Week of 9-14-2020

Inside this issue

• Find the public school champions on your ballot!
• Have you registered to vote by mail yet?
• Standardized testing reform bill amended in state House
• Online Instruction Guide: Getting up to speed in a virtual teaching landscape
• Center for Professional Learning: Upcoming book discussions and webinars
• PSEA Member Benefits thanks its partners for their support of the Lucy A. Valero Scholarship Fund

Find the public school champions on your ballot!

When it comes to politics, PSEA doesn’t pick sides. We support champions of public education, regardless of party affiliation.

And since it’s not always obvious who that candidate is, it helps to have a guide you can turn to for help casting your vote. That’s where schoolhouseballot.com comes in.

Simply enter your info and get a localized list of public education-friendly officials up for election – from president on down.

Have you registered to vote by mail yet?

Never has the issue of voting by mail been more relevant or urgent than during this pandemic. When every in-person gathering is fraught with anxiety, it only makes sense to use alternative tools to exercise your democratic rights – especially when it’s this easy.

Despite what you may have heard, voting by mail is safe, secure, and incredibly easy. Fortunately, it looks like Pennsylvanians are already figuring that out.

• More than 50 percent of all ballots cast in the June 2 PA primary were mail-in ballots.
• One in five PSEA members who are registered to vote applied to vote by mail.

Still haven’t registered? Click on the below link and change that. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Standardized testing reform bill amended in state House

After PSEA members sent nearly 5,000 emails to their state representatives, the state House this week approved key amendments to a bill that will postpone implementation of a number of standardized tests this year and allow parents to opt their students out of state assessments.

With a vote of 199 to 3, lawmakers overwhelmingly decided that the challenges of educating students during the COVID-19 pandemic are more important than standardized testing.

Lawmakers did the right thing for Pennsylvania’s students and their families. During these ever-changing times, educators should be focused on adjusting to new ways of teaching rather than on prepping students for standardized tests.

Thanks to Rep. John Lawrence, Sen. Wayne Langerholc, and all the state House members who supported this important amendment. The House will likely vote the final bill during the week of Sept. 28.

SB 1216 would:

• Allow parents or guardians to opt their children out of state assessments for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.
• Require that Keystone Exams can only be a state or local graduation requirement beginning in 2022-23.
• Extend the timeline for implementation of Act 158 (bipartisan graduation pathways) by one year – to 2022-23.  
• Provide PDE with the authority to waive the NOCTI/NIMS, if appropriate on a schoolwide or program basis, for the 2020-21 school year.  
• Require PDE to waive the student performance components of the educator evaluation system for the 2020-21 school year.
• Require PDE to apply to the federal government for a waiver from annual testing requirements should a waiver opportunity be made available.
• Ensure that Keystone Exam testing is not required for students who took associated content in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years. Students would be deemed proficient based on course grades.

Online Instruction Guide: Getting up to speed in a virtual teaching landscape

If there’s one thing the sudden shift to online learning in March taught us, it’s that having the right tools for this job is essential. And if there’s another thing it taught us it’s that online learning isn’t going away anytime soon.

PSEA wants you to be prepared to meet the needs of students in any environment.

That’s why we put together this reference guide to online teaching. Wherever you’re at in your career or comfort level with technology, this guide can help you improve your process. Check it out at the link below, and share any tips and tools we might have missed on our Facebook page.

Center for Professional Learning: Upcoming book discussions and webinars

Book Discussions:

• “Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice” - Bryan Stevenson 
• Sept. 30, 5-6 p.m. 
• “Genesis Begins Again” - Alicia D. Williams 
• Oct. 26, 5-6 p.m.

Webinars: 

• Taking Google Classroom to the Next Level
• Sept. 22, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Using Pear Deck to Engage Learners at a Distance
• Sept. 24, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Building Routines for Student Success in a Virtual Space
• Sept. 29, 6-7:30 p.m.

PSEA Member Benefits thanks its partners for their support of the Lucy A. Valero Scholarship Fund

The endorsed companies that are part of the PSEA Member Benefits program are committed to PSEA and its members. Their commitment can be seen through the great products and services they provide and through the special discounts and enhancements they offer to PSEA members. 

The Member Benefits partners are also committed to PSEA causes such as the annual Carmen J. Matino Friends of Public Education Golf Tournament. Their sponsorship and generosity helped to provide the necessary funding for scholarships to future educators.

This year was to be the 25th year for the golf tournament. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was canceled.  Despite the cancellation, the Member Benefits partners listed below continued to fund this worthy cause by donating a total of $13,450! 

We thank them for their continued commitment to the scholarship fund and to PSEA Members. 

DIAMOND SPONSORS

Guardian Transfer – Settlements for Mortgages & Refinancing

Kades-Margolis Corporation – Retirement Savings Accounts

Liberty Mutual – Home & Auto Insurance

NEA Member Benefits

GOLD SPONSORS

AmeriServ – Mortgages, Home Equity & Personal Loans

California Casualty - Home & Auto Insurance

TITANIUM SPONSORS

Boscov’s Travel – Travel Planning

Bolton Partners

Hear in America – Hearing Aid Services

BRONZE SPONSORS

Charles J Cavanaugh

Neff & Sedacca, PC

To see how you can save money by using the PSEA Member Benefits program, please click on the link below.