Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21
YEAR IN REVIEW 2015-2016
Congratulations Class of 2016 GRADUATES!
CLAS, LLAS, ALAS
Carbon Learning Achievement School, Lehigh Learning Achievement School, Allentown Learning Achievement School
Carbon Career and Technical Institute
MDS-B Program
Summer 2016
CLSNCF 23rd Annual Golf Tournament
Seen here is Dr. Mark Scott with his son at our annual golf tournament! The tournament benefits Carbon Lehigh Special Needs Children's Foundation.
Retirement luncheon honors former employees
Our retirement luncheon was a good place for our long-time employees to catch up with one another and feel appreciated.
Employment Coalition awards local businesses
Lehigh Valley Employment Coalition held a banquet to honor employers who embrace special needs job candidates.
End of the Year Festivities
Deaf/HOH students have fun on the field
Students in our deaf/hard of hearing program participate in their field day at Springfield Elementary. They enjoyed games of kickball, softball, and other activities under the sun!
MDS-F perform opening for field day at Western Salisbury
Western Salisbury MDS-F students performed in front of the school to open their field day. There was music and dancing, and everyone enjoyed being together before splitting up into groups for different activities.
LLAS holds Family Fun Night
Lehigh Learning Achievement School held a Family Fun Night to allow kids and parents alike to spend time together and have some fun. Among other attractions, the dunk tank was for sure the favorite!
Work Based Learning holds annual end-of-year picnic
WBL is famous for their end of the year picnics! The tables turn as the students are the ones being served this time around. Students enjoyed music, basketball, a playground,
Cupcake sales raise money for employee welfare fund
Work based learning students in partnership with Human Resources, joined forces to take cupcake orders and distribute them to employees at our Central Office. These proceeds benefitted the employee welfare fund, which helped to offset costs for our retirement luncheon.
Spring 2016
State legislators visit Troxell Early Intervention classrooms
In an effort to increase state funding for kids who need Early Intervention, we invited them into the classroom to see the good that the program does for them and their families. We would like to thank Pat Browne, Ryan Mackenzie, Michael Dee, Mike Schlossberg, Peter Schweyer and Julie Harhart for taking the time out of their schedules to visit our students and learn more about Early Intervention.
Student Forum visits Union Terrace
Student participants from the Student Forum flooded the halls of Union Terrace and were distributed into classrooms, where they helped younger students learn for a couple of hours.
Middle schoolers compete at Math 24 Challenge
Grades 6 - 8 competed in the Math 24 Challenge! The game is a race against the clock to beat your teammates at a math puzzle resulting in a solution of - you guessed it - 24.
Students vie for 1st place at Academic Competition
From contemporary culture to world history, these students seemed to have all the answers! These smart cookies competed against other school districts in their quest to win first place and proceed to the state level competition.
A day to impress at STEM K'nex
As part of a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) initiative, we hold a K'Nex challenge that is widely loved by students! Here you can see the towering structures engineered by the students themselves. The structures must hold a certain amount of weight to ensure they are structurally sound.
Special Soles 5K raises money for a good cause
Ready, set, go! Special Soles 5K pressed on, even through the nasty forecasts of wind and snow. Proceeds from this event went to benefit the Carbon Lehigh Special Needs Children's Foundation.
Student Forum cleans up Beltzville State Park
Students broke into groups to divide and conquer during their time at Beltzville. Some picked up trash while others helped tear down a fence in the old garden behind the education center. Everyone got their hands dirty!
CLIU holds annual Computer Fair
One-hundred-eighty students grades 2 - 12 competed in the Regional Computer Fair. Categories in the fair included computer fair logo, webpage design, video, and more. The lucky students who place first in each category were able to move on to states, where they would compete against other regional champs. Congratulations to all first place winners; good luck at states!
Kids teach new tools at KTI Day
These kids gave new meaning to "flipped learning" while they shared with educators about how they use multiple tech tools in the classroom.
Winter 2015-2016
Student Forum does Community Service
Student Forum participated in a Creative Volunteer Workshop at Whitehall High School. Each group was assigned a different responsibility; writing letters to past and present United States military members, creating DIY dog toys for Peaceable Kingdom Animal Shelter, and making activity books for hospitalized children.
Carbon Lehigh IU visits Colonial IU for joint Programming Competition
Our Programming Competition, in partnership with IU 20, was a success! Students from the two IU districts used their programming knowledge to compete for a prize. The focus and attention to detail needed for programming is meticulous and challenging. Congratulations to East Penn high school for taking home the gold medal!
CLIU student dance brings smiles
The student dance was a hit this year! There was dancing, snacks, smiles, and more! Students had time to chat with one another, enjoy music, and have fun in our front conference rooms, which conveniently turn into a dance party arena!
CLIU Staff and Board enjoy student performances
Students performed classic Christmas carols for staff at our luncheon, and also at our dinner with the board. One student even read the entire book "The Night Before Christmas" all by himself!
The Signing Santa
Deaf/hard of hearing classes from Parkland visited Lehigh Valley mall, where Santa was able to communicate with them via sign language. These kiddos' eyes lit up when they realized Santa was able to understand them and their Christmas wish list.
L.B. Morris kids visit Maple Shade Nursing Home
Students from L.B. Morris Elementary visited Maple Shade Nursing Home in Nesquehoning to perform a short skit and Christmas Carols for the elderly.
