Friday, April 28, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup April 28: Responsible PA Charter Reform Starts Here: ask your State Senator to cosponsor Browne/Vulakovich

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup April 28, 2017:



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Responsible PA Charter Reform Starts Here: ask your State Senator to cosponsor Browne/Vulakovich
COSPONSORSHIP MEMORANDUM
Posted:            April 25, 2017 03:46 PM
From:               Senator Patrick M. Browne and Sen. Randy Vulakovich
To:                   All Senate members
Subject:           Charter School Advisory Commission
 In the near future, Senator Vulakovich and I will introduce legislation to establish a Charter School Advisory Commission to review and make recommendations concerning charter and cyber charter school funding.  This commission will consist of members of all four caucuses, including the majority and minority chairs of the Appropriations and Education Committees, two members appointed by the House and Senate majority leaders and one member appointed by the House and Senate minority leaders and the Secretary of Education.
The commission shall be charged with examining all current laws, regulations and executive policy statements which determine funding for charter and cyber charter schools in the Commonwealth.  The commission shall issue a report with its findings and recommendations, no later than eighteen months from the effective date of the legislation. The Charter School Advisory Commission will operate in a similar manner to the Special Education and Basic Education Funding Commissions and the Public School Construction and Reconstruction (PLANCON) Advisory Committee.  I hope that you will join us as a co-sponsor of this important legislation.

SB22: Editorial: Time to tame the redistricting beast
Delco Times POSTED: 04/27/17, 9:36 PM EDT | UPDATED: 40 SECS AGO
Pat Meehan is a busy guy.  His 7th District Congressional seat has always covered the bulk of Delaware County.  But these days he has to “represent” a few more constituents. That’s because “Delaware County’s congressman” is now wearing a few more hats.  He’s also, in part, Chester County’s congressman.  And Berks County’s congressman.  And Montgomery County’s congressman.  And Lancaster County’s congressman.  That’s right, the 7th District now zigs and zags its way through parts of five different suburban Philadelphia counties.  That is due to something called gerrymandering. A little bit like making sausage, it’s something best not viewed up close.  Every 10 years, congressional districts are reshaped to take into account the differences in the latest census. The next change will reflect the 2020 census changes.  What this is really all about is political power. Those in control of our ruling bodies bend and shape the districts to benefit themselves and their candidates.

SB22 Bipartisan Bill To End Gerrymandering Introduced In Senate
Capitol Digest Crisci Associates
Senators Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) and Mario Scavello (R-Monroe) have introduced bipartisan legislation-- Senate Bill 22 (not yet online)-- to establish an independent commission to draw up Pennsylvania’s legislative maps.  “It’s time to take the stakeholders out of the redistricting process and turn it over to the people,” Sen. Boscola said. “We can’t fix how we’re governed until we fix how we choose who governs us.”  “I am looking forward to working with Senator Boscola to move this legislation forward,” Sen. Scavello said. “It is important that legislators on both sides of the aisle uphold a system of voting districts that best represents our citizens and the regions in which they live.”  Senate Bill 22 would establish an 11-member independent commission comprised by four individuals registered with the largest political party in the Commonwealth, four registered with the second-largest party, and three people not affiliated with either major political party.

Has Your PA State Senator Cosponsored SB22?

Here we go again: PA’s School-Based ACCESS Program is jeopardized under proposed federal cuts to Medicaid under Affordable Care Act Repeal
A vote to repeal the ACA could happen as soon as next week, jeopardizing Medicaid coverage for Pennsylvania schoolchildren.  Pennsylvania public schools are currently at risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funding to help pay for mandated services for students with special needs.
A PSBA Closer Look March 2017
https://www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ACL_ACCESS-program-jeopardized.pdf


Call your Congressman’s office today to let them know that with the repeal of ACA Pennsylvania could lose over $140 million in reimbursement for services that school districts provide to special education students
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Meehan, Costello pan latest GOP plan to replace Obamacare
By Kathleen E. Carey, Delaware County Daily Times POSTED: 04/27/17, 9:31 PM EDT | UPDATED: 53 SECS AGO
The latest Republican attempt to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act won’t have the support of U.S. Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-7 of Chadds Ford, or Ryan Costello, R-6 of Chester County.  Meehan said Thursday he’ll vote against the measure, while maintaining he wants to see an alternative to the ACA that will be less costly and more accessible to his constituents.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20170427/meehan-costello-pan-latest-gop-plan-to-replace-obamacare

On revised health care bill, Charlie Dent remains opposed
Morning Call Washington Bureau April 27, 2017
Is health care reform getting another shot at a vote in the U.S. House?
There's a scramble on Capitol Hill to see if House Republicans can assemble the necessary votes on the latest iteration of an Obamacare repeal plan, which was hammered out by New Jersey moderate Tom MacArthur and members of the conservative Freedom Caucus.
Among those unswayed by the latest changes is U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, who co-chairs the Tuesday Group centrist caucus with MacArthur.  Dent says the latest proposal doesn't address the concerns he had about the health care bill that nearly reached a vote last month. The Lehigh Valley lawmaker had expressed concerns over the effect it would have in states like Pennsylvania that expanded Medicaid and said the tax credits are insufficent to offset premium costs.  The latest version would give states the option of doing away with the so-called essential health benefits that Obamacare requires insurers to provide. That proposal was designed to win over more conservative members of the Republican caucus.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-on-revised-health-care-bill-charlie-dent-remains-opposed-20170427-story.html

