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1. Secondary School Librarian Network

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 9/15/2026 to 5/11/2027

The Secondary School Librarian Network is a forum to support school librarians as leaders in their educational community on program development, curricular development, educator collaboration, and advocacy. School librarians will share successes, ideas, and strategies for professional growth and to build a network of peers. All school librarians are invited to join.

2. Elementary School Librarian Network

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 9/16/2026 to 5/12/2027

The Elementary School Librarian Network is a forum to support school librarians as leaders in their educational community on program development, curricular development, educator collaboration, and advocacy. School librarians will share successes, ideas, and strategies for professional growth and to build a network of peers. All school librarians are invited to join.

3. High School Science Council

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: High School Science Coaches, Specialists, Teachers, Department Chairs, and School Building Leaders (9–12).

Dates: 9/23/2026 to 4/7/2027

This four-session Science Council aims to help high school science coaches, specialists, teachers, department chairs, and assistant principals understand and implement the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards within Regents-pathway science courses.

Participants will receive guidance on aligning science instruction with the NYSE P-12 Science Learning Standards and the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. We will examine how Regents-level courses foster these competencies through performance-level descriptions. The sessions will also address strategies for coaches, teachers, department chairs, and administrators to support classroom learning across high school science departments.

The council will emphasize practical applications, department-facing tools, student-facing resources, and communication strategies to engage students, families, and staff in preparation for graduation. Through collaborative discussion, coaching practice, and real-world examples, participants will enhance their ability to establish a coherent foundation for the Science Learning Standards and Portrait of a Graduate attributes.

This workshop will be facilitated by Dr. David Jacob who founded Science Education Innovations and has spent over 30 years in STEM education and curriculum design. He previously served as Regional Science Coordinator for Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, where he built and facilitated the Regional Science Forums and grade-band leaders forums.

Dr. Jacob specializes in coaching teachers and administrators through the language and instructional shifts of the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards statewide and nationally. He has served on the NYSED PLAN Pilot committee since its inception.

Dr. Jacob partners with regional education agencies and districts across multiple states to build sustainable, standards-aligned science education systems.

Participants are encouraged to bring a device to access session materials.

4. Math Curriculum Council-Secondary (6-12)NEW

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Coaches, Directors, APs, Principals, Lead Teachers

Dates: 9/29/2026 to 5/25/2027

The Math Curriculum Council is a professional learning community focused on improving mathematics teaching, learning, and instructional leadership. Across four half-day sessions, participants work with high-quality mathematical tasks from the viewpoints of students, teachers, and instructional leaders. All activities align with current NYSED mathematics priorities, the Numeracy Briefs, Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards, and the NY Inspires Portrait of a Graduate. Through collaborative problem solving, analysis of student thinking, instructional modeling, purposeful questioning, and coaching practice, participants will strengthen their understanding of conceptual learning, procedural fluency, reasoning, communication, problem solving, and knowledge transfer. Each session offers practical tools and strategies to enhance instruction, support educator coaching, build district capacity, improve student outcomes in mathematics, and identify next steps for implementation. The councils will be facilitated by Dr. Achil Petit.

5. Math Curriculum Council: Secondary (6-12) 2026-27

Program: Professional Development Center

Dates: 9/29/2026 to 5/25/2027

The Math Curriculum Council is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) who will meet for four half day sessions to keep informed of recent changes in mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment initiatives from the New York State Education Department.

Our Curriculum Council will explore items related to improving curriculum and instruction for all students. There will be a focus on building capacity within your district as you transition to the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

The council will participate in discussions focused on research based strategies and current best practices in mathematics, develop awareness and knowledge of the progressions across grade levels, develop a global view of mathematics across all levels, share technology resources and promote a culture of collective knowledge and expertise.

Council members will have the opportunity to discuss and share ideas on how to best prepare students for success.

Participants will have access to shared materials and become part of a list serv to raise questions and get answers, not just from Valerie, but from each other!

Price is per district and includes participation in both the Elementary and Secondary Math councils.

6. Communications Coordinators (Liaison) and Council Joint Meeting

Program: School Library System

Dates: 9/29/2026 to 6/10/2027

The School Library System Council meets regularly to recommend policy, perform long-range and short-range planning, including overseeing the development of the system's Plan of Service. Participants will also work to approve the annual system budget, the system's annual report, and to evaluate the system's services. The December 8th meeting's snow date is December 10, 2026. The March 3rd meeting's snow date is March 10, 2027.

