Shows
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS4E1 Chatting with our Annie Sullivan Award Winner, MDSB Teacher Heather SzokeWelcome to a new season of the Helping Children Learn Podcast! We start off with our Annie Sullivan Award Winner from the 2024-2025 school year, MDSB teacher Heather Szoke!We sit down with her and talk about the moment she won the award at our Opening Day ceremony, what drives her to be an awesome teacher, and how the IU shaped her future in special education from the very start of her career!This podcast can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more! Just type in the search bar “He...
2025-10-0815 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E8 Caring for CaregiversWorking in special education, or any education for that matter, is exhausting. It's rewarding work, of course, but some days you leave your classroom feeling like you gave it everything you had. Over time, this can lead to burnout if you don't take care or yourself. On this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we talk about Caring for Caregivers. We go over wellness, self-care, and overall preservation of your mind, body and spirit. We even held a professional development session about it for our people! This podcast can be streamed on Apple Podcasts...
2025-05-0627 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E7 Sensory Strategies for Taking Children Out in PublicNow that the weather is getting warmer, we are going to start taking our family and our children out more often! But parents of special needs children know it's not always that easy. Children with sensory perception issues can have a difficult time in places most people find routine; grocery stores, birthday parties, etc.In the April episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we sit down with two of our Occupational Therapists to talk strategy! This episode is all about helping parents better prepare their special needs children to stay calm and have a positive sensory...
2025-04-0123 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E6 Transitioning Our Children to KindergartenWhen a student starts their K-12 education all the way from the beginning, it's a huge step for that child and their family. For IU21 early intervention students, we give them a helping hand when they leave one of our Early Learning Centers to move on to five days a week at a district's elementary school. In this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we talk to our Transition to Kindergarten team, Kristen Onder and Katie Titano, about what they do to make sure it's a warm handoff from IU to school district. We talk about...
2025-03-0419 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E5 The Intricacies of IU21's Transportation DepartmentIn this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we dive into the world of our Transportation Department! We learn that intermediate unit transportation is not as easy as it looks. There's lots of hard work that goes into the pickup and drop-off of our special needs students every single day.So what does that look like? Each bussing route is customized and designed for that specific day, and that plan will likely change for the next day. We sit in with our Transportation Director and our Transportation Manager/Safety Coordinator to talk about what makes IU...
2025-02-0418 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E4 The Work Life of an Itinerant TeacherThe life of an itinerant teacher is not typical in the world of education. Where most people stay in one classroom or one building, these people travel from school to school to educate children across their region. In this episode of the HCL Podcast, we talk to two itinerant teachers in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program about the challenges, the benefits, and expectations of their position.This podcast can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more! Just type in the search bar “Helping Children Learn” and you will find it...
2024-12-0220 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E3 Introducing the Whitehall-Coplay Early Learning CenterOn this episode of CLIU21's Helping Children Learn Podcast, we are talking about a major investment into Early Intervention which is our youngest learners, ages three to five, in special education. CLIU21 and the Whitehall-Coplay School District have worked hard to turn the old Gockley Elementary into what is now called the Whitehall-Coplay Early Learning Center. Bringing together 11 different classrooms from across other buildings in Lehigh County, they are now under one roof. Listen in as we talk about this major program with Rebecca DeFeo, the CLIU supervisor in charge of the transition, as well as...
2024-11-1120 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E2 Meet Our Other Annie Sullivan Award Winner Olga StepanovaIn this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we interview our other Annie Sullivan Award Winner. Olga Stepanova is a behavioral health consultant. She helps students develop skills to behave appropriately in school and home settings while she also works with families. Joined by her colleague Joyce, we talk about Olga winning the employee of the year award, what it takes to do this work, and what drives them to keep doing this amazing work. This podcast can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more! Just...
2024-10-0127 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS3E1 Meet Our Annie Sullivan Award Winner Margarita RiveraWelcome to the third season of the Helping Children Learn Podcast! We start off by introducing you to one of our employees of the year. From the Carbon County Early Learning Center, Margarita Rivera (better known as Margie) pours her heart and soul into her students with true love and patience.We sit down with Margie and another teacher from the Early Learning Center, Jen Prosock, to talk about Margarita's recognition as one of CLIU21's best educators for 2023-2024! We talk about Jen and Margie's different teaching styles and how they have more in common than...
2024-09-0320 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E8 No Place For Hate: How Our Schools Are Fighting Bullying and Promoting InclusivityThis is a special episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast. It's the first time we have students on the show! One of CLIU's center-based programs, Carbon Learning Achievement School (better known as CLAS), is now a No Place For Hate school! This is a program from the Anti-Defamation League which gives tools for student-led discussions about bullying, inclusivity and diversity where they encourage each other to make their school a better place to learn. Our kids on this episode were strong enough to be vulnerable about their experiences and why this program has already helped them become better...