“The message is simple.  Tell Congress to keep their hands off Medicaid funds for kids.”
Network for Public Education Legislative Alert March 9, 2017
Did  you know that many schools use Medicaid funding to help cover the cost of services to students in special education? Medicaid funding is used for speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education providers, school-based health services and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs. In some states, Medicaid dollars are used by schools for vision and hearing screening for eligible students.  The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) estimates that districts receive about $4 billion a year through Medicaid funding. Read their informative booklet, which you can find here to find out how our most vulnerable students could be hurt by cuts.  Right now the House of Representatives led by Paul Ryan is debating whether to slash Medicaid or to shift it to a block grant as part of their "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act.  Neither choice is good for children. If a per-capita cap or block grant is enacted, schools would lose a dedicated funding source for services, and would have to compete with health care providers and hospitals for limited funds.  And all of this would be part of a budget package with large tax cuts for the rich.
We need you to act now.  Calling is the most effective way to contact your Congressperson
1. Click here to send an email to your Congressperson.
2. Call todayCall your representative directly, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Medicaid Helps Schools Help Children
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities BY JESSICA SCHUBEL APRIL 18, 2017
Medicaid provides affordable and comprehensive health coverage to over 30 million children, improving their health and their families’ financial well-being.[1] In addition to the immediate health and financial benefits that Medicaid provides, children covered by Medicaid experience long-term health and economic gains as adults.[2] Many children receive Medicaid-covered health care not only at the doctor’s office, but also often at school.   For students with disabilities, schools must provide medical services that are necessary for them to get an education as part of their special education plans, and Medicaid pays for these services for eligible children. And Medicaid’s role in schools goes beyond special education, as it also pays for health services that all children need, such as vision and dental screenings, when they are provided in schools to Medicaid-eligible children. Schools can also help enroll eligible but unenrolled children in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and connect them to other health care services and providers. Medicaid also helps schools by reducing special education and other health care-related costs, freeing up funding in state and school budgets to help advance other education initiatives.  Capping and cutting federal Medicaid funding, as the House Republicans’ American Health Care Act would do, would jeopardize critical health-related services for students and put an important source of funds for schools and states at risk.

Percent of Children Covered by Medicaid/CHIP by Congressional District, 2015
Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families

WITF Smart Talk: The State of Education
Written by Rich Copeland - Producer, WITF's Smart Talk | Apr 26, 2017 8:00 PM
Audio Runtime: 61:02Guests:
Nathan Mains, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association
John Pulver, Associate Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Administrators
Tom Gluck, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units
Dr. Paul Healey, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Principals Association
Dr. Mark DiRocco, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
First the good news -- close to 90% of Pennsylvania students are graduating high school, more than 70% are continuing their education beyond high school and test scores ae rising in some key areas.  At the same time, Pennsylvania schools are facing challenges such as budget pressures, pension costs, high poverty rates and finding fulltime and substitute teachers.
Those are a few of the findings of a consortium of state education organizations that released2016-2017 State of Education Report this week.  The report was compiled as "a barometer of not only the key indicators of public school performance, such as standardized test scores, but also the timely challenges that public schools are facing and how they are coping with them."   The comprehensive study is compiled by surveying chief school administrators from Pennsylvania's public school districts, career and technical centers and intermediate units.  It looks at several different metrics; the demographic makeup of the state's K-12 students, student achievement, the challenges facing administrators, school finance, class size and others. 

“Future Ready PA would retain some measures from the SPP, but broaden the indicators to weigh how schools are doing at preparing all students for post-graduation success. In addition to test scores, Future Ready will emphasize growth, access to high-quality programs, and follow-up to see how students are doing after graduation.”
GUEST COLUMN: Why standardized tests are failing Pa. students
Pottstown Mercury By Pedro A. Rivera, Guest Columnist POSTED: 04/27/17, 1:49 PM EDT | UPDATED: 14 HRS AGO
In classrooms across Pennsylvania, students are engaged in an annual tradition of taking standardized tests; and while these assessments can play an important role in their education, many would agree that the spotlight on tests and scores has overshadowed the great teaching and learning that should be the focus in our schools.  The Department of Education agrees.  Since day one, the Wolf Administration has made education a top priority and has fought to improve public education by championing historic investments in classrooms, honoring our educators, and exploring ways to reduce the emphasis on standardized tests. At the governor’s direction, PDE has crisscrossed the commonwealth working with communities and educational organizations to identify ways to ensure students are prepared to succeed after they graduate. This collaboration has led PDE to offer recommendations to tackle the issue of over-testing.  First, Pennsylvania should stop relying on results from a few point-in-time assessments to evaluate how schools are doing. Results from the PSSAs and Keystone Exams account for up to 90 percent of a school’s School Performance Profile (the state’s current school measurement tool), which is why the department is adopting the Future Ready PA Index as the forward-facing school evaluation tool in the 2018-19 school year.

