The Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) is a branch of the Pennsylvania Department of Education

Pennsylvania Department of Education

The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with K-12 and adult educational budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency, its activities are directed by Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, Gerald L. Zahorchak...

, and is the largest of the 29 intermediate unit

Intermediate Unit

In Pennsylvania, Intermediate Units are regional educational service agencies, established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Intermediate Units serve a given geographic area's educational needs and function as a step of organization above that of a public school district, but below that of the...

s in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It was created by the state’s General Assembly

Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...

 in 1971, and is headquartered in Homestead

Homestead, Pennsylvania

Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...

.

The AIU provides specialized education services to 42 suburban public school districts and five vocational

Vocational school

A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...

 and technical school

Technical school

Technical school is a general term used for two-year college which provide mostly employment-preparation skills for trained labor, such as welding, culinary arts and office management.-Associations supporting technical schools:...

s in Allegheny County

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

. The agency, which has 2,000 employees at 721 sites throughout the county, also operates 11 family centers and three schools for exceptional children. Funded by federal, state, county and private grants, the AIU coordinates 130 programs designed to help infants, young children, students and adults.

Services

• K–12
  K-12
  K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
  
   special education
  Special education
  Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
  
  
• Staff and workforce development
• K–12 English language learning and teaching
  English language learning and teaching
  English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
  
   (ESL)
• Family and early childhood assistance
• Alternative education
• DART (Discovery, assessment, referral and tracking)
• Head Start
• Pre K Counts
• Even Start