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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Oct. 4: Have you seen the Public Source in-depth series on PA charter schools?

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 Oct. 4, 2017:
Have you seen the Public Source in-depth series on PA charter schools?


Reclaiming Our Democracy: The Pennsylvania Conference to End Gerrymandering Saturday, October 14th, 2017  9:00am-5:00pm Crowne Plaza Harrisburg, PA



Court to weigh delay in lawsuit over Pennsylvania congressional districts
Delco Times By Mark Scolforo, The Associated Press POSTED: 10/04/17, 5:30 AM EDT 
HARRISBURG >> A legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s congressional map is about to land in court for argument over whether the case should be delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the role of partisanship in drawing legislative district lines. The Commonwealth Court hearing on Wednesday in Harrisburg also involves a request to join the litigation made by several Republicans who are active in political campaigns. Congressional district maps are currently being challenged in Maryland, North Carolina and Texas, along with Pennsylvania. The lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters and Democratic voters concerns congressional districts drawn up in 2011 by Republican leaders and signed by then-Gov. Tom Corbett, also a Republican. Republicans currently represent 13 of 18 congressional districts in Pennsylvania, despite winning about half the votes in recent elections.

Pennsylvania House poised to vote on 5 percent state hotel tax to close budget
Steve Esack, Jon Harris and Of The Morning Call Contact Reporters October3, 2017, 9:55 PM
 The Pennsylvania House is poised to vote Wednesday on a 5 percent hotel tax to help fund the deficit-laden budget. The hotel tax emerged Tuesday afternoon after a proposed levy on warehousing services for businesses fell through amid enormous opposition from various corporate sectors. Then at about 5:15 p.m., Democrats and Republicans on the House Rules Committee unanimously adopted the hotel tax, setting up private caucus meetings where leaders are expected to further sell the plan to rank-and-file lawmakers. The bill was expected to be voted on Tuesday night but it fell through at the last minute, pushing the vote to Wednesday. “I’m hoping it gives us time to get more information and make a more informed and coherent vote,” said Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh. “This is a big vote with important implications. We need to get it right.” If the bill passes the House, it would move to the Senate. If approved there, it would go to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk for his signature. Hotels and other types of lodging establishments already charge customers a 6-percent state occupancy tax. Counties also charge tourism taxes taxes of 3 percent to 8.5 percent. Adding another state tax would push the hotel tax rate up to 14 to 19.5 percent. The highest tax would be in Philadelphia. While the state’s hotel and tourism industries blasted the idea, the swiftness of the House’s movement could generate enough momentum to allow the Legislature and Wolf to end the three-month stalemate over the state’s nearly $32 billion budget and $2.2 billion in debt.

House Republicans in Harrisburg consider increasing hotel tax by 5 percent
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis & Liz Navratil, HARRISBURG BUREAUS Updated: OCTOBER 3, 2017 — 7:59 PM EDT
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia would be number one — Pittsburgh a close second.
In hotel taxes, that is. The latest proposal to end Pennsylvania’s stubborn budget stalemate could make hotel taxes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh the highest in the nation, according to industry figures. Republicans who control the House of Representatives late Tuesday afternoon began pushing a proposal to add a new 5 percent tax on hotel stays. That is on top of the current 6 percent statewide occupancy tax already slapped onto hotel bills — and above any local taxes that cities and counties, including Philadelphia and Allegheny County, impose. Under the proposal, Philadelphia’s hotel tax would rise to 21.25 percent starting next year, when a new city hotel tax takes effect. Those who book hotels in Allegheny County would pay 19 percent. That would place the two regions in the top two spots for hotel taxes in the United States, according to an analysis by HVS, an international hospitality-industry group. “This is going to be devastating to our industry,” said Ed Grose, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, adding that such a tax would cost jobs and hurt the city’s competitiveness in attracting conventions. Added Craig Davis, president and CEO of VisitPittsburgh, Allegheny County’s tourism promotion agency: “We are blindsided by this. It comes from out of nowhere.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/house-republicans-in-harrisburg-consider-increasing-hotel-tax-by-5-percent-20171003.html

