Spring, 2021: Issue 6

Welcome to the OSS InSight published by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit's Office of Student Services. So many amazing things happen every day in our work with young people that we have to spread the word!

The Office of Student Services (OSS) has one main goal, success for students throughout their school career and beyond graduation. This goal is accomplished through collaboration with the students, other offices within the Intermediate Unit, parents, school districts and community agencies. OSS provides best practices through innovative programs and services delivered by outstanding staff and leaders to school-age children across Montgomery County. There are over 200 professional staff and more than 25 paraprofessionals supporting students and teachers for high quality programs. We are proud for the work we do on behalf of young people and strive for excellence each and every day. For more information visit https://www.mciu.org/offices/office-of-student-services/.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brittany Lourea-Waddell, OSS Director & The Administrative Team

Jessica Loson joined MCIU as an audiologist in January 2021. She previously worked as a pediatric audiologist at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware for 10 years. She is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo where she obtained her B.S. in Communicative Disorders and Sciences and a graduate of the University at Buffalo where she obtained her Au.D. in Audiology. She resides in Philadelphia and enjoys exploring the city, spending time with family and friends, hiking, art, and traveling to new places. Dr. Loson will provide services to both Early Intervention and School Age Programs. She will also be providing audiological services in the Children's Hearing Center (CHC) housed in the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. The CHC provides services to children from birth through the age of 21 with Keystone First insurance. The Children’s Hearing Center dispenses hearing aids and direct microphone (formerly FM) systems, earmolds, and batteries. In addition, hearing aids and direct microphone systems are also repaired at the center. The Children's Hearing Center is opened on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To meet Dr. Loson and for more information please visit our website at www.mciu.org/chc.

The MontcoWorks NOW program staff are making a difference in the lives of youth and young adults. Their encouragement and guidance have resulted in positive life changes and opportunities for so many young people. With the support of the career counselors, young men and women have advanced towards their goals and have a lot to be proud of!

Success stories include:

• Clients in the program are obtaining their Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and becoming employed with large, nationally known companies.
• Paid work experiences sometimes turn into permanent full-time employment in places like Norristown Public Works where advancement within the organization is available.
• One client earned a Diploma of Dental Assistant through Contemporary Health Career Institute, completed a Paid Work Experience (PWE) at a pediatric dentistry business and was offered and accepted a full-time dental assistant position. That same client is now enrolled in West Chester University to complete a four-year degree.
• Another young adult completed the Certified Nurse Aid program at Dotlen Academy in April and has accepted a full-time Nurse Aid position in Norristown.

It takes a team committed to workforce development and a love for working with youth to make these great things happen. Follow MontcoWorks NOW on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/montcoworksnow/ to learn more!

Over the past school year, many students attending non public schools in Montgomery County have experienced interruptions in their school programming. In an effort to provide continuity, flexibility and convenience, many speech and language pathologists created virtual therapy rooms. A virtual therapy room provides easy access to frequently used resources, information for parents/teachers, speech-related videos, and consolidates educational platforms. Students receiving speech therapy, whether remote or attending school in person are able to access content during non-school hours to review or to discover speech-related activities geared toward their goals.

According to Abigail Norfleet James in her book Teaching the Female Brain, How Girls Learn Math and Science, “at least part of the problem is that girls do not believe that they can be successful in math.” As with all academics, attitude toward math affects performance. This year with support from MCIU, the students of St. Francis of Assisi School in Norristown are participating in a Math Attitude Survey. The students are getting an opportunity to respond to questions about math and their math skills. The survey is being used as a tool to determine if the students feel better about math and their math skills after a school year of implementing some of the strategies found in Norfleet James’s book (mentioned above). Some of the strategies mentioned in the book include making sure all steps are presented visually and especially verbally including the rationale for doing it, when reviewing solutions to problems the teacher should ask the student what they know about the problem (without mentioning the answer) and allow the student to explain their thinking. The use of color-coding is found to invite girls into math learning as well. To date, the Math Attitude Survey has been conducted for baseline data and will be conducted again in the Spring to measure and learn how their attitudes toward math improve.

