21 local Hispanic students attend Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute through OCM BOCES

Through the OCM BOCES Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN,) 21 local Hispanic students recently had the opportunity to attend the 24th Annual Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PRHYLI) in Albany, NY.  The PRHYLI introduces Hispanic high school students to New York State’s legislative process and civic issues affecting the Latino community while fostering such skills as debate, citizenship and leadership.

The event is a collaborative effort among Regional Bilingual Education Resource Networks, The NYS Education Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies, The NYC Department of Education and the NYS Assembly’s Hispanic Task Force.



The 21 Hispanic students were selected from the following nine mid-state high schools:

Cicero-North Syracuse High School: Aaliyah Muolo Vergara;

Fowler High School: Moises Gracciano, Mario Cabral, Neyshmaire Meléndez, and Abigail Rivera;

Liverpool High School: Yaritza Bague;

Corcoran High School: Yadimar Narvaez and Alondra Peña-Merced;

Henninger High School: Alia Anamaria;

Jamesville-DeWitt High School: Ana Carolina Piedra;

Proctor High School: Jennifer Difo and Lorena Difo;

Ithaca High School: Lilia Escobedo, Félix Fernández-Penny, Alejandra Flores Ramírez, Eitan Mizrachi, Vanessa Navarro Rodríguez and Belén Santa Ana; and

Solvay High School: Karissa Benz, Mahalia Rivera and Kevin Vreeland.

Event chaperones were Ofelia Villareeal and Barb Bergman, led by Sally Doran of the Mid-State RBERN. These students formed the Syracuse Delegation and trained together for four days at La Casita Cultural Center in areas directly linked to the Common Core Learning Standards and the New York State Social Studies Standards, assisted by Ed Thater. The ultimate goal of the trainings is to carry out a mock assembly while practicing their leadership skills.

Approximately 206 Hispanic students from a total of eight total delegations from across New York State met for the culminating three-day event on March 22 through 24. This year's team building activity, “Frame and Re-Frame Leading from Understanding,” led by Giselle O. Martin-Kniep, President of Lerner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd., was held at the Albany Desmond Hotel. The students were split into groups, given guidelines and criteria and challenged to dig deep, discuss then create presentations that would inform, inspire and change the way people think about bullying. Our students Jennifer Difo and Alia Anamaria were moderators of the general session on Saturday.

Regent Betty A. Rosa from New York City/Bronx spoke to the students as well as the Associate Commissioner for the State Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies, Angélica Infante-Green, who commended the students for their interests, accomplishments and hard work. A fantastic speaker, Barbara Coloroso offered an inspirational presentation on bullying and each student received her book: The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander.

Once in the Assembly Chambers of the State Capitol building, the group debated five bills that are currently before the Assembly. During opening ceremonies,  Féliz Fernández-Penny with the Syracuse Delegation, performed an exceptional A capella version of the Puerto Rican National Anthem. During the awards banquet that followed, 35 seniors were awarded scholarships on a competitive basis for their achievements and performance. The Syracuse Delegation had two winners: Vanessa Navarro and Eitan Mizrachi. In addition, one student per delegation was nominated “outstanding delegate.” A “Delegate of the year” is chosen by a select panel of evaluators over the course of the weekend; the Syracuse Delegation's Ana Carolina Piedras, who also had the role of Majority Leader this year, came in 2nd place! What an honor!

Students were escorted to the simultaneously held adult conference, “Somos Uno,” an organization dedicated to the dialog of Hispanic issues and policy making representing all aspects of government, business, and community. There they heard from NYS Assemblymen such as Phil Ramos and Félix Ortíz. Rounding out this life-changing weekend, the students had an educational opportunity to learn about Latin music “From Africa to New York: Latin Music in the New World” by Dr. José Cruz; they danced to Salsa, Bachata, Merengue and Regetón!  And finally, The Jerk Whisperer, Dr. Stephen “Bird” Birchak from the College of Saint Rose, Albany, offered a truly remarkable presentation on bullying that will not be forgotten by any who was present. Dr. Bird was so inspirational you could hear a pin drop. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for high school Hispanic students of New York State.

