This episode was recorded during PSEA’s ACE Lobby Days, where educators from across Pennsylvania come together to meet with lawmakers and make their voices heard. Joining us are two advocates, teachers, and local presidents Amanda Simcoe and Mike Soskil. They join Aaron and Rachael to talk about what it means to lead not just in their schools, but in their communities and at the Capitol, on issues like school funding, educator shortages, student teacher stipends, and the critical need to support every school staff member.
This episode was recorded during PSEA’s ACE Lobby Days, where educators from across Pennsylvania come together to meet with lawmakers and make their voices heard. Joining us are two advocates, teachers, and local presidents Amanda Simcoe and Mike Soskil. They join Aaron and Rachael to talk about what it means to lead not just in their schools, but in their communities and at the Capitol, on issues like school funding, educator shortages, student teacher stipends, and the critical need to support every school staff member.
Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to podcast@psea.org.
Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.
Voiceover:
Welcome to Duty Free Lunch, the official podcast of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Join us as we unpack the issues that matter most to you, from cutting-edge classroom strategies to thought-provoking policy discussions. If it impacts PSEA members, it's on the menu.
Aaron Chapin:
Hello, and welcome to Duty Free Lunch. I'm PSEA President Aaron Chapin. Sitting with me today, it's PSEA Treasurer, Rachael West. Hello, Rachael.
Rachael West:
Hello, Aaron. How are you?
Aaron Chapin:
Oh my God. Fantastic. Just you and me today.
Rachael West:
I know.
Aaron Chapin:
No Jeff.
Rachael West:
Well, sometimes, he has to sit on the sidelines.
Aaron Chapin:
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. What's the best part about being treasurer, Rachael? I was never treasurer, so what's the best part?
Rachael West:
I don't have to make any of the decisions that you have to make.
Aaron Chapin:
Oh. Come on now. What's the best part of the job?
Rachael West:
The best part of being treasurer? It is not budget season. I would say it is getting to talk to everybody when we get ready to go to the RA, and I get to hype everybody up about it. Because I get to talk about the money that they're going to ... And so we get to kick off the RA that way.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah. Well, for our listeners are out there, it's a weird time of year, because we are getting kind of into our summer schedule. It starts in June, where we got PSEA. We've got our ACE lobby days, otherwise known as advocacy days. We call them both things. So they go back and forth. Then, we got the RA, the Representative Assembly for NEA. Then-
Rachael West:
Gettysburg season.
Aaron Chapin:
We've got Gettysburg, and then, guess what? Everybody's going back to school. The summer's over.
Rachael West:
Yep. Then, it's time to get on.
Aaron Chapin:
And so yeah. We actually, it's a very different schedule for us. We're meeting a lot of members that we don't normally see. We see some throughout the year, but it's a very different schedule for us.
Rachael West:
Yeah. We have a lot more members in the building this time of year.
Aaron Chapin:
You're going to be busy later this summer with vouchers.
Rachael West:
Yep.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah. It's the life of the PSEA treasure.
Rachael West:
Yep.
Aaron Chapin:
It's awesome. I mentioned it's PSEA ACE advocacy days here in Harrisburg, and today, we've got educators from every corner of Pennsylvania. They've descended here on 3rd Street here in Harrisburg. They're going across to the state capitol to meet with lawmakers. They're sharing their concerns about what's happening in their schools and classrooms, and we decided we got members in town. Let's get them up here in the podcast studio.
Rachael West:
Love it.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah. Well-
Rachael West:
I'm excited to talk to them.
Aaron Chapin:
I am, too, because we've known these people for quite a long time. It's like it's great when we get to have our friends into the podcast studio. So we've got Amanda Simcoe. Welcome, Amanda.
Amanda Simcoe:
Thanks, Aaron.
Aaron Chapin:
And we've got Mike Soskil, as well. They are two local presidents and classroom teachers who have been leading the way in the fight for fighting for public education. Amanda, she's a special education teacher, and she's a local president in IU 10, which is Central Tri? Is that what it's called? Central Tri? Tri County?
Amanda Simcoe:
We're Tri County EA.
