Dutchess BOCES

Teachers and staff at Dutchess BOCES promote lifelong learning. Part of instilling this mindset in students is setting an example by participating in continued learning themselves.

Dutchess BOCES joined other school districts and businesses for Sparrow’s Nest Dress Down Day, March 15, 2024. Named Sparrow’s Nest Day by County Executive Sue Serino, the day raises awareness and funds for the charity. This year, BOCES raised $1,780.

It is often said that one must spend 10,000 hours on a certain activity to become an expert. Esther Kando Odescalchi has certainly reached this threshold in dancing, beginning to dance at age 12 in her native Hungary, and continuing to learn and teach ballroom dance in the U.S. for over 40 years.

What do painting with Legos, bingo, desk movement games, and free drawing have in common? They each have the ability to create community. Activities such as these, along with others, take place during PBIS Friday Community Activities at Salt Point Center (SPC).

It is a gratifying feeling to see something you learned about come to life on the big screen. Students from the Resilience Academy experienced this on a recent music class field trip to NCG Cinemas in Kingston to see the new film “Bob Marley: One Love” after learning about Marley throughout the semester. 

A partnership between Dutchess BOCES and the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education (CAPE) seeks to support students in a new way. 
The purpose of this partnership is to help students “develop skills and strategies in a healthy way to deal with trauma as opposed to self-medicating with substances,” shared Denise Dzikowski, BOCES’ executive director for special and alternative education.  

February is Career and Technical Education month! To celebrate the hard work and dedication of our Dutchess BOCES Career and Technical Institute (CTI) students, we spoke to students from across a variety of programs throughout the month to learn about their experiences.

A team representing Dutchess BOCES raised over $9,000 and participated in the 26th annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics at Sharpe Reservation’s Camp Mariah in Fishkill Feb. 17.

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by participating in the Kid’s HEART Challenge from the American Heart Association? Students at Salt Point Center (SPC) got their hearts pumping on Wednesday by hula hooping, jumping rope, long jumping, and much more.

The Hudson Valley Special Olympics Regional Aquatics & Basketball Competition is fast approaching, and Dutchess BOCES is coming together to prepare athletes for the competition, as well as to fundraise for Hudson Valley Special Olympics as a whole.

The winter season can bring about mixed feelings. Leading up to the holidays, the cold and snowy weather is often viewed as merry and bright, but what about after the new year? With a couple of winter months still to come, Lauren Sky – a Dutchess BOCES school social worker - and Salt Point Center student, Colton Schinella, share some tips for families and students to beat the winter blues.

Dutchess BOCES brought together 48 literacy leaders from across the region Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, for the first ever New York State Education Department Literacy Symposium. The event, held at BOCES locations throughout the state, came the day after Gov. Kathy Hochul put the focus on literacy in her State of the State address.

Dutchess BOCES Career and Technical Institute’s new assistant principal, Damian Lamm, will support instruction and support teachers to “bridge the gap between the knowledge from working in the profession versus using that knowledge in a teacher setting so that knowledge can be imparted to students in the most effective way possible,” he said.

Career and Technical Institute representatives are visiting Dutchess County high schools to talk with students about the opportunities offered at CTI before local high school sophomores explore those opportunities by visiting Dutchess BOCES to tour CTI and meet CTI students and teachers.

High schoolers from four Dutchess County school districts represented the viewpoints of various countries while working together to come up with resolutions during Dutchess BOCES’ High School Model United Nations at Vassar College Dec. 18.