Classroom Management Structuring Your Learning Environment
2025-02-03 08:30 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
This professional development session offers comprehensive training on effective classroom management, focusing on evidence-based practices to reduce supervision issues. Participants will explore the six Evidenced-Based Practices of Classroom Management and learn practical strategies, tips, and procedures to design and implement an effective classroom management plan, fostering positive behavior modifications in students.

MTSS Networking for Administrators & Core Teams
2025-02-03 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-02-03 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for monthly virtual networking opportunities designed to create a robust Professional Learning Community (PLC) around the topic of MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports).
Meetings in the 2024-2025 school year will be offered in two strands:

The morning session for Administrators leading efforts to scale implementation of MTSS at their district or building
the afternoon session intended for MTSS Core Team members working at the school level Administrators are free to join either or both sessions.

The focus for Networking is on fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and providing mutual support to enhance the implementation and management of MTSS frameworks, ensuring comprehensive academic support for all students.

The EBR Process, Building Capacity for Your EBR Team
2025-02-04 08:30 - 15:00
The Educational Benefit Review (EBR) is provided to teams who are entering a cyclical monitoring year and to ensure that students with IEPs are receiving educational benefit. Teams will be provided with the legal background on EBR and participate in a four-step process to analyze and compare three years of IEPs to determine if a student has received educational benefit. Additionally, teams will have the opportunity to work on their 10 EBR student cases to identify/target specific areas related to their school-age grade bands, compliance requirements, pros, cons, and identify technical support or professional development needs to support their knowledge and expertise of educationally beneficial IEP composition.
This training will not only to fulfill requirements for cyclical monitoring, but encourage districts to consider integrating EBR as a best practice when composing IEPs annually. For this training, the EBR Facilitator (Special Education Administrator, Principal, LEA representative, or designee) will be asked to attend with their team. It is highly recommended that schools attend as a team. EBR Teams must be comprised of at least 1 Special Educator, at least 1 general educator, at least 1 Related Service Provider, and the EBR Facilitator.
TOOLS & MATERIALS NEEDED: Teams will be required to bring laptops, paper copies of three years of the selected student’s IEPs (current year and two years prior)
*Please be advised, if your district has been selected for 2024-2025 cyclical monitoring (CMCI), you may utilize this training date to work with your EBR teams to complete the 10 EBR students’ cases selected by your BSE advisor. Additionally, support can be provided by AIU TaC to facilitate this requirement. Additional times and dates can be arranged to provide optimum support to complete this requirement.

EBPs in Elementary Mathematics Evidence Based Practices to Assist Struggling Students
2025-02-04 08:30 - 15:00
Join us for a comprehensive year-long professional development series designed to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to support elementary students struggling with mathematics. Based on the evidence-based recommendations from the “Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades” IES practice guide by the What Works Clearinghouse, this series will provide practical strategies, hands-on activities, and collaborative learning opportunities to enhance mathematical instruction and intervention.

Text Dependent Analysis: Effective Instructional Practices Part 2 – Grades 4-8*
2025-02-04 09:00 - 15:00
*This session is part two of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

No Jamboard? No Problem! Meet the Jamboard Alternatives. (Virtual)
2025-02-04 10:30 - 11:15
As we say “goodbye” to Google’s Jamboard, look forward to discovering new, powerful alternatives.

Description
If you are sad to finally say “goodbye” to Google’s Jamboard this year, worry no more! In this 45-minute virtual session, we’ll explore a few alternatives that will each simulate some of Jamboard’s features and more.
The future is bright with new, powerful options!
(A Zoom link will be sent to registrants prior to the event.)

Background | Google’s Jamboard is no longer available as of December 31, 2024. Many educators are seeking an alternative application.

Who Should Attend | Former Jamboard users or those who would like to learn about digital whiteboards and other tools that allow for digital collaboration among students

Integrating Bullying Prevention into a PBIS Framework
2025-02-04 13:00 - 15:30
Please join the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Training and Consultation Team for this VIRTUAL training.

Join this virtual session to learn how to address and prevent bullying behavior with preventative approaches that are integrated within your PBIS framework. Participants will learn core features of evidence-based prevention programs, leave with an understanding on implementation steps, and be able to align core features with existing PBIS systems.

