Week of 8-7-2023

Inside this issue

• State budget finally passes
• Join our School Safety Task Force
• Voice preview: Father and daughter’s shared path to becoming certified teachers
• Soapbox: What is your number one concern at the start of this school year?
• Upcoming Center for Professional Learning events and PEARL
• Member Benefits spotlight: Hear in America

Last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a delayed state budget into law that includes nearly $750 million in funding increases for Pennsylvania’s public schools.

The General Assembly still has some items to work through to enact a few programs included in the budget, but payments for all the critical public school programs will be made on schedule and without interruption.

Here are some of the key public education funding increases:

• Basic education funding: $567,365,049
• Special education funding: $50,000,000
• Career and technical education funding: $14,000,000
• Career and technical education equipment grants: $9,450,000

Keeping our schools safe is always a top priority for PSEA. We are forming a School Safety Task Force so that PSEA members can identify ways to make our schools as safe as they can be.

Would you like to serve on the School Safety Task Force?

To submit your name for consideration, please send an email to plein@psea.org.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the cover story of the latest issue of Voice focuses on the father-daughter team of Jermaine and ShaWanna Bailey, both paraeducators who became certified teachers in the School District of the City of York.

The Baileys utilized their district’s “Grow Your Own” incentives to make their career goals a reality. It’s a heartwarming story about two people leveraging strong family bonds and their shared love of education to boost each other up and take their careers to the next level. You can read the print version that should have recently arrived in your mailbox, or click this link to read a pdf version online.

PEARL

Looking for a convenient and flexible way to earn Act 48 credits, Chapter 14 verification, or postgraduate credits? As a PSEA member, you have exclusive access to over 95 courses through PEARL.

Here are just three of the courses you have access to:

• NEA's Supporting All Students in an Asynchronous Environment
• Inclusivity in Action
• Connect, Collaborate, Create with School-based Occupational Therapy

Webinars

• The Future is Happening as We Speak: Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Today
  • Aug. 15, 6 p.m.
• Student Performance Measures (SLOs 2.0)
  • Sept. 21, 7-8:30 p.m.
• Toolkit and Resources to Help Early Career Educators
  • Sept. 26, 7-8 p.m.

Book Discussions

• Time to Roll
  
  • Oct. 17, 7-8 p.m.
• The Introverted Educator
  
  • Oct. 26, 7-8 p.m.
• The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, Part 1, Chapters 1-4
  
  • Nov. 8, 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.

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.