Aaron Chapin:
Because it's three counties.
Amanda Simcoe:
Mm-hmm.
Aaron Chapin:
See? Look at that.
Rachael West:
Very good.
Aaron Chapin:
Uh-huh.
Rachael West:
Look at you. You were never a treasurer, but you knew the number.
Aaron Chapin:
Mm-hmm, and then there's Mike Soskil, as we mentioned. He's here. He's an elementary STEM teacher in the Wallenpaupack Area School District as well as the local president from his local. Mike is also the vice president of the amazing Northeastern Region. Mike, welcome to the podcast.
Mike Soskil:
Howdy. Thanks.
Aaron Chapin:
It's amazing. We've known both of them. Again, I've known Mike in the Northeastern Region for well over a decade. Amanda, I got to know you just as we were getting out of COVID, as well, and I thought we've got two great members here. But you're also local presidents, so we really wanted to pick your brains of what it's like to be a local president. So let's get into it all. Thanks again for being here.
As I said, you're local presidents. You're working educators. These advocacy days, what do they mean to you personally, and why'd you choose to be here? Because there's a lot of people that it's like, "I'm done school. I'm staying home." Amanda, why does this mean so much to you?
Amanda Simcoe:
So this is actually my first lobby day, and I decided to come because it's important to me to advocate for my fellow teachers and students in Pennsylvania. After attending our special education round table in the central region, I realized that the legislators do want to hear about what's going on in our schools.
Aaron Chapin:
That's right. Mike, what about you? Why is this so special? I know you're no stranger to advocacy.
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. So as a classroom teacher, we serve at the intersection between policy and practice, and there's really not a whole lot of other stakeholders that can say that. And so if our input isn't taken into consideration when policy is made, then there's unintended consequences for our kids. And so to be able to share the stories of the teachers in my local and the kids in my classroom, I think, is really important to make sure that there's good policy passed.
Aaron Chapin:
All right.
Rachael West:
Absolutely. Well, speaking of policy, I'm going to jump into some policy questions. So Amanda, let's talk about school funding. Why would the $526 million investment proposed in House Bill 1330 be so critical for a district like yours, the IU?
Amanda Simcoe:
So as a teacher in an intermediate unit, a lot of our funding does come right from the state, and that's also how our districts pay us for our services. So we all need to get the funding from the state so that we can give our students what they need.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah.
Rachael West:
Excellent.
Aaron Chapin:
We've been talking a lot about IUs on the podcast and in PSA circles, and I think it's something that a lot of our members, they know you're there. They don't understand maybe the ins and outs and the guts of how it all works. So this money's super important to all of you.
Amanda Simcoe:
Yes. It is. Definitely.
Aaron Chapin:
So, Mike, the governor's budget, obviously, you know and we've talked a lot about, it's a starting point. It's like negotiations with your school district. What would a fully-funded education system actually like in your classroom? Because I know that you live in a very different area than a lot of our members, Wallenpaupack up in the Northeastern Region. It's a different community. What would it do for a school district like yours?
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. So we have a really high population of students that have economic needs. It's a needy district, but traditionally, we've done okay when it comes to equity compared to some other districts around us. Certainly, the additional funding would help us have smaller class sizes, and more resources, and all the things that every teacher would want. But I also think about it in terms of I'm an elementary science teacher, and that's a specialized position in our district that we have because we've been able to negotiate a contract with a decent amount of prep time for our teachers and good working conditions.
A lot of other districts haven't been able to do that, because they haven't had the same equitable funding. So this adequacy funding that we're talking about in the governor's budget would allow other districts to provide the same kind of opportunity that we have in Wallenpaupack, which I think would be invaluable and good for our communities across the state.
Aaron Chapin:
I stole your last question.
Rachael West:
It's all right. We can roll with it. It's fine.
Aaron Chapin:
I didn't ... I just, I got excited. I wanted to ask a question. Go ahead.
Rachael West:
Well, I'm going to ask Amanda another question now, and-
Aaron Chapin:
I'll try not to steal it.
