Q4

Hi, I am Dr. Katie Monsour, and I recently joined ARIN IU 28 on October 20, 2025. I am a passionate educator, literacy advocate, and proud cat lover who began my career teaching in higher education, teaching composition, education, methods, and literacy courses at both Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ), for over a decade.

Later, I transitioned into the K–12 setting, and taught in the Marion Center Area School District for almost a decade, gaining valuable classroom experience and a deeper understanding of student needs.

I'm known for my approachable style and practical insights, and I'm deeply committed to helping teachers feel confident and supported in their work. Whether I’m leading a workshop, collaborating with schools, or diving into the latest research with a cat curled up beside me, I *try* to bring energy, enthusiasm, and a genuine dedication to the success of both educators and students. I cannot wait to meet you!

November's Chew on This Webinar: From Curiosity to Career

November 12, 2025

12PM

Zoom

Register Here

Interested in free digital courses for educators? Enroll here.

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is October 23-31st. Boost your district’s prevention education by sharing this toolkit and the webinar below with your schools.

Veterans Day Resource

Conversations: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives is a great resource for this Veterans Day. Just in time for Veterans Day, this interactive experience uses safe, guided AI to help students meet Medal of Honor recipients and learn from their amazing stories. It’s a great way to build empathy, kindness, and civic pride in the classroom. Know a teacher or leader who works with middle schoolers? Share this resource with them.

Portrait of a Graduate

How do you know if students are truly demonstrating the competencies outlined in your district’s Portrait of a Graduate? In this final session, we’ll examine practical assessment strategies that go beyond traditional academic measures to capture these deeper learning skills. From performance tasks to student portfolios, explore how districts are gathering meaningful evidence of learning, monitoring growth over time, and using data to inform instructional decisions. Click here to register for the November 12, 2025, 4-5PM EDT.

Act 158 Support for PA Schools

This resource helps Pennsylvania schools meet graduation requirements with no-cost, ready-to-use digital resources. The Employability Skills Credential qualifies as an Industry Based Credential under the evidence-based pathway, supporting students in demonstrating workforce readiness. Need help tracking completion for compliance? We’ve got you covered!

PA Healthcare Virtual Career Day | Thursday, 11/13/2025 from 9:00 to 10:30 | LIVE web stream | in-demand and impactful careers in health care

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) is bringing high school students an exciting Virtual Career Day that opens the door to five of the most in-demand and impactful careers in health care: surgical technology, respiratory therapy, radiologic technology, nursing, cybersecurity/IT directly from health professionals from Geisinger Health System (Danville), Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital, UPMC Shadyside, Penn State Milton Hershey Medical, UPenn-Philadelphia in a virtual career fair.

Register here

America 250 Pennsylvania - click here for more info

America’s 250th anniversary and to honor the legacy of Pennsylvania’s strong commitment to education.

America250PA will be awarding $250,000 in scholarships to deserving Pennsylvania students attending Pennsylvania colleges and universities in the 2026/2027 academic school year.

Twenty-five 10,000 scholarships

Application is open now until- Jan. 31, 2026

High School Students who are planning to attend an accredited PA College and/or university for 26.27 academic year.

PENN DOT Innovations Challenge - click here

January 30, 2026 | 9th-12th graders

Statewide competition that challenges teams of students to use their problem-solving, creative, and strategic-thinking abilities to solve real-world transportation challenges.

Develop a concept for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in work zones to dramatically improve safety for work crews and road users.

Personal Finance Professional Development Sessions

Presented by the Council of Economic Education

December 3rd 11:00 am | All High School educators who will be responsible for teaching Personal Finance.

• Intro Session to the Council of Economic Education | Register HERE

April 10th | FULL Day | All High School educators who will be responsible for teaching Personal Finance.

• In-person workshop here at IU5 providing hands-on training, model lessons, and classroom-ready strategies for teaching economics and personal finance

Free classroom resources and instructional tools

Register HERE

The Pennsylvania Department of Education and Remake Learning Days invite your school district to participate in the Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge—an exciting opportunity for students to engage in hands-on career exploration while earning digital badges for their career portfolios!

