Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Lunch and Learn: Acadience Pathways of Progress
2025-03-21 11:30 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
This session will cover the functionality and interpretation of Pathways of Progress on the ALO platform. Pathways of Progress is an innovative approach that empowers educators to set goals that are meaningful, ambitious, and attainable. It increases the precision with which progress is evaluated at the student and classroom levels. Pathways of Progress, when combined with Acadience benchmark goals and composite scores, provides teachers with a frame of reference for examining where their students are, specifying where they need to get to, and evaluating whether they are making adequate progress.
Audience: Administrators, General Education teachers, Special Education teachers, Interventionists, and Coaches.

Unlock the Power of Desmos Classroom: Elevate Your Classroom!
2025-03-21 08:00 - 14:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Desmos Classroom will engage your students as they think critically about math concepts. Join us to learn more and gain hands-on experience.

Join us for an engaging Desmos Classroom training session, led by experts from Amplify Desmos Math. Discover how to harness the full potential of this innovative online platform and meaningful tasks to engage your students and deepen their understanding of mathematics.
Engage in an Open-Ended Task with Fawn Nguyen

Explore ways to engage students with a meaningful task
Discuss effective teacher moves that open up tasks for students

Explore Features and Tools to Support Meaningful Pedagogy

Get hands-on experience with interactive lessons and activities
Learn how to easily find, assign, and customize Desmos activities for your students
Unlock the secrets of the Desmos Activity Builder to create your own engaging lessons
Dive into the latest features, including the powerful Polypad tool

Take Your Desmos Skills to the Next Level

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced user, join our breakout session to explore the computational layer and unlock new possibilities.

Don’t miss this opportunity to revolutionize your math classroom! Register now and get ready to amplify student engagement and understanding.

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Math teachers, K-12
Lunch will be provided.

LETRS Training @ AIU 2024-2025 AIU Cohorts
2025-03-20 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
Time & location for all sessions:
9am-3:30pm
Allegheny Intermediate Unit; 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Dates:
October 10, 2024 – Unit 1 The Challenge of Learning to Read (Sullivan)
November 21, 2024 – Unit 2 The Speech Sounds of English (Sullivan)
January 16, 2025- Unit 3 Teaching Beginning Phonics, Word Recognition, and Spelling (McGuffey) March 20, 2025 – Unit 4 Advanced Decoding, Spelling, and Word Recognition (Sullivan)
Time Commitment:
Independent Reading: 33 hours
Online LETRS Platform: 15 hours
Synchronous and In-Person PD: 22 hours
Total of 70 Act 48 Hours Available
Registration:
1. Register on Frontline
2. Complete Google Form to select payment option: https://forms.gle/B3SRX4HLPHQ6UZnp9
Registration Deadline: October 3, 2024
Materials Cost: $400 per participant includes Volume 1 manual and one year of online access; invoicing will be processed at first session.

K-3 Reading Apprenticeship*
2025-03-19 09:00 - 15:00
*This is session 10 of a 12-part series that requires participants to attend all 12 sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Matt's Maker Space: How to Make it Happen in Maker Spaces
2025-03-18 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Get your maker space organized and running strong

Description
This session will help beginners navigate a successful implementation of a STEAM/Maker Learning class by sharing tips and strategies for maker space set up, which includes supplies, space design, equipment, teacher buy-in, community awareness, and engaging activities that promote future-ready skills.

Whether you are an administrator who is looking to re-design a space, a teacher who is now teaching a new STEAM class, or a STEAM coach who wants to support successful implementation, or maybe you are just in need of a reboot, this is the session for you.

Background | The mission of the Matt’s Maker Space PD Division is to provide FREE professional development to all of Matt’s Maker Space educators and others in our communities who are interested in STEAM, design thinking and maker learning. The goal is to help establish foundational skills to new makers as well as offer refresh training opportunities to all adults who utilize maker spaces.

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible

Who Should Attend |K-8 Teachers, Admin, STEM Teachers or anyone in charge of a maker space

Lunch will be provided.

MTSS Networking for Administrators & Core Teams
2025-03-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-17 10:00 - 11:00
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.

New Strategies to Support ELLs in Your Content-Area Classroom (K-12)
2025-03-17 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Discover dynamic strategies & user-friendly resources to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in content-area or grade-level classrooms.

Description
Are you looking for practical ways to better support English Language Learners (ELLs) in your classroom?
This workshop will equip you with dynamic strategies and user-friendly, tech-based resources that will unlock ELL learning and engagement in your classroom.
As you explore new techniques, you will see how enhancing your existing routines and curriculum will empower your ELLs to thrive in the content-area classroom.

Note: Workshop content is based on previous workshops of the same title.

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible

Who Should Attend | K-12 content-area or grade-level classroom teachers who teach English Language Learners alongside those who speak English as a primary language.

Lunch will be provided.

Promoting Instruction with PASA DLM Resources from the Dynamic Learning Maps
2025-03-17 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.

Act 45 Course: Science of Reading for Administrators*
2025-03-14 09:00 - 12:30
*This session is part of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Integrating Computer Science into ELA: A Tale of Two Literacies
2025-03-14 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Discover innovative ways to support reading, writing and analysis in your ELA classroom by seamlessly integrating computational thinking.

Description
This one-day professional development session is designed specifically for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers, offering practical strategies and innovative approaches to enrich their classrooms. Participants will explore how computational thinking (CT) concepts can enhance critical thinking and deepen student engagement with ELA content. The session will highlight the connections between computing principles and core ELA skills, demonstrating how CT can support reading, writing, and analysis.

With a focus on the unique needs of ELA educators, participants will engage in hands-on activities and collaborative discussions, discovering how CT can integrate seamlessly into their curriculum. The day will also include conversations on equity and justice in technology use, ensuring that learning experiences remain inclusive and accessible for all students. By the end of the session, teachers will have actionable ideas and strategies to create interdisciplinary lessons that foster both traditional literacy and digital literacy skills.

Background | Strength Across Schools is a regional collaboration to teach justice-focused computational thinking and computer science in middle School ELA Classrooms. It is a collaborative partnership between University of Pittsburgh researchers, districts, teachers, and regional educational organizations, with the goal to integrate computational thinking and computer science into ELA classrooms.

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible

Who Should Attend | ELA teachers grades 5 – 9, literacy coaches, or others involved in ELA teaching for middle grade students.

Lunch will be provided.

Innovative Educational Spaces: How to Redesign Your Learning Environment
2025-03-13 08:30 - 15:30 | Fluxspace, 401 Greentree Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15220, United States
Reimagine your classroom space as student-centered, flexible, and inviting by using creative strategies and budget-friendly ideas

Description
Are you an educator looking to redesign your space to be more student-centered, flexible, and comfortable while also improving function? Learn about ways to revitalize your space by updating furniture pieces, changing the layout, and creating an environment where students don’t want to leave. Strategies and resources will be shared on how to transform your space, even with little or no budget. Imagine the possibilities!
Background | The mission of Fluxspace is to help educators, schools, and organizations experience the future of learning environments and understand the innovative programs, products, experiences, and mindsets that should take place in them.
What to Bring | Bring a photo or drawing of your current space(s) that you would like to redesign.
Who Should Attend | Classroom teachers and administrators looking to redesign schools and spaces
Lunch will be provided.
**Special Location | Fluxspace Experience Center, 401 Greentree Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220

Text Dependent Analysis: Effective Instructional Practices Part 2 – Grades 4-8*
2025-03-11 09:00 - 15:00
*This session is the final part of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Ten AI Tools to Transform Your Teaching
2025-03-11 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Explore the top 10 AI tools for education: See them in action and unlock new ways to elevate your teaching!

Description
It feels like new AI tools for education are popping up each day. Which tools are worth your while?
Let us take out the guesswork as we highlight 10 powerful AI-based tools that will enhance your practice as an educator. You will have the opportunity to explore each and to discover inspiring use cases that relate to the work you do.

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Educators interested in leveraging AI in their practice
Lunch will be provided.

Mathematics Coaches Network 2024-25
2025-03-11 08:30 - 15:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Join us at Math Coaches Network where we’ll share strategies and resources for coaches to support mathematics teaching and learning.

Math Coaches Network 2024-25
Come join us at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for a professional learning community focused on supporting mathematics coaches. This Network is led by Mr. Samuel Shaneyfelt, former school district level administrator and Math & Science Collaborative Project Director.
Price: free
Audience: K-12 mathematics coaches and leaders
When: October 11, 2024, November 15, 2024, January 31, 2025, and March 11, 2024
Where: In-person at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and grow! See you there at East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA.

