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Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) and Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School (TEECS) of Somerset are launching a new academy this fall that will enable charter school students to pursue an associate degree while they are still in high school. The new partnership between RVCC and TEECS was formally established at a signing ceremony, held June 21 at the College’s Branchburg campus.

According to the agreement, the College and Charter School will partner to create the Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School (TEECS) Academy for grades 9-12. Graduates of the TEECS Academy will receive an Associate of Science Degree in General Science/Pre-Health Professional from the College and a high school diploma from TEECS.

“This new partnership between Raritan Valley Community College and Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School is a terrific example of the College’s ongoing commitment to promote STEM education by introducing high school students to exciting career opportunities available in science,” said RVCC President Michael J. McDonough. “The new Science Academy will offer talented and dedicated high school students the chance to get an early start on reaching their higher education goals. By the time their peers are graduating from high school, these students will already have earned an associate degree and will be better prepared to succeed—and thrive—at a four-year college or university,” Dr. McDonough continued.

“At TEECS, we strive to create new and exciting programs for our students,” said Mr. Oguz Yildiz, TEECS Lead Person. “This partnership with RVCC will provide them a chance to experience higher education in a new and exciting way. This early exposure will give them a head start in their college career and better prepare them for their future. Our students are excited to embrace this program, and we can not wait to watch them grow.”

Each TEECS Academy class will feature a full-time cohort of motivated and talented students who apply to the school in the spring of eighth grade and satisfy selective admission criteria for acceptance into the program. The first class is expected to begin with 20 students, all of whom must already be enrolled in TEECS.

For additional information about the new Academy, contact Omer Robert, TEECS Guidance Counselor, orobert@energysmartschool.org or Brenda Fisher, RVCC Director of Early College Programs, brenda.fisher@raritanval.edu.

The agreement with TEECS marks the third specialized Academy for high school students at RVCC. The College also offers the Academy for Health and Medical Sciences, a partnership between Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School and RVCC, and the Somerville Academy for Liberal Arts (SALA), a partnership between Somerville High School and RVCC.

TEECS is a tuition-free public school and the first K-12 school in NJ to focus specifically on green/renewable energy. The school is committed to providing a rigorous curriculum for its students in a small and personalized learning environment. TEECS’ mission is to offer a safe, secure, structured and stimulating educational environment to develop students' academic, technical, personal, and critical thinking skills necessary to meet the standards that will enable them to succeed in a global economy, predicated on knowledge and innovation.

RVCC’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development, and adult and youth personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 27, 2017

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #189