Winter, 2022 - Issue 8

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!

An Intro to the Office of Student Services

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

Student council planned an activity where groups of students collaborated on decorating hallways and competed to be the most creative. The entire school was involved during homeroom time. Requirements included that all of the materials had to be made by hand.

Anderson students are talented and creative and the end results showed it! Judges also provided positive feedback to the groups who worked together the best.

Students were asked to "toast" to the New Year or to someone special. A hot chocolate cart was available in honor of the holiday. Here are some of the highlights from the students.

"Hi, my name is CJ and the person I am toasting to is my mom. She is thoughtful, generous, and helpful in most situations. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and food on the table and it's all because of my mom. I can't wait to become an adult and be able to take care of myself and my loved ones like she takes care of us. I owe her so much! I'm so lucky to have her as a parent and she deserves everything in the world!" -CJ

"I choose to not let everything get me down, because even when I feel alone, I know that there are some people in this world who love me unconditionally, and there is always something to look forward to." -Ayden

"On March 28, 2022 my Pop Pop will be turning 60. I would like to have family and friends get together at a local fire hall to celebrate my Pop Pop and toast to a New Year with positive thoughts and enjoying every day no matter how tough some days might be." -Kaiden

Black History Month is a time we can celebrate and appreciate the contributions of Black Americans. Anderson students learned about a different Black person in history almost every day. Black history is also woven into the Anderson curriculum. The media arts class explored influential Black Americans and student reporters asked individuals to talk about the importance of Black History Month. The goal of this project was to not only highlight history but to share perspectives throughout our Anderson community. The Anderson news broadcast is shared here: https://youtu.be/smPpV7y1ynY

Third and fourth grade students in Mrs. Myers' Autistic Support Social Communications class at Wyncote Elementary are taking advantage of the building's Sensory Hallway, which provides various activities designed to help them expend energy and/or calm their bodies. Students especially enjoy using the Lego table, the yoga ball, the stepping spots and the fabric tunnel. This classroom also participates in the school's Positive Behavior Interventions and Support program by earning ROARS points (Respect, Own actions, Act safely, Rise to the challenge, Spread kindness). Everyone is learning what it means to be Wyncote Proud!

While some students like to "ham it up," Mrs. Brogan's class prefers to "gobble up" new information! They kicked off the holiday season with several lessons about turkeys and what it means to be thankful. The students read several stories including, The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing, How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace and Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by James Dean and Kimberly Dean. This classroom also made apple nachos in the shape of turkeys!

Scientists in training! The Cedarbrook Middle School class is having fun in Science Class with their new teacher and team. Students participated in making paper out of recycled newspaper and explored how air, water, lemon juice and vinegar can either turn an apple brown or preserve the color. Our students also enjoy participating in the daily interactive Morning Meetings. So much fun!

February marks the observance of Black History Month, a tribute to African American men and women who have made significant contributions to America and the rest of the world. These contributions were in various fields such as science, politics, law, sports, the arts, entertainment, and so many more. The Room104 Spartans researched and wrote biographies on famous African Americans!

In Mrs. Resch's classroom the students love Fridays because they practice specific social skills. The students always end the week with a lot of dancing and movement activities. Here are some of them dancing to "What a Wonderful World" performed by Playing For Change.

Our classrooms are growing and accepting referrals. If you are interested in more information about the Autistic Support classroom offerings provided by the MCIU, please reach out to Kristina Corominas at kcorominas@mciu.org. Follow Kristina on Twitter to keep up with all the fun @kristina_coro. Follow this link to learn more about our current programs: https://mciu.org/office-of-student-services/autistic-support-services/

Self-monitoring motivational systems are firmly grounded in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. One self-monitoring system that the Behavior Analysts in the MCIU use is Self and Match System ™. Self-monitoring encourages a collaborative approach between students and school staff and teaches students to recognize and be truthful about challenging behaviors, as well as appropriate behaviors they displayed (Croce and Salters, 2012).

