Instructional Support Newsletter

The Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Instructional Support Services Newsletter is your go-to hub for all things teaching! Packed with handpicked resources, tools, and fresh ideas, it's here to help you level up your teaching game and make learning more engaging and fun for your students. Here at ISS, we're all about creating a space where teachers can connect, swap ideas, and learn from each other. Whether you need support, resources, or just want to pitch a professional development idea, or share a great teaching moment, we're here for you. So don't be shy—reach out, and let's make teaching a collaborative endeavor! Here's a link to our website.

Click the image below of our PD offerings to get to Frontline and sign up!

1.) Love your job! Kids are very smart. If you don't love what you do, the kids will perceive that immediately and will not try any harder than you. On the other hand, if you are passionate and love your subject, you will inspire your students to greatness. Learn from your students.

2.) Love your students. Students can tell immediately if you care about them and really want them to succeed. Once you create an environment of trust, only then will students put themselves in a place of vulnerability and share with you what they don’t know. That’s where learning truly begins, You may be the ONLY positive interaction the student has that day.

3.) Create a safe, caring classroom environment where all students are respected and not demeaned or belittled. Students can't learn in a hostile environment. I think about my high school chemistry teacher and the negative impact he had on me daily 45 years later. That’s the power of teaching, for better or worse. In my situation, I used the experience of the teacher I NEVER wanted to be, or would be. NEVER !

4.) Create a fair discipline plan in your classroom that holds all students accountable and conforms to your district’s plan and follow it daily. Students WANT to know the rules and are most comfortable with boundaries. Again, you are creating a safe environment for ALL students.

5.) You must be a lifelong learner. Your students cannot drink from an empty cup. You must continue to learn and bring those experiences to your classroom. Most of my best learning moments was when I shared what I experienced playing in professional ensembles.

6.) Try to reach ALL students. The joy of teaching is finding out what learning style will reach a particular student. They are all different and unique. A student is like a puzzle, and the joy is finding which presentation of the material will unlock the learning. Material MUST be presented in different modes. Visual, Oral, Aural, and Tactile. You must find their particular mode of learning.

7.) Have High Standards and expectations for each student and then raise the bar !! Students will normally only give you 50% of what you ask for unless you tell them they are capable of more. Sometimes saying “That’s not good enough” is what they need to hear. You may be the only person who thinks he or she has potential !!! They deserve no less !! Inspire them to greatness.

8.) Treat each student with dignity and respect. Their future is not written. You have no idea what or who the student will become. A future president, teacher, doctor, welder, board of education member ! (That has happened to me !) Give them all you have and reinforce that their goals are attainable.

9.) Reflect each day on your teaching. Great teachers always think of how they can improve their craft. Think about what worked, what didn’t, and what to do differently tomorrow. Today is history. Think about what to try tomorrow, make a plan, and set it into motion. Be inspired !!

10.) Apologize to your students if necessary. Nothing builds a relationship with a student like admitting you were wrong about something. We all have difficult days, but sometimes an apology for a misspoken word or action can mend a relationship. Not addressing it can create a toxic classroom environment. Sometimes an apology needs to be public if the offense was in front of other classmates.

Our Local History is proud to present its fourth annual Antiracist Education Conference. This year's theme, "Leading with Purpose", will inspire meaningful conversations and actionable insights for educators and community members alike.

The conference is meant to provide you with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to instill your classroom or community space with equity, antiracism, and civic action. Our keynote speak, Dr. Matthew Kay, will present his compelling research on how to speak about race in elementary classrooms.

The conference will happen via Zoom and is free to attend. It is sponsored by our local schools of education: The Warner School at the University of Rochester; the Ralph J. Wilson School of Education at St. John Fisher College; Nazareth University School of Education; the Ella Cline Shear School of Education at SUNY Geneseo; and the SUNY Brockport Department of Education and Human Development.

Please register now, peruse the sessions as they're posted and get ready for a powerful day of learning, reflection, and commitment to equity in education. FREE REGISTRATION AT TINYURL.COM/2025AEC

What we're reading: Timothy Walker's Teach Like Finland - 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms

Well Being: schedule brain breaks, learn on the move, recharge after school, simplify the space, breathe fresh air, get into the wild, and keep the peace.

Belonging: recruiting a support team, know each child, play with your students, celebrate their learning, pursue a class dream, banish the bullying, and buddy up.

Autonomy: start with freedom, leave margin, offer choices, plan with your students, make it real and demand responsibility.

Mastery: teach the essentials, mine the textbook, leverage the teaching, bring in the music, coach more, prove the learning, and discuss the grades.

Mindset: seek flow, have a thicker skin, collaborate over coffee, welcome the experts, vacate on vacation, and don't forget joy.

Click the blue buttons to access some awesome resources to try out! Brief descriptions of the resources sit below their respective buttons.

Do you use Think-Pair-Share as an instructional strategy in your classroom? Here are 16 ways to up your game! Teachers and students use this classic learning strategy often. To keep it from getting stale, try these tweaks.

Narrative for Schools provides access to our complete library of literature, instructional materials, contests, curated reading lists, and video tutorials—free of charge—for teachers and students.

This strategy for teaching creative writing to first and second grade students uses an engaging and differentiated approach.

Need a text on a particular topic? Starting with a PDF, a URL, or even just a few words to describe a general topic, Diffit can create a reading passage, then level it for different reading abilities. From there, this incredible differentiation tool can generate resources to accompany the passage, like vocabulary lists, discussion questions, and multiple-choice tests, and translate it into multiple languages. The free version works with passages up to 2500 words.

Below is a video tutorial to assist you in using this technology!

Canva for Educators is a free design tool used to create graphics, including readymade templates available for teachers with an account. With these simple Canva hacks, teachers can use this amazing platform to create!

This month, Instructional Support Services is thrilled to shine the spotlight on Dominick Scalise! After decades working at his beloved local restaurant, Dominick joined our BOCES team to share his passion for cooking with the next generation. From day one, Dominick has brought boundless energy, charisma, and a natural knack for engaging students.

Dominick credits much of his success to the incredible collaboration within his culinary team, including Brandie Reid, CTE Teacher, and Angeline Farrington, TA. Together, they’ve created a classroom environment that thrives on teamwork, blending each other's strengths seamlessly—just like a perfectly plated meal of filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and bacon-wrapped asparagus. (Cheesy? Maybe. But we’re all about celebrating that kind of harmony!)

This team’s playful spirit and unwavering commitment to inspiring students make them a true recipe for success. Dominick, Brandie, and Angeline, thank you for your dedication, creativity, and hard work. Instructional Support Services is proud to celebrate all you bring to our school community.

Keep rocking it out in the kitchen and beyond!

Follow @tchr2tchr on Instagram for more teaching ideas from a great community of teachers!

Got Ideas? We've Got Resources! Let’s work together to make this school year great!

Our Instructional Coaching team is here to support you! Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our coaches in the field or contact our secretary, Amanda Chapple, at Instructional Support Services at (315) 867-2077. We can help with:

• Co-planning lessons and units
• Providing classroom resources and materials
• Modeling instructional strategies
• Supporting curriculum design and alignment
• Offering professional development workshops
• Facilitating collaborative team meetings