Staff Development
Professional Development courses are offered for in-service credit to interested members of the teaching, guidance, and psychology staffs at Horseheads. In addition, these courses have been approved for teaching assistants, aides, health aides and nurses at their regular rate of pay.
Enrollment Procedures:
Each interested staff member may enroll for any course in which he/she is included in the target audience. Participants should complete their registration via the Internet. This site can be accessed at pdtracker.gstboces.org. If there is a limit to the number of participants in the course and there is an over-subscription to the course, every effort will be made to open a second section for the workshop. Alternative dates will be announced to try to get volunteers for the second session.
A minimum enrollment of five is required unless stated otherwise.
Teaching Assistants, Aides, and Health Room Aides:
You may register for any of the courses listed on the Intranet for which your current assignment places you within the appropriate target audience.
Nurses:
Nurses are invited to participate in courses that relate to their professional responsibilities.
School Improvement Program (SIP), Model Schools, and Teacher Center Courses:
BOCES sponsored courses from the School Improvement Program, Model Schools, and the Teacher Center are automatically approved for in-service credit as long as the participating staff member is included in the "target audience." This can be found in the course description. These agencies notify the Educational Support Center of successful course completion. The participant should also receive a letter confirming the completion of the course from the above agencies.
In-Service Proposals for workshops regarding in-service credit:
All in-services offered through Horseheads must be approved by the In-service committee. The proposal form for district workshops can be found on the Intranet in the Forms folder, Staff Development subfolder. Once completed, the request for in-service credit must be e-mailed to Niki Cook in the Educational Support Center.
In-Service Credit for Other Out-of-District Courses and Workshops:
Requests for in-service credit for out-of-district courses and workshops must be submitted 10 days before the course/workshop is to be offered and approved by the In-service Committee. These forms are also located on the Intranet in the Forms folder, Staff Development subfolder. Once completed, the proposal must be e-mailed to Niki Cook in the Educational Support Center.
Once approval has been granted by the In-service Committee and the work completed, a certificate or letter of completion must be submitted to the Educational Support Center. This letter or certificate must contain exact dates, times, and the number of in-service hours earned.
Policy on Accumulating In-Service Hours:
The Horseheads Teachers Association and the district have agreed to allow courses in varying lengths with one hour as a minimum for any workshop. All hours then may accumulate to 15 for one in-service credit. Attendance rules still apply per course. In-service credit will not be awarded for courses, workshops, or conferences that occur during the hours that school is in session.
Staff members who wish to have summer in-service credits counted for salary purposes for the fall semester should submit verification of course completion by September 15.
Please forward written verifications or any questions to the Educational Support Center.
Attendance Regulations:
Generally, 80% attendance is required to receive credit for an in-service offering. It is understood, however, that in-service offerings vary in length. Therefore, the following rules shall apply:
- Whenever an in-service offering involves three clock hours or less, perfect attendance is required.
- In all cases, it is expected that the staff member will complete all in-service offerings and requirements
- If you are unable to attend any workshop offered within the district or by BOCES, please notify either Niki Cook in the Educational Support Center by e-mail or at x4243.
Credit for successful completion of courses will occur two times per year: September 15 and February 15.
The 80% minimum attendance rule will also apply to out-of district workshops, but any missed time up to the 20% maximum permissible shall not interfere with successful completion of other course requirements. Applicants for in-service credit will be responsible for obtaining verification of attendance.
Current Staff Development Offerings
Please check the Staff Development folder on the Intranet, the main office of your school, or your school library for Model Schools, Staff Improvement Program (SIP), and Teacher Center opportunities.
An announcement will be sent from Educational Support when these classes, or any district workshops, have been entered into the registration site. Please watch for these announcements.
If you have questions regarding Staff Development, please call the Educational Support Center at x4243.