Board approves pilot partnership with SEED Center to serve over‑age, under‑credited students

The Schenectady City School District Board of Education voted to approve a resolution to expand a pilot partnership with the SEED Center, a Schenectady‑based social enterprise that provides workforce training and career preparation. The board approved the resolution by voice vote after presentations from district staff and SEED Center partners.

District staff described the pilot as a targeted program for students who are over age and do not have enough credits to remain on a typical graduation path. “Let's start a pilot with, you know, 8 students who have a great deal of potential but are struggling in our current, traditional setting,” said Dennis Green, principal of the high school, explaining the original cohort selection. Board members and SEED Center leaders said the pilot mixes hands‑on career tracks with virtual coursework to provide seat time and credit recovery.

The nut graf: supporters say the program is intended to be an alternative pathway to keep students engaged and on track to graduate — combining vocational training, industry‑recognized credentials and online credit recovery — rather than a replacement for existing high school programs.

In presentations, district and partner staff outlined the model. Tyrone O'Meary, the district's education director for secondary schools, said the district worked with community partners and the Cooperative Virtual Learning Academy (CVLA) to design the schedule so students receive both in‑person instruction and credit recovery. Mike Solovsky, deputy director at the Northeastern Regional Information Center (part of Capital Region BOCES), described CVLA as a virtual academy that can operate alongside in‑person supports: “This program can be very fluid. It can be for fully virtual students. It can be for students that are in the SEED Center that they're in person, but... there's a lot of in between there too.”

Jennifer Lawrence, CEO of the SEED Center, described non‑academic program elements: Leadership Mondays, service learning, and hands‑on occupational tracks that include construction, culinary, and film/audio production. The SEED Center said students receive foundational industry credentials such as OSHA 10 and ServSafe and can pursue higher levels or pre‑apprenticeship pathways.

The pilot started with eight students; partners said a little more than half remain actively participating as the program tests scheduling, wraparound supports and credentialing. Staff said the students attend the SEED Center full time in the district building, access virtual classes through CVLA and use Edgenuity for credit recovery. The district provided CDTA bus passes for the initial cohort.

Board members pressed on capacity, funding and expansion plans. Board member Jamaica moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded by Vice President Nohalani. The board approved the resolution by voice vote. The motion carried.

District staff said the pilot contract available for review covered the current school year and that the resolution authorizes a partnership for the 2025–26 school year; staff noted the pilot contract and the resolution dates differ and said an updated contract would be prepared to reflect the 2025–26 term. The district also said some program costs are reimbursable through BOCES arrangements.

The board and partners described the initiative as an effort to provide another pathway so students who have struggled in traditional settings can still earn credentials and graduate. Leaders said the district will monitor outcomes and consider larger cohorts in future years.