The Community Education Newsletter

May 1, 2020 Staff Spotlight: Donna Dencler

Donna has worked for IU13 for almost 18 years. A graduate of Cedar Crest College, Donna has held many positions at IU13, including English as a Second Language teacher, High School Equivalency teacher, Family Literacy teacher, Professional Development Specialist, and Professional Development Consultant for the statewide family literacy program. Her current role is Community Education Supervisor. Donna’s favorite part of working for IU13 is the variety of teaching opportunities and the dedicated and passionate staff. Donna also notes that “IU13 is a great organization to work for – they really have their values, [and] your own values can align with the values of the organization.” Read her full story in our blog.

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Lebanon: A Tribute to Donna

Funny Story Donna is one of the most thoughtful, sensitive, and caring people I know. Over the many years working together, we have shared many laughs and tears! One time, when we got speakers for the smart board, Donna offered to work with me to set them up. We followed the instructions on how to plug everything in correctly and couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, the instructions didn’t tell us to plug them into the outlet!  -Marilyn Lydic

"Donna is the rare leader who has the unusual ability to garner the respect and admiration of those she oversees while maintaining a calm, pleasant, and soft-spoken demeanor." -Deborah Davis "Donna became my supervisor when I transitioned to Community Education in September 2019. Donna is truly the most caring, sincere, compassionate, and genuinely kind supervisor one could ever hope to have. She is uplifting and encouraging, understanding, has a sense of humor, and is a reflection of wisdom and peace. Working for her has been a complete blessing and joy. Even though she wasn’t my supervisor for very long, she has left a lasting impression on my heart. I don’t think she will ever know the depth of how her kindness reaches into the souls of those around her and instills hope. Thank you, Donna, for being a wonderful supervisor and person. I will miss you very much!"  -Keri Martinez "I truly appreciate Donna’s personality. Upon hire, she immediately offered to take me out to lunch so that we could really begin to know each other on a one-on-one level. She is extremely approachable and always open to any and every concern I may have. Despite her many hats, she never appears anxious or stressed out. Donna is what I would call a gentle giant, as I am certain her presence and commitment here will be missed." -Alison Mesquitta

"Donna, you are such a gem! Ever since I first met you, your gentle, but keen and insightful words have helped me to grow and gain confidence. You have such a way with people and a great gift to boost people to be all they can be. I loved hearing your stories on the way to State College, as I scared you with my driving. I can surely tell you, my life has been enriched because I met you and have had the privilege to work with you. I hope and pray that you continue to rub off on me and others, as we will never forget your example and how you do things. You are so appreciated and loved!" -Nora Lubecki "I’ve had the pleasure of working very closely with Donna over the past years with the Family Literacy program. Her gentle yet expert guidance and leadership are remarkable. Donna’s personality and expectations were always positive and optimistic. But, she had realistic expectations. Her dedication to providing the best possible outcomes in all that she does will be greatly missed."  -Laura Binkley

"When I first started at IU13, I couldn’t believe how Donna could do it all. She was a family literacy teacher, an IHPDS and so much more. As I started taking on more responsibilities for my position, I always knew that Donna was someone I could come to with a question or ask for guidance. As we built ILA (Interactive Literacy Activities) family nights, like the one pictured, she always made sure that the fine details were covered and that everyone was set up for success. It has been a joy being able to work with and work for someone who cares so much about the students that she has impacted and the co-workers that she leads. Enjoy your well-earned retirement!" -Amanda Ruth "Donna is one of the most positive and supportive people that I know! She invests much effort and expertise into all of her responsibilities, and she prioritizes her staff and students! I appreciate her personal approach, humor, support, insight, and advice. We will miss her!" -Ken Travis "Although Donna has only been my supervisor for seven months, I have very much enjoyed getting to know her and working with her during this time. She truly cares for all of her staff and makes sure we know that she appreciates us. I will certainly miss her cheerful presence in the building and I wish her much happiness in retirement!" -Rebecca Loewenstein-Harting

The Refugee Center & Community School

Grab and Go Meals Grab and go meals are being distributed every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am-12 noon, and Power Packs are handed out on Thursdays. In addition, remote learning has started for RMS students. While at home, students are being asked to still follow key PBIS (Positive Behavior Implementation System) principals that are listed below.

Appreciating Teachers As a Cultural Navigator, I have had lots of communication with teachers who are doing their very best to reach out to parents and ultimately to their students. There is a demographic of students for whom English is a second or third language. Some of these families do not know how to connect to the internet or turn on an iPad. Teachers are going out of their way to connect with their students. I would like to make a special shout out to one of the teachers who has made home visits to his students to make sure they can get their work done. I am sure other teachers are going over and above the call of duty to make sure that learning is continuing. These teachers are heroes in the community during these unprecedented times. -Loice Byler

Refugee Center and Community School Services Continue   The Refugee Center and Community School’s offices may be physically closed, but the dedicated team continues to work remotely. Staff have gone to great lengths to stay in touch with families, provide information on critical resources, and get students and families connected to at-home learning resources. The Refugee Center and Community School services are essential in this time of uncertainty. Feel free to reach out to Beth Boll at (717)947-1652 or Beth_Boll@iu13.org, if you have any questions about services or know of a family or individual who needs to be connected to the team.

