LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The days of the rural one-room schoolhouse are long gone, but even today three former rural school districts, after consolidation into one, with a current K-12 enrollment of 1,195 students, can’t meet 21st-century educational demands without the supplementary and complementary services of the Sullivan County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

BOCES has provided vocational (career tech) and special/alternative education services to all school districts within the county since the 1960s. At the March 19 meeting of the Sullivan West Central School District Board of Education, BOCES Deputy Superintendent Susan Schmidt outlined the ever-expanding scope of services her organization offers and the additional geographic areas it now serves in other counties.

Today, BOCES’s 325 staff members provide both instruction and an array of allied medical and psychological services to 373 students, including career tech education to 26% of all county students in grades 11 and 12. Of that 26%, 57% will continue their educations at the post secondary level. There are currently 50 Sullivan West students enrolled in career tech courses. Here’s the breakdown: animal science (5); auto body repair (4); auto technology (7); career opportunities (2); cosmetology (8); culinary arts (9); early childhood (4); health occupations (4); natural resources (1); precision machining (5); and public safety services (1).

Thirty-one Sullivan West students are currently enrolled in BOCES’s special/alternative education (SAED) programs; four more are waiting for placement, as SBC is presently unable to meet demand for its SAED programs.Calling attention to the extremely high instructor-student ratio, Schmidt said that special and alternative education students with multiple or severe impairments often require a multitude of specialized services, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, skilled nursing, psychological counseling and unique instruction, like Braille and American Sign Language, for vision and hearing-impaired students.

English as a second or other language (ESOL) and GED preparation instruction is also offered by BOCES, as is provision of professional development support for district teaching staff and shared administrative functions that include payroll management and transportation services. Noting that BOCES is undergoing a statewide review, Schmidt said that it is unclear how or where its services will be provided in the future. It’s possible that BOCES could be merged with one or more neighboring BOCES programs in the near future, a fact Sullivan West District Superintendent Nancy M. Hackett acknowledged, saying she was interviewed as part of that review.

In other business, the board voted to hire a Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department school resource officer and accepted a check in the amount of $566 for the elementary band program, proceeds from a January concert by Breach the Barrier, a band made up of four Sullivan West students. Tenure was granted to secondary school English teacher Bethany Hamilton and elementary school teacher Randi Beth Strouse. And Hackett said that the Narrowsburg School sale is in process, the building inspection ongoing.

For full meeting agenda and complete minutes, see swcsd.org. For additional information about Sullivan County BOCES programs and services, see scboces.org.