Professional Development Opportunities
The CNY Education Conference: Standing Tall
July 21-22, 2026 – 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Vernon Downs, Vernon, NY
Get ready to Stand Tall this July!
Nationally acclaimed educator, author, and school culture expert "Stand Tall" Steven Bollar is coming to our region for a two-day professional learning experience you won't want to miss. Known for his high-energy keynotes, quick wit, and immediately actionable strategies, Steve has inspired educators across the country to transform their school climate, strengthen their leadership, and rediscover their passion for the work. Day 1 will feature Steve as both keynote speaker and primary presenter, with additional speakers and sessions to be announced soon. Save the date — more details are on the way, and trust us, you'll want to be in the room!
March Workshops
Just Read It - Jarred Amato - Asynchronous Book Study
Read. Reflect. Connect. On Your Own Time.
An asynchronous book study of the best-selling book Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms by ProjectLIT founder Jarred Amato
With thoughtful, student-centered structures and strategies to sustain independent reading success, this book
- Offers ready-to-go activities to initiate Read and WRAP routines
- Demonstrates how to leverage student feedback to fine-tune the Read and WRAP routines
- Discusses various options for incorporating independent and whole-class novels into the curriculum
- Offers a game plan to "level up” IR, including how to launch and lead a Project LIT chapter
March 1, 2026 through April 30, 2026
Asynchronous Virtual
Discover how today’s digital culture is shaping youth and learn strategies to promote resilience, focus, and well-being. Grounded in key insights from Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, this interactive session explores the effects of screens, social media, and shifting childhood experiences. Participants will engage in small-group discussions to share perspectives and develop practical solutions that support healthier digital habits, stronger relationships, and more balanced lives at school and home.
March 2, 2026 - 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Tri-Plexus Seminar Room
Active Minds, Active Learning – Day 2
Join us for a dynamic, hands-on workshop focused on boosting student engagement through practical routines and instructional structures that work across all grade levelsand subject areas. In the morning, you'll explore easy-to-implement strategies to keepstudents actively involved in learning. In the afternoon, you'll have dedicated time to applythese ideas directly to your own lesson plans with support from facilitators and peers.Leave with ready-to-use tools that can make an immediate impact in your classroom.
March 3, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
NYS 2025 Literacy Attestation Science of Reading Workshops – Comprehension
Beyond the Words: Teaching for Deep Understanding & Knowledge Building.
March 12th, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
Math Manipulatives Series – Fraction and Decimals
Math manipulatives can make learning so much more accessible for many of our students, from kindergarten through high school! Come to this training to get experience with a variety of manipulatives and how they can be used to support classroom instruction. Attention will also be given to how these tools can be referenced on Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for students who are identified through special education.
March 18th, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
The Reading League Professional Development Day – Self Regulated Strategy to Create Writers
The Reading League is excited to return to Central New York with a FREE full-day professional learning event-and this time, we're bringing a powerful focus on writing!
Join us on March 20, 2026! The dynamic Dr. Leslie Laud, in partnership with The Reading League, will present Create Writers, guiding participants through a high-energy, hands-on day of learning filled with practical, research-based strategies that empower students to plan, write, revise, and self-monitor their writing. Attendees will learn how to build confident, independent writers using explicit instruction, gradual release, and proven techniques.
This event is ideal for classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators who want to transform their writing instruction with evidence-aligned practices that get results.
PLUS: Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, each participant will receive a copy of the accompanying book-free of charge!
March 20th, 2026 – 8:00 – 3:00
The Oncenter – 800 South State St., Syracuse, NY 13202
One Trusted Adult Teachers - The ABC's - Mid-State Teacher Center
Building trust with students is essential—but doing so safely matters just as much. This session explores how educators can create meaningful, appropriate connections with students while maintaining clear professional boundaries. Drawing on groundbreaking work by Brooklyn Raney and presented by experienced educator Brenda Aull-Klaben, participants will learn practical strategies for fostering safe, effective student–adult interactions, along with engaging activities that strengthen connection and boost student engagement.
March 20, 2026 – 12:00 – 3:30 pm
MVCC Rome Campus Community Room
Family and Consumer Science PLG
This full day session will have all the content that could interest a Family and Consumer Sciences educator!
8:00 - 8:30 Registration, coffee & conversation
8:30 - 10:45 Career Cluster Framework analysis and curriculum work
10:45 - 1:00 Food truck unit and working lunch
1:00 - 2:30 Organic round table on FaCS content standards
2:30 - 3:00 Reflections & Door Prize winners
Review the new career cluster frameworks = https://careertech.org/career-clusters/
Submit your lunch order = orders will be emailed the week before
Bring any lessons or activities related to Food Trucks
Bring a lesson/activity for the round tables
March 20th, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Oneida Public Library
Unlocking Play-Based Early Learning
How can we create engaging, play-based learning experiences that support early childhood development?
Join us for an interactive training designed to deepen your understanding of early childhood education through the New York State Early Learning Guidelines. Learn how to effectively use the Unit Planning Template to design engaging, play-based activities that support all areas of development while ensuring alignment with early learning standards. You'll also gain hands-on experience and have time to explore the valuable kits and other resources available to all educators in the M-O Media Library. Best of all, you'll have dedicated work time to bring your play-based learning plans to life!
