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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup May 14, 2016:
San Francisco gives TFA a timeout; Schools react to
Transgender Directive
Pennsylvania
has the widest funding gap between wealthy and poor schools in the country
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Website
Make the new funding formula permanent; pass a budget for 2016-17 that
increases funding for public schools by at least $400 million
LWVPA: Fund
Pa.'s school districts
Trib Live LETTER TO
THE EDITOR | Friday, May 13, 2016, 8:03 p.m.
By Susan Carty and
Sharon Kletzien, Harrisburg
The authors are the president
and vice president, respectively, of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania
The League of Women
Voters of Pennsylvania is asking the General Assembly to enact full and fair
funding of the state's public schools in the 2016-17 budget. Pennsylvania is failing its responsibility to
provide an efficient and thorough education for all students. This a
constitutional requirement and it's the right thing to do Our state ranks among the worst in the
spending gap between wealthy and poorer districts. This leads to great
disparity in academic achievement. Poorer districts have had to increase class
sizes, decrease teaching staff, eliminate programs and put off essential
maintenance. Students should receive the same education regardless of their zip
code. During this year's budget impasse,
some districts borrowed millions of dollars just to keep the doors open. Now
they are paying interest on these loans, further diminishing the classroom
instruction resources. It's time for the
legislature to start putting our children ahead of politics. We urge lawmakers
to increase the state's investment in public schools by at least $400 million
in the 2016-17 budget. Funding must be distributed based on a fair formula,
removing politics from allocations and directing money to districts based on
enrollment, student needs and districts' wealth and capacity to raise local
revenues.
Audit Finds Charter School Law is Strangling Philly
Schools
Senator Vincent
Hughes Website
Yesterday, Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale released an audit of the Philadelphia School
District. His report confirmed what I’ve been saying for years—the current
district funding model is completely unsustainable. The district has a
structural deficit of more than $500 million. The biggest reason is the state’s
broken funding law for charter schools, which sucks dollars away from
traditional public schools without any way to replace the lost revenue. Last
month, the Auditor General, in his report on charter school accountability in
Philadelphia, called the state's charter law "the worst charter school law
in the United States."
In addition to that
report, which highlighted the lack of charter oversight and accountability
permitted under law, previous reports have called out the hundreds of millions
of taxpayer dollars lost due to the broken charter funding system, including:
- The overpayment to cyber charters costing school districts an
unnecessary $100 million each year.
- The overcharging for charter school special education students
costing school districts nearly $200 million each year.
- The lack of detailed and regular financial reporting and oversite.
The Auditor
General’s latest report makes clear that Philly’s public schools need
additional funding, and a coordinated effort from local, state and federal
lawmakers to provide resources and fix the broken charter funding system.
Wanted signs posted for
Black, male teachers
Philadelphia Tribune Editorial Posted: Friday, May 13, 2016 12:00 am
Congrats to the
Philadelphia School District and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers for coming
together on at least one major issue: the explicit need for more African-American male teachers in
the local public school system. According
to the Albert Shanker Institute, a think tank supported by the American
Federation of Teachers, the city’s teaching force increased by 13 percent
between 2001 and 2011. However, the percentage of Black teachers during that
period dropped by 19 percent. The
decline is not just in Philadelphia. Nine major urban school districts have
lost Black teachers since the 2000s, according to the report. The Philadelphia School District says
minority teachers currently account for 29 percent of its 8,400 teachers. Among
minority teachers, about 49 percent are African American. Although the teaching force in Philadelphia
is overwhelmingly white, about 86 percent of youth in the classrooms are
students of color, the Shanker report noted.
So with the public school system making ambitious plans to fill all 500-plus teacher
vacancies by June 30 — a fete in an of itself – district and
union officials are right to turn to the media, Historically Black Colleges and
Universities as well as various community outreach opportunities to urge Black
males to apply.
Catasauqua superintendent expresses 'legitimate
concerns' with charter school filling Medical Academy's void
Sarah M. Wojcik Contact Reporter Of
The Morning Call May 13, 2016
Catasauqua superintendent
expresses 'legitimate concerns' with charter school filling Medical Academy's
void
CATASAUQUA — Given
the problems that led the Medical Academy Charter School to announce its
closing, Catasauqua Area School District's superintendent will not endorse
allowing another charter school that will open in the same building to absorb
its curriculum. Superintendent Robert
Spengler also said Friday he opposes plans to have two members of the Medical
Academy board — its co-founder, Dr. Craig Haytmanek, and Rosalee Sabo — serve
as trustees of the Innovative Arts Academy Charter School, which will open in
the fall. Students leaving the Medical
Academy Charter School, set to close by the end of June,were told
by school leaders they could continue their health care-centered education at
the Innovative Arts Academy. But Spengler called such encouragement
"presumptive." Although the
new school has added a Health Care Arts focus on its website, Spengler said the
school's leaders have not approached the Catasauqua Area School Board for approval
to add such a program to their curriculum — a step required by law.
