Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career And Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Student and parent ask Bethlehem board to participate in Tech Valley BOCES program, call it an equity issue
Summary
A student and a parent urged the Bethlehem Central School District board to allow students to attend Tech Valley High School (a BOCES program), saying the district currently does not participate and that participation would provide real‑world project experiences and support for diverse learners.
Sofia Hamid, a rising eighth-grader at Woodland Hill Montessori School, and her mother, Danielle Hamid, spoke during public comment at the Bethlehem Central School District's July 1 meeting and asked the board to permit students to attend Tech Valley High School, a BOCES program.
Sofia said she attended Tech Valley summer camp and described project-based learning as a strength. "I would love to go to Tech Valley and hope you will consider sending students there," she told the board.
Her mother, Danielle Hamid, framed the request as an equity issue, saying, "it is, to me, an equity issue that Bethlehem, the number 1 school district in all of this area, does not participate." Danielle Hamid urged the board to visit Tech Valley, noted positive experiences with the program's staff, and said the program serves students with individualized needs.
Board members did not act on the request at the meeting; public comments were recorded for the board's consideration and the family encouraged the board to follow up with a site visit and direct contact with Tech Valley administrators.
The board did not make a formal decision during the meeting and will consider stakeholder input as part of its program-participation discussions.
