Sarah Arnold, Early Childhood Education

Sarah Arnold says going to BOCES “was the best decision she ever made.”

The South Glens Falls student and graduate of Early Childhood Education said that the two-year program gave her a massive head start on her peers once she went to college.

“In my first year, I had a 4.0 because I had learned most everything already in Mrs. (Cathy) Brennan’s class,” said Ms. Arnold, an assistant teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church’s Christian Childhood Center in Saratoga Springs. “I already knew how to write lesson plans to help with physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills, along with art projects, finger plays and felt boards. My portfolio, by the time I graduated from BOCES, was huge.”

But BOCES helped Sarah in other ways as well. The program, which includes two days in an active, on-site preschool, firmed up her career plans.

“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said Sarah. “As soon as I walked in the door and worked with the little ones in the preschool, I knew I wanted to work with preschoolers.”

BOCES also arranged two internships for her – one at a Kindergarten at the Caroline Street School in Saratoga Springs and one at the World Class Kids in South Glens Falls. Sarah also took advantage of SkillsUSA leadership opportunities, which included a conference in Syracuse and being named the SkillsUSA president of her program.

When she graduated, BOCES awarded her two scholarships, the Parents of Preschool Award and the New York National Association for the Education of Young Children scholarship, to help her pay for her courses at HVCC, where she will graduate in the spring. She will continue her education studies at either the College of St. Rose or at Empire State College in the fall.

In addition to her full-time teaching position in Saratoga Springs at St. Paul’s,

she just earned her national Child Development Association accreditation. She’s fine with all the time spend working and studying as she know she is moving toward her dream – directing her own center.

“BOCES was a great experience,” said Sarah. “It’s a tough program, but when you come out you will know if teaching is for you. I highly recommend it.”

Click here to read about the Early Childhood Education program.