7. ELA Curriculum Council Grades K-5

Program: Professional Development Center

Dates: 10/7/2026 to 5/11/2027

Are you a Literacy Leader in your District? If you are, this council is an ideal opportunity for you to come share ideas, resources and strategies with your colleagues from across the county. The ELA council is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) who will meet four times throughout the school year during rotating half day sessions.

During the councils, participants will examine instructional strategies and best practices currently being implemented in classrooms across the county in ELA. Updates from the State Education Department will be shared along with how to navigate the Next Generation ELA Learning Standards.

The council provides an opportunity for collaboration with Literacy colleagues across the districts to discuss professional development needs, best practices, vertical alignment across grade levels and provide direction for ELA instruction in Rockland County.

Participants will be added to the list serv to raise questions and get answers from all members of the council!

8. ELA Curriculum Council Grades 6-12

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Administrators, ELA Chairperson

Dates: 10/9/2026 to 5/12/2027

Are you a Literacy Leader in your District? If you are, this council is an ideal opportunity for you to come share ideas, resources and strategies with your colleagues from across the county. The council is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) who will meet four times throughout the school year during rotating half day sessions.

During the councils, participants will examine instructional strategies and best practices currently being implemented in classrooms across the county in ELA. Updates from the State Education Department will be shared along with how to navigate the Next Generation ELA Learning Standards.

The council provides an opportunity for collaboration with Literacy colleagues across the districts to discuss professional development needs, best practices, vertical alignment across grade levels and provide direction for ELA instruction in Rockland County.

Participants will be added to the list serv to raise questions and get answers from all members of the council!

9. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS): Teaching Beyond the Behaviors

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Teachers, School Counselors, Social Workers, Coaches, Deans, Assistant Principals, Principals, Directors

Dates: 10/13/2026 to 4/15/2027

This four-part professional learning community (PLC) provides P-12 educators with a practical introduction to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and its role in strengthening school culture, student behavior, and instructional practice. Participants will move beyond viewing PBIS solely as a system of rewards and consequences and instead examine it as a proactive, data-informed framework designed to support all students.

Over four sessions, participants will explore the foundational principles of PBIS, the three-tiered system of support, the relationship between PBIS and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), and how to use behavioral data to identify needs, monitor trends, evaluate interventions, and inform decision-making.

Through collaborative activities, case scenario analysis, data interpretation, and reflective practice, participants will assess current approaches and develop strategies tailored to their educational contexts. Upon completion, participants will have practical tools and a comprehensive understanding of how PBIS can be integrated to establish equitable, consistent, and responsive behavioral support systems.

The PLCs will be facilitated by Naeemah Cranston-Pierre. Naeemah Pierre-Cranston is an educator and school leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing student success and strengthening school culture. She has led initiatives across multiple schools focused on positive behavioral supports, equitable practices, and conditions that help students and staff thrive.

Naeemah holds a master's degree in School Building Leadership and an Advanced Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). She is currently completing her Doctor of Business Administration, with research examining teacher attrition and the influence of leadership and organizational supports.

10. Elementary Science Council

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Elementary Science Coaches, Specialists, Teachers and Administrators (K–5)

Dates: 10/14/2026 to 3/17/2027

This four-session Science Instructional Council aims to support elementary science coaches, specialists, teachers, and building administrators in understanding and implementing the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards within K-5 science instruction.

Participants will receive explicit guidance on aligning science instruction with the Science Learning Standards and the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Collectively, we will examine how the Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts within the Science Learning Standards foster these competencies from the earliest grades.

We will discuss science instructional strategies and practical application-including methods for safeguarding student investigation time, tools for assessment-informed instruction, and how to effective communication.

Through collaborative discussion, coaching practice, and real-world examples, participants will enhance their ability to establish a coherent K-5 foundation for the NYSE P-12 Science Learning Standards and Portrait of a Graduate attributes.

This workshop will be facilitated by Dr. David Jacob who founded Science Education Innovations and has spent over 30 years in STEM education and curriculum design. He previously served as Regional Science Coordinator for Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, where he built and facilitated the Regional Science Forums and grade-band leaders forums.

Dr. Jacob specializes in coaching teachers and administrators through the language and instructional shifts of the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards statewide and nationally. He served on the NYSED PLAN Pilot committee since its inception.

Dr. Jacob also partners with regional education agencies and districts across multiple states to build sustainable, standards-aligned science education systems.

Participants are encouraged to bring a device to access session materials.

11. Middle School Science Council

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Middle School Science Coaches, Specialists, Teachers, Department Chairs, and School Building Leaders (6–8).

Dates: 10/14/2026 to 5/19/2027

This four-session Science Council is intended to support middle school science coaches, specialists, teachers, department chairs, and administrators in understanding and implementing the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards for grades 6 through 8.

