Fun Programs and Events Make Summer Special for BOCES’ Students

All OCM BOCES Special Education programs for severely disabled students take place for the entire 12 months of every year. During the summer of 2010, OCM BOCES held Special Education summer schools at North Syracuse Junior High, Lee G. Peters Career Training Center, Kasson Road School, McEvoy Center, Onondaga Road, Cedar Street, and Stonehedge Elementary. During July and August, BOCES’ dedicated Special Education summer school staff worked with our students to provide many unique and fun educational experiences.


Some of the many exciting events that students in these special education programs were a part of during the summer of 2010 were Special Olympic games, carnivals, concerts and dances. Parents and families were invited to these special school events through OCM BOCES and had many opportunities to witness how special the summer of 2010 was for their children. Many thanks to our dedicated staff!

Deaf Program Lemonade Stand Has Sweet Success for a Great Cause!

For the second year in a row, students in Lisa Austin’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing class at North Syracuse Junior High School, a part of OCM BOCES Special Education Summer School, created a lemonade stand to raise money for a great cause! During last year’s summer program, Ms. Austin was teaching her students about money and the importance of giving back and thought a Lemonade Stand would be a great way to teach students about both concepts. After researching, and finding several books on the topic, Austin came across the book Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand.

The book, about giving back and helping others, talked about Alex Scott, a little girl with cancer who set up a lemonade stand to help doctors find a cure for the disease. Alex’s Lemonade Stand, now a national organization, has raised more than $30 million dollars in the fight against childhood cancer...part of that money coming from right here in Central New York!

Last year, Austin’s students raised $100 at their lemonade stand. This year, they set the same goal but far exceeded it with the over $300 their stand brought in! Austin is proud of the hard work her students did to promote and staff the stand, including making flyers and announcements and working various jobs and shifts at the stand. Congratulations to teacher and students for a job well done! For more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit their website at https://www.alexslemonade.org/.

Kasson Road Students Asked to Show Me The Mone't!

For some students, the summer of 2010 proved to be one of slowing down and taking notice of the wonderful things surrounding them. Students in Mrs. Kathleen Morsey’s art class at OCM BOCES’ Kasson Road School, learned a new
form of expression this summer and worked with water color paints. The students enjoyed the form of painting, and especially being able to do so in the school’s beautiful garden courtyard.

OCM BOCES Receives Nearly $1 Million Grant From U.S. Department of Education

OCM BOCES District Superintendent Jessica F. Cohen is pleased to announce that Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES has been awarded nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Education to improve the quality of teaching American history locally.

The grant for $989,497 over three years, will support the OCM BOCES "First Person America" project, focused on teaching history from a first-person perspective.
The Department of Education announced the grant in early August, with BOCES being named as one of 16 school districts or school groups in New York State to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Nationwide, 124 districts received part of the total $115.3 million awarded.
Through the grant, approximately 30 teachers each year will have the opportunity to attend week-long history lessons, monthly meetings and field trips to bolster their knowledge of American history and enhance their teaching strategies. OCM BOCES is partnering with the State University of New York College at Cortland to offer the teachers a chance to take history lessons from college professors and to create a series of lesson plans focused on in-class instruction.
During the 2010-2011 school year, the group of instructors from OCM BOCES and their 23 component school districts, will visit colonial Williamsburg to focus on the American Revolution. Additional field trips are planned to Gettysburg, where teachers will view the civil war through the eyes of African American soldiers, and to New York City to learn about modern-day immigration.
The U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History grant program aims to enhance teachers' understanding of American history through intensive professional development, including study trips to historic sites and mentoring with professional historians and other experts.
For additional information about OCM BOCES' "First-Person America" project, contact BOCES' Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Support Services Jeff Craig at 315/433-2627 or by email at jcraig@ocmboces.org