ECYEH Monitoring 2024-2025: Essential Processes and Tools for your Monitoring Experience
Wednesday, October 9, 10:00 – 11:00 AM
With the conclusion of ARP-HCY, Center for Schools and Communities and Allegheny Intermediate Unit reviewed and revised the current ECYEH monitoring tool with the goal of simplifying the process for all involved. Please join us to learn about the new tool and accompanying LEA Monitoring Guide that will be used in the 2024-2025 school year. Highlights will include changes to document submission and the interview process, the new monitoring scoring system, and key tips and resources to help you prepare for a monitoring visit.
Meet Our Instructor, Sheila Bell
Sheila Bell, M.A., is the program director for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Evaluation, Grants and Data Department and is responsible for managing local and state program evaluations including PA’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Migrant Education Program, and Educating Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) Program. Prior to this role, Sheila served as the assistant executive deputy director for integrated program services at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science and a master’s degree in public policy from Duquesne University.
Unleashing Extraordinary: Well-being Strategies for Educators Supporting Vulnerable Students
Wednesday, November 13, 10:00-11:00 AM
Join us for an inspiring and interactive conversation! Discover practical strategies to manage personal and professional stressors while promoting your own physical, social, and emotional well-being. Through engaging activities and practical hands-on tools, this webinar will provide you with actionable techniques to boost your resilience and enhance your effectiveness in the classroom. As we head into the holiday season, let this be an opportunity to rejuvenate your spirit and equip yourself with practices that will support both your growth and your students’ success. Leave with renewed energy and tools designed to foster both personal and professional thriving.
Meet Our Instructor, Dr. Jessica Houston
Named one of the top 50 speakers globally, by “Real Leaders,” Dr. Jessica Houston travels nationally and internationally inspiring thousands of college students, corporate executives, and nonprofit leaders every year.
As a transformational speaker, her messaging and platform are influenced by her expertise in personal growth, workplace wellness, and leadership development, which expands more than a decade. She currently serves as a professor at Purdue University and owns and operates a personal and professional development training company.
Dr. Houston has surmounted experiences with poverty, depression, low self-confidence, and intimate partner violence, which fuels her passion for helping others overcome obstacles and lead abundant lives.
Spreading HOPE — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences
Wednesday, January 8, 10:00-11:00 AM
We build HOPE — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences — by promoting equitable access to positive childhood experiences (PCEs) that help children grow into resilient adults and mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Join us to explore research and learn how to promote equitable access to the Four Building Blocks of HOPE: Relationships, Environment, Engagement, and Emotional Growth. We’ll discuss how homeless liaisons and youth-serving professionals can create supportive environments, facilitate essential connections, and ensure that every student receives the resources they need to thrive. Additionally, we’ll connect this approach to other frameworks like the Strengthening Families Protective Factors, emphasizing the integral part liaisons and youth-serving professionals play in transforming educational experiences and outcomes for vulnerable students.
Meet Our Instructor, Karen Shanoski, M. Mgt.
Karen Shanoski’s work at Center for Schools and Communities includes multiple responsibilities for family support programs including leadership of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) state office, Children’s Trust Fund work, training and consultation services in strengths-based family engagement practices, and family-school-community partnerships. She serves on Childhood Begins at Home Campaign, PA Family Support Committee, Family Center Network, Strengthening Families Leadership Team and other statewide workgroups.
She served on the National Board of Parents as Teachers. She has been director of a private nonprofit that helped people meet basic human needs and a planner with a county children and youth agency. She is an active community volunteer since high school, including service as a public school board member for ten years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Management, from Pennsylvania State University. She is a graduate of the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
She and her husband are the proud parents of two creative adult sons making their way in the world.