November 6, 2014

By Jonathan Drapkin / For the Times Herald-Record

When you think of work force development, you probably wouldn’t think of 9th-graders. But you should.

The Pattern staff recently had an opportunity to visit the inaugural class of the P-Tech program at Newburgh Free Academy. If you want hope for the City of Newburgh, the Hudson Valley region and even the country, go take a visit.

P-Tech (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) is the brainchild of IBM. Their first center is in Brooklyn, where the concept is to keep the students around from 9th grade to 14th (that is, through the first two years of college). There are 16 P-Tech centers in New York state, including one in Kingston. That number will jump to 26 next year. There are various business partners and higher education partners across the programs; in Newburgh, they are IBM and SUNY Orange.

In Newburgh, the 50 participating students were selected through a lottery system. They are not the best students and not the worst. They all submitted essays as to why they wanted to participate.

On the day of our visit to what is called Excelsior Academy, the students were given an assignment just hours before our arrival. They broke into teams to devise a communication plan to address the most common misconceptions about P-Tech and to explain the program in about two minutes. Three members of our staff attended.

Here are just a couple of the facts the students wanted to convey: First and foremost, there is no additional cost to the students even though, if successful, they will walk out the door of the program with a high school diploma and an applied science associates degree in cyber security or computer networking. The general budget of the Newburgh school district covers the lion’s share of the program. Added funds from the state of New York and in-kind contributions from IBM, mainly in the form of employee-mentors, cover the rest.

Then there is a second aspect of P-Tech that the students pointed out again and again. This is no walk in the park. They succeed only if they work hard and spend four weeks of their summer plus five additional hours in class after school each week in the program. When they get out, no one hands them a job. While they are guaranteed an interview with IBM for certain entry-level positions, they are not guaranteed employment. In reality, the training they’re getting will be invaluable in applying for any job.

Now here is the best part. For anyone who has heard the negatives about Newburgh, these students destroy every pre-existing notion. I had the chance to speak with many about their backgrounds and their dreams. They just want a better life. To be part of this program, they spend hours of extra time in school. While we debate the length of the school year and day, here are 50 kids who said, “If this gives me a chance to improve myself, I’m in.”

Thanks IBM and NFA. Thank you, SUNY Orange. That’s the way to seed work force development and instill hope not just in the students, but in the rest of us as well.

Jonathan Drapkin is the president and CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a nonprofit research, policy and planning group that seeks regional solutions to increase the vitality of the region. He can be reached at .