This self-monitoring chart will be completed and reviewed with the student and with an adult at the end of each period. According to an established point system the student is awarded points for actions such as engaging in the appropriate behavior, for recognizing the appropriate behavior and for being honest about the inappropriate behavior. Points are exchanged for a larger reward. Every effort is made to assure student success.

The 6th grade students from Mrs. Forrest’s classroom helped to commemorate the legacy of prominent black people with a contemporary twist. Students created their “Histogram” posts and “tweets” highlighting the many contributions of both past and present black people around the world.

On Valentine’s day, MCIU School Counselor Christie Sapienza, utilized an art-based counseling exercise during meetings with students at Saint Mary’s School to help them identify their emotions. The exercise included brainstorming a list of emotions, and with a little color, the students were able to see how much of their heart was feeling that emotion within the moment. The information shared during the exercise was used as a conversation starter to help guide the student meeting.

This winter the students at Saint Katherine School are working on Social Skills with MCIU School Counselor, Mrs. Brenner. Classroom lessons, role playing and hands-on activities took place to explore the concept of Kindness. Students completed a “It’s Cool to be Kind” snowman where they had to brainstorm and write one way to be kind on each snowball. In a goal setting lesson, the students learned the concept of a goal and related this to making resolutions at the start of a new year. Students then came up with their own New Year's Resolutions. Additionally for a Martin Luther King Day lesson, students learned about Martin Luther King and then set their own dreams for what they would like to come true for themselves and for the world. There was also a unit on personal space and setting boundaries supported by the book Personal Space Camp. Students were given certificates for completing Personal Space Camp.

The Montgomery County Black History Month Committee developed a series of programs celebrating Black Health and Wellness. MontcoWorks * NOW Career Counselor Hakim served as the moderator for the first session titled, "Holistic Black Wellness." Hakim did an excellent job and his consistent commitment and presence in the community is to be commended.

New Paid Work Experience (PWE) Partners

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new worksite partners: Engage Arts Studio, The Birches at Harleysville, The Lower Merion Narberth League of Women Voters, Weaver, Reckner & Reinhart Dental Associates and the Riverbend Environmental Education Center. The MontcoWorks * NOW team is so grateful to connect with organizations throughout Montgomery County. Our youth and young adults are lucky to have so many opportunities available for them to learn and grow in their future careers.

Paid Work Experiences as a Path to Employment

Lenny and Aariona are working to attain employment through their Paid Work Experiences. They are both working with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit through the Head Start program. Lenny is working as an engagement worker, and Aariona is working as a teacher's assistant. They have successfully navigated the transition between in person and virtual learning then back to in person.

Every other week, MWN clients have the opportunity to speak with an individual that shares a positive message, shares their personal journey and answers any questions the audience may have. They were particularly inspired by Craig Lacy, a local Norristown graduate who is making his mark in the music and inspiration industries.

Craig Lacy is a local entrepreneur, musician and youth educator. He moved to Montgomery County in elementary school with his family. During middle school, he started exploring his talents in the world of music and arts. Craig started pursing hip hop and worked on his craft as a lyricist. After graduating high school, he opened his own LLC at the age of 20. He is living life one day at a time and making the best out of it. Lacy's message included, "Don't let anyone stop you if you have goals and a vision to do something great." All Goal Getters are posted on our Facebook page and every other week provide an inspiring message to our students and staff!

Judy Stayton and William Reese work with students that have been placed at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility (MCCF). While there, the students can earn credits towards their high school diplomas.

So far this school year three students have graduated. Here is the story of one student. A student started in the program during the 2020-2021 school year. He worked hard, stayed focused and was able to graduate. He faced and overcame two barriers during his educational journey. Due to the pandemic he had to complete assignments independently with the teachers monitoring his work on a weekly basis while also having language barrier. The teachers worked closely with Mr. Currie, Assistant Director of the Office of Student Services, along with the Methacton School District to provide the student with educational materials in his native language. Through his hard work, determination and focus he was able to obtain the needed credits to be awarded his high school diploma. To show his appreciation for the support he received from Mrs. Stayton and Mr. Reese, he drew a picture and wrote a letter of thanks and good wishes for them. It's very rewarding to see 12 years of hard work pay off for a student.

