Passaic Tech at Super Football Conference Media Day 2024
The Passaic Tech football team chats with the Varsity Aces at the 2024 Super Football Conference Media Day.
WAYNE — High school students have a direct path to high-demand jobs in food science, genetics and pharmacy at a $24 million academic building that officially opened this week on the campus of Passaic County Technical Institute.
The John Currie Biotechnology Innovation Center, named after the chairman emeritus of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, will provide up to 800 students with advanced training in one of the nation’s fastest-growing industries.
Students graduating from the innovation center at the Reinhardt Road school will earn associate degrees — equal to 60 college credits — in biotechnology through a dual enrollment program between PCTI and Passaic County Community College.
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On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of guests celebrated the opening at a dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting event. Among the dignitaries present were Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who also addressed the crowd, and state Assembly members Gary Schaer, D-Passaic, Shavonda Sumter, D-Paterson, and Benjie Wimberly, D-Paterson.
John Maiello, PCTI’s chief administrator, said the 55,000-square-foot facility marks a “significant milestone” for the high school — the largest in New Jersey.
“Today, we celebrate not just the opening of a new building,” he said, “but the dawn of a new era in education and career preparation for our students.”
Biotechnology is one of 14 schools at PCTI, which has an enrollment of more than 4,500. The other schools include applied engineering, criminal justice and culinary arts; all programs offer students opportunities to earn college credit.
Joseph Sabbath, PCTI’s assistant superintendent, said the biotechnology program started last year in another section of the high school. Officials wanted to open the innovation center at the same time, he said, but delays in the supply chain hampered construction progress.
The four-story building was designed by Coppa Montalbano Architects, a Totowa firm that has drawn plans for several other additions to the 55.7-acre campus, including the Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy.
Almost 80% of the project cost came from a state grant. The money was approved by New Jersey voters through a $500 million bond referendum in November 2018.
The first round of funding was released two and a half years later as part of the Securing Our Children’s Future Act, specifically aimed at improving school security and improving county colleges and county vocational schools.
Currie, a longtime supporter of Democrats across the state, said at the dedication ceremony that he was “deeply honored” and “humbled” to have his name attached to the innovation center.
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“I’ve always believed that to be a true leader is to serve others — to lift people up,” said Currie, also chairman of the county’s Board of Elections. “That’s what I hope this center will do for generations to come.”
One of its highlights is its fully equipped research room, licensed and operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a Long Island nonprofit that has boasted eight Nobel Prize winners in medicine or physiology.
The research room, which PCTI calls the DNA Learning Center, is the first of its kind in the state. The lab partnership is supported by InnovATEBIO, a program funded by the National Science Foundation to provide hands-on experiences to students at 118 affiliated schools.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
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