Program Features:

• Based upon the student’s strengths, needs, and goals, an appropriate service delivery model (group, individual, integrated and/or consultation) is determined.
• The Physical Therapist consults with parents and teachers relative to the student’s progress.  The form of this communication may be progress reports, telephone calls, or written reports.

PIL (ACT 45) Programs
Kendall Glouner, Director, kglouner@mciu.org
610-755-9311
MCIU hosts a variety of PDE sponsored PIL programs for administrators required to earn PIL credits under ACT legislation. In addition, MCIU develops PIL programs to meet the needs of county leaders.

Program Review/Evaluation Process
Kendall Glouner, Director, kglouner@mciu.org
Bonnie Neiman, Secretary
610-755-9312
The MCIU Program Evaluation Process is designed to assess the quality and effectiveness of curricular programs, and generate information to assist with decision making regarding continuous improvement of those programs.

Project Management Services
Gail Kennedy, Director of TIS, gkennedy@mciu.org
Jackie Krail, Secretary
610-755-9352
For those technology initiatives that require more in-depth planning, control, and execution, we offer project management services. Utilizing the latest project management methodologies, tools, and techniques, we can help complete your project on time, within budget, and exceed your stakeholder expectations. The cost for this service will be quoted, based on the specific requirements of the project.  Initial consultations are provided free of charge.

Psychological Evaluations for Students with Hearing Impairments
Dr. Joan Evans, Program Supervisor, jevans@mciu.org
Colleen Connor, Secretary
610-755-9416
Students with hearing impairment, whether they communicate orally or use sign language, have specialized needs which may impact on social/emotional, cognitive, communication, and academic performance.  Psychological evaluations are available from MCIU, which are conducted by a certified school psychologist who has experience with hearing impaired students and can communicate using sign language.

Psychological Services
Dr. Lois Robinson, Director of Special Education, lrobinson@mciu.org 
Debbie Conaway, Secretary
610-755-9443
The psychologists at the MCIU provide psycho-educational assessments to preschool and school age children. In addition, there is a full time psychologist who consults to the autism program.

School psychologist services are provided to assist school districts with the following activities:

• Psychological evaluation/reevaluation
• IEP team participation
• Teacher consultation (family needs, mental health issues, etc.)
• Parent conferencing & consultation (evaluation interpretation, etc.)
• Psychological report generation and preparation
• In-service and staff development activities created for specific needs
• Expertise and knowledge of a wide range of diagnostic test materials

• Media Relations 101
• Branding Your School District
• Developing a Dynamic  Website
• Enhancing Parent Communication

The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit transportation is a contracted operation.  There are four school bus contractors who meet specifications and have entered into an agreement with MCIU for the school service year. A student’s IEP and/or physician’s protocol guide the development of service to provide adequate and appropriate transportation for each student the Intermediate Unit serves.  Every effort is made to place all students to each school on the same vehicle; however, the length of travel time requires the use of more than one route in most cases.

Students have four core subjects and two electives in their academic day.  Each student also participates in a Social Skills class, which offers reinforcement opportunities for appropriate behavior and further instruction where needed. The outstanding counseling staff of The Anderson School provides group counseling for each student thirty minutes per day with extra individual support as needed.

Program Features:

• Curriculum aligned with Pennsylvania State Standards. Teachers use instructional frameworks and strategies designed for all students to make meaningful progress within the general education curriculum.
• Enrollment opportunities at area vocational technical schools.
• Research-based curriculum for counseling and therapy that include bully prevention, aggression replacement training, and drug and alcohol counseling.
• The Anderson Behavior Support system, a long-stranding program for monitoring pro-social behaviors and helping correct disruptive behaviors through positive reinforcement opportunities.
• Physical Education, Health Education.

Supportive services included:

• Behavior Management Specialist
• Psychological support
• Psychiatric support
• Social Work Services

Auxiliary Support Services in a nonpublic high school consists of study skill support or mathematics support. Students are usually rostered by the individual high school or free to attend a class during his/her study hall period.  Reading support classes are held in small groups where a reading specialist offers study skills and specific academic content support needed by the individual student in order for the student to be more successful in his/her regular classes.  Mathematics support classes are also held in small group where a certified mathematics specialist offers specific mathematics content support (algebra, geometry, etc.) needed by the individual student in order for the student to be more successful in his/her regular mathematics classes.

Remediation Math and Reading Services
Dr. Mary Rita Cleary, Supervisor, mcleary@mciu.org,
610-755-9466
Mrs. Nancy Myers, Supervisor, nmyers@mciu.org
610-755-9325
Carolyn Bergman, Secretary
610-755-9322
Math and reading remediation services are provided to eligible nonpublic students by certified remediation specialists.

