To donate or learn more, visit https://gofund.me/c14126c1.

BEARS Bonanza Event to Celebrate Autism Awareness Month

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) will host its first “BEARS Bonanza” event at the F. Donald Myers Education Center on April 12 from 9:30 a.m. until noon in celebration of Autism Awareness Month. 

BEARS is the acronym for BOCES Educating Autistic and Related Disorders Students. BEARS programs are designed primarily for students who have a diagnosis of autism, and are in grades K-12 and up to age 21. The programs serve students with disabilities resulting in multi-sensory or motor deficiencies and developmental lags in language, cognitive, affective and psychomotor areas. 

BEARS classes are in multiple locations but on this day, they will all come together to celebrate. Career and Technical Education students, related service providers, and volunteers will help create a safe and sensory-friendly festival for students. The day will include exploring trucks, making crafts, decorating cookies, participating in obstacle courses, enjoying face painting, petting animals in a small petting zoo, and listening to music by Jack of the Zucchini Brothers.

Empire State University Hosts Presentation: How Solar Eclipses Shaped History

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Education.

Audeliz Matias, Ph.D. delivers a virtual presentation on eclipses and their impact on history at Empire State University’s Veteran and Military Resource Center on Monday afternoon. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Empire State University kicked off its solar eclipse festivities in Saratoga Springs on Monday afternoon with a virtual presentation delivered by Audeliz Matías, Ph.D., the university’s interim dean of the School for Graduate Studies. The lecture detailed not only how eclipses work, but also their significance and influence on cultures across the globe.

In Ireland, the first recorded eclipse was etched into a stone around 3340 BCE. In ancient China, some scribes believed that an eclipse was caused by a hungry, heavenly dog feasting on the sun. The Cherokee in Oklahoma also suspected that a hungry animal might be to blame; a giant frog in the sky who needed to be scared away before it devoured the entire sun.

“Many cultures have seen eclipses in different ways,” Matías said. “Some cultures see it as a moment of change, for bad or good.” 

Matías played video interviews of Native Americans sharing their tribes’ perspectives on eclipses. “The Navajo think this is a time where when [an eclipse] occurs, there needs to be some reverence; there needs to be some time for reflection, some time to think of the future.”

There will be plenty of time to reflect before the next solar eclipse is viewable from the United States, which Matías said won’t happen until 2044. 

The eclipse festivities at Empire State University’s Veteran and Military Resource Center featured solar-themed snacks (such as Capri Sun) and an eclipse viewing party attended by teachers, staff, and students.

Local Author Releases Children’s Book

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

Cover art for the children’s book “Brianna’s Brave Day at School” provided by author Francine Apy.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local author Francine Apy has released a children’s book, “Brianna’s Brave Day at School,” which is now available on Amazon. A virtual book launch will occur on Thursday, April 18.

The story is designed to open up a heartfelt conversation about adoption, set within the backdrop of a school day. It’s based on an event that happened to one of Francine’s children. 

“It’s a book crafted with love, aimed at nurturing understanding among our youngest readers,” Apy told Saratoga TODAY.

Apy is also the founder of SoulFilling, which was created to empower the adoption community with stories of resilience. “I started SoulFilling as a way to be a Beacon to the adoption community and beyond,” Apy said. “My mission is to make the conversation of adoption more conversational, mainstream, educational, at home, school, and in our communities. One way I can do this is through writing a children’s book.” 

To learn more about SoulFilling or to schedule a time for Apy to come to your local elementary school to read “Brianna’s Brave Day at School,” visit www.SoulFillingAdoption.com.

Apy also has a Mother’s Day special on the site, where a custom designed adoption pendant that Briana wears in the story can be purchased.

Skidmore Names Commencement Speakers

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Luis A. Miranda Jr. and Luz Towns-Miranda will receive honorary degrees and address graduates at Skidmore College’s 2024 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 18 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

Miranda Jr. and Towns-Miranda have been married for 46 years, and raised Luz Miranda-Crespo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Miguel Towns in Manhattan. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator of the Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.”

In the 1980s, Miranda Jr. was a special advisor for Hispanic Affairs to New York City Mayor Ed Koch and served in the David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani administrations. A founding partner of the MirRam Group, Miranda Jr. has consulted on several political campaigns, including the senatorial campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Most recently, he managed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ re-election campaign. Miranda’s memoir, “Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit that is Transforming America,” will be released on May 7.

Towns-Miranda is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst. She is frequently called on as a consultant, working with The Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, as well as Acacia, a provider of mental health and substance abuse recovery services in the Bronx. Towns-Miranda worked as a New York City firehouse clinician following 9/11 and served on the New York State Board of Psychology. She currently serves on the boards of trustees of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the American Theater Wing, and on the national board of directors of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Skidmore’s Commencement exercises will begin at 10:40 a.m. Saturday, May 18. A livestream of the event will be available via the Skidmore website.