Philly region a welcoming place for women school superintendents
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Staff Writer  @Kathy_Boccella |  kboccella@phillynews.com Updated: JANUARY 11, 2017 — 5:07 PM EST
On Bridget O’Connell’s first day as superintendent of the Palisades School District in upper Bucks County, she got a lot of questions about the kids – not the 1,700 students she would be overseeing as the top administrator, but the four children at home who know her as mom.
“’Wow, you’re a superintendent and you have four kids?’” O’Connell recalled well-wishers asking. She added wearily, “That always seems to be the question... How do you do it?"
Retro moments aside, the Philadelphia region has moved faster than Pennsylvania, and indeed the nation, in growing the roster of female school superintendents. Of the 61 districts in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware Counties, 21 – or 34.4 percent – are run by women. The statewide percentage is 28.8.  Across the river, in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties, they're in charge in 36 percent of the 113 districts, compared with 31.4 percent for all of Jersey.  Nationwide, women head 22.4 percent of districts, according to AASA, the School Superintendents Association. 

Accountant's sentencing delayed again in charter school scam
AP State Wire Published: Yesterday
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Sentencing has been delayed again for an accountant who pleaded guilty to helping the founder and former CEO of Pennsylvania's largest online charter school avoid federal income taxes on more than $8 million that man siphoned from the school.  Neal Prence pleaded guilty to one count of tax conspiracy in September, but his sentencing Thursday has been delayed indefinitely because he now wants to withdraw his guilty plea and instead plead no contest.  A federal judge has yet to rule on that request, which could spare Prence's accounting license.  Federal prosecutors contend Prence conspired with Nicholas Trombetta who pleaded guilty to the fraud in August involving The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.  Trombetta is scheduled for sentencing June 20 for using the school's money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Pittsburgh city schools unveil 5-year plan to close achievement gap
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MOLLY BORN mborn@post-gazette.com 12:01 PM  APR 27, 2017
Pittsburgh Public Schools on Thursday unveiled a wide-ranging five-year strategic plan that includes an emphasis on eliminating the racial achievement gap and improving teacher professional development.  The plan “Expect Great Things” draws in part from recommendations in a searing January report from the Council of the Great City Schools, commissioned by the district, and caps off Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s review of the school system in his first year.  “Throughout this history-making community process, we received feedback from more than 3,500 individuals, to help us prioritize the needs of PPS stakeholders and top priority areas for improving student proficiency,” Mr. Hamlet said in a news release.  The plan was released at Heinz Field, where the district also inducted seven distinguished alumni   into the school district’s Hall of Fame, including Tony Award-winning actor and playwright Billy Porter and city councilwoman Natalia Rudiak.  The plan outlined four long-term goals: increasing proficiency in literacy and math, eliminating the racial achievement gap and, more generally, “[ensuring] all students are equipped with skills to succeed in college, career and life.” Within those goals are four strategic themes and 19 initiatives to address them.

SRC approves alternative school contracts, hears pleas to save a charter
The notebook by Greg Windle April 27, 2017 — 10:40pm
The School Reform Commission (SRC) voted Thursday to approve $146 million in contracts to private alternative school providers, all but one that already operate schools in the District's Opportunity Network -- 14 schools that serve about 3000 students who are not making it in a traditional setting.  The new player is Liguori Academy, a private school in Kensington that was previously religiously affiliated and had originally sought to open a charter school.   The resolution was bundled with others that were voted on after the SRC listened to more than 50 speakers on a variety of topics, including some that spoke on behalf of Memphis Street Academy, charter school recommended for closure in a vote that could come as soon as Monday.   Other speakers berated the SRC for the continued lack of a teachers' contract. Members of the Caucus of Working Educators s ran a paper chain around the room with 1334 links -- one for each day of the impasse.

Advocates seek ban on suspensions of young students
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa April 27, 2017 — 10:21pm
Child advocates are asking the Philadelphia School District to immediately ban suspensions of first through fifth graders and provide more support to schools as they work to shift disciplinary policies away from punishment and toward positive behavior supports. Suspensions of kindergarten students were banned last August for most infractions, but not for offenses that cause "serious bodily injury."    In a letter to Superintendent William Hite and the School Reform Commission, the advocates cited an alarming number of suspensions meted out to students in the fifth grade and below, plus federal data showing that black students are punished at rates far disproportionate to their white peers and students with disabilities at greater rates than those in regular education -- trends also prevalent nationwide.  "This is appalling and unacceptable," the letter said. It was signed by a coalition of groups including  the Education Law Center-PA, One Pennsylvania, ACLU of Pennsylvania, Youth United for Change, as well as Councilwoman Helen Gym, and others.   Karyn Lynch, the District's Chief of Student Support Services, said in an interview that the District agrees with the goals of the letter, but that effectively implementing such a major policy change takes time. Extending the expulsion ban to grade five is a goal and is under active consideration, she said, but can't be done instantaneously.

“The SRC is expected to act Monday on 23 charter-renewal requests. Most are recommended for renewal with conditions. Another school, Laboratory School of Communications and Languages, a K-8 institution with campuses in Northern Liberties and West Philadelphia, was also recommended for nonrenewal because of issues with finances and governance.”
Charter supporters ask SRC for a second chance
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer  @newskag |  kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: APRIL 27, 2017 — 9:52 PM EDT
Students, parents, and teachers from a Port Richmond charter school that the Philadelphia School District has recommended for nonrenewal turned out in force Thursday to ask for a second chance.  Citing poor academic performance, the district's charter school office said Memphis Street Academy at J.P. Jones should not receive a new charter. The  school, which serves grades five through eight, has been run for the last five years by American Paradigm Schools, a local education management company.  It had previously been a district school that was so troubled, it was known by some in the community as “Jones Jail,” parents told the School Reform Commission at its monthly action session.  Throngs of supporters wearing orange shirts asked the SRC, which is set to consider charter renewals at a special meeting Monday, to consider their school’s strengths.

Do standardized tests work and are they worth the cost?
ABC27 By Dennis Owens Published: April 26, 2017, 11:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Jake Miller teaches seventh-grade U.S. history, is brutally honest with his students and loves his job.  “Each kid is a light bulb that I get to watch turn on slowly or sometimes in a harsh flick that goes from nothing to full-on beam,” Miller said, “or others that are dimmers that just keep inching up every year that they’re in education, and I really enjoy basking in that light of the students.”  That sounds nice but are his students learning what they need to be learning? Is his teaching effective? To gauge that, the state gives PSSA tests to elementary and middle school students and Keystone Exams to high schoolers.  Matthew Stem is a deputy secretary at the state Department of Education which oversees the tests. He’s also a former teacher, principal and superintendent and a father of school age, test-taking kids.  “Not only does testing in Pennsylvania fulfill federal requirements, but additionally, it gives us snapshots of performance of our schools and we want to be sure that parents are equipped with the knowledge of how students in their local schools are performing,” Stem said.

Pottstown home ownership incentive launched for school district employees
By Evan Brandt, The Mercury POSTED: 04/26/17, 6:13 PM EDT | UPDATED: 13 HRS AGO
POTTSTOWN >> A $10,000 forgivable loan program designed to induce teachers and school district employees to buy homes in the borough has been implemented by the Federation for Pottstown Education.  The idea was first proposed by school board member Thomas Hylton in July 2015 and Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez acknowledged the launching of the program “has been a long time coming.”  The responsibility for the program was shifted to the non-profit foundation after a legal review found problems with using tax money to benefit a specific class of citizen.  Joe Rusiewicz, executive director of the foundation, made the announcement at the April 24 school board meeting.  The idea behind the incentive is to encourage professionals making middle income salaries to live in the district which employes them, pay taxes in that district and become more invested in the community’s welfare and economic health.  It is modeled on similar programs in other municipalities in Pennsylvania, including Allentown.


Nation’s only federally funded voucher program has negative effect on student achievement, study finds
Washington Post By Emma Brown and Mandy McLaren April 27 at 11:19 AM 
The nation’s only federally funded voucher program had a negative effect on student achievement from one year to the next, particularly in math, according to a new federal analysis of the program, which helps about 1,100 students in the District of Columbia attend private school.  The Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the Education Department, released the evaluation Thursday in the wake of recent studies of state-funded voucher programs in Indiana, Louisiana and Ohio that also showed negative effects on achievement. It comes amid growing scrutiny of voucher programs as President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are seeking to pour billions of dollars into expanding vouchers and other alternatives to public schools.  Vouchers, deeply controversial in public education, are direct government subsidies that parents can use as scholarships for private schools. These payments can cover all or part of the annual tuition bills, depending on the school.  In the District, the findings show that students who used vouchers had significantly lower math scores a year after they applied to the program, on average, than students who did not receive a scholarship. Reading scores also were lower, but the difference was not statistically significant.  Among students who transferred into a private school from a low-performing public school — the population that the voucher program primarily aims to reach — attending a private school had no effect on achievement. Among students attending schools not designated low-performing, the negative effect was particularly large.

Could the Recent D.C. Voucher Report Hurt Trump's School Choice Pitch?
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on April 27, 2017 5:22 PM
new evaluation of the nation's only federally funded private school voucher program finds that students' math achievement was negatively impacted by participating in what is known as the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program. The vouchers also appeared to have no impact on parents' overall satisfaction with their children's schools.  But the same study—done by the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education—found positive impacts on the perception of school safety among parents whose children participated in the voucher program.  President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are major supporters of the D.C. voucher program, and school choice in general. And legislation reauthorizing the voucher program is pending in Congress, which is controlled by Republicans.  Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House education committee, said the report is a sign that Congress should not renew the voucher program.  "We know that these failed programs drain public schools of limited resources, only to deliver broken promises of academic success to parents and students," Scott said in a statement. "Congress must end this failed program and support the more than 90 percent of students nationwide who are enrolled in public schools."

Is there really a link between test scores and America’s economic future?
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss April 27 at 10:03 AM 
U.S. math literacy on the international PISA exam in 2015 was below the international average.  For years now, some economists and policymakers have tried to make the case that there is an important link between student standardized test scores and economic growth in the United States. They do this with complex mathematical formulas that most people can’t even pretend to follow.  Critics have argued repeatedly that the link doesn’t really exist, but the debate continues, especially when new scores from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, are released. PISA is given by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development every three years to 15-year-olds around the world in reading, math and science. Whenever the scores are released — the last time was in late 2016 —  U.S. students inevitably come out nowhere near the top. Americans have never done well on international tests, whatever the state of the economy, but that gets lost in the “sky-is-falling” reactions to scores.  One of the leaders of the movement linking student test scores to the country’s economic health is Eric Hanushek, who is also a pioneer in creating accountability systems that evaluate teachers by their students’ test scores. (For those who like rankings, he is No. 11 on Rick Hess’s 2017 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, which list 200 university-based scholars in this country deemed by Hess’s methodology to be the most influential in educational policy and practice.)

