The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Special Education (OSE) created a coordinated and cohesive network of support focused on enhancing services and supports for students with disabilities from early childhood and school-age education to engagement in post-school opportunities. The network is called the Regional Partnership Center (RPC) and its goal is to implement an intensive team approach to provide technical assistance and professional learning to school districts across New York State. 

The Southwest Regional Partnership Center Team supports the school districts in Broome-Tioga BOCES and Greater Southern Tier BOCES regions. The Southwest Regional Partnership Center is a cross-specialist team:

• Cynthia Szeliga, Literacy Specialist

• Jessica Briggs, Transition Specialist

• Connie Kretz, Specially Designed Instruction Specialist

• Rick Dutko, Behavior Specialist 

• Stacy Ott, Systems Change Facilitator

• Nicole Schrader, Culturally Responsive Educator

• Susan Boyle, Special Education Trainer

The professional learning provided by the team will focus on systems change to support implementing the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to support schools in improving equity, access and opportunities for all students. 

View the Southwest Regional Partnership's current PL Catalog HERE, or view our calendar with registration links below. For more information on how the RPC can support your school, contact Stacy Ott at sott@gstboces.org.

Contact us

Stacy Ott
Systems Change Facilitator