LI Herald Celebrates H2M’s Partnerships with Uniondale School District

The LI Herald recently published two articles about H2M’s work with the Uniondale School District: one about the New York State Pathways in Technology (NYS P-TECH) program and the other about ribbon cuttings for the recent school additions and renovations.

P-TECH

P-TECH is a collaborative program between schools and companies designed to prepare high school students for careers in science, technology, engineering, math, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. Students in P-TECH can earn college credits towards an associate degree.

Learning + Development Specialist Karla Blanco, SHRM-CP leads the P-TECH program at H2M, which is now in its third year. Students participate in different activities each year.

Freshmen come to H2M’s corporate headquarters in Melville where they get to speak with President and CEO Rich Humann and ask him questions about what it’s like to work in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Students are then divided into teams to participate in the “marshmallow challenge,” which asks students to build the tallest possible structure out of uncooked spaghetti, tape, and a marshmallow. In sophomore year, Ms. Blanco visits the school for a drone piloting demonstration and to lead students through a film editing and marketing exercise to promote P-TECH. This year, for the first time, Ms. Blanco will support students in resume building and editing to prepare to either enter college or the workforce.

School Additions and Renovations

November was a month of celebrations for the Uniondale Union Free School District, with more than half of its schools holding ribbon cuttings to celebrate new additions and renovations. The LI Herald published an article that focused on the Lawrence Road and Turtle Hook Middle Schools.

Funded by a $158 million bond approved by the public in November 2018 – one of the largest bonds in Long Island history – this work touches every school in the district. One of the main goals for the bond was to implement a pre-Kindergarten program for the district’s four-year-olds. Each school received a new addition to accommodate increasing enrollment as well as to remove obsolete portable classrooms and to move other classrooms out of the basement. Every school also received infrastructure upgrades, LED lighting, and site upgrades. Many feature new boilers, classroom additions, toilet rooms, auxiliary gymnasiums, cafeterias, libraries/media centers, and HVAC renovations including new air-conditioned spaces.

“This bond and the school upgrades were critical for the district,” said Studio Director Jason Smith, RA, LEED AP BD+C, CSI, CDT. Mr. Smith and his team designed Uniondale’s new additions and renovations. “Some of the schools were nearly 100 years old and weren’t equipped for the district’s growth or for newer trends in education. Now, every building will have new life and the students will have every tool they need to succeed.”

The ribbon cutting ceremonies featured short performances from the schools’ band, orchestra, and cheerleading teams. District administrators and school leaders spoke at each event, thanking the community and the design team. Students also led tours of the new additions and renovated spaces.