What is Ulster BOCES?
Rosemarie Russo DiBenedetto

Ulster BOCES means different things to different people. To Rosemarie Russo DiBenedetto, a former Ulster BOCES New Visions Education Careers Exploration student, Ulster BOCES means having the opportunity to experience the various aspects of the education field before selecting a college major and career path.

Ever since she was a young girl, Rosemarie knew she wanted to be a teacher. “I always wanted to play teacher with my friends, even my mother used to always say to me, ‘You’re going to be a teacher!’” Throughout the years, Rosemarie kept her interest in teaching, but never gave it serious consideration until one day when she was a junior at New Paltz High School and a representative from Ulster BOCES came to talk about the New Visions Career Exploration program. “I started to think about it. If I wanted to be a teacher, then I thought I should give Ulster BOCES a try.”

At first, Rosemarie says she was a bit intimidated by the process of having to write a paper and then go on an interview to see if she would be accepted into the New Visions Education program. “But I did it, and everything went fine.” In September 1997, when Rosemarie was a senior, she began attending Ulster BOCES. “It was a really good starting point for me.”

The New Visions Education Careers Exploration program allows students to work side-by-side with teachers and educational administrators. Students enrolled in this one-year program are placed in childcare, preschool, elementary, middle, and high school classes, as well as in post-secondary educational programs throughout Ulster County where exemplary practices of instruction take place. Students become knowledgeable about employment opportunities in the field of education. English and social studies are taught through an interdisciplinary curriculum.

“I really liked the program,” says Rosemarie. “I think the important thing when you’re a senior in high school and thinking about going to college, is that you need to pick a major. When I heard about the New Visions program, I thought that it was a good way to find out if teaching was truly something I liked and would want to go to college for, and it was.”

Rosemarie really appreciated the hands-on aspect of the program and being able to experience teaching in different schools and various grade levels, from preschool to high school. “There are so many options,” says Rosemarie. “When I was in high school, I didn’t know if I wanted to be an elementary, secondary, or special education teacher. It was very helpful to be in a program that put us right out there in the schools to experience the various options for ourselves.”

Through the New Visions Education program, Rosemarie did two-week rotations in different schools and grade levels in the Kingston, New Paltz, and Rondout Valley School Districts. “I had the first-hand opportunity to see what was going on in different classrooms. I also spent two weeks with a principal, which I thought was really good as I was able to see the administrative side of the career. It’s very interesting to see what a principal’s job entails.”

Through the New Visions Education program, Rosemarie recalls being queried by the instructor about her interests and then she was fitted into a rotation that incorporated it into her overall learning experience. “At the time, I was thinking about becoming a foreign language teacher because I spoke Italian, so they placed me in a Spanish class. It was really good to experience the different areas; it helped me decide exactly which field and level of education I wanted to teach. As a result of being in the New Visions Education program, when I graduated from high school, I knew that elementary education was going to be my college major.”

In June 2000, Rosemarie graduated from SUNY Ulster with an associate’s degree in elementary education. She then transferred to SUNY New Paltz, where during the course of her studies, she also did seven-week student teaching intervals at both Marlboro and Kingston School Districts. While at Marlboro Elementary School, Rosemarie really enjoyed the school’s atmosphere. “I liked the building, it’s a nice home atmosphere, all the people were willing to help and share ideas, and it was close to home. I just really liked it.”

Upon her graduation from SUNY New Paltz in 2002, Rosemarie applied for a substitute teaching position at Marlboro Elementary School. That September, at age 22, she was hired. After one month, she was offered a fourth grade teaching position, which she accepted.

“When I graduated from high school and finished the New Visions program, I knew I wanted to teach elementary level, and I haven’t moved since!” exclaims Rosemarie, who remains at Marlboro Elementary School. “I love the grade. It’s a great age. You can be creative. You can do a lot of things with fourth grade students; it’s an age where they still get excited about learning the little things. They make me laugh, they are why I love my job so much.”

The past few years marked several other highlights for Rosemarie; she was married in 2004, and in 2005, she earned her master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz in elementary education.

Rosemarie highly recommends Ulster BOCES for other students who are trying to decide what career they would like to explore. “Ulster BOCES gave me the opportunity to experience teaching first-hand and to see if that was indeed the career I wanted to pursue. When I was placed in the different classrooms, the teachers welcomed me with open arms. They gave me ideas, suggestions, and they showed me how to grade papers. Those were the hands-on experiences that really helped ready me for student teaching. Thanks to Ulster BOCES, I was well-prepared and had a definite direction for my career.”