Pages

Thursday, August 10, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Aug 10: Pa. Supreme Court: charter schools cannot unilaterally change contracts with school districts

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 Aug 10, 2017:


“In a decision posted late Tuesday, the state’s top court said that the 1997 charter school law does not give charter schools a right to amend their operating agreements or give the state Charter Appeal Board authority to consider such requests.”
Pa. Supreme Court sides with SRC in charter school case
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Staff Writer  @marwooda |  martha.woodall@phillynews.com Updated: AUGUST 9, 2017 — 6:19 PM EDT
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a ruling that could help school districts — especially Philadelphia –when charter schools seek to expand their enrollment.  In a decision posted late Tuesday, the state’s top court said that the 1997 charter school law does not give charter schools a right to amend their operating agreements or give the state Charter Appeal Board authority to consider such requests.  The ruling reversed Commonwealth Court, which ruled in 2015 that the Discovery Charter School in Philadelphia’s Parkside neighborhood could take its case for expanding its enrollment by 70 percent to the state board because the School Reform Commission had not acted on the request.  Limiting charter enrollment saves the district money because the district pays charters by the student. In the last school year, the district paid $8,487 for each charter student in regular classes and $25,624 for each student who received special-education services. The district’s 86 charter schools enrolled 65,000 students.  The Supreme Court said the 1997 law does not mention amendments and only gives the Charter Appeal Board jurisdiction to consider applications and renewals that have been denied and charter agreements that have been revoked.

In a victory for school districts, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that charter schools could not unilaterally change their operating licenses.
Morning Call by Steve Esack Contact Reporter Call Harrisburg Bureau August 9, 2017
In a victory for school districts, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that charter schools cannot unilaterally change their operating agreements to add more students, schools or other functions that are not specifically listed in a contract.  The unanimous decision overturned multiple lower court rulings issued in recent years in favor of charter schools and could lead to more calls for the Legislature to fix the state’s much-maligned 1997 charter school law.  The court’s ruling dealt specifically with a Philadelphia dispute over enrollment caps with Discovery Charter School. It also was tied to a Bethlehem Area School District lawsuit with Dual Language Charter School that nearly reached the state’s high court, too, and involved Dual Language’s bid to operate more than one school in violation of its original contract.  The opinion, written by Justice Max Baer, boils down to a contract being between two parties.  Charters must negotiate approval from the local school board that granted the charter if they want to make changes to their operating agreements, Baer said. The law does not permit charters to change the agreements on their own or through the courts, he said.

“The House is scheduled to return for a regular session Sept. 11, but members remain on call. Representatives were told to prepare for a possible return this month, but a date for that hasn't yet been set.”
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai is taking heat for the budget stalemate
JULIAN ROUTH Pittsburgh Post-Gazette jrouth@post-gazette.com 4:26 PM AUG 9, 2017
Tongue in cheek, Erin Kramer walked into Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai’s McCandless office Wednesday morning with a packed breakfast.  That’s what parents do to get their children out of bed and motivated, she said, so maybe it will work for Mr. Turzai, R-Marshall, who has become the face of the Republican-controlled legislature’s stalemate over the state’s $32 billion budget. With the House in recess until the end of August without a final plan to pay for the budget, Ms. Kramer, executive director of activist group One Pennsylvania, wanted to offer the speaker a ride to work a bit earlier than scheduled. “I brought my Mom-mobile, my Chevy Hatchback,” Ms. Kramer said. “We’re going to invite [Mr. Turzai] to go to Harrisburg. I’m happy to drive. I have an E-ZPass.”

Pennsylvania lawmakers want you to help pay for $2 billion budget gap
Post Gazette by LAURA MCCRYSTAL The Philadelphia Inquirer 4:55 PM AUG 9, 2017
If you have electricity in your house or a phone, Pennsylvania lawmakers want you to help plug the budget’s $2 billion gap.  Along with the controversial, highly publicized tax on natural-gas bills, in a vote last month the Senate also approved levies on telephone and electric utilities, which typically pass such costs onto customers.  The revenue package still must go before the House, where its fate is uncertain. “There doesn’t seem to be support” for the Senate’s package, Steve Miskin, spokesman for the House Republicans, said Wednesday. What their alternatives could be — and if or when the Republican-controlled House would vote on the plan — remain uncertain.

