K-12 Teachers and Administrators are invited to attend this workshop to learn what AI is and how it can be used by students, teachers, and administrators. Explore the potential benefits and challenges of AI in K-12 education, as well as the ethical implications.

Date: Friday, May 17, 2024

Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

Location: ARIN Intermediate Unit 28 - Conference Room A/B

Price: There is a $40 registration fee for staff from IU28 member districts and $75 for those outside IU28. Upon completion, 5.5 Act 48 hours will be awarded.

Presenters:

Susan Griffith, D.Ed, Director of Curriculum & Educational Technology

Stacie Isenberg, Curriculum Specialist, STEM Point of Contact

Check out our Paraprofessional Learning Depot! Topics include:

🎯What are the disabilities?

🎯What does an IEP look like?

🎯Why are we teaching math this way?

🎯Assisting students struggling with math

🎯Why are we teaching reading this way?

🎯Strategies to assist struggling readers.

🎯Increasing positive behavior in the classroom.

🎯Avoiding power struggles

🎯Technology basics: Google and Word

🎯Reinforcement for Better Behavior

🎯Job Coaching

🎯Community Based Instruction

This is a FREE depot! You must use a google account to access. Upon completion of a session, you will automatically receive a certificate of completion!

👉👉👉CLICK HERE TO JOIN OR PREVIEW

Classroom Monitors are required to complete classroom management training as part of the certification. If you are looking for support with this, please reach out to Susan Griffith sgriffith@iu28.org.

We are offering "bit size" modules for self-paced sessions. Currently, we have the following available, but we are continuing to listen to your needs and design more as requests are made!

🌐Professional Ethics (2 hours)

🌐STEELS for Elementary (2 hours)

REGISTER HERE! <-----CLICK HERE

We are pleased to invite graduating seniors who are seeking a career in the healthcare field to apply for the ICARE scholarship. Scholarship amounts will vary.

To be considered for these scholarships, a student must:

1. Be a high school senior in IRMC Service Area (Indiana County).
2. Intend to pursue studies in one of the identified fields (Must specify in application).
3. Complete the personal information section.
4. Complete the required scholarship form as described below.
5. Submit the scholarship form electronically by March 31, 2024.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of personal essay, application quality, scholastic excellence, community service and activities, and letters of recommendation.

CLICK HERE for more information/application

The total solar eclipse will be visible around 2:02pm on Monday, April 8. Are you ready?

Safety tips from NASA

Educational Resources from NASA

Solar glasses- Are they really safe? Are they really certified? (ISO 12312-2 international standard)

The Lung Association is currently recruiting one school personnel per school to become trained facilitators in three evidence-based programs:

• CATCH® My Breath vaping prevention program
• Not On Tobacco® cessation program
• INDEPTH® alternative to suspension/citation program

Through this initiative, all training costs are covered (over $800 in value). After completion of the facilitator trainings, in-school implementation of one program, and evaluation, the facilitator will receive a $500 stipend and the school facility will receive a $500 stipend to support school health/wellness efforts.

If you are interested or want to learn more, please email Annmarie.Brady@lung.org or complete the interest form linked HERE.

2024 Poster Contest Guidelines (state.pa.us)

Due April 17, 2024

How do we participate?

Event submissions are open! In order to submit your event, head to our Event Submission Page and share details with us about the event (timing, address, short description, accessibility, etc).

Events (in-person or virtual) are themed with one or more of the following topics: arts, makers, outdoor learning, science, math, technology, youth voice, and professional development.

With the festival being held in May, many organizations use these events as opportunities to showcase work from the school year, highlight opportunities for youth during the summer or year, or engage parents and family alongside their children.

The 24 Math Challenge will be held at Elderton Elementary School on April 9, 2024. Your district contact should have the registration information, and can begin registering students at any time from now until March 28, 2024. Most of our districts are planning to participate, with anywhere from 6 to 16 students attending.

The Soft Skills Challenge will take place between 8:30 am - 1:30 pm at locations along Philadelphia Street in Indiana, PA on each of the following dates: April 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, and 24.

Schools will be assigned a date and a limit on the number of students they may bring so that we can offer this opportunity to all schools. The schedule, challenges, and details will look similar to 2023; however, we’ve made some changes based on last year’s feedback.

Businesses make staff available for the Soft Skills Challenge and we want to honor their commitment by avoiding last minute schedule changes due to high rates of absenteeism; therefore, we encourage schools to make this an optional event OR a class assignment for juniors or seniors.

Please confirm your scheduled date and an estimate of the number of teams (8-10 students per team) you think you will send with Stacie Isenberg, sisenberg@iu28.org by March 18, 2024.

What certifications will be qualified to teach the new Financial Literacy content?

Certification and Staffing Policy Guidelines (CSPG) that pertain to economic education/financial literacy certification, and course assignment include: CSPG 33 - Business, Computer and Information Technology; CSPG 35 - Citizenship Education; CSPG 44 - Family and Consumer Sciences; CSPG 49 - Marketing/Distributive Education; CSPG 50 - Mathematics; and CSPG 59 - Social Studies.

When are new standards released?

We are hearing Summer 2024. Implementation 2026-2027 with a similar rollout to STEELS. More info as I receive it!

Financial Literacy Simulations- an interactive literacy activity with prizes!

