WILTON – Whether you’re a 7-year-old learning to subtract or a 97-year-old looking to add a new skill to your repertoire, the pandemic has hampered educational experiences at all levels.
That was especially true for Saratoga Springs City School District’s continuing-education offerings, which were largely shuttered as COVID-19 restrictions took hold.
Now, a partnership between SUNY Adirondack and Saratoga Springs City School District borne out of lost in-person learning experiences is meant to make past courses and new educational programming available to Saratoga Springs residents at Saratoga Springs City School District and community sites, as well as at SUNY Adirondack’s facility in Wilton.
SUNY Adirondack’s continuing-education program, which reaches about 2,000 residents a year in Queensbury, will expand and give Saratoga Springs-area community members the chance to do everything from take cooking and fitness classes to study arts and languages to take trips and tours throughout the region.
Classes will take place at SUNY Adirondack’s Wilton campus on Route 9, in the Saratoga Springs City School District’s buildings and at partner sites around the region, such as the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Saratoga Race Course.
The catalog of courses will be released in August, with classes beginning in the fall.
“This past fall, we reached out to SUNY Adirondack to say ‘hey, we’d love to partner with you to bring more people into this beautiful campus here in Wilton as well as use the opportunities to showcase our schools and build upon the programs that we’ve offered in the past and expand upon the continuing education opportunities that SUNY Adirondack has done so well with in Queensbury,” Saratoga Springs City School District Superintendent Michael Patton said at Wednesday event announcing the partnership.
The continuing-education partnership builds upon an already established relationship between the two educational entities that features everything from Saratoga Springs high school students taking college level classes through SUNY Adirondack to the city school district’s staff teaching courses at the college.
One in eight Saratoga County residents between the ages of 18 and 65 have enrolled in a SUNY Adirondack Course, and 18,982 Saratoga County students have taken classes at SUNY Adirondack in the past 15 years, according to the college.
Founded in 1961, SUNY Adirondack is celebrating a decade of operations in Wilton.
“So it only seems fitting to continue to look at ways we can expand our reach in Saratoga County and be a continued positive supporter of our community,” said SUNY Adirondack President Kris Duffy. “We’ve been here awhile, and we’re still moving forward.”
Andrew Waite can be reached at [email protected] and at 518-417-9338. Follow him on Twitter @UpstateWaite.
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