Pa. business community fires back against energy-oriented tax proposals
Penn Live By Charles Thompson cthompson@pennlive.com Updated on August 9, 2017 at 5:15 PM Posted on August 8, 2017 at 8:12 PM
Stung by a paradigm-shifting defeat in the state Senate, Pennsylvania business leaders launched a full frontal assault Tuesday against an energy-heavy $570 million tax package that's a House vote away from going to Gov. Tom Wolf for enactment.  The leaders argued the tax plan as proposed amounts to a direct attack on energy costs - one of the areas where Pennsylvania, looking forward, has a chance to lay a foundation for economic growth.  "This is about Pennsylvania's future, and whether or not we're going to sacrifice it on the high altar of one year's state budget," said David Taylor, president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.  The new taxes are part of a larger $2.2 billion tax and borrowing plan that's been proposed to close a deficit from 2016-17 and cover $32 billion in new spending for the current fiscal year.  The business assault grabbed center stage Tuesday because the state budget talks are on a bit of an August pause while House GOP leadership analyzes the Senate plan and tries to prepare a counter.

Lawmakers on vacation, from what?
TIMES-TBIUNE EDITORIAL BOARD / PUBLISHED: AUGUST 10, 2017
Say what you will about Pennsylvania legislators, but they are committed — at least to their own prerogatives.  They fled the Capitol for a six-week summer vacation after passing half of a budget — the $32 billion in spending part. They did not fund the budget, and left a yawning $2.2 billion deficit despite warnings from major ratings agencies that they would once again downgrade Pennsylvania’s credit-worthiness.  Now Speaker Mike Turzai, the Allegheny County Republican who is primarily responsible for the ongoing failure to pass a real budget, does not plan to reconvene the House until Aug. 28, at the earliest.  Even though the state government does not have a funded budget, legislators continue to be paid while on vacation. Unlike other state employees, they will continue to be paid even if the state government runs out of money. It already has borrowed $750 million for operations from the Treasury, which says that the well is going dry.  State lawmakers have created rules that make the current situation inevitable. While the state borrows money and faces a $2.2 billion deficit, the Legislature sits on a $118 million surplus for its own operations.

A push to end the SRC - but is Kenney on board?
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer  @newskag |  kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: AUGUST 9, 2017 — 6:03 PM EDT
Even as a group of students, teachers and activists gathered to demand that the School Reform Commission dissolve itself soon, signs emerged from City Hall on Wednesday that local control of the city’s schools is not assured.  The five-member SRC, created 16 years ago to oversee the Philadelphia School District in a time of fiscal and academic crisis, was not designed to be permanent. Growing momentum — new SRC members, a mayor and governor publicly committed to the idea of more local control — had suggested that the panel’s days were numbered.  But a source familiar with the Kenney administration’s internal discussions about the SRC’s future said the mayor’s support for a governance shift is less firm than some opponents of the panel are hoping.

Activists press for SRC to disband itself, push mayor to start the process
The notebook by Greg Windle August 9, 2017 — 6:21pm
Members of the Our City Our Schools coalition held a rally outside City Hall on Wednesday, calling on the School Reform Commission to start the process this month of disbanding itself so that a locally controlled governing body can be in place before the gubernatorial election next year.  The coalition also wants Mayor Kenney to create a school governance transition task force to seek input from families, community members, and school staff about what form a new governing body should take.  Speakers at the rally said that at a meeting two weeks ago with members of Kenney’s staff, they asked why the mayor had yet to announce a timeline for the SRC’s dissolution and replacement, which he said during his election campaign that he favored.  “Our schools must be back to local control by the fall of 2018 to avoid another Republican governor,” said Sara Arment, an organizer with Reclaim Philadelphia. She was referring to former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s massive budget cuts to public education starting in 2011 that disproportionately affected the city. “The state does not share the interests of Philadelphia!”

APPS Files Right to Know Appeal on District’s Secret Meetings with Charter Operators
APPS Website by Lynda Rubin August 9, 2017
APPS has filed an appeal to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records after receiving sparse information from the district in response to a formal Right to Know request filed in May. That request was filed after a NewsWorks article, also published in the Public School Notebook, revealed that SRC and district officials had met for months behind closed doors with several charter operators and industry supporters.  High-level school district officials—including Superintendent William Hite, Charter School Office Director Dawn Lynne Kacer and SRC Chief of Staff Claire Landau—met behind closed doors for over six months with several charter operators and charter industry lobbyists, including Philadelphia School Partnership Director Mark Gleason, Mastery Schools CEO Scott Gordon, Russell Byers CEO Laurada Byers, Global Leadership Academy CEO Naomi Booker and PCCY Executive Director Donna Cooper.

