Tuesday, February 13, 2018

PA Ed Policy Roundup Feb 13: SB2: Trump & DeVos love ‘Education Savings Accounts.’ You should know how they really work.

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SB2: Trump & DeVos love ‘Education Savings Accounts.’ You should know how they really work.

Trump Seeks to Cut Education Budget by 5 Percent, Expand School Choice Push
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on February 12, 2018 1:05 PM
President Donald Trump is seeking a roughly 5 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Education's budget for fiscal 2019 in a proposal that also mirrors his spending plan from last year by seeking to eliminate a major teacher-focused grant and to expand school choice. Trump's proposed budget, released Monday, would provide the Education Department with $63.2 billion in discretionary aid, a $3.6 billion cut—or 5.3 percent— from current spending levels, for the budget year starting Oct. 1. That's actually less of a cut than what the president sought for fiscal 2018, when he proposed slashing $9.2 billion—or 13.5 percent—from the department. In order to achieve those proposed spending cuts, the president copied two major education cuts he proposed last year: the elimination of Title II teacher grants and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Those two cuts combined would come to about $3.1 billion from current levels. Overall, 39 discretionary programs would be cut, eliminated, or "streamlined." "Decades of investments and billions of dollars in spending have shown that an increase in funding does not guarantee high-quality education," the Office of Management and Budget states in the budget document. "While the budget reduces the overall federal role in education, the budget makes strategic investments to support and empower families and improve access to postsecondary education, ensuring a future of prosperity for all Americans." On the other side of the ledger, Trump is seeking $1 billion in grants for states for private and public school choice programs called Opportunity Grants.

Almost Three-Quarters of Superintendents Say Schools Inadequately Funded: Survey
Education Week District Dossier Blog By Denisa R. Superville on February 12, 2018 2:20 PM
Seventy-three percent of superintendents say their school districts are inadequately funded, and about 62 percent say that they do not have a way to make up the shortfall if federal and state aid are cut in the upcoming school year. Forty-percent said they expected state and local revenues to be cut. Those are some of the highlights from a brief released Monday by the AASA, the School Superintendents Association, which surveyed superintendents and other district leaders on district finances a decade after the start of The Great Recession. The brief was released before the Trump administration unveiled its spending plan for the 2019 fiscal year, which proposes $63.2 billion in discretionary spending for the federal education department—or a 5 percent reduction from the previous year.

“Of all the various school privatization programs, Educational Savings Accounts are the most market-based and the least accountable. What they ultimately do is reduce society’s obligation to educate our nation’s youth to the dropping of tax dollars onto a debit card.”
SB2: Trump and DeVos love ‘Education Savings Accounts.’ You should know how they really work.
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss February 12 at 4:30 PM Email the author
The Trump administration’s 2019 budget proposal for the U.S. Education Department was just released, and it shows the continuing support that President Trump and Secretary Betsy DeVos have for expanding school choice, or alternatives to traditional public education. For the second year in a row, the administration has proposed slashing the department’s budget while spending more than $1 billion on vouchers — which use public money for private and religious schools — and other choice programs. Congress may not approve the request, but it shows Trump’s and DeVos’s priorities. Charter schools and vouchers are well-known choice alternatives, but there are others that are less familiar, including what’s called “Education Savings Accounts,” or ESAs. They may become more popular in states as the billionaire Koch brothers and their network plan to spend millions of dollars to push them and other efforts to privatize public education. ESAs are personal accounts created by a state for parents to use for a range of educational costs — including private school tuition and fees as well as private tutoring — with state education funds. The trend in ESAs is that there is no means test, part of a larger shift in some parts of the school choice movement from advocating for choice being for low-income students to escape failing traditional public schools to choice being for all families.

Wolf Says He'll Send The PA Supreme Court A Fair Congressional Map, Even If He Has To Draw His Own
WESA By KATHLEEN J. DAVIS • February 12, 2018
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is promising he'll send a politically impartial congressional district map to the state Supreme Court by its Thursday deadline if the Republican-controlled legislature cannot draw one themselves. "What happens next, in any case, is that I take a look at this map and have a panel of objective experts look at it," Wolf said Monday. His statement was in response to the redistricted map the GOP submitted last week, which House and Senate Democrats said was still too partisan. Last month, the state's 18 congressional boundaries were struck down by the state Supreme Court, who said the map had an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that favored Republicans. According to the court order, Wolf does not have to accept the GOP map. If he rejects it, he can submit his own by the same deadline. Since the Supreme Court dismissed the state's congressional map three weeks ago, Wolf has sought public input on how to create fair districts. He went on a series of "listening tours" at universities across the commonwealth, stopping at Point Park University on Feb. 1.