At MCYC the students attend school and live together in a setting that offers little diversions. While this can exaggerate conflicts and tensions it also accelerates the building of community and expands the opportunity to build an educational environment with a positive social component. The school library is heavily used and book discussions break out spontaneously. Journal writing is popular; however, the most captivating activity is chess! There are opportunities to teach the art of playing chess, and it is surprising how easily video game competition can turn to the chess board competition once the electronics aren’t available. Our school wide chess tournaments create such a buzz that it draws in the staff and administration at MCYC and even the illustrious MCIU supervisor. The real key to the success of these tournaments is not the intensely engaged students or even the broad staff support.

What really elevates these tournaments is the students who don’t happen to be interested in chess and out of willingness to try something new and a respect for the community participate in the celebration.

The Shelter program enjoys a separate building upgraded from its days as a camp office. It features three classrooms, a new library, and a lounge area. These students must walk outside to school which, despite their complaints brings them refreshed to class. Teaching at MCYC has its challenges, but it is particularly rewarding. Our teachers have the joy of teaching students who have slept well and eaten well. Students who don’t have access to drugs and alcohol and who don’t have cell phones in the classroom. Without the typical distractions, students pick up books to read during quiet times. But most profoundly we have the privilege of teaching hope with a plan for students who are somehow still open to learning that change can happen.

The development of the first Job Alike Professional Development Day for nearby counties was born while the Montgomery County Youth Center and Montgomery County Correctional Facility teachers attended a Neglected and Delinquent Youth conference. Joining forces were Chester County, Delaware County, Lancaster County and Montgomery County for combined professional development opportunities. Each county will take a turn to host the Job-Alike Professional Development Day. This year Montgomery County hosted the event. The day focused on student mental health, the Montco Works Now program, COVID protocols/limitations in our facilities, subject discussions and new legislature for detained juveniles. Our programs are so unique that the most rewarding part is to meet, learn and support one another! Joining the group next year is Bucks County who will be hosting the 2023 Job-Alike Professional Development Day.

The Cosmo Switch is a unique light-up, multi-color Bluetooth switch for tablets, mobile phones and computers. The MCIU team of Occupational Therapist, Tisha Crovetti, Speech/Language Pathologist, Jill Burke and Physical Therapist, Amy Feldman have loved getting to know just how versatile the Cosmo Switches are with the students they work with. The bright colors and lights make EVERYONE want to play with them!

Cosmo Switches have been used with the MDS population at Evans Elementary and Perkiomen Valley High School. They are used to work on cause and effect, eye hand coordination, visual attention for students with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and developing independence in leisure activities like watching shows on YouTube. Cosmo Switches can also assist students in using their Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices through multiple access points, such as head movement, leg movement or elbow movement.

Speech and Language Pathologist, Ashley Duke uses the Cosmo Switch with hearing support students at Caley Elementary. They are used to address higher level executive functioning skills such as attention, bilateral coordination and memory and visual and auditory sequential memory. They are always a big hit!

Speech-language therapy at Hallowell Elementary’s MDS classroom also included Cosmo Switches. A Winter Olympics themed activity designed to simulate skiing used a textured ball rolling down a ramp and onto the floor. Some students even used their communication devices to indicate “go,” labeling the different colors and instruments and to share whose ball rolled the farthest. What a fun and captivating way to include the Cosmo Switch buttons and Orchestra game during a speech session!

Introducing mouth models to students usually has them giggling at first, but curiosity sets in once the anatomy of the mouth is explored. A 3-D mouth model offers students an opportunity to see how articulators work together to create a variety of sounds and boosts self-awareness. Engaging students by creating a make-shift tongue encourages students to visualize the sequence of movements when articulating targeted sounds.

