PSEA is a community of education professionals who make a difference in the lives of students every day.
PSEA delegates elected a new officer team at the May 2023 House of Delegates. President Aaron Chapin, Vice President Jeff Ney, and Treasurer Rachael West officially began their two-year terms on Sept. 1. The three officers have decades worth of classroom and association leadership experience at the local and state levels.
Your new PSEA leadership team is excited to represent you and make your priorities PSEA’s priorities.
Aaron is a middle school social studies and reading teacher in the Stroudsburg Area School District and a longtime local and region leader, serving as Northeastern Region’s president, as a member of the PSEA Board of Directors, and as a member of the NEA Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules Committee.
Aaron was elected PSEA vice president in June 2019. He was elected PSEA president during the May 2023 House of Delegates.
“PSEA is its members, and I am excited and privileged to begin serving all of you as your president on Sept. 1. Whatever challenges you face in your schools and classrooms, and whatever issues you need your PSEA officer team to address for you, we will be there to do it, because we represent you.” - Aaron Chapin
Jeff is an elementary school teacher in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. He has served as president of the Wilkes-Barre Area Education Association, as vice president and president of the Northeastern Region, and as a member of the PSEA Board of Directors.
Jeff began his term as PSEA treasurer in September 2017. He was elected PSEA vice president during the May 2023 House of Delegates.
“I look forward to engaging our members at every level of PSEA. I have made member engagement a top priority in every leadership role I have held, and I will continue to do so as vice president.” - Jeff Ney
Rachael is a secondary math teacher in the Red Lion School District. She has served as a building rep, grievance chair, and president of the Red Lion Education Association and is a member of the PSEA Ethnic Minority Caucus, the PSEA Legislative Committee, and the PSEA Board of Directors.
Rachael became treasurer of the Southern Region in 2019 and was elected PSEA treasurer in 2023.
“I am truly honored to have been elected PSEA treasurer. It will be a privilege to represent my colleagues who teach and serve public school students every day. As a PSEA officer, I look forward to advocating for all of them to make our public schools the very best they can be.”- Rachael West
The PSEA Center for Professional Learning recently relaunched the PEARL online learning system with many updates and improvements. We are excited to invite you to dive into a refreshed learning experience on a new and improved PEARL!
Featured updates to PEARL are described on our brand new PEARL Updates Page where you can learn about the latest improvements including:
You’ll see several other enhancements when you dive into learning on PEARL.
We understand that change can be confusing. That’s why we also improved our member support with an updated FAQ Page and a showcase of videos showing you all the steps you need to make the most of PEARL.
Some of the videos to get you started are linked below:
House Bill 141 – “Grow Your Own”
Approved May 1, this bill will create a program to help paraprofessionals and other school support staff go back to college to earn their teaching credentials. Read more in the Press Release.
House Bill 688 – scholarship program for aspiring educators
Approved May 2, this bill will establish the Pennsylvania Teach Scholarship Program, which will create an affordable pathway for talented, caring people to become teachers while lowering their student loan debt in the process. Read more in the Press Release.
House Bill 299 – extends Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements to public sector employees
Approved by the House on May 2, this bill will extend OSHA protections to school and other public sector employees, ensuring that state and local government entities receive the same occupational health and safety protections as their counterparts in the private sector so that Pennsylvania’s students and school staff members can teach and learn in healthy environments. Currently, public sector workers in Pennsylvania are not covered by federal guidelines for on-the-job safety.
PSEA’s legislative priorities are your priorities. Your hard work yields real results in Harrisburg. These are just four more examples of that.
English learners have unique educational needs, and it takes a unique teacher to meet them. Interboro School District EL teacher Andrea Bitner shows how building and strengthening a sense of community has been the key to her students’ success inside and outside the classroom.
"We laugh a lot and have a good time. When teachers and support professionals are positive, it translates to students. And that’s our goal with TikTok; having a good attitude and bringing positive vibes to kids."
Read more in the November 2022 issue of Voice.
There’s no better time than American Education Week to celebrate our hardworking ESP members. And none more deserving of recognition than Angela Vigna, the 2022 Dolores McCracken PSEA Education Support Professional of the Year.
Vigna has worked as a paraprofessional in the Leechburg Area School District for the past 19 years. In this role, she has served as a classroom aide providing academic support to students with special needs. During her tenure, Vigna had the opportunity to work with one particular student from first grade all the way through to graduation.
School colleagues praised Vigna for her dedication and ability to draw out the very best in her students.
“Mrs. Vigna takes pride in her work and the accomplishments of the students,” Michelle Ferretti, a Leechburg middle and high school learning support teacher, wrote in nominating Vigna for the award. “She works well beyond the school day to ensure that all students are receiving what they need. Mrs. Vigna is a true example of the importance of paraeducators and the critical role they play in children’s academic success, social and emotional development, and sense of belonging within the community.”
“I know without a doubt that teachers cannot do what we do as well as we do without our education support professionals,” wrote Ashley Mondale, a high school English teacher and president of the Leechburg Area Education Association. “Mrs. Angela Vigna is the best of the best. She deserves recognition for her tireless work during the school day, her activism in our community, and her willingness to provide for her family, her association members, and Leechburg as a whole.”
Angela on a recent episode of PA Newsmakers explaining the roles of paraprofessionals and support staff in schools.
Kevin and PSEA President Rich Askey recently joined host Terry Madonna on PA Newsmakers to talk about the Horace Mann Award, engaging families and communities in the work of public schools, and just how much teachers make a difference in their students' lives.
Check it out here.
