Weekly Newsletter
Parents, please see below for weekly program updates.
9th Grade
May 26, 2026
It was great to see how much growth the students have shown from the first Expo to this morning. They were definitely more comfortable speaking to visitors to their table. Students picked up their permission forms for next school year10th grade clean tech student forms 2026.27.pdf , as well as, very important information regarding how and WHEN to obtain a Certificate of ResidencyCertificate of Residency Fall 2026.pdf for their HVCC college classes. Student schedules are dropped if a C of R is not turned in. Permission forms can be scanned and emailed to me, asnow@bscsd.org, mailed to my attention at 220 Ballston Ave. Ballston Spa, NY 12020, or students can bring them to Summer Bridge on Monday, July 13th. Any student taking a summer class through HVCC will need to do this soon. The high school course has officially wrapped up for the school year. Interim reports will be sent to home schools next week as well as mailed home to families.
Now that the school year has wrapped up, we are looking for your feedback on the program and your child’s experience. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey: https://forms.gle/
If you have any questions for the high school teachers, please email them:
Mr. Balet; jbalet@bscsd.org
Ms. Crisafulli; tcrisafulli@bscsd.
Mr. Glogowski; mglogowski@bscsd.
Information Needed from Students & Families
Students will be taking their first college course. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, the program needs to receive a copy of it, but there is a separate process for HVCC. Please reach out to ECHS School Counselor, Christina Carlson, and I to discuss the process you will go through with the college.
We will also be collecting report cards at the end of the year for each student as part of our requirements for the State Education Department and P-TECH Grant.
Summer CHS Courses
HVCC has made available summer college courses for students. I sent students an announcement in Canvas on how they should go about registering for college courses. Students are allowed to take 1 college course over the summer for FREE. The program will purchase the textbooks from the Viking Bookstore so that students do NOT need to pay for them. Any student who registers this week will need to pick up the books from HVCC North in early June for their college course. Students CANNOT register on Voyager, and must register through me or it interferes with their grant status for future college courses. Here is the link to the classes: https://www.hvcc.
Summer Bridge 2026
The 10th Grade Summer Bridge program will be on Monday, July 13th and Tuesday, July 14th. We will be preparing students for the HVCC college course and giving them an introduction to the HVCC college pathways.
Scheduling 2026-2027
If your child is not planning to continue in the P-TECH program after this school year, please let us know. Students will take the following with P-TECH as 10th grade students:
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P-TECH College & Workplace Readiness (Full Year)
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P-TECH Civics (Half Year)
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HVCC College Forum- Fall Semester
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HVCC Sociology- Spring Semester
We do recommend that students have a study hall in their 2nd semester in order to have time to work on the 3.0 college credit Sociology class. Students who are planning to go on to the Engineering Science or Hacking/Cybersecurity major will need to take Algebra 2 or College Algebra with Trig prior to their junior year of high school. If a student is scheduled for Algebra 2 as a sophomore they are on track. If they are in Geometry as a sophomore, and plan to go Engineering, they will still take Geometry but will need to take CHS College Algebra through HVCC in the summer prior to their junior year or they will be limited in what they can take for their degree. Any student wishing to take a summer HVCC will register through the program as we have a special registration form.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns. This will be the last newsletter for a few weeks until official grades are mailed home, and we need to send information regarding Summer Bridge. We wish all of our students continued success as they are taking final exams and completing final projects at their home high school.
