Very
Special Prom 2008
Special Ed students and grads shine at this
year's event
More than 150 Capital
Region BOCES special education students, alumni and their guests
spruced up and stepped out for a night of food, fun and dance at
this year's Very Special Prom, held on May 9 at the Best Western
Sovereign Hotel in Albany. The prom is a much anticipated annual
event that was begun 27 years ago at the request of a number of
special education students hoping for a celebration they could call
their own.
The prom, which has grown
from a homespun school-based dance to something more akin to other high
school proms, is a true example of BOCES division-wide collaboration. A
cache of donated formalwear—gowns, suits and shoes—help outfit
students. Corsages and boutonnières are crafted by students in the
Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) school
floral design program. Dozens and dozens of cookies are baked by
culinary students. And up-dos and manicures are courtesy of CTE
cosmetology students. In addition, cash and in-kind donations from BOCES
staff, students, and local businesses make the event one that is
accessible and affordable to all.
The Very Special Prom is
also an event that allows students to shine.
Michelle Rosenberger, a
BOCES special education alum and one of the students whose suggestion
helped start the prom tradition, spoke happily of the prom as a way to
reconnect with friends and teachers.
"There's really nothing
else like it for the special ed kids," says Rosenberger.
Here is a look at
this year's festivities:



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