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IINNSSTTRRUUCCTTIIOONNAALL SSUUPPPPOORRTT SSEERRVVIICCEESS School Improvement � Prevention Services � SE-TASC � School Library System Hudson Valley Catskill Partnership � Teacher Center � Arts in Education

Technology � Distance Learning � Model Schools

January, 2010

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT Barbara Hackett Blakey, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

Jennifer Jessup, School Improvement Specialist

Denise Alterio, Staff Developer

Joseph Pawlick, Ed.D., Educational Research & Data Analyst

Gloria Van Wagner, Typist

School Improvement Board Report

Jennifer Jessup

June, 2010

Regional Scoring Jennifer Jessup, School Improvement Specialist, and Myrna Goldsmith, teacher retiree,

organized and facilitated Sullivan County Regional Scoring. This year there were two

options that were chosen to implement.

In House Regional Scoring

(4 day)

Regional Scoring

(1 day)

Monticello did their

own scoring

Eldred, Fallsburg, Liberty

and Sullivan West

participated in Regional

Scoring at SC BOCES on

May 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th

Livingston Manor, Roscoe and Tri

Valley participated in Regional

Scoring on May 12th at the

Livingston Manor campus

After scoring was complete, Scoring Coordinators from the participating districts were

called to review the materials and sign off before delivery to the MHRIC. This

coordinator also took the student booklets back to the district. This process ensured that

BOCES scoring was complete and gave the districts responsibility of questions that may

have arisen from the MHRIC.

The scorers were made up of teachers from each of the participating districts and hired

retired teachers who had experience scoring New York State Assessments. All scorers

were given opportunities to receive training prior to the scoring and were trained on the

morning of scoring for review.

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Model One:

Number of ELA Scorers (May 10, 2010 and May 11, 2010)) Eldred Falls Liberty SW Retired

3-5 3 3 7 4 17

6-8 5 5 6 5 18

Number of Math Scorers (May 17, 2010 and May 18, 2010) Eldred Falls Liberty SW Retired

3-5 3 2 5 3 19

6-8 3 5 6 5 18

Model Two:

Number of ELA Scorers (May 12, 2010) Livingston

Manor

Roscoe Tri

Valley

Retired

3-8 10 5 19 8

Number of Math Scorers (May 12, 2010) Livingston

Manor

Roscoe Tri

Valley

Retired

3-8 11 3 14 5

Math: Texas Instruments

School Improvement and Model Schools partnered up to host a Texas Instruments session

for beginners. Dana Morse, Texas Instruments trainer, came to conduct the workshop.

He brought with him the new Nspire with touchpad to trade with everyone who brought

their current TI-Nspire handheld for no cost. This was a beginner class for those who

never used the devices or for those who needed a review. Teachers from Eldred,

Fallsburg, Monticello, Tri Valley and SC BOCES attended the workshop. There is a

second workshop scheduled for July for further professional development with Nspire.

Elementary Principals’ Meeting The topic for May’s Elementary Principals’ Meeting was Home/School Partnership.

Sherry Eidel, SE-TASC Parent Educator/Resource, came to give an overview of what her

job entails and what services she can offer schools. A book, Drive by Daniel Pink, was

chosen as the group’s first book study. The group will be given the book in June and the

first meeting of the 2010-2011 school year will be dedicated to the topic.

Professional Development/CDEP Team Meetings

Eldred: Jennifer Jessup, School Improvement Specialist, was invited to attend the

Eldred Professional Development Team Meeting. During this meeting the 2010-

2013 Professional Development Plan was reviewed and agreed upon. A “Sullivan

County BOCES representative” was added to the components of their team in the

Eldred PD Plan to ensure collaboration.