Pennsylvania lawmakers eye higher hotel tax in budget fight
AP by Marc Levy October 3, 2017
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s hotel tax rate would nearly double and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh would have the nation’s two highest combined state-and-city hotel taxes under a proposal surfacing Tuesday in the House of Representatives to fill state government’s $2.2 billion projected deficit. The idea blindsided tourism and hotel advocacy groups. It emerged rapidly Tuesday from closed-door budget negotiations after a tide of opposition drowned one days-old proposal — a tax on commercial warehousing — and House GOP leaders last week blocked a new tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production. Floor debate and votes were possible Wednesday after the House and Senate recessed. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s office would not say whether he will support it. In a statement Tuesday night, his office said Wolf still believes a Marcellus Shale tax is the most responsible source of recurring revenue to help balance the budget and that it is studying the House Republican proposal. The House and the Senate returned to session this week in the latest bid to end a three-month-long budget stalemate. One sticking point has been the Republican-controlled Legislature’s inability to produce a tax package big enough to satisfy Wolf in his effort to pare down Pennsylvania’s stubborn post-recession deficit. Raising the state’s hotel tax from 6 percent to 11 percent would put Pennsylvania in the top 10 states in hotel taxes, according to figures from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
https://apnews.com/6ca0e860d4554b32b6016233c139cf93

Obstruction that’s costly
Standard Speaker OPINION / PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 3, 2017
State lawmakers shuffled back to the Capitol Monday to resume the hard work of failing to pass a budget that they were supposed to finish by July 1. Meanwhile, state Sen. Scott Wagner of York County, who is seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination, has offered some insight into the legislative malpractice. The state budget has a $2.2 billion systemic deficit that truly can be resolved only through serious reforms in the tax structure, including broadening the tax base. One way to do that, which has the overwhelming support of a broad majority of Pennsylvania residents, is to place a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production comparable to taxes levied by other gas-producing states. The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf have agreed to a much more modest extraction tax than those imposed by most gas-producing states, which they expect to produce about $100 million a year. Wagner and others oppose the tax, publicly claiming that it would cripple the industry even as the industry rapidly expands its pipeline network and the state itself heavily subsidizes new markets for the gas through tax breaks for petrochemical refineries and export facilities.
http://standardspeaker.com/opinion/obstruction-that-s-costly-1.2250083

Have you seen the Public Source in-depth series on PA charter schools?
http://publicsource.org/category/education/

Study Finds Test-Score Growth at NYC Charter Schools Outpaces District Schools
Analysis from a Stanford center says that on average, charter students show growth equal to 23 extra days of learning in reading
Wall Street Journal By Leslie Brody Oct. 4, 2017 12:00 a.m. ET
A new study says that on average, New York City charter school students show growth equal to 23 extra days of learning in reading and 63 more days in math each year, compared with similar students in traditional public schools. Released Wednesday by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University, the study found black and Hispanic students in poverty posted especially strong test-score growth at charters. At the middle school level, students at charter networks showed more robust gains overall than those at independent charters. Skeptics say standardized tests are flawed measures. The study relied on such scores for grades three to eight for the five years ending in June 2016. Margaret Raymond, director of Credo, said charters’ successes came largely from their flexibility to allocate resources to meet their students’ needs. She said the power of charter oversight bodies to shut failing schools also helped. The study was funded by two foundations that support charter schools, the Walton Family Foundation and Achelis and Bodman Foundation. Ms. Raymond said her center isn’t pro- or anti-charter, but aims to identify policies to boost outcomes.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/study-finds-test-score-growth-at-nyc-charter-schools-outpaces-district-schools-1507089600