Editorial: Close bad Philly charter school; it isn't fit to educate city's children
by The Inquirer Editorial Board Updated: AUGUST 9, 2017 — 12:09 PM EDT
The fact that there is any chance the Khepera Charter School in North Philadelphia may reopen  underscores a broader problem regarding oversight of all charters.  The School Reform Commission voted in June to begin the process of revoking Khepera’s operating charter, which includes a public hearing that will begin Thursday. But this should be an open-and-shut case.
Consider the charter school’s troubled record:
* Khepera abruptly closed early last school year because of financial problems.
* Teachers are still owed back pay.
* The school’s landlord has gone to court to kick the school out of its building because of unpaid rent.
* The company that provides special-education teachers, substitutes, and counselors has filed suit, alleging it is owed $90,000 for its staffing services.
* Khepera failed to make $1 million in payments to the state teachers’ pension fund.
* The school failed to submit annual financial reports for 2015 and 2016, as required by state law.
It is painfully obvious Khepera has no business being in the business of educating students. The 450 pupils who went to the K-8 elementary school last year deserve better.

To: School Reform Commission
From: DawnLynne Kacer, Executive Director, Charter Schools Office
Date: June 8, 2017
Re: Recommendation to Revoke the Charter of Khepera Charter School

Lawmakers owe support to public schools
Chambersburg Public Opinion Letter by Natalie Winter, Shippensburg Published 9:08 a.m. ET Aug. 9, 2017
I am troubled by Sen. Alloway's and Sen. Eichelberger's use of the language "government schools" to describe our community public schools.  Using the term "government schools" denigrates public schools when these Senators clearly favor the ineffective cyber and charter schools over our community schools. Public schools graduate on average 86.1 percent, whereas Pennsylvania cyber schools graduate 47.7 percent, according to Express Times columnist Mark Spengler on 7/18/17.  Even Auditor General Eugene DePasquale recently informed the public that Pennsylvania has the worst charter School law in the country. Cyber charter schools have wasted a "ton of taxpayer money."   In addition, school performance profile results for 2015-16 indicate the average grade of public schools is 70.3 percent (70 percent is passing). Cyber schools' grade average is 50.9 percent and 9 out of 14 scored below 50 percent. In 2013-15 Pennsylvania taxpayers spent $1.2 billion on cyber school tuition. This was money removed from public school budgets to the charter schools, which profited from the taxpayers' dollars without adequate accountability.

Holmesburg: New Foundations Charter High School Teachers Attempt To Unionize
Philadelphia Neighborhoods by Bob Stewart August 8, 2017
One night last November, Alicia Lynch finally got home from her job as a school counselor at New Foundations Charter High School. She just wanted to share a meal with her husband and three children.  “As I am eating dinner with my family, I receive a text from a co-worker to check my email immediately,” she said.  The email was for an online sign-up sheet for various community service options the school was setting up for the staff as professional development days. Development days were usually just that, development in their profession.  “These normally consist of attending a workshop, meeting with your department … [and] were built into our school calendar for one Wednesday each month,” she explained.  But when Lynch logged on to sign up, none of the remaining options were something she felt would help her grow professionally or help the community. The next day at work she realized many of her co-workers shared her disillusionment.

Foundation buys old Western Electric plant in East Allentown for charter school
Jacqueline Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call August 10, 2017
The foundation for Executive Education Academy Charter School has bought the former Agere plant on Union Boulevard in Allentown, a move that allows the school to remain there as it grows enrollment while generating income from other tenants on the sprawling site.  Executive Education Academy CEO Robert Lysek said the charter’s foundation bought the building at 555 Union Blvd. for $32.5 million through a bond from an limited liability partnership named after the address of the property, which is in front of Coca-Cola Park.  The foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the charter school, will be listed as the owner of the building, not the charter school.  Executive Education Academy, which opened in 2014, was in a 12-year lease and was paying about $185,000 a month in rent. Lysek called the $32.5 million purchase a “conservative investment.”

