PORT EWEN – On Route 9W, Ulster BOCES educates students, K-12 and adults for a variety of careers in government, education and business.
But the facility there is growing obsolete as current and future demands need more space.
So iPark 87 in the Town of Ulster will open a second site for BOCES, where it will move its Career and Technical Center, which prepares high school students, from eight component districts for careers in a post-secondary workplace, adult education and other programs and allowing for future program expansion as needed.
That facility, with 90,000 sq. ft. of classroom and 105,000 sq. ft. of overall space, will open in September 2025 to serve 1,800 students.
A year later, retro-fit of the Port Ewen facility with 60,000 square feet of classroom and 90,000, square feet of overall space, will open to serve special education students in grades K-12 known as the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL).
BOCES offers five of these programs and all are at capacity, nearly at capacity or with waitlists. Some students are already being transported to other counties for services not offered here. Rates of classification have grown throughout the county, and more space is needed to serve these expanding needs.
“We have a chance, in this, to reimagine the student experience on the both sides of the house as well,” said Jonah Schenker, Ulster BOCES superintendent. “It’s really around reshaping what economic and workforce development means in a county and really centering our work as a BOCES to really be the conduit for the community that receives students post high school and experiences that can be offered for eight component districts.”
BOCES Career and Technical center here for high school students currently serves 1,200 students a day from the eight component districts, 600 in the morning and 600 in the afternoon, but it was original designed to serve 900 students, split 450 in the morning and afternoon.
