Thursday, September 8, 2016

PA Ed Policy Roundup Sept 8: As PA Supreme Court Prepares to Hear Oral Arguments on Fair Funding Lawsuit in Philly Sept. 13th, Judge Rules Connecticut’s School Funding Violates Constitution

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup September 8, 2016:
As PA Supreme Court Prepares to Hear Oral Arguments on Fair Funding Lawsuit in Philly Sept. 13th, Judge Rules Connecticut’s School Funding Violates Constitution



Southeastern PA Regional 2016 Legislative Roundtable: William Tennent High School (Bucks Co.) SEP 22, 2016 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Auditor General DePasquale slated to be Keynote Speaker
School Leaders from Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks, Montco, Chesco, Delco and Philadelphia Counties encouraged to attend.



COUNCILWOMAN GYM, POWER TO HOST CITY HALL EVENTS TO SUPPORT FAIR FUNDING FOR PA SCHOOLS
SEPTEMBER 12: SING-IN; SEPTEMBER 13: FAIR FUNDING LAWSUIT HEARING
Philadelphia City Council



PA House Scheduled Session Days 2016
September: 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28
October:17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26
November: 14, 15

PA Senate Scheduled Session Days 2016
September: 26, 27, 28
October: 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26

Judge, Citing Inequality, Orders Connecticut to Overhaul Its School System
New York Times By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS SEPT. 7, 2016
In a decision that could fundamentally reshape public education in Connecticut, the state was ordered on Wednesday to make changes in everything from how schools are financed to which students are eligible to graduate from high school to how teachers are paid and evaluated. Reading his ruling from the bench for more than two hours, Judge Thomas Moukawsher of State Superior Court in Hartford said that “Connecticut is defaulting on its constitutional duty” to give all children an adequate education.  Judge Moukawsher’s decision was a response to a lawsuit filed more than a decade ago that claimed the state was shortchanging the poorest district when it came to school funding. What separates the decision from those in dozens of similar suits around the country is that rather than addressing money only, it requires the state to rethink nearly every major aspect of its system.

“The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed against the state in 2005. A coalition of cities, local school boards, parents and their children claimed Connecticut didn’t give all students a minimally adequate and equal education. The plaintiffs had sought to address funding disparities between wealthy and poor school districts.”
Connecticut’s School Funding Violates Constitution, Judge Rules
Lawmakers now have 180 days to come up with a better approach
Wall Street Journal JOSEPH DE AVILA Updated Sept. 7, 2016 8:52 p.m. ET
A Connecticut judge’s sweeping ruling Wednesday declaring vast portions of the state’s educational system as unconstitutional sent shock waves across the state.  Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ruled that the state’s funding mechanism for public schools violated the state constitution and ordered the state to come up with a new funding formula. He also ordered the state to set up a mandatory standard for high school graduation, overhaul evaluations for public-school teachers and create new standards for special education. “This is a very, very big deal,” said Preston Green, professor of urban education at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. “We are talking almost a total revamping of the educational system.”

Connecticut Superior Court Orders Reboot on Education Policy
Education Week State Ed Watch Blog By Daarel Burnette II on September 7, 2016 3:04 PM
In a sweeping and damning ruling issued Tuesday, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ordered the state's legislature and department of education to, within the next six months, come up with a new school funding formula, teacher evaluation system, and standards to close the notorious achievement gap between the state's urban poor and more-affluent suburban children, according to the Associated Press.   "Beyond a reasonable doubt, Connecticut is defaulting on its constitutional duty to provide adequate public school opportunities because it has no rational, substantial, and verifiable plan to distribute money for education aid and school construction," Moukawsher said. He ordered the state to submit its proposed reforms within 180 days.   The superior court is below the state's supreme court.  The state will likely appeal the ruling to the state's supreme court.  

