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See Walden
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A Brief History
It all began on September 9, 1948 when a group of 40 people met to discuss
the new intermediate district legislation. On that date the second BOCES
in the state became a reality. Five newly elected board members joined
District Superintendent Robert E. Bell in the venture.
During the first years, a guidance counselor acted as the director of
this new education agency. Initially, 13 itinerant teachers were hired
to serve in the areas of art, dental hygiene, remedial reading, psychology,
guidance and physical education. The sharing concept was now being carried
out in several districts in Northern Westchester. Additional personnel
were later added such as a nurse, librarian, and teachers of the handicapped,
driver education, speech correction and vision until, in 1956, there were
44 shared professional staff members.
In 1952, the guidance center
became a separate service category and opened a center in Katonah. It
offered testing and counseling to 10 schools.
As of 1958, the upper Westchester
BOCES offered the following services: itinerant teacher program, 10 special
education classes for 115 students, guidance center servicing 975 youngsters,
college conference and psychiatric consultant service.
Putnam BOCES began its operation in 1957. As of 1964, it employed 35
full-time and part-time staff members and offered services in data processing,
speech correction, psychology and pupil personnel, as well as vocational
courses in auto mechanics, beauty culture and buildings trades. Prior
to the 1967 opening of the Putnam Tech Center buildings in Carmel, 220
vocational students were learning their trades in four different locations
in Mahopac and Carmel. Now students and programs were consolidated on
one campus.
In Northern Westchester, the vocational program began in 1958 when nine
students took courses in Valhalla. In 1962, the vocational education school
was establish in Yorktown as was the Center for Educational Services and
Research and the data processing center. In 1968, the special education
students was initiated in that year.
The next year, Putnam and Northern Westchester BOCES merged. Voters also
had an opportunity to cast their ballots regarding building the 240-acre
campus in Yorktown Heights. Special education classes were held in 20
different buildings in upper Westchester. Films and other materials were
delivered to various districts. A 3,000 student college conference was
held. High school seminars in areas such as film making, critical issues
and meteorology were offered for the first time.
In the 1970's, many new programs were initiated to serve local school
districts in the Putnam/Northern Westchester region. Before the opening
of the Yorktown Heights campus, Tech Center programs were held in three
different areas: Fox Meadow campus in Yorktown, Putnam Center in Carmel,
and Triangle Shopping Center in Yorktown Heights. Vocational programs
were offered in eight occupational areas in 1970, including secretarial,
data processing, auto technology, electricity, graphic arts, heating/air
conditioning, constrcution technology and machine industries. An adult
education program was initiated in 1970 and a partnership formed with
Westchester Community college. Today the program serves more than 5,000
adults each year.
In 1971, the Madden Outdoor
Education Center in Kent was donated to BOCES to provide a natural setting
for outdoor activities. This 120-acre center now serves 9,000 students
each year in various outdoor education programs, as well as providing
a setting for a program called Walden-in-the-Woods for middle school special
education students.
The early 1970's saw the addition of cosmetology and culinary arts programs
and receipt of federal grants for such projects as environmental education.
In the mid and late 70's, more districts asked for additional programs
to be offered on a shared basis and BOCES responded by starting a preschool
program for handicapped younsters, French Hill Learning Center for students
with emotional problems, and a New Options program for those wanting to
obtain a high school equivalency diploma. Programs for the gifted, such
as the Studio Arts Companyand Performing Arts Group, were added , along
with the gifted mentor program, elementary science, alternative high school,
communication disorder/hearing impaired programs and The Bridge program
for older special needs students. Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES will
continue to grow and change according to the needs of its 18 local school
districts.
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