Wednesday, August 23, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Aug 23: Cybers’ 2015-16 Grad Rate 47.7%; State Avg was 86.1%

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

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Aug 23, 2017:


“The in-house cyber school also saves the district money, Troutman said. It costs Parkland about $4,750 to educate a student in its cyber school but if it has to pay an independent cyber, such as Pennsylvania Cyber Charter or Agora Cyber Charter, it is required by the state to pay $11,200 for a typical student and $22,000 for a student with special needs, he said.” …Plus, Parkland’s cyber school has a 90 percent completion rate, according to Smith.  Cyber charters have a substantially lower graduation rate than traditional schools, according to the state Department of Education. Cyber charters had a cumulative graduation rate average of 47.7 percent in 2015-2016, while the statewide average was 86.1 percent.”
Parkland signs on with new cyber school provider
Margie Peterson Special to The Morning Call August 22, 2017
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP — After seven years with one cyber school provider, Parkland School District has chosen to contract with a different one that it has been using for summer school. The decision to change from VLN Partners of Pittsburgh to Edgenuity of Scottsdale, Ariz., was driven by reviews by students and teachers who found Edgenuity’s curriculum and format more engaging, according to Rodney Troutman, Parkland’s assistant superintendent. “We’ve had a lot of success with Edgenuity in the summer school program,” Troutman said after Tuesday’s school board meeting. The curriculum Edgenuity provides is aligned with Parkland’s regular curriculum, which makes it easier for students who do the cyber school for a while and then return to the brick-and-mortar schools, he said. Tracy Smith, Parkland’s assistant to the superintendent for operations, agreed. “It’s a more enriched curriculum,” she said. “Our teachers evaluated multiple agencies. The students and teachers by far preferred it.”

Blogger note: one year later, still no sentencing for Nick Trombetta.
Reprise 1 Year Later: PA Cyber founder Trombetta pleads guilty to $8 million tax conspiracy
Beaver County Times By Katherine Schaeffer kschaeffer@timesonline.com Aug 24, 2016
PITTSBURGH -- Nick Trombetta, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School founder and former chief executive officer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to tax conspiracy, one of the 11 federal charges leveled against him. Trombetta, an Aliquippa native and resident of East Liverpool, Ohio, was indicted in August 2013 on 11 counts, including mail fraud, theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, tax conspiracy and filing a false tax return. The Midland-based cyber charter’s founder pleaded to tax conspiracy from January 2006 to July 2012 as part of a scheme that involved funneling more than $8 million to his sister and four “straw owners” of Avanti Management, a company he created to mask earnings from the IRS. The scheme involved a web of entities including Lincoln Learning Solutions, formerly known as National Network of Digital Schools (NNDS).  Trombetta faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and will be sentenced Dec. 20 by U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti, according to a press release from United States Attorney David J. Hickton’s office.

Wolf planning for spending freeze if budget isn't passed
WITF Written by Katie Meyer, Capitol Bureau Chief | Aug 23, 2017 4:56 AM
 (Harrisburg) -- If Pennsylvania's $2.2 billion budget gap isn't filled soon, Governor Tom Wolf is indicating the commonwealth could be heading for major spending freezes. Wolf said Tuesday that the situation could be resolved if House Republicans would just agree to a Senate revenue plan that includes several new taxes. Caucus leaders are, for the most part, staying mum on how their negotiations are progressing. By September 15, the governor said he either has to put spending for certain state programs on hold, or borrow more money from the Treasury. And he doesn't want to borrow without a balanced budget. "I ran a business," he said. "At some point the bank, or somebody, says you've got to stop doing this. We have ratings agencies out there that are about to downgrade Pennsylvania's debt because of this irresponsible behavior."

Gov. Tom Wolf calls on Pa. House to enact the Senate's revenue plan; 'We can't keep borrowing money'
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Posted on August 22, 2017 at 2:33 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf is keeping his options open about what he'll do the next time the state's general fund runs out of cash as it did last week. Wolf declined to tell reporters on Tuesday whether he would again ask Treasury to borrow more money and/or impose budgetary freezes if the cash flow problem persists while waiting on a revenue plan to fulling fund the $32 billion enacted state budget. "We have to face up to the reality. We can't keep continuing to borrow. The thing to do here is get the job done," he said, following a Tuesday news conference at the Humane Society of Harrisburg about the state's stronger animal protection law taking effect this coming Monday. Wolf said the easiest way to resolve the state's need for revenue is for the House of Representatives to enact the $2.2 billion bi-partisan-backed tax-and-borrowing package that the Senate passed last month.

Pennsylvania House GOP must get ‘act together’ on budget, Gov. Tom Wolf says
Delco Times By The Associated Press POSTED: 08/22/17, 9:48 AM EDT 
HARRISBURG >> Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is urging House Republican leaders to “get their act together” and return to Harrisburg to resolve a badly out-of-balance budget that’s lingering seven weeks into the fiscal year. Wolf spoke Tuesday during a regularly scheduled appearance on KDKA-AM radio in Pittsburgh. Wolf supports a $2.2 billion revenue plan that passed the Republican-controlled Senate last month. It relies heavily on borrowing, taxing consumers’ utility bills and expanding casino gambling to fill gaps in Pennsylvania’s deficit-ridden finances. House Republicans say they’re trying to develop a revenue package without increasing borrowing or taxes. Some state officials are warning that, without a loan or an emergency revenue package within days or weeks, the state must start postponing payment on bills or freezing program money. Wolf isn’t discussing his contingency plans.

