Embedded Files
Ron Gallagher
PVAAS - February 20th 9:15 to 9:45 the PVAAS team will join our Principal Job Alike meeting
IU1 Curriculum Department
Save the Date
AI Resources
FRCPP/Comp Plan
Educator Effectiveness Report - Due Feb. 28th
Bus Evacuation Report- Due April 10th
Schoolwide plans (CSI,ATSI,TSI, and Title 1) and Comp Plan (Phase 1) applications will open up on Feb 13th.
FRCPP OFFICE HOURS:
Beginning February 5th, open office hours for FRCPP support will be held from 2:30 - 3:30 pm on the 1st Wednesday of each month via Teams.
To join a session, click here. (No registration required.)
FRCPP Plan Approval and Signature Requirements
Online Testing
TEI's will only be field questions for this year.
Grade 5,8 Science assessment scores accountability has been waived. Participation is still at the 95% threshold.
Default for test setup was set at ONLINE. Not required this year.
Students NEED time to practice the problems ahead of time. Teachers have the ability to jump to any question to model or have students practice.
IU 1 In-Person Training Sessions: Thur 2/27 at Laurel Highlands HS and Wed 3/5 at IU 1 McMurray (links to register)
PDE Online Training Sessions: PSSA Mathematics and Keystone Algebra Online Tools Training Sessions (link to register)
PA DESMOS Calculator - practice
Fusion Updates
CyberSecurity Cert
PVAAS
PIMS Staff Student Subtest Submission: March 3, 2025
Roster Verification SY24-25: Can you believe it’s time to start talking about it?
Important Dates:
Preview: Thursday April 17, 2025 - Wednesday April 30, 2025
Teacher Verification: Thursday May 1, 2025 - Wednesday May 14, 2025
School Verification: Thursday May 15,2025 - Wednesday May 28, 2025
LEA Verification: Thursday, May 29, 2025 - Friday June 20, 2025Staff Student Subtest Template Details report through PIMS that your districts admin can run to see students in and out movement.
If you need support with roster verification, please reach out to us.
Roster Verification: RA-DDQDataCollection@pa.gov
Ready, Set, Roster: Friday, April 11 @ 9:00am or Tuesday, April 15 @ 1:00pm
CDTs
Change in Date Ranges
There is no more auto-fill when putting in date range for CDTs. Teachers will have to manually fill in date ranges windows to pull test data.
Tip: Put a Start date a few days before the CDTs were given and put an End date a few days after the CDTs were given. Do not just put the Start and End date the actual day kids took that round of CDTs.
Student Centered Learning (SCL)
Student-centered learning is an educational philosophy that designs equitable and meaningful learning experiences tailored to students' unique needs and promotes ownership in their learning. The PA Student Centered Learning Network is a statewide cohort that organizes events where educators state can share innovative practices in student centered learning. In addition to the opportunity to visit Cornell, other site visits through the PA-Student Centered Learning are occurring across the state, which can be found here:
Next Quarterly Virtual Networking Event is on Thursday March 6th from 9-11, Zoom link found here
Statewide PA Student Centered Learning Site Visit Opportunities
PA Firefly Resources
Firefly Scores
Students are given an overall score as well as a score for each category. Based on the score, students receive classifications of Support Needed, Near Target, or Prepared for their overall school as well as each category.
Categories are aligned with the Reporting Categories for the PSSA/Keystone exam students they are taking in that grade level.
Firefly Reports
Firefly offers individual two types of reports currently: Individual Results and Batch Downloads
Individual Results are similar to what you would see in CDT. There are columns with name, school session, categories, scores, etc. which can be filtered based on need.
Batch Downloads allows you to access scores to a group of students and print them, if needed.
Up and running till April 18th (Over 120,000 users)
Math
IU1 Math Specialists have developed an Interactive Newsletter to keep you up to date on trainings and events!
Spot It Math: Mastering addition and subtraction in grades K-2 with guest speaker Pat Peffley
Mastering basic addition and subtraction facts is a must for primary grades, but if you've ever watched students count out an entire page of addition facts, using their fingers for every problem, even counting out the same fact twice in a row without realizing it was the same, you're not alone! There IS a better way! Join us for a day of discussing how students can master and retain basic facts through pattern recognition, mathematical modeling, and engaging play-based learning. You'll walk away with no prep instructional routines and strategies as well as sky high confidence that this will be your best year yet!
