PSTA proudly offers quality professional development for your school's faculty and staff. These programs are designed to encourage professionalism and to inform teachers about the importance of becoming involved in the political process.  These programs are presented by Kathy Maness, executive director.

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"Hooked on Politics":  This program explains the political process from how a bill becomes a law to how teachers can make a difference if they become advocates for public education.

"The Three L's:  Legal, Liability, and Legislative": An expanded version of Hooked on Politics, this program also includes tips to keep teachers out of legal trouble and explains the educators' liability coverage.

We are also offering National Board workshops under the direction of Kathy Schwalbe.  Kathy joined the PSTA staff as Director of Association Activities in May of 2008. Before that, she worked out of her home in Goose Creek as Program Manager for the Community of Learning, a virtual learning community she created for 40,000+ educators at the All Kinds of Minds Institute in Durham, NC.  However, the majority of her work as a teacher leader began when she achieved National Board Certification in August 1995, one of the State's first teachers to complete the new certification.  She subsequently served as Berkeley County's Teacher of the Year and went on to become an Honor Roll Teacher at the State Level.  Soon after, she became a Teacher in Residence for the SC Center for Teacher Recruitment (new CERRA).  From Teacher in Residence, she moved into a Program Director position where she administered the SC NBC Loan Program, served as founding chair of the Board Certification Network of SC Educators which created the first documented guidelines for candidate support in the nation.  Kathy also co-authored the SC Mentoring and Induction Guidelines and achieved qualification as an Associate Trainer for the Center for Cognitive Coaching.  She has also served as an Outreach Coordinator for the New Teacher Center at UC-Santa Cruz.  Kathy achieved renewal of her Early Adolescence/English Language Arts certifcation in 2005 and continues to serve as one of the twenty NBCT Faculty members for NBPTS, conducting Candidate Support Provider Trainings across the nation.  She also serves on the Board of Directors for the SC Staff Development Council.