Math For All: Supporting Inclusive Practices in the 7-12 Classroom
2025-03-10 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
An interactive workshop for 7-12 math teachers who want to create an inclusive learning environment that accounts for learner variability

Description
Join us for “Math for All,” an interactive workshop for 7-12 math teachers focused on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
In this workshop, you will discover how to present math concepts through multiple means, allowing students to access information in various ways and demonstrate their understanding through diverse formats. Gain hands-on experience with tech tools for differentiated math instruction. By the end, you will be ready to create an inclusive and engaging math environment for all learners.

What to Bring | Please bring a laptop or tablet, if possible.
Who Should Attend | Math Teachers, grades 7-12
Lunch will be provided.

Classroom Management Structuring Your Learning Environment
2025-03-10 08:30 - 15:00
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.

Spring Make-AT-looza
2025-03-07 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
An AT-making party to create accessible solutions through toy adaptations and 3D-printed products

Description
Join an AT-making party at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Participants will spend the day creating AT switches from 3D-printed components, designing and sharing 3D products, adapting simple toys, creating and assembling accessible aids for daily living, or creating and adapting items of their own. The purpose of this day is to produce accessible solutions for a wide variety of potential users that can be distributed to students and adults in our region.

Skill Level
No formal instruction will occur at this event. A variety of projects will be available for this making event, however, most will be geared toward participants with basic to intermediate skills in AT-making. For participants with no maker experience, consider attending the Assistive Technology Making – Solder, Switches, & Stuffing workshop on the day prior to this event.

What to Bring | All supplies and the products intended for later distribution will be provided for this workshop. If participants are interested in adapting their own toys or products, they are welcome to bring those items to this event to make use of the tools and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow makers.
Who Should Attend | Anyone with an interest and a bit of experience in AT-making
Lunch will be provided.

AIU-Operated Special Education Schools – Mon Valley Talent Show
2025-03-07 | Mon Valley School, 555 N Lewis Run Road, Jefferson Hills, PA, 15025, United States

Assistive Technology Making - Solder, Switches, & Stuffing
2025-03-06 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Discover AT-making skills for creating accessible technology solutions by learning soldering and other useful techniques.

Description
Are you looking for projects that your school’s STEAM program or club can use to develop and hone basic making skills? Are you curious about additional, real-life applications for the tools and skills your students are learning? Are you wondering how you can hack toys to make them more accessible to children with physical disabilities?
This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to assistive technology (AT) making skills to create usable access products. Participants will learn basic soldering to join wire segments and assemble mono and stereo components for use in a variety of assistive technology applications. Those skills – along with some 3D-printed parts – will be applied to create a mechanical switch that could be used by an individual with physical disabilities. Each participant will also make a battery interrupter and switch-adapt a stuffed, electronic toy that can be used with the scratch-built switch.
Skill Level | Beginner (no previous knowledge expected or needed)
What to Bring | All materials will be provided for this workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring a reusable shopping bag to carry completed projects home at the end of the day.
Who Should Attend | STEAM teachers and other educators who would like to learn valuable “making” skills in ways that can increase accessibility for others
Lunch will be provided.

AIU-Operated Special Education Schools – 2 Hour Delay
2025-03-05
AIU-Operated Special Education Schools, Mon Valley, Pathfinder and Sunrise have a 2 Hour Delay today. Professional Development for the Staff.

Learning to Vet Science Instructional Materials with NextGen TIME
2025-03-04 08:30 - 2025-03-05 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Learn to evaluate science teaching materials claiming to be STEELS or NGSS-aligned using NextGen Tools for Instructional Materials Evaluatio

Learning to vet science instructional materials with NextGen Toolkit for Instructional Materials Evaluation (TIME):
Learn how to effectively evaluate and select science instructional materials for your classroom.
Who: Science Leadership Teams from school districts in and around Allegheny Intermediate Unit. It is strongly recommended that you and your team have previously engaged in the “Planning Strategically for Science Professional Learning” professional learning offering in June 2023, April, 2024 or September, 2024. (If this is not the case, please reach out to corinne.murawski@aiu3.net or kristen.rice@aiu3.net to discuss other appropriate preporatory professional learning for you and your team.)
When: March 4-5, 2025 from 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Where: Allegheny Intermediate Unit; 475 E. Waterfront Dr.; Homestead, PA 15120
Price: Free to science leadership teams from school districts who attended the Planning Strategically for Science Professional Learning in June 2023, April 2024, or September, 2024.
What: During this two-day professional learning offering, you and your district science leadership team will learn how to use three of the five tools in the NextGen Toolkit for Instructional Materials Evaluation (TIME) suite. More specifically, we will engage with the Prepare, Prescreen, and Paperscreen tools using an examplar unit.
Expect that by the conclusion of the two-day professional learning offering, you and your district colleagues will be equipped to use the NextGen TIME pre- and paperscreening tools to review and vet science instructional materials for their quality and alignment with PA STEELS to better decide which materials you will move forward into a pilot phase.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to improve your science curriculum!

