Dear BOCES Team,

Over the past years, we’ve made significant progress on our three priorities: strengthening communication, going digital, and improving the employee experience. Together, we’ve strengthened internal communication through our monthly staff newsletter, department meetings, and increased communication. We’ve also embraced digital transformation and focused on creating a better workplace for all. We started a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee and an Employee Experience committee focused on making sure employees feel like they belong, we instituted employee sentiment surveys, and we’ve started working on improving all aspects of employment from recruitment to retirement.

Now, let’s continue to build on that success. To move forward, we are shifting from our three priority areas to a broader Framework for Organizational Success. The new framework focuses on Process and Efficiency, Service, Employee Engagement, Innovation, and Collaboration; we are expanding our focus to include a fourth element: Service. Adding Service ensures that while we continue improving internally, we also improve the experiences of our students, districts, and community partners.

Our new Framework for Organizational Success shifts our focus to four key areas:

• Create connections and collaboration within the organization.
• Provide recognition and career growth opportunities.
• Improve recruitment, onboarding, and retention.

• Build new relationships with districts and stakeholders.
• Improve communication and participation in student and community events.
• Seek out new innovative ideas and programs that will help our students excel in the future.

• Streamline workflows through technology and automation.
• Analyze and realign duties for better outcomes.
• Provide high-quality services for our districts while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

• Improve the quality of student instruction and services provided by BOCES.
• Promote opportunities for sharing/regionalization.
• Build trust and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders.

This shift reflects our growth as an organization and allows us to clarify department goals, measure outcomes, and improve our organizational health. It improves internal processes while focusing on outcomes for all. Department leaders are developing goals and will share them soon.

Together, we are creating a stronger, more innovative BOCES.

Dr. Rebecca Stone
Superintendent, Broome-Tioga BOCES

As we continue to focus on innovation and growth, we are excited to announce the launch of a new logo that reflects our commitment to progress. The updated design offers a cleaner, more modern look.

One of the primary motivations for this change was addressing challenges with the current logo. The small font used in the previous design often printed poorly on materials, reducing its clarity and impact. This issue became especially evident on apparel, promotional items, and signage—key tools for representing our organization.

The new logo was designed to be timeless and versatile, ensuring it prints clearly on all platforms and mediums. This shift is particularly important as we prepare for upcoming capital projects, including the addition of new signage for expanded facilities. With these significant investments on the horizon, a simplified, enduring logo minimizes long-term costs associated with updates.

Another consideration was our tagline. While it remains a valued part of our identity, incorporating it into the logo posed challenges. By separating the logo from the tagline, we increase flexibility for future branding efforts, saving time and resources if changes are needed.

We will be sunsetting the old version and ask that as you move forward with purchasing or printing products that you use our new logo. The updated logos can be found on our BOCES website under branding.

Most of us love to hear good news stories about the kindness of strangers – whether it be about someone engaging in a life-saving act or simply greeting your coworker in a way that makes them feel like they belong here. In February we celebrate Random Act of Kindness Week and Day, times to celebrate and encourage spontaneous acts of kindness. Find stories of kindness and ways you can spread kindness at home, at work, and at school. We especially love to hear about the random acts of kindness within our own halls, classrooms, and offices at BTBOCES. Please consider sharing your own story by emailing humanresources@btboces.org with your celebration of kindness!

Team,

We continue to move forward with our animal science project. We are currently waiting on drawings for HVAC and plumbing. As soon as these items are addressed we will begin interior construction.

As part of the capital project initiative, the district acquired the property adjacent to the main campus at 409 Glenwood in April 2024. This acquisition supports the development of a new Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facility.

We are pleased to share that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has approved the demolition of the house on the property. Prior to receiving this approval, we conducted a third-party environmental study, as required. The study confirmed the presence of hazardous materials in certain areas of the house, which we anticipated given its age. These materials must be safely removed before demolition can proceed.

Between now and the end of February, contractors will be on-site to carry out the demolition and ensure the safe removal of hazardous materials. To guarantee safety during this process, contractors will wear hazmat suits, and a third-party environmental review contractor will oversee and monitor the site. This team will conduct regular testing to ensure safe handling and removal of hazardous materials before, during, and after the demolition. We are committed to completing this work safely and efficiently to pave the way for the new O&M facility. Thank you for your continued support of this important project!

Reminder - Fuel Card Program for Fleet Vehicles As part of Broome-Tioga BOCES’s ongoing improvements under our capital project, the on-site unleaded gas pump will no longer be operational after Jan. 31. After this date, employees will need to use fuel cards to fill up fleet vehicles.