“State and city lawmakers have been working to develop a more stable funding stream for the schools. A state budget deal reached this summer provided Philadelphia schools $50 million in new money. That funding enabled the district to spend the $35 million on new math and reading books.”
Inquirer Editorial: What a concept: Philadelphia public school students are getting new books this year
Inquirer Editorial Updated: SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 — 7:55 AM EDT
Inquirer editorial: Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. deserves credit for maintaining a steady hand while trying to navigate the school district's financial challenges.
It says a lot about the state of the Philadelphia School District that the big news on opening day is that its 130,000 students will actually have new textbooks.  But given the perpetual financial crisis that the city's public schools have been mired in the last few years, just buying books is a positive development worth celebrating.  After all, this is a school district that has gone several years without librarians, school nurses, guidance counselors, or assistant principals in many of its schools. Never mind the crumbling buildings and routine violence that has undermined learning for far too many students.  The School District has lurched from one financial crisis to the next in recent years. That ripple effect has been an emotional roller coaster that has wreaked havoc on parents, students, teachers, and administrators.  Credit Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. for maintaining a steady hand while trying to navigate the financial challenges. Hite's calm and sensible leadership stands in stark contrast to the melodrama that too often unfolded under his predecessor, the late Arlene Ackerman.

Letters: In Philly schools, new books shouldn't be news
Inquirer Letter by Sheryl Kalick, Philadelphia Updated: SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 3:01 AM EDT
A new school year has started in Philadelphia ("New thing in city schools: New books," Tuesday). How wonderful that the children will have new books, technology, counselors, and nurses. How dreadful that this is such a rare occurrence for the schools that it is the headline across the top of the front page.  Of course there should be books and technology and counselors and nurses. This should be a matter of course. If we value our children and their futures, then we must provide for them beyond scraping together the bare minimum of what they need. Whatever their backgrounds, whatever their skills and readiness to learn, the children come to school eager to learn. We have to do our part, we have to do what is right to provide them with the opportunities they deserve. We can find money for concerts and stadiums. Let's find money - really enough money - for schools.

MAP: Where are the best-paid public school teachers in Pennsylvania?
By Eugene Tauber The Morning Call September 7, 2016
How much are Pennsylvania’s public school teachers paid? An analysis of U.S. Census and Pennsylvania Department of Education data by The Morning Call answers these questions.
The map above shows all districts in the state. Click on a district to see its statistics. Drag and zoom to see all districts in the state.  Teacher salaries are compared to average salaries for the working population that resides within the district. Teachers are expected to have higher salaries since they are highly educated and average more than 13 years experience in their jobs while being compared to workers of any educational attainment and job experience.  The map is color coded: red districts pay their teachers less than the average for all working people in the district; grey pay up to 125 percent of the area average; light green pay up to 155 percent; and dark green are paid more than 155 percent of the area average salary.

Budget forecast for Erie schools: bleak and getting worse
GoErie.com By Ed Palattella  814-870-1813  ETNpalattella September 7, 2016 07:16 PM
ERIE, Pa. -- The Erie School Board typically starts its budget talks in February.  For the 2017-18 budget, which must be passed July 1, the talks started on Wednesday night. Officials said the early start points to the severity of the district's continual financial crisis.  Under the current conditions, "Insolvency is unavoidable," Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams told the board.  He said the district will face a deficit of $8 million to $10 million in the 2017-18 budget unless it gets more money from the state or saves millions of dollars by closing or merging high schools and eliminating sports, music and other extracurricular activities.  The district escaped insolvency and closing the high schools in the 2016-17 budget by making cuts and getting additional money from the state, including a $4 million emergency funding package the district has yet to receive. Under one proposal, the district's more than 3,000 high school students would have attended schools in outlying school districts.

Closing Erie's public high schools still an option
Big meeting to review possible closing of high schools
GoErie.com By Ed Palattella  814-870-1813  ETNpalattella September 8, 2016 02:01 AM
ERIE, Pa. -- The Erie School District escaped a financial meltdown in June, but it still is considering closing or merging its four high schools and making other massive cuts to stay solvent in the years ahead.  The district's ongoing need to review drastic choices will be back at the forefront on Thursday, at a meeting that Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper organized to address the district's financial crisis. Those invited include the region's public school superintendents and state legislators.  Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams said he will use the meeting — which is at the county's public safety building on Oliver Road, in Summit Township, and which is closed to the public — to update the attendees on the Erie School District's budget.  He also said he will renew discussion about what would happen if the district saved $3 million by closing its high schools — Central Career and Technical School, Northwestern Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, East and Strong Vincent — and paying tuition to send its more than 3,000 high school students to outlying school districts.