EBPs in Elementary Mathematics Evidence Based Practices to Assist Struggling Students
2025-03-04 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.

Direct Instruction Mathematics
2025-03-03 08:30 - 15:00
This training program helps teachers improve their math teaching skills using Direct Instruction (DI). Participants will learn the key ideas and strategies from the “Direct Instruction Mathematics” book. They will get practical experience and knowledge to effectively use DI in their classrooms. The course covers lesson planning, teaching methods, assessment techniques, and ways to support different student needs.The content in this series can be used for any learner, including those with higher support needs in autistic and life skills support settings to those students learning advanced mathematical concepts.

Lunch and Learn: TransMath: Addressing Important Prerequisite Skills to Support Algebra Readiness
2025-02-28 11:30 - 12:30
TransMath® Third Edition is a comprehensive math intervention curriculum that targets middle and high school students who lack the foundational skills necessary for entry into algebra and/or who are two or more years below grade level in math. Using a dual-topic approach, TransMath improves math skills by emphasizing fewer topics in greater depth while accelerating students to more advanced math, from number sense to rational numbers, to understanding algebra.
Audience: Administrators, General Education teachers, Special Education teachers, Interventionists, and Coaches.

STEM Educator and Innovator Role-Alike
2025-02-28 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Join our role-alike group for STEM/STEAM teachers to share ideas and build skills.

Description
This role-alike group is designed for STEM/STEAM teachers and coordinators to build skills and gain new ideas. Hear how others are integrating everything from maker education to coding and beyond. This group will meet multiple times during the school year. You are welcome to join us for one, some, or all sessions.
Background | What is a role-alike? Role-alike events bring together educators from around the region holding a similar position or role.
What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Both experienced STEAM educators and those newer to STEAM education are encouraged to attend.
Lunch will be provided.

Building AI Tools to Personalize Learning and Simplify Tasks
2025-02-27 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Learn to build AI tools to personalize learning more effectively and efficiently than ever. Also, learn to automate your own routine tasks.

Description
Learn how to build AI tools, like chatbots, that are safe and customized to your classroom. Learning gets more efficient as we harness AI to personalize learning for students and automate our own routine tasks.

No experience is necessary–you will be amazed by what you can create in one day of learning!

What to Bring | Please bring a laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Educators interested in AI; no prior experience necessary.
Lunch will be provided.

IES Practice Guide Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding K-3
2025-02-27 08:30 - 15:00
This session will review the research and practical application of the four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills, and is a companion to the practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade. To preview the practice guide, visit https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/21

Special Education Liaisons-New Directors Meeting
2025-02-26 13:30 - 15:30 | https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWYwMTgzOTAtMWVhMy00N2UxLTgzZmQtNjA4ODMzNzlkMWVk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%222588d1e3-7ead-4e50-b518-c7ad84eca17b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%222128c0e9-b5e4-4a49-994a-5c684abd91b5%22%7d
The New Directors Meetings are a follow up to the morning’s Special Education Liaison Meeting to provide more detailed information and address topics that may be unfamiliar to liaisons new in their role.
Special Education Liaisons-New Directors Meeting are Hybrid.
In-person meeting will be held at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in the Flexible Instruction Room.
Link to Online Meeting can be found below.

Special Education Liaison Meeting
2025-02-26 08:30 - 12:00 | https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjAzMzc2MDAtNzFjOC00ODc3LTg2NzUtZjY5NzYyOTUyOTQ0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%222588d1e3-7ead-4e50-b518-c7ad84eca17b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2297c0692d-3fcc-413f-88e2-fb2c33b67df0%22%7d
Special Education Liaison Meetings are Hybrid.
In-person meeting will be held at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in the Rogers Room.
Link to Online Meeting can be found below.