Shippensburg, Pa., Little League and wrestling coach among Vegas shooting victims
Inquirer by Laura McCrystal, Staff Writer  @LMcCrystal |  lmccrystal@phillynews.com Updated: OCTOBER 3, 2017 — 2:05 PM EDT
Bill Wolfe Jr. and his wife, Robyn, posed for a photo in front of the stage Sunday evening at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. They were smiling, and they had reason to celebrate — they had traveled to Las Vegas from their home in Shippensburg, Pa., for their 20th wedding anniversary. Hours later, Wolfe was separated from his wife as his family and friends scrambled to learn what happened to him when a gunman opened fire at the festival. By Tuesday morning, the 42-year-old Pennsylvania father and youth sports coach was confirmed one of the 59 people killed in the shooting — the deadliest in modern American history. Bill Wolfe, 42, of Cumberland County, was among at least 59 people killed in the shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday night. He and his wife, Robyn, were in Vegas to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Wolfe was a community-minded person known in Shippensburg as a Little League and youth wrestling coach, said Tony Yaniello, head coach of Shippensburg High School’s varsity wrestling team. Wolfe had long been involved in Shippensburg’s wrestling program, as an assistant coach and president of the booster club. For the last several years, he was head coach of Shippensburg’s elementary wrestling program for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. “He’s built a legacy as a coach in the community,” Yaniello said. “There’s so many people who are upset about this. He’s going to truly be missed.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/vegas-shooting-bill-wolfe-shippensburg-20171003.html

“My confidence ebbed when I heard my colleagues turn this into a debate over the rights of gun owners instead of the right to life of children. In the confines of the members-only elevators, where my colleagues could speak honestly, I heard colleagues confide that any vote for gun safety would lower their N.R.A. scores, making them casualties in the next election.”
Nothing Will Change After the Las Vegas Shooting
New York Times Opinion By STEVE ISRAEL OCT. 2, 2017
WASHINGTON — In the wake of one the deadliest mass shootings in our nation’s history, perhaps the most asked question by Americans is, “Will anything change?” The simple answer is no. The more vital question is, “Why not?” Congress is already doing what it sees as its part. Flags have been lowered, thoughts and prayers tweeted, and sometime this week it will perform the latest episode in the longest-running drama on C-Span: the moment of silence. It’s how they responded to other mass shootings in Columbine, Herkimer, Tucson, Santa Monica, Hialeah, Terrell, Alturas, Killeen, Isla Vista, Marysville, Chapel Hill, Tyrone, Waco, Charleston, Chattanooga, Lafayette, Roanoke, Roseburg, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino, Birmingham, Fort Hood and Aurora, at Virginia Tech, the Washington Navy Yard, and the congressional baseball game practice, to name too many.
In my 16 years in Congress, Mother Jones magazine counted 52 mass killings. Fewer lessons about Congress were starker than the ones I learned about why, after each one, nothing happened. The first lesson was in January 2001, shortly after I was sworn in. I wanted to introduce legislation to require safety locks on certain guns and sought the support of a fellow freshman, a Democrat from Arkansas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/opinion/gun-control-vegas-shooting.html?_r=0

“Although no date has been set for the trial, McInerney said, “We look forward to presenting extensive evidence at trial." The evidence, she said, "will prove that this state has provided inadequate resources to our students. They have failed in their duty to provide those basic resources, and our inequity in education shall not and will not be tolerated.”
Education advocates celebrate school funding lawsuit ruling with a City Hall rally
The notebook by Darryl C. Murphy October 3, 2017 — 12:15pm
City Councilwoman-at-large Helen Gym and fellow education advocates held a rally Monday at City Hall to celebrate a milestone victory in the fight for equitable education funding in Philadelphia. The rally was held on the south side of the building in front of the recently unveiled sculpture of Octavius Catto, an African American educator and civil rights activist in the mid-1800s, to honor the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling in the case brought by several school districts and parents. The state’s highest court ordered the Commonwealth Court to hold a trial to decide whether the state is providing inadequate and inequitable school funding to its school districts in violation of the constitution. Gym was joined by Michael Churchill, an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center; Maura McInerney, legal director at the Education Law Center; the Rev. Gregory Holston, executive director of POWER Interfaith; and Julien Terrell, executive director of Philadelphia Student Union as they addressed a crowd of about 50 people. The Public Interest Law Center and the Education Law Center, along with a private New York law firm, are representing the plaintiffs. “Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, after a significant political wind had changed, made clear that PA kids deserve better in the state of Pennsylvania,” Gym said.
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/10/03/education-advocates-celebrate-school-funding-lawsuit-ruling-with-a-rally-at-city-hall

