Upcoming Events
Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle
DCIU Business Office in partnership with TD Bank. An email with Zoom information will be sent to staff to access the meeting.
April 23 | 3:00PM | via Zoom
April 30 | 3:00PM | via Zoom
Kids Tele-Town Hall
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon will be holding a tele-town hall for kids. The topic will be nutrition and healthy habits.
April 14 | 11:00AM | Dial
833-946-1801 to join
Delaware County Libraries
Delco Libraries will be holding virtual events over the course of April and May including virtual storytimes, Q & A with a Librarian, and more. Visit their
website for more information.
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Governor Wolf recently announced the closure of all schools and educational services for the remainder of the academic year.
DCIU is committed to providing resources and information to staff and families during the coronavirus outbreak. Please continue to check our
website for updates.
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A Message from the Executive Director
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Spotlight: Speech Language Pathology
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In March, DCIU Speech-Language Pathologists Becca Carden and Dana Jolley presented to students in the Graduate Program of Special Education at Cabrini University.
They developed a PowerPoint presentation on what is AAC, types of communication, and low tech and high tech ways to communicate. They also brought with them Core Boards, switches, Go Talks, IPads, Dynovoxs, and other resources to show the students. They shared a powerful video of Gail Van Tatenhove using AAC with a student to report abuse. It was a wonderful experience for two SLPs to provide training to future educators.
The work of SLPs extends beyond the classroom. Hali Sklar, a DCIU SLP, and her husband recently made a generous donation, courtesy of DCIU, to Main Line Health in honor of their deceased daughter Maya. Maya was born still at 35 weeks and in her honor, the Sklar's donated memory boxes and items to families suffering from similar losses at Lankenau Medical Center. The family hope that their donation provides other families the support and comfort needed during such a difficult time.
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A Message from the Executive Director
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Greetings,
I want to thank you all for your professionalism and flexibility as we navigate through these difficult times. DCIU continues to be a source of leadership in the community and I commend our staff for your dedication to supporting our students and families. In a few short weeks we have overcome challenges we never thought we would face. I am both proud and appreciative to work alongside so many individuals committed to providing quality services and education.
Maria Edelberg, Ed.D.
Executive Director, DCIU
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The County Alternative School
TCA had an exciting month with a variety of student and staff activities. On February 7, the PBIS core team was re-established and retrained by the DCIU professional development team. All TCA staff participated in a school wide emergency preparedness drill on February 14 with participation from the State Police, DELCO 911 center and Wilbur Wolf from Aquilla. Three TCA staff won an award from Wilbur.
Students also had a great month with fun-filled activities. Mike Cruice took TCA students on his annual snow tubing trip on February 21 and the TCA boys basketball team made it to the Philadelphia league championship game.
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Marple Celebrates Chinese New Year
Last month, Low Incidence Art Teacher, TC Hagee, and TCA Culinary Arts Teacher, Chef Mike Cruice collaborated to bring the students in the Low Incidence Program a Chinese New Year Celebration.
Students in the Culinary Arts program made a sampling of Chinese cuisine for both staff and students at the Marple Education Center while students from the Low Incidence Program made decorations such as Chinese Lanterns, a Chinese Dragon made out of various students artwork, and other Chinese inspired decorations.
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Dr. Suess Day Celebrated by DCIU Students
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On Monday March 2, 2020, the Multiple Disabilities Support (MDS) classes hosted a celebration in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday complete with guest readers, food, and crafts. Dr. Susan Brousseau read "Oh the Thinks you Can Think!", Dr. Kelly Comly read "Horton Hears a Who" and Dr. Jim Wolf read "The Cat in the Hat" to students in Janine Jones and Shannon Murphy's classes. This program also kicks off the Low Incidence Program's Read Across America month long celebration where each class will create reading chains to calculate the number of books they read throughout the month of March.
Head Start staff and students at Folcroft also got in the spirit of Dr. Suess Week as they dressed up and spent the week reading some of the literary classics. Students wore their favorite colorful socks on the day "Fox in Socks" was read, while teachers dressed in their favorite "Cat in the Hat" attire. Teachers enjoyed celebrating Read Across America Day with books that have become staples for children in homes across the country.
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DCIU Moving to New Pay Schedule
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As a reminder, the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and Delaware County Technical Schools will be moving to a 24 pay cycle, beginning July 1, 2020. There will be no changes in total compensation for staff as a result of this move. All salary and benefit calculations will now be made on a 24 pay schedule, rather than 26.
Scheduled pay dates under the 24 pay cycle will be the 15
th
and 30
th
of each month. However, in the event that the 15
th
or 30
th
of a given month falls on a weekend or Monday holiday, the
Friday before
that scheduled pay date will be the day all staff is paid.
As a support for staff in planning for this transition, we have arranged for TD Bank to provide a financial literacy seminar for any staff member interested in attending:
Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle:
A seminar intended for employees interested in learning strategies to pro-actively budget their money and avoid the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
This topic will be presented in two Zoom sessions:
· April 23
rd
at 3:00
· April 30
th
at 3:00
Staff will be provided with information on how to access the workshop in the coming week.
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Hi-Q Championship
Congrats to Garnet Valley High School for winning the Delco Hi-Q championship! Celebrating its 72nd year, Hi-Q is an academic competition facilitated by DCIU and Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. Radnor High School came in second place followed by Haverford High School in third place. Great job to all of the students who competed.
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Early Intervention Survey OPEN!
Early Intervention staff are encouraging families with students in EI programs to complete the Family Survey so that we may better our programs! It is important to have your voice heard and we make improvements based on our families needs. You can find the survey
here. There is also a Spanish version of the survey available
here.
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2020 Census: Make a Difference!
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The 2020 Census is underway and reaching families in Delaware County to complete the Census is an important part of ensuring the success of our schools going into the next decade. The Delco Complete Counts Committee is dedicated to reaching each and every individual in Delaware County.
Make sure to do your part and complete the census! You can find more information at
www.delcopa.gov.
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STARS: Celebrate your colleagues and nominate a STAR!
The Sharing Talent and Recognizing Service (STARS) program is an opportunity for DCIU to staff to celebrate the incredible work we do each day. If someone you know has actively participated in the work of DCIU in a way that stands out, or if the individual’s work has contributed toward a positive organization or to those we serve, or if that person has shown leadership, responsibility, creativity and a positive attitude, or if he/she works well with others and continually upholds the mission and values of DCIU, then please nominate that individual for STARS recognition.
You can find the STARS nomination form
HERE!
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We encourage you to send staff celebrations, events, and program highlights to feature in future issues. If you have content that you would like featured in the DCIU Update newsletter, please email Theresa Marsden at tmarsden@dciu.org
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