Student members attend national leadership conference

Student-PSEA members go the extra mile for the future of education. This summer, they went an extra 3,000 miles to represent Pennsylvania at the NEA Student Leadership Conference (SLC) held in San Diego June 26 - 29. Student-PSEA members representing seven different colleges and universities attended this year.

During the SLC, Student-PSEA members joined nearly 200 students from across the country to network; participate in sessions that focused on teacher quality, political action, and community outreach; and hear from Association leaders regarding hot topics in public education.

A highlight of the SLC was NEA’s Outreach-to-Teach activity. Nearly 400 volunteers gathered to give Balboa Elementary School a much-needed facelift on Saturday, June 27.  Volunteers painted classrooms and murals, landscaped the campus, created bulletin boards, cleaned, assembled new cafeteria tables, and installed permanent soccer goals.  They helped redo the school’s library, sponsored by Target Stores, by installing new shelving, seating, and sorting and placing 2,000 new books.  Finally, with the help of Rachel Ray show designer Yvette Rios, volunteers transformed the teachers’ lounge from a functional space to a cozy refuge.

For the first time since the inception of NEA’s Outreach-to-Teach program, SLC students were given the opportunity to return to the school to meet with Balboa’s students following the unveiling. They were met with banners and cards of thanks from the school’s students and staff.

Representing Pennsylvania at the SLC were: Danielle Bly – Edinboro University; Jocelyn Fennell – Slippery Rock University; Danielle Gemmill – Lebanon Valley College; Ashley Lovejoy – Edinboro University; April Lucas – Clarion University; Matt Pater – University of Pittsburg-Greensburg; Morgan Smith – Millersville University; Lucas Taylor – Keystone College; Laura Winiarczyk – Lebanon Valley College; and Amy Wescoat – Clarion University.

For more information about the Student PSEA program, or how you can become involved in the SLC, contact PSEA’s Student Programs at students@psea.org.

For more information about NEA’s Outreach-to-Teach initiative at Balboa Elementary, visit http://www.nea.org/home/33391.htm.