Democrats prepare to take turn at drawing US House districts
Inquirer by MARC LEVY, The Associated Press Updated: FEBRUARY 12, 2018 — 6:20 PM EST
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Top Democratic state lawmakers said Monday they want to work with Gov. Tom Wolf on a consensus Democratic plan of congressional districts to present to state Supreme Court justices who are poised to impose new boundaries. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa and House Minority Leader Frank Dermody said they hope to meet with Wolf as early as Tuesday to begin cooperation on a map, and have urged Wolf to reject a map given to him on Friday by the GOP-controlled Legislature's top Republicans. A redrawn map of Pennsylvania districts could boost Democrats nationally in their quest to take control of the U.S. House. With the 6-year-old map of GOP-drawn districts struck down in a gerrymandering case, the boundaries of Pennsylvania's 18 congressional districts for May's primary election are up in the air. Members of Congress, dozens of first-time candidates and millions of registered voters may find themselves living in a new district, a month before the deadline to file paperwork to run in congressional primaries. Neither Wolf nor Democrats have made public a map that they plan to submit.

New map is just as gerrymandered as the last one, analysis says | Monday Morning Coffee
Penn Live By John L. Micek jmicek@pennlive.com Updated Feb 12, 8:14 AM; Posted Feb 12, 8:00 AM
Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
It wasn't talk of Sidney Crosby's 400th goal or state party endorsements for governor or United States Senate that ate up all the oxygen in Pennsylvania's politosphere this weekend. Instead, the Keystone State's political and chattering classes were consumed by a Washington Post analysis concluding that a Republican-authored remap of Pennsylvania's 18 congressional districts was just as gerrymandered as the state's current political topography. The new, court-ordered map, which landed on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk on Friday, contains the same bias toward Republicans as the current map, experts consulted by The Post concluded.

“The map submitted by Scarnati and Turzai creates 55 splits of counties, municipalities and precincts, but 16 of the 17 municipal splits can be avoided, Holt said. Still, she said it’s an undeniable improvement over the 2011 version.
Her map, below, creates just 23 splits.”
Proven right before, Amanda Holt weighs in with her own map in Pennsylvania gerrymandering case
Morning Call By Katherine Reinhard and Carol Thompson Contact Reporter February 12, 2018
Top of Form
Equal vote, equal voice. Or, that’s the way it should be, Amanda Holt said. Sometimes unfair voting districts get in the way. “When your voice is diluted, no matter what the topic, you just don’t have as strong of a say in what’s happening in your government,” she said. Holt, a Lehigh County Commissioner, took issue with a newly drawn congressional map that Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai submitted to Gov. Tom Wolf after the state Supreme Court ordered Pennsylvania’s congressional district map be redrawn. But rather than complain, Holt spent days drafting her own. She contends she did a better job drawing fair congressional lines that create districts with near-equal populations, avoid splitting municipalities and maintain minority voter representation. The map drawn by Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Turzai, R-Allegheny, unnecessarily splits municipalities and unfairly values having equal-sized districts, Holt said. “When you start to break those [municipalities] apart it starts to break that representative voice,” she said.

Why Black Families Support Charter Schools; Evidence from the Latest Survey
Great School Voices Blog February 2018
Black families are more dissatisfied with their neighborhood school options than other groups, and the more segregated the neighborhood, the more dissatisfied they are. Those were two big takeaways highlighted in a recent Brookings Institute summary of a new survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The data provide strong background for the consistent Black support for charter schools. Let’s be clear this isn’t because of some magic in the word “charter.” Many charters underserve and disserve Black families in the same way many district schools do, and in the way that society does. But given the fact that we tend to have lower-performing neighborhood schools, many of our families hustle for the best options they can access, with little care about the governance model. They just want a good school that treats them with respect, pretty simple.

