Building Bridges Today for Tomorrow's Leaders - State Conference 2017

Exciting news! Registration for the 2017 Student PSEA Conference and Convention is now open! At the conference, you will be inspired by keynote speakers A.J. Juliani and Anthony Gabriele, learn from accomplished presenters during breakout sessions, participate in an amazing Outreach to Teach service project in the Cornell School District, and have the opportunity to run for regional and state level positions. This year we have changed a few things and we are excited to share these changes with you! 

The first big change that you will notice is that your conference T-shirt will now be included with your registration. This T-shirt should be worn to the Outreach to Teach project on Friday evening. This means that in return for donating to PACE, we have new opportunities.

Professional headshot. For a $5 donation to PACE, you will receive a professional headshot. A Student PSEA member from Slippery Rock University who takes professional photos and videos as a hobby has graciously volunteered to take the headshots at our conference. What’s better than one of your own members giving their time back to the organization?

Photo booth. For a $5 donation to PACE, you can receive one ticket for the photo booth, or for a $12 donation to PACE, you can receive three tickets for the photo booth. One of our EA members who sits on the Student PSEA Committee has donated their time and photo booth to our conference. Another great example of someone giving back to the organization that they value.

Another new part of conference will be the Interregional Informational Meetings, also known as IIMs. These meetings will replace a portion of the region meeting. The IIMs will provide information about Gettysburg, the NEA Student Leadership Conference and Representative Assembly, voting on the floor, nominating on the floor, and much more. For the IIMs, you will be merged with one other region in a breakout room and then you will split off into your respective regions for your region meeting. Region Meetings will be kept strictly to nominating and voting for region positions, as well as nominating for the NEA SLC/RA. We believe that creating this divide will allow for more time for questions and voting/nominating. We are excited to hear your feedback on this set up for next year. 

As mentioned above, this will be the first year that nominations for the NEA SLC/RA will not be taken on the floor during Business Meeting 1. Nominations will now be taken during Region Meeting 1. There will be a Nominating Committee from your region that will announce nominations for your region during Business Meeting 1. We believe this is a more organized process and will give us more time for nominations of state level officers.

 

The last difference with conference this year is that we have added awards to our conference. The new awards are Exceptional Underclassman, Outstanding Chapter Advisor, and Outstanding Servant Leader. These awards are modeled after the awards given at the NEA Student Leadership Conference. Those who win each award will be submitted for the NEA award to be given at the NEA Student Leadership Conference in June 2017. We are excited to showcase more exceptional members and advisors this year. Without you, this organization would not be possible.

One part of conference that hasn't changed is that Student PSEA chapters from across Pennsylvania get to showcase what they have been doing all year through the APEX Showcase. I believe this is one of the most amazing parts of the conference. APEX stands for Achieving Professional Excellence. Throughout the year, that’s what all of you have been doing. By being part of your college or university’s Student PSEA chapter, you have been achieving professional excellence by participating in events that focus on leadership and membership development, community service, professional development, and political action and advocacy. You should be very proud of these events. You have worked hard all year to put them together, you have taken the time - when you could be working on assignments, hanging out with your friends, or taking a nap - to better yourself as an educator by attending these events. Be proud of your hard work!

This is the first year that we have gone completely online for the APEX Showcase submissions. Remember that your submission must be in the form of electronic portfolios, videos, computer slide shows, as well as other creative ideas. This saves you money that can be used on other events. With technology so prevalent in our lives, it makes it much easier to create online portfolios and websites that showcase your chapter and the amazing opportunities you provide to your members. Throughout the year, your chapter presidents and advisors have been receiving fliers that provide examples of events for each pillar. Below are the winners of last year’s APEX Showcase, guidelines for APEX submissions, and submissions from last year. This year’s first place winner will receive the Student PSEA Chapter of the Year Award and will be submitted for the NEA Local Excellence Award.