The School District of Lancaster stands by its record on refugees
Lancaster Online by Damaris Rau & Harvey Miller | Special to LNP September 7, 2016
Harvey Miller is president of the School District of Lancaster Board of School Directors and Dr. Damaris Rau is superintendent of the School District of Lancaster.
Lancaster County and the City of Lancaster have a long and successful heritage of welcoming refugee families. This year, the School District of Lancaster expects to serve more than 750 children of these refugee families. We serve one of the state’s highest percentages of refugee students, and we are privileged to work daily to meet the unique challenge of teaching these students, who speak more than 35 different languages. More than 95 percent of these children are attending classes at the McCaskey Campus or in one of our elementary and middle schools.  The American Civil Liberties Union and the Education Law Center have sued SDL concerning our services for older and under-credited refugee students. Media coverage of recent court testimony has presented an inaccurate portrayal of the district, and we feel it is important to provide additional context around our efforts to serve arriving refugee students.  To ensure adequate supports for these children, our district invests in a Refugee Welcoming Center at Reynolds Middle School, unique after-school and summer programs, and one of the state’s most robust community schools models to address out-of-school needs. These programs require significant support from district funds (i.e., local taxpayers), investments that few other districts make. The only additional money SDL received this year to support these initiatives is a $72,000 state Refugee School Impact Grant.

Educational systems need to help meet the growing need for skilled workers
Lancaster Online Editorial by the LNP Editorial Board September 8, 2016
THE ISSUE: There is a significant shortage of skilled workers in the United States. Manufacturing and craft workers — roofers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and concrete masons — are in particularly short supply, and the U.S. Department of Labor expects the demand for most positions to increase substantially over the next decade. The challenge for construction companies is no longer finding enough work but finding enough skilled workers who can do the job.  Who will build our bridges? It’s a pertinent question during an election year in which both presidential candidates talk about rebuilding our infrastructure.  The U.S. infrastructure certainly needs an overhaul, but by whom? You don’t have to be a member of the Army Corps of Engineers to know that you can’t just send some schmo with an acetylene torch to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.  One reason for the skilled worker shortage in this country is that we lack training.  Manufacturers and the construction industry saw this coming. They’ve been advocating for at least a decade for more vocational training in high schools and community colleges. Why isn’t this happening?

Greensburg Salem district, union remain divided on salaries, benefits
Trib Live BY JACOB TIERNEY  | Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, 10:51 p.m.
Teachers and officials at Greensburg Salem School District had wanted to wrap up contract negotiations by the start of the school year, but those hopes ended with the summer break.
School has been in session for more than two weeks, and the situation looks much the same as last year's prolonged contract dispute, which ended in a stalemate. Teachers resumed “working to the rule” Friday, forgoing all the tasks they typically do that are not explicitly mandated by their contract, like supervising students before and after classes.  “We're trying to highlight what our teachers do for the students that they're not compensated for,” said Matt Sofran, president of the Greensburg Salem Education Association.  Negotiators from the district and teachers union met multiple times over the summer, with a state mediator in attendance. All the incidental details of the contract have been worked out, but the core issues of salaries and benefits remain sticking points, according to school board President Ron Mellinger.