Transgender Pine-Richland students receive thousands as part of lawsuit settlement
ELIZABETH BEHRMAN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lbehrman@post-gazette.com 11:10 AM AUG 8, 2017
The Pine-Richland School District paid three transgender students thousands of dollars as part of a lawsuit settlement finalized last week.   Elissa Ridenour, Juliet Evancho and a third, unidentified student each received $20,000. The district will also pay $75,000 to help cover the costs of their attorney fees after they sued the school district last year over a discriminatory bathroom policy.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette acquired the settlement information through a Right-to-Know request.   The amount, which will be covered by the district’s insurance carrier, was agreed upon by both parties, according to the school district.  As part of the agreement, the Pine-Richland school board voted July 17 to overturn to rescind the policy. The district also agreed to update its nondiscrimination policy to include gender identity. 

School year looms for 2 Alle-Kiski Valley districts lacking teachers contracts
Trib Live by MATTHEW MEDSGER | Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, 6:30 p.m.
Most school districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley will not have to negotiate new contracts with their teachers unions until the end of the decade.  But a failure to reach an agreement on the teachers contract at the Deer Lakes School District before the last agreement expired in June means teachers there may start the school year without a contract.  It isn't the only district working to iron out the details of faculty compensation, though most schools won't have to worry about negotiations for another couple of years.  Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have been working on a contract since January, according to district officials.

High externship helps educators experience skilled worker positions firsthand
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer August 10, 2017
Jennifer Meadows, who teaches math at McCaskey High School, used a welding gun for the first time this week.  And it showed.  The veteran teacher was one of 43 local educators — 41 of whom were from Lancaster County — who participated in a hands-on externship at the High companies to learn more about the area’s high-demand, skilled worker positions.  From Monday to Wednesday, participants toured several of High’s campuses — including High Concrete Group, High Steel Structures, High Transit and High Steel Service Center.  They gained insight on the planning, processes and work behind High’s infrastructure projects so they could share what they learned with students.  “It was just refreshing for them to gain that knowledge and to be able to take those tools back to the classroom,” said Darryl Gordon, vice president of human resources with the High companies, who helped curate the program with the Lancaster County STEM Alliance.

Owen J. Roberts High School becomes IB World School
Pottstown Mercury By Digital First Media POSTED: 08/09/17, 12:01 AM EDT
SOUTH COVENTRY >> Following a rigorous two-year process, Owen J. Roberts High School has been authorized to offer an International Baccalaureate Career Program (IBCP). “The aim of International Baccalaureate programs is to develop internationally-minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world,” according to the International Baccalaureate learner profile.  The IBCP is a two-year certificate program which combines courses from the International Baccalaureate’s highly regarded Diploma Programme of coursework in connection with Owen J. Roberts High School’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), Life Sciences, and/or NJROTC coursework, and the IBCP Core. The IBCP Core consists of four components: Community Service, a Personal and Professional Skills course, Language Development, and a Reflective Project.

Politically Uncorrected -The Next Election
By G. Terry Madonna & Michael L.Young August 9, 2017
Pennsylvania sage Ben Franklin once assured us that death and taxes were the only certainties; if Franklin were still among us, he surely would have added mid-term election angst to his list of sure things. As we approach the end of the second decade of the 21st century, previously politically apathetic Americans increasingly are becoming fixated on the next election.  The ongoing Washington soap opera of the past six-months explains some of America’s. But the ever-rising stakes in our seemingly perpetual public policy debate probably explains more of it.  To more and more Americans, health care matters, taxes matter, our criminal justice system matters, issues of war and peace matter, and, in particular, politics matters.  Not surprisingly then, despite the fact we are only some eight months past the 2016 elections, the upcoming 2018 midterm elections are well underway. Indeed, for some the 2020 presidential race is even underway.

Education advocate Bill Milliken coming to York
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez, 505-5439/@JuniorG_YDPublished 7:56 a.m. ET Aug. 9, 2017 | Updated 6:51 a.m. ET Aug. 10, 2017
Education advocate and Communities in Schools founder Bill Milliken is coming to York County at the end of the month.  Milliken will speak at a free event Aug. 29 at the Strand Theatre at the Appell Center as part of the United Way’s kickoff campaign to encourage community members to donate to and volunteer with charities.  He will discuss the impact communities have in a child’s education, according to a news release.  Milliken has championed anti-dropout policies for more than five decades. He started in the New York City projects, eventually advocating for an individualized approach to education that became the operating model for the national anti-dropout advocacy group Communities in Schools.   The organization operates in 25 states and has connected nearly 1.5 million students and families with essential educational resources, according to its website.