Rachael West:
All right. You going to let me have it? Okay. Amanda, you work in ... Every single day, you're in a classroom. Are you in the same classroom every day? Why would this additional hundred million dollars in special ed specifically that we are pushing, why would that be so crucial to you in your line of work?
Amanda Simcoe:
So we desperately need this funding to help staff the special education positions that we have, both those in and out of the classrooms to give the students what they need. Our caseloads and our workload required to manage all of these are through the roof. We're starting to lose people, and as you probably know, there's also been an increase in students who are identified and qualify for IEPs.
So I think something else that would be really helpful would be if we could have some co-teaching, where you'd have special education and general education teachers working together. That might even lessen the need to take some students out of the classroom to work with them, but we could just take care of it all at once.
Rachael West:
I know that that was ... In my teaching experience, I spent a lot of time co-teaching, and I know that that really was helpful. There were just times where you could have one teacher giving a little more one-on-one instruction, or you didn't have to go find another place or another teacher to handle something where a child needed to have something read to them and things like that. So definitely, I'm sure the co-teaching would really help you out there.
Aaron Chapin:
Amanda, how many members do you represent, give or take, because I know you got some come and go?
Amanda Simcoe:
Yeah. Probably about 55.
Aaron Chapin:
Okay. Mike, how many do you represent?
Mike Soskil:
300.
Aaron Chapin:
Okay. It's a little bit smaller in my school district. All right. Obviously, both of you are seeing shortages in ... We could obviously be fully staffing your school districts, but it's hard right now. As we've talked about, there is a shortage out there. And so one of the solutions that we've been really pushing that I know a lot of our listeners have heard on this podcast, you've read it in our publications, you see it in our emails, it's about the Student Teacher Stipend Program. It's off to a great start in its first year. I can't believe it's only its first year that it's just finished up.
Rachael West:
I know. It's too crazy.
Aaron Chapin:
But it's obviously, it's going to be needing the meet ... really the need for the future generations, but it's going to take a little bit of time to really have a huge impact. But what is fully funding this program? Really, how's it going to help solve this shortage? I know, Mike, you've been at the student teacher, our student PSEA conferences, and you've obviously heard from our students. How's it going to help?
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. So I have a few different perspectives on this one, being in a district where we struggle to find applicants for certain subject areas, such as high school math and science. Certainly, having more student teachers going into the profession would help with that, and this is an incentive that is certainly helping the profession. But also, being at the Student PSEA Conference and also being an adjunct professor of pre-service teachers, I know there's a lot of especially grad students, kids who are working to put themselves through college.
Taking that time off is just financially impossible for them to be able to then get their degree and step into the classroom. This stipend has really invigorated them to be able to pursue that degree and get excited about teaching without having to assume more debt or really put their family in hardship. As someone who really believes that the best way to grow the future of our country and our communities is through education, getting these student teachers into the classroom where they're excited, and invigorated, and financially healthy is just good for everybody.
Rachael West:
You're talking a lot about how this is good for everybody. So what would you counter someone with if they said to you, "Well, the student teachers today should pay their dues like we had to decades ago"? How would you counter that argument?
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. So I never like to look to the past. Right? I think everyone, we're in education because we want a better future. I think most lawmakers ran for office because they wanted to make things better. Looking back and looking at the problems that we had previously doesn't really help us solve anything going forward. Right? Looking forward and saying, "How can we bring more teachers that are excellent into our schools so that our students can thrive and our communities can be healthy?" I think that's the conversation we should be having.
Aaron Chapin:
Absolutely. Support professionals. You know, Amanda, as a special ed teacher, just how important they are to our schools. They really are the backbone to our schools. Are you hearing anything from our ESP colleagues about the need for a $20 per hour wage?
Amanda Simcoe:
Yes. Definitely. I think a lot of times, they say out loud or to themselves, "I can make the same amount of money or more if I just work at Sheetz, or Wegmans, or someplace like that, and then I don't have to deal with possibly being physically assaulted or any other number of things that can happen when you're working in a school."
Aaron Chapin:
But obviously, we need them in our classrooms.