• Managed Home Access - provides school districts with capabilities that surpass those offered by streaming services
• Destiny Integration - Purchasing Safari Montage MARC records will allow Destiny Library Manager users to search for Safari Montage titles, which are fully integrated in the serach results.
• Creation Station - Safari Montage Creation Station is an easy-to-use software tool that aloows schools and districts to add, share, and manage user-friendly video content and licensed programming on their network to the Safari Montage system.

The MCIU coordinates a School Based ACCESS users group for all ACCESS Coordinators in Montgomery County.  The group meets quarterly for training and discussion of program related topics.

In addition, the MCIU is available to provide consultative services to schools on process related items.

Processing of ACCESS Forms: This service provides clerical support to school districts that have Medical Assistance (MA) eligible students who are receiving ACCESS billable services.

The MCIU #23 via the interschool delivery van service will:

• Obtain your school district’s MA billing IEPs and forms
• Communicate with your staff to obtain completed forms
• Maintain an auditable student file, with all appropriate ACCESS paperwork
• Submit billing claims to Leader Services via the WebSDS system
• Provide trainings for your staff, as necessary

Physician Sign-Offs: One of the requirements of the ACCESS program is that a physician must review and sign-off on each IEP, prior to commencing billing to ACCESS.  The MCIU #23 can provide the physician review/sign-offs for your school district’s students.

The MCIU #23 via the interschool delivery van service will:

• Obtain your school district’s IEPs and Medical Authorization forms
• Obtain the physician review/sign-off
• Return your school district’s IEP and Medical Authorization forms

Services provided by the School Safety Office include:

• Safety plan/Documentation preparation
• School Safety training programs for both students and staff
• Coordinated response services in case of emergency

In House Transition Services Developer/Trainer:
A transition teacher available to your school district 3 half days/week to perform the following functions:

• Coordinate site development within your school settings
• Instruct school district personnel on interacting and working with special needs students
• Provide supervised work exploration experience within your school based sites, i.e. cafeteria, library, mailroom
• Teach employability skills and specific task skills involved with work exploration site
• Assess students in the development of aptitudes, strengths, and needs
• Provide summary of performance within work exploration sites
• Eliminate need to transport students to work sites outside the regular school setting                             

• Set up a series of situational assessments
• Collect data to provide a work performance assessment
• Identify strengths and needs of the students
• Provide strategies directly to the classroom teachers to remediate needs

Travel Training:
In many instances, in order for a student to be competitively employed, he or she must be able to understand and access public transportation.  A transition teacher will work with the student and perform the following functions:

• Short term supervised student training experience in taking public transportation
• Instruction in reading schedules, determining stops, etc.

Work Training:
This program offers short-term employment training with the assistance of a job coach and job site mentor.  Students participate in intensive training in an area of interest and aptitude, leading to unassisted, competitive employment.

Work Exploration:
This program offers short-term exploration experiences to students in a variety of situations.  These experiences are designed to provide to the student, real life work demands in an actual employment setting with intensive job coach support. 

Work Experience (Work Study):
This program offers intensive support towards the final steps of full competitive employment.  Students receive ongoing support to strengthen employability skills. 

Adult Training Facility Placements:
This program is designed for students who may be in need of a supportive experience rather than competitive employment.  Placements occur in operating sheltered placements where students are paid according to production rate and type of work. 

The processing fee includes:

• Observation of student
• Initial visitation with parent and student
• Communication with sheltered workshop staff
• Site visitations
• Attendance at IEP meetings

Social Stories Groups
Christopher Stultz, Program Supervisor, cstultz@mciu.org
Erin Fortune, Secretary
610-635-2400
Social stories groups are conducted by a licensed social worker or certified teacher to plan and lead weekly or monthly social story groups for students in need of social skills and/or behavioral instruction.  Common topics include: When I Feel Angry, How to Make Friends, Being a Good Sport, and many others.  New social stories can be designed to meet the unique needs of school districts and its students.  Social stories can be effectively used with students with Autism, Emotional Disturbance, Mental Retardation, as well as with general education students.  Number of social story sessions will be determined by request of the school district. 

Social Stories Groups Summer Program
Maria DeLuca, Assistant Director of Special Education, mdeluca@mciu.org
Colleen Connor, Secretary
610-755-9449
Social stories groups are designed to provide students in need of social skills and/or behavioral instruction with awareness and practice in social interactions, self-esteem, self-care, personal safety, appropriate behavior, and friendships.  Licensed social workers or certified teachers will lead weekly groups over a period of five weeks.  Common topics include: When I Feel Angry, How to Make Friends, Being a Good Sport, and many others.  New social stories can be designed to meet the unique needs of school districts and its students.  Social stories can be effectively used with students with Autism, Emotional Disturbance, Mental Retardation, as well as with general education students.  The group sessions will be conducted at The Anderson School or on site per district request. 

Training is provided free via train-the-trainer model as well as access to fully automated online training.