PSBA Highlights: PDE releases ESSA Consolidated State Plan draft
PSBA Website August 8, 2017
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released its draft Consolidated State Plan for compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The plan is available for public comment through an online survey until Aug. 31, and PDE will submit the document to the U.S. Department of Education on Sept. 18 for approval. Initial implementation of the plan will begin in the 2017-18 school year, with full rollout by 2018-19.  The Consolidated State Plan includes six sections: Long-term Goals; Consultation and Performance Management; Academic Assessments; Accountability, Support and Improvement for Schools; Supporting Excellent Educators; and Supporting All Students.  Following are selected highlights of the six sections of the plan.


Why the NAACP said “enough” to school privatization
Privatization has allowed public officials to wash their hands of the obligation to educate children of color
Salon.com By RANN MILLERALTERNET WEDNESDAY, AUG 9, 2017 03:59 AM EDT
The reaction to the NAACP’s hard-hitting new report  on charter schools, calling for tighter regulation and an end to for-profit schools, was swift and furious. Charter advocates and school choice proponents painted the NAACP as out of touch, or worse, doing the bidding of the teachers unions. These critics are missing what’s most important about the civil rights group’s strong statement. School privatization has allowed state governments to avoid their obligation to educate children of color, especially the poor. The NAACP said “enough” this week.
First, some background. Last year, the NAACP passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools until problems with accountability and the loss of funding from traditional public schools are addressed. The civil rights organization then formed an education task force that spent the year visiting cities, including New Haven, Memphis, New Orleans and Detroit. The report issued this week expands on the previous resolution and reflects the testimony of parents and practitioners. Among the task force’s recommendations: tighter regulations and oversight for existing charters, a ban on for-profit charters, and a reinvestment in traditional public schools.

Texas Charter School Performance Is on the Rise, CREDO Study Finds
Education Week Charters and Choice Blog By Arianna Prothero on August 7, 2017 2:45 PM
A few years after lawmakers created stricter rules for charter schools in Texas, student academic performance there is climbing. That's the big takeaway from a new report from Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes, or CREDO.  Researchers found that, on average, Texas charter school students gained the equivalent of an extra 17 days in reading over the course of one school year compared to their peers in traditional district schools.
Student gains in math were about the same for both sectors.  By themselves, those gains may seem like nothing to write home about, but they are a far cry from CREDO's findings in its first study of Texas' charter sector, released in 2013. At that time, Texas charter school students were losing 17 days in reading and 23 days in math a year when compared to their counterparts in district schools. This is the third study CREDO has done on Texas charters.


PSBA Officer Elections: Slate of Candidates
PSBA Website August 2017
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later than June 1, 2017, 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 17 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 (*).

The deadline to submit cover letter, resume and application is August 25, 2017.
PSBA seeking experienced education leaders: Become an Advocacy Ambassador
POSTED ON JUL 17, 2017 IN PSBA NEWS
PSBA is seeking applications for six Advocacy Ambassadors who have been involved in day-to-day functions of a school district, on the school board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement of local school directors and public education stakeholders through the advocacy leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will be an active leader in an assigned section of the state, and is kept up to date on current legislation and PSBA position based on PSBA priorities to accomplish advocacy goals.  PSBA Advocacy Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA, and serve as liaisons between PSBA and their local and federal elected officials. Advocacy Ambassadors also commit to building strong relationships with PSBA members with the purpose of engaging the designated members to be active and committed grassroots advocates for PSBA’s legislative priorities.  This is a 9-month independent contractor position with a monthly stipend and potential renewal for a second year. Successful candidates must commit to the full 9-month contract, agree to fulfill assigned Advocacy Ambassador duties and responsibilities, and actively participate in conference calls and in-person meetings