Amanda Simcoe:
We do.
Aaron Chapin:
You travel throughout so many different school buildings. Why do they deserve that money? Why do they deserve $20 an hour?
Amanda Simcoe:
They're doing really hard work.
Aaron Chapin:
Can you talk to about what kind of things? Because I think we've got listeners out there. They're not just in our educational world. Maybe they're sitting in a car with a spouse or a friend, and they're listening to this. What do they do in their classrooms that's so vital?
Amanda Simcoe:
They're supporting our students and the teachers. They're there in the classroom to help the students when they need it. They can support the teacher. Like we talked about with co-teaching, they can be another adult in the room who can help some kids who need a little extra support with something, or if they need to have a test read to them, maybe they're the ones that take the students out of the classroom during the test to go do that with them in another space.
Rachael West:
We were talking about what they can do, and how does that staffing, or what I think you probably are experiencing more now is the lack thereof of staffing. How does that affect your ability to serve your students that have special needs? If you don't have those ESP staff, what does that change for you?
Amanda Simcoe:
For me specifically, it doesn't change a ton, but, I mean, it does make a difference. Because I might need to give a little more support in our sessions for something that a student needed help with, because there wasn't somebody else there at the time who could help them with it. Sometimes, I am the one who takes them and reads the test to them or sits there to make sure they understand what they're doing.
Rachael West:
So you work more with students one-on-one as a general rule?
Amanda Simcoe:
Mm-hmm.
Rachael West:
So in a classroom where we have an ESP member, they're helping to support the students, what does that look like for a teacher when they don't have that support?
Amanda Simcoe:
Well, then, I mean, obviously, they'd be the only one in the room. Again, if you have students in your class who need a little bit of extra help, or if there are ... You may have several students that have IEPs and need accommodations related to those, and the ESP person is the one who is providing those, the extra support in the classroom.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah. It's different, because obviously, your environment, being an IU educator, is just so different than with Mike, so ...
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. One of the things I will say with this conversation, in addition to the great work that they do in the classroom, our ESPs are usually embedded in our communities. Right? They come from our small towns that feed the schools, and providing them a living wage is not just good for our students and good for our staff. It's good for the economy of our communities. It's an investment in the taxpayers that are sending that money to the school.
Rachael West:
Just as you're talking about community, I recently had a chance to speak about the Family Care Act, and that would establish paid family and medical leave for Pennsylvania workers. As you're talking about community, how do you think this legislation would be important, especially for educators and women in education right now?
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. So, I mean, a lot of our teachers are obviously women. I mean, it's historically been a female-dominated profession. For their families, having that one-on-one time with their young child as they're growing up is good for that child. It's good for their family, and research will tell us that that's good for our schools down the road. Right? That child is going to be more prepared to learn, because they've had that nurturing from birth until they get into our school system.
But in addition to the benefit to them directly, I think about the stress of a young parent who is having to make that choice between having to go back to work after a couple of weeks when they're not ready, when they haven't had that time to bond with their child. They're not ready emotionally or mentally to be able to do the work that we need them to do for our students if we're taking that away from them. This is just good for everybody.
Aaron Chapin:
We've all represented those teachers that have been going through those struggles, as the four of us have all been local president, or you still are. But we've all been there, and it's just gut-wrenching to watch. Not a whole heck of a lot we can do about it.
Rachael West:
So both of you are advocates. You're educators, and now we're talking a little bit about what that looks like when you get a little burned out. So Amanda, what would you say to a fellow teacher who is just too burned out or discouraged to engage right now in stepping out and maybe coming to lobby day? Maybe they were like, "School is done, and I really need this break." What could you say to them about lobby day?
Amanda Simcoe:
I think I would say, "If it's not us, then who will do it? You might be feeling frustrated and burned out, but maybe that should be your why. You can channel that into trying to make things better."
Aaron Chapin:
Boom.
Mike Soskil:
I've yet to meet a teacher who doesn't love talking about the great things that happen in their classroom, right, and that's really what we're doing here. When we go in and talk with legislators, I know there's sometimes an intimidation factor, but being able to tell those stories makes you feel happy. It makes you feel good. It makes you remember all the great things that happened during the school year. So I see it as a way to kind of counter that burnout.
