By Debbie Rosen
Trustees on the Oceanside Board of Education were notified that the program they initiated to send suspended students to a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) program, rather than allowing them to stay at home has been approved. Superintendent Herb Brown told residents at the September 11, board meeting that BOCES has agreed to go with the suspension program even though they were not able to get the 10 spots believed needed to run the program.
While the Oceanside School District committed to taking three slots in the BOCES In-House Suspension Facility, 10 slots were said to be needed for the program to run. Come this October, Nassau BOCES has received a commitment from four school districts and the program is set to go with just eight slots taken.
According to Dr. Jeremy Sykes, executive director for instructional programs and alternative schools for Nassau BOCES, the eight slots were enough to make the program viable. In addition to Oceanside's three slots, Rockville Centre is signed up for two, Lawrence schools have taken two, and the Long Beach School District is signed up for one slot.
"Our intention is to have one full-time teacher and an aid for the eight students, but we have a 20-student capacity," said Dr. Sykes. "As the program gets underway and other districts sign up, we will have two full-time teachers for 20 students."
BOCES is aiming at an October 15 start date for the program, which will be housed in a classroom at the Cedar Creek Park Administrative Headquarters in Seaford. Districts will be responsible for bussing their suspended students to the location. Details on how Oceanside transportation will work are still being discussed. Dr. Brown said Rockville Centre schools voiced an interest in sharing transportation in the form of a minibus with Oceanside Schools.
The cost to each district is $13,500 per slot and is BOCES aided. Cost is expected to decrease as other districts join, Dr.Sykes pointed out. BOCES has already hired one full-time teacher, Joan Goldberg, and a full-time teacher's aid for the program, which will be somewhat modeled after the upstate New York Broome Tioga BOCES plan. "There's no need to reinvent the wheel," said Dr. Sykes, regarding the planning of how a student's day will run between the hours of 8:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M.
Dr. Sykes will travel to the upstate area, along with Ms. Goldberg, to see exactly how their program works. Then, the BOCES expert will meet with the four districts signed up for the program to develop district policies.
The park setting of the BOCES program will allow for community service to be done by students. "We will work with the park and the districts to find a way for our students to be involved. In good weather, students may rake leaves or paint park benches," said Dr. Sykes.
The program was approved by the New York State Education Department and awaits approval by the Nassau BOCES board on Wednesday, Wednesday, September 20.
