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Week of 9-30-2024
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Inside this issue
- Donate to the NEA Hurricane Helene Relief Fund
- Public retirees demand long overdue pension adjustments
- Important upcoming election dates
- Laurel Highlands teacher leads students to national victory in financial literacy challenge
- Center for Professional Learning & PEARL
- Member Benefits spotlight: Hear In America
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Donate to the NEA Hurricane Helene Relief Fund
Our hearts go out to those affected by Hurricane Helene. If you’d like to help, NEA has set up a GoFundMe page to assist Association members, their students, and the school communities in southeastern states most impacted.
All donations will be distributed to affected NEA state affiliates for them to allocate to their members in need. NEA Member Benefits will pay any fees imposed by GoFundMe, so 100 percent of the money raised will go directly to supporting NEA members and their families. Funds will be withdrawn by the NEA Member Benefits Relief Fund and sent to the impacted state affiliates.
If you would prefer to donate by check:
Please make checks payable to:
NEA Member Benefits Relief Fund
ATTN: Christine Tarrago
900 Clopper Road, Suite 300
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
In the memo or reference field, please specify “NEA Hurricane Helene Relief Fund.”
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Public retirees demand long overdue pension adjustments
Nearly 70,000 state and public school retirees are facing dire financial struggles after waiting more than 20 years for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their pensions. Public-sector advocates and lawmakers gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday to urge the Legislature to pass a COLA for these retired public servants, many of whom retired before Act 9 of 2001 and have seen no pension increases since then.
Speakers highlighted the severe financial challenges retirees face. Like PSEA-Retired member Robert McVay, who retired from the Franklin Area School District in 1998 and was forced to sell his home to stay afloat. Legislation has already passed the House to provide much-needed pension adjustments, but it remains stalled in the state Senate.
PSEA President Aaron Chapin, who was joined at the press conference by pro-COLA legislators Sen. Vincent Hughes, Sen. Katie Muth, and Rep. Steve Malagari, had a sharp message for the Senate holdouts.
“We are fortunate to have some very supportive lawmakers here with us today who want to do the right thing and provide a long overdue COLA to our pre-Act 9 retirees,” Chapin said. “But there are other lawmakers in this building who don’t want to do the right thing. What do you say we set their salaries back to 2001 levels? How would they like that? Not very much, I’d bet. Not very much at all. But that is what they are doing to thousands of retired public servants through their inaction.”
Click the thumbnail below to watch a video of Robert McVay speaking at the press conference.
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Important upcoming election dates
Tuesday Nov. 5 is General Election Day in Pennsylvania.
Make your voice heard and have a plan to vote in person or to return your ballot by mail.
If you plan to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot
Your completed mail-in ballot APPLICATION must be received (online, or by mail) in your county election office by Oct. 29.
Once you have your mail-in ballot, the ballot must be completed and returned to your county election office by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. Be sure to read the instructions on your ballot carefully.
On Nov. 5, polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Find your polling place here.
Thank you for voting, and for all you do for our schools, our students, and our professions.
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Laurel Highlands teacher leads students to national victory in financial literacy challenge
(left to right) John Frick of state Sen. Pat Stefano’s office; state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa; Intuit Vice President of Corporate Responsibility Dave Zasada; Jeremy Bryson; Laurel Highlands Principal John Diamond; and Laurel Highlands Director of Curriculum Randy Miller.
Jeremy Bryson, a finance teacher at Laurel Highlands High School for 11 years, recently guided his students to a national win in the “Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge,” beating 273 other medium-sized schools.
The challenge, held during Financial Literacy Month in April, involved students playing a game called Prosperity Quest, where they made real-life financial decisions, managed credit, and completed tasks in a simulated world.
As a reward for the students’ win, the school received a $50,000 celebration on Sept. 19 featuring a red carpet, mechanical bull, rock-climbing wall, and visits from local politicians.
“On a personal level, I can’t say I’ve ever been prouder of my students,” Bryson said. “It lets me know that what I’m doing is working, and I’m going to continue to do that every day.”
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Center for Professional Learning & 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
- Your AI Assistant: Using AI in Planning & Preparation
- Differentiated Instruction for Today's Educator
- Academic Acceleration: What Does the Research Say?
- The Classroom Community Collection by Shannon Olsen
- Every Connection Matters: How to Build, Maintain, and Restore Relationships Inside the Classroom and Out
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.
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Member Benefits spotlight: Hear In America
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, NO premiums
- Free annual hearing screening for you and your extended family
- Access to a nationwide network of nearly 6,000 hearing locations
- Low price guarantee on all styles of hearing aids from all major brands
- 60-day money back trial period for exchanges and returns
- 3-year repair warranty
- 3-year loss and damage coverage
- 3-years of hearing aid cleanings and check-up service
- 3-years of free batteries with every hearing aid purchase
- No-interest financing available
To register for your benefits, call Hear In America at 1-855-252-6251.
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400 N. 3rd Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
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This content is intended for PSEA members and their immediate families.
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