Dear Residents of the Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Region:
We are pleased to present our seventh annual BOCES Report Card to you. This Report Card contains information gathered and presented by the New York State Education Department. Additional data on our programs and the performance of our students is provided by our BOCES staff. The information provided by the Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES staff is indicated in italics at the top of each of our pages.
We are proud of the success of our programs, success that is reflected throughout this report. Some program highlights include:
* Our Career and Technical Education programs continue to have a positive impact on the high school graduation and post-secondary admission rates and employment of our students.
* Our On-Line Application System for the recruitment of teachers is now used as the primary recruitment tool by over 175 school districts in New York State.
* The graduation rate for our adult Career and Technical Education students is 20% higher than the state average.
* Our Career and Technical Education students and our School Communications Services have won high-level awards at national competitions.
* Our Special Education MOVE program, expanding the mobility of our physically handicapped students, has become a national model, drawing visitors from around the country.
* The use of our School Library Services electronic database search service has increased by more than 600%.
* Our Curriculum and Professional Development programs provided over 13,000 days of training to staff members during the 2003-2004 school year in such areas as new standards training, preparing for and scoring new state assessments, instructional strategies, data analysis and management and library automation services.
As you look at the costs of BOCES programs, please keep two important facts in mind. First, cost comparisons to state averages do not account for regional cost-of-living differences. The cost for personnel, real estate, and materials is considerable higher in our BOCES region than in most other parts of the New York State. Second, special education tuitions for BOCES-sponsored programs represent services for the most physically and educationally challenged students in our region. Therefore, these costs are considerably higher than the cost of educating other students. These BOCES-run programs require the smallest class sizes and the most significant number of related services to meet the needs of these students.
We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students and of the high-quality and cost-effective services that we provide to our component districts. We hope this Report Card helps you to better understand and appreciate the services offered by Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES.
Sincerely,
James T. Langlois, Ed.D.