Latest news with #PSEA
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania struggling to fill classrooms with teachers, organizations look to assist
CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Filling classrooms with teachers in Pennsylvania is becoming more difficult every year, and many organizations are stepping up to try and fill vacancies. One organization is the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). The PSEA represents 178,000 education professionals in Pennsylvania. Assistant Director of Communications Chris Lilienthal said the amount of decline in new teachers is a crisis. 'Since 2012-13, Pennsylvania has seen a 65% decline in the number of new teacher certificates issued in the state,' Lilienthal said. With so many open positions and the low number of individuals attempting to get certificates, the Commonwealth has issued emergency permits so that classrooms are filled. Emergency permit numbers surged to fill classroom vacancies, rising by 660 to reach 8,747 last school year. The permits are filled by college-educated workers who don't have an education degree or are certified in a different subject area than what they were hired to teach. An independent analysis of state data performed by Ed Fuller, director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis in the Educational Leadership Program at Penn State University, showed 8,885 teachers leaving the profession in 2024-25, up by 559 compared to the year before. The PSEA introduced Educators Rising, a program that offers classroom-ready curriculum, training, and support to high school students looking to become educators. 'We're bringing a curriculum into dozens of high schools across the state, introducing kids while they're still in high school to what a career in public education would look like,' Lilienthal said. At the college level, a student teaching stipend gives student teachers $10,000. Part of the program keeps the teacher in Pennsylvania for at least three years. 'As we continue with that program, we're going to see more and more people coming into our teacher pipeline who are going to stay in Pennsylvania,' Lilienthal said. We're also told that the PSEA is attempting to push for legislation that would change the base salary for teachers in the Commonwealth. The last time the base salary was changed was over 30 years ago, and it was set at $18,500. The proposed change would be a minimum of $60,000. 'This is something where we really need to make sure that we're paying our teachers competitively so that we can recruit and retain the best and brightest into our classrooms,' Lilienthal said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Reported Fetterman outburst at meeting reopens questions about Pennsylvania Dem's fitness for office
An alleged outburst by Sen. John Fetterman is reopening concerns about whether the Pennsylvania Democrat is still fit for office after suffering a stroke several years ago. Fetterman, a 55-year-old Democrat perhaps best known for his distinctive habit of almost always wearing gym shorts and a hoodie, suffered a stroke in 2022 and was later admitted to Walter Reed Hospital for depression for six weeks shortly after taking office. The Associated Press reported this week that during a meeting with teachers' union members from his state, Fetterman became agitated, began repeating himself, shouting and yelling: "Everybody is mad at me" and "Why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do?" He also reportedly slammed his hands on a desk during the outburst. The outlet reported that Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) President Aaron Chapin was present at the meeting. Neither PSEA nor Chapin responded to Fox News Digital's request to confirm or deny the incident. According to the AP, an aide cut off the meeting, ushered the visitors out and proceeded to break down crying. The outburst came shortly before New York Magazine published a story detailing concerns about his mental health from several current and former staffers. The magazine reported that staffers "paint a picture of an erratic senator who has become almost impossible to work for and whose mental-health situation is more serious and complicated than previously reported." The article extensively cites testimony from Adam Jentleson, Fetterman's former chief of staff, who voiced a plethora of concerning behavior, including "conspiratorial thinking; megalomania" and "high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room." The article's author went on to state that many of the staffers are not only worried about his fitness as a senator but also that "he may present a risk to the Democratic Party and maybe even to himself." In response to the AP report, Fetterman's office sent Fox News Digital several comments from the senator in which he neither confirmed nor denied the outburst but instead, said: "Here's what is true: We had a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration's cuts to our education system." The senator said: "As a proud product of PSEA, I will always support our teachers, and I will always reject anyone's attempt to turn Pennsylvania's public schools into a voucher program." In reference to the New York Magazine article, Fetterman dismissed the concerns as "just disgruntled former staffers peddling lies and half-truths under the guise of 'concern.'" Fetterman said that "if those were genuine concerns, they'd pick up the phone and call me, not the press," adding, "My ACTUAL doctors and my family affirmed that I'm very well." The senator has previously labeled the magazine's report "a dumb hit piece," saying: "We've all moved on."
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump orders dismantling of DOE, what does that mean for PA schools?
President Trump signed yet another executive order Thursday, this one directing his education secretary to dismantle the Department of Education. The Trump Administration said it is hoping to return education authority to the states, arguing this will help students in the long run. Davis joins county execs nationwide asking Trump to reconsider tariffs on Canada One political analyst said if the dismantling were to happen, the effect is going to be extremely significant. According to Dr. Joe Morris from Mercyhurst University, getting rid of the Department of Education has been on the Republican wish list for decades and Donald Trump seems to be ready to do it. Morris questioned whether that can happen. 'The president cannot simply close down an organization that was created by an act of Congress without Congress playing a role in that. It is possible to shut down an organization if through executive order or some other mechanism the president decided to limit the number of people that are working at this organization,' he said. Harborcreek Twp. supervisor gives insight on potential impact of proposed Trump Admin. tariffs The administration has already made cuts within the agency, its workforce has been slashed in half. Morris said the cuts to the Department of Education are just the latest moves in the Trump Administration's agenda and at this point, no federal worker should consider themselves safe. Q: If the Department of Education goes, what happens to the $1.6 billion in federal funding that comes into the commonwealth every year to support students? 'The Department of Education is responsible for providing all sorts of assistance to school districts including schools districts like the City of Erie School District and Millcreek,' Morris said. Greene Twp. awarded $50K grant for extreme weather response A representative from the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) said this is the biggest concern of public school educators across the state. 'When you break that funding down, the lion's share of it goes to the most vulnerable students in Pennsylvania through Title One programs and through funding for special education services,' said Chris Lilienthal, assistant director of communications for the PSEA. 'We worry that it will send class sizes soaring, it will put special education services at risk and put nearly 7,000 public school jobs at risk across Pennsylvania.' PSEA members have engaged with congress to let them know they want elected leaders who are going to protect public education and services for their most vulnerable students. 'There is a growning demand for special education services and those services are becoming more expensive to provide so it would catastrophic for pennsylvania to loose that key federal funding,' Lilienthal went on to say. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Lilienthal said that 1 out of 5 students receive special education services which is 20% of the 1 point 7 million students in pennsylvania's public schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
