Service Guide Home

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Board of Education

Component Districts

BOCES Service Guidelines and Request Dates

District Superintendent's Services

Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

Career and Technical Education

Special Education

Itinerant Services

Adult, Early Childhood, and Outreach Education

Business and Financial Affairs

Health and Safety Service

School to Careers

Pathways Academy

VP-Tech

Virtual Learning and Distance Education

Index of Programs and Services (Alphabetical)

Role of the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
The assistant superintendent for Instruction represents the BOCES at the Staff/ Curriculum Development Network (SCDN) and distributes time sensitive material to all districts as it comes from the state and federal government. The assistant superintendent may provide consultant and/or facilitator services to area schools and boards of education.

School/Curriculum Improvement
Herkimer BOCES provides a service designed to improve instruction and instructional management at the local level. This service is designed to support the development of local capacity to implement the New York State and Next Generation standards and related assessments. Activities will include staff development, curriculum development and comprehensive planning for the purpose of improving student outcomes. All staff development activities are linked to school improvement efforts through the comprehensive planning process. Our common goal is to enable all students within our region to achieve mastery in all required content areas. The 6211 CO-SER will reimburse school districts for registration, substitute costs and other expenses related to school/ curriculum improvement events held within our BOCES region. Programs will include:

• Comprehensive planning facilitation

• Curriculum development projects

• Instructional staff development

• Administrative staff development

• Customized training
  

School Data Analysis
Contact: Laurie Hedges 315-867-2007

BOCES will provide professional support for the analysis of school district data in support of the comprehensive planning process, curriculum improvement and student achievement of state standards for students. Such support will consist of: data gathering, processing and disaggregation and analysis and presentation. The following four domains of data will be considered: student achievement data, demographic data, stakeholder perceptions and process data. Use of the most up to date RIC reports will enhance the district’s ability to plan.

Comprehensive District Education Planning
This expanded service offers support for districts wishing to use the State Education Department’s template and materials for comprehensive district planning. Districts may use RSE-TASC and the Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction as support, at the lowest level of involvement, or may arrange with staff to serve as facilitators and writers on site, at the highest level of involvement.

Cooperative Curriculum Projects
These projects bring together staff from across the region to collaborate with guidance from BOCES staff on writing curriculum guides. Curriculum guides include alignment with New York State Standards, alignment with relevant national standards, course outlines and sample lessons and assessments. Curriculum writers have access to technology consultants and training, SED representatives and other content specialists.

Curriculum Audit
The assistant superintendent will provide a curriculum audit process, based on district instructional programs in specified areas and produce a summary report of findings. Audits involve 5-25 days of visits and observations, a presentation to the Board of Education if requested and/or staff and a written report. Training of district personnel in the process would also be offered.

Instructional Specialist
The instructional specialist works closely with district administrators to plan staff and curriculum training to enhance the CDEP and school improvement plans in our component schools and within the BOCES programs. The Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction plans and provides workshops run by consultants and master teachers to meet the varying needs of teachers, administrators and staff in our schools. The development of curriculum to meet state standards, the implementation of the Regents initiatives and the designing of assessments for classroom and 3012c or 3012d use are among the services offered through this position. Programs and activities designed through this position are linked to improving student performances.

Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center
Contact: Christine Angotti, 315-867-2005

The Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center supports the development of local school capacity to improve the achievement and meet the needs of their students with disabilities. RSE-TASC provides technical assistance and job-embedded professional development to local school districts targeted through the State Performance Plan and the Quality Improvement Process. This professional development is focused on three key areas: literacy and instruction, behavior and special education service delivery.

The RSE-TASC library contains several thousand books, videos and professional journals available for free loan to local school staff and parents. The library may be accessed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday to Friday.

The RSE-TASC office (315-867-2005) is open year-round on Monday through Friday, and it is staffed with a full time special education school improvement specialist.

Staff Development – Board of Education
Staff development for boards of education may be provided for many purposes including new board membership, regional information and leadership skills. Boards may request customized sessions to meet their particular needs. Facilitation of board goals is also available.

Staff Development – Clerical
Programs for updating database skills and using word processors for the clerical staff are available.

Employee Assistance Program
Contact: Gina Cannistra, 315-867-1971

The Employee Assistance Program is a benefit available to all employees of participating districts. It is designed to offer, in a confidential manner, assistance to employees who have personal problems that impair their job performance. It is recognized that job performance may be negatively impacted by physical illness, excessive use of alcohol, drug abuse, family concerns or other behavioral/medical disorders which result in poor job performance and/or excessive absenteeism. In order to serve all employees with such needs, this program has been cooperatively developed.

Planning and Grant Writing
This service is available to districts that have special planning or grant writing projects. The general purpose is to provide technical assistance and to draft applications, reports and other specialized projects for component districts and for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Research is done on funding from federal, state and private foundation sources. The advantage of collaboratively tapping funding sources is smart business.

Pen in Hand Writers Conference
The HFHO BOCES works in cooperation with the Dolgeville Central School District and the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts in the annual sponsoring of the Pen in Hand Writers Conference for students. Cost for this program is based upon the per student expenses involved in operating the annual conference.

Aesop
Contact: Evelyn Macri, 315-867-2075

Participating school district teachers can call or go online to Aesop 24 hours a day to report absences. Districts receive daily reports of teachers absent, substitute teachers used, plus weekly listings of subs called. Recruitment of substitutes and processing of applications are included in this service.

Arts in Education
Contact: Carol Dumka, 315-453-7079

The arts give students the skills to integrate and use what they learn in other disciplines and include visual and media arts, writing, music, dance and drama. This service allows districts to receive aid to link students and teachers with staff development, in-house presentations, field trips and tickets that will provide learning activities via the performing arts. An advisory group with representatives of participating districts cooperates in planning activities. Cooperative programs with the Central New York Community Arts Council, the Mohawk Valley Community Arts Center and Herkimer Community College facilitate district participation in the program.

Honors Program
Contact: Carol Dumka, 315-453-7079

This program, which consists of 10 full-day sessions, is designed to support the potential of students in grades 3-10 who have above average interests and abilities. All programs and field trips support the Common Core state standards and are designed to provide children with a broad range of experiences to enhance their classroom learning. Programs are scheduled in coordination with school districts and allow for interaction with like-minded peers, as students learn by engaging in educational activities with presenters who are noted in their fields of expertise. Explorations and programs provide for different learning styles and include topics in the arts and sciences as well as literature and history. Ongoing evaluation of all programs by teachers and students assures their relevance and quality.

Home Instruction
Contacts: John Stewart and Dick Young, 315-867-2006

The Home Instruction Services is a cooperative service responsible for coordinating all documentation related to home-instructed students on behalf of participating districts.