West Shore board, teachers spar over contract
York Daily Record by  Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com2:07 p.m. EDT September 7, 2016
The West Shore School Board plans to address ongoing contract negotiations in public Thursday, something the teachers' union says has compromised the bargaining process.   The school board is holding a meeting Sept. 8 to "provide the public with a full update" on the district's latest contract offer, according to a news release. The meeting is at 6 p.m. at Cedar Cliff High School. Teachers will hold a rally beforehand.  The news release says the district provided teachers with a "best and final offer" on July 8. On Aug. 22, the release says, teachers provided a counterproposal at the start of a negotiations session. The district reviewed the offer later but concluded it differed on major issues including salaries and health care benefits, the release says.  But the West Shore Education Association says the board "refused" to negotiate Aug. 22 and canceled an Aug. 30 session. After that, a news release from the union says, the union's negotiating team told the district it would present the "best and final offer" to teachers Sept. 14.

Beaver County schools to begin stocking naloxone on campus
Beaver County Times By Katherine Schaeffer kschaeffer@timesonline.com September 7, 2016
As western Pennsylvania’s heroin epidemic continues, Beaver County’s schools are taking precautions to prevent fatal overdoses on school grounds.  Ten of 15 area school districts have adopted policies guiding how the opioid anti-overdose drug naloxone should be administered and will stock the drug in school nurse offices this fall. Pennsylvania requires school districts to adopt policies in order to store the drug in a school nurse’s office.  Many of those districts have obtained dosages through Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier’s office, which this spring offered every school in the county a free dose of the medication, including colleges and public, private and charter schools.  The state's public high schools also have the option of requesting Narcan Nasal Spray -- a name brand version of the drug -- through the state Department of Health, which will provide a carton of the drug to schools at no cost through a partnership announced in February. 
http://www.timesonline.com/timestoday/beaver-county-schools-to-begin-stocking-naloxone-on-campus/article_435d879e-7144-11e6-831c-3b899d49aa9a.html

“Every high school has to become a high school of choice,” said Cheryl Logan, the District’s chief academic support officer.”
Philly neighborhood high schools look to reinvent themselves
Ninth graders will get extra attention. Principals may adopt special themes and focus more on careers and college.
The notebook by Connie Langland September 7, 2016 — 2:54pm
The District’s 20 neighborhood high schools — sometimes overlooked by families considering the academic options after middle school — are scrambling to find new lives as viable, even preferable alternatives to the city’s lineup of special admission, citywide admission and charter schools.  All of the neighborhood schools have opened 9th-grade academies, each with a newly assigned assistant principal, its own cadre of teachers and classrooms, and minimal interaction with upperclassmen for the students. There’s more focus on career and technical programming, and principals are being encouraged to open theme-based academies.  Roxborough High School, for instance, has three academies — sciences, arts and business. Sayre, in West Philadelphia, offers medical science studies and afterschool opportunities through a partnership with the Netter Center at the University of Pennsylvania.  Penn Treaty High is among several schools that have introduced AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a college prep program that improves the odds of students – if they have the skills and are doing well in high school –  to persevere and graduate college.  And in a pilot project, Sayre, South Philadelphia, Frankford and Kensington High Schools are getting even more support — including a career and college coordinator at each school for 9th grade only.

Hope abounds as Philly schools begin new year out of crisis mode
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT SEPTEMBER 8, 2016
At Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia, the first day of school didn’t come with talk of budgets or contracts or politics.   It did come with hugs, free donuts, and a house DJ. As students streamed through the entrance at 42nd and Ludlow Streets and into the thumping auditorium, Principal Richard Gordon IV greeted each like an old friend.  “Ms. Griffin, how are you?,” he said to one 12th-grader. “You ready to start that senior year?”  For the first time in a long time it seems the School District of Philadelphia is indeed ready to start its year. Last fall a budget impasse in Harrisburg cast a pall over opening day. Years prior were overshadowed by fiscal constraints and the specter of austerity.  The 2016-17 school year, however, begins with no immediate crisis — though indeed some long-burning struggles remain.

