Guidance counselors from Dutchess BOCES’ component school districts learned about the Career and Technical Institute’s new EMT program and other new initiatives at the annual Counselor’s Meeting last week. It was also an opportunity to reacquaint them with other trade programs and services CTI offers.
The event highlighted students’ work including an exquisite breakfast of quiches, fruit and numerous pastries prepared by the Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management students. Second year nursing students Vanessa Aguilar-Perez, Ka’Niyah Carr and Jade Earle demonstrated how to get a patient into a wheelchair using a transfer belt. Counselors then asked them questions, including if coming to BOCES was helpful in preparing them for their field to which they all said yes.
“A lot of times when people come into nursing school, they don’t know anything about any type of science or biology,” Earle said.
“In our junior year, we learned all that stuff and basic care so when we go to a nursing program in college, we’ll know everything we need to know and then add on to that.”
Work-Based Learning Coordinator Jason Imperiale shared about one tool students need that is just as crucial as the tools used in their trades – a driver’s license, so they can get to classes and internships on time. He also highlighted the importance of students being self-sufficient, adding that 94% of CTI students who completed an internship last school year received full-time employment. “I can't tell you how many times kids graduated from the automotive program and didn't have a driver's license,” Imperiale recalled from his days as an automotive technology instructor.
Dover High School Guidance Counselor Kathleen Samanich now plans to encourage more students to get driver’s licenses after hearing Imperiale’s talk. “A lot of them want to have internships senior year, but so many of them don’t have access to transportation,” Samanich said. “I always make it a point to come to this.”
Imperiale also noted how Dutchess County is seeing an economic impact because of CTI students who have paid internships which gives them spending power. Based on last school year’s growth rate and projected enrollment, Imperiale estimated that during the 2025-2026 school year, students will work an estimated 13,607 hours at a rate of $16 hour, leading to over $217,000 being spent locally. “That’s a whole lot of money for a bunch of kids from high school to be earning from a couple of hours of work a day,” Imperiale said. “Within four years, we’re up to $258,000 of money that these kids earned … we want to just grow that number.”
Poughkeepsie High School Counselor Ann Marie Tucker found the meeting helpful as she recently went to classrooms educating sophomores about CTI programs, adding that she was impressed by the EMT program’s boots on the ground approach. “This gives me a good snapshot as to what to tell them,” Tucker said. “This was really a good time to entrench myself and review the BOCES requirements and the amazing opportunities for our students.”