Pennsylvania State Education Association

Week of 3-13-2023

Inside this issue

• Our push to pay PSEA members more gains traction
• We need to raise support professional pay to $20 per hour minimum
• Find new ways to celebrate National Reading Month
• Upcoming Center for Professional Learning events and PEARL
• Member Benefits spotlight: Hear In America

Over the past few weeks, you’ve no doubt heard us talking to members and to the public about our effort to raise educator pay. Increasing starting salaries for educators, school counselors, and nurses to $60,000 and paying support professionals at least $20 per hour is a top priority for PSEA as we work to address the critical educator shortage in our state.

Though we’ve only just begun our push on this, it’s already gaining traction. I wrote an op-ed that, as of today, has been published in seven newspapers spanning the commonwealth:

• Observer-Reporter: OP-ED: Solving Pennsylvania’s school staffing crisis
• Herald-Standard: OP-ED: Solving Pennsylvania’s school staffing crisis
• Reading Eagle: Guest commentary: Solving Pennsylvania’s school staffing crisis (paywall)
• Bradford Era: Solving Pa.’s school staffing crisis
• PennLive: Pennsylvania has to pay teachers more if we want more in the classrooms | Opinion (paywall)
• Kittanning Leader Times: Solving Pa.’s school staffing crisis
• Carlisle Sentinel: Guest Editorial: Solving Pa.’s school staffing crisis

Fixing the educator pipeline will not happen overnight. But it starts with awareness of solutions like this one. We will continue to lead the fight to make the education profession more attractive for aspiring educators and for PSEA members alike. And, as promised, we will keep you updated on our efforts and any advances we are able to make.

Thank you for everything you do.

ESP members: What would raising the minimum support professional pay mean to you? Share your thoughts with us at the link below.

psea.org/shareyourstory

Click on the video thumbnail above or the button below to find resources and tips on ways to celebrate National Reading Month. You can also share favorite books and ways you celebrate with your students. Happy reading!

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:

• Inclusivity in Action
• Maximizing Google Classroom
• Connect, Collaborate, Create with School-based Occupational Therapy

Webinars

• NEA Webinar - Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First: Cultivating Healing and Wellbeing in Ourselves
  • March 30, 6-7:30 p.m.

Book Discussions

• 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
  • April 17, 4:45 p.m.

PSEA members and their extended family members can save on hearing aids with Hear In America. Hear In America has a low-price guarantee and no interest financing available. If you find the exact same hearing aid, warranty, follow-up service, and batteries at a lower price than Hear In America’s, they will match that price and give you an extra 5 percent discount.

Program benefits include:

• Free enrollment and no premiums.
• Free annual hearing screening.
• Access to a nationwide network of nearly 6,000 hearing locations.
• Reduction on the price of most offered hearing aids.
• Low price guarantee on all styles of hearing aids from all major brands.
• Extended warranties available to purchase for your current hearing aids.
• Sixty-day money back trial period for exchanges and returns.
• Three years of repair warranty, loss and damage coverage, hearing aid cleaning and check up service, and free batteries with every hearing aid purchase.

To register for your benefits, call Hear In America at (800) 286-6149.