Week of 2-27-2023

Inside this issue

• Rich Askey testifies at PA Senate hearing on school staffing shortage
• PSEA members in the news: Angela Vigna and Kevin Gallagher
• Happy National Reading Month from everyone at PSEA
• Upcoming Center for Professional Learning events and PEARL
• Member Benefits spotlight: AmeriServ mortgage and home equity loans

As the chart above makes clear, staffing shortages are at crisis levels in Pennsylvania’s public schools. One approach to solving this crisis is to make sure that every educator and support professional is paid what they deserve. That means we should increase starting salaries for educators, school counselors, and nurses to $60,000 and pay support professionals at least $20 per hour.

On Feb. 28, I testified at a hearing before the PA Senate Education Committee where I called on the Legislature to do exactly that. I noted that educator compensation must reflect the value that these professionals provide to their students, their communities, and society as a whole. Other states have increased educator salaries or are considering doing the same. Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, and New Mexico have recently enacted increases in educator salaries, and Delaware just set a $21 per hour minimum wage for bus drivers.

In addition to pay increases, I talked about the need to remove barriers that discourage talented, caring adults from becoming educators and support professionals. To do that, we need to: 

• Create new scholarship programs for aspiring teachers
• Pay student teachers
• Create new pathways for paraprofessionals and others to become teachers
• And get more school nurses, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and dental hygienists into our public schools

Fixing the educator pipeline will take a sustained, multiyear commitment. But where there’s a will there’s a way. And PSEA will be fighting for these issues every step of the way. I’m honored to get the chance to speak on behalf of all of you as you work tirelessly day in and day out for your students.

We’ll keep you updated on our efforts to enact these and other solutions in the months ahead.

On Wednesday, The Tribune Democrat published an op-ed cowritten by PSEA ESP of the year Angela Vigna and 2023 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence winner Kevin Gallagher. Gallagher works in the Keystone Oaks School District as a statistics and computer science teacher. And Vigna is a paraprofessional in the Leechburg School District who works with special needs students. You can read all about both extraordinary educators in the latest issue of Voice.

In the op-ed, Vigna and Gallagher speak about their shared vision that education works best when educators, support professionals, and administrators work together. That vision animates their approach to education, and their students, schools, and communities are better for it. Click the link below to read the full article.

PSEA Vice President Aaron Chapin reads to first graders at Paxinosa Elementary School in the Easton Area School District.

PSEA Treasurer Jeff Ney shares storytime with first grade students at Sandycreek Elementary School in the Franklin Area School District.

March is a busy month for celebrations. It’s Women’s History Month, National Music in Our Schools Month, Social Work Month, and National Reading Month, with Read Across America having occurred this past Thursday.

PSEA Vice President Aaron Chapin and Treasurer Jeff Ney took some time this week to celebrate the start of National Reading Month with students. They visited several schools and read a variety of books to children of all ages. It was a great opportunity to share the simple joy of reading with kids, which is what this month’s celebration is all about.

How do you celebrate National Reading Month with your students? Share your favorite books, resources, or lesson ideas with us at the link below.

psea.org/shareyourstory

PEARL

Looking for a convenient and flexible way to earn Act 48 credits, Chapter 14 verification, or postgraduate credits? As a PSEA member, you have exclusive access to over 95 courses through PEARL.

Here are just three of the courses you have access to:

• Building Relationships at a Distance
• Epic! the "Netflix" of Books for Educators and Students
• Best Practices for Effective Distance Learning and Instruction with Introduction to Nearpod

Webinars

• SPM Workshop: Hands-On Best Practices
  • March 9, 6-7:30 p.m.
• NEA Webinar: Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First: Cultivating Healing and Wellbeing in Ourselves
  • March 14, 6-7:30 p.m.
  • March 30, 6-7:30 p.m.

Book Discussions

• Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
  • March 9, 6-7 p.m.
• Before the Ever After
  
  • April 18, 6-7 p.m.
• The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement
  • April 25, 6-7 p.m.

Member Well-being

• Mindful Mondays
  • March 13, 4:45 p.m.
• Mindful Mondays
  • April 17, 4:45 p.m.

Looking to buy a house?

Now is a great time to start looking for the home of your dreams. Enjoy these PSEA exclusive mortgage benefits with our preferred partner, AmeriServ:

• Market leading rates
• No origination fee (savings of $695)
• One FREE rate re-lock opportunity ($400 value)
• $250 credit on interest rate buy-down options

Already own a home? Take advantage of your home’s equity.

AmeriServ offers a home equity product we call Loan in a Line. Use it as a home equity credit line while also having the capability to take out fixed-rate term loans at the same time. Enjoy the flexibility this product offers to do home improvements, debt consolidation, tuition, vacations, or simply to have the peace of mind to know it’s there when you need it. Your benefits include market leading rates, along with waiving annual and other fees. 

Many members took advantage of historic low mortgage interest rates in the past couple of years. Now is a great time to establish a home equity loan and obtain low fixed-rate options. These products and benefits are available to PSEA members and their families (parents, children, and siblings). 

To learn more and to view current rates visit us at www.ameriserv.com/psea