The fuel card program ensures our fleet drivers can still access fuel conveniently and with additional perks such as:

- Wide Access: Fuel Cards are accepted at multiple gas stations, offering flexibility and convenience.

- Tax Exemption: Fuel purchases will be tax-exempt, helping us reduce operational costs.

- Rebates: When refueling at Sunoco stations, we will receive rebates ranging from $0.01 to $0.06 per gallon.

What You Need to Know

Obtaining a Fuel Card

- If you regularly drive a BOCES fleet vehicle, please check with your supervisor to arrange for a Fuel Card.

Guidelines for Using the Fuel Card

- Fuel Only: These cards are strictly for fuel purchases.

- Receipt Submission: If you use a Fuel Card, please submit your fuel receipt to Accounts Payable within two days of purchase.

This program is crucial to maintaining our fleet and ensuring efficient, cost-effective fueling options. If you need more information, please connect with your supervisor.

Greetings from Health and Safety!

We started the new year off by having our second annual District Wide Safety Team Meeting. We had special guests from the office of Emergency Management Planning and local Police Department as well as the Supervisor of SRO’s in our area attend. They helped us perform a tabletop exercise which gave us the opportunity to put our emergency response plans into action. The tabletop exercise presented the team with multiple scenarios that could possibly happen in real life and then the question of “What would you do?” was asked. This exercise allowed everyone to think about what is good about their plan, what isn’t so good and what could possibly be added to the plan or be done better. These exercises provide the team members with an excellent opportunity to help be better prepared if a real-life incident were to occur. We are looking forward to continuing to do Tabletop exercises in the future and involve our community resources to help support our districts emergency response planning.

Reminder - As part of Broome-Tioga BOCES’s ongoing improvements under the capital project, the on-site unleaded gas pump will no longer be operational after Jan. 31. After this date, employees will need to use fuel cards to fill up fleet vehicles. See your supervisor if you are planning to take a fleet vehicle and will need a fuel card.

If you regularly drive a BOCES fleet vehicle, scan the relevant QR below to download Wex Connect app and follow these instructions to find the most up to date list of participating gas stations.

• Download app
• Select More in the bottom right hand corner
• Select Fleet Codes
  
  

If you are an employee receiving mileage/travel reimbursements via check, don't wait for the postal mail to deliver these checks to you when funds can be delivered straight to your bank account. Fill out an ACH form today to have these funds directly deposited into your bank account. The form can be found at the following path on the BOCES All shared drive:

H:\BOCES All\Business Office\Purchasing-Claims-AP-Travel\Purchasing Forms\ACH Employee enrollment fillable form

Thank you for your patience and support as the business office navigates a temporary staffing shortage. We're actively working on hiring and appreciate everyone's understanding during this time!

The Business Office said goodbye to Lorie Rowe this month as she sailed off into retirement. Lorie worked in a variety of departments throughout her 17-year career at BOCES, most recently in the accounts payable department. Glenn Pitcher from 98.1 the Hawk stopped by to wish her well and read her a retirement poem he wrote just for her.

January is also the month of compliance - ensuring W2's, 1099's and 1095's get completed on time and filed with the IRS.

We are hiring for Account Clerks in our Accounts Payable department! If you or someone you know is interested, please visit the BT BOCES website for more information. Link is below.

With the hectic holidays behind us and the rest of the smooth-running school year ahead of us, I cannot wait to start each day. This is the time to enjoy the brisk outdoors adventure like skiing or sledding this winter. Do not blink before we know it, it will be June!

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we had our associations annual Holiday party at JCHS. It was a magnificent event. I would like to mention that the Food Service Department awards a “Kitchen of the Month” each month to a deserving component district. December’s winner is Deposit CSD, and I would like to thank them all for their hard work and dedication.

The Food Service Department would like to welcome a new Food Service Supervisor, Leslie Delafield to our BOCES team. Leslie comes to us with 25 years of food service experience, she has worked for Maine Endwell CSD for the last 8 years as a Cook Manager. She is an avid camper with her family, loves to cook and entertain family and friends. Her favorite pass time is to go hiking especially in the scenic Adirondacks of our great state.

Leslie Delafield, School Lunch Supervisor was promoted from within the Maine Endwell District.

Gregory Brooks was Promoted from a PC/LAN III to IT Specialist
Tina Robinson was promoted from Program Assistant to Business Services Specialist

On Dec. 18, you might have noticed something phishy 🐟 in your inboxes. As you may know, BOCES is now conducting Phishing Campaigns, where realistic (but fake) phishing emails are sent to all staff. The email you received was from "FedEx Delivery Notification" <tracking.fedex-alerts.com> and looked like this:

91% of staff did not click on this link. Great work! 🎉

Here are some ways to identify this email as phishing:

· Have you ordered a package that was being delivered through FedEx?

