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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup Aug 14, 2017:
How the education world is reacting to
racist violence in Charlottesville — and to Trump’s muted response
Chalkbeat BY PHILISSA CRAMER - 9 HOURS AGO
For educators across the country, this weekend’s eruption of
racism and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, offered yet another painful
opportunity to communicate their values to families, colleagues, and community
members. Many decried the white
supremacists who convened in the college town and clashed with protesters who
had come to oppose their message. Some used social media to outline ideas
about how to turn the distressing news into a teaching moment. And others took issue with President Donald
Trump’s statement criticizing violence “on both sides,” largely interpreted as
an unwillingness to condemn white supremacists. One leading education official, U.S. Education Secretary
Betsy DeVos, followed Trump’s approach, criticizing what happened but not
placing blame on anyone in particular:
Delco Times by the Times Staff POSTED: 08/11/17, 9:01 PM EDT
Two key state Senate committees will host a forum on Tuesday
evening to dive deeper into proposals to eliminate and reform school property
taxes in Pennsylvania. The forum will
take place at the Upper Darby Township Municipal Building, 100 Garrett Road, on
Tuesday, Aug, 15, at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and there will
be a period for questions from local residents.
At the request of state Senator Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, the
Senate Majority Policy and Democratic Policy Committees will host a roundtable
discussion with organizations interested in school property tax elimination and
reform. Senate Majority Policy Committee
Chairman David G. Argall, R-Schuylkill/Berks, who is a sponsor of a bill to
eliminate school property taxes, said the issue is too large to ignore. “We would like to continue the conversation
to find the best way forward,” he said. “It does not matter which corner of the
state you are in or what political party you identify with, school property
taxes continue to dominate the priorities Pennsylvanians want the General
Assembly to address. This bipartisan public forum will put a lot of the ideas
on the table.”
Editorial:
Disorder in the House: Pa.’s budget blues
Delco Times Editorial POSTED: 08/12/17, 10:31 PM
EDT | UPDATED: 5 SECS AGO
Here’s a little twist on that old summer homework standby, “What I
did on my summer vacation.” Only this time, we’re not directing this at students. Instead, we’d like to hear from our duly
elected state representatives. That’s
our way of wondering what exactly House Speaker Mike Turzai and his compatriots
have been doing the past few weeks. Back
in the last week of July, the state Senate finally got around to signing off on
a revenue package to fund the $32 billion budget package agreed to when the
Legislature barely beat the mandated July 1 deadline to have a spending plan in
place. Remember, this is Harrisburg.
This is not like running the books in your household, or even at work.
Deadlines don’t mean all that much in the state Capitol. And you can pass a $32
billion budget when you only have $30 billion in revenue, the math be damned.
If you’re Gov. Tom Wolf, and you see a re-election campaign
looming in the near future, you don’t bother to actually affix your signature
to the spending plan, which does not exactly cater to your wishes. Instead you
let it become law without your imprimatur.
That doesn’t change the math. It still doesn’t add up.
Pa.
needs to get its revenue act together | Editorial
Editorial By Express-Times opinion
staff Updated on August 13, 2017 at 9:22 AM Posted on August 13, 2017
at 7:00 AM
What's not to like about the Pennsylvania
Senate's attempt to balance the state's out-of-kilter budget? Let us count
the ways. Last month the Senate tried to
accomplish what the House could not, approving a bill to fill the missing
revenue side of the budget. Both houses approved the spending side in time for
the June 30 budget deadline. That's
correct: The state of Pennsylvania is paying its bills with no constitutional
authority to raise money to do so. Gov. Tom Wolf allowed this devil's bargain
to become law without his signature, thinking it would be preferable to a long
budget impasse or government shutdown. The
problem isn't just that the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled
Legislature don't see eye-to-eye on budget fixes. Senate and House leaders, who
are calling the shots with no input from minority Democrats, are at loggerheads
over how to plug a $2 billion budget deficit.
