Educators Growing Together is designed to bring groups of PSEA members together to share ideas and respond to one another’s questions about specific challenges related to our new teaching and learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The forums reflect a belief that the most effective way for PSEA members to cope with these new and sudden professional demands is together and the best source of information for problem-solving is each other.

All participants will receive two hours of Act 48 for submitting written responses to and attending one online discussion with PSEA colleagues.

📄 Report: Pa. Schools Could See $1 Billion Revenue Loss

You know how the COVID-19 emergency has impacted our schools and our students. And you have done an incredible job meeting our students’ needs while our schools have been closed.

Now, we need to make sure that, when our schools open again, we can do it in a way that keeps everyone in them safe and healthy and ensures that our jobs, our salaries, and our pensions are protected from budget cuts.

💻📲Contact your U.S. senator and today and urge them to support $175 billion in emergency federal aid for public education.

Why is this important?

• School districts project they could lose as much as $1 billion in revenue because of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 emergency.
• The state projects that it could lose as much as $3.7 billion in revenue because of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 emergency.
• Because of state and school district balanced budget and tax increase limits, there is little they can do to provide the resources schools need to open safely and avoid furloughs and program cuts.
• If school districts don’t have the resources they need, it could result in 40,000 furloughs, cuts to music, art, sports, and libraries, and increases in class sizes.

We need federal help
The federal government is the only place we can turn for help. In the past few months, Congress has approved more than $2 trillion in assistance for working people, businesses, and health care providers. Now, we need to tell our federal representatives that their public schools need urgent assistance.

YOU CAN HELP - 📧 Speak out today! 📣
Our jobs, our salaries, our pensions, and the health and safety of everyone who learns and works in public schools is at stake.  Contact your U.S. senator today 👇 and urge them to support $175 billion in emergency federal aid for public education.

Consistent with Gov. Wolf’s advice, many in-person PSEA events and meetings will be postponed or moved to remote format. Please watch for announcements if you have already RSVP’d for an event. 

In addition, all PSEA offices will also be closed beginning Monday, March 16, at 5 p.m. Staff members will work from home and still be available to assist members via cell phone and email. You can reach them at the same phone numbers. Like many other organizations, PSEA and NEA have decided to cancel or postpone certain meetings, conferences, and events out of an abundance of caution in order to guard against the spread of coronavirus.

As medical professionals and government officials have pointed out, avoiding large gatherings is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus. So, canceling or postponing certain PSEA and NEA events is a judicious decision and is consistent with this good advice.