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Professional Development Opportunities
November Workshops
Active Minds, Active Learning
Join us for a dynamic, hands-on workshop focused on boosting student engagement through practical routines and instructional structures that work across all grade levelsand subject areas. In the morning, you'll explore easy-to-implement strategies to keepstudents actively involved in learning. In the afternoon, you'll have dedicated time to applythese ideas directly to your own lesson plans with support from facilitators and peers.Leave with ready-to-use tools that can make an immediate impact in your classroom.
November 20, 2025 – 8:30-3:00
Costello Center
The Science of Reading for Multilingual Learners
The New York State Education Department will release a new toolkit, developed in collaboration with Dr. Socorro Herrera, Dr. Kathy Escamilla, and Dr. Robin Cabral. The agenda includes an overview of the six briefs developed to help educators ensure that the teaching of reading is inclusive of ELLs and MLs.
This event will be held as a hybrid webinar with in-person discussion and online presentations. New York State administrators and literacy leaders will be presented specific and useful information to understand and address the ontological differences between ELLs, MLs, and monolingual students. Please note that to participate in this event, you must attend in person at a designated BOCES, Big 5, or Small City School District site.
Participants in the event will have the opportunity to learn about the briefs with Dr. Socorro Herrera, a professor at the College of Education and the director of the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy at Kansas State University. Dr. Herrera’s K–12 teaching experience includes an emphasis on literacy development, and her research focuses on literacy opportunities with culturally and linguistically diverse students, reading strategies, and teacher preparation for diversity in the classroom.
November 24, 2025 – 9:00-3:00
Costello Center
December Workshops
Read it like you mean it: Building Fluent Readers. Accuracy matters.
Empowering educators with evidence-based practices to accelerate literacy growth focusing on instructional practices listed in NYS’s Literacy Attestation.
December 4, 2025
Costello Center
Join a supportive community of educators who are passionate about helping students thrive. Together, we’ll share strategies, celebrate successes, and collaborate across districts to strengthen our practices.
Who Should Attend?
Special education teachers, paraprofessionals, psychologists, social workers, counselors, administrators – anyone committed to supporting students.
What to Expect
- Welcoming inclusion activities and team building
- Technical updates (goals, progress monitoring, transition, BIPs, etc.)
- Classroom environment & management strategies
- Problem- and success-sharing protocols
- Active student engagement & technology tools
- Dedicated collaboration time
Why Join?
- Connect with colleagues from across Central New York
- Gain practical strategies you can use right away
- Collaborate in a positive, welcoming environment
December 8, 2025 – 8:30-3:00
Campus Conference Room: Madison-Oneida BOCES, Verona
Math Manipulatives – Place Value
Math manipulatives can make learning so much more accessible for many of our students, from Kindergarten through high school! These trainings will focus on how manipulatives can be used to support all students in your classroom instruction. Attention will also be given to how these tools can be referenced on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students who are identified through special education.
December 9, 2025 – 8:30-3:00
Costello Center
Dive into the Not So Simple View of Writing
In this workshop participants will learn about the necessity of transcription instruction for our primary students to lead to the composition skills needed for intermediate students. Resources will be shared and time for implementation planning will be worked into the day. All work aligned to New York State ELA Learning Standards and NYSED's Best Instructional Practices in writing.
December 19, 2025 – 8:30-3:00
Costello Center