About Us
It’s hard to find someone in Sweetwater County who hasn’t participated in or attended an event or class sponsored by the Sweetwater Board of Cooperative Educational Services! (SBOCES)
Though most people associate SBOCES with our summer enrichment programs for students, we offer both support and enrichment programs for all ages, all year round, blending new additions with many old favorites.
Our goal is to bring opportunities to our students and our citizens that will enrich and enhance our quality of life.
Each BOCES Board determines its own goals, based upon both community need and the needs identified by the cooperating entities. This is what makes the BOCES concept so unique: educational partners forming a cooperative agreement to provide services not only to the schools but to the entire community that would not otherwise be available or affordable.
Since 1987, we’ve worked diligently to not only identify our community’s existing needs, but to provide necessary support to meet them.
By continuing to provide opportunities across a wide range of activities and programs, and by remaining relevant and focused on the community we serve, we believe we’ll continue to see the strong base of support we enjoy today.
What is a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)?
To form a BOCES, you need two cooperating partners from school districts or college districts. Sweetwater BOCES was created in 1987 with School District #1 (Rock Springs) and Western Wyoming Community College, then joined by School District #2 joining the following year.
Today, SBOCES continues to operate with these three partnerships, although we have always considered the citizens of Sweetwater County our fourth partner. Because all BOCES are funded from property tax revenue, we believe it’s our mission to provide educational and enrichment opportunities for the entire population of Sweetwater County.
Our variety of programs and enrichment opportunities include:
Programs
- Career/Technical Assistance
- Dual and Concurrent Enrollment
- Early Learning/Children’s Center/Teen Parenting
- ELL
- Health Academy “Giving Packs”
- Options III/HiSET Program
- Sweetwater Scholarships
Summer Enrichment Programs
- Astronomy
- Camp Invention
- Cooking
- Music
- Photography
- Shakespeare Symposium
- Summer Theater for Youth
- Technology
Community Enrichment Opportunities
- Adult Quilting
- Community Choir
- Sweetwater County concert
- Legislative Internship Program
Student Enrichment Opportunities
- “Fun Friday” elementary enrichment program
- Individual piano instruction
- Spelling Bee
Apply for a Sweetwater BOCES Scholarship
Scholarships to Western Wyoming Community College are available for both degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students, ranging in age from high-schoolers to 60+.
To apply for a scholarship, contact Western Wyoming Community College Financial Aid by email or by calling (307) 382-1884.
Sweetwater County High School Graduate Scholarship
Open to all Sweetwater County high school dual/concurrent students
No application required! Your high school information will be captured in your main application to the college.
Sweetwater BOCES Non-Degree Seeking Scholarship
Open to all graduates of any Sweetwater County high school
Returning to Western Wyoming Community College as a reverse transfer? Just those looking to take some classes? This is the scholarship for you!
Sweetwater BOCES Scholarship for Returning Adults
Open to Sweetwater County residents ages 24-59
This scholarship is available for 12 credit hours during the fall/spring semesters and 6 credit hours during the summer semester, up to a maximum of $3,000 per year and 4 years for an equivalent of 12 semesters.
Sweetwater BOCES Senior Scholarship
Open to seniors (age 60+) who live in Sweetwater County
Want to take credit courses for personal or professional reasons? The scholarship covers up to six credit hours!
Testimonials
I would like to express my gratitude for gifting me the SBOCES Sr. Scholarship. It is so greatly appreciated, especially during these trying times. Your organization is so appreciated throughout this community. Thank you!
Sweetwater BOCES Senior Scholarship Recipient
I thought my son was mistaken when he told me the SBOCES ‘Sweetwater Scholarship’ would mean he could attend Western Wyoming Community College for virtually nothing. Imagine my surprise when I checked it out and discovered it was true! You lifted a great weight from our shoulders, and we are eternally grateful!
Parent of Sweetwater BOCES Senior Scholarship Recipient
Staff
Dr. Bernadine L. Craft
Executive Director
Theresa Piaia
Executive Secretary
Message from Director
I have been the SBOCES Executive Director since 2004, and each year I try to identify my favorite SBOCES activities, only to discover that it’s impossible—I love them all!
I love watching 60 + children audition for roles in Missoula Children’s Theatre on Monday, and present a polished theatrical production on Saturday. I love watching the entire student body of a rural school troop out for a photo op with professional Nashville musicians who just performed for their school. I love receiving a handwritten note from a second grader, thanking us for bringing “Buffalo Bill” to his school. I love bringing the world to Sweetwater County, as SBOCES hosts residency programs where an Afghani filmmaker collects three Emmy awards one week and spends the next week speaking to audiences throughout our community. I love watching music and dance students learn from professionals participating in our “Artist in Residence” program, dreaming of the day when they too just might be on Broadway.
I love going out at night with the Astronomy students, far away from the artificial light of the city; a fifth grade student trains his telescope on the heavens and shows me Saturn. I love watching our adult photography students capture masterpieces in our beautiful high desert country. I love watching the face of a young teacher when she learns BOCES believes in and will fund her brilliant after school program.
I love knowing that, for graduates from Sweetwater County high schools, college can be a reality for each and every one of them with the SBOCES Sweetwater Scholarships.
I love that SBOCES continues to make dreams happen, enriches lives, expands horizons, and provides opportunities that might not otherwise be available in our community.
Board
BOCES Boards are composed of two members from the Board of each partner. Thus, the SBOCES Board is comprised of two members from the School District #1 Board of Trustees, two from School District #2 and 2 from Western Wyoming Community College.
Leadership
Carol Jelaco, Chairman
Nominated November 2022
Jenissa Meredith, Vice Chairman
Nominated January 2023
Mark Sanders, Treasurer/Secretary
Nominated January 2019
Members
Ron Wild
Nominated March 2023
Tom Wilson
Nominated September 2022