When: Monday, March 31st from 9-2
Where: IU1 Redstone Campus 6353 National Pike Road, Grindstone, PA 15442
Registration can be found here
Career Readiness--Elizabeth Meerdo
Pittsburgh Technology Council--STEM Summit: Forge the Future will take you straight into the heart of the advanced manufacturing industry! Experience the cutting-edge technology and innovation shaping tomorrow’s workforce in the Pittsburgh region.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
TIME: 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
WHERE: Kickoff and Hands-On Experiences: Digital Foundry at Penn State, New Kensington 855 5th Ave, New Kensington, PA 15068 Followed by Behind-the-Scenes Industry Tours
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Students in grades 8–12 with a curiosity for innovation! This is your opportunity to explore the tools, technologies, and skills that are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry.
COST:
Students (Grades 8–12): $25
Adult Chaperones (with student groups): Free
Individual Adult Attendees: $25
Here’s what students will experience:
Exclusive Industry Access: Go behind the scenes with guided tours of advanced manufacturing facilities, where the future is being forged.
Inspiring Keynote: Hear from an industry leader about the incredible possibilities within advanced manufacturing.
Interactive Exhibits: Explore how the Digital Foundry at Penn State New Kensington is pushing boundaries and creating pathways to careers that shape the future.
This immersive experience will connect your unique talents, interests, and passions to career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. Learn how the combination of robotics, automation, and innovation is transforming industries, and how you can be part of it.
Unlock the secrets of advanced manufacturing and be inspired to build the future! Register today to secure your spot and get ready for an unforgettable experience.
To register: 2025 STEM Summit: Forge the Future
Experience the forefront of innovation in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Technology Council's 2025 STEM Summit! This event highlights the wide range of dynamic and evolving STEM careers shaping the future workforce in the Pittsburgh Region.
WHEN: Friday, April 4, 2025 From 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM
WHERE: Kick off and Experiences: CCAC Center for Education, Innovation, and Training |808 Ridge Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (and then multiple tour stops)
Cost:
• Students--Grades 8-12: $25
• Adult chaperones (must register with student group): Free
• Adult Attendees: $25
We welcome students in grades 8–12 to connect with leaders from the innovation sector. Participants will have the opportunity to explore hands-on learning experiences at CCAC and then embark on industry tours to delve deeper into the STEM sector. The STEM Summit will also include a keynote address and exhibit booths presented by various organizations.
The interactive experience of the STEM Summit will highlight how an individual’s strengths, interests, and passions can lead to multiple pathways to jobs in the tech industry! More information provided upon registration.
Chaperone Policy: we require one teacher or adult for every 10 students.
To register: 2025 STEM Summit: Careers in Action
EQT Energize Your Education Scholarship: The EQT Foundation will award up to 15 $10,000 scholarships to graduating high school students looking to pursue a degree in a field utilized by the oil and gas industry, such as computer science or information technology; civil, chemical or petroleum engineering; energy or land management; environmental science; geology; safety science; or welding. Scholarship funds can be used at two or four-year educational institutions.
Eligible students must be a current high school senior with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and live in one of the following counties where EQT Corporation has business operations:
In Pennsylvania: Allegheny, Clinton, Fayette, Greene, Lycoming, Tioga, Washington, and Westmoreland.
Students will be evaluated based on academic history, involvement in extracurricular activities, work experience, and essay response.
Application deadline: March 31, 2025
For More Information on the Scholarship--Application Link
IU1 Career Readiness Activities--Limited spots remain for May! Interested in booking an activity? Contact Elizabeth Meerdo at Elizabeth.Meerdo@iu1.org.
Social Studies-Jordan Lozosky, Curriculum Specialist
Holocaust Workshop Flyer 3 13 25 with Link.pdfThis is a 2 hour workshop held virtually on March 13, 2025 from 9am-11am and participants will receive act 48 hours.