How It Works:
Host or attend a Remake Learning Days event that integrates career readiness and employability skills. Students (K-11) reflect on their experience by completing a brief survey.
Earn recognition! Schools that submit over 100 artifact surveys will receive a Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge banner.

By participating, your students gain valuable exposure to career pathways while building their career portfolios to assist in meeting the students' career benchmarks.

Register your event today: Event Hosts-Remake Learning Events

For more details, please see the attached document outlining Remake Learning Days and the Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge.

Building relationships is one of the most powerful ways to improve classroom climate and support academic success.

The resource is The First Five by Edtomorrow, which provides free daily connection activities for classrooms. Below is the link, along with a short video that explains how to use it.

Want to help students in grades 9-12 to accrue scholarships? Visit Raise Me.

MIU has an available School Counseling position. The requirements of the position are a Masters degree in guidance counseling and a valid and active PA certificate in Elementary and Secondary School Counseling. Click here for more details.

The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences is a 5-week STEM residency program for rising high school seniors in PA. Students complete rigorous course work in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics while also getting hands-on experience in labortory skills and research. We provide academic opportunities that even the best high schools cannot offer. Importantly, there is no cost to participate in PGSS: housing, meals, and tuition are completely covered for each student.

PGSS has two critical components: the academic and the social program.

The Academic Program

Students in PGSS take rigorous coursework in five core subject areas: biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. Lecture and laboratory courses are taught by CMU and Pittsburgh-area professors and industry experts. Students collaborate and learn together while completing homework assignments for their various classes. Importantly, there are no grades in PGSS. Students are encouraged to step outside of their academic comfort zones and explore topics they might have never considered without the pressure of grades.

In addition to the classroom work, students participate in Team Research Projects during which they conduct real scientific research in one of the core subject areas. At the end of the program, students submit a written summary of their work to the Journal of PGSS and present their projects at the annual Scientific Symposium.

The Social Program

Students live in CMU dorms with the other members of the program, learning how to navigate university life before embarking on their college careers. Residence Life Staff members live in the dorms with the students and plan an active social program to promote a academic/social balance. Staff members also provide academic support to the students outside of the classroom.

Each year the the Residence Life Staff design and host nightly activities for the students to participate in. Some reoccurring favorites include the No-Talent Show and a trip to PNC park to watch the Pirates play the Phillies.

Apply here

Learn about behavioral treatment strategies, here.

The OMHSAS Garret Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention KEY-PPLE grant team, and partners are providing a range of suicide prevention trainings for mental health professionals working with youth across various settings. All training sessions are offered from 12:00-1:00 PM (ET). Visit preventsuicidepa.org/webinars<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://preventsuicidepa.org/webinars/__;!!NHLzug!LTtaGrMXlo0Td1YNOdcaO6rIyWP-k9EO30ydAEa-9rqTl22zJ83itkVn2bnD_ySLv6FP1SL7rYw-T05RQdk$> to learn more and to register for each training.



Training Topics Include:

* November 4, 2025: CBT and DBT for Depressed and Suicidal Youth
* November 18, 2025: Family Engagement for Mental Health Professionals
* February 3, 2026: Supporting Student Re-Entry
* February 17, 2026: Language, Bias, and Diagnostic Disparities in Psychological Interventions
* March 3, 2026: Means Safety for Mental Health Professionals
* March 17, 2025: Targeting Sleep in Suicidal Youth
* April 7, 2026: Postvention Response: Special Considerations for Schools
* April 21, 2026: Suicide Prevention and Intervention Considerations for Autistic Youth
* May 5, 2026: Bereavement Through the Eyes of a Suicide Loss Survivor

Call, text, or chat 988

Give your students the opportunity to learn about more than 40 career areas with the region’s largest employer, UPMC.

Thursday, November 20th, 9am-1pm

David L. Lawerence Convention Center

Register Here - https://forms.office.com/r/2LLjV0Rt2N

Pennsylvania’s ECYEH Awareness Week recognizes and brings awareness to the importance of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the education needed to provide stability and consistency to children and youth experiencing homelessness across Pennsylvania.