Participants will receive guidance on aligning science instruction with the NYSE P-12 Science Learning Standards and the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. The council will examine how the Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts contribute to coherence and competency development.

The council will explore strategies for sequencing investigations and calibrating assessment-informed instruction to maintain coherence across grade levels, while focusing on practical application, coaching tools, team-oriented resources, and effective approaches for communicating with stakeholders.

Through collaborative discussion, peer coaching practice, and real-world examples, participants will enhance their ability to establish a coherent foundation for the Science Learning Standards and Portrait of a Graduate attributes.

Participants are encouraged to bring a device to access session materials.

This workshop will be facilitated by Dr. David Jacob who founded Science Education Innovations and has spent over 30 years in STEM education and curriculum design. He previously served as Regional Science Coordinator for Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, where he built and facilitated the Regional Science Forums and grade-band leaders forums.

Dr. Jacob specializes in coaching teachers and administrators through the language and instructional shifts of the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards statewide and nationally. He has served on the NYSED PLAN Pilot committee since its inception.

Dr. Jacob partners with regional education agencies and districts across multiple states to build sustainable, standards-aligned science education systems.

12. Classroom Management: The One Rule You Need to Know

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 10/20/2026

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How do we effectively respond to disruptive and disrespectful students while creating a classroom climate where learning can thrive? Whether you're a veteran teacher or just beginning your career, effective classroom management doesn't have to be complicated. In this practical and engaging session, participants will explore the foundational "one rule” that drives effective classroom management and discover strategies for responding to challenging behavior with greater consistency and confidence. We'll examine how many discipline problems can be prevented before they ever occur and how a teacher's mindset, tone, and approach can directly influence student behavior. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can use immediately-and a renewed understanding that effective classroom management is less about controlling students and more about creating clarity, building relationships, and being consistent.

13. Dignity Act Coordinator Refresher and Updates

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: For Returning DASA Coordinators and Administrators

Dates: 10/26/2026

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To comply with the Dignity Act, at least one staff member in each school must be designated as the DAC and be thoroughly trained to handle human relations in the areas of race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender (defined to include gender identity or expression), and sex (Education Law §13[3]; 8 NYCRR §100.2[jj] [4]). The DAC must also be provided with training (1) which addresses the social patterns of harassment, bullying and discrimination, including but not limited to those acts based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender and sex; (2) in the identification and mitigation of harassment, bullying and discrimination and (3) in strategies for effectively addressing problems of exclusion, bias and aggression in educational settings (8 NYCRR §100.2[jj] [4] [iii - v]).

Come continue your training, learn what's new and participate in various scenarios that will help you in your continued role of the DASA Coordinator.

14. Statewide Numeracy Initiative Conference

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Educators

Dates: 10/27/2026

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This in-person professional development session is designed to strengthen elementary mathematics instruction using key state resources. To maximize the benefits of the session, participants will:

* Explore new resources: Participate in the official launch and overview of the NYSED Kindergarten-Grade 5 Mathematics Instructional Best Practices guide, developed in accordance with NYS Education Law § 819.

* Engage with experts: Participate in a live, one-hour question-and-answer session with Dr. Deborah Loewenberg Ball (Director of TeachingWorks) to address implementation questions related to the NYSED Numeracy Briefs.

* Collaborate locally: Participate in structured reflection and discussion with regional colleagues and the NYSED team to facilitate the application of evidence-based mathematics practices in classrooms.

Individuals must attend in person and register through Rockland BOCES.

15. Looking Beyond Language Difference and Disability: Pre-Referral Considerations for Multilingual Learners - at Rockland BOCES [HVRBERN-CTLE ID #23120]

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: All teachers, administrators, teaching assistants, counselors and therapy providers of English Language Learners in all grades and setting

Dates: 10/29/2026

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TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING LINK TO ENROLL AT ROCKLAND BOCES' SITE: CLICK HERE TO ENROLL The question is not just "when to refer”; it's "why?” Determining why a multilingual learner is struggling and whether a special education referral is warranted remains one of the most complex challenges educators face. Behaviors that may raise concern about a disability can also reflect second-language acquisition, cultural and linguistic diversity, access to appropriate educational opportunities, or other factors that influence learning and performance. This workshop explores a culturally and linguistically responsive approach to examining student concerns before referral, with attention to language development, instructional access, learning environments, assessment practices, intervention efforts, and legal requirements. Participants and members of MTSS teams will consider how concerns identified through classroom data and student performance may warrant targeted Tier 2 supports and additional problem-solving before referral. Through case studies and collaborative discussion, educators will learn how to examine language differences from a disability perspective and make more accurate, equitable, and defensible decisions for multilingual learners. Participants should bring a device to access workshop materials. Cost: FREE For questions regarding this activity, please contact Alison Provencher.