How each of these Lehigh Valley high schools fared on the Keystone Exams
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Posted October 04, 2017 at 06:59 AM | Updated October 04, 2017 at 07:01 AM
Across Pennsylvania, elementary and high school students are struggling to keep up with the more rigorous Common Core standards. That's according to the 2017 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and Keystone Exam results, which were released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education last week. The results can be found here. The overall School Performance Profile report cards are coming in October. Both test scores are used to help determine whether Pennsylvania is complying with the Every Student Succeeds Act, the latest iteration of the No Child Left Behind Act. Although, the state cautions that the test scores are just a snapshot in time, not an accurate way to evaluate overall student achievement. “Standardized tests help identify success and needs in students and schools so they can prioritize and plan, as well as meet federal and state reporting requirements,” Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said. “However, high-stakes testing does not tell the full story and the department is taking several actions to better communicate student progress in our schools."
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/education/index.ssf/2017/10/how_lehigh_valley_high_schools_fared_on_the_keystones.html#incart_river_index

City, Philly pro teams aim to get more kids involved in sports
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer  @newskag |  kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: OCTOBER 3, 2017 — 2:08 PM EDT
When he was growing up in Virginia, youth sports were a main reason Bill Hite wanted to attend — and do well in — school. Now, Hite presides over the school system in Philadelphia, a city where 325,000 school-age children live, many of them lacking access to youth sports opportunities. On Tuesday, Mayor Kenney, Hite, and other officials announced a plan to organize and expand sports opportunities for kids citywide — not just as a way to develop athletes, but as a way to spur social change. The effort will be driven by partners including the city and representatives from all four of its major sports teams, as well as nonprofits. “We need to be providing a system so that all young people have opportunities,” Hite said at a City Hall news conference.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/city-philly-pro-teams-aim-to-get-more-kids-involved-in-sports-20171003.html

New gerrymandering suit challenges Pa. maps in federal court
WHYY Newsworks DAVE DAVIES OFF MIC  A BLOG BY DAVE DAVIES OCTOBER 3, 2017 
Five Pennsylvania voters challenged the state's Congressional boundaries in federal court Monday, charging they're gerrymandered to favor Republicans. Pennsylvania's Congressional districts are regarded as some of the most gerrymandered in the nation, giving Republicans 13 of the state's 18 Congressional seats even though there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the Commonwealth. The boundaries are already the target of a suit filed in state court in June by the League of Women Voters. A Wisconsin gerrymandering case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorney Alice Ballard said in an interview the suit filed Monday differs from many past gerrymandering claims that cited the equal protection clause of the constitution. She noted that the U. S. Supreme Court has mostly rejected partisan gerrymandering claims, concluding that the drawing of political boundaries to be an inherently political process. The justices have left some room for judicial intervention if redistricting plans are egregiously gerrymandered. That puts critics in the position of developing a standard for the degree of gerrymandering.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/off-mic/item/107622-new-gerrymandering-suit-challenges-pa-maps-in-federal-court?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KeystoneCrossroads+%28Keystone+Crossroads%29

