Please click on the link below to see my video message for September. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to BOCES. We really are building the future of BOCES together and I am so proud of our work.

We are proud to announce that Superintendent, Rebecca Stone, has been awarded the Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University this August. The achievement marks a significant milestone in Dr. Stone's dedication to educational leadership and her commitment to the schools and students of the Broome-Tioga region.

Having served the district with distinction, Dr. Stone embarked on her doctoral journey with the same zeal she has shown in her role as superintendent. Her research, which focused on Leadership Similarities/ Differences Between Rural, Suburban, and Urban Superintendents, has garnered attention from educators statewide and promises to assist superintendents and school boards in finding the best educational leaders for districts.

Her newly-acquired Ed.D. qualification further solidifies her standing as a key figure in educational leadership, not just in Broome and Tioga counties, but throughout New York State.

With this new accolade, the Broome-Tioga BOCES community looks forward to even greater strides in education under Dr. Stone's leadership. The future is undoubtedly bright for the students and educators of the region.

If you want to make changes to your benefit enrollments now is the time! However, you do not have to do anything at this time if you do not wish to make any changes to your benefits. You are encouraged to take advantage of the mobile-app technology offered by the providers for real-time access to your own plans. They are super easy!

REMINDER: Please have all changes and enrollment forms returned to Human Resources no later than Thursday, Sept. 21 for processing.

Please let Brooke know if you have any questions or you may set up an appointment with her to discuss your individual situation via email at bjobin@btboces.org.

I would like to start this newsletter post with a warm welcome back from your operations and maintenance team.

I hope you like what we're done with the place. It's been a busy summer and I think the new look of our Education Center and West Learning Center shows we've been hard at work.

I will keep it brief this time around as I'm sure, like myself you are all just getting back into the swing of things, but I want to let you know that we continue to make improvements to our facilities.

Our next big project is the replacement of two HVAC units over the 500 wing. This project is tentatively scheduled for Columbus Day.

There will be cranes on site to place the units on the roof and hopefully when it's all said and done the people in those areas will be a tad more comfortable.

We also continue to push forward through the design phase of our 100 and 200 wing HVAC project and hope to have more details as this comes to fruition.

We know HVAC was your biggest concern with our campus and we will continue to push forward on improving those systems.

Welcome Back!!

For the month of September, the Health and Safety Department will be working on wrapping up our annual Fire inspections and making sure all buildings are following the New York State Fire Code. Once all inspections have been completed the inspections will be entered into the NYS data base. All building emergency plans will also be submitted to the portal and to our local Fire Departments and Police departments. We will also be ensuring all staff in all our districts have been provided with the proper Right-to-Know trainings and other necessary training to ensure we are all prepared to have a safe and healthy school year.

In early September we will be attending a training session at New Field High School given by Zach Pugh Inc. involving a different approach to school safety. We will be sharing our experience at our first Districtwide Health and Safety meeting hopefully to be held early this fall. At the end of the month, we will be attending our quarterly Health and Safety conference at Minnow Brook Conference Center where we gather with our fellow health and safety department employees from various BOCES programs all over New York State. These conferences provide us with an opportunity to learn and discuss both new and old topics presented by the State as well as build comradery with our fellow BOCES peers. As always, we will continue to be here to help answer any questions or concerns you may have concerning the health and safety of our school. Feel free to reach out at any time!

To improve the security of our data in WinCapWeb, Harris School Solutions will be requiring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to access WinCap Web, which includes ESS (leave time requests, paychecks, attendance, W2).

Per the instructions in the link below, when you sign in to WinCap Web you will be required to obtain a security code from your email (like many of us already do for online banking and other websites.)

PLEASE NOTE:

• MFA for WinCap Web will go live on Monday, Sept. 18.
• There is a 10-minute maximum time allowed to enter the code.
• MFA is required every 7 days.

If you have challenges with the MFA process, please contact the Service Desk by calling 607-766-3800 or submit a Service Now ticket. https://scric.service-now.com/esc

It's been a busy summer - everyone across all departments has been working hard to keep up with the ever-changing district needs. We have been busy closing out financial records for 2022-23, fulfilling external auditor requests, and submitting required state filings. At the same time, we have been prepping for 2023-24, purchasing needed items for educational programs, and readying salaries and payments to district employees.

The week before school was back in session at Broome-Tioga BOCES, we welcomed 55 new professional employees who participated in orientation for the better part of that week. These employees are teachers, social workers, school nurses, new administrators, long-term subs for classrooms, and related service providers such as occupational therapists, speech therapists and physical therapists. Please welcome them as you meet them this new school year.

The BT BOCES food service team had an intensive customer service training with Joe Pettit for our welcome back meeting. It was about embracing change and being the solution for our programs. Joe is a Food Service veteran who has become a leadership trainer and motivational speaker. He has embraced the best qualities of what we what to accomplish and become as a team and as leaders in our field. With Joe's ability to get people to self-reflect about what we need to strengthen within ourselves it will carry on to our daily lives both professionally and personally.