16. Rockland's Resource Sharing Network: Interlibrary Loan Made Simple

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 10/29/2026

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This workshop introduces Rockland school librarians and other library staff to the fundamentals of interlibrary loan (ILL) services and how they can expand access to resources for students and staff. Participants will learn how to request and respond to requests for materials, navigate the union catalog, and understand timelines involved in borrowing and lending in the Rockland School Library System. We'll cover best practices for managing requests, availability of materials, and troubleshooting common challenges. By the end, you'll feel confident using interlibrary loan as a powerful tool to service your school community.

17. Rockland's Resource Sharing Network: Interlibrary Loan Made Simple

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 10/29/2026

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18. Follett Destiny Library Manager: Beyond the Basics North Rockland CSD Only

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 11/3/2026

Follett Destiny Library Manager: Beyond the Basics is a hands-on professional learning workshop designed to help school librarians and library staff to optimize platform management so students gain faster, seamless access to the resources they need. Participants learn to customize class loan policies and conduct detailed data audits to keep essential learning materials accurate, available, and equitably distributed across the district. By the end of the workshop, attendees will be equipped to leverage Destiny's features to create a dynamic, student-centered library experience that bridges the classroom, library, and home. Participants should bring the following: the URL for your Destiny site; your Destiny username & password; a laptop or Chromebook.

19. Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Educators (K–12), Department Chairs, Deans, Counselors, Instructional Coaches, School Building Leaders

Dates: 11/4/2026 to 4/1/2027

This three-session Professional Learning Community (PLC) is designed to strengthen and advance Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning (CRTL) in classroom instruction. Participants will reflect on current CRTL practices in their schools, deepen their understanding, and explore effective strategies to integrate CRTL into their instruction.

The program is grounded in the belief that Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) enhances student engagement, academic achievement, and equity by centering instruction on students' cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. It fosters a sense of belonging, reduces disciplinary disparities, develops critical thinking, and empowers students to connect diverse viewpoints.

These sessions are based on the work of Zaretta Hammond (Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain), Geneva Gay (Culturally Responsive Teaching), and Gloria Ladson-Billings (Culturally Relevant Pedagogy).

This PLC will be facilitated by Christopher Finn who brings 30 years of experience in public and charter schools in Newark, New Jersey, serving as a teacher, dean, and principal. He holds degrees in social work, urban education, and educational leadership. He later worked as a consultant for Cambridge Education, where he led equity audits and developed professional learning programs nationwide.

Chris is a board member at the School of Research Science in Dubai, where he oversees international partnerships and STEAM initiatives. He and his wife, Eileen, co-founded Freedom Ink, LLC, which offers leadership coaching and professional learning to clients worldwide.

Participants should bring an open mind and a laptop to access workshop materials.

20. MeAndMine Lunch and Learn

Program: Professional Development Center

Dates: 11/4/2026

TBD

21. Formative vs Summative Evalution

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 11/5/2026

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Teachers will learn how to integrate formative and summative assessments seamlessly into instruction. The research, rationale, and stategies provided by Dr. Kay Burke will help educators develop their own repertoire of assessments to monitor, grade, and make informed inferences about a student's ability to meet standards and curriculum goals.

22. American Red Cross First Aid Update for Coaches by Howard Arciniegas

Program: Coaching Courses

Audience: Coaches

Dates: 11/9/2026

Individuals who apply for a Temporary Coaching License Renewal or a Professional Coaching License or License Renewal must obtain a valid (not expired) first aid certificate of completion by completing either an Initial or Review course (not a Challenge or fully online course).

This course is required every 3 years to maintain First Aid Certification.

23. Social Emotional Learning & Positive Psychology

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Teachers, School Building Leaders, Counselors, Student Support Staff, Deans, School-Based Professionals, and Instructional Coaches.

Dates: 11/10/2026 to 3/31/2027

This three-session professional learning series provides educators with a comprehensive understanding of key factors influencing student outcomes. The series examines psychological, emotional, and environmental factors that affect student behavior, engagement, and learning. Participants are trained to move beyond behavior management and develop a deeper understanding of the conditions students need to feel safe, connected, capable, and prepared to learn.

Through interactive learning, self-reflection, practical strategies, and real-world school scenarios, participants will investigate the effects of trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), culture, environment, and implicit bias on students' experiences and responses in school. Participants learn to identify student strengths, foster growth mindsets, and support the development of student confidence and ownership of learning.