Speech and Language Support Itinerant Services
Robin Boehning, Program Supervisor, rboehning@mciu.org
Sarah Nestor, Secretary
610-755-9422
This program is designed to provide speech/language services to develop communication skills necessary for a student’s success in school, at home, and in the community. Evaluations and/or assessments are conducted on all students identified.  The Speech/Language Pathologist provides input for the Evaluation Report (ER) and develops appropriate goals and objectives as part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team addressing curriculum as well as the student’s learning needs.

Program Features:

• Based upon the student’s strengths, needs, and goals, an appropriate service delivery model (group, individual, and/or consultation) is determined.
• The Speech/Language Pathologist consults with parents and teachers relative to the student’s progress and assistive technology needs.  The form of this communication may be progress reports, telephone calls, or written reports.

Speech-Language Evaluations
Robin Boehning, Program Supervisor, rboehning@mciu.org
Sarah Nestor, Secretary
610-755-9422
Speech-language evaluations are comprehensive assessments that address a student’s performance in articulation, language, voice, fluency and pragmatics.  The evaluation outlines the degree of support students need to enhance their ability to communicate in the school setting.  Bilingual evaluations are available in Spanish and English.

Speech-Language Evaluations for Students with Hearing Impairments
Robin Boehning, Program Supervisor, rboehning@mciu.org
Sarah Nestor, Secretary
610-755-9422
Students with hearing impairment, whether they communicate orally or use sign language, may exhibit receptive/expressive language and articulation problems which are directly related to their hearing loss.  Speech-language evaluations are available from MCIU, which are conducted by a certified speech-language pathologist who has experience with hearing impaired students and can communicate using sign language.

Information on the innovative professional development offerings is available in the MCIU Professional Learning catalog and on the MCIU website under On-line Registration Center.

Statistical Reports/Surveys/Analyses
Perry Baer, Coordinator of Business Support & Cooperative Services, pbaer@mciu.org
Cathy Taylor, Secretary
610-755-9342
To assist districts in program planning and analysis, the MCIU coordinates the compilation of several county-wide statistical reports each year.  Current reports are completed for:

• Annual budget information
• Annual Financial Report (AFR) data
• Enrollment Reports
• School Lunch Price Information
• Statistical Study
• Tax Collection costs & tax collector compensation

Student Assistant Program Training
Jean Miksch, SAP Lead Trainer, jmiksch@mciu.org
610-755-9331
Student Assistance training, technical assistance and consultation is provided to public and nonpublic school educators, mental health and/or drug and alcohol SAP service providers, and juvenile probation officers. The Intermediate Unit is a Commonwealth Approved Provider for Student Assistance. There is no charge for eligible Nonpublic schools in Montgomery County.

Camp Ophelia
Camp Ophelia is a week-long day camp experience provided to girls entering 6th, 7th and 8th grades in eligible nonpublic schools in Montgomery County. Certified Camp Ophelia leaders, together with trained high school senior female mentors, provide an arts based curriculum that teaches girls to identify, cope with and overcome relational aggression or “female bullying”.  Sessions are run during the early summer in several locations in Montgomery County.

Jump Start to First Grade
Not all kindergarten graduates are as equally ready to start first grade; therefore, in four sites throughout Montgomery County, a week-long morning camp was designed and is facilitated by reading, math and speech specialists from the MCIU Nonpublic Schools Services Division.  The students are engaged in a variety of hands-on activities and games to reinforce beginning reading and math concepts, specifically, Early Number Concepts, Listening, Speaking, Phonemic Awareness, and Vocabulary Development. 

Social Skills Camp
This week-long morning camp was designed in a collaborative effort by the NPSS speech staff, a counselor and an occupational therapist to provide a program for the young elementary school student who struggles with inter-personal skills.  Students are engaged in a variety of large and small group activities to facilitate development of social communication, group behavior and self-monitoring strategies.  Learning takes place through social stories, literature, art projects, and games in a fun, welcoming, and non-competitive environment.   The program is designed for students entering 1st through 4th grades and takes place in two sites within Montgomery County.

Jump Start to High School
Moving into the world of high school can be a bit daunting, especially when meeting up with students from various communities and backgrounds.  This week-long morning camp provides the incoming 9th graders with the opportunity to have fun as they enhance their academic skills.  Campers participate in a variety of activities to give them the study skills needed for effective writing and research.  Reading, math and speech specialists from the Nonpublic Schools Services Division have developed a program which implements hands-on creative activities and games to reinforce learning skills.  Upperclassmen from the high school serve as mentors to assist the students in acclimating to the high school.

Summer Transition Program
Cheryl Wise, Program Supervisor, cwise@mciu.org
Edwina Fascio, Secretary
610-755-9424
The Summer Transition Program is designed to offer vocational opportunities for students with disabilities in a work setting.  Students will participate in a six week program from 8:30 to 2:30. Students will be given opportunities to enhance their employability skills in clerical, retail, food service and maintenance areas. Students will receive direct job coach support in each setting.

Minimum enrollment: 4 students