Speech students at St. Mary’s school in Schwenksville and St. Aloysius school in Pottstown work on their speech sounds in a fun and active way using the “Dance Party” app by Eric X. Raj. Delivering effective speech intervention can be challenging because it requires many repetitions of words and phrases for a new skill to become automatic. These speech students are making therapy fun and engaging so they never want to stop practicing!

Sophomore students came across the word resilience while working on a vocabulary unit. They agreed this was a useful quality to have when going to high school during a pandemic. Students decided to use a visual organizer called a concept map to explore specific qualities that make an individual resilient. The word was placed in the middle of a circle as students began to discuss qualities of resilience. They added qualities of flexibility and interests along with drawings to the concept map. Interesting discussions were generated throughout the day regarding the map in other classes as well.

CHELTENHAM HIGH SCHOOL'S MCIU CLASS GETS COOKING!

Students have been cooking up a storm in the MCIU Autistic Support classroom at Cheltenham High School with Mrs. Resch. The students really enjoy cooking a variety of food in the classroom. They've already made cinnamon toast, grilled cheese, s’mores, blueberry waffles, and brownies. They also cooked pre-made brownies and embellished them by adding additional toppings. S’mores were by far the favorite. Check out the photo below!

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY WITH WYNCOTE ELEMENTARY'S MCIU CLASSROOMS

Students in Mrs. Myers' Autistic Support Social Communications classroom recognized Earth Day by learning why we need to take care of our planet. They explored the ideas of "reduce, reuse, and recycle." Students read and discussed The Earth Book by Todd Parr and Miss Fox's Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli. They practiced sorting objects into trash and recycling bins. Creativity flowed as students worked with Ms. Jackson, the classroom's paraprofessional, to follow YouTube videos on how to draw different objects related to the Earth Day theme.

WE’VE CAUGHT THE LEARNING BUG IN MRS. VORWALLER'S VERBAL BEHAVIOR CLASS!

In the K-2 MCIU Verbal Behavior classroom at Myers Elementary, students spent a week learning all about BUGS! They observed butterflies, ladybugs, and bees through virtual tours online. They learned all about different life cycles and how bugs help us. One of the students' favorite books was “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” Students even made their own caterpillars out of their names and practiced counting with ladybug spots. Students certainly caught the learning "bug" throughout this engaging science unit!

Do you want to learn more about the Autistic Support programs at MCIU? Contact Kristina Corominas: 484-688-3242/ kcorominas@mciu.org. To follow all of MCIU's Autistic Support Program adventures, follow Kristina Corominas, Program Administrator, on Twitter @Kristina_Coro!

Vision loss doesn’t have to slow a student down. With the right tools and services from the MCIU Vision Support Program, this student didn’t miss a beat in pursuing her high school course of study. Here she’s using her new braille literacy, tactile graphic-reading, touch-typing, and assistive technology skills to complete a chemistry assignment. Her tools include a combination of mainstream and specialized technology: Siri, VoiceOver screen reader with her iPhone and iPad and talking scientific calculator.

In a year where everything changed, Occupational Therapy (OT) adapted to allow MCIU students to continue addressing their goals in a whole new way. When in a traditional classroom settings, many OT students were working on self-care skills and pre-vocational training. During OT students often worked towards becoming more independent in wiping tables, sweeping the floor, or table setting. These important skills were traditionally addressed through hands-on, in-person instruction and posed a unique challenge to transfer to a virtual setting.

The skilled members of the OT team realized a new approach would be required. As such, OT worked to address self-care and pre-vocational training virtually. Online videos, Nearpod, and Boomcards were used. Students continued to make progress as the OT team developed and shared materials. These virtual tools have continued to provide another way to engage students even as they continued to transition back to in-person services. Learning can happen in many ways! Even in challenging times, MCIU professionals find new and engaging ways to help students access their educational goals. In every challenge there is an opportunity!