Despite progress, teacher vacancies linger as Philly schools open
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
Despite an aggressive hiring spree, the School District of Philadelphia will start the year with scores of teacher vacancies, although there are fewer openings than last year.  That means thousands of students will have at least one class without a permanent teacher when school starts on Wednesday.  As of late Tuesday, 84 full-time openings remained across 58 district schools, according to the district’s official vacancy tracker.  In late June, with just 45 vacancies, district officials called a press conference to announce they were on track to fill every teaching position. The district had originally said it would fill all open positions by June 30. Teacher vacancies have plagued the district for years, and officials waged a well-publicized hiring campaign over the summer to eradicate the problem.  It would appear they’ve made some progress, but fallen short of their overall goal.  “We are significantly ahead of where we were a year ago,” said Superintendent William Hite at the end of last week.

Pennsylvania gerrymandering is bipartisan
Morning Call Opinion by Bill White Contact Reporter September 8, 2016
Both Pennsylvania parties use gerrymandering to protect their incumbents
I just did two columns on the importance of changing the way Pennsylvania's legislative and congressional districts are drawn up every 10 years, and I've already heard from a bunch of people who want to get involved in the reform effort.  I included a link to the FairDistrictsPa.com website, which has much more information about what you can do to help promote House Bill 1835 and Senate Bill 484, the two current redistricting reform vehicles. They're sponsored by state Rep. David Parker, R-Monroe, and state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, respectively, and seven local legislators already have signed on as co-sponsors. The first step to a constitutional amendment will be passing one of them in the 2017-2018 legislative session. Unfortunately, some of the reaction to the columns suggested there are people who can't see beyond their hard-line partisanship on any issue, even one that has nothing to do with being conservative or liberal and everything to do with ensuring that every vote counts.

State Treasurer race has yet to catch fire, but it's not for lack of trying
By Chris Potter/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette September 7, 2016 4:21 PM
Otto Voit is hoping to convince people to vote for him as state Treasurer this November.
The first step: convincing them to vote for a state Treasurer at all.  "I don't know if they get bored or what, but 20 to 25 percent of the people [who vote in presidential races] don't vote for state treasurer," the Republican told a roomful of Republican volunteers at a press conference this afternoon.  Actually, it's not quite THAT bad. It is true that 25 percent fewer people cast ballots for Treasurer on the Republican ballot than voted for president; on the Democratic side, the drop-off was nearly 23 percent. But both Mr. Voit and his Democratic rival, Philadelphia's Joe Torsella, were running unopposed. And in the past two November elections, 2008 and 2012, the drop-off in voter interest was closer to 5 percent.  Still, Mr. Voit has his work cut out for him: Only one reporter — THIS GUY — attended today's event, prompting the Berks County businessman to open his remarks by thanking GOP volunteers and "member of the press" for attending.


National Back-to-School Call-to-Action
No Time to Wait!
National School Boards Action Center September 7, 2016
A new school year marks a new beginning for our nation’s 50 million public school students, and an opportunity for lawmakers to advance policy priorities in support of public education. Now through September, the National School Boards Action Center (NSBAC) is calling all public education advocates to join our “Back-to-School Call-to-Action” in urging Members of Congress to finish their work on several key pieces of legislation. 
Through NSBAC's "Building America's Future in Public Schools" national campaign, the time is now to remind Congress that there is No Time to Wait! Please support our Back-to-School advocacy effort by urging Members of Congress to achieve the following:
·         Exercise congressional oversight during the implementation process of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to uphold local governance provisions in the law and support community ownership in public education.
·         Reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Actto ensure access to high-quality programs that equip students with the academic and workforce skills they need to compete for high-skilled, in-demand jobs.
·         Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, known as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to empower local school districts to assure a healthy and positive learning environment for children to achieve their full potential.
·         Maximize investments in Title I programs for disadvantaged students and special education grants to school districts and states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