10th Grade
May 26, 2026:
It was great to see how much growth the students have shown this year. We are very EXCITED to have them with us everyday next year. Today at the visit, students registered for their Fall HVCC classes. The college and high school schedule will be sent out in early August. Students will attend TEC-SMART Monday through Friday from 7:50 AM-10:50 AM each day, some days will be high school, some days will be college. There are college classes over both the February and April high school vacations. All of our school districts provide transportation to and from the program, unless the home school district is not in session that day. Today at the visit, students also picked up their permission forms 11th & 12th Grade_Incoming student forms 2026.27.pdf for next school year, as well as very important information regarding how and WHEN to obtain a Certificate of Residency for their HVCC college classes. Certificate of Residency Fall 2026.pdf Student schedules are dropped if a C of R is not turned in. Permission forms can be scanned and emailed to me, asnow@bscsd.org, or mailed to my attention at 220 Ballston Ave. Ballston Spa, NY 12020. Please note that on the cover of the permission form packet, HVCC needs a copy of immunizations since they will be on campus, as well as the meningitis form. meningitis_replyform.pdf
Now that the school year has wrapped up, we are looking for your feedback on the program and your child’s experience. Please complete this survey https://forms.gle/
If you have questions regarding the high school course, please contact the teachers:
Mr. Ackroyd; dackroyd@bscsd.org
Mrs. Singer; jsinger@bscsd.org
Mr. Snow; lsnow@bscsd.org
Information Needed from Students & Families
Students will be taking their first college course. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, the program needs to receive a copy of it, but there is a separate process for HVCC. Please reach out to ECHS School Counselor, Christina Carlson, and I to discuss the process you will go through with the college.
We will also be collecting report cards at the end of the year for each student as part of our requirements for the State Education Department and P-TECH Grant.
Summer CHS Courses
HVCC has made available summer college courses for students. I sent students an announcement in Canvas on how they should go about registering for college courses. I also announced this in the auditorium to all students at the visit. Students are allowed to take 1 college course over the summer for FREE. The program will purchase the textbooks from the Viking Bookstore so that students do NOT need to pay for them. Students taking Sociology received the hard copy of the book. All other books are online codes that students will redeem. I will send these students their individual codes via Canvas. Any student who registers from today on will not get their textbook until June and will need to pick it up from HVCC North (TEC-SMART). Students CANNOT register on Voyager, and must register through me or it interferes with their grant status for future college courses. Here is the link to the classes: https://www.hvcc.
Engineering Students: Any student who plans to take Engineering as their college major AND is not eligible to take College PreCalculus in the spring (meaning they haven’t completed Algebra 2 yet) need to take the MATH 150 course over the summer through HVCC. You have to successfully complete Geometry prior to taking MATH 150. It is taught remotely on Zoom Monday through Thursday. If a student does not take this course and pass over the summer, they will not be able to take the Engineering Sciences major at HVCC and will have to switch to a different major. The seats in this course are filling up so it is possible that if a student doesn’t reach out to register soon, they will not be able to take it.
Information for 2026-2027 School Year
I will email the college schedule and school calendar to students and families in August. College classes at HVCC North begin on Monday, August 31st. Students will need to find their own transportation if their home school has not started yet. Ballston Spa will begin transportation on Tuesday, September 8th as that is the first day of school. That will most likely be the same for other districts as well. I will be sending information regarding obtaining a Certificate of Residency out via email at the end of June. I will send out additional information for the start of the school year at HVCC North in August. Students who would like to drive to campus will need to complete a driving form for the high school and turn it in by Friday, September 11th. Students can drive the first two weeks of college and the first week of high school without a permit as they will need to get signatures from their home high school which can be difficult to get over the summer. The P-TECH program will pay for the parking permits for HVCC.
If you were unable to attend the 10th grade parent night, both the slides and video are located on our webpage. https://
Students will take the following with P-TECH as 11th grade students:
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English 11
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Applied Mathematics in Clean Technologies
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Environmental Science & Sustainability
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College Math- If in Algebra 2 as a sophomore, students will take College PreCalculus at PTECH during the spring semester of their junior year if it is a requirement for their college pathway
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If currently in Geometry and their pathway requires a college math, students will take College Algebra through HVCC in spring of their junior year
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Any student planning to choose the Engineering Sciences pathways will need to take College Algebra over the summer if they currently are not in Algebra 2 at their home school and want to take the same courses as their peers. All Engineering students need to be on track to take Calculus I during the fall of their senior year of high school. The summer classes are posted, please see above message.
There is no Summer Bridge program between 10th and 11th grade. This will be the last newsletter for a few weeks until official grades are mailed home, and we need to send information regarding the upcoming school year. We wish all of our students continued success as they are taking final exams and completing final projects at their home high school.