Last Years Winners

1st Place – University of Pittsburg at Greensburg

2nd Place – Clarion University

3rd Place - East Stroudsburg University (submission was in scrapbook format)

APEX Guidelines: https://www.psea.org/uploadedFiles/Student/StudentPSEA-APEXGuidelines.pdf

APEX Examples 2016:

Clarion- http://clarissanpotsubay.wixsite.com/clarionspsea
UPG- http://knc333.wixsite.com/upgspsea
Slippery Rock- http://ca33davis.wixsite.com/sru-s-psea
IUP- http://iupstudentpsea.weebly.com/
West Chester- http://kkishbaugh1714.wixsite.com/student-psea-of-wcu
Lock Haven- http://alf8317.wixsite.com/lockhavens-psea
Cal U- http://caluspsea.wixsite.com/caluspsea
Shippensburg- http://shippensburguniversitypsea.weebly.com/
Kutztown- http://kuspsea.weebly.com/
Gannon- http://bennett030.wixsite.com/apex
PSU- http://spseapsu.wixsite.com/psuspsea

Another opportunity to showcase your hard work is through the Learning Center Competition. You can showcase your creative side as an aspiring educator by creating a learning center. Learning centers are similar to a lesson that you would use in your classroom or an interactive bulletin board. Display the lesson/bulletin board on a trifold and bring it to conference with you! Student members will be able to look at your lessons showcased around part of the ballroom. Below is the link to the Learning Center Competition submission guidelines,  as well as examples from previous years. We would really love to see more submissions this year!

Learning Center Guidelines- https://www.psea.org/uploadedFiles/Student/StudentPSEA-LearningCentersGuidelines.pdf

For more information on conference, presenters, running for state and region level positions, PACE, and more, visit https://www.psea.org/students.aspx?id=3330.

I am so excited to share this experience with you, and all of the new and exciting opportunities and changes we have for you!

I hope you’ll join me in Pittsburgh where we will build bridges today for tomorrows leaders!

Shelby Pepmeyer

State President

Leadership in Education. What is Your Why?

What is a leader? In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word leader is defined as “a person who leads.” Merriam-Webster also defines the word “leadership” as “the power or ability to lead other people.” To me, these definitions are so vague, which makes them so wonderful. Being a leader and showing leadership are exactly what their definitions say they are, but what kind of leader you are and what kind of leadership qualities you portray, are completely and totally up to you.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” -Simon Sinek

This is a quote that resonated with me at our 2016 Student PSEA Leadership & Planning retreat. At our retreat, we began by expanding our knowledge about different leadership styles. This year, we learned about “starting with the why,” an idea from Simon Sinek and his TED Talk, which you can find here: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action (I highly suggest watching it.)

Beginning with the why, telling people what you believe in, showing them how you act on what you believe – sounds easy, right? However, most people and organizations start with what they are trying to “sell.” They then let people know how they do it and they never get to the why. As leaders in Student PSEA, we need to break this cycle and tell everyone why we are leaders in Student PSEA. What is our purpose? Why are we inspiring everyone else to become members of this amazing organization?

Learn what your why is. What do you believe in? Why are you a leader? Why are you an educator? Find what inspires you. Then, figure out how you are going to follow through in what you believe. Lastly, tell them who you are. Are you an educator? Are you a leader? Who/what are you?

If Student PSEA were to start from the outside in, it would sound like this: We help educate and train aspiring educators by providing them with professional development, community service, and political action opportunities. Want to join?

Doesn’t sound so appealing, right?

If Student PSEA were to start from the inside out, starting with their why, it would sound like this: We believe in providing quality education to children no matter their ZIP code. We provide professional development, community service, and political action opportunities. We help educate and train aspiring educators. We are Student PSEA.

That sounds a lot better, doesn’t it? However, to provide these opportunities, it takes a special type of leader. A servant leader to be exact. But what exactly is a servant leader? How am I, as an educator, a servant leader?