MCIU School Counselor, Maria McDermott, is collaborating with Bishop McDevitt High School staff to develop programs promoting education on race and diversity with the goal of raising student understanding of issues pertaining to prejudice, bigotry, and racism. Through her work, Maria has gathered resources for students on equitable and inclusive practices and, in collaboration with her team at Bishop McDevitt, put together a panel discussion focusing on Black History and Women’s History. For this virtual assembly, students and faculty members participated in conversations about race, diversity, prejudice, and equity and experts in the field were available to answer questions. Panelists included Alex Pauling, shown here, who is an 11th Grade Student at Bishop McDevitt High School.

Juniors at Pope John Paul II High School have been engaged in meetings with their counselors to discuss senior year scheduling and post-high school planning. When meeting with students, Mrs. Leah Millrood, MCIU School Counselor, spends time: reviewing the benefits of creating a professional resume, discussing taking challenging senior year classes, and formulating a unique plan that will allow her students to be successful on their individualized path. Many aspects of the junior year planning meetings stem from results of the Strengths Explorer that students are asked to complete. The results of this inventory highlight a student’s personality strengths so that they can make educated choices about college majors and/or career options and in turn, make the most of their unique talents.

MCIU School Counselor, Ashley Brenner, teaches 8th grade students Social Emotional Learning Lessons at St. Mary’s School using Nearpod technology. Students are engaged in lessons that focus on setting S.M.A.R.T goals, while also identifying obstacles that can get in the way and how to stay motivated despite these obstacles. Mrs. Brenner reports that students did a great job as they each brainstormed their own S.M.A.R.T goals, short term targets, and how to stay motivated to achieve these goals. Other 8th grade classroom lessons this year have covered Gratitude, Respectful Disagreements, Perspective Taking, Empathy, Mindfulness, Diversity, Positive Self-Talk, My Values, Growth Mindset, Identifying Strengths, and Mastering Time Management.

When a child or teenager exhibits significant school refusal, it can be highly problematic for the student, family, and school. Although many schools put together plans to address school refusal behavior, these programs do not include supports to address the student’s mental health needs, behavioral needs, and/or the family dynamics that can be involved in school refusal. To address school refusal behavior, and the related mental health challenges, the MCIU has developed a Student Attendance Improvement Program (SAIP) which provides a comprehensive evaluation and treatment plan with the ultimate goal of improving school attendance. Assessments are conducted by licensed psychologists, behavior analysts, and social workers and ongoing supports are offered to students, their families, and their school teams by trained mental health clinicians. These services can be offered to nonpublic schools for a fee. Contact Dr. Aviele Koffler at akoffler@mciu.org for more information and/or to see if your school is able to receive funding for this program.

SAIP Team: Dr. Erin McCurdy, Licensed Psychologist Dr. Erin Mauro, Licensed Psychologist Lauren Weiner, Behavior Analyst Josie Reigner, Social Worker Alica Boleware, Mental Health Clinician

Click here for the SAIP Flyer

Upon entering and leaving LaSalle College High School there are two rather familiar signs, “Enter to Learn” and “Leave to Serve.” MCIU school counselor John McGranaghan gives freshman students the opportunity to learn and senior students the opportunity to serve. As part of a peer mentoring program, senior students volunteer their free time by coming into freshman group advisory classes to speak about their high school experience. Freshman students are given the chance to ask questions pertaining to life inside and outside of the classroom. Questions range from “When it comes to academics, what would you say to your freshman self?” to “How do you handle getting cut from a team?” Prior to the session the counselor meets with senior students to go over the questions which have been submitted beforehand. During the session freshman and senior students engage in a lively question and answer discussion. At the conclusion of the session, senior students encourage the freshman to continue to reach out to them with further questions. Afterwards freshman students are given the opportunity to serve by completing a survey which asks them to share what they learned this past year. Their advice is then shared with the incoming freshman class of 2025.