Another motivating way to teach students about the articulators and how they work to form speech sounds is by using the Speech Tutor Pro App. One of the many features of this app is that the students are able to view animated videos demonstrating how to produce the target sounds. They can watch the video with a side by side view of their face, comparing what they see/feel/hear with the video model. This is especially useful when wearing masks and engaging in virtual learning.

The students in Mrs. Clayton’s 4th grade math group at Mary, Mother of the Redeemer (MMR) in North Wales have had a great first semester of math remediation. Throughout the fall semester, students learned and strengthened their understanding of place value, rounding and adding skills. Students had an opportunity to incorporate all their new skills into a fun game to finish up their unit. Each student was given a spinner and had to make four-digit and five-digit numbers (depending on the directions). Next students had to round each number to the nearest thousand or ten thousand and then had to add the three addends (picture). Finally Mrs. Clayton spun the huge spinner to find out who won the round. The spinner could land on the largest sum, smallest sum, sum closest to 500,000, or sum closest to 100,000 (different spinners depending on rounding directions) to determine who won the round. The 4th graders had a great time and really enjoyed this math game.

Kindergarten students at Gwynedd Mercy Academy Elementary School are “rolling it out” to practice writing lowercase letters and “tapping it out” to practice listening for sounds in words to spell. Reading readiness skills such as these are being taught with the Wilson Fundations program along with building phonological awareness skills. It is a multisensory, research-based program that teaches students phonics, spelling and handwriting. Wilson Fundations makes learning to read fun while laying the groundwork for life-long literacy. The students love it and are always eager to participate in the engaging activities!

With the Winter Olympics and Paralympics coming, related services teamed up to get everyone in on the fun. In our Multiple Disabilities Support speech groups, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and vision staff worked together and helped to target all of our student’s goals while playing hockey. With everyone’s collaboration, the team worked on things ranging from grip strength, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, visual attention and social skills as well as balance, postural control and motor planning. Students learned about the modifications to sports equipment like sled skis that some athletes use to be a part of the Paralympics. One of occupational therapy's biggest roles in schools is modifying activities so everyone can participate. Look at the independence our 3 girls have now with our new head pointers. No more hand-over-hand! Now that’s gold medal winning teamwork!

Did you know February is low vision awareness month? Low vision affects millions of Americans. According to the National Eye Institute, currently 4.2 million Americans ages 40 and older are visually impaired. What is low vision? Low vision results from reduced visual acuity or impaired visual field that glasses, contact lenses, or surgery cannot correct. Most people with low vision are 65 or older. In younger people, vision loss most often caused by inherited eye conditions, infectious and autoimmune eye diseases, or trauma. Below are a few tips for adapting environment for students with low vision.

1. Be knowledgeable of your students' specific vision impairment. Speak to the student’s TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired)

2. Lighting and Positioning:

- Provide desktop/task lighting where needed

- Preferential seating examples: back to windows, front of room seating with ability to move closer to teacher as needed.

- Be aware of glare on work surface

- Close blinds as needed to cut down on glare

3. Reduce complexity in the student's environment. This could include not only visual distractors, but also auditory. Reduction can also be achieved by providing the student with an Invisiboard (Figure A) from American Printing House for the Blind.

4. Organization: is the room organized so that the student can easily move about the room. Can the student easily access their materials.

5. Contrast Sensitivity (ability to detect subtle changes). - Create as high of contrast as you can. - Provide a dark backdrop to their materials. - Low- lights when projecting on a whiteboard. - Provide photocopies with good contrast. - Provide contrast to stairs by adding tape to the edge (Figure B).

• Crisis Team - Upon request, MCIU will send out teams of mental health specialists to support at times of crisis.
• SAIP -The Student Attendance Improvement Program (SAIP) provides a comprehensive school and home-based assessment and treatment plan, as well as ongoing mental health supports and social work services, for students who present with school refusal behavior and related challenges.

  
  

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