What did the average American know about the Holocaust as
it was occurring and what was the response? This program
uses content from The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken
Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, to examine how the
American people and our leaders responded to one of the
greatest humanitarian disasters of the twentieth century, and
how this catastrophe challenged our identity as a nation of
immigrants and the very ideals of our democracy.
Participants must Register on Frontline via this Link
Also, Must Register for Zoom Session by Clicking Here
Register Now for Pittsburgh National History Day!
📍 Heinz History Center | March 15-16 | 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
It’s time to register your students for Pittsburgh’s National History Day competition at the Heinz History Center on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16.
National History Day (NHD) draws upon a unique historical theme each year and encourages middle school and high school students to research history in exciting and creative ways. This year, participants will explore the theme, “Rights & Responsibilities in History.”
On competition days, students will bring their work to the History Center and present projects in one of five categories: exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances, or historical papers.
Don’t miss out on the chance to make history with your students, click here to register today!
Induction & Gifted Updates-Jordan Lozosky, Curriculum Specialist
District Induction Schedule 2024-25.pdf*Participants must register on the hyperlinks on the flyer via Frontline.
**District Participation Form Linked Here**
More Info Available on Our Website As Well!
*We are currently offering the final induction courses for the 2024-25 school year.
*We are currently offering the final induction courses for the 2024-25 school year.
*the 2025-26 Induction Calendar will be released in June of 2025 for planning purposes!
*the 2025-26 Induction Calendar will be released in June of 2025 for planning purposes!
IU1 2024 Gifted Bootcamp is being held today! (46 registered participants)
Click Here To Register for the Gifted Email Listserv
Regular Ed Teacher Slide Deck (It will force them to make a copy. That way they can make changes to the slides.)
New Information
There will now be GIEP clinics for case managers/gifted teachers 4 times a year (virtually) .
This is an excellent opportunity for them to review the needed components of the GIEP and ask some questions of both of us and their colleagues across the state.
If any of you would like to join for your own learning, the dates for those are below and the attached flyer has sign up links. We ask that teachers only attend one per year, but admin can join any/all as needed.
You can register for them by clicking here.
October 10 @ 9:00am
December 3 @ 9:00am
February 19 @ 9:00am
April 2 @ 9:00am
Additionally...
The PA Gifted Consortium is also leading statewide administrator meetings where district administrators can join us for some learning as well as some Q&A sessions.
You can register for these sessions by clicking here.
Below are the dates:
October 17 from 10:00am-11:30am Virtually
March 13 from 10:00am-11:30am Virtually
Also, A few opportunities have come through lately that we would like to share with you. Please feel free to share with any of your colleagues and teachers:
Strategies for Defusing and Preventing Challenging Behavior - Offered by PaTTAN, this training aims to provide in-the-moment regulation activities an educator can utilize when a student's behavior escalates, as well as long term strategies an educator can use to increase the odds of helping students maintain a regulated state (March 3rd is the training date)
NAGC is coming to Pittsburgh! - The call for proposals is currently open until February 2. Let's show them how awesome Pennsylvania is! (Fall 2025)
ELA
Dave Dunham and Tracey Czajkowski
Comprehensive ELA Curriculum Writing for 2025-26
IU1's ELA curriculum specialists will guide and oversee interested districts in writing a well scaffolded comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades K-12. Each grade will have the following strands that are vertically aligned throughout each document:
Reading Nonfiction
Reading Literature
Writing
Grammar
Speaking and Listening
Foundational Skills for Grade K-5
Each grade level will have five days to complete their comprehensive curriculum. The writing will occur at IU1's Central Office on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the next two years. Grade 7-12 will be completed in 2025-26. Along with the curriculum writing, three days of professional development can be purchased to support the best practices found throughout the curricula to better support the execution of teaching and learning.
If interested, please reach out to Dr. Tracey Czajkowski, tracey.czajkowski@iu1.org or Dave Dunham, david.dunham@iu1.org for further information and/or to ask any questions.
Professional Development May 8th
Teachers and administrators grades K-12, especially 2-12. All subject areas.
