BLaST Bulletin

April 2020

Core Value #2: Safety

This past Friday, I was hiking on snow covered mountain tops, only to spend the next day discovering yellow Coltsfoot and Trout Lillies in full bloom. I was reminded that despite winter's attempts to hold on, spring has a life force that cannot be stopped. What a great reminder as we work together to create a new season of 'unstoppable' service delivery.

As we navigate the challenges of our current situation it is important to remember why schools are closed - to preserve our safety and to preserve lives. With this purpose front and center, it shines light on our Core Value of Safety.

Our Core Value of Safety includes physical as well as social/emotional safety. During this pandemic, we are experiencing first hand the need to maintain safety in each of these areas. This new learning, coupled with the uncertainties of an evolving pandemic, can leave students, families, and our staff feeling overwhelmed, anxious and isolated.

Maintaining physical safety during this pandemic requires us to be vigilant. Hand washing, social distancing, and mask wearing have become essential in maintaining our personal safety and the safety of others. While our new remote work conditions ensure social distancing, it also creates physical barriers between us and the students and families we serve. As we continue to work remotely, I encourage you to check-in on the physical needs of our students. This includes checking on their needs such as food, medications, and health care.

Maintaining social and emotional safety refers to our ability to be aware of our thoughts and feelings, and practice strategies to cope with isolation, stress, anxiety, and sadness. During these stressful times, we need to commit to practices of our self-care so we can better support the social and emotional needs of our students and our families. During these times of uncertainty, it is easy to get emotionally overwhelmed. If you, a family member, or a colleague need support in social and emotional well-being, please explore the many resources available through our IU 17 Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Another valuable resource in emotional self-care are the free daily live Zoom sessions with Dr. Montminy. These mini-sessions are designed for caregivers and are offered daily from 12:30 - 1:00.

As we settle into this extended school closure, let us not forget the lessons of spring, and be reminded of the life force that is within each of us. We each have a tremendous responsibility and an equally tremendous influence to transform challenges into triumphs. Thank you for being the life-force that is helping IU 17 maintain our Core Value of Safety, while creating innovative service delivery beyond what we ever thought possible.

Be safe - Christina

Providing a Continuity of Education & Services

I share the above quote with all of you as we are embarking on a new challenge during these unprecedented times. Many, if not all, of you have virtually returned to work and are adjusting both professionally, and personally, to a new routine. Please be reassured that this experience is new for all of us and there is no guide, script, or play book for these times. We will take things one minute, one hour, one day at a time and eventually this too shall pass.

At this time, there has been legislation (SB 751) that was unanimously passed that alleviated schools of the instructional day/hour requirement. Statewide assessments have been canceled for this school year. Now that these obstacles have been alleviated, we are focusing our efforts on implementation of continuity of education plans for all the students preK-12 whom we serve. When looking at continuity of education, local educational agencies were given two options to consider: provision of enrichment/review activities, planned instruction or a hybrid combination of the two options.

The majority of our constituent districts have decided to initiate enrichment/review activities, and some may decide to eventually phase into planned instruction as technology/internet access barriers are addressed. As an Intermediate Unit, we will be implementing the continuity of education option decided upon by each student’s home school district. The reason we are doing this is so that, as an IU, we are not providing any more or any less support to the students we service than what their home school district would be providing to them at this time. This becomes especially pertinent when districts are providing planned instruction as the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for identified students applies. To view our IU 17 Continuity of Education Plan, please click HERE.

Please keep in mind that especially during these uncertain times, our students may just want to see a familiar face and be able to share what concerns they are experiencing more so than engaging in enrichment or review activities and this is okay! If you should have questions regarding how you should be supporting the students on your respective caseloads, please consult with your immediate supervisor.

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Video Conferencing

The use of video conferencing has been the main source of communication over the past several weeks. With COVID-19 keeping many residents across the nation in their homes, the question of delivering and maintaining educational material became first priority for our School Districts.

With amazingly user friendly features, we are able to continue educating students and communicating with families using videoconferencing technologies such as Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams. As we all adapt in these uncharted waters, video conferencing has greatly assisted everyone with keeping in touch while still upholding social distancing.

Check out these helpful Zoom tips below!

Zoom Instructions

Click here for other technology tips

Technology Guides

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Online Learning Hub Webinars

BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 recently released a new webinar series through their Online Learning Hub. These FREE, 30-minute online learning live webinars are provided by IU 17 online learning curriculum specialists and training and consulting staff. All of these sessions are also recorded and educators are able to watch the recordings on their own time.