“When he came into office in 2014, there were 20,000 free, full-day pre-k seats in New York City. Today, that number is 70,000. At a time of gridlock in Washington, de Blasio has quickly created a new entitlement in the nation’s largest city: an extension of the K-12 school system into an additional year of free, academically rigorous public education and childcare. It is available to every New York 4-year-old, whether their parents are living in a homeless shelter or working at a hedge fund. The program is so popular that suburban legislators have demanded state funding to provide their constituents with the same benefit.”
Bill de Blasio's Pre-K Crusade
In New York City, every 4-year-old has access to free early education—even those whose families make up the 1 percent.
The Atlantic by DANA GOLDSTEIN  SEP 7, 2016
On a sunny afternoon in April, I sat on a bench at New York’s City Hall, waiting to interview Mayor Bill de Blasio. He breezed by in shirtsleeves, surrounded by grim-looking advisers. The mayor, too, was frowning.  That morning’s papers carried the news that de Blasio’s fundraising activities were being investigated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, and a state commission on public ethics. The mayor’s new initiative to combat homelessness was being drowned out by media coverage of the investigations. De Blasio had gathered his team at City Hall and given them a pep talk, asking them to stay focused. He reminded the staff of their victories: Ending stop and frisk. Convincing a reluctant city council to pass an affordable housing plan. Shootings were at a historic low.  And then there was Pre-K For All, arguably first among de Blasio’s accomplishments.

New evidence that summer programs can make a difference for poor children
Washington Post By Emma Brown September 7 at 7:00 AM 
During their long, languid summers, lots of children forget the lessons they learned in school. But the hot empty months pose an especially big academic hurdle for poor children, whose families might not have time or money for camps or enrichment activities.  Now new research suggests that school districts can stave off the so-called summer slide by offering free, voluntary programs that mix reading and math instruction with sailing, arts and crafts and other summer staples. The research also shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that students have to attend the programs regularly to reap the benefits.   “We would hope that these findings would encourage district leaders and others to consider whether summer programs can help them achieve their broader goals,” said Ann Stone of the Wallace Foundation, which funded the research as part of its $50 million National Summer Learning Project.

“The big debate is over what's called, "supplement-not-supplant." The idea is that federal aid to schools and districts should be in addition to what they already get from state and local funding, not a substitute for other aid.”
Fight brewing over proposed Dept. of Ed. rule
Washington Examiner By JASON RUSSELL • 9/7/16 8:00 AM
The Department of Education released a proposed regulation on education funding while Congress was on recess. Some in Congress aren't happy about it.  Senate education committee Chair Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in response to the proposed rule that Secretary of Education John King "must think he is the U.S. Congress as well as chairman of a National School Board."  "His proposed regulation would give Washington, D.C., control over state and local education dollars that it has never had before," Alexander said. "Federal law gives him zero authority to do this. In fact, our new law specifically prohibits his doing this."  Alexander was referring to the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed in December 2015, which was the first major K-12 education reform at the federal level since No Child Left Behind was signed in 2002. House education committee Chair John Kline, R-Minn., said the rule would "impose a multi-billion dollar regulatory tax on our nation's schools."

Teachers Face a 17 Percent Pay Cut When They Join the Noble Profession
On average, teachers earn 78.6 percent of what other workers with the same educational level get paid.
Bloomberg.com by Amanda Albright @amanda_albright September 1, 2016 11:03 AM EDT
Linking education to U.S. economic prosperity is not exactly a novel idea, and research time and time again has supported this philosophy. However, improving the country's education system could be a long haul, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute. The problem? It's hard to recruit the best college grads to the sector when teachers get paid less than other college graduates with similar occupations, the study says.
Here's what public school teachers earn weekly on average. Only the states in green pay their teachers more than $1,000 a week.

Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 9/7/2016

The Ultimate Jazz Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Post Gazette Friday, 02 September 2016 07:47 AM Written by  Rich Kienzle
Audio engineers tend to get short shrift. When it comes to records, their immense role in shaping a performer's sound is almost always invisible. Only a few get the recognition they merit. One of them is Rudy Van Gelder, who died August 25th at 91.  The most celebrated audio engineer in the jazz field, Van Gelder never aspired to anything but engineering; he never produced and had no desire to.

