Mike Flynn takes listeners on another dive into local history visiting Lower Macungie Township to talk about the origins of Wescosville Learn more about the many landmarks and locations around the Lehigh Valley on What's in a Name? with new episodes airing the last Thursday of every month at 5:44 PM during All Things Considered We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money \u003ca href=\"/coronavirus-notice/\"\u003eRead More\u003c/a\u003e Debra J. Schmidt, 66, of Wescosville, passed away surrounded by her family on Sunday, April 2, 2023 at St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill. She was the wife of David W. Sr., with whom she shared nearly 47 years of marriage. Born in Allentown,... View Obituary & Service Information Schmidt created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories boosting inclusivity for an eclectic student body with a variety of individual needs means focusing first on parent communication Lessons In Leadership is an ongoing series in which K-12 principals and superintendents share their best practices and challenges overcome. For more installments, click here Wescosville Elementary School serves a diverse array of students with high populations of English learners Principal Tara Desiderio has finely tuned her communication strategies and prioritized inclusive learning environments in her 12 years leading the school "It's a very eclectic school, and I think our kids are better for it because they really don't think twice about anyone doing anything better or different or anything in their classrooms," Desiderio, who also serves as a Future Ready Schools advisor and co-moderates #CultureEd discussions on Twitter "They really are embracing what everybody is doing around them." Desiderio shared details on her approaches to inclusivity and how she factors social media into school communication strategies Editor's Note: The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity K-12 DIVE: With the diverse population in your school you're creating an environment to make it easier for classrooms to be as inclusive as possible for students of all different learning abilities and backgrounds TARA DESIDERIO: We have taken a lot of time to sit back and actually listen I feel like listening has become a lost art these days So we listened to what our teachers have to say about that We've talked to our kids about what makes them feel included or what makes them feel left out and all of the sessions that we run for anybody in the school — whether it's our kids or teachers or our parents — we try to run them from the feedback we get from that group We make sure our kids see themselves in the literature they read every day so we've made sure our classroom libraries reflect all of the kids in our classrooms We have embraced a different literacy approach that really looks at meeting kids' needs where they're at It's not so much everyone should be exactly on this level even though we know there are levels our kids should be at [but] we really try to make sure that the kids feel the challenge at their level so they can embrace a love of reading Because we know the more they love reading the better they're going to do across all curricular areas We’ve had so many of our kids say things like the girl in there looked just like me.” We know how important that is and how valued our kids feel when they see that and we “fall up” with every time we stumble So there are no times where we say there are problems We say there's only opportunities to be dealt with when we're dealing with different situations We just feel the more we're including voice and choice in what our kids are doing I've also heard a big part of your approach to home-to-school relations involves doing home visits every summer DESIDERIO: That's something over my tenure as an administrator that has become more and more important to me I drop off a book and I drop off some magic confetti for them to put under their pillow so they have sweet dreams the night before they come in to us I talk to the kindergartner and I talk to the parents and I ask if they have any questions they haven't asked us yet I also give them cards to let them know what all of our social media outlets are because we post a lot of information to our social media outlets We've done a lot of surveys with our parents and they have said social media is where they want us to meet them So we use social media very heavily to do reminders and celebrations and "need to knows."  I call every kindergarten parent before the school year starts to see if they have any more questions before they come in All new students also receive a phone call to all of their parents to see whether there are any questions we want to make sure they feel welcomed and that their voice is heard right from day one Do you find the home visits also help improve your work to make learning more equitable for all students Sometimes some of our other teachers will come with me Sometimes I go by myself or my kids will join me and we go do that Then we know where the kids are coming from We know if there are a lot of siblings in the home or we kind of get a gauge that they may need a couple extra things Or the parents may express to us that there's some extra need or some extra things that we may need to think about as a child's coming in It's a safer space than when we're asking them to come into our space for the first time because we're in a space where all of our families feel most comfortable — their homes So they generally tend to be a little bit more vulnerable and share some of that information that just helps us to help their children succeed even more since you have high populations of students who are English learners or who are on the autism spectrum how did you make sure they remained included and engaged in the learning process DESIDERIO: Our ESL teacher and all of our special ed teachers were always on Zoom with our parents They would often get put into breakout rooms So our kids were put into smaller groups to work with like-level learners and in spaces where they felt supported and comfortable We house a lot of students who are nonverbal and some who have some behaviors and things They weren't able to stay on Zoom as long as some of our other students so we worked with the parents to kind of gauge what they were hoping for their child to do during that time and what was doable for the child and the family and they would get some time with their teacher and then some time off where someone would work with them and there were tasks that were given We were often dropping off different supplies for students so they had those and had the manipulatives and things they would need to be successful We actually as a district took on a lot of different programs where there were more interactive opportunities for students over Zoom like our speech therapist and our occupational therapist tried to find ways they could actually work with the parents so they could kind of