Legislative Districting Split the State College Area Into Three State House Districts
WPSU By ANNE DANAHY • 23 HOURS AGO
A look at the spot three districts in the state House of Representatives come together and why some voters who want these districts to change.
When you have a question about voting, polling places or legislative districts in Centre County, a good place to start is the Elections Office. So, that’s where I began my quest to find the place in the State College area where three state legislative districts come together. After rolling out a detailed map, Joyce McKinley, director of elections in Centre County, tries to pinpoint the spot.
“The 81st legislative district. It’s surrounded by the 77th and the 171st. That’s Zurich Road and Knob Hill Road, and this is Circleville Road.” With that information and a map in hand, I headed to the place where the three districts meet with Tim Dunleavy, a Patton Township resident. Dunleavy is one of those unhappy with what they view as gerrymandered districts. We made our start in the 81st, at a spot that’s a mix of homes and fields. “We’re going to take a little quick walk from one to the other, and I do mean quick.” “We just walked across the street, and we’re on a piece of grass across the street, and we’re now in the 77th district.” After that, we headed to the 171st district.
“From the bus stop we backtracked and went over toward the bike path. We’re looking out over Circleville Farms, cornfields.” The three-way divide is a result of the redistricting that followed the 2010 Census. Dunleavy and others want to see that change in the next round of redistricting.
http://radio.wpsu.org/post/legislative-districting-split-state-college-area-three-state-house-districts

Kennedy is key to US Supreme Court outcome on partisan maps
Penn Live By The Associated Press Updated on October 4, 2017 at 6:00 AM Posted on October 3, 2017 at 4:22 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a case that could reshape American politics, the Supreme Court appeared split Tuesday on whether Wisconsin Republicans gave themselves an unfair advantage when they drew political maps to last a decade. If Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote almost certainly controls the outcome, is prepared to join his liberal colleagues, the court could rule for the first time that districting plans that entrench one party's control of a legislature or congressional delegation can violate the constitutional rights of the other party's voters. That could lead to changes in political maps across the country. While both parties seek maximum partisan advantage when they can, Republicans controlled more state governments after the 2010 census and aggressively used redistricting to lock in electoral advantages to last for the next 10 years.
http://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2017/10/kennedy_is_key_to_supreme_cour.html#incart_river_index

US Supreme Court hears arguments on case that could affect Pennsylvania's next congressional map
What will the SCOTUS case on redistricting mean for Pennsylvania?
Morning Call by Laura Olson Contact Reporter Call Washington Bureau October 3, 2017
Top of Form
The last time the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on how legislative districts are drawn, the attorneys were seeking to persuade the justices on a case stemming from Pennsylvania’s 2001 congressional district map. The justices were divided in Vieth v. Jubelirer, issuing a 5-4 decision that declined to invalidate those district boundaries. The 2004 ruling said there was no clear and convincing standard for judging whether partisanship plays too large of a role in the mapmaking process. But Justice Anthony Kennedy left room to reconsider that view in the future, writing in a concurrent opinion that emerging technologies may “make more evident the precise nature of the burdens gerrymanders impose on the representational rights of voters.” On Tuesday morning, a group of Democrats challenging Wisconsin’s state legislative districts took Kennedy up on the challenge.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-supreme-court-redistricting-pennsylvania-20171002-story.html

Irritated Kansas Legislators Head Back to Drawing Board on School Funding
Education Week By Daarel Burnette II on October 3, 2017 3:03 PM
The Kansas Supreme Court's ruling striking down the state's most-recent funding formula thrusts a 20-year battle over school spending, standards, and the achievement gap in that state back into another year of legislation and litigation. The court's Oct. 2 ruling gave state lawmakers until June 30 of next year to to add money to the funding formula and come up with a better distribution method, although the justices asked lawmakers to present something before April 30 of next year so the court will have time before the school year commences to deterimne whether the funding formula meets the court's muster.  "While we stay the issuance of today's mandate through June 30, 2018, after that date we will not allow ourselves to be placed in the position of being complicit actors in the continuing deprivation of a constitutionally adequate and equitable education owed to hundreds of thousands of Kansas school children," the judges said in the tersely-worded ruling.  School funding has roiled Kansas' politics for decades, coming to a peak this year after the court said in two separate rulings that the state's funding formula was both inadequate and inequitable. 
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2017/10/irritated_kansas_legislators_head_back_to_drawing_board_on_school_funding.html