Superintendent of Communications visits deaf classroom
City of Allentown 911 Center Superintendent of Communications visited a Parkland deaf/hard of hearing classroom to talk to them about the new text-to-911 technology. This text-to-911 feature is slowly becoming common-place. This will allow individuals to communicate their emergency with the 911 center without having to place a call.
Representative Heffley visits Carbon County center
PA State Representative Doyle Heffley came to visit our Carbon County Early Intervention center and learn more about our EI program. Executive Director Dr. Eib and Rep. Heffley spoke about the importance of EI education for children and its many benefits. Thank you for coming to visit Rep. Heffley!
Students say "Thank you!" to our board
January was Board Appreciation month! We put together a video that featured classrooms from all of our schools saying "thank you!" to the board for all they do, and being sure that each student has an equal opportunity at quality education.
Staff Development at Tides of Change
Tides of Change is dedicated to professional development for administrative assistants in both our own organization, and local ones. This year, participants learned about professional writing, Microsoft Office, mindfullness, and more!
Administrators visit Coplay EI Center
Director of Special Programs Deb Popson along with Executive Director Dr. Eib visited our Coplay EI Center to interact with students and teachers. It served as a nice break from the office to watch students reading, playing, and eating a snack with their friends! Supervisor Maryalice Grogan spoke with Ms. Popson and Dr. Eib about specifics in the program, and the current funding gap that exists for Early Intervention programs across the state.
Deaf/HOH Task Force goes tubing!
Bundled up and ready to go! Here you can see our deaf/hard of hearing task force smiling for the camera before hitting the slopes at Blue Mountain Ski Resort. This particular group chose to spend their time on the mountain snow tubing.
Student Programs
Tech Wizards Jr. participates in Makerspace
A makerspace is a rotational group space in which any given group of people can experience and experiment with new things, such as tech tools. The great thing about these tech tools is that they can be applied in the classroom to lessons, appealing to learners of multiple kinds. Tech Wizards Jr. got the chance to explore these new tools in a Makerspace coordinated by Curriculum and Instruction.
Student Forum visits Just Born Inc.
Student Forum took the morning to visit Just Born Inc., home of the Peeps! Here they learned about marketing strategies and methods that Just Born uses to sell their products. Split up into groups, they were able to develop their own marketing plans to submit to Just Born's marketing committee!
Math 24 Competition
The 4th and 5th grade students pictured participated in a fast-paced competition where the game "24" is played in groups, and the fastest, most accurate player will take the prize! The three top participants include students from Northern Lehigh, East Penn, and Catasauqua. Congratulations to Alivia, Adam, and Michael! Good luck at states!
Governor's STEM Competition
Congratulations to our winning team from Parkland High School who are going to our state level STEM competition! Their winning idea was that of a cell phone disabling console that would reside in a vehicle and disable the car from functioning if the phone was not in the safety cradle. We appreciate the attention they brought to this important issue. Thanks to Weatherly High School for their participation, and their idea of a safety light located at community bus stops.
Fall 2015
Opening Day 2015 - Adam Blank
Opening Day was fun, dynamic and interesting - but how could it not be with Adam Blank taking the stage? Having gone through services from the time he was a young child at IU #1 near Pittsburgh, Adam spoke about just how much Pennsylvania Intermediate Units mean to so many.
Summer Programs
Boys and Girls Club presented at August and September's board meeting and talked about the rewarding quality of each of the camps, for students and teachers alike.
Teachers Attend Summer Academy
Summer Academy is one way CLIU #21 prepares teachers for the new year. Professional development is an important part of a teacher's role and function. Quality instruction for our teachers means quality instruction for our students.
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Awareness Month
We visited our deaf/hard of hearing classrooms and spent some time with our students. They are doing amazing things in their classrooms! From device assisted learning to tactile and sensory methods of communication, our deaf/hard of hearing classes aim to guarantee that each child's needs are not only met, but surpassed!
Mayor of Jim Thorpe Visits LB Morris Classroom
LB Morris Elementary had a very special visitor! Mike Sofranko, Mayor of Jim Thorpe came to visit and answer questions from this eager class. Our students practiced communication, patience, and paying attention while Mr. Sofranko spoke about his responsibilities during classtime.
Fall Festivities
Multiple classrooms visited pumpkin patches and apple orchards to kick off the fall season! We picked apples at Strawberry Acres and searched for pumpkins at Grim's. We rode hayrides, listened to Johnny Appleseed talk about the history of apples, and enjoyed the cool fall air while there's still no snow in the forecast!
Satori Visits CLIU #21
Satori, a local music ensemble from the Lehigh Valley, came to visit our students and engage them with sight and sound. Deaf and hard of hearing students enjoyed interacting with musicians and exploring their instruments while playing. Students also saw visual interpretations of the music projected on the wall.
Student Forum Volunteers at Shelter
Our Student Forum gathered together at the Sanctuary at Haafsville Animal Shelter for a day of giving and volunteering. Multiple groups divided up and took care of several tasks that needed to be completed at the shelter. Together they weeded the flower beds, walked the dogs, cleaned cages, , stocked supplies, and more!
Unity Day
In an effort to raise awareness about bullying prevention, Unity Day encourages students and teachers to wear orange and focus on positivity and kindness for the day. Students at Carbon Lehigh Achievement School enjoyed the day by making posters with positive messages, spreading orange wherever they could.