September 2018
The Professional Development & Resource Center (PD&RC) Pride is a monthly email communication celebrating the work facilitated by BT BOCES PD&RC to advance teaching and learning. This will also be an opportunity to highlight resources available for loan as well as upcoming regional events. We hope you find this communication helpful and welcome your feedback.  
Mentoring Series Supports New Mentors as They Take on This Crucial Role
New mentors from Binghamton City School District, St. Joseph’s School, Susquehanna Valley and Whitney Point have been working and learning together in the Making the Most of Mentoring series with Pat Walsh . 

Mentors are a critical anchor for new teachers as they grow into the profession. The series focuses on these key aspects of mentoring:

I. Mentoring Involves Coaching
New mentors described attributes of effective coaching and had the opportunity to practice these coaching skills: effective listening, questioning, paraphrasing and communicating the message that they were continually present in conversations with their mentees.

II. Mentoring is a Two-Way Relationship
The best mentor/mentee relationships are learning-focused relationships where communication, ideas, questions and answers flow both ways. This partnership works best with mutual agreements about boundaries and goals the new teacher has. New mentors considered how adults learn best as part of their preparation for work with their mentee.

III. Mentoring Includes Mutual Growth and Fulfillment
Strong mentoring pays off for both mentor and mentee. The mentee gets new skills, accomplishments and career growth. The mentor gets the satisfaction of helping another learn while investing in the future of the teaching profession.

As mentors develop more focused work with mentees, look to the PD&RC team for continued support.
John Schu - The Reading Life: Connecting Classrooms, Libraries, & Communities Through Story
"When we read together - when a grandfather reads to a granddaughter, when a teacher reads to a classroom, when a parent reads to a child, when a sister reads to a brother, when everyone in a town reads the same book silently, together - we are taken out of our aloneness. The story opens doors for us; and we, in turn, open the doors of our hearts to each other. When we read together, we welcome each other in." - Kate DiCamillo

On Wednesday, September 26, Broome-Tioga BOCES hosted John Schumacher, AKA Mr. Schu, for a workshop on The Reading Life: Connecting Libraries, Classrooms, and Communities through Story .

Mr. Schu is a blogger, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs. He served on the 2014 Newbery committee, the ALSC's Children and Technology committee, AASL's Best Websites for Teachers and Learning, two readers' choice award committees, the School Library Month Planning Committee, and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature selection committee.

Over 30 administrators, teachers, and school librarians gathered to hear Mr. Schu share his infectious enthusiasm for the beauty and power of books. Mr. Schu led a discussion about how we, as educators, can "tattoo love on children's hearts". Participants left with free books, renewed purpose, and a passion to build cultures of reading in classrooms, libraries, buildings, and districts!

To see the materials shared by Mr. Schu, visit: http://tinyurl.com/septembernewyork . Many of the spotlighted resources are available for loan through our Media Library; view and reserve at http://medialibrary.btboces.org .
National Geographic's Giant Maps
Bring geography to your school in a giant way with National Geographic Giant Maps .  Ranging in size from 21’ x 17’ to 32’ x 37, each map comes with a downloadable pdf and activities for you to use with your students. 

Giant Maps are a great way to introduce geography and map reading skills to your K-12 students. Students will stay engaged and active with games like ‘Simon Says,’ in which students locate key places on the map; ‘All Aboard the Landmark Carousel,’ which explores European landmarks and human geography, and ‘The Grid Game,’ which uses latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.

Currently we have 7 maps in our collection: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, New York and the Solar System. 

To get more information and/or borrow our Giant Maps, visit https://tinyurl.com/medialibrarygiantmaps

As always, please contact Kristina Garcia at [email protected] if you need assistance with ordering any of our Media Library Resources.  For instructional support with the Giant Maps, as well as with any of our Medial Library resources, please contact Alicia Sherman at [email protected] .
Arts-In-Education provides cooperative performance scheduling of professional artists in the areas of dance, media arts, music, theater and the visual arts for component school districts. Performances occur in participating schools or at a performing arts center. Residencies in the arts are an integral part of this service and can be custom designed to fit district curriculum needs. All performances serve to enhance the regular curriculum and to integrate the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts.
Hispanic Flamenco Ballet performances give students the opportunity to experience the rich and diverse culture of the Hispanic people as seen through the performing arts.

The HFB will be performing the following shows on November 5th in Syracuse, NY and November 13th in Wilkes-Barre, PA:



Meets NYS Arts Standard:
Dance and Music: Responding and Connecting
For more information
please view the
Arts-In-Education website HERE ,
or contact Kathy Harasta at [email protected] .
Tri-Cities Opera not only brings their performances to you, but has also opened their final dress rehearsals to students at their theatre venues.

Performance Location: Schools


Final Dress Rehearsals: Theatre Venues


Meets NYS Arts Standard:
Music and Theater: Responding, Connecting
The PDRC is growing!
We are thrilled to welcome Emily Koval and Alicia Sherman to our PD&RC team.

Emily will provide embedded support in Norwich and Binghamton, as well as regional and on-site support to our region, as an Instructional Support Specialist in Instructional Technology.

Emily comes to us with ten years of experience teaching Grades 4-6. She has taught all content areas, as well as specialized in science. She has served on her districts’ technology committees and is an active participant and presenter around instructional technology integration at the regional and state level. She has presented at the regional conferences, and has provided many PD opportunities for other teachers within the buildings she has worked.
We are delighted to have Emily and Alicia share their expertise with the region as members of our team.

Emily and Alicia can be reached at: [email protected]
Alicia will be serving as an Instructional Support Specialist in Library Media , where she will assist with the management and promotion of the Media Library, support effective instructional use of library-related resources, and provide professional development for school librarians and teachers in the region.  

Alicia has five years of experience as a School Librarian and STEAM teacher for PK-5 students. In addition to her certification and experience as a librarian, she is certified as a 7-12 Social Studies teacher. She is an active member of the School Librarians of the Southern-Tier East, where she has volunteered her time at a number of regional events to raise awareness of school librarians and library resources.

She has taught a wide variety of enrichment courses in her district, including coding, robotics, and makerspace programs, presented at regional conferences, and regularly provided PD opportunities for other teachers in her district. 
  Learn ~ Collaborate ~ Explore ~ Register Today!
Looking for more Professional Development opportunities?
Check out the PD&RC calendar here !