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School Improvement Board Report

Denise Alterio

June 2010

Completed Workshops and Trainings

Differentiated Instruction – Staff Developer, Denise Alterio, accompanied by Sullivan County Teacher

Center Director, Jennifer Williams, conducted workshops and meetings with teachers from Livingston

Manor Central School District during the month of May according to the schedule below:

May 3rd –Teachers, K-12, signed up for class visits or lesson planning/brainstorming sessions

May 12th – K-12, Differentiated Instruction Lesson Planning Workshop

May 19th - 9-12, Differentiated Instruction Lesson Planning Workshop

Workshop sessions focused on self-reflection, modeling and application of the principles of differentiated

instruction, as teachers generated lesson plans for classroom use. A summer session and two additional

fall trainings have been tentatively scheduled for continued professional development in the area of

differentiated instruction. Course instructors have collected ongoing program evaluation data to guide

future work. Attached, please find a sample evaluation report.

Current Projects

Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT) – School Improvement is working with Teresa

Vilardi, Director of Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking, to develop two ongoing, job-

embedded professional development programs that support literacy initiatives. Based on positive

feedback and district requests, the first program will be offered for individuals who participated in the

2009-2010 Writing and Thinking program. To accommodate requests from districts that were not able to

participate during the current school year, a second program is in development for teachers new to IWT.

Working with Paraeducators – School Improvement is working with Dr. Jan Stivers of Marist College to

develop a program that supports teachers who work with paraeducators. The multi-session program is

intended to a)clarify roles and responsibilities, b) provide guidelines for supervising a paraeducator, c)

enhance capacity to plan for a paraeducator and d) develop effective classroom schedules to maximize

support for students.

Curriculum Mapping – School Improvement is working with districts to develop customized professional

development plans in the area of curriculum mapping. Project proposals will be generated based on the

needs of each district. Professional Development Planning and Program Evaluation – School Improvement is working to refine

current practices for professional development programming in an effort to address NYS Professional

Development Learning Standards and to maximize outcomes for students and teachers. Program

evaluation tools are in development; these tools will be used to collect formative and summative data and

to plan future sessions. A draft planning survey has been generated for use with districts to articulate

program outcomes, methodologies, evaluation measures and a training schedule.

Respectfully submitted,

Denise Alterio

Staff Developer

May 25, 2010

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Appendix D

Formative Evaluation Form

Workshop Report Template

On March 8, 2010 a workshop entitled Differentiated Instruction was sponsored by Sullivan County BOCES School Improvement

and the Sullivan County Teacher Center. Below is a summary of participant ratings and comments.

The graph below summarizes ratings of workshop participants on the following Likert type questions: (1=Strongly disagree;

2=Disagree; 3=Agree; 4=Strongly agree)

1) The ideas and practices taught at this workshop were new to me.

2) The ideas and practices taught at this workshop are relevant to my professional practice.

3) The quality of information presented at this workshop was sound (e.g., reflecting best practice).

4) Information was conveyed in an effective manner.

5) I am likely to implement the ideas and practices taught in my professional setting.

6) If I implement the ideas and practices taught at this workshop my students are likely to benefit.

7) I would recommend this workshop to my colleagues.

Workshop participants provided the following information in response to three

open-ended questions:

1. What do you need in order to apply information and practices taught at this workshop in your

professional practice?

� Learn more about planning lessons, examples of different levels of activities. � More examples/time to collaborate with colleagues

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Novelty Relevance to

my w ork

Quality of

information

Quality of

presentation

Likely to

implement

Benefit to

students

Recommend

to others

Average Post Workshop Ratings

Very High

Very Low

High

Low

5

� More time! � Moodle, Portaportal – practice � More examples on how to differentiate, videos, role playing, etc. � Time to plan, research what’s online � Just to see more examples & ideas that can be used so I can make them work for me. � More prep time � More planning time. � To come & watch actual lessons in the classroom. � More time to develop strategies. � More time. � Time to work it out.

Loria

2. What was your favorite aspect of this workshop?

� Examples of ideas (activities), Portaportal � Moodle/Portaportal – I think they could be very helpful. � Portaportal.com, pre-assessments � Learning quick pre-assessments. � Learning about pre-assessments. � Activities – practicing activity � I enjoyed all aspects but like the pre-test ideas and tiered information. � Specific examples shown, time to apply specifically to my content area. � Varied activities. � Video & hands-on activities. Resources available. � Tiered assignments. I really feel that when teaching grammar that this will be more effective.

