Pennsylvania State Education Association

Week of 5-6-2024

Inside this issue

• Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
• President Chapin opposes private school scholarships at state Capitol
• Member Benefits spotlight: Access $100 giveaway and travel discounts for Educator Appreciation Week
• PEARL and Center for Professional Learning summer offerings

We hope during this Teacher Appreciation Week you’re receiving all the thanks and support you deserve. And we know that’s a tall order because you deserve a lot!

How would you like to give a shout out to that special teacher or support professional who made an outsized impact on you?

We’ve been asking PSEA members to submit short videos for us to use in our digital communications that celebrate those teachers and support professionals who left a big impression on them.

If you’d like to participate, it’ll just take a moment. Here’s what to do:

1. Click any of the video thumbnails below to view an example.
2. Shoot a similar HORIZONTAL video on your cell phone.
3. Don’t forget to INTRODUCE YOURSELF (name, job title, school district).
4. Drop the video into our Dropbox folder here.

That’s it! If you need any assistance, email comms@psea.org.

PSEA is eternally grateful for each one of our hardworking, dedicated members and the tremendous work you do every day for your students. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, PSEA. And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

On Tuesday, PSEA President Aaron Chapin went to the state Capitol to attend a Senate Education Committee meeting where senators voted to advance legislation to create a tax-payer funded scholarship program for private and religious school scholarships.

This ill-conceived and ill-timed push to funnel taxpayer money into private and religious schools couldn’t have come at a worse time – right in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week.

President Chapin hand delivered letters to Gov. Shapiro on behalf of numerous organizations and the millions of hard-working Pennsylvanians they represent who stand in opposition to this legislation and want to make it clear that the last thing Pennsylvania should be doing is sending taxpayer money to private and religious schools when our focus should be on fixing our unconstitutional public school funding system.

And you can help.

Contact your state senator, state representative, and Gov. Josh Shapiro RIGHT NOW and tell them to oppose scholarship programs for private and religious schools.

PSEA Member Benefits partner Access is excited to help celebrate the education community with their first “Educator Appreciation Week” offerings. Here’s what’s available to PSEA members:

• $100 VISA gift card will be given to one lucky PSEA member who visits the site during this week. This is open to new and existing active members and no purchase is necessary to be entered to win.
• Two TRAVEL offers for Educators only. They are:
• Hotel Price Drop: Access Development will be discounting their entire hotel inventory an additional 5 percent from current rates during this week. Instead of “Up to 50 percent”, this week will be “Up to 55 percent” – exclusive to PSEA members only.
• Offer / Terms: Book any hotel on your discount program website through May 13 for travel dates through December 31, 2024 and enjoy extra savings on your room.
• Flight Offer: PSEA members will receive a $10 off economy or premium economy discount for ANY airline.
• Offer / Terms: Book by May 31 for travel dates through December 31, 2024. Use code: TOKEN4TEACH
• More Merchant offers catered to the Education community. Deals will be pulled in dynamically based on the user’s zip code.

Click the button below to enter:

PEARL

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

You can find multiple courses that interest you in any of these tracks: 

• Book Studies
• Educational Equity
• Pedagogy
• Policy
• Pupil Services
• Special Populations
• Technology in Education
• SEL & Wellness

Webinars

• Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) in the Classroom Today: What is it and what does it look like in the classroom? (ECE Series)
  • July 16, 10-11:30 a.m.
• Intro to the 3D Science Standards: Coming in 2025!
  • July 18,12-1:30 p.m.
• Effective Communication with Families
  • July 31, 7-8:30 p.m.

Book Discussions

• The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
  • June 26, 10-11 a.m.
• Science and Engineering Practices Picture Book Study
  • July 9, 10-11:30 a.m.
• Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Students to Engage the World
  • Aug. 13, 7-8 p.m.

Postgraduate Credits

Earn postgraduate credits from PennWest University for $70 each!

More than 150 postgraduate credits are available across a wide range of teaching and learning topics.

These postgraduate credits (microcredentials) can count toward the 24 credits required for a Level II certificate and also may count toward salary advancement.*

For support professionals, these courses may meet Chapter 14 requirements.**

*Check your contract to determine if you can apply standalone postgraduate credits for column movement.
**Seek approval from your employer prior to completing hours to apply toward Chapter 14 requirements.