Sowing Climate Doubt Among Schoolteachers
New York Times By CURT STAGER APRIL 27, 2017
PAUL SMITHS, N.Y. — The Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank known for attacking climate science, has been mailing a slim, glossy book to public school teachers throughout the United States. The institute says it plans to send out as many as 200,000 copies, until virtually every science educator in America has one.  The book, “Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming,” presents the false premise that the evidence for human-driven climate change is deeply flawed. To understand where the Heartland Institute is coming from, consider a recent comment by its president, Joseph Bast, who called global warming “another fake crisis” for Democrats “to hype to scare voters and raise campaign dollars.”  The book was first published in 2015, to coincide with the Paris climate conference and influence policy makers. The second edition was released this year with an instructional DVD.


PSBA Spring Town Hall Meetings coming in May!
Don’t be left in the dark on legislation that affects your district! Learn the latest from your legislators at PSBA Spring Town Hall Meetings. Conveniently offered at 10 locations around the state throughout May, this event will provide you with the opportunity to interact face-to-face with key lawmakers from your area. Enjoy refreshments, connect with colleagues, and learn what issues impact you and how you can make a difference. Log in to the Members Area to register today for this FREE event!
  • Monday, May 1, 6-8 p.m. — Parkway West CTC, 7101 Steubenville Pike, Oakdale, PA 15071
  • Tuesday, May 2, 7:30-9 a.m. — A W Beattie Career Center, 9600 Babcock Blvd, Allison Park, PA 15101
  • Tuesday, May 2, 6-8 p.m. — Crawford County CTC, 860 Thurston Road, Meadville, PA 16335
  • Wednesday, May 3, 6-8 p.m. — St. Marys Area School District, 977 S. St Marys Road, Saint Marys, PA 15857
  • Thursday, May 4, 6-8 p.m. — Central Montco Technical High School, 821 Plymouth Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
  • Friday, May 5, 7:30-9 a.m. — Lehigh Carbon Community College, 4525 Education Park Dr, Schnecksville, PA 18078
  • Monday, May 15, 6-8 p.m. — CTC of Lackawanna Co., 3201 Rockwell Avenue, Scranton, PA 18508
  • Tuesday, May 16, 6-8 p.m. — PSBA, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
  • Wednesday, May 17, 6-8 p.m. — Lycoming CTC, 293 Cemetery Street, Hughesville, PA 17737
  • Thursday, May 18, 6-8 p.m. — Chestnut Ridge SD, 3281 Valley Road, Fishertown, PA 15539
For assistance with registration, please contact Michelle Kunkel at 717-506-2450 ext. 3365.

SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June 1-4, 2017
Join the League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful Inn at Pocono Manor!

Pennsylvania Education Leadership Summit July 23-25, 2017 Blair County Convention Center - Altoona
A three-day event providing an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together
co-sponsored by PASA, the Pennsylvania Principals Association, PASCD and the PA Association for Middle Level Education
**REGISTRATION IS OPEN**Early Bird Registration Ends after April 30!
Keynote speakers, high quality breakout sessions, table talks on hot topics, and district team planning and job-alike sessions will provide practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and discussed at the summit and utilized at the district level.
Keynote Speakers:
Thomas Murray
, Director of Innovation for Future Ready Schools, a project of the Alliance for Excellent Education
Kristen Swanson, Director of Learning at Slack and one of the founding members of the Edcamp movement 
Breakout session strands:
*Strategic/Cultural Leadership
*Systems Leadership
*Leadership for Learning
*Professional and Community Leadership 
CLICK HERE to access the Summit website for program, hotel and registration information.

Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township, PA


Thursday, April 27, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup April 27: Chester Upland spends about $16K/yr for each special ed student; has to pay over $40K each to charters

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup April 27, 2017:
Chester Upland spends about $16K/yr for each special ed student; has to pay over $40K each to charters



RSVP Now! EPLC’s Education Policy Forum – May 4 in Indiana, PA on Governor Wolf’s Proposed Education Budget



Blogger note: We’re working through some email issues.  If you did not get yesterday’s blast recapping the House passage of the charter expansion bill HB97 you can catch up here:
PA Ed Policy Roundup April 26: House passes #HB97 charter reform 108-84; on to the Senate
Keystone State Education Coalition

“Chester Upland spends about $16,000 a year on average for each special ed student in its traditional district schools. But the state's formula has forced it to pay more than $40,000 per student to charters, regardless of the child's level of disability.”
Quirk in Pa. charter law cripples traditional districts while giving charters 'cash cow'
WHYY Newsworks BY BILL HANGLEY APRIL 27, 2017
When Delaware County's Chester Upland School District raised taxes last summer for the fourth year in a row, it was just the latest move in a long-running attempt to bring a chronically deficit-ridden district back to financial health.  "We keep asking the state to give us more," said Chester Upland's school board president, Anthony Johnson. "And the board's mindset is, we've got to stand up and do for self, too."  The district is pinning its hopes on an unusual strategy: bringing special education students back to district schools from charters — a move that could cut the district's $7 million dollar deficit by almost a third.  "This year we're coming after the cyber [charter] children. If we can get 50 back, that's over $2 million," Johnson said. "That's revenue. You have to look at it as revenue."  In the tangled world of Pennsylvania public school financing, special education payments to charters are a particularly thorny problem.  The payments are not calculated based on the actual cost of services, which can vary widely depending on a given student's needs. Nor are they based on the actual number of students served.
Instead, payments are calculated by a bafflingly complex formula that treats all districts and disabilities equally. The results can seem absurd, but bust budgets nonetheless.