� Hearing examples from other teachers. � The examples � New pre-assessment I was not familiar with. � Practicing pre-assessment exercises.

3. Additional Comments � Thanks for your ideas, I think differentiated instruction is a great idea, but we need more help to make it work (as you mentioned).

� Subject specific activities/ideas

� Thanks! � Would like to know more about anchor activities. � Please show us more about Google docs. � Cubing & menus � Thanks for the pen!

Joseph Pawlick Ed.D, Educational Research and Data Analyst As part of the report to the New York State Commissioner of Education, Data Analysis Services is conducting an investigation of student achievement and other quality program quality performance indicators. The study analyzes the Sullivan County BOCES with two comparison BOCES groups: The Mid-Hudson Region BOCES and BOCES of Similar Student Enrollment.

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The 37 NYS BOCES vary in size significantly, with those located in rural areas serving fewer districts and smaller numbers of students, but encompassing a larger territory than those in suburban locations. The BOCES with the largest number of districts is Nassau with 56; the smallest is Sullivan in the Catskill Region with eight. There are 2 BOCES with smaller student enrollments and 4 BOCES of similar student enrollment. See below for some of the report completed thus far. What does the data tell us?

Mid-Hudson BOCES

Individual Districts' Enrollment &

Percentage of Total Student Enrollment

2009

DUTCHESS

46,578

34%

ORANGE

55,012

40%

ULSTER

24,464

18%

SULLIVAN

10,466

8%

SULLIVAN

ULSTER

DUTCHESS

ORANGE

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Mid-Hudson BOCES

Number of Component Districts

SULLIVAN, 8

ULSTER, 9

DUTCHESS, 13

ORANGE, 17

SULLIVAN

ULSTER

DUTCHESS

ORANGE

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BOCES of Comparable Enrollment

Component District Enrollments

FRANKLIN, 8,817

OTSEGO, 9,913

SULLIVAN, 10,466

HERKIMER, 11,164

CAYUGA , 13,799

FRANKLIN

OTSEGO

SULLIVAN

HERKIMER

CAYUGA

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BOCES of Comparable Enrollment

Number of Component Districts

FRANKLIN, 10

OTSEGO, 19

HERKIMER, 12

CAYUGA , 9

SULLIVAN, 8

FRANKLIN

OTSEGO

SULLIVAN

HERKIMER

CAYUGA

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Percentage of Career & Technical Education (CTE)

Students Who Graduated in 2008

95%

98%

93%

90%

100%

94%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

SULLIVAN ULSTER DUTCHESS

Mid Hudson BOCES That Reported

Percentage of Graduating Students

General Ed Students

Students with Disabilities

State Testing Program

2008-2009 School Year

Mid-Hudson Region BOCES 2008-09 English Language Arts

Dutchess Orange -Ulster Ulster Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient % Proficient % Proficient

Grade 3 24% Awaiting 0% 10% Grade 4 36% Data 25% 10% Grade 5 38% 50% 31% Grade 6 10% 38% 33% Grade 7 23% 8% 40% Grade 8 16% 7% 8% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 24% 21% 22% Mathematics

Dutchess Orange -Ulster Ulster Sullivan

% % Proficient % Proficient % Proficient

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Proficient Grade 3 38% Awaiting 50% 67% Grade 4 12% Data 25% 53% Grade 5 26% 0% 42% Grade 6 0% 14% 17% Grade 7 25% 14% 43% Grade 8 16% 8% 27% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 20% 19% 42%

BOCES of SIMILAR Enrollment 2008-09 English Language Arts Franklin Ostego Cayuga Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient % Proficient % Proficient

