I am a certified K-12 music teacher in New York State.  In 2004, New York State changed the certification process for new teachers.  The major difference is that fact that new teachers (certified after 2004) are no longer permanently certified.  I currently hold an Initial certification which will lead to a Professional certification after I earn my masters degree and gain some teaching experience.  In order to remain professionally certified, I have to take part in at least 175 hours of professional development every five years.  Although I am not required by the State of New York to accumulate professional development hours until I am professionally certified, I feel that it is important to take advantage of all development opportunities that are presented to me.

Here is a comprehensive list of the professional development opportunities that I have taken part in starting with the most recent.

Date Title / Type of Program Location of Program Length of Program
11/8/2005 Balanced Mind X Conference Long Island Marriott Conference Center, Uniondale, NY 7 Hours
10/20/2005 Reauthorization of IDEA, The Legal and the Practical Central Islip High School, Central Islip, NY 6 Hours
9/6/2005 Superintendent Conference Day, Music Department Meeting Central Islip High School, Central Islip, NY 6 Hours
4/5/2005 Eastern Suffolk BOCES Arts in Education - Theater Huntington High School, Huntington, NY 3 Hours
3/30/2005 Central Islip Teachers Association Conference NYSUT Regional Office, Long Island, NY 6.5 Hours
12/1/2004 Music Department Meeting Central Islip High School, Central Islip, NY 3.5 Hours
11/4/2004 CITA New Teacher Meeting NYSUT Regional Office, Long Island, NY 7 Hours
11/2/2004 Balanced Mind IX Conference Long Island Marriott Conference Center, Uniondale, NY 6.5 Hours
10/28/2004 Professional Development Meeting: The New Report Cards Morrow Elementary School, Central Islip, NY .5 Hour
10/14/2004 Professional Development Meeting: Bilingual Education - Rosa Garcia Morrow Elementary School, Central Islip, NY .5 Hour
9/1/2004 Superintendent Conference Day Central Islip High School, Central Islip, NY 5 Hours

 

Another requirement of the new teacher certification in New York is that the first year of teaching must be a mentored experience.  In the 2004-2005 school year, I was mentored by Mr. Philip Voigt.  Below is a list of the types of activities that we were able to do throughout the school year.

Date Activity Comments
6/17/2005 Final review of mentoring program  
6/6/2005 Inventory  
5/11/2005 Ducks Game  
5/4/2005 SOP at Mulligan - Arts in Education Attended the SOP choral workshop at Mulligan.
4/13/2005 Bay Way Arts - Schoolhouse Rock Field trip to Bay Way with the fourth graders that are involved with the play. Discussed different ideas with Phil and the Director about the play. Began to work on the program for the Spring concert.
4/5/2005 Boces Arts in Education Theater Workshop at Hauppauge High School Conference run by Carol Brown from BOCES Arts in Education. Speakers discussed what it takes to develop and maintain a district-wide theater program. Discussed benefits of the theater program for the students of the district and the community. Cross-curricular implications of theater program. Demonstration lessons from experienced theater teachers.
3/31/2005 Field Trips Discussed planning of field trips from the very beginning. How to order busses, collection of money from the parents, discussion with the school nurse relating to students that need medicine.
3/18/2005 Fund Raising Collection of fund raising materials and money from entire school. Process of tabulating and ordering all of the materials for a fundraising project.
2/17/2005 Met with building representative Learn about all of the benefits and advantages of the contract and building culture. Learned how to use the building committee to resolve building issues. Follow-up meeting with Mr. Lubrano.
2/7/2005 BOCES Arts in Education programs Discussions on the procedure for BOCES AIE programs and contracts. Reviewed 2005 AIE Catalog. Met with Carol Brown of BOCES to review O’Neill’s contracts/programs.
1/26/2005 Distribute Fund Raising Materials Went to each class to discuss and distributed the fundraiser. Follow-up discussion with Mr. Lubrano.
1/13/2005 Observations and Evaluations We discussed and did a mock observation and evaluation using the official Central Islip form. Discussed results with Mr. Lubrano for input.
12/20/2004 Concert Planning Follow-up Ensured all of the above was prepared for the winter concert. Lunch with Mr. Lubrano to discuss the concert arrangements.
12/17/2004 Concert Planning Designed Concert Program for the O’Neill Winter Concert. Went over the back page of program with the members of the board of education. Discussed the layout of the program and the logistics of planning for the concert. Also filled out Building Use Form.
11/24/2004 Paperwork, District Forms, Postings, Main Office procedures Discussions dealing with course approval paperwork and procedures, conference forms, various medical forms, bussing procedures for field trips.
11/4/2004 Introduction to our mentoring plan Set up schedule for the first half of the year. Discussed our philosophies on music education. Lunch with Mr. Lubrano to discuss his expectations for my first year.

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