Schools and programs across Pennsylvania will be hosting schoolwide activities for children and youth experiencing homelessness and their families. We encourage educators, community members, and leaders to join in, gaining a deeper understanding of the vital impact you make and the ongoing resources needed to support these students.

Join us to raise awareness and show support!

• Use and share our digital content.
• Use and share our new ECYEH Impact flyer on student homelessness in Pennsylvania.
• Register and attend “Supporting Youth at the Intersection of Homelessness, Foster Care, and Juvenile Justice: Leveraging Federal Education Programs” on Wednesday, November 12.
• Participate in Red Shirt Day, Friday, November 21.
• Host a training or discussion in your school community.
• Use and share Finding Your Way in PA app to connect students and families with important local resources.
• Share our new Youth Human Trafficking Toolkit for Educators with school staff to help recognize and respond to youth who may be at risk.
• Review the Understanding Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Resource Guide, our latest resource for Pennsylvania schools and Homeless Liaisons.

For further information, please visit the website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, in partnership with the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness (OTDA) Public Service Announcement Challenge. This is a competition open to Pennsylvania teens in grades 9 -12. Your Challenge: Create a video explaining why being an organ donor is crucial and why you will designate yourself. Use the theme, “The Power of 1,” to demonstrate how the organs of 1 donor can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of 75 people through tissue donation. Be sure to include this fact in your entry to encourage your peers to become organ donors. Your Award: The statewide winning team (2-4 individuals) will receive a $3,000 award. The winning team members will receive certificates, and their school will receive a traveling trophy and a permanent trophy engraved with the school’s name. The team will also be invited to attend the Annual OTDA Spring Conference in State College on May 15, 2026. Deadline for Submissions: 11:59 p.m. on April 13, 2026

SAVE THE DATE:

PDE will provide a statewide webinar on the newly revised Career Education and Work standards on February 6, 2026. Registration information and details will be available soon. In the meantime, continue to preview the (State Board Revised CEW Standards link) which will be in effect on July 1, 2026.

Next week, the Career Ready PA Coalition session will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, virtually from 1 to 2:15 pm at this Zoom link: https://berksiu.zoom.us/j/96608133329?pwd=bHCHb9DkxbZQgawxOjy9SBGiGwijGu.1 . Sessions are recorded. Each session focuses on a different career cluster and statewide best practices to strengthen and advance career pathways for all learners.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

The Pennsylvania Department of Education's 2025 SAS Institute,

is scheduled for December 8-10, 2025, at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

Pennsylvania is excited to host our upcoming December REACH webinar, Connection Before Calm: Rethinking Adolescent Mindfulness through a Lens of Human Flourishing, presented by Dr. Blake Colaianne.

This session will explore why traditional approaches to adolescent mindfulness often fall short and how centering human flourishing can better support how young people develop, connect, and make meaning. Dr. Colaianne will share new co-designed work with youth, K–12 adaptations, and a professional development model for adults.

Date: Tuesday, December 9

Time: 12:00 PM ET

Presenter: Dr. Blake Colaianne, Assistant Research Professor, Penn State Prevention Research Center

Register: https://psu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mTEllf9qR4WCCkjWOnR-QA

Do you have publication-worthy lesson plans? ASCA is developing three books of sample lesson plans – one each for elementary, middle and high school counselors. Each book will contain approximately 2–4 lesson plans for each of the 30 behavior standards contained in the ASCA Student Standards. The deadline to submit is December 21.

Royal Family Kids offers a monthly mentorship club and summer camp for children who have a history of trauma, abuse, or neglect. Children who have been placed in foster care or kinship care placements from the court also qualify for the program. Families can apply for both programs, or choose to apply for just one. The Mentorship Club offers continuous enrollment; students are welcome to apply and begin at any point throughout the school year. Here is a flyer with more information: RFK Mentorship Club and Camp. To request paper applications and brochures, please contact the directors listed on the flyer.