A servant leader is someone who has a will, something they believe in. He/she is intentional with his/her actions and choses their behavior. A servant leader choses to love, the verb, which means he/she identifies and meets the needs, not wants, of those they are leading. By meeting the needs of others, a servant leader has been called on to serve and sacrifice. A servant leader dedicates their time to those they lead. By serving and sacrificing, a servant leader influences. He/she leads by influence rather than power, and in turn, earns the right to be called a leader.

As educators, we have a will to teach children and to help them reach their fullest potential, no matter their ZIP code. We are intentional with our actions, by providing appropriate instruction to our students and by going to school every day to provide them with the best education possible. We love, the verb, because we meet the needs of our students, not their wants. We are serving them and sacrificing our time with friends and family, because we are planning awesome lessons, grading papers, or writing notes home to families. We have dedicated our time to our students and in turn, we have earned the right to be called leaders. Leaders of our students, leaders of our classroom, and leaders of our future.

As educators, we pass these leadership skills onto our students because they are watching us every day. They watch us and our intentional actions. They see us come to school full of passion, and probably coffee, to educate them to the best of our abilities so that they can reach their fullest potential. They see us love, the verb, by providing them the education they need when they want to be outside playing. They see us serving them and sacrificing time for them, because they have a safe and happy place to come to every day, where someone cares and loves them. Our students look up to us every day as someone they can learn from, because we educate their future.

I would like to introduce you to your servant leaders, those that some of you look up to. A leader at your school, a leader in your region, a leader at the state level who has inspired you in some way, I’m sure, because they all inspire me every day.

The 2016-2017 Student PSEA Executive Board.

Meet your State Vice President, Maria Wittman Maria is a Senior Early Childhood and Special Education Major at Slippery Rock University.

Meet your State Secretary, Sam Nagel. Sam is a Senior Secondary Education and History Major at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

Meet your State President-Elect, Marie Hutchings. Marie is a Junior Elementary and Special Education Major part of the Autism Endorsement Program at Kutztown University.

Meet you State PACE Director, Mallory Piercy. Mallory is a Junior Secondary Education English Major, Political Science Minor at Clarion University.

Meet Jess Porter, your Northwest Region President. Jess is a Junior Early Childhood and Special Education Major at Edinboro University.

Meet Haylie Schmidt, your Midwest Region President. Haylie is a Senior Early Childhood Education and Special Education Major at Slippery Rock University

Meet Victoria Rodriguez, your Western Region President. Victoria is a Senior Mathematics Major with Education and Special Education Certifications at Carlow University.

Meet Eli Imbrogno, your Southwestern Region President. Eli is a Senior Secondary Education and History Major at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

Meet Emilee Stoner, your Southern Region President. Emilee is a Junior Early Childhood and Special Education Major at Shippensburg University.

Meet Emily Waggoner, your Central West Region President. Emily is a Senior Early Childhood and Special Education Major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Meet Danielle Sral, your Central Region President. Danielle is a Senior Early Childhood and Adolescent Education Major, Special Education Minor at Penn State Altoona.

Meet Tara Hartman, your Northeast Region President. Tara is a fifth-year Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and Child, Family Studies with a concentrate in Education triple major, Psychology minor at Keystone College.

Meet Julianne Lowenstein, your Eastern Region President. Julianne is a Senior Early Childhood Education and French Major at Albright College.

Meet Emily Murray, your Southeast Region President. Emily is a Sophomore Early Grades and Special Education Major at West Chester University.

These individuals work hard year-round to create opportunities for you that follow Student PSEA’s four pillars. They are the backbone to this organization and are amazing servant leaders! Not only do we have these amazing Student PSEA servant leaders at the state and regional levels, there are many Student PSEA servant leaders that I know who lead on college campuses, and previous Student PSEA members who lead in classrooms, across Pennsylvania.

