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Chris Lilienthal (717) 712-6677
David Broderic (717) 376-9169

HARRISBURG, PA (August 21, 2025) — While many Pennsylvania students are starting back to school this week, their teachers and support staff have been hard at work for weeks now preparing for the start of the 2025-26 school year.

From designing learning spaces, to gathering room supplies, to thinking through how they’ll engage student minds, PSEA members like Bylly Jo Morton are ready to welcome students back to the classroom.

“I’m excited,” said Morton, a math teacher and member of the Central Dauphin Education Association. “By the time the summer is over, I’m ready to get back in there and meet a whole new group of students, see former students coming by my classroom. But I’m excited about getting in there and getting to know the new group that I’m going to actually be spending the entire 180 days with.”

Morton is one of several Pennsylvania educators featured in new back-to-school videos from PSEA.

Helene Tscheschlog is a biology teacher and member of the Western Wayne Education Association. She said that over the summer she looks for new ways of teaching biology to keep her students interested in their learning.

“The thing that I like the most about starting a new school year is just the excitement of trying new things with my students,” Tscheschlog said. Over the summer, she likes to “look for new, exciting ways to teach the material, especially with the new standards that we have in science across the state. To me, it’s exciting to think, how is this going to work with my students and how can I make a bigger impact on them?”

For Jenn Fumanti, a second grade teacher and member of the Pennsbury Education Association, a big part of heading back to school is making sure students feel like they belong.

“The one thing that I do to get my classroom set up for the new school year is to personalize it, put my personal touches on it, but also put my students’ touches on it,” Fumanti said “So, from Day 1 when they come in, they feel at home.”

Check out all of our back-to-school videos with PSEA members and other back-to-school resources at our web site.

An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.