The staff planned a terrific field day for the students under the great leadership of Miss Imburgia. We really saw the students enjoy themselves, and take time to be "kids again." There were trivia games, a scavenger hunt, relay races and more that helped the students demonstrate teamwork. The green team took first place but all were winners because of the fun we had!

Anderson has had many guest speakers this year, thanks to the collaboration of our teachers and counselor, Mrs. Doll. We started with Mr. Hakim Jones, city councilman. We had Mrs. Deluca from MontcoWorks, Mrs. Duffy from Arcadia University, the Victim Services Center, and Mrs. Maura Buri, MCIU board president speak to us. Hearing the life experiences of these people helps students to know that obstacles can be overcome, and they can get support! We are extremely grateful to the support of our Anderson friends.

This month, MCIU mental health staff completed the requirements for the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) Trainer-Consultant Certification course led by members of the OLWEUS leadership team. This program required 40 hours of training, over the course of 12 months, via Part 1 and Part 2 for full certification. Goals of the OLWEUS Program are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children and improve peer relations and the OLWEUS Program has been found to reduce bullying, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors. Members of MCIU Mental Health staff, who are fully certified OLWEUS Trainers-Consultants, are able to provide schools with training and consultation in implementing the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program. Please contact Dr. Aviele Koffler for more information and/or to request consultation for your school.

Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Sounds simple, but it is an “irrational number,” meaning its exact value is inherently unknowable. Pi is the same (3.14) for every circumference.

On March 14 (3.14) Mrs. Marino’s MDS class celebrated Pi Day. The students made a pie and decorated with the Pi symbol. They made lots of projects with circles, such as a sun catcher with round tissue paper circles and spirographs that the students created by using a switch.

Mrs. Hamilton’s Communication and Learning classroom celebrated World Down Syndrome Day by “Rocking Our Socks!” A special shout out to Mrs. G. with organizing this fun craft!

Students also learned about poetry. They learned about rhyming poems, acrostic poems and how to understand the author’s point of view in poetry. Students then wrote their own acrostic poem and took turns in the “author’s chair” and shared their poem with their peers.

Mrs. Ortlieb’s MDS class enjoyed a guest speaker via Zoom to learn about bugs. Dr. Nick Keiser, professor of biology at University of Florida, answered a lot of questions that had been BUGGING us (ha ha). Of course, the month would not be complete without “Green Eggs and Ham” or “Fox in Socks”.

Mr. Clever’s MDS classroom explored different ways that we can all take part in the protection of the world’s environment.

All the MCIU students at Evan Elementary were excited to have Marissa from the Elmwood Zoo bring some of her friends for a visit. Students got to meet 10-year-old Echo, an African Bull Frog who likes to eat bugs, mice and birds. Then Sydney, a Blue Tong Skink lizard who is omnivorous and eats both meat and vegetables. It was fun to see his “blue tongue!” For the finale the students got to pet Chester, a velveteen rabbit who was so soft and fluffy. It was a very fun and sunny day for all!

Hakim Jones and Kendall Glouner-Zeamer led an Industry Insights session on April 28, 2021 designed to inform viewers about businesses in Montgomery County, PA. Manzil and Himanshi Patel from East Norriton Pharmacy participated in a conversation around the pathways they took to build a local pharmacy business and general healthcare career pathway advice.

Several webinars from MWN’s Industry Insights are published and available on the MontcoWorks NOW YouTube channel. Episodes can be accessed by following this link: http://bit.ly/MontcoWorksNOW. If you know of an industry leader who is willing to contribute to making a positive impact on youth workforce development and educating school staff and parents on the employment needs of Montgomery County businesses, contact Sara Hudson, MWN Developer of Workforce Partnerships (sreznor@mciu.org).

Email: bwaddell@mciu.org
Website: www.mciu.org
Location: 2 West Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-755-9433
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mciu23
Twitter: @mciu_oss