Collectively, the sessions offer a cohesive framework for establishing psychological safety and creating strengths-based learning environments that empower educators and support student success.

This PLC will be facilitated by Amber Lee Forrester. Amber serves as a life and leadership coach, consultant, facilitator, and Founder of Quartz Wellness Collective. For over a decade, Amber has worked with public and charter schools, youth-serving organizations, and community partners in New York City, California, and Detroit.

Amber provides professional development and coaching for leaders and staff, implements SEL and personal development programs for youth, and contributes to organizational culture development.

Amber integrates restorative practices, positive psychology, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed methods, and coaching into comprehensive professional learning experiences where people feel seen, supported, accountable, and empowered for success.

Participants should bring a laptop to access workshop materials.

24. American Red Cross First Aid /CPR/AED Class for Coaches by Howard Arciniegas

Program: Coaching Courses

Audience: Coaches

Dates: 11/10/2026

25. American Red Cross First Aid /CPR/AED Recertification for Coaches by Howard Arciniegas

Program: Coaching Courses

Audience: Coaches

Dates: 11/10/2026

26. School Leadership: It's Not Just for Principals!

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 11/16/2026

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While the most important role for teachers is to teach the students in their classroom, they should never underestimate their potential for impacting the culture of the school. Teachers are never neutral with respect to a school's culture. They do things every day that either undermine or enhance the mission of the school. This session focuses on the ways that teachers can lead and transform the culture of a school.

27. Supporting K-12 Autistic Students in General and Special Education Settings

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: All School Staff

Dates: 11/16/2026

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Get a clear, strengths-based lens for understanding diverse brains and behaviors, with practical language, visuals, and routines that immediately raise engagement

28. Rockland Read In: Reading, Community, and Connection

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians, K-12 Educators

Dates: 11/17/2026

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Join us for an engaging webinar on bringing the 43rd annual Rockland Read In to your school! We will walk through setting up your school's participation, share creative activities other Rockland County Schools have used to make their Read In a success, and explore how the event connects to broader literacy initiatives. You will leave with tips for coordinating volunteer readers and practical strategies for keeping the reading momentum in your school alive long after the Rockland Read In. Whether you are a first time participant or a seasoned Read In organizer, this workshop has something for everyone.

29. Rockland Read In: Reading, Community, and Connection

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians, K-12 Educators

Dates: 11/17/2026

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30. Today's Teacher

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 11/17/2026

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Professionalism in the field of education involves interacting with students, colleagues, administrators, [arents and other members of the community in an appropriate and respectful way that encourages a successful learning environment.

31. Building Thinking Classrooms with Peter Liljedahl Session 2 (11/19)

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Elementary Teachers; mathematics teachers, K-12

Dates: 11/19/2026

Dr. Peter Liljedahl will be giving a full-day workshop on Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC), the second of his full 3-day training. He will be outlining 14 research-based classroom practices that promote thinking in the mathematics classroom. This workshop will not only give an overview of the ideas in BTC, but also allow teachers who have begun to implement these practices to ask questions about implementing these practices successfully.
***NOTES***
--If you can no longer attend after being fully enrolled, you will need to find someone to take your place. No refunds will be given.
--Please be fully enrolled by September 18, 2026.
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Building Thinking Classrooms is an educational approach developed by Dr. Peter Liljedahl, professor of mathematics education at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Sparked by observing dozens and dozens of teachers struggle to engage students in deep thinking and problem solving, and observing hundreds of students engaged in a lot of behavior that didn't include thinking-or learning-Peter set out to find the answer to a simple question: How can we get more students to think and to think longer?
Over the next 15 years, he set a research course to break every institutional norm possible to see what shifts could get students thinking. Out of this research grew 14 specific norm-busting teaching practices that have proven to enhance thinking-and thus learning in hundreds of thousands of classrooms around the world. And it doesn't stop there. Not only do the 14 practices enhance thinking, they enhance other competencies in students such as collaboration, perseverance, risk-taking. Further, they enhance access and equity to learning and student autonomy and ownership of learning.

32. Strategies for Instruction and Assessment of ELLs - at Rockland BOCES [HVRBERN-CTLE ID #23120]

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: All Educators of ELLs

Dates: 12/3/2026

This workshop will highlight practical instructional strategies across all language modalities- listening, speaking, reading, and writing-while exploring assessment practices that support English Language Learners. Participants will examine formative and summative approaches to assessment through the lens of Margo Gottlieb's framework of Assessment AS Learning, Assessment FOR Learning, and Assessment OF Learning. Attendees will leave with practical strategies and tools that can be immediately applied to support multilingual learners in diverse classroom settings. Participants should bring a device to access workshop materials. For questions regarding this activity, please contact the Rachael Wasilewski.