1964 - John Coltrane - A Love Supreme


Education Law Center: Join us September 19: UC-Berkeley economist Rucker Johnson in Philadelphia
September 19: Please join us at 4:30 PM in the Mayor’s Reception Room in Philadelphia City Hall where economist and UC-Berkeley professor Dr. Rucker Johnson will discuss his recent national research which finds that sustained investment in education produces long-term economic benefits for communities. Mayor Kenney and Dr. Hite will also make brief remarks. This event is sponsored by the Education Law Center, The Mayor’s Office of Education, and Council President Darrell Clarke. Please spread the word and join us on the 19th! RSVP to Caitlyn Boyle: Caitlyn.Boyle@Phila.gov
To download the full invitation to the event, please click here.

EDUCATION LAW CENTER invites you to our ANNUAL CELEBRATION
Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 5:30 PM
The Crystal Tea Room, The Wanamaker Building
100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA
Honoring: Pepper Hamilton LLP, Signe Wilkinson, Dr. Monique W. Morris
And presenting the ELC PRO BONO AWARD  to Paul Saint-Antoine & Chanda Miller
of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Southeastern PA Regional 2016 Legislative Roundtable: William Tennent High School (Bucks Co.) SEP 22, 2016 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
PSBA website August 25, 2016
Take a more active role in public education advocacy by joining our Legislative Roundtable
This is your opportunity for a seat at the table (literally) with fellow public education advocates to take an active role in educating each other and policymakers.  Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, along with regional legislators, will be in attendance to work with you to support public education in Pennsylvania.  Use the form below to send your registration information!

2016 National Anthem Sing-A-Long - September 9th
American Public Education Foundation Website 
The Star-Spangled Banner will be sung by school children nationwide on Friday, September 9, 2016 at 10:00am PST and 1:00pm EST. Students will learn about the words and meaning of the flag and sing the first stanza. This will be the third annual simultaneous sing-a-long event created by the APEF-9/12 Generation Project. The project aims to bring students together – as the world came together – on September 12, 2001.

PA Supreme Court sets Sept. 13 argument date for fair education funding lawsuit in Philly
Thorough and Efficient Blog JUNE 16, 2016 BARBGRIMALDI LEAVE A COMMENT
https://edfundinglawsuit.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/pa-supreme-court-sets-argument-date-for-fair-education-funding-lawsuit/

Registration for the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 13-15 is now open
The conference is your opportunity to learn, network and be inspired by peers and experts.
TO REGISTER: See https://www.psba.org/members-area/store-registration/   (you must be logged in to the Members Area to register). You can read more on How to Register for a PSBA Event here.   CONFERENCE WEBSITE: For all other program details, schedules, exhibits, etc., see the conference website:www.paschoolleaders.org.

The Sixth Annual Arts and Education Symposium – October 27, 2016
The 2016 Arts and Education Symposium will be held on October 27 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Convention Center.  Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Arts Education network and EPLC, the Symposium is a Unique Networking and Learning Opportunity for:
·         Arts Educators
·         School Leaders
·         Artists
·         Arts and Culture Community Leaders
·         Arts-related Business Leaders
·         Arts Education Faculty and Administrators in Higher Education
·         Advocates
·         State and Local Policy Leaders
Act 48 Credit is available.
Program and registration information are available here.

REGISTER NOW for the 2016 PA Principals Association State Conference, October 30 - November 1, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College.
PA Principals Association website Tuesday, August 2, 2016 10:43 AM
To receive the Early Bird Discount, you must be registered by August 31, 2016:
Members: $300  Non-Members: $400
Featuring Three National Keynote Speakers: Eric Sheninger, Jill Jackson & Salome Thomas-EL

PSBA Officer Elections Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later than April 30, 2016, to be considered. All candidates who properly completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 24 at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to each person’s name with an asterisk (*).  Each school entity will have one vote for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during the open voting period (Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016). Voting will be accomplished through a secure third-party, web-based voting site that will require a password login. One person from each member school entity will be authorized as the official person to cast the vote on behalf of his or her school entity. In the case of school districts, it will be the board secretary who will cast votes on behalf of the school board.
Special note: Boards should be sure to include discussion and voting on candidates to its agenda during one of its meetings in September.


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