The following positions will be voted on at the 2017 Student PSEA State Conference in Greentree this April! (Mark your calendars)

Regional Positions

·         President

·         Vice President

·         Secretary

·         PACE

·         House of Delegates Representative

State Positions

·         President-Elect

·         Vice President

·         Secretary

·         PACE

I encourage you to take the Character Dare Challenge that has been posted on the Student PSEA Instagram over the last few months. Become intentional with your actions, love, the verb, serve and sacrifice, and become a servant leader. Start out small and go big. Become a leader in your college’s Student PSEA Chapter. Become a servant leader at the region level. Become a leader at the state level. Wherever your will leads you, follow it.

Should you have any questions about becoming a servant leader and want more information about any position, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself, your region president, or your chapter president.

Lead with passion and intention,

Shelby Pepmeyer

State President

2016 Election

Election Video

Campaigning for the 2016 election began almost one year ago. I know that at the very beginning I didn’t know who I was voting for and I’m sure most of you didn’t either. But I did know one thing – whoever I voted for was going to support public education.

As future educators, you know this is an important election. This year, PSEA has charged us with the task of voting for a 102/26 pro-public education majority. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, what does that even mean? Electing a 102/26 pro-public education majority means that we would be electing 102 pro-public education state representatives and 26 pro-public education state senators. This means that more than half of the state representatives and state senators would be pro-public education. How awesome would it be for us to know that the majority of lawmakers would have our backs as educators?

However, according to PSEA’s analysis, we are not quite there yet. To get to that 102/26 threshold means adding at least four more pro-public educators in the House, and four more in the Senate. We have until November 8th to have our voices heard to make this a reality.

"We don't divide legislators by their political parties; it doesn't matter if they are Democrats or Republicans. We are looking for 102 members of the House and 26 members of the Senate who will stand with students and educators.'' -Jerry Oleksiak, PSEA President

That’s right, party doesn’t matter! We as educators are responsible for more than just our personal political views when it comes to voting. We are responsible for our students and their education.

I’m sure you’re wondering, why are we so worried about legislators? What do they do to help us as educators? Let me ask you these questions in return – how do we get state funding restored to our schools? Stop attacks on public employees' pensions?  End anti-labor attacks? Limit the toxic consequences of standardized testing? We vote for pro-public education candidates!

Legislators are making key decisions about our futures in our classrooms that will affect our students. Legislators make the decisions day in and day out about what we can teach in our classrooms, how we are evaluated as teachers, what benefits we’ll receive, and the pay we earn to support our families and futures. We need to talk to our friends, families, colleagues, and teammates, and tell them their future as educators is in the hands of those who will be voting on November 8th.

In 2008, 44 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voted. In the 2012 election, only 38 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voted. In 2014, only 17 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voted. These are extremely low numbers. This year, we need to change these numbers. We need to show everyone that we care about our futures and we care about our students. We need to VOTE! We need to let our voices be heard and we need to stand up for public education and our rights as future educators. We need to stand up for our future students and their education because after all, they are the reason we do what we love!

Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent, on November 8th, you need to make your voice heard and vote for candidates who will see you through your future as an educator and support you as you work at a job that is so rewarding that you love!

Some of you may find yourself wondering, how am I supposed to know who to vote for?

Visit https://www.psea.org/vote/ for more information about voting and your PSEA-PACE recommended candidates.

Visit https://www.psea.org/general.aspx?id=13603 to learn more about how to elect a pro-public education majority.

Share the Schoolhouse Ballot, found at https://schoolhouseballot.com/, with your family, friends, and neighbors so they can find their pro-public education candidates. This resource is open to the non-members.

Follow Schoolhouse Ballot on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on election news, political issue briefs, candidate videos, and side-by-side comparisons.

To find out if you’re eligible to vote via absentee ballot and to download an absentee ballot, visit http://www.votespa.com/en-us/voting-and-elections/types-of-voting/Pages/Absentee-Ballot.aspx

Visit https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/ to electronically fill out an absentee ballot!

I’LL SEE YOU AT THE POLLS!

-Shelby Pepmeyer

Student PSEA President