CONSIDER IT: SCHOOL CHOICE AND THE CASES FOR TRADITIONAL PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CHARTER SCHOOLS
September 19 @ 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Hilton Reading
Berks County Community Foundation
Panelists:
Carol Corbett Burris: Executive Director of the Network for Public Education
Alyson Miles: Deputy Director of Government Affairs for the American Federation for Children
James Paul: Senior Policy Analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation
Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig: Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Director of the Doctorate in Educational Leadership at California State University Sacramento
Karin Mallett: The WFMZ TV anchor and reporter returns as the moderator
School choice has been a hot topic in Berks County, in part due to a lengthy and costly dispute between the Reading School District and I-LEAD Charter School. The topic has also been in the national spotlight as President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have focused on expanding education choice.  With this in mind, a discussion on school choice is being organized as part of Berks County Community Foundation’s Consider It initiative. State Sen. Judy Schwank and Berks County Commissioners Chairman Christian Leinbach are co-chairs of this nonpartisan program, which is designed to promote thoughtful discussion of divisive local and national issues while maintaining a level of civility among participants.  The next Consider It Dinner will take place Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, 701 Penn St., Reading, Pa. Tickets are available here.  For $10 each, tickets include dinner, the panel discussion, reading material, and an opportunity to participate in the conversation.


Apply Now for EPLC's 2017-2018 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program!
Education Policy and Leadership Center
Applications are available now for the 2017-2018 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).  The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). Click here for the program calendar of sessions.  With more than 500 graduates in its first eighteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community leaders.  State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to certified public accountants. Past participants include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals, school business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization.  The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 14-15, 2017 and continues to graduation in June 2018.

Using Minecraft to Imagine a Better World and Build It Together.
Saturday, September 16, 2017 or Sunday, September 17, 2017 at the University of the Sciences, 43rd & Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia
PCCY, the region’s most influential advocacy organization for children, leverages the world’s greatest video game for the year’s most engaging fundraising event for kids. Join us on Saturday, September 16, 2017 or Sunday, September 17, 2017 at the University of the Sciences, 43rd & Woodland Avenue for a fun, creative and unique gaming opportunity.

Education Law Center’s 2017 Annual Celebration
ELC invites you to join us for our Annual Celebration on September 27 in Philadelphia.
The Annual Celebration will take place this year on September 27, 2017 at The Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia. The event begins at 5:30 PM. We anticipate more than 300 legal, corporate, and community supporters joining us for a cocktail reception, silent auction, and dinner presentation.  Our annual celebrations honor outstanding champions of public education. This proud tradition continues at this year’s event, when together we will salute these deserving honorees:
·         PNC Bank: for the signature philanthropic cause of the PNC Foundation, PNC Grow Up Great, a bilingual $350 million, multi-year early education initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life; and its support of the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, which enables new lawyers to pursue careers in public interest law;
·         Joan Mazzotti: for her 16 years of outstanding leadership as the Executive Director of Philadelphia Futures, a college access and success program serving Philadelphia’s low-income, first-generation-to-college students;
·         Dr. Bruce Campbell Jr., PhD: for his invaluable service to ELC, as he rotates out of the chairman position on our Board of Directors. Dr. Campbell is an Arcadia University Associate Professor in the School of Education; and
·         ELC Pro Bono Awardee Richard Shephard of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP: for his exceptional work as pro bono counsel, making lasting contributions to the lives of many vulnerable families.Questions? Contact Tracy Callahan tcallahan@elc-pa.org or 215-238-6970 ext. 308.

STAY WOKE: THE INAUGURAL NATIONAL BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENING; Philadelphia Fri, Oct 13, 2017 4:00 pm Sun, Oct 15, 2017 7:00pm
TEACHER DIVERSITY WORKS. Increasing the number of Black male educators in our nation’s teacher corps will improve education for all our students, especially for African-American boys.  Today Black men represent only two percent of teachers nationwide. This is a national problem that demands a national response.  Come participate in the inaugural National Black Male Educators Convening to advance policy solutions, learn from one another, and fight for social justice. All are welcome.

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

Save the Date: PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference October 18-20, Hershey PA

Registration now open for the 67th Annual PASCD Conference  Nov. 12-13 Harrisburg: Sparking Innovation: Personalized Learning, STEM, 4C's
This year's conference will begin on Sunday, November 12th and end on Monday, November 13th. There will also be a free pre-conference on Saturday, November 11th.  You can register for this year's conference online with a credit card payment or have an invoice sent to you.  Click here to register for the conference.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs

Save the Date! NSBA 2018 Advocacy Institute February 4-6, 2018 Marriott Marquis, Washington D.C.
Registration Opens Tuesday, September 26, 2017


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.