Week of 12-12-2022

Inside this issue

• Susan Lemmo elected to PSERS Board of Trustees
• Be cautious of anti-union messages
• PSEA member wins first Junior Achievement award for western PA
• Now accepting nominations for 2023 Celebrating Excellence Awards
• American Rescue Plan funding: Use it or lose it
• Take courses on PSEA’s PEARL professional learning platform
• Member Benefits spotlight: PSEA Visa Signature card

Congratulations to Susan Lemmo of Mountain Ridges PSEA-Retired for being elected as the annuitant representative on the PSERS Board of Trustees.

Previously a PSERS active member representative, Susan will now serve PSERS’ retirees to protect their hard-earned retirement security and advocate for a much-needed cost-of-living-adjustment.

PSEA is proud to have Susan hold this critical seat and continue her work with PSERS. 

Learn more about Susan by clicking the button below.

Don’t be fooled.

Organizations that want to weaken your union are trolling PSEA members and finding creative ways to encourage you to drop your membership.

Be cautious about odd-looking emails and social media posts asking you to click on surveys or union opt-out forms. The organizations behind these messages are PSEA’s political adversaries who raise money off anti-union attacks.

So, when you see one of these messages, recognize where it’s coming from.

PSEA exists to get the best possible salaries, benefits, pensions, and working conditions for PSEA members. That is our number one priority.

The top priority for organizations sending these opt-out messages is to weaken your ability to get the salaries, benefits, pensions, and working conditions you deserve.

Congratulations to PSEA member Dr. Emily Levine for winning the Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year award. Levine, a third grade teacher at Gateway’s Dr. Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary School, was selected from more than 400 nominations throughout western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia for the honor.

She was recognized for, among other things, her playground project, in which she helped raise $40,000 and plan for a state-of-the-art playground at Dr. Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary School, which was unveiled in April.

“I am humbled and honored to be chosen as the first recipient of the Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year Award,” said Dr. Levine. “It is beyond my wildest dreams to be recognized for something that I love to do.”

We have resumed the nomination and selection process for 2023 Celebrating Excellence Awards. Make your nominations at the link below.

The Adler Friend of Education award recognizes an individual who has made significant statewide contributions to public education.

The Human and Civil Rights awards are intended to applaud the outstanding work occurring every day in Pennsylvania’s public schools and in our communities.

A selection committee meets each January to review the nominations submitted and select winners in four categories: Student Leader, Educational Leader, Community Leader, and Local Association, along with the Adler Friend of Education Award.

Read more about the awards and nominate someone today at the below link:

In March 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which marked the single largest federal investment ever in public education. Pennsylvania’s schools received $6.46 billion in supplemental funding meant to combat the unprecedented learning loss that occurred during the pandemic. However, schools only have until Sept. 30 of next year to spend those funds. And, since the funds can only be used for short-term projects rather than ongoing budget items, many districts are struggling to find ways to make use of their share.

To help generate some ideas, the U.S. Dept. of Education just released this booklet. If your school or district could use some help finding ways to spend its share of ARP funding, share this link with your administration or use it as a springboard for your own suggestions on how to meet your students’ social, emotional, and academic needs before time runs out.

Visit PEARL today and choose from more than 95 asynchronous courses available for Act 48 credit and Chapter 14 verification.

Here are just a few of the dozens of courses you can explore right now on PEARL:

• Schoology in Practice: Essentials for Beginners
• Time Management and Organization for Online Learning
  
• Social and Emotional Learning is for Us, Too!
  
• Building and Maintaining a Humanized Classroom
  
• Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety Across the Developmental Spectrum
• Seesaw Basics & Advanced
• And many more...

PSEA has partnered with Commerce Bank to bring members the PSEA Visa Signature credit card offer. With this card, members can earn cash back rewards with every purchase, with no point cap or opt-in required.

• Earn 3 percent cash back on coffee shops, fast food, and ride-sharing services
• Earn 2 percent cash back on gas and restaurants
• Earn 1 percent cash back on all other purchases

Enroll in the toggle feature and add more flexibility to your PSEA Visa Signature credit card. With the toggle feature, you can:

• Choose to Pay Now by a specific category or purchase amount,
• Choose to Pay Later by a specific category or purchase amount, or unwind a transaction.

Check it out and get the card that rewards you and supports Pennsylvania educators with every purchase.