Grade 3 0% 50% 25% 10% Grade 4 0% 0% 0% 10% Grade 5 0% 50% 0% 31% Grade 6 0% 17% 0% 33% Grade 7 0% 50% 13% 40% Grade 8 13% 10% 10% 8% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 2% 30% 8% 22% Mathematics Franklin Ostego Cayuga Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient % Proficient % Proficient

Grade 3 0% 50% 0% 67% Grade 4 0% 0% 0% 53% Grade 5 0% 60% 0% 42% Grade 6 50% 27% 0% 17% Grade 7 17% 13% 24% 43% Grade 8 14% 0% 7% 27% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 13% 25% 5% 42%

State Testing Program

2007-2008 School Year

Mid-Hudson Region BOCES 2007-08 English Language Arts

Dutchess Orange -Ulster Ulster Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient

% Proficient

% Proficient

Grade 3 24% 22% 0% 98% Grade 4 0% 11% 0% 9% Grade 5 38% 15% 16% 91% Grade 6 10% 0% 0% 0%

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Grade 7 23% 15% 22% 10% Grade 8 9% 10% 5% 6% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 17% 12% 7% 36% Mathematics

Dutchess Orange -Ulster Ulster Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient

% Proficient

% Proficient

Grade 3 24% 34% 0% 27% Grade 4 8% 19% 0% 36% Grade 5 13% 14% 17% 36% Grade 6 6% 4% 75% 0% Grade 7 10% 16% 50% 25% Grade 8 13% 5% 4% 9% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 12% 15% 24% 22%

BOCES of SIMILAR Enrollment 2007-08 English Language Arts Franklin Ostego Herkimer Cayuga Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient % Proficient

% Proficient

% Proficient

Grade 3 0% 98% Grade 4 0% 9% Grade 5 14% 91% Grade 6 40% 0% Grade 7 7% 10% Grade 8 8% 6% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 12% 36% Mathematics Franklin Ostego Herkimer Cayuga Sullivan

% Proficient % Proficient

% Proficient

% Proficient % Proficient

Grade 3 33% 27% Grade 4 33% 36% Grade 5 25% 36% Grade 6 0% 0% Grade 7 7% 25% Grade 8 11% 9% Grdes 3 - 8 Mean % Proficient 18% 22%

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School Improvement Professional Development 09-10 (as of (as of (as of (as of 6666////02/1002/1002/1002/10))))

My Learning Plan & NonMy Learning Plan & NonMy Learning Plan & NonMy Learning Plan & Non----My Learning Plan EventsMy Learning Plan EventsMy Learning Plan EventsMy Learning Plan Events

Area Total Site Based Educational Planning 0

District Based Education Planning 324

High School Graduation 5

Learning Standards 1375

Data Management 23

Integrating Technology into Curriculum & Instruction 7

Interdisciplinary Teaching 28

Middle Level Education and Youth Development 47

Career & Tech 7

Instructional Strategies 46

Parent Training 0

Special Education Issues 131

SE-TASC 0

Leadership Training 112

Other 9

Total 2,114

Counts By Discipline Total

Teachers 1,329

Principals 81

Paraprofessionals 125

Other 503

Total

2,038

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REGIONAL FIELD FACILITATOR Mary Catherine Moran

Gloria Van Wagner, Typist

S3TAIR (“Supporting Successful Strategies To Achieve Improved Results”) is a federal grant awarded to

NYS designed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities in low performing districts by increasing their educator’s skill in research/evidence based effective practices in three core areas:

• Literacy • Behavior and Academic Supports

• Delivery of Effective Special Education Services.

Part one of the process involved seeking out schools that indicated that they had “best practice” and then

validating that they did indeed. While we continue to solicit nominations, we are transitioning to Part two of the project as well. Replication sites have been identified (Schools in need of Intervention or Assistance)

and they will be matched with the Mentor Schools (schools with validated practice who also received grants).

Current status:

Validated: McKenzie Elementary in Eldred, Thomas A. Edison Elementary in Port Chester, Cooperstown Elementary in Cooperstown, Charter School of Educational Excellence in Yonkers, North Salem School

District in North Salem. Planning to apply to be Mentor Sites: (grant due at the end of this month): Cooperstown, Yonkers, and

North Salem.

