The Aug. 26 Kingston school board meeting provided an update on the future of the Ulster Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Phoenix Academy.

According to the BOCES website, the Phoenix Academy “offers specialized educational opportunities for students whose learning interests and unique learning styles differ from those typically found in a traditional school setting and who might also be at risk of not participating fully in their home schools.”

Kingston Superintendent Paul Padalino said declining attendance across all seven Ulster County school districts has caused participation in the Phoenix Academy to fall below the 40-student minimum required to sustain the program. He said BOCES programs are funded through district participation rather than directly through taxpayer funding.

“That being said, we did take a hard look at the program and wanted to look, especially given the budget situation, our personnel and our human resources, how we could do something here that would replicate the work they're doing at BOCES,” Padalino said. “Especially since the majority of that program was for our students.”

The Kingston school district plans to establish an in-house program on its own campus as a replacement for the Phoenix Academy, using Kingston teachers and support staff.

The new program will have a maximum class size of 15 students. Staff, including general education and special education teachers, will receive training in mindfulness and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). A psychologist and social worker will provide individual and group counseling, and the program will also offer “adaptive physical education.”

“The goal is to create a caring and flexible environment where all students feel safe, and that's exactly what BOCES’ program was,” Padalino said.

Students currently enrolled through BOCES will continue attending their vocational programs. Padalino also said the district is working “case by case” to allow seniors to complete their remaining credits at BOCES.