Pennsylvania State Education Association

Inside this issue

• State legislators need to finish their summer work and finalize a budget that funds our schools
• Welcome to the new school year!
• ICYMI in Voice: Zoo in the Classroom
• PEARL & Center for Professional Learning
• Member Benefits spotlight: Aetna Dental Access discount dental program

As kids across Pennsylvania head back to school this month, state legislators in Harrisburg still have not completed their summer work of passing a FY 2025-26 state budget that makes critical investments in our public schools.

Because of the overdue budget, schools have missed a round of state payments in July and are on track to miss their August payment in just a matter of days. That means K-12 public schools must operate without $1.75 billion in state funding they would typically have in hand by the end of August.

How much is at stake?

According to a letter sent by state Budget Secretary Uri Monson to affected parties on July 29, the budget impasse means:

• K-12 public schools will not receive $1.4 billion in basic education funding and $255 million in special education funding due to them in July and August,
• Career and technical centers will not get $21 million in payments due in August,
• The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) will continue to wait on approximately $110 million in state funding, while Pennsylvania community colleges are owed approximately $73 million in operating payments, and
• Pre-K Counts and Head Start will continue to wait on state payments.
  

Across Pennsylvania, PSEA members are getting ready to welcome 1.7 million students back to public schools. Click the thumbnail above to hear what math teacher Bylly Jo Morton is looking forward to the most.

Share your back-to-school photos with PSEA!

We know you devote so much time and energy to getting your school and classroom ready for the start of the year, and we want to showcase your hard work in our print and digital publications. Share your back-to-school photos at www.psea.org/BTS.

At seven years old, Chelsea Geist was gifted a pet turtle that sparked a curiosity, respect, and lifelong love of animals. Now, she shares that passion with students in the Canon-McMillan School District through a program she created called Zoo in the Classroom, the only one of its kind in the United States.

“My turtle obsession became an animal obsession,” said Geist, an environmental science and zoology teacher at Canon-McMillan High School. “I wanted to share this obsession with my students because as much as I want to, I can’t take them to the rainforest or the prairie, but I can use the animals that live in my classroom to create hands-on interactions like you would experience at a zoo.”

Read Chelsea's full story in the latest issue of Voice.

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

• Evaluation of New & Early Career Educators
  
  • Sept. 23, 7-8 p.m.
• Ready, Set, Support: Open Chat for Special Educators
  
  • Oct. 2, 7-8 p.m.
• The PSEA AI Task Force Impact Report: Keeping Education Human with Ethical, Practical, and Professional Guidance for AI Use in Pennsylvania Schools Moving Forward
  
  • Oct. 8, 7-8:30 p.m.

Book Discussions

• Spooky Stories to Read in the Classroom
  
  • Oct. 29, 7-8 p.m.
• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally
  
  • Nov. 5, 7-8 p.m.
• Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Students to Engage the World
  
  • Dec. 3, 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 (micro-credentials) 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.

Smile brighter with savings at over 262,000* available dental practice locations nationwide. Use your card over and over again to keep your teeth sparkling clean!

For one flat household rate of just $8 per month, PSEA members and their legal dependents up to age 26 can access dental savings through Aetna Dental Access.

• In most instances, save 15% to 50% per visit.**
• Save on dental services such as cleanings, X-rays, crowns, root canals, and fillings.

Learn more about this new program below:

*As of April 2020.

**Actual costs and savings vary by provider, service, and geographical area. The discount program provides access to the Aetna Dental Access® network. This network is administered by Aetna Life Insurance Company (ALIC). Neither ALIC nor any of its affiliates offers or administers the discount program. Neither ALIC nor any of its affiliates is an affiliate, agent, representative, or employee of the discount program. Dental providers are independent contractors and not employees or agents of ALIC or its affiliates. ALIC does not provide dental care or treatment and is not responsible for outcomes.

(Not available to VT residents.)