The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) and Bucks County Community College (BCCC) have announced an expansion of their long-standing partnership to add an adult services hub – the IU’s first – on the College’s Newtown Campus to better serve IU clients over age 22.
“At Bucks County Community College, partnerships with key community organizations are crucial to our success,” said President and CEO Patrick M. Jones, Ph.D. “Strategic partnerships allow us to combine resources to extend the reach and impact of both organizations. This evolution of our relationship with the Bucks IU is just one of the latest examples of such partnerships, with more on the horizon.”
Jones added that the expanded partnership benefits each organization. The space will serve as the home of an Adult Community Hub, connecting participants to the educational, social, vocational, and wellness opportunities available on campus and throughout the community. Individuals will build practical life skills, explore employment opportunities, develop relationships, and participate in meaningful experiences that support independence and community inclusion.
“The Adult Community Hub reflects our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for individuals with disabilities beyond their K-12 years,” said Mark Hoffman, Ed.D., the Bucks IU’s executive director. “This partnership recognizes a simple truth: adulthood should bring new opportunities, not fewer. Through our collaboration with Bucks County Community College, participants will have access to authentic learning, social, and vocational experiences that foster independence, connection, and personal growth. Together, we are creating a pathway that helps more individuals build fulfilling lives as active members of their community.”
The two organizations already collaborate in many ways. Bucks County Community College provides Bucks IU with classroom space to serve preschool age students, which gives the College’s Pre K-4 early education students the chance to work with special needs children directly on campus. This has been a fixture on the Newtown Campus for many years and now has a new home in the specially designed Early Learning Center. The IU also uses classroom space at the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie and the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus in Bristol to serve students ages 18 – 22. Bucks County Community College students enrolled in the Associate of Science in Nursing program also complete a community clinical rotation at Bucks IU’s Lower Southampton Early Learning Center.
BCCC and Bucks IU also collaborate on a unique registered apprenticeship program to help address the critical shortage of special education teachers. The program — the first of its kind in Pennsylvania — is a three-way collaboration between the College, the Bucks IU, and Gwynedd Mercy University. Students earn an associate degree at Bucks and a bachelor’s degree from Gwynedd Mercy while completing apprenticeships at the BCIU.