33. Ron Clark's Principles: A Course on Instructional Excellence

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 12/3/2026

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After publishing the New York Times bestseller, The Essential 55 (over 1 million copies sold), award-winning teacher Ron Clark took his rules on the road and traveled to schools and districts in 50 states. He met amazing teachers, administrators, students, parents, and all kinds of people involved in bringing up great kids. These are the eleven qualities he describes in The Excellent 11: Enthusiasm, Adventure, Creativity, Reflection, Balance, Compassion, Confidence, Humor, Common Sense, Appreciation, and Resilience. .” Objectives: Display (through video, role-play, and anecdotal narration) importance of daily communication with students. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of listening and relationship building as well. Teachers will take a self- assessment inventory of communication practices to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Goal/s: Teachers will receive research-based importance of classroom communication for reference. Facilitator will share communication resources for self-evaluation and student support. Teacher will receive contract of communication goals for their classroom setting.

34. Meaningful Engagement, Measurable Impact: The Library Advantage

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 12/4/2026

Participants will explore the measurable impact of library services and examine how these services, extended through active partnerships with community organizations, directly strengthen student success as critical thinkers, creative innovators, and effective communicators central in the NYS Portrait of a Graduate. By the close of the day, participants will be prepared to recognize, articulate, and communicate the value of district programs and community partnerships to stakeholders including families and to the wider community. This is a one-day professional learning workshop hosted by the Ramapo Catskill Library and Rockland School Library Systems.

35. Rubrics: How can this tool help you assess your students' work

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: K-12th Grade Educators

Dates: 12/8/2026

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Writing a rubric that can accurately evaluate student work can be tricky. Rather than a single right or wrong answer, rubrics leave room for interpretation and thus subjectivity. How does a teacher who wants to use performance-based assessment of educational data and SMART goals find a way to reliably assess student work? The solution is to write clear rubrics that allow the evaluator to objectively assess student work”. (Todd Stanley) Objective: Explore the meaning of rubrics and necessity for rubrics in our classrooms. Goal/s: Classroom teachers will learn how to create their own objective rubrics, which can be used to evaluate performance assessments. Classroom teachers will learn how to develop rubrics that measure hard-to-assess skills, such as leadership and grit, and how to empower their own students to create rubrics that are tailored to their work.

36. The Motivated Classroom/Classroom Management

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Educators (K–12), Coaches, Deans, School Building Leaders

Dates: 12/10/2026 to 3/3/2027

This three-session Professional Learning Community (PLC) helps strengthen school and classroom culture while reducing off-task and disruptive behaviors. Participants explore approaches to student self-motivation and how classrooms can encourage it.

Participants practice making decisions about classroom conditions and learn strategies to increase student self-motivation and engagement. The PLC offers practical tools to enhance teaching, reduce out-of-class referrals, and maximize instructional time.

Through collaborative discussions, article readings, and real classroom scenarios, educators strengthen their ability to create and maintain classroom cultures based on respect, safety, and equity.

This PLC will be facilitated by Christopher Finn who brings 30 years of experience in public and charter schools in Newark, New Jersey, serving as a teacher, dean, and principal. He holds degrees in social work, urban education, and educational leadership. He later worked as a consultant for Cambridge Education, where he led equity audits and developed professional learning programs nationwide.

Chris is a board member at the School of Research Science in Dubai, where he oversees international partnerships and STEAM initiatives. He and his wife, Eileen, co-founded Freedom Ink, LLC, which offers leadership coaching and professional learning to clients worldwide.

Please bring a growth mindset and a laptop to access workshop materials.

37. Understanding Dyslexia and Language Differences: Practical Classroom Strategies for All Educators

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: All School Staff

Dates: 12/14/2026

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Move beyond the idea that ADHD is simply a problem with attention or behavior. The session explores attention regulation, executive functioning, movement, motivation, emotional regulation, and practical supports that help students without shame or unnecessary power struggles.

38. Unlocking Access: Supporting All Learners Through the ESIFC

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 12/16/2026

How can school librarians use the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum (ESIFC) and high-impact literacy practices to create meaningful, accessible learning experiences for all students? In this interactive three-hour workshop, participants will explore dyslexia and its implications for library learning while connecting the ESIFC to research, inquiry, reading, discussion, and student engagement.