“Mandated costs have contributed to these expenses. According Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY)’s recent report – “Left Out: The Status of Children in Delaware County”, between 2008 and 2014 school district budgets incurred an 11 percent inflation rate and covered $27.8 million more in state-required pension costs. In response, school districts relied on local property owners to pay more in taxes to sustain educational programs. Although many less wealthy districts imposed significantly higher millage increases than wealthier districts, they were still unable to provide students with the resources needed. Districts made difficult decisions to cut educational programs and increase class sizes to offset rising costs.”
Guest Column: It’s time to invest in schools - and our kids
Delco Times By Douglas Carney and Tomea Sippio-Smith, Times Guest Columnists
POSTED: 04/26/17, 10:19 PM EDT | UPDATED: 3 HRS AGO
Douglas Carney is a 24 year member of the Springfield School Board and a board member of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. Tomea Sippio-Smith is the K-12 policy director at PCCY.
By April of each year, many parents throughout southeastern Pennsylvania are budget and event planning experts. Spring break trips have been booked, child care plans for out-of-school days have been arranged, summer camp enrollments have been solidified and vacation requests for spring and possibly summer have been approved. In addition, money has been set aside for spring sports fees, award ceremonies, end-of-year field trips, dances and graduations. As parents pay for the increasing costs of child rearing, they know that if they don’t invest in these events and opportunities, their child will be left out.  Parents are not the only investors, nor the only stakeholders in a child’s success. For 180 days – nearly 50 percent of the year – a child’s potential rests in the hands of a local school. What a child learns there impacts his or her ability to succeed in college or pursue a career and directly effects the strength of the local economy.
Like parents, schools must budget to meet student needs. When schools don’t have adequate funding to meet the needs of their students, children are left out.  In 2015, Delaware County school districts had about $5,000 less per classroom or about $200 less per student than in 2011.
Meanwhile, like the costs of camp, healthcare, and vacations, expenses have gone up.

“Bethlehem Area is looking at paying almost $27 million in charter school tuition and $33 million in employee pension payments.”
Bethlehem Area School District slashes budget deficit to $3 million
Jacqueline Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call April 26, 2017
The Bethlehem Area School District has slashed its deficit from almost $13 million to $3 million, but programs such as teaching Spanish for all elementary students will have to be shelved for a balanced budget.  Wednesday the district held a budget workshop to give the school board and public an update on the proposed 2017-18 budget. When budget talks first began in January, the district was facing a $12.5 million deficit. The deficit is now $3 million.  The district closed the deficit by eliminating eight positions — six teachers and two guidance counselors at the elementary level — through attrition. Additionally, some offerings such as elementary Spanish and after-school programs have been shelved.  If the district raised taxes by 3.1 percent, it would bring in $4 million. The district is looking to keep taxes under 3.1 percent, which is the maximum percentage increase for the district set by the state.

Stop suspending elementary-age pupils, advocates ask Philly schools
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer  @newskag |  kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: APRIL 27, 2017 — 5:00 AM EDT
The Philadelphia School District should permanently prohibit out-of-school suspensions of children through fifth grade, a group of child advocates says, contending the district currently uses exclusion from school at “alarming rates” for its littlest learners.  A coalition of advocates wrote to Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and the School Reform Commission this week asking for the policy change, saying excluding children from school is inappropriate punishment for misbehavior. The district last year halted most suspensions for kindergartners.  Citing the “continuous harm that suspensions cause our youngest learners -- who are disproportionately students of color and students with disabilities -- and their families,” the coalition, including the Education Law Center, Youth United for Change, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Councilwoman Helen Gym, and Parents United for Public Education, called on officials to act in a letter dated Monday.  For years, schools adopted zero-tolerance policies, using suspensions for a variety of offenses from violence to lesser misbehavior. But the tide has been turning against such practices in many districts.  Most suspensions are for conduct violations, not violent offenses.

Philly's Memphis Street Academy Charter School in jeopardy?
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Staff Writer  @marwooda |  martha.woodall@phillynews.com Updated: APRIL 26, 2017 — 5:07 PM EDT
The Philadelphia School District staff has recommended cutting ties with another charter school.
The district’s charter office said Memphis Street Academy Charter School at J.P. Jones,  a formerly troubled district school in Kensington, should not be given a new five-year operating agreement, primarily because of poor academic performance.  The report containing the recommendation of nonrenewal was posted on the charter office's website late Tuesday.
Memphis Academy has 860 students in grades five through eight. For the last five years it has been managed by American Paradigm Schools, a Philadelphia-based educational management organization that has four charters in the city.  Under American Paradigm, test scores did not improve the first year, the charter office said. And although reading scores improved by 7 percentage points over the first two years, they declined by 7 percentage points in math during the same period.  The office said Memphis Street Academy did not meet the standard "for academic success" for former district schools that have converted to charters as part of the district's Renaissance program.