2024-05-0719 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E7 Assistive Technology: How We Use Technology to Unlock a Child's PotentialTEAR DOWN THIS WALL: Sometimes a barrier to a child's ability to learn or communicate can be taken down with just one tool or device that can change their life. In this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we have a chat with our two consultants from the Assistive Technology Department. We discuss how our students, with all different backgrounds, use all sorts of technology ranging from simple pencil grips to heavily programmed iPads. And we dive into one of the most important days of the year here at IU21 called Toy Adaptation Day.
2024-04-0219 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E6 Behavioral Health: CLIU's Mission to Help Students in a Mental Health CrisisSince the pandemic, student mental health issues have gotten significantly worse. Anxiety, depression and suicide among kids has risen so fast, mental and behavioral health professionals are working tirelessly to work this problem from new angles. On this episode of the HCL Podcast, we speak with the supervisor of CLIU's Behavioral Health program Jason Savenelli as well as outpatient case worker Colleen Schenkenberger. We go over the state of student mental health and what's being done to combat the issue.This podcast can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music, and...
2024-03-0524 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E5 Understanding the Challenges of our Deaf and Hard of Hearing StudentsFor February’s HCL Podcast, we are highlighting our Deaf and Hard of Hearing program! Our DHH educators are working every day to help their students thrive in the real world. We sit down with two teachers who come from different ends of a child’s journey. Teresa Gladfelter is at Schnecksville Elementary and Christine Bloch is at Parkland High School. We talk about the struggles all DHH children face despite their age, common misconceptions with hearing devices, the importance of inclusion, and we always talk about some of our teachers’ favorite classroom successes.This podcast can be str...
2024-02-0626 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E4 Teaching Our Youngest Learners Through Early InterventionCLIU21 helps special needs students of all ages, but we try to start our journey with a child when they are 3, 4, or 5 years of age. Our Early Intervention program aims to get a child in the program best suited for their needs with the goal of getting them ready for a traditional classroom.Join us as we speak with Dr. Cathy Nelson (Early Intervention supervisor) and Amber Snyder (Early Intervention social worker). We'll be diving into a larger conversation about breaking the ice with parents and great stories of student success. #helpingchildrenlearn #podcast #specialeducation #earlyintervention #closedcaption
2023-12-0522 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E3 CLIU's Emotional Support Dog in the ClassroomAside from service animals helping people with disabilities, dogs are specially trained to work in professional settings. Police K9 units for drug sniffing, bomb detection, search&rescue. We also think of guard dogs and farm animal herding. We can't forget about therapy dogs! Roaming the halls of hospitals and nursing homes to make people feel better. But what if we applied the traits of an emotional support animal to the hallways of a school for students who needed that exact type of support? That's what we did at CLIU21 when we put a facility dog in our Lehigh Learning...
2023-11-0717 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E2 Esports in Education: How Teachers are Leveraging Video Games in SchoolVideo games have come a long way from the days of the original Atari and Nintendo! Kids today are playing more video games than ever before and that has made esports (competitive video gaming) incredibly popular.We typically think of video games as a distraction from student responsibilities such as studying and homework.But educators are now finding ways to leverage video games in the classroom and school setting. In this episode of the Helping Children Learn Podcast, we speak with CLIU's Michael Heater and Tony Mirabito about the successes they have found after nearly three years...
2023-10-0222 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS2E1 Meet CLIU's Newest Executive Director, Dr. Gregory Koons!Welcome to the rebranded Helping Children Learn Podcast! We're go excited to start a new show with our new executive director, Dr. Gregory Koons! In this episode, get to know him as he takes on the head job at IU21.
2023-09-0517 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS1E3 The Relationship Between IU21 and the Special Needs Childrens FoundationIn this episode of Understanding the IU, we discuss how IU21 works along side, yet independently with the Carbon Lehigh Special Needs Childrens Foundation. The foundation sponsors and funds multiple programs a year for special needs students with the help of IU21 employees who volunteer their time. It's a special partnership enriching the lives of special needs families all over our region.
2023-04-2521 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS1S2 Special Programs and Services OverviewIn February's episode of Understanding the IU, we sit down with our Director of Special Programs and Services Dr. Mark Scott. SPS is a massive umbrella covering over 10 dymanic programs ranging from behavioral health and emotional support to early intervention and MDS.This conversation with Dr. Scott is very broad and is really a general overview of our SPS department. We go over which programs are really taking off, what are some of the positive things we can take from the pandemic of 2020, and how our programs stack up with other surrounding IUs.In future...
2023-02-2735 min
The Helping Children Learn PodcastS1E1 What is an Intermediate Unit?We start our Understanding the IU Podcast with our pilot episode that very broadly explains what an intermediate unit is, and what specifically CLIU21 is. Moderated by our media facilitator Dominic Barone, Executive Director Dr. Elaine Eib and Assistant to the Executive Director Kim Talipan talk about a variety of topics based around Pennsylvania's IU structure.
2023-01-0422 min