Pennsylvania State Education Association

Week of 3-31-2025

Inside this issue

• Pennsylvanians oppose dismantling of U.S. Department of Education
• NEA seeking volunteers for educator preparation program
• PSEA Podcast: The fight for a living wage – ESPs take a stand
• ICYMI: Thousands of PSEA members help to revise our mission, vision, values, and goals
• Member Benefits spotlight: Contact Fill contact lenses

A new poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research (SP&R) found that Pennsylvania voters oppose the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education by a 58:39 margin. Voters also overwhelmingly oppose reductions in federal funding for critical education programs including supports for students with special needs, free and reduced-price lunches in schools, and Title I programs for economically disadvantaged students in rural, urban, and suburban school districts. Large majorities want federal funding for these programs to increase or stay the same.

“This poll confirms what we have been hearing from Pennsylvania educators, support staff, and the students and families they serve,” said PSEA President Aaron Chapin. “Pennsylvanians want their elected leaders to invest in students from all backgrounds – in rural, urban, and suburban communities. They do not want to see the department that distributes and oversees billions in federal school funding be dismantled and tossed aside.”

The Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is seeking volunteers to be trained, approved, and to become part of review teams for educator preparation programs across the country.

CAEP needs at least 20 new P-12 educators every year. The number of P-12 teacher leader volunteers is depleted, and CAEP needs your help.

NEA helped create CAEP and its precursor, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Together, these organizations have been working to improve teacher quality for more than 70 years.

Qualifications:

• Skilled and knowledgeable educator 
• Writes well 
• Comfortable around educator prep. faculty 
• Excellent for people already collaborating with teacher education (i.e., cooperating teachers, instructors, etc.)

The short online application is due by April 30, 2025. Free training will occur virtually sometime between May and July. NEA will provide an orientation and help lead training for P-12 educators.

For more information, reach out to Blake West, senior policy analyst at NEA, at bwest@nea.org 

Note: If selected, new reviewers might be asked to serve on a team beginning in Spring 2026 or beyond – no immediate duties. You may decline assignments based on your availability. A review involves about three months to review documents, connect once or twice online with your team, and concludes with a “virtual review” requiring a couple of days of sub time, the costs of which NEA will cover.

More than 100 school support professionals rallied at the Pennsylvania Capitol on March 25, calling on lawmakers to pass House Bill 777, which would guarantee a living wage of at least $20 per hour for our bus drivers, custodians and maintenance staff, secretaries, IT professionals, cafeteria workers, personal care aides, and paraprofessionals.

Immediately after the rally, the officer team interviewd ESP President Rudy Burruss and Vice President Marc Howshall about the new House bill, the impact of raising ESP wages to at least $20 an hour, and what comes next in the fight for fair pay.

On Dec. 14, members attending the PSEA House of Delegates voted to approve important revisions to the Association’s mission, vision, values, and goals — statements which will guide PSEA’s organizational priorities for the next eight to 10 years.

The revisions to the mission, vision, values, and goals statements were the result of 14 months of guided conversations, surveys, and focus groups, where thousands of PSEA members shared their ideas about the principles they believe should be the foundation of PSEA’s work going forward.

“This was an exciting, collaborative process where we gave every PSEA member the opportunity to be seen and heard,” said PSEA Vice President Jeff Ney. “PSEA is a member-driven organization. PSEA is its members, and the mission, vision, values, and goals process is evidence of that.

“This is how we do things at PSEA, and we’re stronger because of it.”

Updating PSEA’s mission, vision, values, and goals … by the numbers

• 12 focus groups with nearly 100 PSEA members
• Three town halls with hundreds of PSEA members
• 16,238 responses to a survey sent to all PSEA members
• Nine feedback sessions during PSEA conferences and meetings with hundreds of PSEA members

PSEA Member Benefits offers members and their families big savings on brand-name contact lenses through Contact Fill.

Program Benefits:

• Dependable service to your home, school, or office
• Free standard shipping and handling on all orders (use promotion code "PSEA")
• Convenient 24/7 online ordering
• Personable customer service
• No hidden charges
• PSEA members must log in to take advantage of this discount program
• NVA vision insurance accepted as a form of payment