Dutchess BOCES hosted its annual Community Summit in June, an engaging State of the BOCES event bringing together educators, industry partners, elected officials and community leaders to reflect on the agency’s progress and look ahead to the future.
Centered on this year’s theme of “Partnership in Action: Expanding Opportunities for Students Together,” District Superintendent Dr. Jodi DeLucia’s keynote speech touched on the agency building stronger systems and opportunities for students across the region, as well as regional collaboration where representatives from varied organizations share expertise, ideas and innovation that benefit students. The agency is seeing increased referrals, intakes and complex student needs requiring immediate attention, while programs are full. DeLucia noted that partnership is the only path forward, and stronger regional systems must be built to meet those demands. “Partnership in action is districts sitting together to solve challenges collectively, rather than competitively,” DeLucia said. “Opportunity must exist for all learners, not just some.”
Across the agency, staff have worked to position Dutchess BOCES as a regional leadership hub, welcoming thousands of educators for shared professional learning this school year, with DeLucia noting that student success is a shared responsibility. “The future of education will be shaped by organizations willing to collaborate courageously, share resources strategically and build opportunities collectively,” DeLucia said. “Working at Dutchess BOCES is truly work of the heart … there are no lives we can’t touch.”
Growth this year was rooted in alignment, vision, partnership and a shared commitment to students. Program, department and agency goals were aligned through the Agency’s Blueprint for Excellence, and work was completed with clarity, focus and purpose. DeLucia noted the agency enhanced safety, modernized facilities and strengthened workforce pipelines, but there is room to grow. “The future may require us to think even bigger – bigger about programming, bigger about services, bigger about partnerships and bigger about our physical footprint,” DeLucia said. “In many ways, we’re just beginning.”
Administrators touted their respective areas’ successes, including Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Mike Skerritt, who noted that his area, which includes food services, partnered with local farms to provide healthy student meals and is working with local contractors to bring municipal water to the campus.
“If you want to go somewhere fast, go alone; if you want to go somewhere far, go together … our BOCES can only go as far as our partnerships will allow,” Skerritt said. “We ask you to come with us on that journey.”
William Slater, a Fleet Maintenance Supervisor for the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), is familiar with BOCES as he represented his employer at on-campus job fairs, but was fascinated to learn about all of the services the agency offers. He added that students from the Career & Technical Institute’s Automotive Technology program are welcome to apply for a DOT internship where they perform maintenance tasks.
“They really offer a lot to students to prepare them for the future,” Slater said of BOCES. “It’s promising.”