Currently, the Online Learning Hub strives to support educators as they shift from classroom instruction to remote instruction by building a collaborative community online.

Webinars are held weekly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays at 9:00am and 1:00pm, with occasional bonus sessions at 11:00 am. Webinar sessions focus on online learning pedagogy, instructional technology, special education and content-specific approaches, plus more! Every Friday a “Coffee and Conversations” informal session is scheduled for an hour beginning at 9:00am to reinforce collaborative efforts in education.

You can find the Online Learning Hub here. It is updated daily with new and upcoming webinars, plus recorded sessions! If you have any suggestions for webinars that you would like to see in the future, please let us know here!

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Carmen Terry: Tips for Working at Home

Being in the health and wellness field offers me the opportunity to give you some tips and tricks to working from home. You should set up an area where you are comfortable and where there is plenty of light.

Create a schedule. Get up at the same time you normally would. Complete your normal morning activities before going to work and set your mindset for the day.

Take breaks. This cannot be said enough. It doesn’t mean you need 10-15 minutes. It can be just a minute or two. Stand up if you are sitting, stretch to each side, bend at your torso and raise your hands above your head for a couple deep breaths. You can also take a lap around the inside or outside of your house, weather permitting.

Drink lots of water. This is especially important since we tend to drink less water when we are home. Keep a glass near your workstation and take breaks to refill it.

Take your normal lunch break. DO NOT work at your “office". DO NOT take work to your lunch. Get away from that area and eat a normal lunch. We are more productive when we take breaks and eat a nutritious lunch.

Wrap up. Shut your workstation down. Do not keep it on; do not go back to it. Although it’s a little harder now that work is at home, keep work and home separate. Your mental and emotional health is truly important.

And when you don’t bring your standing desk home, you make do. (Pictured right.)

SELF-CARE FOR THE CAREGIVERS

Take 30-minutes a day to join an online presentation by Dr. Peter Montminy!

Click Here for details!

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EAP Resources & COVID-19

What is the EAP? The Educators’ Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a FREE resource provided to employees and immediate family, including dependent children up to 26 years old. Once registered, the employee (and family members) have access to an online portal with information covering Personal, Family & Relationship, Financial & Legal, Work & Career topics. This includes telephonic counseling (all individuals have a master’s level of education), referrals for face-to-face counseling, and personal development courses. All information shared is CONFIDENTIAL and will NOT be shared with your employer.

How to create an account on the EAP website - To begin, visit the EAP website https://www.theeap.com/educators-eap , Select ‘Employee Login’, then follow the prompts to register for an account.
Is there a mobile app for that? Yes! On your Android or Apple device, search ‘ESI Employee Assistance’ in your App Store.

EAP & COVID-19 Resources: With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the ESI Employee Assistance portal is providing key information regarding the virus and tips to keep both you and your family safe and healthy. This information can be found in their ‘Coronavirus Resource Center’ which is located at the top of the website after you login.

Telemedicine Option: This serves as a reminder to employees – your medical plans with Highmark include virtual medicine visits. Please take advantage of this service for non-emergency purposes to keep both you and your families safe at home while receiving proper medical care. Please save the providers and emergency room visits for those experiencing Coronavirus symptoms and severe medical emergencies.

How to have a virtual doctor’s visit: To begin, visit www.amwell.com or www.doctorondemand.com and follow the instructions to create an account. Once finished, select your doctor, enter your health info and start your visit.

For more information regarding the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or Telemedicine, please contact Courtney Sexton at csexton@iu17.org

Self-Care Apps

Check out these additional resources! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5nsuCHnsVrEqp-CjPdpAm9wULyg5Pc_/view

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Sheetz Launches Free Meal Program for Children in Need

Current participating locations in our area:

• 85 West Wellsboro Street, Mansfield, PA (Store Number: 474)

• 45 Muncy Creek Blvd., Muncy, PA (Store Number: 530)

Sheetz is proud to announce a new Kidz Meal Bagz program providing free food to help children and families in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meal Bagz will be available all day starting Thursday, April 2 and will include a turkey sandwich, chips and a drink.

Families interested in taking advantage of the free Kidz Meal Bagz program should go to participating Sheetz locations and ask an employee at the register for a meal. Families will be offered one bag per child and meals will be available daily while supplies last.

The Kidz Meal Bagz program will be available at 293 stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The program will start April 2, 2020 and be available for a period of two weeks at which time it will be reevaluated based on community need.

A full list of participating locations can be found here: https://www.sheetz.com/news/kidzmeals