Trainings/Workshops

Project Read workshops set for July

Comprehensive language arts program designed for middle and high school  teachers

Two multi-day Project Read training sessions are being offered at HFM BOCES this summer. "Reading Comprehension with Story Form" will be held on July 7-8, and "Written Expression" is scheduled for July 9-11. Both sessions run from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the HFM BOCES Conference Center.

Project Read is a comprehensive language arts program designed to provide explicit instruction in a structured reading curriculum. The goal of the program is to help all students become thoughtful, purposeful, and independent readers.

The cost of the workshops (based on 50 participants) is $265 per person for Reading Comprehension, $350 per person for Written Expression, or $465 per person for both workshops.

The target audience includes all middle and high school English Language Arts teachers, especially those working with special education and AIS students. Participants in both courses will receive workbooks and other useful materials.

The sessions are being offered in response to requests from two BOCES component districts.

A report from the Florida Center for Reading Research shares more about the programs, or visit the Project Read Web site.

For more information about the programs, contact Stacy Ward, Coordinator of Instructional Services, at (518) 736-4360.

Download a registration form here.

Summer literacy institute equips teachers to guide students to higher-level thinking

Literacy across the Content Areas focuses on effective instruction at the middle and high school levels

HFM BOCES has specifically designed a three-day summer institute for middle and high school teachers to help them develop higher-level thinking and improved literacy skills in their students. Participants will explore the theory and practice of actively engaging students in their learning, with emphasis on ways to incorporate reading comprehension and vocabulary building into everyday instruction in all content areas.

The Literacy across the Content Areas Summer Institute will be offered August 18-20, 2008 at the HFM BOCES Conference Center. The institute is co-facilitated by Kathy Nickson, a trainer from the University at Albany’s Center on English Learning & Achievement (CELA) and Fran Boyer, a literacy coach at Amsterdam’s Lynch Literacy Academy.

Each daily session runs from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The $180 per-person registration includes breakfast and boxed lunch each day. Click here to download a registration form. For additional information contact Stacy Ward at (518) 736-4360.

Summer Assessment Institute

How can professional educators judge if students are making progress in their ability to think and learn?

This collaborative summer workshop conducted by data analysts from HFM BOCES and other area BOCES will answer these questions and demonstrate how district leaders can develop tools to accurately assess student thinking skills and transform teaching.

The Summer Assessment Institute will be held on July 23-25, 2008 at Mechanicville Middle School. The three-day workshop is designed for teachers and administrators who are familiar with the 21st Century Skills research and are ready to review and develop assessment tools. Participants will select one of three strands as the focus of their assessment development - creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, or communication and collaboration.

The institute will be presented by data analysts from the Joint Management Team (HFM BOCES, Capital Region BOCES, Questar III BOCES and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES). The cost of the institute is $150 per person, or $350 for school teams of three people. Each additional person on a team will be charged $100. The deadline for registration is June 20, 2008.

Click here to download a registration form. For additional information you may contact Marie-Helene Rogerson at (518) 736-4360.

HFM introduces PDExpress

Web-based management system helps document individual professional development hours

PDExpress enables teachers and administrators to store, manage and report on all facets of professional development from any computer with Web access. The system’s intuitive point-and-click design provides instant access to up-to-date records and transcripts.

You can access PDExpress at: http://pdexpress.hfmboces.org/pdexpress/login.aspx

Health-Safety Risk Management Mini-Workshops 2008-09

• There is NO COST for these workshops for participating district personnel.

• Workshop size is limited to 10 people, so register early. No-shows: Please let us know at least three days in advance if you have signed up and can't attend.

• All workshops start at 8:30 am and end by noon. Morning Refreshments will be served.

• Workshops will be held at the HFM BOCES building at 2755 State Highway 67, Johnstown, NY in the Health-Safety Risk Management Offices.

• Workshop descriptions and registration information here

Topics & Dates

Training Courses for School Bus Drivers, Monitors and Attendants

HFM BOCES offers training courses for new and experienced bus drivers, monitors and attendants. New bus drivers are required to take the 30-hour Basic Course. Experienced bus drivers must take two two-hour refresher courses annually. The mandatory driver physical performance test is also conducted through this service. [more]

For More Information

• Stacy Ward, Coordinator of Instructional Services
   (518) 736-4360, sward@hfmboces.org

• Robert Mark, SETRC Coordinator
   (518) 736-4354, rmark@hfmboces.org

• David Aimone, Coordinator of Health-Safety-Risk Management
   (518) 736-4380, daimone@hfmboces.org