Public Invited To Take Part In 50-Year Celebration
"People know (the IU13) from the lens of special education classrooms, and that is the foundation of who we are, but we have a 50-year history of doing really good work," said Shannan Guthrie, program director with the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13). "We take that dedication to other areas." Among those areas are helping teachers with curriculum development and school districts to maximize funding. A sampling of the IU13's activities will be highlighted during the group's 50th anniversary celebration on Thursday, June 9, at the Lancaster offices, 1020 New Holland Ave., Lancaster, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Organizers will have a plethora of activities ready for attendees to enjoy. Among those will be the Star Lab, a portable planetarium that can hold up to 20 people, which will be set up in the IU's large conference room. A demonstration of Brailing services will give attendees an idea of the number of books and flyers the IU transfers into Braille format each year. "We will showcase our Refugee Center and our cultural navigator services," said Guthrie, who explained that cultural navigators help families to meet with other families and navigate the system to find babysitters, shelter, education, and health care services. A demonstration of orientation and mobility services will be held, and STEM activities will show how lessons can be adapted for all levels of learning. "It will be in an expo style with examples (of what the IU13 does) all over the place," said Guthrie, who added that Lisa Sanchez, a representative of Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation, will talk about summer camps. Other stops on the visit might include learning about organ tissue donation or meeting Luca, a facility dog that that travels to classrooms within the IU.
"We will have free hot dogs, water, and cupcakes for families while supplies last," said Guthrie, who noted that school resource officers will hand out icy pops, and that food trucks will be located in the courtyard.
Organizers have also prepared a special page that highlights milestones of IU13 history at http://www.iu13.org/history. "IUs were founded in 1965," said Guthrie. "The IUs opened their offices in 1971."
Guthrie emphasized that members of the public are welcome at the free event. "The idea is to celebrate (and) learn about the work we do," she said, noting that she hopes attendees will leave with "an understanding of the breadth of IU13." "There are so many amazing things happening that people don't (know about)," she said.
Readers who would like to attend are asked to register so that organizers can plan to have enough food and door prizes. To register, please email communications@iu13.org. For answers to specific questions, please call 717-606-1655.
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