Elementary Science Symposium
2025-02-05 08:00 - 15:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
You know kids learn science best by engaging in the subject from an early age, but how do we find time, and how do we teach it these days?
Science and engineering education is undergoing a transformation (Kober et al, 2023). We all know that children learn science best by engaging in the subject from an early age in the way that scientists and engineers do, but…

How can we find the time to teach science consistently and in a phenomenon-based, three-dimensional way in K through 5?
What does it look and sound like in an elementary science classroom these days?
How can we possible teach all the math and ELA we have to teach and still find time for science?
There are environmental literacy standards now, too?! What?

If you’ve asked yourself any of those questions (or others about elementary science) since the release of the PA STEELS (Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability) standards in July, 2022, then you can benefit from joining the Allegheny Intermediate Unit Math & Science Collaborative at the Elementary Science Symposium.
Cost: Free. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Explore the STEAM Lending Library
2025-02-06 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Districts served by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit are invited to receive training on the transformED STEM Lending Library items.

Want to try something new in your classes? STEM concepts can be infused in any content area.
Receive hands-on training to build your confidence and skills with items in our lending library before borrowing these items to use with your students for a period of time. We will also discuss best practices and lesson ideas for meaningful, curriculum-aligned implementation.
If you are familiar with some of our items but would like to learn about others, please attend! (Browse our collection.)
Background | The AIU STEAM Lending Library is made possible with generous support from the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation
What to Bring | A laptop and/or tablet
Who Should Attend | Teachers K-12 whose districts are served by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and who are interested in learning about and borrowing items from the transformED STEM Lending Library.
*No prior experience needed.

Building Thinking Classrooms: Part 2
2025-02-07 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Part 2 of Build a Thinking Classroom for K-12 will dig deeper into the 14 practices and effective implementation strategies

Building Thinking Classrooms: Part 2
This is not for novices or anyone new to BTC. You must be a K-12 educator or leader who has completed BTC: Part 1 OR you have read the book and are actively attempting to implement the first three toolkits.
Come engage in a professional learning community to learn more about a thinking classroom and collaborate with peers to share ideas and implementation strategies. A thinking student is an engaged student!
Built on 14 key practices teased out over 15 years of research, it’s a way of teaching that gets students up on their feet, collaborating and thinking through challenging problems on a daily basis.
A thinking classroom looks very different from a typical classroom. Students are working in groups rather than individually, they are standing rather than sitting, and the furniture is arranged so as to defront the room. Closer inspection will reveal that the teacher is giving instructions verbally, is answering fewer questions, and has drastically altered the way they give “homework.”
Part 2 focuses on the fine tuning implementation of the first eleven practices and delving into the assessment practices from the following chapters:
Chapter 12: What We Choose to Evaluate in a Thinking Classroom
Chapter 13: How We Use Formative Assessment in a Thinking Classroom
Chapter 14: How We Grade in a Thinking Classroom
All participants are expected to bring their own copy of Building Thinking Classroom In Mathematics, 14 Teaching Practices for Enhanced Learning.
Audience: K-12 educators and leaders who have completed BTC: Part 1 OR you have read the book and are actively attempting to implement the first three toolkits.
When: February 7, March 5, 2025, April 1, 2025
Price: $450/participant; Administrators may attend with the teacher(s) from their district/building at no additional cost.
Location: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E. Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Act 48 hours will be awarded pending approval by PDE for those who attend all sessions and complete related assignments.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and grow! See you there at East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA.

