SUBLETTE COUNTY — The Sublette Board of Cooperative Education Services’s (BOCES) new director is a familiar face in the community. Robin Schamber, who recently took over the organization, said she is “excited to continue the great programs that BOCES has put into place over its many years.” She looks “forward to updating the needs assessment of our ever-changing community and building new programs to help meet the changing workforce needs of our community.”

Schamber has served on the school and BOCES boards for the last decade and is the former 4-H agent for Sublette County.

BOCES, funded through a mill levy on the taxpayers of Sublette County School District No. 1, strives to provide far-reaching and varied educational programs to as many people as possible.

Last year, BOCES contributed more than $18,000 in funding so 30 area youth could attend summer and academic camps as well as other educational programs. The organization also provided daily after-school programming for 43 different kindergarten youth Mondays through Tuesdays, building STEAM skills and giving them opportunities for hands-on learning through arts and crafts.

BOCES, which operates BEEP, an early childhood education program for infants to prekindergarten-aged children throughout the school year, served 30 children last year. In the summer when school is out, BOCES offers financial support to the Children’s Discovery Center and in addition to hosting a week-long Camp Invention, sponsors two week-long summer STEAM camps through the Pinedale Fine Arts Council.

This summer, BOCES is providing support to the REAL Center to make additional daily childcare more readily available in the community.

BOCES covers the tuition and books for Pinedale High School students dually and concurrently enrolled in college courses while at PHS and Western Wyoming Community College, serving between 34 and 60 students each semester. Through BOCES, students have earned up to 48 college credits before graduating high school, often helping fast-track their college education.

BOCES supports teachers as well, funding several positions and enabling more enrichment and specialty classes.

In the upcoming school year, BOCES is funding a new teaching position at PHS for culinary arts as well as one for graphic design as part of an effort to boost career and technical education experiences for high school students.

BOCES also offers adult education courses on visual arts, pottery, culinary arts, aviation and personal finances. Schamber said in total, “BOCES provided adult education to over 280 community members that participated in 81 different classes this year.”

Recently, BOCES partnered with Western Wyoming Community College to offer a CDL training class that meets all requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Through this program, three residents earned their commercial driver’s licenses. Due to demand, a second CDL training is currently underway with three more residents enrolled.

This year, BOCES helps fund an EMT training course with the Sublette County Hospital District, successfully sending on eight new EMT students who are working to pass their national certification.

To review the latest programs and classes offered by BOCES, visit https://subletteboces.com.