Local Teachers Hone Skills at College

03/24/2015

A group of 214 teachers from Cincinnatus, Groton and McGraw had an opportunity to go back to college last week and learn how they could use the SUNY Cortland campus to enrich their classrooms.

The experience not only allowed the teachers to explore how they could use the College's planetarium, art gallery, computer labs and other facilities, but gave them an opportunity to network and share ideas with professionals from other school districts.

"Professional development is difficult for teachers in small, rural districts," said Alexis Abramo, a grant project manager in the School of Education and coordinator of the event. "This allows them to network, talk with fellow teachers who face similar problems and capitalize on the staff of the College."

The daylong conference was free for the teachers through their schools' partnership with SUNY Cortland and the Teacher Professional Development Network.

SUNY Cortland has the largest teacher education program in New York state and last year was named the stare's first Center for Innovation in Education by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.