With Bethlehem Area already on board, Lehigh Valley
school districts to gear up for Obama's transgender directive
Jacqueline Palochko , Michelle Merlin and Laura Olson Contact Reporters Of The Morning
Call May 13, 2016
Back in April 2015,
before North Carolina passed a law that says transgender people must use
restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate, the Bethlehem
Area School District added "gender identity and gender expression" to
its anti-discrimination policy. Now,
with the federal government issuing guidelines on the use of restrooms and
locker rooms and participation in athletics by transgender students, other
Lehigh Valley schools will have to play catch-up. On Friday, the U.S.
Departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to all public school
districts saying if they don't comply with the directive, they could lose
federal funding or face lawsuits. Many
school districts, which often handle transgender students on a case-by-case
basis, have been awaiting help on crafting uniform policies. But school and
elected officials in Texas, Arkansas and elsewhere vowed to defy it. Adrian Shanker, executive director of the
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, said transgender students
needed the Obama administration to remind school districts that they have
rights.
Lancaster County schools want to be safe places for
transgender students
Lancaster Online by JEFF HAWKES | Staff
Writer May 13, 2016
Local public schools
aren't raising objections to groundbreaking Obama administration guidelines
issued Friday allowing transgender students use of bathrooms matching their
gender identity. But some school
leaders Friday said they will be seeking legal advice to make sure they
understand students’ rights and their obligations. Public schools that don't comply could face
loss of federal funding. On average, federal sources support about 11 percent
of a Pennsylvania school district's budget.
"I think we've always been open to the needs of all our
students," said Gerald Huesken, Conestoga Valley superintendent. "We
will continue with that policy as we move forward." Elsewhere, transgender rights are spurring
controversy. In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick cited family values and modesty
issues in objecting vehemently to the new guidelines, saying they "force
8-year-old girls to have to endure boys coming into their bathroom." And
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, criticized the president for
intervening in an issue he said should be handled at the local level.
Obama administration gives
schools guidance on transgender students' rights
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Kathy Boccella, and Rita
Giordano, STAFF WRITERS Updated: MAY
14, 2016 — 1:08 AM EDT
As promised, the
Obama administration on Friday sent letters to school districts across the
country outlining the civil rights of transgender students, including access to
bathrooms and locker rooms. Title IX
prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that
receive federal funds, the letter said, saying schools should allow transgender
students to use bathrooms consistent with their chosen gender identity. The sweeping guidance does not have the force
of law, but it warns that schools that do not comply could face lawsuits or
lose federal aid. It ups the ante in the debate over bathroom laws, which are
the subject of a charged lawsuit between North Carolina and the U.S. Department
of Justice. The eight-page letter from
the Department of Justice and the Department of Education's Office of Civil
Rights sent many school officials scrambling and provoked strong reaction from
all sides.
School union
leaders, national education groups and civil rights organizations, and
transgender students lauded the move. Others did not.
Some embrace Obama administration’s transgender
directive, others vow to fight
Washington Post By Emma Brown, Moriah Balingit and Sarah Larimer May 13 at 3:42 PM
The Obama
administration’s instructions to schools on how they must accommodate
transgender students prompted a mixed reaction Friday, with some politicians,
districts and parents embracing the directive as an important civil rights
protection. Others immediately vowed to fight back against what they consider
an illegal federal intrusion into local matters that carries a threat of
withholding billions of dollars in aid meant to help disadvantaged and disabled
children. The sweeping
guidance from the Education and Justice departments details what K-12 schools
and colleges that receive federal funding must do in order to comply with Title
IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. Among its
most controversial provisions is the requirement that schools allow students to
use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity.
Solace
and Fury as Schools React to Transgender Policy
New York Times By JACK HEALY and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA MAY 13, 2016
DENVER — The Obama
administration’s directive Friday on the use of school bathrooms and locker
rooms by transgender students intensified the latest fierce battle in the
nation’s culture wars, with conservatives calling it an illegal overreach that
will put children in danger and advocates for transgender rights hailing it as
a breakthrough for civil rights. The
policy drew a swift backlash from conservative politicians, groups and
parents. In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
appealed to local school boards and superintendents not to abide by the
directive, noting that there were just a few weeks left in the school year and
time over the summer to fight the policy with legislation or legal action. “We
will not be blackmailed,” he said. “I
believe it is the biggest issue facing families and schools in America since
prayer was taken out of public schools,” Mr. Patrick, a Republican, said at a
news conference. “Parents are not going to send their 14-year-old daughters
into the shower or bathroom with 14-year-old boys. It’s not going to happen.”