ARIN supports the implementation of the Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (PA STEELS Standards) by providing assistance for building curriculum, instruction, and assessment capacity.

Please click here for details on upcoming trainings and supports for the STEELS Standards.

Chapter 4 updates:

2023-2024: 4th & 8th grade will take PSSAs with current standards

2024-2025: 5th & 8th grade will take PSSAs with field test items (will not "count")

2025-2026: 5th & 8th grade PSSAs with STEELS standards (live)

Biology Keystones: field test items Spring 2025

Download the document below for fall/winter state assessment updates.

Whether your school was designated, or you just want to learn more about school improvement, check out these great resources!

Ready? Set the Direction

Set: Assess Needs

Go! Create a Plan!

🍏PAPSA (PA Association of Pupil Services Administrators @Leola Village April 10-12

🍎PARSS (PA Rural and Small Schools) @Boalsburg, PA April 24-26

SPRING 2024 RV PHASE DATES

The Spring 2024 RV phases will now open on Thursdays with most closing on Wednesdays! This allows for a longer Preview phase with the same or more business days for each phase as in prior years.

* PREVIEW - Wednesday, April 18 - Thursday, May 1, 2024
* TEACHER VERIFICATION - Wednesday, May 2 - Thursday, May 15, 2024
* SCHOOL VERIFICATION - Wednesday, May 16 - Thursday, May 29, 2024
* LEA VERIFICATION - Wednesday, May 30 - Friday, June 21, 2024

More Resources: https://bit.ly/PDEPVAAS-RV

1. Grade 3
1. No changes. Students receive the attached Scoring Guidelines; there are no formulas provided.

1. Grade 4
1. No changes. Students receive the attached Scoring Guidelines and formulas.

1. Grade 5
1. The conversion of 1 gram = 1000 milligrams has been added.
2. A cube along with the volume formula have been added. The volume formula for rectangular prisms has always been provided. The cube formula is provided so students do not have to generalize from a rectangular prism to a cube.

1. Grade 6
1. The triangular prism has been relabeled so the base is labeled with the variable “b” rather than the variable “a.” The short leg of the triangle is now labeled with the variable “a.” The surface area formula has been updated to reflect this change.

1. Grade 7
1. Formulas for two dimensional figures have been moved to the left side of the page, and formulas for three dimensional solids are now found on the right side of the page.
2. A cube along with the volume formula and surface area formula have been added so students do not have to generalize from the rectangular prism formulas.
3. The triangular prism has been relabeled so the base is labeled with the variable “b” rather than the variable “a.” The short leg of the triangle is now labeled with the variable “a.” The surface area formula has been updated to reflect these changes.
4. The polygonal prism figure has been changed. The figure now extends vertically, and the height is labeled with the variable “h.” The volume formula and surface area formula have been updated to reflect these changes.

1. Grade 8
1. The rule for negative exponents has been generalized to n from -1. The old formula sheet listed a^-1 = 1/a, and this implied students would only encounter a negative exponent of 1, and that is not the case. For instance, students are expected to know that 4^-2 is equal to 1/16.
2. The Distance Formula has been added. Students in grade 8 are often asked to calculate the distance between two points on a coordinate plane. Students may use the Pythagorean Theorem, which has always been provided, or may use the Distance Formula, which is derived from the Pythagorean Theorem. Some students may find using the Distance Formula easier in terms of the calculations since the subscripts in the Distance Formula are similar to those in the Slope Formula.
3. The Standard Form of a linear equation has been added. Equations in Standard Form are listed in the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content (B-E.3.1.4.), but the Standard Form equation was not included on the old Reference Sheet.
4. The Point Slope Form of a linear equation has been added. Teachers often show students how point slope form relates to slope intercept form and standard form equations. Also, students taking the Algebra I Keystone exam are required to write and/or interpret equations in point slope form, and since some students are enrolled in Algebra I while enrolled in 8th grade, I added the point slope formula to the Reference Sheet. Students taking the Grade 8 PSSA will not be required to write or interpret equations in Point Slope form; they might be familiar with this equation, and if they provide a correct equation in point slope form for an open ended item, they will earn full credit.

1. Algebra I – the perimeter formula for a rectangle has been added. Students are often asked to calculate the perimeter and/or area of a rectangle given monomial or binomial side lengths.

Act 13 Flowcharts are available HERE 👈

Great Learning Opportunities Coming Up:

PVAAS Professional Learning Page

Digging Deeper Guides- these are a great resource for identifying root cause and diving deeper into your data! User friendly for all users!

FRCPP Support: Office Hours every 1st and 3rd Tuesday via TEAMS. Click Here

The newest edition of “The CP Tip Jar” newsletter has been released. 🚩🚩Click here to access the most current Comprehensive Planning/FRCPP information.

March 5th from 3-4pm

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or join by entering a meeting ID
Meeting ID: 215 061 850 632
Passcode: jes6AG

Or call in (audio only)

+1 267-332-8737,,927447419# United States, Philadelphia

Phone Conference ID: 927 447 419#

Our new professional learning site houses the menu of options for professional learning and development! Check it out: https://bit.ly/IU28PL

Our intent is to make learning meaningful, accessible and engaging for all adult learners. We look forward to working with you and your teams in the 2023-2024 School Year!