New Strategies to Support ELLs in Your Content-Area Classroom (K-12)
2025-03-17 08:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | 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.

MTSS Networking for Administrators & Core Teams
2025-03-17 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-03-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-04-07 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-04-07 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Lunch and Learn: Acadience Pathways of Progress
2025-03-21 11:30 - 12:30
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.

Supporting Struggling Students Classroom Behavioral Interventions
2025-03-24 08:30 - 15:30
Join us for a comprehensive professional development series designed to equip school personnel with effective strategies to support students who struggle in the classroom environment. This series offers a blend of asynchronous and in-person learning to provide you with a thorough understanding of behavioral interventions.
Prerequisite: To maximize the benefits of this training, it is recommended that participants attend classroom management training prior to this series. A solid foundation in classroom management will enable learners to effectively implement the advanced strategies discussed. Follow the link to learn more about our Classroom Management: Structuring Your Learning Environment training series.

Board of Directors Meeting
2025-03-24 18:15 - 20:00 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit Central Office, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
2024-2025 AIU Board of Director Meeting Dates
All AIU board meetings begin at 6:15 p.m. in the McGuffey Room, with the exception of the November meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. All board executive sessions begin at 5 p.m. in the Rogers Room. There are no meetings in July or December. The board will meet on the following dates:
Monday, August 26, 2024
Monday, September 23, 2024
Monday, October 28, 2024
Monday, November 25, 2024
Monday, January 27, 2025
Monday, February 24, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
Monday, April 28, 2025
Monday, May 19, 2025
Monday, June 23, 2025

Comprehension, Close Reading, and Complex Text: Laying the Foundation K-2*
2025-03-25 08:00 - 17:00
*This session is part three of multi-day series that requires participants to attend all sessions to receive credit.
Learn more

Special Education Liaison Meeting
2025-03-26 08:30 - 12:00 | https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2IzMWFiYzMtMWY2MS00YmNkLWFhMzctNjcwMjhkYWNlMzNl%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
March’s Special Education Liaison Meeting is Virtual Only.
Link to Online Meeting can be found below.

TCCAC Meeting Series The Resources Around YOUth: What, Why, Who & When to Use Them
2025-03-26 08:30 - 14:30
Pennsylvania’s transition community has a rich history of helping youth and young adults successfully transition from school to adult life. Since 1990, PA’s Local Transition Coordinating Councils (LTCCs) have played an instrumental role in this process.

With cross vested partner representation, the TCCAC will host 4 meetings during the 2024-2025 school year. The meeting series will be conducted as a full day, in-person experience to afford attendees time for professional development, networking, coordination, and resource development. Each session is designed to educate transition coordinators, educational professionals, parents, and agency providers to better coordinate, collaborate, problem solve, and support transition age youth with disabilities successfully navigate their pathway toward graduation.

Please consider attending each council meeting to expand your professional network, enhance your knowledge and expertise, gather meaningful tools and resources, while learning about upcoming events to develop your professional or community network.

Teachers + Pre-Service Teachers Learning Together: EdTech Gadgets
2025-03-26 09:40 - 12:15 | Point Park University, 201 Wood Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Experience the excitement of learning educational technology side-by-side with future educators

Description
Learn how to use STEAM-related gadgets, such as Spheros and MakeyMakeys, in any content area alongside Point Park University undergraduate students during their educational technology class.
As you explore new technologies together, the partnership of current teacher and preservice teacher will make for a rich experience for all.

Background | “Who you are is how you lead—that’s the guiding mantra of Point Park University’s School of Education…Through professional networks, we provide students with local, regional, and global opportunities to design, facilitate, implement, and assess learning in innovative ways.”
“EDUC 101 introduces pre-service teachers and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds to the intentional integration of technology into lesson planning.”

What to Bring | A laptop or tablet, if possible

Who Should Attend | K-12 school-based teachers interested in learning to use and apply STEAM-related gadgets, such as Spheros and MakeyMakey, in their content area. Participants should also be excited for the opportunity to learn side-by-side with undergraduate students. You do NOT need to be a STEAM teacher to attend; you only need to have an interest in learning about these concepts to apply in any content area.

Special Location | Point Park University 716 Academic Hall at Point Park University, 201 Wood Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222
Garage parking is recommended; directions will be provided to registrants prior to the event.

Special Education Liaisons-New Directors Meeting
2025-03-26 13:30 - 15:30 | https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZmMzNGMzMWUtNzcyYS00OTQwLWFjNGItOWNhODYxYzQ0YjZj%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.