For information on applying for next year's Syracuse Delegation, e-mail Sally Doran at sdoran@ocmboces.org or call 433-2664 for details.

OCM BOCES Students compete and place in State Skills USA Competitions

Congratulations to the OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) students who recently competed and placed in the State SkillsUSA competition. Held at the New York State Fairgrounds in April, this annual competition gave OCM BOCES the opportunity to compete against other schools from across the state in timed technical, trade and leadership contests.

Students from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Campus in Cortland are pictured in the group photo. 


The OCM BOCES students who placed in the competition are:

1.    Bryan DeGone, OCM BOCES Automotive Technology senior from the Baldwinsville Central School District – 2nd place in Automotive Service Technology category

2.    Vi Nguyen, OCM BOCES Cosmetology senior from the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District – 3rd place in the Nail Care category

Following is the complete list of OCM BOCES students that competed in the State SkillsUSA competition:

From the Baldwinsville Central School District:
Paige Bell (Health Knowledge Bowl)
Bryan DeGone (Automotive Service Technology)
Connor Oakes (Medical Math)


From the Cazenovia Central School District:

Yesenia Rodriguez (Cosmetology Junior)

From the Cortland Enlarged City School District:

Alizabeth Knout (Medical Math)

Hunter Moore (Photography)

Nichole Nichol (First Aid/CPR)

Brandon Reynolds (Digital Cinema Production)

From the DeRuyter Central School District:
Breanna Hare (Job Demonstration)

From the Homer Central School District:

Tyler Purvis (Auto Maintenance)

Josh Stevens (Auto Collision Repair)

From the Fayetteville Manlius Central School District:

Vi Nguyen (Nail Care)

From the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District:
Salwa El-Hindi (Early Childhood Education)

From the Liverpool Central School District:

Miranda Harrington (Nail Care Model)

Josh Ptaszek (Basic Vehicle Maintenance)

From the Marathon Central School District:

Marjorie Torres (Extemporaneous Speaking)

From the Marcellus Central School District:
Gabby Coon (Restaurant Service)

From the McGraw Central School District:

Ben Ackley (Digital Cinema Production)


From the North Syracuse Central School District:
Crista Baird (Food Prep Assistant)
Mackenzie Lanaux (Health Knowledge Bowl)

Kristin Rogers (Health Knowledge Bowl)

From the Tully Central School District:

Samantha Crawford (Culinary Arts)

Katie Spaulding (Promotional Bulletin Board)

From the West Genesee Central School District:
Jessica McCarthy (Commercial Baking)

Sydney Timpano (Job Demo A)

About Skills USA: Skills USA is a national organization serving teachers and high school/college students preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. The organization provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development and builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills.

For more information about OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education Programs, contact Robert Leslie at 431-8407.

Pictured below are some students from the OCM BOCES McEvoy Campus during the State SkillsUSA competition. Many thanks to advisors Heather Hardke, Dale Gendron and Tonya Komar for submitting photographs.

OCM BOCES hosts local conference on USDA's "Smart Snacks in Schools" guidelines

As school districts across the state and nation are looking for healthier alternatives to typical candy bar and potato chip filled vending machines in order to meet new healthy snack regulations that will take effect on July 1, 2014, a group of local agencies is working together to provide assistance.

On Thursday, May 1, 2014, the Healthier Central New York Challenge will take place at the OCM BOCES Rodax 8 building (6820 Thompson Road in Syracuse) conference center. The event is a collaborative effort of Healthy Schools NY programs at OCM, OHM and TST BOCES, Action for Healthy Kids, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Dash NY, Fuel up to Play 60 and Hunger Solutions New York.

Mary Joan McLarney, a Registered Dietician/Nutritionist with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Northeast Regional Office, will talk about the organization’s new competitive foods regulations and Kathryn Hoy, of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs, will discuss smarter lunchrooms in schools.

