Keystones

The Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units is pleased to announce year seven of Keystone Integrators (KI). Funded by state-wide ACT 183 Grant Consortium of Pennsylvania Intermediate Units, the program is open to all teachers connected to PAIUnet. Keystones celebrates model practice teachers throughout the Commonwealth and this year, in addition to welcoming new teachers into the Keystone network of educators, we are inviting current Keystones to apply to become Keystone Mentors to help us design and establish a multi-faceted e-learning community to be known as the Keystone Virtual Campus.

Keystone teachers bring to the classroom content, motivational, and management expertise to capture students' imaginations and harness learning in our children. Over 7,000 teachers from across the Commonwealth have been identified as Keystones. These Keystones represent over 400 school districts, non-public schools, and CTCs/AVTSs. Approximately 100 Keystones attend a five-day Summit each year in the summer where they engage in hands-on workshops covering topics such as the PDE Standards Aligned System, e-learning, and teaching in the 21 st Century. The Keystones network continues to grow stronger through use of communication tools, learning communities, grant writing competitions and professional development opportunities. Keystones also continue to be featured at the annual Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C).

This year, we are introducing a new strand for existing Keystones to learn new skills and strategies to take the program to the next level. As mentioned above, the focus of this year's Summit is the Keystone Virtual Campus. The Keystone Virtual Campus offers powerful elearning tools, training, and support for teachers throughout the Commonwealth through the PDE Standards Aligned Systems Portal (SAS) and PAIUnet. Following this year's Summit, Keystone Mentors will work with other Keystones to bring the Keystone Virtual Campus to every educator and every classroom in Pennsylvania.