Two half day sessions
9-11:30 Grammar Bootcamp
12:30 - 3 Best Practice for Teaching Grammar - Mentor Sentences
Pennsylvania Standards for the Conventions of English are incredibly challenging. Participants will be engaged and learn all of these grammar skills. These standards need to be mastered by teachers to ensure student learning and understanding of grammar. In the afternoon, participants will be introduced the mentor sentences, a best practice for grammar instruction. Please have access to all grammar and reading materials to leave the workshop with mentor sentence to use in the classroom immediately.
Professional Development May 19th
Teacher and administrators grade K-12. All subject areas.
Two half day sessions
9-11:30 Summary writing
12:30-3 Best Practices for Teaching Vocabulary
Summary writing can cover as many as eleven standards, anchors, and eligible content in a very reasonable period of time. Participants will learn the importance of summary writing and three different structures for summary writing. Please bring one piece of text that you are using with your students to create a teacher model for immediate use in your classroom.
Best practice in vocabulary is led by a wide variety of guided meaning interactions with words. Any word can be taught any time to anyone regardless of age and/or cognitive ability if the word is made meaningful to one's life. Participants will leave with multiple guided meaning interactions with vocabulary words to share immediately with their students.
WQED Writers Contest Students grade K to 3 submit original stories and illustrations to encourage literacy, reading, and career exploration through the theme of writing about their future.
Ends March 31st 2025
Science- Alyssa Moore, Curriculum Specialist
Updates for Teachers: The Leaflet- February Newsletter
Farm in the Classroom Competition
Farm in the Classroom Competition
Millersville University received a grant from the PA Department of Agriculture to run the Farm in the Classroom competition for a second year. This competition is for K-12 students. Middle and high school competitors can submit design plans for a hydroponic or aquaponic system. Winners in each of the three levels will receive up to $2000 (depending on level category) to build the system. The winning elementary competitor will receive an aquaponics system from our partner, INTAG Aquaponics (valued at $3,000). Some students and mentors will also be invited to Millersville University for a day to visit/tour our program, hear an expert guest speaker, enjoy lunch, and learn more.
Learn more here!
Registration is open!
Registration is open!
The SW PA Environmental Literacy Network is proud to announce the second annual environmental education summit themed "Learning Without Walls". Our primary goal for the conference is to empower educators of Southwest PA and contiguous West Virginia counties with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration they need to integrate environmental literacy and sustainability and outdoor learning experiences into their curricula and teaching practices. This year’s summit will be held at Waynesburg University on June 10 & 11, 2025.
Remake Learning Updates
Remake Learning Updates
A Resource to Share: Federation of American Scientists: "Tending Tomorrow's Soil: Investing in Learning Ecosystems" by Gregg Behr
Remake Learning Pulse Checks
Remake Learning Pulse Checks are a new, dynamic initiative that brings together network members to address emerging educational topics through a series of focused, time-bound engagements. Each Pulse Check will culminate in a landscape scan, whitepaper, and strategic plan for the network.
Artificial Intelligence
Register here to sign up for the first meeting: March 13, 2025
Outdoor Learning
Register here to sign up for the first meeting: March 4, 2025
The Working Groups
Working Groups powered by Remake Learning bring together network members to explore topics, practices, or issues of shared interest. Together, working group members dive deeply into their focus area to enhance their understanding of the subject, exchange knowledge and experiences with peers, and develop a shared vision for how their focus area can help shape the future of teaching and learning in the greater Pittsburgh region.
Civics Learning Showcase- March 10
The Civic Learning Showcase is an interactive, high-energy experience designed to celebrate and amplify youth-driven civic engagement opportunities across southwestern Pennsylvania.
Remake Learning Days is Celebrating 10 years!
Southwestern PA Festivals run from May 1 to May 23, 2025.
Want to get involved? Here are your first steps:
1. VISIT REMAKELEARNINGDAYS.ORG
Check out the new and improved RLD website!
2. SUBMIT YOUR RLD EVENT
Submit your family-friendly learning event to the website. The event submission process has been updated making it easier for one organization and event host to submit multiple RLD events.
3. APPLY FOR AN EVENT HOST AWARD BY TODAY (February 21, 2025)
Once you have submitted your RLD event to the website, apply for a $150, $250, or $500 event host award to support your event.
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