The budget will take into
account an increase in health care premiums by approximately 20 percent, as
well as a 30.3 percent increase in retirement costs.
Proposed tax hike in
Johnsonburg school budget
Bradford Era By CHUCK ABRAHAM Era Correspondent cabraham.era@gmail.com
Posted: Friday, May 13, 2016
10:00 am
JOHNSONBURG — The
Johnsonburg Area School Board passed the preliminary budget for the 2016-17
school year, containing a tax increase, a budget deficit and nearly $900,000 in
cuts. The motion passed unanimously. The
budget was slashed $861,330, down to $10,820,111 for next year from $11,681,441
for the current year. With revenue of $10,390,299 expected for 2016-17, the
district is projected to be short $429,812 for the coming school year. Taxes are also expected to be raised next
year in the district by two percent, which should garner them approximately
$39,000. The tax hike would mean an additional $30 annually on a $50,000 home,
and an average increase of $16 for homeowners in the district.
Carbondale Area may delay
hiring superintendent to save money
Times Tribune BY
SARAH HOFIUS HALL Published: May 14, 2016
Carbondale Area
School District may delay hiring a superintendent for a year to save
much-needed money. The district, which
has struggled financially for several years, could save up to $150,000 by
keeping the position vacant for 12 months.
“We’ve got to save every dollar we can,” school board President Gary
Smedley said. “We’re pretty much treading water.” With little hope that a state budget for
2016-17 will pass on time next month, the district is facing more tough
decisions in the future, such as eliminating five or six teaching jobs through
attrition. Not replacing the retiring teachers will mean larger class sizes
this fall. Factors such as charter school costs and a lack of construction
reimbursements have Carbondale struggling more than other local districts. Across the state, a growing number of
districts are appointing acting superintendents as a way to save money, said
Jim Buckheit, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School
Administrators. The acting leaders usually are employed already by the district
and are expected to lead the district while continuing their usual roles. However,
while districts avoid paying a superintendent’s salary, Mr. Buckheit warns that
being without a permanent superintendent leads to a lack of stability. “It’s a short-term solution, and the district
may be able to save some dollars,” he said. “In the long term, it’s not the
proper way to run a district.”
Philly teacher digs into
own pocket to bring in art
Inquirer by Aubrey Whelan, Staff Writer Updated: MAY 13, 2016 — 1:08 AM
EDT
For her 50th
birthday party last fall, Patty Smith decided not to ask for presents for
herself.
Instead, the 14-year
veteran of the Philadelphia School District asked for a gift for her third
graders at Anderson Elementary School. Anderson,
in West Philadelphia, has no art teacher; the position has sat vacant all
school year. So Smith asked friends and family to donate money to bring the
Claymobile - a traveling ceramic arts program - to her classroom. On Thursday night, Smith's students exhibited
their work and got a chance to see their creations for the first time after
they had been fired in the kiln.
Unwilling to Help Schools,
PA Legislature Attacks Teachers
GadflyOnTheWall Blog
May 14, 2016 stevenmsinger
If you live in
Pennsylvania, as I do, you must be shaking your head at the shenanigans of our
state legislature. Faced with a school
funding crisis of their own making, lawmakers voted this week to make it easier to fire school teachers. Monday the state Senate passed their version
of an anti-seniority bill that was given the thumbs up by the House last
summer. Thankfully, Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to veto it. As usual, lawmakers (or more accurately their
surrogates at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) who
actually wrote the bill) spent more time on branding the legislation than
appealing to logic, sense or reason. The bill called HB 805 was given the
euphemistic title “The Protecting Excellent Teachers Act.”
Yes, this is exactly
how you protect excellent teachers – by making it easier to fire them.
