The service provides science units/kits that are used by teachers in the classroom. The Joint Management Team from our area (JMT) includes four different New York State BOCES:
- Monroe 2 Orleans BOCES
- Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES
- Monroe One BOCES
- Genesee Valley BOCES.
Our BOCES District Superintendents decided it would make sense for the four BOCES to pool their efforts to create a comprehensive science program that is aligned to and developed from the NYS PreK – 12 SLS. The members of the JMT share the responsibility of curriculum writing, professional development, and the production and distribution of the new science resources.
"The BOCES 4 Science program exemplifies the power of BOCES collaborating to bring more options and resources to the districts.”
- Jo Anne Antonacci, District Superintendent at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES
“Our vision is that the new science program is co-owned by all four BOCES.”
- Marijo Pearson, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES
“One of the first tasks of is to write regional curriculum aligned to the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) and to begin development of new unit resources.”
- Kelli Eckdahl, Director of EduTech at Wayne - Finger Lakes BOCES
Our Story
In the summer of 2016, we convened 115 teachers from K – 5 in Rochester to begin the development of new science units that would reflect a collaborative enterprise between the four different BOCES (thus “BOCES 4 Science”). Our goal Is to retool and modernize our science and STEM program curriculum and to develop shared science resources to help prepare students for careers in:
- Research and Development
- Sciences
- Next Generation Manufacturing and Technology
- Optics
- Photonics
- Imaging
- Higher Education and Research.
Our Process
From intense reflection of the Topics in the proposed NYSSLS document, the grade level groups of teachers created a unit outline for one topic per grade level. After the summer curriculum writing session was finished, a principal author of the unit took the teacher-developed outline and created a set of lessons as well as materials for that unit.
During the school year that followed, the original writers pilot tested the unit with their own students. Feedback was provided to the principal writer from the pilot testers as well as from an EQuIP rubric review to be sure that the units follow the intention of the standards. The first round units became available during the following school year. The same process has been followed to create the Round 2, 3, and 4 units. Consequently, all of the BOCES 4 Science units became available as comprehensive programs during the 2020-21 school year.