Participants will:
*Build an understanding of dyslexia and how it may impact students as readers, researchers, and users of information.
*Explore the ESIFC through the lens of supporting students with dyslexia.
*Examine high-impact literacy practices, including text-based discussion, writing, engagement with diverse and complex texts, and print features and conventions.
*Explore strategies for planning purposeful, engaging read-alouds, including preparation for guest readers.
*Identify potential barriers within library instruction and research tasks and explore ways to provide multiple pathways for students to access and engage with information.
*Consider opportunities for collaboration with classroom teachers and other educators.
*Leave with practical strategies, resources, and ideas they can apply immediately in their library programs.

39. ONLINEUPDATED IDENTIFICATION & REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE & MALTREATMENT - THIS IS AN ON LINE COURSE AND FOR REGISTRATION PURPOSES

Program: SAVE and Child Abuse Awareness

Audience: Classroom teachers, teaching assts, educ in adm/supv service, coaches, persons NY State cert/license

Dates: On-Going (Ends Dec 30, 2026)

This is an ONLINE course. Candidates applying for New York State certification/license, or are have an active registration in TEACH, in New York State, must complete two hours of course work in the **UPDATED** Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment in accordance with Education Law. Rockland BOCES is providing a two-hour fully online certification course that fulfills this requirement. A certificate will be issued to participants at the completion of this course as well as an electronic upload of completion directly to TEACH.

Participants register and pay thru Frontline. Upon receipt of payment, each registrant will receive an online account.

Usernames, enrollment password for the course, and link to the course are then emailed to the student. Students may begin the course when they receive their account information. Participants do not have to wait until the date posted on this registration.

40. ONLINE Dignity For All Students (DASA) - 6 Hour Certification Course

Program: Dignity for All Students Act

Audience: Anyone needing training for certification

Dates: On-Going (Ends Dec 30, 2026)

WORK AT YOUR OWN PACE IN THIS 100% ONLINE COURSE

Effective December 31, 2013 all applicants for Certification are required to complete six clock hours of coursework or training in accordance with Article 2 Sections 10-18 of the Education Law. Rockland BOCES is pleased to be a provider of DASA Training. Upon completion of the workshop, you will receive a Certification of Completion.

The coursework will address the social patterns of harassment, bullying and discrimination, marginalization and microaggressions, including but not limited to those acts based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex.

PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED TO RECEIVE LOGIN INFORMATION **NOTE - WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONLINE PAYMENT**

A check may be mailed to:
Rockland BOCES
Attn: Stacy Muthig
Building 10 65 Parrott Rd,
West Nyack, NY 10994

please email Stacy Muthig: smuthig@rboces.org.

Once payment is received you will receive your login credentials via email and you may begin the course right away!

No district approval and building required.

41. S.A.V.E. Online Class

Program: SAVE and Child Abuse Awareness

Audience: Classroom teachers, teaching assts, educ in adm/supv service, coaches, persons NY State cert/license

Dates: On-Going (Ends Dec 30, 2026)

Candidates applying for a New York State certification/license, must complete two hours of course work in school violence prevention (Schools Against Violence in Education) in accordance with Education Law. Rockland BOCES is providing a two-hour fully online certification course that fulfills this requirement. A certificate will be issued to participants at the completion of this course.

Participants register thru MyLearningPlan. Upon receipt of payment, each registrant will receive an online account. Once participants receive their account information, they may start the course. Participants do not have to wait until the date posted on the registration.

Usernames, enrollment password for the course, and link to the course are then emailed to the student.

42. Restorative Practices to Improve School Culture

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: School Building Leaders, Teachers, Counselors, Student Support Staff, Deans, and Instructional Coaches

Dates: 1/13/2027 to 3/18/2027

This three-session professional learning community (PLC) equips school teachers, instructional coaches, deans, school counselors, and school building leaders with the mindset, language, and practical strategies necessary to establish aligned, relationship-centered school environments.

The PLC prepares educators to work across the restorative continuum, build trust, belonging, and a positive culture to respond effectively when conflict or harm occurs. Participants will examine restorative practice strategies to create psychological safety for students, foster relationships and community, build shared accountability, respond to conflict, and restore relationships.

The PLC supports educators in moving beyond punitive measures to developing the skills necessary to facilitate difficult conversations, elevate all student voices, build student ownership, and create meaningful pathways for repair.

Through interactive learning, reflection, and real-world scenarios, participants will strengthen their capacity to proactively build community, create restorative environments, and restore it when challenges arise.