build in those opportunities to the child's day The parents were so receptive and so thankful for the opportunity to have that time to then be able to work with their child at home They actually knew what we were doing here in school that [they could then do] at home It gave us the opportunity to kind of transfer that and send videos home and say and this is how you can work on it if your child is struggling at home with it or you're trying to master a skill." What can educators gain from participating in those DESIDERIO: That space is [designed] to be a safe space for educators to take risks and feel like they could be more vulnerable and put ideas out there and ask questions And [it's one] where we know we're going to be giving feedback and following up with the people who we feel are part of our #CultureEd community and family online That community and family really bridges outside of that chat There are many people we've met through that chat opportunity who we have now worked with one-on-one and I regularly will talk to another principal in California We worked together on how we were reopening our schools and [related] ideas because they were closed longer than we were we gave ideas back-and-forth on how that would happen So it's not only that it's that hour or 45 minutes of a chat It's the relationships we build outside of the chat It's a great learning experience while you're doing it the amount of people who reach out and say For leaders who might be a little hesitant to dive into embracing social media for school comms Ask your parents what they're looking for and where you can meet them best Our parents said Facebook was the top place we could meet them as long as we had permission to post pictures That's how we got many of our parents there to start — we would post celebrations the kids had and any kind of activities that were going on throughout the day so the parents got to see regularly what the kids were doing They felt like they were part of our regular school day They knew when we were celebrating different things throughout the school I started doing videos for our parents to explain a little bit more how things were going to run and showing them different things that would happen across our school So just take one step at a time and always respond to what your parents are asking for Don't always go off of what you think parents need It goes back to that active listening and what people are telling you and then responding to what they've asked for Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts School districts are still seeking guidance from the Education Department as the Aug 1 deadline looms and injunctions complicate the rule’s implementation The landmark 1954 school desegregation decision reshaped the education landscape but the path to progress hasn’t been smooth Subscribe to the K-12 Dive free daily newsletter The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines HARRISBURG – Rep. Gary Day (R-Lehigh) today questioned why House Democrats are rushing a complex, 173-page bill to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania, … Click here to read more... Washington, D.C. — Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, representing the Greater Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, achieved the passage of his first piece of… Click here to read more... Latin Festival Returns to SteelStacks June 26-28 The 14th annual free admission ¡Sabor! will celebrate the talents of numerous musicians, cuisine and entertainment,… Click here to read more... Wildlands Conservancy Community & Educational Calendar of Events for June 2025 June Community/Education Events details are listed below; but also check out …… Lehigh Valley, Pa – Join the FUN! Youth are invited to attend 4-H day and evening camps held at the 4-H office in Allentown. Youth attending… Click here to read more... 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Questions or Comments can be directed to info@thevalleyledger.com Privacy Policy | Terms of Use 2013 at 3:35 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A third-grade teacher at Wescosville Elementary School has been named the B104 Teacher Salute award winner for March thanks to a heartfelt recommendation for the honor by his student Madeline K Michael Mauro makes coming to school each day something to look forward to, explains Madeline K. in her nomination pitch for Mauro on the B104 website Mauro makes coming to school each day fun and interesting by using his guitar to teach skills tell[ing] jokes to make a point and making each child feel worthwhile He has a great sense of humor and is fair to everyone and her classmates received a pizza party from Little Caesars hosted by B104 radio personalities Mike & Steph to help Mauro celebrate his award also received a host of goodies from Meera Salon & Day Spa in Whitehall Mauro’s award continues a winning streak for East Penn School District Jefferson Elementary School third-grade teacher Sallie Yencho was the February B104 Teacher of the Month Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 2012 at 2:45 pm ETTownship Commissioners meetings are not usually the forum for tears or standing ovations 4 meeting there wasn't a dry eye in the room Lower Macungie Fire Chief David Nosal approached the commissioners with an incredible story of bravery that ended with a surprising twist of integrity and gratitude the Lower Macungie Fire Department and Macungie Ambulance were called to the scene of an accident at Lower Macungie and Brookside roads Seventeen-year-old Kyle Cope of Upper Milford Township lost control of his car and hit a traffic pole The car hugged the pole in the same way a potholder wraps around the handle of a pot Nosal passed around three photos of the scene the kind that make even the hardest heart wince First responders tried for 55 minutes to extricate Cope from the vehicle before calling a trauma team from Lehigh Valley Hospital and it was looking as though they would have to amputate them at the scene to save the boy's life Jeff Faust of Faust Towing stepped up and took a chance that Faust could lift the car in a final effort to get Cope out in one piece Faust was only able to lift the car four inches but it was enough to get Cope -- who had been trying to lift himself out the whole time by pulling himself up on the steering wheel -- out The reason Nosal came to the commissioners was to present a plaque to Kyle and his parents owners of GC Electric in Salisbury Township out of gratitude for their son's life -- and limbs -- replaced all the lighting fixtures in Lower Macungie fire station in Wescosville the Macungie Ambulance building and at Faust Towing at no cost The reason Nosal was there so many months later is that the job was delayed while Kyle recuperated "The family insisted on waiting to do the job until Kyle could do the work himself," Nosal said Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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