COLONIE — BOCES wants to build a new two-story, 41,712-square-foot “Pathways to Learning” school to support students with “intensive needs that are not met in their home school district.”
The building, located on 3.25 acres on Airline Drive, was presented to the Planning Board on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
The school will provide education to K-8 students according to the narrative submitted to the Planning Board, and it will provide a “full continuum of services in a structured environment that supports the physical and social-emotional needs of students within a strong educational program.”
It will consist of two models:
-The Ready to Learn program emphasizes class sizes of up to four students with a focus of helping them “get back on track for lost learning due to prior placement that did not provide supports allowing students to access educational opportunities.”
-The Pathways to Learning program also serves K-8 students who also need significant support but in a less intense environment. Classrooms will give up to six students per classroom with a history of trauma and delayed emotional development access to equational curriculum and school based learning opportunities while helping build and maintain relationships.
Students in both settings are working towards a Regents diploma or career development and occupational studies credentials.
According to the sketch plan presented to the Planning Board by BBL Construction Services, the site is vacant with scattered trees along the street side of the property.
There are wetlands on the site and there is a stream on the southern property line. However, they will not be disturbed during construction.
The project includes 78 parking spaces. An easement is in place to allow access by an existing access drive of the adjacent property.
It is in an Office Residential zone and a school is listed as a permitted use.
Developers are requesting the town waive the minimum number of off-street parking spots, the required number of landscaped islands within the parking lot and it is requesting Open Development Area, which is required since access is through an adjacent property.
The sketch plan review did not yield any action by the Planning Board. It will now move to concept acceptance and, after more review and potential modification, to final approval.
If approved, the building would back up to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets building and be between the Associated General Contractors building and Christian Brothers Academy.
It would share an access road off Airline Drive with the Agriculture and Markets building.