Neshaminy H.S. newspaper
staff says principal violating 1st Amendment rights over 'Redskins' ban
WHYY Newsworks BY LAURA BENSHOFF MAY 13, 2016
Student editors at
the Neshaminy Playwickian in
Bucks County say school leadership is now violating their constitutional right
to free speech by ordering the paper publish the full name of the school's
mascot: Redskins. Since 2013, school administrators and the student newspaper
disagreed about whether the paper can refuse to publish the name. That year,
Neshaminy parent Brenda Boyle filed a complaint about the name with the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). As a result, newspaper editors
adopted a policy banning the word. At issue is a story
about a talent competition called the "Mr. Redskin" contest, which
took place on March 31st. Neshaminy
School District spokesman Chris Stanley said the author of the article in the
newspaper asked to have the full name kept in the published version of the
article, and that's the version the administration approved. "The principal and the advisor have to
approve every article" as a matter of policy, he said. "Especially
with the Redskins issue." Following skirmishes over mascot which garnered national attention in
2014, the school enacted a policy new permitting the word under
certain circumstances last year, according to Stanley, granting the principal "final authority" over stories. This is the
first time that policy has been tested.
New trouble for Teach for America: San Francisco wants
out
Washington Post Answer
Sheet By Valerie Strauss May 13 at 1:32 PM
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city’s school board has
decided it doesn’t want any more Teach for America recruits — even though there
are at least 500 teaching jobs that need to be filled by August. The board was
supposed to vote on a contract to accept 15 TFA teachers for the 2016-2017
school year — in science, math, special ed and bilingual education classes
— but Superintendent Richard Carranza realized he didn’t have enough
support on the panel to get it approved and pulled it from the agenda. There currently are 15 TFA corps members in
their first year in San Francisco schools and they will continue to be
supported in their second year. TFA recruits are required to agree to teach for
two years, although many of them don’t make it through and many others stop
teaching after the two-year requirement.
SF school leaders give Teach for America a time-out
San Francisco
Chronicle By Jill Tucker May 12, 2016 Updated: May 12, 2016 7:00am
The
taxpayer-supported Teach for America program, which supplies enthusiastic if
inexperienced teachers to thousands of schools in lower-income areas across the
country, has fallen out of favor in San Francisco. The city’s school board made clear this week
that staffing some of the city’s neediest classrooms with recent college
graduates who are on a two-year teaching stint and with just five weeks of
training is no longer acceptable. The
board had been set to vote Tuesday night on a new contract to obtain 15
teachers for the upcoming school year — after reaching similar agreements each
of the last eight years with the national nonprofit, which receives federal
grants, private donations and fees from districts. But before the vote, Superintendent Richard
Carranza pulled the contract from consideration, acknowledging he didn’t have
support despite a statewide teacher shortage and a local need to fill at least
500 teaching jobs by August.
U.S. Department of
Education Claims It Does Not Keep Records of Charters That Close or Never Open
with Its Funding
Diane Ravitch’s Blog
By dianeravitch May 13, 2016 //
The
anti-privatization website “In the Public Interest” reports on an interesting
development:
The Department of
Education issued a press release boasting of its commitment to transparency and
noting that the agency had committed $1.5 billion to support new charter
schools since 2006. When the CMD requested a list of the schools that had been
closed or never opened, the Department claimed it did not have any information.
Some transparency.
National:
The Center for Media and Democracy files an appeal against the Department of
Education’s claim that it has no records about closed or never-opened charter
schools referenced in its “Commitment to Transparency” press release. “It
strains credulity and common sense that, despite spending billions in taxpayer
dollars on charters and putting out this press release—among several—on the
accomplishments of the Charter Schools Program, the Department claims to have
no databases, no data analyses, and no internal communications about the
program mentioned in its press release,” CMD said in its appeal letter. CMD says it intends to
file a lawsuit to compel disclosure if the DOE’s response to its FOIA appeal
letter is inadequate.
“Sheehan is one of
more than 30 educators seeking state office, running for a seat in the
Senate. At least 60 of the more than 360 citizens who filed to run are
either educators or their immediate family members, according to the Oklahoma
Education Association (OEA). The spate
of pro-public education candidates entered the race with hopes of repairing the
damage caused by years of decline in state school
funding and attacks on public education in the form of voucher
schemes and the deregulation of the profession.
“We’re sending a clear
message to legislators,” said Sheehan: “If you aren’t doing your job and
supporting our schools, we want your seats.”
Dozens of Oklahoma
educators running for state office amid school funding crisis
Education Votes By Amanda Litvinov Posted May 12, 2016
In his role as the
Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Shawn Sheehan has spent the past year touring the
state to visit schools and meet with current and future teachers and other
stakeholders of public education. “Oklahoma
has some of the brightest, most dedicated and resourceful people working in our
public schools,” says Sheehan, who has taught special education and math at
Norman High School for the past five years.
“But the truth is they are being asked to do so much with less and less
every year. As much as I want to get back in the classroom, I can’t, in good
conscience, not act on what I’ve seen.”
What Teachers Lose to
Pension Debt
States have fallen behind in
their obligations, spending more on retirement debt and less on educators’ pay.