This PLC will be facilitated by Amber Lee Forrester. Amber serves as a life and leadership coach, consultant, facilitator, and Founder of Quartz Wellness Collective. For over a decade, Amber has worked with public and charter schools, youth-serving organizations, and community partners in New York City, California, and Detroit.

Amber provides professional development and coaching for leaders and staff, implements SEL and personal development programs for youth, and contributes to organizational culture development.

She integrates restorative practices, positive psychology, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed methods, and coaching into comprehensive professional learning experiences where people feel seen, supported, accountable, and empowered for success.

Participants should bring a laptop to access workshop materials.

43. Portraits of Possibilities: Inquiry, School Libraries, and Lifelong Learning

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 2/9/2027

Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Barbara Stripling, this hybrid workshop will explore inquiry and the inquiry cycle as a framework for developing students as curious, capable, and independent learners. Participants will delve into inquiry as a way of learning and explore authentic opportunities through project-based learning, alternative forms of assessment, and purposeful use of the school library and its resources. The New York State Portrait of a Graduate will provide a lens for connecting inquiry to the skills and attributes students need as learners. NYSED will provide closing remarks on the role school librarians play in strengthening inquiry in education.

Rockland BOCES is a local host for the 6th Annual SLSA Statewide Learning Symposium sponsored by the School Library Systems Association of New York State.

44. Building Thinking Classrooms with Peter Liljedahl Session 3 (3/11)

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: Elementary Teachers; mathematics teachers, K-12

Dates: 3/11/2027

Dr. Peter Liljedahl will be giving a full-day workshop on Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC), the third of his full 3-day training. He will be outlining 14 research-based classroom practices that promote thinking in the mathematics classroom. This workshop will not only give an overview of the ideas in BTC, but also allow teachers who have begun to implement these practices to ask questions about implementing these practices successfully.
***NOTES***
--If you can no longer attend after being fully enrolled, you will need to find someone to take your place. No refunds will be given.
--Please be fully enrolled by January 10, 2027.
***********
Building Thinking Classrooms is an educational approach developed by Dr. Peter Liljedahl, professor of mathematics education at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Sparked by observing dozens and dozens of teachers struggle to engage students in deep thinking and problem solving, and observing hundreds of students engaged in a lot of behavior that didn't include thinking-or learning-Peter set out to find the answer to a simple question: How can we get more students to think and to think longer?
Over the next 15 years, he set a research course to break every institutional norm possible to see what shifts could get students thinking. Out of this research grew 14 specific norm-busting teaching practices that have proven to enhance thinking-and thus learning in hundreds of thousands of classrooms around the world. And it doesn't stop there. Not only do the 14 practices enhance thinking, they enhance other competencies in students such as collaboration, perseverance, risk-taking. Further, they enhance access and equity to learning and student autonomy and ownership of learning.

45. Inspiration to Implementation: Teach, Learn, Lead - SLS Annual Joint Conference

Program: School Library System

Audience: K-12 School Librarians

Dates: 4/9/2027

The School Library Systems Annual Joint Conference, Inspiration to Implementation: Teach, Learn, Lead, is a dynamic professional learning conference dedicated to turning big ideas into everyday practice in school libraries. Grounded in NY Inspires and NYS The Portrait of a Graduate, the day explores how school librarians, in their roles as teachers and instructional partners, are integral to helping students build the skills and literacies they need for college, career, and civic life. Participants will engage in hands-on workshops, collaborative planning sessions, and peer-led discussions. This invigorating event gives school librarians the chance to grow their practice, build professional networks, and leave with concrete strategies to bring back to their learning communities.

Early bird registration before March 19, 2027: $125.00. Registration after March 19, 2027: $150.00.

46. New York State ELL Identification Workshop - at Rockland BOCES

Program: Professional Development Center

Audience: All who are involved in the identification and screening process of potential ELLs; including registrars/registration staff, ENL coordinators, district and building administrators, PPS personnel, ENL teachers, guidance counselors, and bilingual family liaisons

Dates: 6/10/2027

This workshop will include an overview of New York State regulations related to the English Language Learner Identification process. Participants will unpack the ELL Identification Flowchart, Home Language Questionnaire, and Individual Interview process. Participants will also understand when and how to convene a Language Proficiency Team and how to screen for potential SIFE students (Students with Interrupted Formal Education). Participants will review: * ELL identification regulations * The completion and processing of the HLQ * The role of the Language Proficiency Team (LPT) when potential ELLs are enrolling who already have an IEP or 504 plan * Screening for potential Students with Inconsistent/Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) * Parent Orientation and Student Placement procedure * How and when to initiate and ELL Identification Review Cost: Free For questions regarding this activity, please contact the HV RBERN.

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