Court orders reinstatement of another city principal fired as part of cheating scandal
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa April 26, 2017 — 5:07pm
Commonwealth Court has ordered the reinstatement of another principal who was fired in the wake of a cheating scandal that swept through Philadelphia schools.  Marla Travis-Curtis, who had been principal of Lamberton, was terminated by the School District in January 2014. That was after a statistical analysis of 2009-2011 test booklets by the Pennsylvania Department of Education showed that Lamberton was among 53 Philadelphia schools with a suspicious number of wrong-to-right erasures.  The ruling, handed down Tuesday, upheld the decision of an arbitrator and overturned a trial court that had decided for the District. The arbitrator found that while there was cheating at the school, no evidence existed that Curtis herself participated in it. He ordered a much reduced penalty of a 30-day unpaid suspension and demotion to assistant principal for implementing insufficient testing security procedures and, as the school's top administrator, being ultimately liable for improper conduct by school staff. 

Another Philly principal who was fired for cheating ordered reinstated by court
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer  @newskag |  kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: APRIL 26, 2017 — 2:51 PM EDT
Commonwealth Court has ordered another veteran principal who was snared in a cheating scandal reinstated by the Philadelphia School District.  A three-judge panel said there was no evidence that Marla Travis-Curtis, the longtime leader of Lamberton School in Overbrook Park, engaged in cheating on standardized tests, siding with an arbitrator who found that systematic cheating happened at Lamberton, but that Travis-Curtis was not a party to it.  “Although the cheating which occurred at Lamberton is abhorrent and such conduct must be rooted out, the arbitrator found only that Travis-Curtis failed to uncover the cheating and prevent it,” Judge P. Kevin Brobson wrote.  Travis-Curtis was fired by the district in 2014. In 2015, the arbitrator reversed the firing but said she should be demoted to assistant principal. He also ordered that Travis-Curtis receive back pay minus a 30-day suspension.  The Commonwealth Court decision, handed down Tuesday, was the second such rebuke to the Philadelphia school system this month. On April 13, judges reversed the firing of Michelle Burns, formerly the principal of Kensington Urban Education Academy. Burns was principal of Tilden Middle School at a time when the state found cheating there.

“odds that erasure patterns were random on the reading portion of Chester Community Charter School seventh-graders’ 2009 PSSAs were between one in a quadrillion and one in a quintillion.”
Blogger note:  To my knowledge, no legal action has ever been taken regarding the Chester Community Charter School which is operated by Vahan Gureghian, who was Gov. Corbett’s largest individual campaign donor.

“Two years ago, however, during an April 2011 visit, Corbett was effusive: The school’s test-score success “needs to be reported to all the people of Pennsylvania,” he said, so they could witness school choice in action. At the time, Corbett was under fire for proposing massive cuts to education. ……A state forensic analysis found that the odds that erasure patterns were random on the reading portion of Chester Community Charter School seventh-graders’ 2009 PSSAs were between one in a quadrillion and one in a quintillion. Analyses done in 2010 and 2011, according to the Department of Education, also found “a very high number of students with a very high number of wrong-to-right erasures.” But the state left the charter to investigate itself.”
Reprise 2013: How Pennsylvania Schools Made a Cheating Scandal Disappear
Tainted scores throw an entire way of running schools into question.

City Paper by  Daniel Denvir Posted: Thu, Jul. 18, 2013, 12:00 AM
The odds that 11th-graders at Strawberry Mansion High School would have randomly erased so many wrong answers on the math portion of their 2009 state standardized test and then filled in so many right ones were long. Very, very long. To be precise, they were less than one in a duodecillion, according to an erasure analysis performed for the state Department of Education.
In short, there appeared to be cheating — and it didn’t come as a total surprise. In 2006, student members of Youth United for Change protested being forced out of class for test-preparation sessions and won concessions from the district. In 2010, principal Lois Powell-Mondesire left Strawberry Mansion; after her departure, test scores dropped sharply.
http://www.citypaper.net/cover_story/Erase_to_the_Top.html?viewAll=y

Beaver County school nurses pleased with tightening of state immunizations
Beaver County Times By Daveen Rae Kurutz dkurutz@timesonline.com April 26, 2017
Parents of kindergartners, seventh-graders and seniors should plan a visit to their pediatricians sooner rather than later this summer.  Beginning Aug. 1, students in kindergarten, seventh and 12th grade will have just five days to have complete immunization records on file at their schools. The state Department of Health last month amended its school immunization regulations to eliminate an oft-used eight-month provisional time period that permitted nonimmunized students to attend school, so long as their parents said they would have their required shots in that time period.  Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, children will be barred from attending school if they are not current on their vaccinations within the first five days of the school year. According to the health department, students can still attend classes if they have a physician-signed medical plan that commits them to an immunization schedule.