The Atlantic by MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN MAY 13, 2016
Are teachers losing
out on thousands of dollars in potential extra pay because states are behind on
maintaining pensions? In a new study released by TeacherPensions.org, Chad Aldeman
relied on federal data to compare the wages and benefits of public-school
teachers to those of other workers. He found that states and districts on
average put 12 percent of teacher salaries toward the pension programs millions
of school employees rely on for their retirement. That means more than $6,800
public dollars per teacher go toward supporting the pension funds states and
districts promised to maintain. In
addition to that 12 percent, states and districts contribute on average 5
percent of teacher pay toward the pension benefits they’ll actually see come
retirement—a rate that’s considered above average in the private sector.
Without the $6,800 in “pension debt,” Aldeman contends public-school systems
could spend that money on teacher salaries or other instructional material to
improve student outcomes.
“I don't think
teachers fully recognize how much the retirement system is costing to
essentially keep it afloat,” Aldeman said in an interview.
Joint public hearing on Every Student Succeeds Act
Wednesday May 18th
PA House and PA
Senate Education Committees
Harrisburg Wednesday
May 18th 9:00 AM Hearing Room #1 North Office Building
Join the Pennsylvania Principals Association at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at The
Capitol in Harrisburg, PA, for its second annual Principals' Lobby Day.
Pennsylvania
Principals Association Monday, March 21, 2016 9:31 AM
To register, contact Dr. Joseph Clapper at clapper@paprincipals.org by
Tuesday, June 14, 2016. If you need assistance, we will provide
information about how to contact your legislators to schedule meetings. Click here for the informational flyer, which includes
important issues to discuss with your legislators.
2016 PA Educational
Leadership Summit July 24-26 State College
Summit Sponsors:
PA Principals Association - PA Association of School Administrators
- PA Association of Middle Level Educators - PA Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development
The 2016
Educational Leadership Summit, co-sponsored by four leading Pennsylvania education associations,
provides an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and
instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together at a quality venue in
"Happy Valley."
Featuring Grant
Lichtman, author of EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education,
Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (invited), and Dana
Lightman, author of POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have...
Create the Success You Want, keynote speakers, high quality breakout
sessions, table talks on hot topics and district team planning and job alike
sessions provides practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and
discussed at the summit before returning back to your district. Register and pay by April 30, 2016 for the
discounted "early bird" registration rate:
“NATIONAL ANTHEM “SING-A-LONG”
When: September 9, 2016, 10:00 am PST/1:00pm EST
Where: Schools across America
Sponsor: American Public Education Foundation (APEF)
The National Anthem “Sing-A-Long” is a movement to teach K-12 students the
words, meaning,
music and history of the Star-Spangled Banner. This annual event is held
each year on the
second week of September to honor 9/11 families, victims and heroes and
celebrate the historic
birthday of the National Anthem on September 14. Those who join the
“Sing-A-Long” are singing in unison at the exact same time at multiple sites
across the U.S. The APEF has also created a robust, companion curriculum
recognized by numerous State Departments of Education, available online
at www.theapef.org (see the “Educate”
tab) for free download.
The Foundation hopes to have the support of the Alabama Department of
Education as we
commemorate the 15th Anniversary of 9/11 this year. Teachers are encouraged
to sign up
before the end of the school year at www.theapef.org.
Also online is a "how-to" guide on
holding an event at your school and sample press release. If you do not
wish to hold a full
ceremony at the school, your students can simply stand up and sing
at 10 am PST/1:00pm EST.
The Star-Spangled Banner Movement is a simple, elegant way to honor 9/11
while also teaching students how the world came together in the days, weeks and
months after the September 2001 terrorist strikes. The APEF also offers a host
of other free educational material on its website, including polls, contests
and grant information.
Pennsylvania
Partnerships for Children (PPC), a statewide children's advocacy organization
located in Harrisburg, PA has an immediate full-time opening for an Early
Learning and K-12 Education Policy Manager.
PPC's vision is to be one of the top ten states in which to be a child
and raise a child. Today, Pennsylvania ranks 17th in the nation for child
well-being. Our early learning and K-12 education policy work is focused on
ensuring all children enter school ready to learn and that all children have
access to high-quality public education. Current initiatives include increasing
the number of children served in publicly funded pre-k and implementing a fair
basic education formula along with sustained, significant investments in
education funding.
Interested in letting our
elected leadership know your thoughts on education funding, a severance tax,
property taxes and the budget?
Governor Tom Wolf,
(717) 787-2500
Speaker of the
House Rep. Mike Turzai, (717) 772-9943
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
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