NEWBURGH – The P-TECH program is an
integrated grades 9 through 12 college prep program that incorporates
workplace skills. It is an integral and successful part of the curricula
at Newburgh’s Excelsior Academy, in the former North Middle School.
From left: Lt Gov Kathy Hochul, IBM’s Stanley Litow, Newburgh CSD Supt. Roberto Padilla,
Excelsior Academy House Principal Nathan Rothman
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul visited Excelsior on Monday, meeting with school officials and with Stanley Litow, vice president of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at IBM, and president of the IBM International Foundation.
Litow said the program in Newburgh is a clear success.
“The agreement is that anybody who completes is first in line for jobs at IBM and schools that we partner with. As a matter of fact, we offered those jobs to all six students who completed last Tuesday. Three of them accepted; three others have taken full scholarships.
Hochul greeted P-TECH grads
Hochul had a message directly for the students.
“You didn’t believe in yourself until now and now you do and you’re going to be a role model for other students,” Hochul told the students. “The younger kids are going to be watching you. You should go back to the middle school and talk to them about your experiences and tell them they don’t have to be suspended, they don’t have to get in trouble.”
P-TECH is a young but growing program, now offered in 27 schools in three
states. Some schools in the Melbourne area of Australia have implemented
P-TECH, partly because of the example set in Newburgh.
