Education is a process that requires learning and growing for both students and teachers. We often focus on how that journey looks for our students, but for teachers, learning is critical to our professional life and the vitality of our teaching.

I have occasionally written about opportunities for learning for Moravia staff and students that are available through our Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES. I would like to share with you my recent experience with the Professional Development Unit.

I am mentoring a new teacher at Millard Fillmore Elementary School and attended a full-day workshop for mentor teachers throughout our BOCES consortium in Auburn several weeks ago. Pat Rogers, an instructional specialist, worked with 36 teachers who came together from seven districts to examine and explore how our mentoring can help our proteges continue to develop as new teachers. Our day was spent expanding and clarifying our repertoire of “tools” that allow each veteran teacher to support the newest members of our profession.

The Professional Development Unit, based in Auburn at the new BOCES Regional Education Center, works with our nine area schools to bring together the latest research and technology in education and cognitive development with serving the needs of each districts' professionals and students.

Every district chooses the amount of service when they contract with BOCES for Professional Development services in their budgets, passed in May of the previous year. This varies according to each district's individual needs and budgetary constraints.

All of the services are called “site based,” which means that consultants or specialists come to the school and deliver individualized support, often right in the classroom for specific needs requested by individual teachers. Support can be for several teachers who are working in a particular discipline and are looking for ways to improve their instruction and expand their knowledge base.

Becky Kaune, the coordinator for the Professional Development Unit states, “When professional development takes place where teaching occurs, it is more powerful. Teachers can study techniques without leaving their classrooms. There are very few professional development models across New York state providing service exclusively in this way.”

There are two instructional development consultants assigned to particular school districts, who will research and develop ideas that can be invaluable for us, as teachers, when we want to improve how we teach a subject or how we work with our students.

For example, Bob Montgomery, one of the instructional specialists, is currently working with Mr. Owen, one of our second-grade teachers, to develop different writing strategies to make writing exciting but also reach a wide variety of writers.

This is called “differentiated” or level-appropriate instruction and can be especially challenging. Montgomery researched a number of the latest theories and suggested excellent ways Mr. Owen could effectively teach writing to every student.

Mr. Owen said, “I really like the fact that he brainstormed some ideas from the work of Fountas & Pinnell (educational researcher) that helped me and another teacher here at Millard Fillmore.”

One of the services provided by the Professional Development Unit is funded by federal and state grants and comes to each of the nine Cayuga Onondaga BOCES schools at no cost. SETRC (Special Education Training and Resource Center) provides support for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. This support focuses on literacy, behavioral interventions, special education and intervention services. Diane Bennett, the SETRC coordinator, recently worked with Lisa Warner, our reading and math academic intervention services teacher, to help devise the most efficient and effective ways to use her time to meet the needs of our students. Bennett also reviewed all the area workshops that might be most helpful for Warner in implementing her program.

The office for Data, Curriculum and Assessment, coordinated by Leela George, works with our administration to set specific goals in data analysis and developing long range plans based on performance on various tests and assessments.

Support is also provided on scoring those state tests you often hear about. This branch of the PDU also links our own area teachers with teachers and professionals from all across the region, allowing for groups of teachers working in math and writing to network.

This Professional Learning Community is directed and coordinated by Ms. George. Again, Warner was provided with support when she was researching the purchase of a new math book series for our school. She was able to work with another area school that was implementing the series and ask questions that our staff had about the books. Ms. George is also currently working with a kindergarten through fifth-grade team to develop expectations with samples of student work at each grade level.

For two years, our school participated in Technology Cohort. The Professional Development Unit sent one of their technology integration specialists to Moravia for four full-day workshops and 32 follow up days, in which teachers received hands on instruction for integrating the latest technology in their teaching and classrooms.

In addition to coordinating the Professional Development Unit, Kaune is also the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Her multifaceted role focuses on giving support to our schools' leaders, through mentoring, seminars and retreats. She provides a link to the New York State Education Department for our nine schools as well as regional and statewide organizations.

“The teachers and leaders in the Cayuga Onondaga BOCES care deeply about the success of their students,” Kaune said.

“They show this in so many ways and one of those ways is to continue to study the complex process of teaching everyday.”

Pat Kinney is an art teacher at Millard Fillmore Elementary School in Moravia