Unionville school directors approve measure that will give students more sleep
By Fran Maye, Daily Local News POSTED: 04/26/17, 5:20 PM EDT | UPDATED: 8 HRS AGO
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Unionville School Board this week approved a measure that pushes school start times back for high school and middle school students by 25 minutes, beginning with the new school year that starts in September.  The district thus becomes the first school district in Chester County to allow more sleep time for students in high school and middle school, heeding pleas from the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatricians.  The vote was 8-1 with School Director Gregg Lindner dissenting. But Lindner said he wasn’t opposed to the idea of delaying start times, but wanted it to go into effect for the 2018-19 school year to give parents, teachers and businesses more time to adjust for changes in the new schedule.  Classes at Unionville High School and C.F. Patton Middle School will start at 8 a.m. instead of 7:35 a.m. in September. And the school day will end at 2:43 p.m. It currently ends at 2:18 p.m.  Elementary classes will start 15 minutes later, and will start at 9:10 a.m. instead of 8:55 a.m. and elementary school classes will end at 3:40 p.m., beginning in September.  “I am hopeful other school districts will follow Unionville-Chadds Ford,” said Jeff Hellrung, school director. “Change is hard. Change can be disruptive. But those who have studied this proposal the most, the benefits to our students are well worth the cost.”

Spring-Ford School District superintendent announces bullying oversight group
By Eric Devlin, The Mercury POSTED: 04/26/17, 12:21 PM EDT | UPDATED: 9 HRS AGO
ROYERSFORD >> As officials in Spring-Ford continue to grapple with how best to respond to a student’s suicide earlier this month — an alleged victim of cyber bullying — the district’s top administrator says he’s putting a plan in place to confront growing criticism of his office.
Superintendent David Goodin has announced the formation of a new administrative oversight commission tasked with ensuring the district’s bullying policies and best practices are applied consistently across the district for all reported cases.  “As a result, my office will receive regular reports of all reported bullying issues and how they were addressed within the district,” Goodin said. “That’s not to say that I will be handling bullying issues. That is to say that issues will still be handled at the building level by our administrators. But I will review those to make sure we’re being consistent. Also if a parent feels a reported bullying situation has not been addressed, I ask that they contact my office and we will review that for them.”

North Allegheny rejects plan to eliminate third-grade orchestra
Post Gazette by SANDY TROZZO 10:57 PM APR 26, 2017
The North Allegheny school board Wednesday unanimously rejected an administrative proposal to eliminate the third-grade strings program.  Administrators suggested beginning all music lessons in fourth grade to save $115,000 a year. The savings would have come by not replacing a retiring orchestra teacher or hiring a half-time teacher because of high interest from current second-graders.  Parents and orchestra students rallied at the work session last week and at Wednesday’s meeting to urge the board to keep the strings program intact.  Tom Kosmala said both of his sons became professional musicians because of the love of music they learned at North Allegheny.  “A solid music education was their path to exciting careers,” said Mr. Kosmala, retired director of music for Pittsburgh Public Schools. “I will not be silent about the NA strings program. Keep it as it is.”


PSBA Spring Town Hall Meetings coming in May!
Don’t be left in the dark on legislation that affects your district! Learn the latest from your legislators at PSBA Spring Town Hall Meetings. Conveniently offered at 10 locations around the state throughout May, this event will provide you with the opportunity to interact face-to-face with key lawmakers from your area. Enjoy refreshments, connect with colleagues, and learn what issues impact you and how you can make a difference. Log in to the Members Area to register today for this FREE event!
  • Monday, May 1, 6-8 p.m. — Parkway West CTC, 7101 Steubenville Pike, Oakdale, PA 15071
  • Tuesday, May 2, 7:30-9 a.m. — A W Beattie Career Center, 9600 Babcock Blvd, Allison Park, PA 15101
  • Tuesday, May 2, 6-8 p.m. — Crawford County CTC, 860 Thurston Road, Meadville, PA 16335
  • Wednesday, May 3, 6-8 p.m. — St. Marys Area School District, 977 S. St Marys Road, Saint Marys, PA 15857
  • Thursday, May 4, 6-8 p.m. — Central Montco Technical High School, 821 Plymouth Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
  • Friday, May 5, 7:30-9 a.m. — Lehigh Carbon Community College, 4525 Education Park Dr, Schnecksville, PA 18078
  • Monday, May 15, 6-8 p.m. — CTC of Lackawanna Co., 3201 Rockwell Avenue, Scranton, PA 18508
  • Tuesday, May 16, 6-8 p.m. — PSBA, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
  • Wednesday, May 17, 6-8 p.m. — Lycoming CTC, 293 Cemetery Street, Hughesville, PA 17737
  • Thursday, May 18, 6-8 p.m. — Chestnut Ridge SD, 3281 Valley Road, Fishertown, PA 15539
For assistance with registration, please contact Michelle Kunkel at 717-506-2450 ext. 3365.

SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June 1-4, 2017
Join the League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful Inn at Pocono Manor!

Pennsylvania Education Leadership Summit July 23-25, 2017 Blair County Convention Center - Altoona
A three-day event providing an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together
co-sponsored by PASA, the Pennsylvania Principals Association, PASCD and the PA Association for Middle Level Education
**REGISTRATION IS OPEN**Early Bird Registration Ends after April 30!
Keynote speakers, high quality breakout sessions, table talks on hot topics, and district team planning and job-alike sessions will provide practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and discussed at the summit and utilized at the district level.
Keynote Speakers:
Thomas Murray
, Director of Innovation for Future Ready Schools, a project of the Alliance for Excellent Education
Kristen Swanson, Director of Learning at Slack and one of the founding members of the Edcamp movement 
Breakout session strands:
*Strategic/Cultural Leadership
*Systems Leadership
*Leadership for Learning
*Professional and Community Leadership 
CLICK HERE to access the Summit website for program, hotel and registration information.

Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township, PA