Tech in World Language: Teacher Convening
2025-03-27 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
A unique opportunity for world language teachers to learn about tech tools and connect with one another

Description
Join us for this day of connecting and learning together.
A portion of this day will be dedicated to exploring tech tools that can enhance instruction in the world language classroom.
The other portion of the day will be dedicated to learning through connecting with each other in meaningful ways and building community among world language teachers in the region who are interested in educational technology and innovative teaching practices.
Note: Content in this session will largely be different from content that was shared in the “Tech in the World Language Classroom” workshop in spring of 2024. We hope you will join us for this exciting opportunity!

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

LETRS VOLUME 2 COHORT
2025-03-27 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

Lunch and Learn: aimswebPlus
2025-03-28 11:30 - 12:30
aimswebPlus is a tool for teachers and educational teams in MTSS/RTI and special education contexts. aimswebPlus offers nationally-normed, skills-based benchmark assessments and progress monitoring integrated into one application across reading and math domains with additional add-on measures across dyslexia and behavior/social-emotional skills. aimswebPlus informs daily instruction and provides growth results to caregivers and district/state audiences in reading and math achievement using curriculum-based assessment and standards-aligned content for students in PreK through Grade 12. Additionally, aimswebPlus links to instructional resources to support growth in reading, writing, and math skills. aimswebPlus uncovers learning gaps quickly, identifies at-risk students, and assesses growth at the individual and group levels.
Audience: Administrators, General Education teachers, Special Education teachers, Interventionists, and Coaches.

Social Media's Ripple Effect: Supporting Students in a Connected World
2025-03-31 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
A team of researchers shares insights on social media’s impact and strategies to help students navigate, report, and reduce harmful content.

Description
o RECOGNIZE how students are being influenced. This workshop aims to help participants identify and decode hateful elements in trending content, including algostrategies, false and misleading information, punchlines, and microaggressions.

o REPORT and/or take appropriate (in)action. Because cognitive skills related to perception, awareness, and empathy are still developing, teens frequently dismiss hate and extremism as an inevitable part of viral participation. This workshop emphasizes teaching students to become active, as opposed to passive, consumers of social media.

o REDUCE exposure to hate and extremism. With the influence and intention of social media algorithms, the concern is that viral trends may be an entry point into a meandering rabbit hole that leads toward more extremist views. This workshop helps participants assist students in reducing this exposure.

Background | We are a multidisciplinary and multiorganizational research team, funded by the Collaboratory Against Hate Research and Action Center in Pittsburgh, PA, studying viral extremism on TikTok to create an educational intervention to raise awareness, mitigate harm, and prevent radicalization especially among young digital native people.
What to Bring | Laptop or tablet, if possible
Who Should Attend | Teachers, Administrators, School Counselors, Library Media Specialists
Lunch will be provided.

Administrator-Focused Science Professional Learning
2025-04-01 08:00 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
This administrator-focused PL offering was specifically designed to help leaders support shifts in science instruction towards PA STEELS

Who: Any and all administrators (district or building) or explicitly defined science leaders (e.g., department head, coach, grade-level lead) are invited to attend
When: April 1, 2025 from 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM and April 2, 2025 from 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Where: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E. Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Price: $350
What: The Principals Learn and Network to Support 3-Dimensional Science Learning (PLANS) is a one-and-a-half day, interactive experience emphasizing Instructional leadership and active support for K-12 teachers at both the building and district level. This pathway is specifically created for instructional leaders interested in knowing more about and figuring out constructive strategies for supporting teachers and students as they make shifts in their teaching and learning towards phenomenon-based, three-dimensional science.
PLANS participants are immersed in actively learning in ways that NGSS , PA STEELS standards, and education research calls for students to learn science in the classroom. Administrators experience firsthand what it feels, looks, and sounds like when K-12 students are figuring out why phenomena happen as well as representing their thinking through modeling and productive classroom talk. Administrators use some of the important tools for making thinking public that teachers and students use in NGSS-designed units. Then, administrators have opportunities to reflect together on what it means for students and teachers to work together as a community —- and how they can support this work themselves.
Throughout the PLANS experience, participants consider the ways in which their school can begin (or continue) to make these shifts. They see examples of students engaged in NGSS-designed learning in classrooms, as well as administrators supporting teachers as they begin to implement the changes called for by NGSS. They explore concrete tools they can use to support teachers (for example, in planning meetings, observations, and debriefs), and they begin to plan how they might use these tools themselves.
The shifts motivated by the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012) and the NGSS (and embraced by PA in the STEELS standards ) are substantial. Yet we know that these shifts are possible for teachers to make. We also know that the shifts are productive for student learning, and they must be supported through pedagogy and classroom culture. Instructional leadership and active support at the building and district level is an important part of a successful outcome for teachers of science and for their students!
Tech: Please bring a laptop and/or tablet to access online resources.

