Good Morning,
I wanted to provide a few updates for everyone.
Office Hours: I will have office hours Friday, March 20th from 9-Noon. I will email out each week office hours while we are home. If you need to reach me, the office number is 610-374-7101.
Scholarship: If you have scholarship paperwork, please feel free to drop it off at the office either during or after office hours. There is a locked mailbox outside of the office that you may drop it off at. As always, please also feel free to scan it via email as well.
Benefits: If you have a benefits question, FMLA paperwork request, Child Rearing Leave request, etc. please email Lisa Magrowski directly.
Educational Resources: As stated in Kristin Boyd’s email last night, the Principals and APs will be creating packets of work that parents can pick up at the food distribution sites. A few things about this:
1. By allowing principals and APs to do this work, we have not given up our right to the work. This is a temporary exception and is on record as such.
2. Please feel free to pass ideas on to your principals (I know for myself I used to create a split class packet) but by no means is this a requirement.
Student Contact: Many of you have reached out to the district about contacting your students and their families. For elementary and middle school, please continue to use class Dojo. For RHS the district is working on the best platform to reach students. Any information you would like to share, please send to me directly and I will pass it on.
PSEA: A Message from PSEA President Rich Askey:
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones feeling healthy and with the supplies you need to maintain social distance and wellness during this COVID-19 pandemic.
While you focus on your physical health, please know that PSEA has your back on professional matters. We promised we would be here when you need us the most, and we stand by that commitment.
I know you have a lot of questions. And we are working around the clock to get answers and to advocate for you and your students.
Emergency legislation poised for a vote
Our primary goal is to pass legislation that sets clear policy for schools and staff. We’ve been working with the governor, legislators, the Pennsylvania secretary of education, and other school officials to get this done.
Here’s what the bill would do:
- Ensure all employees, particularly education support professionals, are paid;
- Ensure no employee loses retirement credit that they otherwise would have earned pursuant to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System;
- Waive the 180-day school year requirement;
- Increase the number of permissible flexible instructional days;
- Require PDE to apply for a federal waiver for relief from PSSA and Keystone Exam testing requirements and authorize the secretary to waive NOCTI and NIMS exams for career and technical education students;
- Ensure that school entities provide proper protective gear for custodians who provide deep cleaning of potentially infected school buildings; and
- Waive the 12-week student teacher requirement.
We believe this bill will pass soon. Please watch your email and social media for opportunities to contact your legislators and urge them to support it.
More to come
This legislation will answer many of your questions. But I know there will be more questions as we deal with this unprecedented crisis.
PSEA is here to answer them. If you have questions, check out www.psea.org/covid19.
I’ll be updating you about this regularly. So stay tuned. Stay safe. Stay home. And know that PSEA has your back.
Thank you.
Rich Askey
As this is new to everyone, we are taking things one day at a time. I will try to get answers to your questions as quickly as I can, however sometimes there just is no answer.
Be Well,
Rebecca