2020 PR/HYLI Application Released

The Hudson Valley RBERN invites you to nominate students in grades 11 and 12 to participate in the 30th Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI).

Due to an incredible response rate over the last four years, we expect this year's PR/HYLI program to be highly competitive. Furthermore, participation, commitment, attendance, student potential, as well as effort will all be considered carefully when deciding who will represent and participate in this year's Hudson Valley Delegation.

This year the student application is mostly digital and can be found at these links: 

English version

Spanish version

  • Completed digital student applications MUST be submitted by the end of the day on Tuesday, October 15.

  • Application essays must be emailed to prhyli@hudsonvalleyrbern.org by the end of the day on October 15.

  • References must be mailed and postmarked by October 15 to:

SW BOCES / HV RBERN / PRHYLI
450 Mamaroneck Avenue
3rd Floor
Harrison, NY 10528


PR/HYLI is sponsored by the New York State Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force and the New York State Education Department. PR/HYLI participants develop leadership skills. They also have the opportunity to interact with positive role models such as Puerto Rican/Latino elected officials, educators, and business leaders, and develop in-depth knowledge of the state legislative process.

Last year over 100 students from the Hudson Valley region participated in the training sessions. From that group, almost 50 high-achieving high school Latino students represented the Hudson Valley delegation at the statewide Institute weekend in Albany. The Hudson Valley delegation was the 2nd largest in the state and brought home $8,600 worth of scholarships!

This year’s Institute is scheduled for March 7-9, 2020. During the three-day Institute in Albany, selected students participate in leadership activities, network with high school students from across New York State, participate in a mock assembly, interact with legislators and attend a Student Recognition Dinner.

In preparation for the Institute, a local training program will be conducted by the Hudson Valley RBERN from November of 2019 through March of 2020 at Vassar College and Manhattanville College (a schedule of dates can be found in the application).

Expectations for attendees:

  • To participate in the PR/HYLI training sessions and the weekend Institute, all students must be accompanied by a district chaperone/liaison who will also assist in the training sessions.

  • Face-to-face training sessions take place from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Due to training requirements, we will only accept and retain students who commit to attend the entirety of each training session.

This program has become a cornerstone of developing student leadership, public speaking, and advocacy skills in the Hudson Valley region. Every year PR/HYLI participants rave about the positive impact this program has had on them. We look forward to another successful and life-changing year.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Gregory Bailey, Technology Resource Specialist and PR/HYLI Trainer at gbailey@swboces.org or José M. Meléndez, Resource Specialist and PR/HYLI Trainer at jmelendez@swboces.org.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back!

As we continue to work out details for the Hudson Valley Bilingual Educators’ Conference scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, our team is gathering information from educators who plan to attend. Spacing will be limited for this first conference. Nevertheless, we want to ensure equity of access. If you are interested in attending this conference, please complete the survey (linked here).

Please note: the survey is not for registering for the conference. We will release registration details shortly. 

Also, we have extended the due date for breakout workshop session proposals to September 13, 2019. See our website for more information.

We're excited to share our long list of workshops being offered (in-person and online) —click here to view our flyer. Check back on our website calendar or Frontline Education/Professional Growth (MLP) often; we are continuously adding new workshops.

There's still time to register for the following workshops at Rockland BOCES:

NYSITELL Administration (AM SESSION)
9/13/19, 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Engagement Strategies for ELLs (PM SESSION)
9/13/19, 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

The following workshops will be held at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES:

Best Practices for Clinicians - Kick off - Social Justice & Family Engagement
9/27/19, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Best Practice for Clinicians: Pre-Referral Considerations - Describing Before Diagnosing
10/7/19, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Best Practice for Clinicians: Pre-Referral Considerations: Oral Language and Literacy Development
1/21/20, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

A new ONLINE workshop has been scheduled:

Next Generation ELA Standards - What Educators of ELLs Need to Know
9/20/19 through 10/10/19

Partner Events

Law Day
10/5/19, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM, Pace University, One Pace Plaza, New York, NY
To view more information click here.

Language Series 2019
10/26/19, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Bank Street College of Education, 610 West 112th Street, New York, NY
To view more details and to register, click here.

25th Annual Multicultural Education Conference
11/8/19, 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM, Student Union Building, SUNY New Paltz, 1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, NY

David Mumper and Alison Provencher of the Hudson Valley RBERN will be presenting:

Race and Language: Developing a Pedagogy
Those who teach English as a New Language are afforded valuable opportunities to dialogue about race, identity, and social justice. This workshop invites participants to explore their own experiences and share practices that establish a classroom culture where teachers and students can negotiate race and racism. To view conference brochure click here.

NYS TESOL 49th Annual Conference
11/14/19 – 11/16/19, Crowne Plaza, White Plains, NY
View conference flyer here.

Career Opportunities

Kindergarten Dual Language Teacher
Yonkers Public Schools
Candidates should have the appropriate teaching certifications including the Bilingual extension in Spanish. Interested applicants should submit their resumes to Mr. Jordan Gonzalez, Director of Language Acquisition: jgonzalez2@yonkerspublicschools.org.

Elementary (K-5) ENL Teacher, Full-time
Clarkstown Central School District
Apply through OLAS.

HV RBERN Update

The HV RBERN team is busy planning for our Sustaining Multilingualism in the Hudson Valley Conference, scheduled for November 5, 2019. Our local educators working in bilingual programs and/or with bilingual students are encouraged to submit a proposal for a breakout session. We have extended the due date for breakout workshop session proposals to September 13, 2019. See our website for more information.

The HV RBERN team is pleased to offer Writing is Thinking (WIT) workshops once again. Please click on the links below for more information and to register:

Writing Is Thinking (WIT) 101-Sentences to Parallel Revision - 3-DAY SERIES
10/23/19, 11/21/19 and 12/19/19, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Southern Westchester BOCES

Writing Is Thinking (WIT) for Science - 3-DAY SERIES
10/24/19, 11/22/19 and 12/20/19, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Southern Westchester BOCES

There are still seats available at the following HV RBERN workshops:

At Ulster BOCES:

Integrated Co-Teaching for ELLs
9/13/19, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM


Teaching Reading to English Language Learners - What's Different? (AM SESSION)
9/18/19, 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM


Incorporating Vocabulary Routines for ELLs in Grades 3-12 (PM SESSION)
9/18/19, 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

To view all upcoming RBERN workshops, please click here.

NYSED Updates and Reminders

As you check your supply of NYSITELL exams and answer sheets, you may need to replenish. Please view the attached memo Procedures for Requesting, Shipping, and Storing the New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners (NYSITELL). Instructions for submitting the NYSITELL requests online can be viewed here. Remember that NYSITELL answer sheets are ordered through your local Regional Information Center (RIC).

Title III Immigrant Allocations for 2019-2020 have been released by NYSED. They have been posted to the Allocations page here.


Career Opportunities

Spanish Teacher - Long Term Substitute
Ardsley UFSD
Posting can be viewed on olasjobs.org.

Spanish Teachers
Newburgh Enlarged City School District
View vacancies announcement here.

Tutors in Sullivan County
Mid-Hudson Migrant Education Program/SUNY New Paltz
More Information

Enjoy the long weekend!