Kansas Supreme Court: School funding increase wasn't enough
Bristol Herald Courier By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer Oct 2, 2017
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Monday that legislators did not increase spending on the state's public schools enough this year, hinting in its opinion that lawmakers fell hundreds of millions of dollars short a year of providing a suitable education for every child. The decision puts the state in a tough spot: Another big school spending increase will force it to either make significant cuts elsewhere in the budget or raise taxes less than a year after the GOP-controlled Legislature rolled back past income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. The court rejected the state's arguments that a new law phasing in a $293 million increase in funding over two years was enough to provide a suitable education for each of the state's 458,000 students. Four school districts that sued the state over education funding in 2010 had argued that the increase was at least $600 million short of what was necessary over two years.
http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/kansas-supreme-court-school-funding-increase-wasn-t-enough/article_289dde3e-7da3-561f-a94e-07b0cf767821.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Kansas Supreme Court rules new school finance formula is unconstitutional
Kansas City Star BY HUNTER WOODALL, HWOODALL@KCSTAR.COM KATY BERGEN
kbergen@kcstar.com AND DION LEFLER dlefler@wichitaeagle.com OCTOBER 02, 2017
TOPEKA - The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state’s new school finance system is unconstitutional, striking a definitive blow to the Legislature’s latest effort. The decision found the state failed to meet the Kansas Constitution’s requirements to adequately fund education, but it did not specify a dollar amount to reach constitutional muster. The ruling also ordered a fairer distribution of state funding to ensure that students in poor districts have the same educational opportunities as their peers in wealthier communities. With Monday’s decision, the latest stage of the Gannon v. Kansas school finance case, the justices sent the issue back to lawmakers as they head into an election-year legislative session in January. The majority of justices supported giving the Legislature time during next year’s session to try to come up with a school-finance law that meets court requirements. The court is ordering that a new funding law be crafted by April 30 so there’s time for the justices to review it before schools’ money runs out.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article176606731.html

Trump taps Common Core foe as No. 2 at Education Department — but most key positions still vacant
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss October 4 at 1:28 AM 
President Trump just tapped as the Education Department’s No. 2 official a former state superintendent of South Carolina who opposes the Common Core State Standards and who in 2016 called Jeb Bush “the only candidate” prepared to be president. Trump announced Tuesday night that he was nominating Mitchell  Zais as deputy secretary of education, one of only a handful of positions the president has filled in the department to support Secretary Betsy DeVos. Both Zais and DeVos are strong supporters of school choice and both have criticized a strong federal presence in education policy. [This ALEC state report card speaks volumes about Betsy DeVos’s education agenda] Zais spent three decades in the Army and retired as a brigadier general before serving for 10 years as president of the private Newberry College in South Carolina, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He ran for election as the state’s superintendent of education and won, serving one term from 2011 to 2015.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/10/04/trump-taps-common-core-foe-as-no-2-at-education-department-but-most-key-positions-still-vacant/


Reclaiming Our Democracy: The Pennsylvania Conference to End Gerrymandering
Saturday, October 14th, 2017 | 9:00am-5:00pm Crowne Plaza Harrisburg, PA
Crowne Plaza Harrisburg-Hershey 23 S 2nd St.  Harrisburg, PA
Join us for a one-day redistricting conference in Harrisburg for volunteers, supporters, academics, press and legislators. Gubernatorial candidates, legislative leaders and national redistricting experts have been invited to speak about gerrymandering and the potential for reform.  In the afternoon there will be breakout sessions on redistricting issues of interest, including new gerrymandering standards and details on litigation in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other states.
https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/events/2017/10/14/reclaiming-our-democracy-the-pennsylvania-conference-to-end-gerrymandering

Seventh Annual Pennsylvania Arts and Education Symposium, November 2, 2017 Camp Hill
The 2017 Pennsylvania Arts and Education will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Convention Center in Camp Hill.  See the agenda here.
Early Bird Registration ends September 30.
https://www.eplc.org/pennsylvania-arts-education-network/


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 Is Open for the 2017 Arts and Education Symposium
Thursday, November 2, 2017 8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
 Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Convention Center
Registration October 1 to November 1 - $60; Registration at the Symposium - $70
Full-Time Student Registration (Student ID Required at Symposium Check-In) - $30
Act 48 Credit Available

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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