Newburgh Free Academy P-TECH hosted Inaugural Family Day
The full day event included IBM mentors, parents, and over 150 students, and activities were centered around careers, community and relationship building.
The day began with Cybersecurity Day, a highly successful yearly P-TECH event designed to connect our ninth grade scholars with industry professionals. The event reinforced the program’s commitment to career readiness and real-world skills beyond Academy Field. The session was a dynamic demonstration of P-TECH’s unique model, which blends academic study with hands-on, career-focused experiences.
The cornerstone of the event was a speed mentoring session featuring dedicated IBM mentors from the Cybersecurity field. Fifteen professionals volunteered their time to share insights into their careers, offering students a rare glimpse into the day-to-day realities of protecting digital assets. This activity allowed students to gather diverse perspectives on career paths in technology, while practicing their professional skills through one-on-one conversations.
"The idea around Cybersecurity Day is not solely focused on learning about firewalls and encryption, but learning about professional skills and applying them into their daily lives," said 12th grade P-TECH student and P-TECH Liaison for IBM, Josiah Placide. "These are the essential skills that make our graduates immediately valuable to employers."
The event also featured a series of engaging and cutting-edge workshops that tackled essential skills for the modern digital landscape. P-TECH IBM Liaison and student Chloe Torres-Diaz led an interactive, space-centered game to give students a brain break while learning the fundamentals of creating a strong, secure password. Concurrently, IBM expert Tony Cusato hosted a dedicated Cybersecurity Talk, in which he described digital defense and offered an exclusive look into the high-demand career paths available in the industry. In a forward-looking session entitled “AI Best Practices,” IBM employees Michael Gildein and Christopher DeRobertis provided students with a guide to navigating the age of generative artificial intelligence. This workshop focused on teaching students how to use AI as a strategic academic partner—not a substitute for critical thought.
When that event ended, ninth grade students had lunch and then gathered with the entire P-TECH student body in the auditorium for a celebration of student work that centered around a showcase of a student-created short film entitled, “What You Might Not See…” These videos were students’ culminating projects for a unit that invited P-TECH students across all grade levels to uncover the untold stories that exist within our Newburgh community. Students conducted interviews with community members, parents, NFA faculty, staff, and coaches as they completed research into the people and places that interest them. They looked deeply at places like parks and monuments and critically examined local historical events. Parents and families were invited to attend the viewing to commemorate the success of these P-TECH scholars. Christine Baumann, ELA teacher, introduced the project to the audience by saying, “It is our hope that by helping students learn more about Newburgh and its history and the people they encounter here, we will encourage the type of connection and understanding that is so needed in today’s society.” Jacqueline Hall, ELA teacher, remarked, “Some of the stories students uncovered were inspiring; others were heartbreaking. All of them reveal something that students found to be true and wanted to share with a wider audience.”
The day concluded with a celebration after school hosted by the P-TECH Community Service Club called “Cookies and Computers.” For this event, students brought in homemade cookies to share and learned from hands-on, computer-based activities. Community Service Club volunteers modeled Raspberry Pi technology, student-created arcade games, and STEM-focused activities which helped students explore how computers work. The event was a welcoming and community-building way to end a full day of learning.
P-TECH House Principal, Mr. Anthony WIlliams, said “P-TECH Family Day brings together students, parents, alumni, teachers, and our college and IBM partners in a powerful celebration of learning and community. When alumni return as IBM volunteers, parents attend presentations, and teachers lead hands-on activities, our students see what’s possible, and they deepen the skills that really matter: collaboration, empathy, curiosity, and courageous storytelling. Events like this don’t just make our scholars stronger, they make our citizens stronger.”
Through activities such as these, our Newburgh Free Academy P-TECH program continues to prepare students for high-demand, high-wage careers in cybersecurity, offering a direct pathway to both an Applied Associate Degree and future employment.
Story and photos provided by Mr. Anthony Williams. Additional photos can be found by clicking this link.
ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!
