There may not have been much enthusiasm about the economic future of Ulster County since IBM left the Kingston area 30 years ago. New enthusiasm was generated in the same former IBM space at iPark 87 on the east side of Enterprise Drive in the Town of Ulster. Hundreds of educational, economic and political leaders gathered there to see a purple ribbon marking the opening of the Ulster BOCES Career and Technical Center cut with a large pair of ceremonial scissors. As instructed, they cheered.
“Our generation was kind of the first one that felt the rug pulled out from under us when IBM left,” local congressmember Pat Ryan, one of the speakers, said. “It’s particularly important, I felt, at least … that if there’s one thing I wanted to try to take some risk on and lean in on, it was that our generation and future generations would say, ‘We’re not going to drive by this place anymore and feel down, we’re going to drive by this place and envision a future for our kids and our grandkids.”
Classes in the new space accommodating around 700 students – mostly juniors and seniors — from the eight school districts of Ulster BOCES on the morning of every school day and 700 different students in the afternoon opened in September. In all, there are over 20,000 students in the Ulster BOCES school districts.
This extensive facility, with over 200 programs and services, is just the beginning of the future Ulster BOCES superintendent Dr. Jonah Schenker sees for the former IBM space. Massive though the almost-three-acre space leased by BOCES for 20 years is, it represents only seven or eight percent of the square footage of the sprawling IBM plant of 30 years ago. What BOCES is occupying “is just a piece of the vision for this entire campus,” Dr. Schenker said. “Hundreds of thousands of square footage” is available for businesses to move into. He anticipates ever-deeper on-site integration between industry and its trainees and apprentices.
“This day is of great symbolic significance for this county,” said county executive Jen Metzger. “To see this major step forward in this campuses’ revitalization is incredibly exciting – and overdue.”
The closer alignment of classroom learning with workforce demands need not be accomplished through preparation for dead-end jobs. A recent Ulster BOCES study made the claim that 59 percent of its graduates pursued higher education (some got college credits while at high school), while 29 percent went straight into the workforce.
Schenker wants to replace the traditional “industrial model” whose standardized factory-like structure is ineffective in the information era. He supports programs that focus on real-world skills, personalized learning, industry partnerships, and a more holistic approach.
The old system, he writes, was designed to produce a disciplined, obedient and punctual workforce for the industrial economy. The teacher served as the primary source of knowledge, and students were moved from class to class by bells, ignoring individual differences. Students were treated as empty vessels.
A big check doesn’t hurt
Beneath the IBM clock early Friday afternoon, the visitor passed between two rows of similarly attired students who voiced their cheery welcomes. One was asked what he was doing standing around. “Just standing around,” he replied with a smile.
People greeted each other inside the large check-in space and clustered to chat. Technicians and snack preparers fussed around at their tasks. Wherever possible, the words “company” and “group” were replaced by the word “team.”
The crowd moved slowly toward the far part of the room, where a stage with a podium awaited. The visitors sat in five identical chairs in each row of ten divided by a modest central aisle. Some folks, in particular the photographers, preferred to stand, equipment in hand, on the side.
Eventually, they were brought to order by Schenker. The loud buzz characteristic of a business meeting or conference quieted.
A ceremonial check worthy in scale of the ceremonial scissors was brought out. From the Gene Haas Foundation in California, it was made out to Ulster BOCES for the sum of a million dollars, “an endorsement grant award for pre-eminent training facilities and schools that were expanding their programs.” Rising to its feet, the audience gave the announcement what turned out to be the biggest and most prolonged hand of the afternoon.
“Celebrate what is right,” urged Schenker. “Get together around what is next.”
Real jobs by real people
Two selected “anchor students” flanked Schenker as he introduced them. He emphasized the importance of listening to and involving students in real-life experiential learning rather than just throwing words at them or unfamiliar concepts they are expected to absorb. One of the students, Elizabeth Harris from Onteora, lauded the efforts of the local BOCES to help students create “a better version of themselves.”
The second most enthusiastic round of audience applause greeted the remarks of Lynne Ward, CEO of the buildings’ owner, National Resources of Greenwich, Conn., who urged BOCES to enjoy its new Career and Technical Center. She claimed the facility would be AI-proof. “What is going on here are real jobs by real people ahead of AI,” she said.
What credit did she deserve for the project? “I did nothing,” the blunt-minded development financier said. “I would venture to say the same for a few politicians here today.” Though the riposte was in this case not entirely fair, it produced a standing ovation.
State education commissioner Dr. Betty Rosa bestowed upon the local BOCES her benediction, praising it for the connection of its multiple pathways to economic development and the design of its “amazing space” to meaningful, vigorous applied learning.
A couple of local newspapers focused their coverage after the Friday event on the considerable back taxes National Resources owed. That’s true, but the fact the firm has just invested considerable new capital on the BOCES gambit raises its level of commitment. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Deeper learning
On July 14 and 15 of next year, Park 87 will host a conference co-organized by Ulster County BOCES called Deeper Learning, billed as a global gathering of educators, leaders and change-makers working to create more student-centered schools. It’s being advertised as “a look ahead to imagine what school can be in a way that is joyful, reflective and inspiring.” Some 36 out of a potential 500 registrations have been received so far.
Though not one speaker at the new BOCES facility – even Dr. Schenker, a great practitioner of the approach — even referred to the concept of deeper learning on Friday. Teaching approaches that support deeper learning claim to enable students to succeed and thrive in an ever-evolving and interconnected society. According to the Learning Policy Institute, curriculum, instruction, and assessment focused on deeper learning engages students in learning core academic content and applying that knowledge to relevant and authentic real-world problems.
“Welcome to the future,” assistant BOCES superintendent Peter Harris concluded Friday’s event. “We are building together.”
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