Dutchess BOCES

Students at Salt Point Center’s (SPC) Extended School Year proudly showed off what they learned over the course of the six-week program during the annual ESY Summer Showcase on Aug. 14.

Geomari Fermin, an educator with over 10 years of experience, is the new assistant principal at Dutchess BOCES’ Resilience Academy.
The Board of Education approved Fermin’s hiring at its April 9 meeting and she started work in July getting acquainted with the school and assisting Salt Point Center Principal Melissa Murphy with the Extended School Year program.

When students at Dutchess BOCES’ Career & Technical Institute (CTI) return in the fall they will see improvements as soon as they enter the hallways.
New lockers are being installed in CTI’s hallways to replace the original ones, which were removed by Hertz Furniture during the week of June 30. Hertz will also do the installation.

Steve Price, who previously served as a school resource officer (SRO) for Dutchess BOCES during the 2023-2024 school year, is returning, albeit in a different role.

Jackie Fama has provided regional safety services for Putnam Northern Westchester (PNW) BOCES as a regional safety technician for the past seven years, but wanted to bring her expertise closer to home in Dutchess County.
At Dutchess BOCES July 9 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved Fama, a Fishkill resident, to serve as its first director of safety & security effective Sept. 1.

It has been a busy few weeks since the Extended School Year started July 7 at Dutchess BOCES’ Salt Point Center where students have been maintaining academic skills they learned during the last school year to avoid the “summer slide.”

Parents of former Salt Point Center students were given a tour of the Resilience Academy on July 21 and later given information about the school and its varied programs and activities.

Twenty-five students who enrolled in Dutchess BOCES’ Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program are getting a head start on what they will dive into in the fall as part of the two-week P-Tech Summer Bridge Program. Students are spending the first week building Lego robots and controlling them with computers.

Professionals from across the state gathered at Dutchess BOCES June 16-20 to earn credits toward their Career and Technical Education Teacher Certification through a course offered collaboratively between Dutchess BOCES Educational Resources, SUNY Oswego and the CTE Technical Assistance Center (CTE TAC) of NY. It is the first time it has been offered in Dutchess County.

The Extended School Year (ESY) program is off to a busy start with students maintaining the academic skills they learned during the school year to prevent substantial regression when they return to school in September. The program continues until Aug. 15.

Dutchess BOCES’ Career & Technical Institute welcomed 72 middle school students during the week of July 7 for the annual Middle School Summer CTI Experience where they learned the tricks of some of the school’s trade programs.

Danielle Rocco used words like unreal, fantastic, fun, cool and amazing in describing her experience at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference June 24-27. The Rhinebeck High School graduate was the first student from Dutchess BOCES’ Career and Technical Institute to win a state nursing assistant title to qualify for nationals.

Staff at Dutchess BOCES’ Salt Point Center are setting up their classrooms this week to host 23 classes and close to 200 students for the Extended School Year Program (ESY) making for an educational and fun summer starting July 7 and concluding August 15.

“When I look around this room, I see faces of people who make a difference every single day,” remarked District Superintendent Dr. Jodi DeLucia in her speech at the 2025 End of Year Recognition Ceremony.

While families, friends and BOCES faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the Resilience Academy’s Class of 2025’s commencement ceremony, students waited anxiously to enter the conference room, chatting amongst themselves and reflecting on who supported them along the way.