In early learning, attention to detail is essential to success
Centre Daily Times Letter BY CATHY HARLOW AUGUST 23, 2017 1:14 AM
Cathy Harlow is the Tyrone Area School District superintendent.
As a superintendent, when it comes to early learning, I can’t stress enough the importance of the little things. So, a great deal of coordination goes into aligning pre-K curriculum with kindergarten expectations in math, reading and vocabulary — even installing a universal alphabet across classrooms, so kids will always have a bird as their picture clue for the letter “B.” Assuring quality of pre-K and promoting access, within the district and communitywide, is a top priority at Tyrone Area. I know I have driven the business department crazy trying to squeeze every possible slot for its free pre-K from available funding sources Pre-K Counts, Title I, Keystones to Opportunities and the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (plus district child care funded through state CCIS and parent tuition, and funding for the district’s role as Early Intervention provider for preschool-aged children.) Our district created a brochure listing quality pre-K programs, and district personnel even shows up at community events — a Labor Day picnic, an Irish heritage festival — to inform parents about quality pre-K opportunities. The district puts forth the effort because the advantages of quality pre-K are evident.

THE 411 ON ALLEGHENY COUNTY'S BRICK-AND-MORTAR CHARTER SCHOOLS
PublicSource August 22, 2017
PublicSource has compiled an easy-to-use guide of the county's brick-and-mortar charter schools. Within, you can find out basic facts about each school and how well they're performing academically (the state considers 70 to be a 'passing grade' on the School Performance Profiles). We've also included the home districts the charter schools are drawing from and how much tuition the traditional public school districts are sending their way.



Schools throughout the country are grappling with teacher shortage, data show
By Caitlin Ostroff, CNN Updated 1:45 PM ET, Mon August 21, 2017
 (CNN)Lynn Sorrells started teaching 26 years ago because she loved seeing the light-bulb moment when a kid grasped a new concept. She still does. But as principal of a high school in Dorchester County, Maryland, she is struggling to find an algebra and geometry teacher just weeks before her school year is set to begin. As students head back to school, Sorrells' district is one of hundreds across the country grappling with a growing teacher shortage -- especially in key areas such as math and special ed. "Currently, there are not enough qualified teachers applying for teaching jobs to meet the demand in all locations and fields," said the Learning Policy Institute, a national education think tank, in a research brief in September. Some schools, such as in New York City, are being forced to increase class sizes, which some studies show can reduce how much a student learns. The institute estimated last year that if trends continue, there could be a nationwide shortfall of 112,000 teachers by 2018.

What's at Stake for Schools in the Debt Ceiling Debate
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on August 21, 2017 10:44 AM
Have you missed fights over whether to increase the U.S. government's borrowing limit? You might be getting a special treat soon. Many education advocates, however, likely aren't so thrilled. The recurring squabble over raising the debt ceiling has roots in 2011 when, in exchange for increasing the borrowing limit, Congress imposed mandatory spending caps on government spending. The big budget legacy of that 2011 fight, known as sequestration, is still with us.  Now the issue is back before lawmakers once again. They face a Sept. 30 deadline for increasing the debt ceiling—if they don't, parts of the government would close, including the U.S. Department of Education, and spending would be severely constricted. (Technically, the government broke through the debt ceiling earlier this year, but the Treasury Department has taken "extraordinary measures" to avoid default.)  "I am more concerned about the debt ceiling than I have been in the past," said Noelle Ellerson, the associate executive director of AASA, the School Administrators Association.

Class Dismissed
When a state divests from public education
Harpers Magazine By Alexandria Neason August 20, 2017
Katie Piehl’s mother, Nancy, worked in public schools her entire career. Her life was shaped by a transfer she made as a schoolgirl in Saginaw, Michigan. She grew up on the outskirts of town, with the “farm folk,” and attended a private parochial school until she was fourteen. But when it was time for high school, she attended a racially diverse public school in the city. At the time, not many kids she knew went to college. Nancy became the first person in her family to pursue higher education, and she studied speech pathology at Western Michigan University, which is public. She met her husband there. It was the early Seventies; he enlisted in the Air Force and managed to avoid Vietnam by getting stationed in Omaha, Nebraska. After three years, the couple had a chance to move. “We picked Phoenix sight unseen, and we went,” Nancy told me. When they arrived, the oleanders were blooming. She plotted out all the city’s school districts on a map so that her husband could take her to drop off job applications at each one. She moved through schools in south Phoenix before landing in the Washington Elementary district, home of Mountain Sky, where she later enrolled Katie and her sister. Nancy’s colleagues elsewhere in Phoenix envied her district’s model for speech therapy: she was supported by a special-education teacher, another full-time speech therapist, and an assistant.


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


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