RAC Reading Specialists' Network
2025-02-07 09:00 - 15:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit Central Office, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Join the RAC Reading Specialists’ Network for an opportunity to connect with other reading specialists in Allegheny County.
Each hybrid session will feature research-based best practices and strategies that specialists need in order to be effective in their role as they work with students, teachers, and parents in all three tiers of literacy. The network is open to Reading Specialists who have participated in past networks as well as new participants.
Cost: Free
2024-25 Meeting Dates: September 27, November 22, February 7, April 4
Registration

Learn more about the Reading Achievement Center

Students in Conversation: Podcasting for the Classroom with SLB Radio
2025-02-10 08:30 - 14:00 | SLB Radio Productions Inc, 10 Children's Way, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
Explore using podcasting in your classroom as a way to let students express themselves while they practice conversation, empathy and civil d

Looking for new ways to document, share, and celebrate the voices of your students? Spend a day at the SLB Radio Youth Media Center and explore how to include podcasting and other audio projects in your curriculum.
This interactive workshop will explore how audio projects can help students practice conversation, empathy, and civil discourse in the classroom and beyond. Focusing on the roundtable podcast format, we’ll dig into the details of project implementation with strategies and tips for planning, recording, publishing, and more. Educators will also have the opportunity to participate in hands-on recording sessions in the SLB studios, learn about student-friendly recording equipment and technologies, and network.
Background | SLB Radio Productions, Inc. uses radio and audio to amplify voices of youth — and members of other communities whose stories are often marginalized — to educate, empower, and build community. Learn more at slbradio.org.
Who Should Attend | Educators working with students in grades 6-12
Lunch will be provided.
Special Location | SLB Radio, 10 Children’s Way, PIttsburgh, PA 15212 (co-located within the Children’s Museum); Parking information will be shared with registrants prior to the event.

FBA to PBSP Assessing Behavior & Designing Effective Interventions
2025-02-11 08:30 - 15:30
This series is designed to build internal capacity within schools for staff to conduct Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and develop Positive Behavior Support Plans (PBSPs). Across three full days all steps of the FBA & PBSP process will be explored. Time will be allotted to discuss function-based interventions, crisis planning, and implementation fidelity. Participants will be expected to attend all in person sessions as content connects and builds from one topic to the next.
Plan to attend training with a student(s) in mind. Follow up support will be offered to participants to ensure fidelity.

Get Your Hands-On FUN and Meaningful Assessment (Secondary)
2025-02-11 08:30 - 15:30 | Museum Lab, 6 Allegheny Square East, #suite 101, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
Discover how to capture real-time learning and transform assessments into interactive experiences at our hands-on workshop at MuseumLab.

Description
Students of all ages are excited by opportunities for hands-on learning and play, but what happens when the fun is over and it’s time to finish the project or assess how much students learned?
This workshop at MuseumLab starts by exploring the learning that is actually happening as students tinker, explore, and create regardless of the actual product created. We then dive into strategies for capturing that learning in real time, reducing or even eliminating the need for additional assessment. We close by looking at curriculum-based materials and assessments for older learners to explore strategies for transforming them into interactive experiences that reveal so much more than just right answers.
*Note: Complimentary parking information will be provided to registrants prior to the event.

Background | MuseumLab, created by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, is a place where kids ages 10+ can have cutting-edge experiences that promote inquiry, creativity and independent thinking.
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has once again been voted as the #2 children’s museum in the nation by USA Today’s “10Best” Readers’ Choice Contest. This is the fifth year for our museum to be honored in the contest for our innovative and inclusive experiences that inspire kindness, joy, creativity and curiosity for all learners.

Who Should Attend | Secondary Educators and Administrators
Lunch will be provided.
Special Location | 6 Allegheny Square E Suite 101, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (across from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh)

Keys to Comprehension - ELA Grades 3-8*
2025-02-11 09:00 - 15:00
*This session is the final day of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Thinking Through the Pencil - ELA Grades 4-8*
2025-02-13 09:00 - 15:00
*This session is the last day of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

LETRS VOLUME 2 COHORT
2025-02-13 09:00 - 15:30
*Completion of Volume 1 and 2 course meets PA Structured Literacy Chapter 49 requirements.

Developed by renowned literacy experts Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Carol Tolman, LETRS® is a flexible literacy professional development solution for preK–12 educators. LETRS earned the International Dyslexia Association’s Accreditation and provides teachers with the skills they need to master the fundamentals of reading instruction—phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and language.
LETRS empowers teachers to understand the what, why, and how of scientifically based reading instruction

Building Blocks for Safety – School and First Responder Relationships
2025-02-14 09:00 - 12:00
AIU Central Office
Safety and Security

Act 45 Course: Science of Reading for Administrators*
2025-02-14 09:00 - 12:30
*This session is part of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

AIU-Operated Special Education Schools – No School – Presidents Day
2025-02-17
AIU-Operated Special Education Schools, Mon Valley, Pathfinder and Sunrise are closed today in observance of Presidents Day.