The summer, members of the SCRIC teams and the PLIC teams came together to showcase technology commonly used in the classroom by teachers. This initiative strengthened collaboration between the two teams and increased awareness of how software and hardware are being used to enhance instruction. The workshops also educated the SCRIC technicians and service desk members on troubleshooting common issues seen with hardware and software. The ”PLIC/RIC” workshop was hosted on three separate days, with two hosted at the SCRIC and the last hosted in the DCMO Region. PLIC team members had three different session offerings: Google Classroom, Promethean Boards, and Google Workspace Apps. Participants had the opportunity to rotate through all three sessions, and we are happy to share that approximately 150 SCRIC team members participated! The success of this recent collaboration was due to the hard work and dedication of our PLIC team members, Dustin Andrus, Casey Kellicutt, Sarah McLachlan, Kyle Verspoor, and Dan Longo, as well as our SCRIC team member, Jacob Resnick. We are excited to share that plans are already in motion to continue this workshop next year and expand this initiative to include DCMO BOCES, highlighting the incredible software and hardware utilized in our region and theirs. This aligns with two current RIC goals, “Develop Skills, Knowledge, and Opportunities for SCRIC Staff” and “Foster Regional Collaboration.” The possibilities are endless, and we can't wait to see what the future holds! Thank you to the PLIC team for collaborating with us!

Sept. 19 is a special day for the SCRIC team members as we celebrate IT Professionals Day! Please make sure to take a moment to thank your IT Support Team on this day.

Patrick Hoskins was promoted from PC Lan Tech to Associate Coordinator of Managed Services

Coen Salt was promoted from PT IT Intern to IT Assistant

Jake Resnick was promoted from Associate Coordinator-Managed Services to IT Project Coordinator

The start of the school year is an exciting time! Our team gets to welcome our staff and students back to our districts. It is extremely rewarding to see the smiling faces of students as they walk into buildings and know that the year holds a wealth of possibility. Now is the time when our team shines- we get to showcase all the great things going on in the districts through social media, newsletters, websites, messages to families and through the many back-to-school events taking place in the upcoming months. Our team is vital to the collaboration and communication that take place within school communities.

You have probably also seen the great videos that highlight programs, departments and schools, if you get a chance hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel so you don't miss any of our videos!

In a true demonstration of resilience and dedication, a team of BOCES heroes went above and beyond to ensure the timely delivery of nearly 2,500 transportation postcards for one of our districts.

Our story unfolds at the mail hub, where an unexpected malfunction of the postal machine threatened to delay the crucial mailing. The situation grew tense, as these postcards were to be dispatched without delay. Recognizing the urgency, Johnny Garcia stepped up to the plate.

Without hesitation, Johnny took the postcards to the local JC post office. But the challenges didn't end there. He was informed that each of the 2,500 postcards required individual stamping. And, as luck would have it, the JC post office was short on stamps. Their recommendation? Head to Conklin. Once at Conklin, Johnny learned that their postage machine was down and that they also didn't have enough stamps, so he then headed to the Binghamton Post Office.

In what can only be described as a heartwarming community effort, Johnny and his wife, with the assistance of Jeanette Bensing, the diligent postal clerks, and even a kind-hearted customer in line, rallied together. In a concerted effort, they stamped each postcard, ensuring their prompt handover to the USPS for delivery.

Yet, Johnny and Jeanette weren’t the only heroes of this tale. The project saw the unwavering commitment of Amy Tillotson, Amy Tomminello, and Chris White, who played pivotal roles in the lead-up to the mailing.

It's moments like these that truly highlight the dedication and team spirit of BOCES employees. Their swift action saved the day.

Congratulations to Gordie Woolbaugh who will be retiring as the manager of document services. Gordie will be staying on part time for a while to help the team out.

Welcome Pam Memos, the new manager of document services!

Also congratulations to Craig Wagaman who will be taking on a new role as a Graphic Assistant!

The PLIC had a busy summer leading professional learning and facilitating regional meetings. In addition to the many district-based meetings and trainings that take place, there are also regional workshops and meetings scheduled throughout the summer months. This summer, the team supported approximately 1,200 teachers and administrators from around the BT BOCES region through 61 different regional workshops, equating to 600 hours of support. Great job, PLIC team!

During one of the learning opportunities that was coordinated for leaders in the region, Thomas Murray presented on the importance of knowing your why. He shared a story from comedian Michael Jr. who says that “when you know your why, your what has more impact, because you are walking in or toward your purpose.” We encourage you all to take a few minutes to watch this video that was shared by Tom Murray- Know Your Why? Michael Jr.- and reflect on your why as you begin this school year.