Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Taking Solution-Driven Approach to Aid Staff Growth

Looking to best help employees achieve their goals, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES is applying for a grant that will aid teachers in obtaining a master’s degree and support the state of New York in its ongoing teacher shortage.

The grant, called the Teacher Residency Program, is made available by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), and is designed to help address the teacher shortage being experienced throughout the state.

“The goal of the grant is to be able to fund or partially fund master's degrees or teacher certification programs for graduate level K-12 teacher candidates who complete a two-year residency program. Our goal, as a BOCES, is to support our current staff who have a bachelor's degree and are interested in becoming a certified teacher,” said Human Resources Director Megan Popkess.

Popkess said the organization’s hope is to develop a program that will allow them to recruit, train, and retain teachers to address the staffing shortages they currently face across all programs, and primarily in the field of Special Education.

According to Popkess, it is always a priority for Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES to offer staff these kinds of opportunities whenever possible.

“We want to be able to help our best employees to achieve their career goals, grow within our organization, and stay for the duration of their career. By elevating our current employees who believe in our purpose and values, and have demonstrated their commitment to the BOCES, we will build strong programs, with a strong staff, and that will benefit all students,” Popkess said.

Assistant Superintendent for Management, Regional Services, & Finance Doug Tomandl echoed those sentiments.

“Providing this opportunity for staff members to continue learning and growing is wonderful because our students benefit. Learning new teaching techniques to use with students has a direct impact on the quality of instruction that is delivered, and the environment students learn in,” he said. “Anything we can do to improve student outcomes is the reason we are all here.”

Tomandl also referred to the opportunity as a “win-win” for all parties involved.

“It is very exciting to be working on this grant opportunity for our staff and the BOCES. I think this is a great opportunity to help our staff members continue with their education, while not having to worry about the financial burden,” he said. “The BOCES is always looking to retain and promote quality staff if possible, so we view this as a win-win.”

Special Education Teaching Assistant Kelsea van der Werff said she would be interested in the grant because it would provide her with the opportunity to follow her dreams.

“My goal is to become an elementary teacher, and this opportunity would allow me to do that,” she said. “I really love teaching. It brings me so much joy to watch others grow. I want to help younger students unleash their potential.”

According to NYSDOL, state officials will need more than 180,000 new teachers in the next decade. Issues that need to be addressed include:

• Enrollment in NYS’ teacher education programs have declined by 53% since 2009.

• The NYS Teacher Retirement System projects that one-third of NYS teachers could retire in the next five years.

• The U.S. Department of Education has identified 18 teacher shortage subject areas throughout NYS.

The NYSDOL goes on to state that the Teacher Residency Program is designed primarily to attract teachers to high- need subject areas and locations, while promoting greater diversity within the teaching profession, teacher residency programs produce master’s-level teachers qualified for state licensure.