Promoting Instruction with PASA DLM Resources from the Dynamic Learning Maps
2025-02-17 08:30 - 15:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit Central Office, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
This training aims to provide educators who deliver the PASA-DLM and their administrators with a deeper dive into the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM). The focus is on improving student outcomes through standards aligned instruction for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Participants will have the opportunity to explore multiple resources on the Dynamic Learning Maps website and find new strategies to support IEP development and/or instruction.

Virtual Paraprofessional Trainings
2025-02-17 08:30 - 15:00
The day will consist of two morning and two afternoon sessions developed specifically for paraprofessionals.

AIU-Operated Special Education Schools – No School
2025-02-18
AIU-Operated Special Education Schools, Mon Valley, Pathfinder and Sunrise are closed today. Professional Development for the Staff.

Navigating 504s Comprehensive Guidance for School Teams
2025-02-19 09:00 - 15:30
Join us for a focused professional development session to craft a streamlined Chapter 504 process. Tailored for school district teams which may include 504 administrators, coordinators, and other vested partners, this session covers legal history, eligibility, service agreements, LEA responsibilities, and current trends. Together, we’ll design an efficient process for conducting, evaluating, implementing, and progress monitoring 504 plans.

Let's Play Strategies for Child Centered Learning
2025-02-20 08:30 - 15:00
Play is self-chosen and self-directed; intrinsically motivated; guided by mental rules; imaginative; and conducted in an active, alert, but relatively non-stressed frame of mind. How neurodivergent students play may be different from their neurotypical peers, but it’s not wrong and does not need to be fixed.
This session will focus on how to find and nurture the strengths and interests of neurodivergent early learners, accept their play as valid by joining in, and use strategies such as modeling and social play chains to promote authentic connections and growth. We will explore Parten’s 6 stages of play and learn new ways to promote interaction and language across each stage. Participants will gain a better understanding of what it means to “follow the child’s lead” to ensure more positive and meaningful interactions.

Canva: Beyond the Basics
2025-02-20 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Level-up your Canva game by learning about and practicing with some of its most useful features.

Description
Already love Canva and ready to level-up?
In this workshop, we will explore many of Canva’s seemingly limitless features, while also considering how they can enhance what we do in our schools.
You will have opportunities to apply what you learn as you create ready-to-use materials (with support on-hand!).

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Anyone comfortable with Canva’s most basic features, such as finding and using templates, “elements,” etc.
All are welcome! Please note that the context of the workshop will be focused on the field of education.
Lunch will be provided.

K-3 Reading Apprenticeship*
2025-02-20 09:00 - 15:00
*This is the ninth session of a 12-part series that requires participants to attend all 12 sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Collaborative and Proactive Solutions to Student Behavior
2025-02-20 09:30 - 11:30
Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) is an evidence-based model of psychosocial treatment originated and developed by Dr. Ross Greene, and described in his books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Raising Human Beings, and Lost & Found. This session will discuss application of his model across all three tiers of a PBIS framework. Resources and tools to implement the model will be shared in the session. Rather than focusing on kids’ concerning behaviors (and modifying them), CPS helps kids and adults solve the problems that are causing those behaviors. The problem solving is collaborative (not unilateral) and proactive (not reactive). Research has shown that the model is effective not only at solving problems and improving behavior but also at enhancing skills.

Lunch and Learn: Utilizing Spring Math as a Classwide Intervention in Math
2025-02-21 11:30 - 12:30
Spring Math is a comprehensive RtI system that includes screening, progress monitoring, class-wide and individual math intervention, and implementation and decision-making support. Assessments are generated within the tool when needed and Spring Math uses student data to customize class-wide and individual intervention plans for students. Spring Math assesses 130 skills in Grades K-8 and remedies gaps in learning for grades K-12. Both new and current users are welcome to attend.
Audience: Administrators, General Education teachers, Special Education teachers, Interventionists, and Coaches.
