PSEA

What Joe Biden's "American Rescue Plan" for COVID-19 Would Do for Schools and Children "President Joe Biden unveiled his "American Rescue Plan" for the coronavirus pandemic in mid-January before he took office. The $1.9 trillion plan includes dedicated money for K-12 schools to help them reopen safely and address the various impacts of COVID-19, but there are other parts of the plan that would help schools, educators, and children." "NOTE: The figures below are shown in milli...ons of dollars. For example, "$350,000" represents $350 billion." Full story https://www.edweek.org//what-bidens-american-rescu/2021/01

"Teacher shortages predate the coronavirus pandemic there is reduced funding in many states since the last recession and the virus has only made the problem worse, prompting many teachers to leave the profession or take early retirement." "Education leaders in states like Arizona, Kansas, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Texas are all bracing for even more drastic shortages."

"College graduates nationally are carrying $1.6 trillion in student loans, the largest amount of consumer debt carried by Americans except for mortgages. The average debt is $33,000." "In another major change, he has proposed overhauling the underutilized program that grants loan forgiveness to people who take on public service jobs, such as teaching or nursing. His proposal would give $10,000 in student loan forgiveness a year for up to five years to borrowers in the qualifying positions." "This would replace the current program that nominally wiped out all debt after 10 years, but has assisted only a relative handful of debtors due to bureaucratic obstacles."

I’m going to continue to teach, she said in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning in August. It’s important I want people to value teachers. "She didn’t quit teaching when her husband served as vice president, returning to the classroom just days after the inauguration. She juggled her two worlds by grading papers on Air Force Two or bringing a change of clothes to work so that she could leave from the campus straight to a State Dinner. "When students asked if she was... married to the vice president, she would deflect palace intrigue by simply saying she was one of his relatives." "Come January, when her husband’s job title changes, hers will stay the same: Unlike every other first lady in American history, she has said she will keep her full-time job."

Congratulations to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. We're looking forward to an administration that believes in and supports public education.

The riot was just the latest and most appalling evidence that a wide swath of the American public doesn’t understand democratic norms. That’s why it should serve as a sputnik moment for an ambitious revival of civics instruction along with expanded training in news literacy, writes Andrea Gabor.

What's at the top of Rich's notebook currently? Election voting options for members. Read more in his latest blog post https://www.psea.org/richs-notebook/

PSEA members: #AmericanEducationWeek is coming up Nov. 16-20, and PSEA is putting together a video showcasing your great work during these trying times. Whether you are in-person, hybrid, or remote, show us what the school day looks like for you by sending us a private message with pics or videos.

Plans change...Did you request a mail-in ballot but haven’t mailed it yet? It’s TOO LATE to drop it in the mail and be sure that it arrives on time. But you still have options. PSEA President Rich Askey reviews steps you can take to get your vote in securely. ... "Make your plan to vote today. But most important of allJUST VOTE!"

What inspires you to #vote?

What inspires you to vote?

The department launched Future Ready PA in 2018 as a tool to provide families, educators, employers, and communities with a more comprehensive look at how Pennsylvania schools are preparing students, said Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. Success is measured by more than standardized tests. The index shows how all students, including historically underserved groups, are progressing in their education and learning the skills to be productive citizens of the Commonwealth, Ortega added.

"In a conference call scheduled for Monday, state regulators will talk with the superintendents of Westmoreland County’s 17 school districts about a government recommendation that they close schools in the 1,036-square-mile county east of Pittsburgh and move to online instruction because of rising COVID-19 case counts."

What inspires you to vote? Let us know! #PSEAsoapbox

There is a proposal in Harrisburg to divert $500 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to a new private and religious school voucher program. This is the last thing that Pennsylvania should be using COVID-19 relief money to fund. PSEA’s Chris Lilienthal commented to ABC 27 on the proposal saying, We need to be looking at real solutions that will help our public schools that educate 95% of Pennsylvania students, as well as other schools out there in Pennsylvania.

"The General Assembly ended its fall legislative session on Wednesday without an agreement on how to spend $1.3 billion in leftover federal stimulus funding." "Lawmakers will need to return to the Capitol after the Nov. 3 election to figure out how to close out the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2021. Faced with the uncertainty created by the pandemic, the General Assembly in May passed a five-month budget. That May spending plan allocated $2.6 billion in funding from the CARES Act but lawmakers set aside the $1.3 billion to see if they could get a clearer view of the pandemic’s impact and whether the federal government will provide more aid." "Lawmakers have until the end of November to determine how to divvy up the remaining stimulus funding."

"In 2015, Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos declared that government really sucks and after serving nearly four years as U.S. education secretary, she has not tempered that view one iota. She gave a speech this week at a Christian college disparaging the U.S. public education system, saying it is set up to replace the home and family."

#DYK: It's National School Bus Safety Week!

"With all the chaos surrounding us, I have never been more proud to be an educator. I talked to a teacher who called her student after hours and gave a full lesson because that was the only time the child could use her parents’ computer. A bus driver bringing hot spots to neighborhoods without Wi-Fi so that students can learn. So many cafeteria workers and support staff who box up and deliver meals so kids don’t go hungry." - Dr. Jill Biden, addressing PSEA's Collective Bargaining Conference - Oct. 17, 2020