September 2019
Starting New Teachers Off Right
Teachers new to elementary and secondary classrooms joined together for regional learning and thinking on August 26th and 27th at the BOCES Istructional Support Center with Pat Walsh. The new teachers were from Greene, BT BOCES, and Whitney Point and all were excited to begin the 19-20 school year. With so many things to think about, this opportunity focused on key elements of preparing for those all important first few weeks with students.

The learning began with strategies for relationship building with students and proactive classroom management. Teachers had time to get feedback on agreements and procedures they would begin teaching day one. The importance of clear expectations and consistency was stressed. There was also discussion about the establishment of emotionally respectful and safe learning environments where all students feel valued. Strategies were shared for mixing important content with “get to know you” activities during the first few days. 

The second day of learning focused on clarity of teaching outcomes and facilitating cognitive engagement. Participants shared and got feedback on intended learning outcomes for the opening days of school. Ideas, structures and invitational language were all a part of the learning on student engagement. Teaching to outcomes relies on teacher clarity and resources that are a match for intended learning. With that in mind, Alicia Sherman, Instructional Support Specialist in Library Media, shared information about all that is available from the BT BOCES Media Library. The teachers left energized and with entry plans that would add to the success of their first days with students and beyond.

The BT PLIC has ongoing opportunities for learning for new teachers; please view our New Teacher Professional Learning Series lineup HERE .
Substitutes With A Purpose (SWAP)
Broome-Tioga BOCES and Binghamton University have a new partnership this year with ten component school districts. The Substitutes With a Purpose (SWAP) program was started to support the needs of participating districts and Binghamton University’s teaching candidates. We are all aware that there are challenges in the region in finding qualified substitutes. At the same time, there are a number of teaching candidates at Binghamton University who are in need of quality field experiences to prepare them for their teaching career. It just so happens that many of these students are also free during the day because many of their classes are in the evening. This seemed like the perfect match to meet the needs of our component school districts and future teachers!

Participating districts now have new subs in their building(s) for a dedicated two days per week. The number of subs in each district varies- some having one and others having up to six. On a third day of the week, the teaching candidates are partnered with a cooperating teacher for their field experience hours. These students will be keeping busy this year, but know that there are many benefits to participating in the program.

The Binghamton University students have the opportunity to learn from the whole school experience, from subbing to working with their cooperating teachers. They will become more connected to the school/district they are in and have an opportunity to build relationships with faculty and staff in the school. They also have access to professional learning opportunities as part of the process. All of the participating teaching candidates attended the first fall workshop on September 11 at BT BOCES Instructional Support Center, where they worked with Kerri Bullock, Robin Eccleston, and Stacy Smith, to learn more about the expectations of substitute teaching and how to be successful. When their schedule allows, the teaching candidates are also invited to attend the new teacher professional learning series hosted by BT BOCES throughout the year.

Participating school districts are excited about the opportunity to have access to more substitutes on a regular basis. The districts are also looking forward to the opportunity to connect with future teachers and potential candidates for upcoming teacher openings. We look forward to learning from the partnership this year and expanding the work in future years!
The PLIC is excited to welcome three new team members, along with the promotion of one of our current members to an administrative position on the team!
Josh Hough has joined the BT BOCES team as an Instructional Support Specialist for Instructional Technology. He will be working in multiple districts to support their technology integration efforts.
Cathleen Stewart has returned to the BT BOCES team as a literacy coach to support the work of the Regional Partnership Center. She will be supporting identified districts in BT and GST BOCES with a team of specialists from across both regions.

Erin Wilday will be starting in the upcoming months as an Instructional Support Specialist in professional learning. In her role, she will be supporting Chenango Valley as an instructional coach. She will also have regional responsibilities for supporting our component school districts in the Arts, especially with the transition to the new NYS Standards for the Arts.


Barb Tasber has moved from the role of Instructional Support Services for Instructional Technology to an Administrator for Instructional Support Services. She will be working to support the Managed Technology service in Windsor and will be supporting regional data needs. We are excited to be working with Barb in this new capacity.
You can learn more about the Professional Learning & Innovation Center team on our webpage  HERE .
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Looking for more Professional Learning opportunities?
Check out the PLIC catalog and calendar here !