Replication sites: We didn’t have any school apply for this funding. Pending Decision by validation team: Lakeland School District in Shrub Oak

Current Mentor Site: (matched with a Replication site but notification won’t happen until July) Chenango Forks School District.

As the Regional Field Facilitator I was involved in the following activities during the month of May:

May 3 – Validation site visit to the Charter School of Educational Excellence in Yonkers (outcome: validated)

May 4 – S3TAIR meeting with fellow Regional Field Facilitators May 10 – Chenango Forks re: documentation

May 11 – Validation site visit to the Lakeland School District in Shrub Oak, NY (outcome: pending decision)

May 20 – Yonkers to debrief on validation site visit May 21 – visit to North Salem to discuss their grant proposal due at the end of this month.

M.C.Moran

Regional Field Facilitator

S3TAIR Project

PREVENTION SERVICES Debra Fuchs Nadeau, Ed.D., Director

Lorraine Welch, Administrative Assistant

As the school year draws to a close, so too does our Federal Grant to Reduce Alcohol Abuse in Secondary

School Students (GRAA). The GRAA grant allowed us to place Prevention Specialists, part time, in each

school district. For three years these staff members have worked with 6th through 12

th grade students

delivering research-based alcohol prevention programs. The programs, Project Northland and Class

Action, have been offered and or delivered to over 5,000 students. Of those 5,000, approximately 1,100

completed pre and post surveys.

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Our goals were to reduce the frequency of underage alcohol use among our youth, delay and/or prevent

the onset of adolescent alcohol consumption and increase student awareness of the negative consequences

of alcohol use, and enhance environmental support for youth to make healthy “non-use” choices. Our

goals were measured by three indicators required by the federal government – these indicators are

known as the GPRA measures. We collected data to examine the percentage of students that show a

decrease in binge drinking; the percentage that shows an increase in the belief that alcohol abuse is

harmful to their health, and lastly the percentage of students that show an increase in their disapproval

of alcohol abuse.

We have not yet compiled the final year’s data; however, year one and two data is available. Selected

findings include: Year one post surveys indicate a slight increase in the number of students who believe

that alcohol use is harmful to their health. A 15% increase in the number of students that disapprove of

underage drinking was also reported. Less students self reported 30 day use of alcohol from years one to

two. There was also a slight decrease (less than 4%) in student self reported lifetime use of alcohol. In

year one, 60.9 % of students self reported non-use of alcohol; and, in year two, 66.8% reported non use of

alcohol. When asked about receiving positive non-use messages from parents and caregivers, the results

were not as positive. There was a 3% decrease in the number of students who reported that they received

non-use messages at home.

The GRAA grant should only be the beginning. We hope the end of the federal dollars does not mean the

end of prevention programming in each of our districts. We are losing our Prevention Specialists;

however, schools do not need to lose the programs and gains they have made. All schools have been

offered the opportunity to continue these programs by training in-house staff. Prevention Services will

provide the training required to implement these programs.

The federal money planted the seed – now we need to tend to our local gardens!

Many thanks to our four outstanding Prevention Specialists – Suanne Barry, Deb O’Malley, Janelle

Jones and Austin Singleton – a job very well done!

SE-TASC Denise Shaffer, Ed.D., Director

Faith Dymond, Administrative Assistant

Sherry Eidel, Parent Educator

Laura Fisher, Parent Educator

“Underdeveloped literacy skills are the number one reason why students are retained, assigned to special education, given long-term remedial services, and why they fail to graduate from high school.” –Vincent Ferrandino & Gerald Tirozzi School Improvement work is not an easy task and does not happen overnight. Research shows that it may take from three to five years to make systemic changes in an organization. The work of SE-TASC is an investment in districts over time to ensure that they will sustain the change needed to for students with disabilities. This year was a busy year with the targeted districts. There were in-class coaching & individual follow-up with teachers on Literacy Instruction, in-class coaching & teachers’ follow-up on Integrated Co-Teaching, and in-class coaching & individual follow-up on Instructional & Learning Strategies Instruction. The following chart indicates the number of contacts for the year.