Follow-up for the Administrator-focused Science Professional Learning
2025-04-02 12:45 - 15:45 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
This professional learning offering is a follow-up half-day to assist administrators with supporting science teachers’ STEELS implementation

Who: Any and all administrators (district or building) who have previously attended the Administrator-focused Science Professional Learning
When: April 2, 2025 from 12:45 – 3:45 PM
Where: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E. Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Price: Free
What: You’ve previously attended the Administrator-focused Science Professional Learning offered by the Math & Science Collaborative (AIU MSC). Are your teachers starting to make some of the needed shifts in their science classrooms? If so, you might want some follow-up to what you learned. We are offering a three-hour session to share some “look fors” in K-12 science classrooms. These can be used during walk-throughs or informal observations. We’ll also share information about other tools for observing/coaching science instruction.
Tech: Please bring a laptop and/or tablet to access online resources.

Alternatives to Flip(grid) (Virtual)
2025-04-02 13:00 - 13:45
Flip, formerly Flipgrid, has become trickier for Google for Edu schools to access. What are some alternatives?

Description
Flip, formerly Flipgrid, is a powerful tool to capture student voice and visible thinking and build community through asynchronous video “conversations.”
This school year, Flip has become trickier for Google for Edu schools to access. Join us virtually to learn about some alternatives that will allow you to meet similar objectives with your students.
*A Zoom link will be shared with participants prior to the session.

Background | In the 2024-2025 school year, Microsoft’s Flip has become more cumbersome for non-Microsoft schools to use.

Who Should Attend | Teachers K-12

Workshop: Facilitating a Tabletop Exercise
2025-04-04 09:00 - 12:00
AIU Central Office
Safety and Security

RAC Reading Specialists' Network
2025-04-04 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

Lunch and Learn: Renaissance Solutions
2025-04-04 11:30 - 12:30
Renaissance will provide information regarding their connected ecosystem that encompasses a variety of integrated solutions to help teachers analyze data and design instructional response that is measurable. MTSS platforms and progress monitoring tools to help schools measure achievement and growth will be included.
Audience: Administrators, General Education teachers, Special Education teachers, Interventionists, and Coaches.

Build | Fly | Code: An Introduction to Drones and Block Coding
2025-04-07 08:30 - 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Fly & Code! Join our workshop to build drones, learn flight basics, and dive into block coding for exciting aerial adventures.

Description
Introduce your students to exciting new opportunities in flight and coding! This hands-on workshop will begin with the assembly of a Parrot Mambo or Hopper drone. Once assembled, participants will learn basic flight terminology and safety before using their own Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet to fly the drone. The remainder of the day will focus on an introduction to block coding to plan and execute a series of flights.

Skill Level | Beginner (No previous knowledge expected or needed)

What to Bring | Participants will need to bring a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet to fly the Parrot Mambo.
Please install the free Parrot FreeFlight Mini app prior to attending the workshop. The app is available on the App Store using the links below:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/freeflight-mini/id1137022728

Participants will also need to bring a Bluetooth-enabled Android, Chrome OS, Mac, or Windows device to code in the Google Chrome browser at https://www.ftwcode.com/. The coding software does not run on iOS devices or on other browsers at this time.

Who Should Attend | General and special education teachers, assistive technology specialists, occupational therapists, and STEAM-enthused teachers interested in expanding maker and STEAM opportunities.

Lunch will be provided.

Planning Strategically for Professional Learning around Science Standards
2025-04-07 08:30 - 2025-04-08 15:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, USA, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Planning for Professional Learning around Science Standards: Strategically Building Capacity for Sustained Practice

Who: A district team of three to six science leaders including at least one administrator
When: April 7-8, 2025
Where: Allegheny Intermediate Unit; 475 E. Waterfront Dr., Homestead, PA 15120
Price: $1200 per district team of three to six participants
Food: Lunch will be provided!
Tech: Please bring a laptop or tablet
What:

This two-day professional learning opportunity is for District and/or LEA teams.
Teams of three to six science leaders are invited to attend this professional learning opportunity aimed at planning for science professional learning in your district to support shifts towards phenomenon-based, three-dimensional science teaching and learning.
Teams will leverage their collective previous immersive experiences in phenomenon-based, three-dimensional science to design a professional learning plan specific to the needs of teachers in their district.
Teams must include at least one administrator. Remaining team members should be either explicit or implicit science education leaders.

Important Prerequisites:

At least one administrator on your team needs to have attended the Administrator-Focused Science Professional Learning offered at the AIU.
All other team members need to have previously attended either: Digging into phenomenon-based, three-dimensional science learning OR one of the three-day Science Institutes for K-12 Educators (e.g., Elementary Science, K-2 STEM, Grades 3-5 Science, Secondary Science, Life Sciences for Secondary Teachers, Physical Sciences for Secondary Educators) OR Framework Book Study.

Please adhere to these prerequisite requirements for attendance.

Site Protection Through Observational Techniques
2025-04-08 08:00 - 16:00
