Three Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES special education teachers recently completed a Project-Based Learning Action Research opportunity, using experimental projects to connect classroom learning with student voice and community impact. The opportunity was supported by the Teacher Resource Center, which includes participation from all component districts, and brought together teachers from across the region as part of a Project-Based Learning cohort. BOCES Professional Learning Coaches Karen Shaub and Amy Winstead Powers facilitated and guided the work.

The participating special education teachers, JoAnn Tarolli, Jackie Clark and Lucas Wyman, each developed a project that encouraged students to analyze questions and create final products with an authentic purpose.

On the BOCES Campus, Tarolli’s project centered on student mental health and the question, “How safe and supportive is our school for students struggling with mental health, and how can we make it better?”

Students worked together to design a Student Mental Health Toolkit to help peers better understand mental health challenges, identify trusted resources and learn how to safely access support. They conducted surveys and interviews to better understand available school supports and areas where awareness or access could be improved.

“I am most proud of the way students used their voices to create something meaningful for their school community,” Tarolli said. “Seeing students move beyond simply learning content to actively advocating for change was incredibly powerful.”

At Union Springs, Clark’s project was inspired by Gordon Korman’s novel “The Unteachables,” which explores themes of acceptance and overcoming prejudice. Her ninth-grade students connected the novel’s message to their own experiences and decided to create a schoolwide Kindness Campaign.

Students designed kindness buttons for staff using Canva, then crafted each one with a manual button maker. They also partnered with their ninth-grade general education peers to create a kindness chain made entirely of paper slips.

After completing random acts of kindness, ninth graders wrote their acts on the slips, with each link representing a moment of compassion. The finished chain is now displayed in the Union Springs Special Education hallway as a visual reminder of kindness and inclusion.

“I am most proud of my students’ initiative and eagerness to work on the project,” Clark said. “My students gained the confidence they needed to know they can make a difference and take control of their own learning and feelings.”

Also on the BOCES Campus, Wyman’s project combined science with local environmental learning. Student groups created original cryptid creatures inspired by “Old Greeny,” a local legend connected to Cayuga Lake, while applying their knowledge of habitats, food webs and adaptations.

Wyman worked with Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway Executive Director Sue Poelvoorde to connect the students’ designs to the Cayuga Lake ecosystem and provide an authentic audience for their work. Students created puzzle pages for the Kids Cayuga Lake Puzzle Book, which is distributed locally by the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway.

“My most proud moment during this experience was watching my students present their puzzle pages to Sue Poelvoorde,” Wyman said. “I was so impressed with how professional they were and how hard they worked to present their design.”

For all three teachers, the opportunity reinforced the value of giving students meaningful work with a purpose beyond the classroom. The projects allowed students to strengthen academic skills while also building confidence, collaboration, empathy and advocacy.