March 23rd, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
Family and Consumer Science PLG
I want my sewing license…
March 24th, 2026 – 3:45 – 5:15
Virtual – Zoom
Join a collaborative community of science educators as we dive into the adventure, challenge, and creativity of teaching with three-dimensional science learning! Together, teachers will design, share, and refine engaging resources that support students in exploring science concepts as they think and work like scientists! The group is a space to exchange fresh ideas, experiment with strategies, and build a supportive community dedicated to keeping science learning exciting and accessible. Whether you're new to 3 dimensional teaching or looking to refine your practice, this group is a space to experiment, reflect, and grow!
March 25th, 2026 4:00 – 5:30
Triplexus Seminar Room – MOBOCES Campus
Teaching Through Games: A New Adventure
Game Time - Round 2!
Come hang out with us to preview, play, and learn how to use games at your grade level to support all learners. This is Part 2 of our game-based learning series - but no worries if you missed the first one! If you joined us last time, we'll be checking out new games so you can keep building your toolkit (and finally put those dusty ones to good use!).
Everyone's welcome - let's play and learn together!
March 26th, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
Come to Instructional Coaching Professional Learning Group to connect with others in the region, learn, and share best practices around instructional coaching of teachers.
March 27th, 2026 – 9:00 – 2:30
OHM BOCES – Howard D. Mettelman Learning Center
NYS 2025 Literacy Attestation Science of Reading: Phonemic Awareness & Phonics
Sounds First & Cracking The Code:
Systematic. Explicit. Unstoppable
Build the circuitry in the brain.
March 30th, 2026 – 8:30 – 3:00
Costello Conference Center
Thrivers - The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine
Drawing on her work and regional presentation, author Michele Borba explains why many high-achieving students still struggle with stress, anxiety, and burnout when success is measured only by grades and test scores. She highlights seven teachable character traits that distinguish students who merely strive from those who truly thrive. This session focuses on building the emotional, social, and moral strengths children need to flourish in school and in life.
March 30, 2026 through June 5, 2026
Asynchronous – Virtual
April Workshops
Think Fast, Think Deep: On-Demand Performance Tasks
A part of the Performance-Based Assessment Design series.
In this workshop, you'll experience an on-demand task as a learner (we're talking real cognitive work!), analyze what makes it effective, and design your own for your classroom
April 1, 2026 – 8:30 – 11:30 am
Costello Conference Room
Non-Component Registration Link
NYSED’s Next Generation ELA Standards: ELA Regents 2026 Changes & Updates
Change doesn’t have to be scary! The updated NYS Next Generation ELA Regents includes limited, student- and teacher-friendly changes that bring more clarity, equity, and better use of time. Join us to explore what’s new and talk through what it means for instruction.
April 1, 2026 – 12:00 – 3:00pm
Costello Conference Room
Co-Teaching can be a powerful structure for general education and special education students alike. This training will cover the models of co-teaching and best practices for quality implementation. Participants will take their learning to the next level and participate in the models themselves, allowing them to reflect on the strengths of each model and how they can be used in their own settings.
April 2, 2026 – 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Costello Conference Room
Non-Component Registration Link
Join Algebra teachers from around the region for our Algebra PLG. The goal of the Algebra PLG is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, and professional dialogue. This group will meet three times this year to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.
April 17, 2026 – 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Costello Conference Room
Join special education teachers, paraprofessionals, psychologists, counselors and administrators who work in special education from around the Central New York Region to engage in meaningful professional development, collaborate with colleagues from different districts and share best practices. - Welcoming Inclusion Activities, Team Building & Mindset
April 23, 2026 – 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Large Seneca Room at OCM BOCES
Getting Your Sundays Back: An A.I. Work Session
Do you miss your Sundays? Would you like to recapture some of your “free” time?
The session will be free-flowing and hands-on, with plenty of time to try tools, ask questions, and test ideas.
April 27, 2026 – 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Costello Conference Room
Non-Component Registration Link
Family and Consumer Science PLG
What even is Fen shiu???
April 28, 2026 – 3:45 – 5:15 pm
Virtual
Science K-12 PLG
Join a collaborative community of science educators as we dive into the adventure, challenge, and creativity of teaching with three-dimensional science learning! Together, teachers will design, share, and refine engaging resources that support students in exploring science concepts as they think and work like scientists! The group is a space to exchange fresh ideas, experiment with strategies, and build a supportive community dedicated to keeping science learning exciting and accessible. Whether you're new to 3 dimensional teaching or looking to refine your practice, this group is a space to experiment, reflect, and grow!
April 29, 2026 – 4:00 – 5:30 pm
TriPlexus Seminar Room 105
Performance-Based Learning and Assessment in Middle & High School
This event, which will be a hybrid webinar with in-person discussions and presentations, will provide New York State administrators and school leaders with an opportunity to engage in regional discussions about approaches to performances-based learning and assessment (PBLA) that support local implementation of NY Inspires and NY’s Educational Assessment Strategy in middle and high school. Please note that to attend this event, you must attend in person at a BOCES or Big 5 designated site.
Lunch will be provided.
April 30, 2026 – 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Triplexus Seminar Room 105
Registration Cost – $20