Lancaster
County educators welcome standardized test reforms proposed under Pennsylvania's
ESSA plan
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Aug 12, 2017
For many Lancaster County educators, high-stakes testing in
Pennsylvania gets a failing grade. The state Department of Education, it seems, is in agreement. In its recently released Every
Student Succeeds Act Consolidated State Plan, the Department proposes to
reduce time students spend taking standardized tests and lessen the importance
of high-stakes tests when assessing schools — reforms, local school leaders
say, that are much-needed. “Standardized
testing has a place in education — but not the place,” Manheim Central School
District Superintendent Peter Aiken said. “We need to get kids excited about
learning. I (have) yet to see a student get excited about PSSA or Keystone
testing.” With No Child Left Behind — an
experiment which critics say fell short because of its role in increasing
high-stakes tests — being replaced by ESSA in 2015, states now have more
flexibility to restructure its curriculum and rating systems. The commonwealth’s plan calls for reducing
testing time for the PSSAs starting in spring 2018. The English language arts
exam would be cut from four to three sections, and the mathematics assessment
would go from three to two sections.
Charter school finances raise concerns
about future
Sarah
M. Wojcik Contact
Reporter Of The Morning Call August 12, 2017
During its first year of operation, Innovative Arts Academy
Charter School has had to weather the resignation of its CEO, low enrollment
and blistering public criticism from former employees. But its biggest threat
may be the financial burden that has weighed heavily on the fledgling
institution, which ended the year with 243 students from 11 school districts
enrolled. With 19 students leaving the
school mid-term and projected revenues for the 2016-17 school year down by more
than $600,000, according to the latest available data in the May financial
report, the Catasauqua school is waging an uphill battle. Working against it is
a ballooning lease agreement that has the school paying $800,000 a year by 2019,
more than double the rent it paid in this school year. For help, the Innovative Arts' board of trustees turned to Charter
Solutions LLC, a company managed by developer Abe Atiyeh, who also is the
manager of Catty School LLC, the company that leases the Howertown Road
building to the charter school.
Teachers
at Philly charter school vote to unionize
by Martha
Woodall, Staff Writer @marwooda | martha.woodall@phillynews.com
Updated: AUGUST 11, 2017 — 4:29 PM
EDT
Teachers at New Foundations Charter High School in Philadelphia’s
Holmesburg section have voted to be represented by the Alliance of Charter
School Employees. A vote count Friday at
the regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board in Center City
showed that 73 percent of the teachers and professional staff who cast
ballots said they wanted to be represented by the union. New Foundations Charter High School, which
opened in 2010, is the fifth charter school in Philadelphia where teachers and
professional staff are represented by the alliance, which is an affiliate of
AFT Pennsylvania.
Charter school under fire after teachers claim
no pay
6ABC Action News Friday, August 11, 2017 05:01PM
NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A North Philadelphia charter
school is under fire. Teachers are quitting, saying they aren't getting paid.
But the school is still getting funding from the city. Despite the uncertainty, there are hundreds
of students signed up and ready to go back to class in less than a month. The school district's solution at this point
appears to be to cut off funding and revoke the school's license. The Khepera Charter School is the only charter
school among 80 citywide that currently faces revocation of its charter. The landlord for the building at 9th and
Sedgley, where the embattled school has been occupying for years, now wants to
evict them as the charter continues to drown in hundreds of thousands of
dollars in red ink, owing money all over town.
All classes - kindergarten through 8th grade - were shut down a week
early in June without warning or ceremony. Teachers say they have resigned en
masse and found new teaching posts elsewhere.
From
selling drugs to teaching 4th graders: A Philly redemption story
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham, Staff Writer @newskag | kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: AUGUST 14, 2017 — 3:01 AM EDT
Quamiir Trice was a 15-year-old high school sophomore with a
report card full of F’s when his time as a Philadelphia School District student
abruptly ended: Arrested for selling crack, he was banished to the city’s
juvenile justice center. Last week, his
career as a School District teacher began. Trice completed his new-educator
orientation Friday. In a few weeks, he steps before a class full of fourth
graders at Bethune Elementary in North Philadelphia. “I’m not running away from my past,” said
Trice, 23, whose astonishing rise came complete with mentors, personal pep
talks from President Barack Obama, and multiple college degrees. “I’m using it
as a teaching tool.” Superintendent
William R. Hite Jr. recruited Trice as part of a push to attract more teachers
of color — specifically, black male teachers. For the school system, he is an
astonishing catch, as he was recruited aggressively by districts around the
country. Schools across the U.S.
struggle to hire teaching forces that reflect their students’ diversity. About
2 percent of the teachers nationally are black males. In Philadelphia, that
number is slightly better, but still just 5 percent – to teach a student body
made up primarily of black students.