Lancaster

Thank you, LLEF, for the Ladibug! What started as the fulfillment of a grant purchase for face-to-face classroom use has had amazing unintended, never imagined uses. In the winter, teacher Brad Weaver requested funding from the Lancaster Lebanon Education Foundation for a Ladibug, a wireless document camera. He intended its use for the CareerLink classroom, where he teaches high school equivalency (HSE) classes. Now, the Ladibug is part of everything he does online. “I can’t imagine life without it,” he reports. His math students have an HSE math textbook at home, and with the Ladibug, Brad projects the page they are working on to the Zoom classroom. “We are able to use resources they are familiar with, which really helps with their learning," he explains. Math students in particular benefit from the visual information as they solve problems together.

Student Advisor Anne Weiss having a conversation with an ESL student through Zoom.

IELCE Conversation Practice  Students in Susan Finn-Miller’s Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) class are continuing to improve their language skills through her Zoom class and Google Classroom. Additionally, they have the opportunity to strengthen their speaking and listening skills through conversation practice with student advisor Anne Weiss. Susan asks the students to choose a topic (with the understanding that the goal for the conversation class is authentic communication, so veering off the chosen topic is fine). When the conversation concludes, students listen to the recording of the Zoom meeting, write a journal about what they learned, and send the journal to Susan for feedback. Students are grateful for the opportunity to practice conversational English, and Anne is happy to get to know the students better and support them.

Brightside Opportunity Center

Staying in Touch

At Brightside Opportunities Center, teachers and students alike are learning and utilizing new technology to communicate with each other.

Brightside Bulletin The Brightside English as a Second Language Program helps students and staff stay connected and informed with a weekly bulletin. The bulletin includes information about employment, COVID- 19 resources, local community news, and more. Students also have the opportunity to share videos, pictures, stories, and recipes with their classmates.

Zoom Into Learning Shelby Miller, ESL 3 instructor, communicates with students and shares worksheets using WhatsApp . She hosts weekly Zoom meetings so students can practice speaking and listening skills. For reading comprehension, she recommends ESL Library, and We Speak New York City . During a recent Zoom meeting, student advisor Patricia Barnes joined the class to connect with students, answer questions, and provide tips about staying motivated during this uncertain time.

ReadingWorks Barbara Dorozynsky, IELCE (Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education) instructor, connects with students using group text messages. She sends assignments on Google Drive through a group email, and then students send the answers via email. Barbara also set up a class using ReadWorks to provide reading comprehension exercises and has used texts from C ommonLit . Barbara’s students enjoy weekly Zoom meetings for listening and speaking practice.

Online Conversations Silvia Hildesheim, ESL 1 instructor, uses WhatsApp and Google Voice to post conversational questions and resources. She asks students to record themselves reading so she can help them with their pronunciation, and she teaches in a weekly Zoom meeting. Students also utilize USA Learns and a class Canvas account. One of her students is pictured studying at home.

Teacher Assistant Training Continues The Teacher Assistant Training has transitioned to a fully online class! The training uses the online platforms Edmodo and Zoom for individualized assignments, asynchronous discussion boards, and class video conference calls. Soon participants will be editing their resumes and practicing interview skills to prepare for applying to schools. See a sample of the class's weekly schedule above from Edmodo.

Using New Resources Kevin Boll, ESL 2 instructor, is successfully hosting Zoom meetings for a small group of students. He uses Remind to communicate with students, have students carry out active conversations with each other, and share worksheets. Last month, he provided resources (available in different languages) about the Census and phone numbers that students could call for support. Kevin suggests the following websites for learning at home:  Learning Chocolate , Learn American English Online , All Things Grammar, and ELL Civics . Cooking with Jane Jane Pugliese, ESL 4 instructor, uses WhatsApp to communicate and teach her students. Her first reading assignment was based on cooking. First, she sent students a picture of a recipe for garlic broth -- a good antiviral recipe. During the virtual class, students discussed food and the properties of garlic. Jane uses WhatsApp to attach conversation worksheets from websites such as All Things Topic and  All Things Grammar as well as reading comprehension exercises from Newsela and Common Lit . She also encourages students to improve their writing skills through USA Learns.

Tim Talk IU13 Community Education Program Director

To support schools and companies as they communicate with students, families, and employees from multiple cultural groups about issues related to COVID-19, IU13 Community Education is offering free bilingual cultural navigation services for a limited number of hours during May. The cultural navigators, who represent the language groups of Swahili, Arabic, Spanish and Nepali, will communicate with employees, parents, and school-aged children through Zoom, Skype, phone, texting, WhatsApp, and other distance devices. Services include helping children to get connected with their online school materials, providing unemployment information for employees, explaining new COVID-19 procedures to parents and employees, connecting families to community resources and organizations, and sharing information with immigrant leaders in the community. To request additional information, please contact IU13 Community Education here, or call Beth Boll at 717-947-1652 .

Contact Information: For more information about Community Education visit our website www.iu13.org/communityed or call Lancaster 717-606-1708 Lebanon 717-450-1525 Want to sign up for a newsletter? Click here or scan our QR code below!

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