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SE-TASC

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Teachers 240 165

Instructional Strategies Literacy & Co-Teaching

SE-TASC works with administration in these targeted districts as well. Understanding that buy-in from administration is essential for systemic change, administration has always been part of the work that SE-TASC does within a district.

ADMINISTRATION CONTACTS

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Admin 173 29

Central Office Building Principals

“It is not just one of these factors – exceptional leadership, teaming, clear standards, or accountability – by itself that makes the difference. But in combination, these factors guarantee that any school will make rapid, substantial improvements.” (Mike Schmoker, Results Now, 2006)

SULLIVAN COUNTY TEACHER CENTER Jennifer Williams, Program Director

Cindy Mickelson, Administrative Assistant and Regional Certification Officer

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Each month I am hopeful that there will be news to share regarding the allocation of funds for the

Teacher Center, but we continue to wait. At present, the Policy Board Executive Committee is working

on contingency plans to keep the Center running until funds are made available. We thank BOCES for

their patience and willingness to support the Center’s efforts to remain operational during these

uncertain times.

This month along with two teachers from Monticello, I completed turn-key training for Thinkfinity

(http://www.thinkfinity.org/). Thinkfinity is an online resource for teachers and parents. It offers

resources to enrich content in the classroom as well as to provide home and after school resources for

students and parents. Recent updates to the program have added professional development

opportunities for teachers. Thousands of lesson plans are available for use, and many of them are

aligned with the New York State standards. Many of the lesson plans contain interactive content, audio,

primary sources, and video components. We hope to offer Thinkfinity training sessions to districts in the

near future.

During May, the Teacher Center has continued working with BOCES ISS to provide workshops on

Differentiated Instruction. Two days were spent at Livingston Manor. The first of the two days was a

district-wide conference day. Teachers worked with Denise Alterio and me to develop lesson plans. Day

two we worked with high school teachers and continued working on lesson planning.

The Teacher Center is pleased to announce that the participants in the Literacy Graduate Degree

through Touro College have completed their degrees. Earning a graduate degree is a long and

challenging process. It is a demanding endeavor especially for those who continue to work full-time in

the classroom and attend classes at night and on week-ends. Congratulations go out to all of the

graduates.

Workshops Offered Number Attended

Differentiated Instruction (7 sessions) 50

Elementary School Principal Meeting 8

Starlab Training 1

ARTS IN EDUCATION Lisa Pacht, Director

Theresa Dutcher, Senior Typist

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Arts in Education The 2009-2010 school year is winding down for the Arts In Education CoSer! We have processed over 240 contracts for districts in Orange and Sullivan counties this year and have a few more events planned. An Arts In Education liaison meeting is planned for June 22, 2010 for all art liaisons in Orange and Sullivan counties to discuss procedures, protocols, and to start planning for next year. We have already started planning for our Arts Conference on November 4th, 2010 and our third Scholastic Art Awards program.

Summary of this year’s events:

• Fall Art Conference: Sullivan and Orange County Art Teachers

2008-2009 2009-2010

57 participants 50 participants

• Elementary [K-8] Art Show

2008-2009 2009-2010

8 participating

school districts &

SC BOCES

8 participating

school districts &

SC BOCES

• High School Art Show

2008-2009 2009-2010

7 participating

schools districts

8 participating

school districts &

SC BOCES

• Scholastic Art Awards

Scholastic Art Awards: Historical Data Comparison

2009- 2010 2008-2009

Number of Submissions 1106* 408

Number of Students 404 224

Number of Awards 864 362

American Vision 5 5

Gold 57 38

Silver 92 46

Honorable Mention 318 86

Participation 397 192

Number of Participating Schools 27 25

Category of Artwork

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Photography 32% 17%

Drawing 20% 27%

Painting 20% 20%

Ceramics, Glass, Sculpture 10% 16%

Computer/Digital Art 7% 5%

Mixed Media 5% 8%

Jewelry 2% 0%

Design 1% 3%

Video and Animation 1% 2%

Printmaking 1% 2%

Fashion 1% 0%

Grade Breakout

% of 7-8 14% 17%

% of 9-12 86% 83%

*includes 34 Art and Portfolio submissions

TECHNOLOGY, DISTANCE LEARNING, MODEL SCHOOLS Lisa Pacht, Director

Todd Lewis, Senior Network Administrator

Robert Cosh, Network Administrator Manager

Charles Wyant, LAN Technician

Oscar Ortega, LAN Technician

Debra Atkins, School Multimedia Technician Theresa Dutcher, Senior Typist

Distance Learning

Daily IP videoconference connections between Fallsburg CSD and Broome-Tioga BOCES are occurring

for American Sign Language [ASL] II and between Monticello CSD and Eldred CSD for Regents

Physics.

Sullivan County BOCES and the Sullivan County Teacher Center sponsored Teaching Writing And

Thinking – An Introductory Program presented by Peg Peoples, Bard College. The program consisted of

four sessions with the final session being an interactive videoconference with Bard College on May 4th.

Ms. Marikate Oset’s 8th grade students, approximately 60, at Eldred Jr./Sr. High School connected via

videoconference with a Holocaust survivor and representative from the Holocaust Memorial and

Tolerance Center of Nassau County on May 11th.

Jennifer Williams, SC Teacher Center and Debra Atkins, SCBOCES connected using the TANDBERG

Curator at SCBOCES Administration Building – Conference Room #1 with Allison Ryczek, TriValley

CSD for their district’s Tech Fair on May 14th. Allison Ryczek was demonstrating the TANDBERG

MediaCart at TriValley CSD.

Dr. Barbara Hackett Blakey, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, participated in the 4-County

eLearning Meeting at Ulster BOCES on May 17th and the Hudson Valley Consortium Meeting at

QuestarIII BOCES on May 18th utilizing the desktop videoconferencing solution, POLYCOM PVX and a webcam from her office in the SCBOCES Administration Building.

20

On May 25

th an IP videoconference between Eldred Jr./Sr. High School and George Ross Mackenzie

Elementary School occurred. Robert Dufour, Director of Instructional Services at Eldred CSD conducted

a staff meeting utilizing the IP videoconference technology.

Ms. Jennifer Heisler and Mrs. Heather Trotta 4th grade classes at George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School participated in a virtual interactive video field trip to the Camden Children’s Garden. The students participated in the Under the Sea program on May 27th. Page 23

Summary of this year’s events:

There were over 44 Videoconference connections made for professional development and classroom field

trips, not including the daily videoconference connections between Fallsburg CSD and Broome-Tioga

BOCES occurring for American Sign Language [ASL] II and between Monticello CSD and Eldred CSD

for Regents Physics.

Model Schools Program Read & Write Gold Webinar Offerings 2010: Research Tools: Fact Finder, Fact Folder, and Fact Mapper: Friday, June 4, 3:00-4:00 pm, RPEC E9

These events are sponsored by Special Education, ISS and Model Schools.

On May 5th the MyLearningPlan UsersGroup meeting for Sullivan County districts was held in the

Administration Building – Model Schools PD Lab. All MLP districts; Eldred CSD, Fallsburg CSD,

Monticello CSD, Sullivan West CSD and TriValley CSD were present. Gilat Aharon, Roscoe CSD joined

us to review the product for her respective district.