· External Sender Message: Always use caution when receiving an email with an external sender message.

· BOCES Email: Did you use your work email for a recent purchase?

· Time of Year: These types of emails are very common during the holidays. On the FedEx website, they warn customers how to recognize email scams. It states that scammers use an email with FedEx status to try to get you to click on a link.

Phishing Campaigns will run about once a month during the school year. They will not harm your computer and are for educational purposes only.

Feel free to reach out with any questions about suspicious emails. Please screenshot the email and forward it to me.

Remember to always pause before you click a link.

Jennifer Weston

jweston@btboces.org

The Communications and Public Relations Department has embraced a team-based approach to enhance our work and expertise. We’ve developed dedicated teams of subject matter experts, including an editorial team, website team, digital content team, social media team, and crisis communication team. Each team has three or more members who meet monthly to tackle key issues in their areas, provide training, and lead new initiatives. This approach keeps us ahead of trends and ensures we maintain our edge in an ever-changing profession.

We’re also wrapping up some major projects:

• BOCES 25-26 Service Guide: The finishing touches are nearly complete. This comprehensive guide helps districts understand and purchase our services.
  
  
• Education Center Design: Our design work is almost done, with murals, signs, and displays now enhancing the building.
  
  

Additionally, we’ve worked on exciting video projects, including the final touches on the Maine-Endwell District Video. This production showcases the many great things happening in the ME district.

From innovative team structures to impactful projects, we’re making strides in serving our districts and sharing their stories.

Our new customer satisfaction survey is live, and the results are in. Users have given us a stellar 4.94 out of 5 stars. This feedback will guide changes to improve our operations and serve you even better.

We’re also expanding our expertise. In partnership with the Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES print shop, we’re learning to install vinyl wall clings, window wraps, and car wraps. This training will allow us to offer exciting new services to BOCES our component districts.

Collaboration with our BOCES partners keeps us moving forward. Together, we’re building better solutions for everyone.

On Jan. 7, 2025, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) unveiled a new guidance document as part of the State’s ongoing literacy initiative. The Broome-Tioga BOCES Professional Learning and Innovation Center (BT PLIC) hosted the webinar event for over 60 literacy leaders in our region to introduce and discuss this new guidance, “Prekindergarten-3rd Grade Literacy Instructional Best Practices.” The guidance document aims to assist schools in evaluating and enhancing their prekindergarten through third grade reading instruction. This publication underscores the state’s commitment to aligning elementary reading instruction with evidence-based best practices, ensuring that young learners receive the highest quality education.

The PLIC Literacy Team continues to play a pivotal role in supporting schools with the implementation of NYSED’s literacy initiative. They will be providing numerous opportunities for discussion around this new document, as well as ongoing regional and in-district training sessions and instructional coaching.

As the new year begins, many of us set resolutions to improve various aspects of our lives. While health, finances, and productivity often top the list, digital organization is an increasingly important area to address. If your Google Drive has become a chaotic mess of files and folders, now is the perfect time to clean up and put systems in place to stay organized throughout the year. Here are some practical tips and strategies to get started.

1. Audit Existing Files. Dedicate some time to review existing files. Identify duplicates, outdated documents and files you no longer need and decide their fate: keep, delete or archive.
   
   
2. Create a Logical Folder Structure. A well-thought-out folder structure is key to staying organized. Think of key categories that will help you sort.
   
   
3. Naming Conventions. Vague file names make it hard for you to find what you’re looking for. Adopt a consistent naming convention. Include key details such as dates, topics, locations, or presentation titles. For example, rename “Meeting Notes” to “2025-01-15_Team_Meeting_Notes.”
   
   
4. Leverage Features of Google Drive. Color-code folders for quicker access, star important files for easy retrieval, share drive management to remove access for outdated collaborators and utilize the priority workspace to add frequently used or important documents for faster navigation.
   
   
5. Stay on Track. Set up an organizational system, a repeat calendar event, weekly or monthly to review your Google Drive to prevent clutter from building up.

Organizing your Google Drive might seem daunting, but it’s a resolution that will pay off in increased productivity and peace of mind. By auditing your files, creating a logical folder structure, and establishing regular maintenance routines, you can transform your digital workspace into an efficient and clutter-free environment. Start today, and let this be the year you master digital organization!

2. Lock your computer when walking away (Windows + L).

3. Maintain a strong password.

4. Use a password manager instead of writing down your passwords.

5. Keep your software and computer up to date.

6. Organize your digital files into folders to make them easily accessible.

7. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication on your accounts.