11th Grade
May 28, 2026:
This week, students registered for their fall HVCC classes. Students received their permission forms for next year11th & 12th Grade_Incoming student forms 2026.27.pdf , and the letter with the dates for when they need to obtain their Certificate of ResidencyCertificate of Residency Fall 2026.pdf . Any student in Engineering who has NOT taken PreCalculus, needs to take PreCalculus through HVCC over the summer and pass it or they will not have a college class in the fall. In the spring, they would then take PreCalculus and Engineering Tools from HVCC with the juniors who are in Engineering. Engineering Sciences is all Calculus based and does not include room for any electives in the degree requirements.
HVCC grades were posted on each student’s WIReD account this week. Grades were also sent to each student’s home school. Please remember that students are only allowed to take 1 course under the grant as a repeat. Every other course that a student retakes is self pay.
We are seeing an increased number of tardiness to school. If a student arrives after 7:50 AM, they are considered unexcused tardy, unless they have a note with a reason approved by the Board of Education. Students are also missing very important announcements, including the review of grading rubrics and feedback on assignments that aren’t explicitly written in Canvas. We encourage students to be on time to school.
Interim reports will be mailed home on Monday. This week in high school classes, students continued to work on their Capstone Projects. The teachers, and I, reviewed the rubric with the class for “Ready for Capstone” and what that entails. Students MUST have their projects on the table on June 11th by 11 AM or they will not be able to present at the Expo. Students CANNOT have anything hand written at their table. If they have an interactive element on an index card, for example, the material on the card must be typed. We have numerous options of machinery at TEC-SMART that students can use to make their displays look professional. The students worked on the following assignments this week:
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Capstone Feedback Groups for TED Talk Part 1 and 2 visual, TED Talk Part 1 and 2, and Proposed Solution
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Begin Printing Expo Visuals
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Begin Interactive Element for Expo
Students should be reviewing grades and feedback in the assignments and rubrics. Once an assignment is closed, students cannot go back and revise it.
Student Surveys: Any student who wishes to share out a survey as part of their Capstone project needs to submit it to the teachers to review, then to me. If a survey is going out in a student’s home school, once approved by me, they can then send it to their high school principal. This usually takes a few days, so students should have these reviewed as soon as possible. This is typically needed for data for their problem statement or when focusing on data for a solution.
The teachers are available daily from 7:30 AM-7:50 AM for extra help. The 4th quarter interim period ended today. Interims will be mailed home next week.
It is very important that students follow the Capstone at a Glance Timeline. Once a student falls behind, it can be overwhelming trying to get back on track for this type of project. This will be the project the students present at the June 12th Capstone Presentations. Students get to choose their focus for Capstone. Students do not need to purchase supplies for their Capstone projects. Many supplies students need can be found in our different classrooms.
If you have questions for your child’s teacher, please see their emails below:
Mr. Balet; Environmental Science & Sustainability, jbalet@bscsd.
Ms. Crisafulli; English 11, tcrisafulli@bscsd.org
Mr. Glogowski; Applied Math in Clean Tech, mglogowski@bscsd.org
Upcoming Dates
June 9th: English Regents Exam at the home high school
June 12th: Student Capstone Presentations, following the 8:30 AM Graduation
June 15th: Last Day of Classes at P-TECH- Celebration beginning at 9 AM; housekeeping items prior
Summer CHS Courses
HVCC has made available summer college courses for students. I sent students an announcement in Canvas on how they should go about registering for college courses. Students are allowed to take 1 college course over the summer for FREE. If a student has withdrawn or failed a class, they should retake it over the summer so it doesn’t count against them as their 1 retake under the grant. If a student is not on track to take Calculus I for the Engineering pathway, they should be taking PreCalc over the summer. Unfortunately, at this time, ALL sections of PreCalc are filled other than the in person classes at Troy High School over the summer. Students were told to register starting the first week of April. If a student wants to take multiple classes, the program can purchase an additional class under the grant if it is part of the student’s pathway. The program will purchase the textbooks from the Viking Bookstore so that students do NOT need to pay for them. The books will be delivered to HVCC North for student pick up. Students CANNOT register on Voyager, and must register through me or it interferes with their grant status for future college courses. Here is the link to the classes: https://www.hvcc.
