News
May 15, 2020New BOCES Academy Changes Life, Expands Opportunities for Watervliet Freshman
“If it weren’t for the Pathways Academy, I would have quit school. Seriously.”
So said Capital Region BOCES Pathways Academy student Haley Soto as she spoke earlier this year in front of a packed room full of educators from across the region.
Soto, from Watervliet, is a ninth grade student in the two-year-old school located on the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School Albany Campus. The academy offers students in grades 9 through 12 an alternative path to graduation. The school gives students the opportunity to take all of the required classes for graduation, including making up classes they didn’t have success with earlier. At the same time, they learn employability skills, such as how to prepare for a job interview and how to effectively communicate.
“I have been at Pathways since September and I went from not having a chance to graduate to now having that opportunity, said Soto.
An aspiring nurse, Soto said the support of Pathways faculty and staff, the one-on-one help with assignments and the flexibility of teachers has made all the difference in the world in her educational outlook.
“Without the faculty and staff’s constant support, I probably would have given up on going to school. I can honestly say that I used to not like going to school, but now I wake up every day and am excited to go to Pathways,” Soto said.
Soto said she is looking forward to take the Two Year Sequence of Health Careers program through Pathways at the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School and then pursuing Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certification through the BOCES Adult Education program.
“Pathways has made all the difference for me,” Soto said.