“The
white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan staged their largest rally in
decades to “take America back,” displaying Confederate and Nazi flags as they
targeted every minority in the United States. Given that the population of
students in America’s school are now majority-minority, that’s a lot of young
people.”
The
first thing teachers should do when school starts is talk about hatred in
America. Here’s help.
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie
Strauss August 13 at 10:28 AM #CharlottesvilleCurriculum: That’s the new Twitter hashtag for educators, parents and anyone else looking for resources to lead discussions with young people about the violence that just erupted in Charlottesville, when white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members marched and clashed with counterprotesters. One woman was killed and 19 were injured when a car rammed into the counterprotesters, and two state police officers assisting in the response died when their helicopter crashed on the outskirts of town. The 2017-2018 school year is getting started, and teachers nationwide should expect students to want to discuss what happened in Charlottesville as well as other expressions of racial and religious hatred in the country. While such discussions are often seen as politically charged and teachers like to steer clear of politics, these conversations are about fundamental American values, and age-appropriate ways of discussing hatred and tolerance in a diverse and vibrant democracy are as important as anything young people can learn in school. Civics education has taken a back seat to reading and math in recent years in “the era of accountability,” but it is past time for it to take center stage again in America’s schools.
“She
has made things harder for herself by acting as the secretary for school choice
instead of the secretary of education,” said Mike Petrilli, president of the
conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute. “She has missed the opportunity to
make it clear that she wants to see all schools succeed.”
After 6 months on job, education chief
still highly divisive
AP By MARIA DANILOVA August 13,
2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — Among the paintings and photographs that
decorate Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ sunlit, spacious office is the framed
roll call from her Senate confirmation. It’s a stark reminder of the bruising
process that spurred angry protests, some ridicule and required the vice president’s
tie-breaking “yes” vote. Six months on
the job, DeVos is no less divisive. Critics see her as hostile to public education and indifferent to
civil rights, citing her impassioned push for school choice and her signing off
on the repeal of some protections for LGBT students. Conservatives wish she had been less polarizing and more effective
in promoting her agenda, noting that the department’s budget requests are
stalled in Congress and no tangible school choice plan has emerged. DeVos is undeterred. “We have seen decades of top-down mandated
approaches that protect a system at the expense of individual students,” DeVos
told The Associated Press. “I am for individual students. I want each of them
to have an opportunity to go to a school that works for them.” In her first comprehensive sit-down interview
with a national media outlet since taking office, DeVos touched on some of the
most pressing issues in K-12 and higher education.
“DeVos
has also made clear that school choice is her priority and that
“accountability” is more about offering parents private options than about how
well those options provide services to students.”
This
ALEC state report card speaks volumes about Betsy DeVos’s education agenda
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie
Strauss August 13
Quoting from the late British
Prime Minister Margaret “Iron Lady” Thatcher, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
recently said that there is “no such thing” as society, trashed the federal
government and hailed the spread of school “choice.” She was speaking at the
annual conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and
espoused a philosophy that mirrored that of the powerful conservative
organization. If you don’t know about
ALEC, you should. It is a member organization of corporate lobbyists and
conservative state legislators who craft “model legislation” on issues
important to them and then help shepherd it through legislatures. It describes
itself as being dedicated to promoting “limited government, free markets and federalism,”
though the New York Times called it essentially a “stealth business lobbyist.” When it comes to big education issues, there appears to be
no light between DeVos and ALEC, so let’s take a look at how ALEC views
individual states and their schools.
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
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
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs
Registration Opens Tuesday, September 26, 2017
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