Erie 1 BOCES Monthly Spotlight: July 2022

Hello my name is Jessica Karches. 

I have been with BOCES  since Fall of 2014. I am a Supervisor of Professional Development, Leadership, and Mentoring on the E-Team. I love being able to collaborate on designing professional development opportunities with coordinators. I was a social studies and special education teacher in both Holland and Alden schools. I learned about the position at BOCES through my work as a Teacher On Special Assignment (TOSA) for the Curriculum Office in Alden. I enjoyed working with all of the professional developers who came to work with us. 

I was born and raised here in South Wales, New York where I am a graduate of Iroquois Schools. I went on to St. Bonaventure University to become a social studies teacher.

I met my husband in college and we both had our first teaching jobs in Holland. I am the oldest of three children and I have three children of my own. I have twin sons and a daughter who are very involved in school and sports. They keep me very busy. I love to travel, read, and to be outside in the woods, especially where I grew up which is near Hunters Creek Park. I love to travel and I am interested in exploring our national parks out west.

I like to think that I am a learner and a reader who is always open to new ideas. I think my family and close friends would describe me as loyal and that I try to always be optimistic.

  Hello my name is Cherie Wilkolaski.

My maiden name is Wilczek, which, in Polish means "little wolf". When I met my husband we had a moment of connection when he told me that Wilkolaski means "wolf-keeper" in Polish. I asked the universe right then and there if he was "the guy"! It turns out that he was!

I am a Literacy Specialist with the West Regional Partnership Center. We are a NYSED, Office of Special Education-funded grant. Our work focuses on special education school improvement. We work with districts in the six-county region that are designated as needing assistance or intervention due to special education performance. We work primarily with teachers to help them improve instructional practices and with administrators developing systems to support teachers and students. I also have the unique role as the Erie 1 BOCES agency trainer for The Thinking Collaborative, Adaptive Schools Foundation Seminar. 

I've been a special educator for 39 years. For the last 12 years I've been here at E1B as part of the Special Education School Improvement grant. Prior to E1B I spent 15 years as an Education Supervisor at Aspire of WNY Center for Learning. I started at Aspire (formerly UCP of WNY) as a teacher in 1984. Prior to that I worked at Cantalician Center, and Allegany County BOCES.

I was born and raised in western New York and have lived in this area all my life. My current home is in the Village of Varysburg in the Town of Sheldon, Wyoming County.

I am currently in my "second act" with Arnie, my husband of almost 10 years! Between us we have four amazing daughters ranging in age from 32-40. They have blessed us with six grandchildren, ages 6 months to 10 years . We highly recommend grandparenting (even if you aren't a parent!!) It is the BEST role EVER! One of our daughters lives here in the Buffalo area. The other three live in Florida, California and Colorado. Luckily they all have guest rooms! Besides grandparenting, we have a passion for gardening, "wine-tiquing" (visiting wineries and antique shops) and enjoying our backyard birds.

I asked my colleagues how they would describe me and they described me as being a present, thinking partner who is passionate about learning. A leader with a caring spirit who builds communities. I have to say that asking this question  was quite a humbling experience. It is a lovely feeling to have people you love and respect hold up a mirror so you can see yourself. I try to live by Maya Angelou's advice...“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”