The OCM BOCES 2013-2014 Annual Report is now available

OCM BOCES and the educational community of Central New York have a regional vision for college, career and citizenship readiness. At the heart of the vision are three commitments: instruction that engages, culture that empowers, and technology that enables. As you look through this Annual Report you will see that programs and initiatives we have put into place this year are directly aligned with our regional vision’s commitments.  This year, more than ever, we have seen glimpses of the incredibly bright things that our students will have possible to them in their futures.

Click here to read the Annual Report.

Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute for 11th & 12th graders - App deadline Dec. 19th

The Mid-State Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN) at the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison (OCM) BOCES is currently seeking eligible 11th and 12th grade student applicants to participate in a unique leadership development opportunity. Hispanic/Latino juniors and seniors from Central New York school districts are invited to apply for a four-day leadership training, culminating with attendance at the 25th Annual Angelo Del Toro Puerto/Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute in Albany, NY. This is a free event.

Students are required to attend the three training sessions at OCM BOCES (Feb. 5, Feb. 26 and March 7, 2015) in Syracuse, NY and one session at the Onondaga County Legislative Building (March 17, 2015) in Syracuse, NY. Selected students will attend the Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute in Albany, NY from March 21 through 23, 2015. Please note that all dates are subject to change.

Training opportunities have been aligned with Common Core requirements and are designed to empower Hispanic/Latino students. Participants will have multiple opportunities to interact and network with positive role models, other New York State Hispanic/Latino students, government officials, state trainers, business and community leaders. Additionally, the selected student delegates will participate in a mock assembly and debate legislation at the Albany conference. Several senior scholarship opportunities will be available.

Interested students should complete a PRHYLI Syracuse Delegation Application and submit it by the December 19, 2014 deadline. All applications must be submitted with the required supplemental pieces in order to be considered. Supplemental materials include: a competed essay, a minimum of two PRHYLI Syracuse Delegation Recommendations, a current high school transcript, parental consent and principal/guidance counselor consent form, a completed Student Contract, a completed Parental Medical Consent (English) or Parental Medical Consent (Spanish) and a completed College Survey. All forms are available online by clicking here or on the OCM BOCES PRHYLI webpage at http://www.ocmboces.org/teacherpage.cfm?teacher=697#one.

The Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute is an innovative collaboration with the NYS Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force in conjunction with the annual SOMOS El Futuro conference, Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies, the New York State City Board of Education, and other agencies as appropriate. For more information, visit the Syracuse Delegation PRHYLI webpage at http://www.ocmboces.org
/teacherpage.cfm?teacher=697#one or contact Tanya Rosado-Barringer, coordinator, at 315-431-2664 or rbern@ocmboces.org.

OCM BOCES students to compete in 2015 Academic Bowl

A team of four students from the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Education Services (OCM BOCES) Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program will compete at the 2015 Regional Academic Bowl for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students on December 11-14, 2014 at the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome, NY.

The OCM BOCES team is made up of students Aruasy Barrios, Amy Christen, Jacob Sikorski, and Vannessa  Zurbruegg, and led by head coach and OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program teacher Lisa Austin and assistant coach and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program interpreter Penny Killeen (pictured at right, standing left to right: Barrios, Christen, Sikorski, Zurbruegg. Seated, left to right: Austin, Killeen).

The Academic Bowl is an extremely competitive, annual competition sponsored by Gallaudet University. It consists of five Regional Academic Bowls and a National Academic Bowl, which aim to foster the pursuit of academic excellence, promote a spirit of academic competition and good sportsmanship and encourage social opportunities among students.

“Our students have been working and studying daily since the end of September in preparation for the competition. They’re very excited and looking forward to it,” says Austin.

The team will compete on Friday, December 12, from 9:45 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., and again on Saturday, December 13, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Their fellow students in the OCM BOCES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and the Solvay American Sign Language class will attend Friday’s competition to support and cheer them on.

The New York School for the Deaf is located at 401 Turin Street, Rome, NY.

For more information about OCM BOCES, its Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, and other educational opportunities for kids and adults, visit ocmboces.org.