Aaron Chapin:
I actually think these days, coming down here, or, look, you could be doing it back home, as well. You don't have to come to Harrisburg to go be these advocates and to go lobby our legislators. But I find it to be coming in here, and I see all of our colleagues that are down here today. We saw the ones last week, and I think they were filled with enthusiasm. I think it's rejuvenating.
Rachael West:
I was going to say, for some of us, and it depends on your personality, I suppose, sometimes, interacting is a on you. But I think that that shift in venue, like you were saying, you get down here, and then you start talking to other teachers that are excited about something they did this year. Then, you go to a legislator, and you're telling them about something that happened in your classroom, the things that you feel passionate about. Sometimes, just, it's almost like when you do something that's one of your hobbies. It rejuvenates you just because you're taking part in it, and sometimes, the energy around here, around Harrisburg can just kind of brighten your day a little bit.
Amanda Simcoe:
Mm-hmm.
Aaron Chapin:
You think you're going to bring somebody back, somebody new with you, Amanda, next year? It's your first time this year.
Amanda Simcoe:
I mean, I'll try.
Aaron Chapin:
What do you mean you'll try?
Amanda Simcoe:
Do or do not. There is no try. I know.
Rachael West:
Mm-hmm.
Amanda Simcoe:
Yes.
Aaron Chapin:
Mike, have you brought somebody down with you?
Mike Soskil:
I did. I brought Jen Simpson, my PACE director, down with me, and she did a great job.
Aaron Chapin:
First time?
Mike Soskil:
Yeah. It was her first time. She did a phenomenal job.
Aaron Chapin:
That's great. See, that's what ... Everybody should be bringing down somebody. See, I don't want this, "I'll try."
Amanda Simcoe:
You know what? I will. I have somebody in mind.
Rachael West:
You have somebody in mind?
Aaron Chapin:
You're in big trouble.
Amanda Simcoe:
I have already sent him the ACE training emails.
Aaron Chapin:
All right.
Amanda Simcoe:
He is interested. So he will be with me next year.
Aaron Chapin:
All right.
Rachael West:
How was your first experience, though, today?
Amanda Simcoe:
It was good. It was exciting. I liked it. I was nervous, but I really, I enjoyed it.
Aaron Chapin:
I don't get to go over to the Capitol like I used to. I miss it. I miss going in there. I get to do it down in DC. It's not the same. I like being able to go into the Capitol here in Pennsylvania and really get in there and start having those conversations. I just, I don't talk with them as much as I used to. I don't have the time.
Rachael West:
I think we see them more often in passing when we're over there for an event.
Aaron Chapin:
I know. I know.
Rachael West:
But we don't actually get to go to their office as much.
Aaron Chapin:
That's right. Hey, Rachael.
Rachael West:
What?
Aaron Chapin:
Pop quiz time.
Rachael West:
Jeff's not here. I get to do it.
Aaron Chapin:
I know. So we always do pop quizzes. Do you guys listen to the podcast?
Mike Soskil:
I do.
Amanda Simcoe:
Yes.
Aaron Chapin:
All right. Are you lying?
Amanda Simcoe:
No.
Aaron Chapin:
All right.
Amanda Simcoe:
I emailed you about one. You know that.
Aaron Chapin:
Oh. That's right. We had guests in here earlier, and he hadn't even listened to them yet. But that's okay.
Rachael West:
Maybe they'll listen now that they've been part of it.
Amanda Simcoe:
That's right.
Aaron Chapin:
All right. I got some really good pop quiz questions, different ones for each of you. So Rachael-
Rachael West:
Oh boy.
Aaron Chapin:
Jeff's not here. It's all yours.
Rachael West:
Okay. Excellent.
Aaron Chapin:
I guarantee you're going to do a better job.
Rachael West:
Okay. We're ready, Mike?
Mike Soskil:
I'm ready.
Rachael West:
I'm going to start with you. Tell us how many PSEA members are official ACEs?