Scheduling 2026-2027
All seniors will take the following high school classes next school year:
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CHS English Composition I (4th year of English)
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Green Economics & Public Policy (4th year of Social Studies, fulfills Government & Economics credit)
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Intro to Nanotechnology (Science or Tech credit)
Student college classes are dependent on their HVCC pathway. Students in the Engineering pathway, who are taking PreCalculus in the spring will take Calculus I and II in the fall and spring of their senior year from HVCC. These students should NOT schedule for Calculus at their home school. If your child is in the Engineering pathway and NOT currently in PreCalculus but would like to continue in the Engineering Pathway next year, they will need to take PreCalc through HVCC over the summer AND it will be paid for by the grant. The HVCC Precalculus Summer Class is taught remotely (with a teacher over Zoom at a scheduled time Monday through Thursday). The HVCC Summer Class schedule is posted (see information above)
12th Grade
May 28, 2026:
We are only 2 weeks away from the Graduation and Capstone Presentations. We will collect student chromebooks on June 10th. We will hold a mandatory Graduation Rehearsal on June 11th at 9 AM. Graduation is June 12th at 8:30 AM (students need to arrive by 7:50 AM) followed by their Capstone presentations.
Students are continuing to work on their Capstone projects. Students worked on the following this week:
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Senior Capstone: Key Resources, Activities, & Partners Benchmark
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Senior Capstone: Revenue Streams Benchmark
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Capstone Display: Expo Set Up
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Mock Presentations
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Design for Capstone Phase II
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Final Design for Capstone
Long Term Assignment
Students have their Public Meeting Mastery Project due by May 31st. Students need to attend a public meeting (Ex. Town Board, Board of Education meeting, Village Board Meeting, etc.) and complete the assignment.
Note from the Senior Teachers: Hello, parents! This week students are giving mock presentations of their capstone slides and script to practice talking about their projects. The graded presentations will occur next week and presentation form (eye contact, fidelity to script, projecting their voice, etc.) WILL BE graded in addition to their slideshow. PLEASE encourage your student to practice their presentations before the event next week. Many thanks, Mrs. Singer
If you have questions for your child’s teacher, please see their emails below:
Mr. Ackroyd; Intro to Nanotechnology; dackroyd@
Mrs. Singer; CHS English Composition I, jsinger@bscsd.org
Mr. Snow; Green Economics & Public Policy; lsnow@bscsd.org
Graduation
Graduation will be held on June 12th at 8:30 AM in the Atrium. Students will present their Capstone projects after graduation. Students do not wear Caps & Gowns for Graduation. They should dress business casual as they will be sitting on the risers in front of everyone, and we want them to look their best! There is no limit on attendees for Graduation.
Upcoming Dates
June 10th: Students will turn in their chromebooks and chargers
June 11th: Graduation Rehearsal during Program Hours
June 12th: Student Capstone Presentations, following the 8:30 AM Graduation
June 15th: Last Day of School & End of Year Party
SAVE THE DATE: GRADUATION FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH AT 8:30 AM
Students Continuing on at HVCC
Any student who is planning to continue on at HVCC to complete their degree should have created their schedule. I sent students an announcement asking them to email me their final fall schedule when it is done, along with their target graduation date from HVCC (May 2027; Summer 2027; December 2027; Spring 2028). Student tuition, textbooks, fees, and parking are all covered under the grant. Students cannot fill out a FAFSA form if they are continuing on at HVCC. They can however still apply for community scholarships that can be used for after they finish their degree at HVCC. Students will still have 4 years of FAFSA eligibility after finishing their degree. Students can only retake 1 course that they withdrew from or failed during their time in the program. Anything above the 1 course will be self pay for those credits. Any student planning to take summer classes needs to register for those through me if they would like the grant to pay for it versus self pay. Students should also sign up for an Orientation at the main campus since they have only done a brief campus tour.