Spring 2008 News Bulletin
Teacher Workshop Day on April 2, 2008
For this year's annual Teacher Workshop Day we are creating a new, revitalized program geared specifically to Partnership members’ professional development needs. The Partnership leadership is committed to the development of a strong regional center for content based professional development, and this Workshop is our first step in that process. The day will feature Purchase faculty and other experts discussing areas of their research and teaching that focus on academic content and educational issues relevant to the needs of Partnership members. The Partnership values this day as our opportunity to introduce new teachers into the Partnership, and to rekindle the interest of past members. To that end, we are working tirelessly to make it a day that is at once instructive, interesting, and enjoyable. More detailed information about the workshop and how to register is being sent to all Partnership schools and will soon be posted on this website. Don’t miss it!
TEACHERS WORKSHOP DAY photo by Stan Goldblatt Teachers enjoy a bookmaking workshop given by Leonard Seastone, School of Art and Design, Purchase College.
Summer 2008 News Bulletin
Summer Seminar for Earth Science Teachers
Winter 2007 News Bulletin
Past Winter and Spring Conferences
Tenth Annual Conference on Science, Math and Technology Education held on January 6, 2007
A group of 69 educators attended this annual Saturday conference at Purchase College to hear Dr. Robert Shapiro's keynote address on Science and Scientific Myth, attend hands-on workshops and network with their colleagues. Dr. Peter Corfield and teachers reported a wonderful day.
25th Annual Teachers Workshop Day on March 28, 2007
The annual and favorite Teachers Workshop Day will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2007. The day features faculty members from Purchase College and other colleges speaking on areas of their research and teaching. Teachers and faculty members alike value the day for the opportunity to meet and talk about the disciplines they share. The Partnership values this day as a major opportunity to draw new teachers into the programming of the Regional Partnership. Mailings are being sent to all schools. Teachers are encouraged to register online, too.
National AP Institutes Expanded to Include World History and Economics at Purchase College during the Summer of 2007
The Regional Partnership has been holding French and Spanish Institutes since 1987, and many of them helped teachers to teach AP courses. During the summer of 2006, however, for the very first time, the Regional Partnership's AP language institutes were national institutes, formally affiliated with the College Board and advertised on the web site of the College Board. "We are delighted to offer national AP French, Italian and Spanish Language Institutes again, and to add World History and Economics this year – and to do so for our member teachers at a very reduced rate," says Mary Beth Anderson. "Like last year, we are hoping to draw teachers from all over the nation." The institutes will take place on the following dates:
- AP Economics, Monday-Thursday, July 9-12, 8:30-4:30
- AP World History Institute, Monday-Thursday, July 9-12, 8:30-4:30
- AP French Language, Monday-Thursday, July 24-27, 8:30-4:30
- AP Italian Language, Monday-Thursday, Aug. 14-17, 8:30-4:30
- AP Spanish Language, Monday-Thursday, Aug. 7-10, 8:30-4:30
- AP Spanish Language, Monday-Thursday, Aug. 7-10, 8:30-4:30 (for experienced AP Spanish language teachers)
Registration materials will soon be released and can be obtained by calling the office of the Regional Partnership at 914.251.6873.
Funding News
Great Potential Receives Grants of $60,000 from Westchester County Invest in Kids Funding and $5,000 from Legislator Gary Pretlow
The first work day of 2007, January 3, brought good news of additional funding to the Great Potential Program Director Gregoriann Rollins. The $60,000 grant notice ($10,000 more than last year) from Westchester County was accompanied by additional good word that required matching was reduced from 50% to 40% for that funding.
A phone call that same day brought word from Legislator Gary Pretlow's office that Great Potential was being awarded a community grant of $5,000. Director Gregoriann Rollins was delighted by the unexpected funding, and hopes to use some of it for the High School Summer Institute to be held this summer.
Program News
Great Potential Applies for Funding for Next 5 Years from NYSED Liberty Partnerships Program; Academic, Counseling, Workforce, and Parent Engagement Coordinators to be Included
The funding proposal being submitted to NYSED on January 19, if funded, will bring Great Potential four new important coordinators to head elements of Great Potential programming that will be strengthened considerably. These are required components for 2007-2012 funding," says Great Potential Director Gregoriann Rollins, "but we are delighted to have them. We provide these services to our 270 students, but having coordinators to oversee their delivery will improve the programming immeasurably." With this new funding, Great Potential will offer a high school institute that Rollins hope will have the same impact of the middle school summer program in its ability to retain students in the Great Potential Program until successful graduation. As one goal of the institute, Rollins is interested in bringing a more professional experience to high school students interested in exploring careers in the arts – an experience based on the reality of what is needed in college to pursue interests in the arts. "I hope this will open doors for students otherwise without the means, developing their creativity and exposing them to the diversity that education in the arts can bring." The program's goals include strengthening students' communication and writing skills and providing leadership training.
Junior Achievement's Job Shadow Day to be held on February 2, 2007; PepsiCo Youth Leadership Conference for Middle School Students to be held on April 11, 2007
Great Potential Assistant Director Jacquelyn Smith reports that White Plains HS, Mt. Vernon HS and Nelson Mandela HS are attending the Job Shadow Day sponsored by Junior Achievement on February 2. Fifty Great Potential middle school students will attend PepsiCo's Leadership Conference on April 11.
Partnership placing Interns (Exploring Teaching through Substitute Teaching) in School Districts
Purchase College students are registering in the Exploring Teaching course/internship and will be placed in internships in Partnership member schools in the coming days. Students will be fingerprinted, and will participate shortly in a preparatory class with Professor Debra Tietze, and are anxiously awaiting their placements. The first three weeks of their internship will be spent shadowing a mentor teacher. During that period, interns will take the necessary steps to be placed on the district's payroll. At the conclusion of the shadowing period, interns will be available to substitute teach in the school in which they are placed. Their course will continue throughout the semester to help interns learn more about the students they are teaching and to help them solve problems that arise. The Exploring Teaching Course and Internship was started in the late 1990s by school superintendents frustrated by the shortage of qualified, educated substitute teachers. If your school is interested in hosting an intern, call the Partnership at 914.251.5873.
Winter and Spring 2007 Events
Writing Curriculum for AP Language Institute
March 3 and 10, 2007
Other 15-hour course in a variety of disciplines:
April 28 and May 12, 2007
For more information about the Partnership contact Dennis Craig, Vice President and Associate Provost for Enrollment. He can be reached by e-mail at dennis.craig@purchase.edu or by phone at (914) 251-6306 and by fax at (914) 251-6314.