On May 12th, Introduction to SMART board, Advanced SMART board and FlipVideos in the Classroom

trainings took place at Livingston Manor CSD, where

Summary of this year’s events:

SMART Board Introduction 7/10/09, 3/18/10, 3/22/10, 5/12/10

SMART Board Training, Intro and Intermediate 9/2/09, 9/3/09

SMART Board Intermediate

7/10/09, 8/24/09, 10/20/09, 11/12/09,

11/30/09, 12/16/09*, 12/17/09*, 2/3/1/0,

2/11/10*, 3/14/10, 4/21/10

SMART Board Advanced Training

1/14/10*, 1/20/10*, 3/10/10, 3/24/10*,

5/12/10

SMART AirLiner [Slate] Training 3/31/10*, 4/28/10*

SMART Table Training 5/19/2010

SMART Board and Adobe Connect Training 2/11/2010

Adobe Connect Training

11/5/2009, 11/6/09, 12/10/09, 12/11/09,

4/26/10*

Castle Learning Training 4/7/2010

DataMentor 10/5/09, 10/9/09

Enhancing Your Online Community with Web2.0 11/10/09*, 1/26/10, 4/20/10*

Gizmos Training 3/16/2010

Integrating Web-based Multimedia Content 11/16/09*

Intermediate Moodle 10/6/2009, 2/9/10*

Introduction to Video Production Seminar 4/22/2010

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Introduction to Moodle: Developing an Online Community Using

Moodle 11/20/09*, 1/19/10, 4/23/10, 5/13/10*

Moodle Training for Health and Safety 9/1/2009, 9/21/09, 5/18/10

Moodle Training for SC BOCES 3/8/2010, 4/6/10

Must Know Web2.0 8/31/2009, 11/5/09, 2/18/10*, 4/15/10

MyGradeBook.com Training 3/17/2010

Novell GroupWise Calendar Training 11/12/2009

NROC / Hippocampus 2/23/10*, 5/11/10

PD 360 Training 8/20/2009

PD 360 Training via Webinar

9/4/2009, 9/23/09, 10/15/09, 10/19/09,

10/21/09

TELL Summer Institute 7/27-28/09, 8/10-13/09

SchoolDude 10/13/2009

Sullivan TELL 8/17-19/09

Using Flip Videos in the Classroom 10/13/2009, 3/9/10*, 5/12/10

Using WikiSpaces in the Classroom 10/19/2009, 12/15/09*, 3/23/10*

Web 2.0/Technology Training and Overview 4/8/2010

Wikispaces Training 1/25/2010

Technology

We are happy to welcome to our team Ellen Williams, who will be working with us while Theresa

Dutcher is on leave. We wish Theresa all the best as she waits for the arrival of her twins.

Over the course of the month of May the technology department moved forward with new projects while

supporting the educational processes that occur on a daily basis in each classroom. One such project that

is underway is the cleanup of some of the switch closets within our buildings. By removing accumulated

wiring clutter that has occurred over the years, the technicians will be prepared to further reorganize

and label the new and existing network infrastructure this summer when there are less computers in use.

In the end this process will allow for greater productivity when installing new components in the future

and increase the ease of troubleshooting network issues when they occur.

In a related project the department continues to evaluate and purchase new networking equipment as

needed either to support the increase in the number of computers within our buildings or to replace

older, outdated equipments. Such networking equipment as Ethernet wiring and switches are the

backbone of our voice and data systems and need to be updated and replaced in order to keep the

network operating efficiently. Thus, allowing the technology department to provide uninterrupted

support for educational technology use in the classroom on a daily basis. Another project that occurred

this past month was the installation of a new server for the business office. This server was required for

the operation of the new central business office and will allow purchasing to continue uninterrupted.

Telecommunication CoSer

At the end of May the department purchased and received the new Lightspeed “Rocket.” This server

runs software manufactured by the same company that makes our antivirus program (Lightspeed

Systems) and will allow SCBOCES to continue the distribution of internet connectivity to our member

districts within the county. With this piece of hardware SCBOCES can handle the distribution of the

additional internet bandwidth our districts require now and in the future, while still having the

management and reporting abilities our technicians had in the past. This is a significant upgrade that was

more affordable than other options and will move the county forward as more and more teachers make

use of the internet as an educational tool. This project is expected to be completed over the summer and

the hardware in use before the next school year.

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