Curriculum Updates

CEW Standards are approved by the Board. They are still going through regulatory process. Information on CEW Standards can be found here: CLICK HERE

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!

Click HERE for free resources from FNB. Budgeting, saving, investing, and more!

Teacher Resources to accompany student resources can be found HERE.

See the full menu of offerings HERE.

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.

Coming Soon from PDE/Workgroups:

• Assessment Toolkit
• Safety Guidelines
• EL&S Curriculum Framework to SAS Portal

For the 2024-25 School Year, ARIN will be making a change to the Science Liaison Network. We will host two separate groups, Elementary Science Liaison (for teachers K-5), and a Middle/High School Science Liaison (for teachers 6-12). Please be sure to have teachers register for the correct session on ARIN registration system. Please visit the STEELS Smore for additional details.

A closer look at the relationship between course enrollment size and accident occurrences in hands-on engineering design-based STEM courses is a study released by Tyler Love in the International Journal of Technology and Design Education. Major findings include 24 or fewer students in a class reduced accident occurrences by 87.5%. 25 or more students in a class increased accident occurrences by eight times, and 30 or more students in a class increased accident occurrences by 21 times.

PSTA will be holding three STEELS Symposia this coming fall. Mark your calendar and save the dates:

· September 28 – Pittsburgh

· October 5 – East Stroudsburg

· October 12 – State College

Each session will focus on the implementation of the STEELS standards as well as assessing STEELS in a classroom setting. The focal point of the symposia will be 3-Dimensional teaching, learning, and assessment. Further information will be available on the PSTA website and future SAS Science Learning Community eBlasts.

8/12-8/16/24 STEELS Bootcamp at IU 7

Co-taught by Lauren Cunningham and Lori Rodgers!

Join Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7 and collaborating partner ARIN IU28 to engage in a week long bootcamp to learn about the new science standards, part of the newly adopted PA STEELS! This bootcamp both introduces and provides a deeper dive into the instructional shifts demanded of phenomenon-based, three-dimensional teaching and learning. Each day of the bootcamp will represent a day of our level science training as follows:

August 12 (Level I): Everest Immersive Experience

August 13 (Level II): Planning for Big Ideas (Level II)

August 14 (Level III): Eliciting Student Ideas and Supporting Ongoing Changes in Student Thinking

August 15 (Level IV): Drawing Together Evidence-Based Explanations

August 16 (Level V): Evaluating Instructional Materials

Please register for each day individually.

REGISTER HERE

August 7 8:30-11:30

September 24 8:30-11:30

November 20 8:30-11:30

February 19 8:30-11:30

Learn More & Register

This is a refresher and no longer mandated through Act 70, however, still relevant.

We are offering "bite 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)

Contact Susan Griffith if you are interested: sgriffith@iu28.org

A FREE workshop for biology teachers

Changes:

• Implemented by 2026
• More Technology Enhanced Items (TEI)/Less TDA or open response (not elimination)
• NEW! Benchmarks Assessment "Firefly"
• pilot 2024-2025/Operational 2025-2026
• 30 Questions
• Grade Level
• Operates through the same system as CDT
• Additional Details on Firefly:
• The Firefly benchmark will be available for ELA grades 3-8, Mathematics grades 3-8, Keystone Algebra I, and Keystone Literature during the pilot in 2024-2025. The pilot window will run from mid-November through mid-March. The benchmark will be administered online, and we anticipate each assessment will take about 45 minutes for students to complete.

• For the pilot year, ELA grades 3-8 will assess and report only reading; writing will be added in 2025-2026. For mathematics, information will be reported for each of the five grade-level assessment anchors. PSSA Science for grades 5 and 8 and Keystone Biology will be added during the 2025-2026 school year. Also, during the 2025-2026 school year, the Firefly will be available from August/September until a few weeks before the beginning of the PSSA and Keystone administration windows.

  If your district or school is interested in participating in the Firefly Benchmark, please complete the following form https://forms.office.com/g/3pdxKyRN98 or use the QR Code. Please direct questions to Dr. Megan Clementi at mclementi@pa.gov

• PDE is developing suggested assessment schedules which could include the Classroom Diagnostic Test (CDT) and the Firefly Benchmark. The CDT is a true diagnostic assessment; the Firefly benchmark is designed to be an interim assessment and will provide a prediction as to how students will perform on the PSSA or Keystone assessment. The CDT and Firefly assessments are free to Pennsylvania schools.

🍏2024 PCTM (Pa Council of Teachers of Mathematics) July 24-26 @Desmond in Malvern

🍎Annual Autism Conference August 5-8 @ PaTTAN Central Conference Center

🍏2024 Refugee Education Summit September 24-September 25 @ Harrisburg

🍏PDE 2024 SAS Institute December 8-11@ Hershey Lodge

🍎2025 PETE & C (registration Oct. 1) February 9-12@ Hershey Lodge

Act 13 Flowcharts are available HERE 👈

Want a 1:1 Consult with the PVAAS Team? Click HERE to schedule!

Users can now select the focus for the consultation that best meets their goals or professional learning objectives.

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.

Induction registration should be opening soon. Each session will be offered on two different dates to hopefully help alleviate substitute coverage. The sessions will be offered on the following dates. Please divide your teachers up between the dates when possible to help keep group sizes equal.

Day 1: Welcome to Education

• Thursday, September 12, 2024
• Tuesday, September 18, 2024

Day 2: Special Education for All Teachers

• Tuesday, October 8, 2024
• Thursday, October 17, 2024

Day 3: Understanding the Standards, Curriculum and Universal Design for Learning

• Tuesday, October 22, 2024
• Thursday, October 31, 2024

Day 4: What Would You Do? Dealing with At-Risk Student Issues, Trauma and SEL

• Thursday, November 7, 2024
• Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Click here for more information on each session.

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!