SWBOCES Center for Career Services Launches Innovative Service Learning Projects for Local High School Students

Establishing real-world connections for students who may be interested in one particular field or another is the idea behind a new service learning initiative at the SWBOCES Center for Career Services in Valhalla that will begin this fall.

The idea is to give students work-based learning hours that will satisfy the New York State Education Department’s Career Development & Occupational Studies (CDOS) commencement credential, a mandate that was first only an option for special education students but is now open to the general education population.

So whether students are interested in architecture, landscape design or creating a sustainable garden, the idea is to give them the kind of experience that can extend their learning beyond the classroom walls.

Some of the exciting upcoming projects include:

· 8.5 hours on a proposed 9/11 memorial renovation project on Central Avenue in Hartsdale, which is currently under consideration by the Town of Greenburgh.

· a three-day landscape project on the grounds of the BOCES campus that will introduce students to key landscape architectural concepts and design.

· 8.5 hours working on the Hudson River Estuary Project, which is coordinated by the the Center for the Urban River at Beczak and Sarah Lawrence College and will involve hands-on work along the Hudson River as well as subsequent testing in a laboratory.

“The overall goal of the development of these new service learning projects was to give our local high school students a preview of a future career of interest,” said Principal James Matera.

He added that the state mandate has expanded BOCES’ collaboration with local districts and satisfied the work-based learning hours that students will need to gain the CDOS commencement credential.

Mr. Matera explained that the Center is also coordinating a number of job shadowing road trips for students who are interested in specific occupations, in addition to offering a vocational assessment for students in local districts who are not regularly attending the BOCES campus.

The campus also houses a new life stills training room where students can learn real-life skills in a simulated apartment setting that contains a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and laundry services.

For more information on the initiative, call 914-761-3400 or visit the BOCES website at www.swboces.org/services.cfm.

Photo courtesy of the Wetland Institute.