The Southern Westchester BOCES Board of Education met Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, via videoconference. The meeting was livestreamed and is available to view at our Board Meetings page, along with recordings and transcripts of past meetings.
Continuing a banner year for award-winning work, the School Communications team at Southern Westchester BOCES was honored with six awards in the New York School Public Relations Association's 41st Annual Communications Contest.
Seven years ago, a surprise visitor toured SWBOCES main offices, sharing insights and connections to his storied history. Read the article first shared in July 2013.
Are your Zoom meetings as secure as they can be? Are your Google Meets as engaging as possible? Our LHRIC Instructional Technology colleagues have compiled the resources you need to leverage online conferencing tools to maximum effect. Learn more at: https://it.lhric.org/using_online_conferencing_tools.
A lemonade stand in Chappaqua raised funds for research into a rare condition that affects a student at our Tappan Hill School. The Examiner newspaper tells the story of the fundraising effort by the student's big brother.
Dr. Coles formerly served as Superintendent of Schools at the Greenburgh Abbott Union Free School District , a special act school district in Irvington, N.Y. He also served for five years as director of pupil personnel services at the Greenburgh Central 7 School District, and for five years as a school psychologist and coordinator at the Biondi Education Center adolescent day school at Leake and Watts Inc. in Yonkers. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at Lehman College.
As District Superintendent, Dr. Coles oversees the agency's work with component school districts, meets regularly with the region's superintendents, and serves as the New York State Education Commissioner's representative in the Southern Westchester region.
The district superintendent and chief operating officer at Southern Westchester BOCES head up an educational organization that employs roughly 1,000 teachers, administrators, and other professionals. SWBOCES provides more than 65 educational programs and services to students, teachers, administrators, and the general public in career and technical education, special education, adult education, and professional development for teachers.
It serves 32 component school districts in southern Westchester County and operates with a budget of $182 million.
The District Superintendent is the Chief Executive Officer of Southern Westchester BOCES and serves as the Education Commissioner’s representative in the region. He is also a liaison between local districts and the state Education Department.
Responsibilities of New York’s 37 District Superintendents are established by the legislature and the commissioner to provide cost efficiency for participating districts and decentralization for the Education Department.
Districts are not charged for the following services:
◊ Facilitating communications and cooperation among districts, the state Education Department, and other public and private agencies;
◊ Interpreting and clarifying Education Law, Commissioner’s regulations, and policies that affect education in the region;
◊ Serving as regional contact for state initiatives, such as the new state standards and assessments;
◊ Assisting in developing educational policy and working with legislators on behalf of public education;
◊ Reporting to the commissioner and working with state Education Department staff;
◊ Assisting with reorganization issues and studies in participating districts;
◊ Conducting superintendent searches for local districts;
◊ Investigating and ruling on boundary disputes between districts;
◊ Providing advice and counsel to local boards of education and in-service education for local superintendents; and
◊ Approving BOCES service contracts and cross contracts.
To participate in these services, call (914) 937-3820 or email hcoles@swboces.org.