Mike Soskil:
Not enough.
Amanda Simcoe:
Oh dear.
Rachael West:
That's a good answer.
Aaron Chapin:
[inaudible 00:19:57].
Mike Soskil:
So I will guess 150.
Aaron Chapin:
Oh my God.
Rachael West:
Ooh. Way low.
Aaron Chapin:
Amanda, do you want to take a shot even though it's not your official question?
Amanda Simcoe:
500?
Rachael West:
Ooh. See? We are doing a little better than either of you think. We have 1,030 trained ACEs.
Amanda Simcoe:
Ooh. Nice.
Mike Soskil:
That's excellent, but still not enough.
Rachael West:
It's still not enough.
Amanda Simcoe:
Nice.
Rachael West:
So your first answer was right, but we're going to keep going for that.
Aaron Chapin:
I was surprised to hear that it was that few.
Rachael West:
Yeah. I actually went to the first ACE training that PSEA had.
Aaron Chapin:
Oh. Wow.
Rachael West:
So let's see if we know, if Amanda knows when that happened. So when did PSEA's ACE program officially get started?
Amanda Simcoe:
2015?
Rachael West:
Nope. It's been around a little bit longer than that. 2007.
Amanda Simcoe:
Ooh. 2007.
Aaron Chapin:
I remember it coming out. I was just getting involved. I was just getting involved.
Amanda Simcoe:
Yeah?
Aaron Chapin:
It was right after my daughter was born, and I saw stuff coming out about it, so ...
Rachael West:
I had a local president that just thought we should sign up for every single training that PSEA offered. This new ACE training came out, and we signed up. It was right after our executive director had just started working at PSEA, but he was in GR as a lobbyist.
Aaron Chapin:
Oh.
Rachael West:
And so I met him at that first training.
Aaron Chapin:
GR Jim?
Rachael West:
GR Jim. Jim, the lobbyist.
Aaron Chapin:
All right. Well-
Mike Soskil:
I just want to point out, before you go on to the next question, that had there been paid family medical leave, you could have got more involved back then.
Aaron Chapin:
You are absolutely correct. Except my wife did not want me at home.
Rachael West:
You guys could have take turns.
Aaron Chapin:
Nope. Nope. No. She very much enjoyed, she ... That's the sad thing, is that she had all this time saved up, because we were a little bit later in life. So many of our colleagues don't ... First of all, babies come, babies come. You can't plan it out. Sometimes, it's just, you know? There's no way she would've wanted me at home with her. We can barely make it through the summer together, so let alone raising a baby. Point well-taken, Mike. Unfortunately, Mike, man, we're all out of time. Are you disappointed?
Rachael West:
I am.
Aaron Chapin:
You were just getting into it?
Rachael West:
Mm-hmm. I was.
Mike Soskil:
Mm-hmm. just starting to find my groove? Yeah.
Rachael West:
I know.
Aaron Chapin:
We're all out of time, and our guests have been Mike Soskil and Amanda Simcoe. Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. Again, I've known you, Mike, for quite a long time. I don't think I had this on the bingo card that we'd be doing a podcast together one day back in the early part of our careers. But it's great to have you. Amanda, it's been great to watch you blossom in your leadership roles and as a teacher. It's really been great getting to know you. You are a great example of what special education teachers are all about.
Amanda Simcoe:
Thanks, Aaron. I appreciate it.
Aaron Chapin:
I mean it. You're pretty dang ... Almost cursed. Pretty dang amazing. Hey, as I said, Mike and Amanda, thanks for being here. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for all you did on our advocacy days, and thanks to all of our listeners. Thanks for tuning in. You make this podcast super special, too. You got some feedback for us? Maybe you want advice from Rachael? Send us an email at podcast@psea.org. I'm Aaron Chapin.
Rachael West:
And I'm Rachael West.
Aaron Chapin:
And you've been listening to the very clean Duty Free Lunch. Bye for now.
Voiceover:
You've been listening to Duty Free Lunch with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Visit psea.org/podcast to learn more, and don't forget to subscribe and share. Paid for by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.