The event, which has been designed to provide assistance and ideas for local food service personnel, school district administrators and district staff, will take place from 9:00 a.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.) until 2:00 p.m. and is free of charge. Join local, state and federal experts in school wellness and discover best practices, get a better understanding of the link between health and academics, learn how to write a funded grant proposal and network with local schools and organizations.

Stacy McNeill is the OCM BOCES Healthy Schools NY coordinator and as such, works extensively with school district personnel regarding federal, state and local wellness guidelines. She said, “We have been working together to ensure that students across Central New York have access to healthier foods and increased physical activity in our efforts to optimize wellness and academic success as well as reduce obesity and the chronic diseases associate with it. In order for our schools to be able to offer healthier choices to their students and meet new federal guidelines, we are providing this conference with a special focus on local success stories. We want our districts to have access to sustainable ideas and resources in an effort to make this transition to a healthier school culture as seamless as possible.”

According to the USDA, the new healthy snack regulations will take effect July 1. For more information, visit the USDA Food and Nutrition's Smart Snacks in Schools website.

CTE Hall of Fame Nominations accepted through May 15

The Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES is accepting nominations for its Career and Technical Education (CTE) Hall of Fame through Thursday, May 15, 2014. 

The Hall of Fame was established in 2011 to honor individuals who have graduated from our Career and Technical Education programs and who demonstrate leadership in their field. Each year, nominations are solicited and reviewed by a subcommittee made up from our OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee. The committee reviews the nominations for the following qualifications:

1. OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education Graduate;
2. Engagement in an occupation related to the program completed at OCM BOCES;
3. Demonstrate leadership in his/her field;
4. Exercise civic responsibility.

The winners of the award will have a commemorative plaque placed in the "Hall of Fame" in their respective campus of graduation.

Current members of the OCM BOCES Alumni Hall of Fame are:
Keith Standish (Inducted 2011 - McEvoy Campus)
Leah Estock (Inducted 2011 - Henry Campus)
Dave Ryder (Inducted 2012 - Henry Campus)
Kevin McMahon (Inducted 2012 - McEvoy Campus)

By identifying successful graduates, we hope to provide positive role models for current students, while making the public aware of the accomplishments of our former students and the potential for success through the high quality programs offered by OCM BOCES.

To be considered for the OCM BOCES Alumni Hall of Fame, individuals must be a graduate of an OCM BOCES Career and Technical Education program, must currently be engaged in a career related to their program of completion at BOCES, must demonstrate leadership in their field and show civic responsibility.

For more information on the OCM BOCES Alumni Hall of Fame, contact Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education, Robert Leslie at 315/431-8407 or by email at rleslie@ocmboces.org.

Click here to download a nomination form.

New Tech High School student-created video

Click on the video link below to watch a student-created video about New Tech. OCM BOCES is bringing New Tech to Central New York through Innovation Tech.

We are OCM BOCES video

Click on the box below to play a video about OCM BOCES

Deaf athlete reads to and teaches students

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill is a deaf American amateur wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter. Matt was a three-time NCAA Wrestling Division III National Champion from 1997-1999 while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He is currently a fighter for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and takes time to visit schools to speak with young people. 

During the month of March, Matt came to Solvay High School through the help and support of Le Moyne College’s American Sign Language class in connection to the literacy incentive, Read Across America. While at Solvay High School, Hamill read and signed the story Ferdinand the Bull to the students. He also gave a presentation on his life and the many challenges he has faced and overcome due to his hearing loss. 

OCM BOCES Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Lisa Austin, helped arrange Matt’s visit to the school and was very pleased with the students’ reception of him. She said, “The students enjoyed having a famous athlete come and sign a story to them. Hamill really encouraged the students to strive for their dreams and to not let anything stand in their way of what they want to accomplish in life. He was very inspirational.”

After his presentation, Hamill signed autographs, took pictures with the students and spoke to them on a personal level. The day was a complete success.