Rebuild roads, yes, but what about our schools? | Opinion
Opinion by Vincent Hughes, James Brewster & Joe Markosek, For the Inquirer Updated: FEBRUARY 12, 2018 — 3:01 AM EST
State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) is the minority chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; State Sen. James Brewster (D., Allegheny) is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Education Committee; and State Rep. Joe Markosek (D., Allegheny) is the minority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
President Trump’s  recent State of the Union address set forth a vision and agenda for America in the next year, highlighting key priorities for the administration and the Congress, including infrastructure. Hopefully, Congress and the president understand that fixing the nation’s infrastructure deficit involves more than roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways.  It must include other essential community infrastructure, particularly public school buildings and their grounds—where nearly 55 million children and adults are every school day. School facilities have a direct impact on the education, health, safety, and security of our nation’s students and teachers. Deteriorated school buildings and grounds with maintenance issues and legacy toxins, like lead and asbestos, detrimentally affect our children and teachers. Trump recognized the importance of safe, healthy, and modern public school facilities throughout his 2016 campaign. On Election Night, he stated, “We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals.”

Pa.'s wealthiest school districts mapped. How the Lehigh Valley stacks up
Lehigh Valley Live By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Posted February 13, 2018 at 07:02 AM | Updated February 13, 2018 at 07:52 AM
While a child's zip code should not be a key factor in the education they receive, it is an unfortunate reality for millions of children across the country and in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's 500 school districts rely on local real estate taxes to fund their operations, so the wealth of a community's residents and the health of its local economy can dramatically affect a school district's available resources. And strong school districts can raise property values. The wealth of a community does not automatically translate into higher-quality schools -- strong educational systems cannot be quantified by one data point. But the affluences of a community does often translate into more resources and opportunities for students. We've tracked the median household income of every school district in Pennsylvania through U.S. Census Bureau data. Figures are listed in 2016 inflation-adjusted dollars. The Census' American Community Survey gives a snapshot of each school district from 2012-16.

York City district orders Thackston to surrender charter, close in June
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez, 717-505-5439/@EducationYD Published 9:47 p.m. ET Feb. 12, 2018 | Updated 10:19 p.m. ET Feb. 12, 2018
Less than two weeks after the Helen Thackston Charter School submitted unverifiable financial audits, the York City School District has said enough. “It is the school district’s position that Helen Thackston Charter School has failed to comply with its obligation under the Settlement Agreement” reached last October, said York City School District Superintendent Eric Holmes in the final few minutes of a committee meeting Monday night, Feb. 12. “Therefore, Helen Thackston Charter School must...surrender its charter, close and cease all operations by no later than June 30, 2018,” Holmes stated. The York City School District has sent a letter to Thackston requesting the school set “its position as to its compliance regarding audit completion and approval and its intention to close at the end of this school year,” Holmes added. If Thackston fails to acknowledge noncompliance or fails to notify the district on its position, the district will find Thackston in breach of its dissolution agreement and will request an authorization from the school board to file a lawsuit against Thackston for breach of contract. If the district were to resort to litigation, Holmes said, the York City School District would seek for Thackston to compensate the district for its expenses — including legal fees — in enforcing the closure agreement.

York County districts would get $3.6M boost under Wolf budget plan
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez, 717-505-5439/@EducationYD Published 1:34 p.m. ET Feb. 12, 2018 | Updated 6:00 p.m. ET Feb. 12, 2018
York County school districts would see a $3.6 million boost in basic education funding under Gov. Tom Wolf’s recently released budget proposal. Unveiled Feb. 6, the governor's 2018-19 state budget proposal includes a basic education increase of $100 million compared with the 2016-17 budget, along with increases in special education, career and technical education and pre-K funding. The boost in aid will vary by district under the state’s funding formula, which was revamped in 2016 to take student poverty levels, charter school enrollments and English proficiency levels into account. Most York County districts saw relatively small increases, but a few suburban districts, which are heavily funded through property taxes, saw the biggest gains.

“Having a financial administrator monitor its finances is a condition of the district receiving $14 million from the state’s Educational Access fund.”
Three chosen as possible Erie schools financial administrators
GoErie By David Bruce Posted Feb 12, 2018 at 5:54 PM Updated Feb 12, 2018 at 5:54 PM
The candidates include former state Sen. Jane Earll.
Former state Sen. Jane Earll is one of three people recommended to become the Erie School District’s new financial administrator. Gov. Tom Wolf was given three names by state Sen. President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati: Earll, Jude Abraham and Charles Zogby. The names were first reported by Erie News Now and confirmed by district officials. “I’m confident the Department of Education will select the right person,” Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito said. “They have been a great partner for us the last one-and-a-half years.” Having a financial administrator monitor its finances is a condition of the district receiving $14 million from the state’s Educational Access fund. The district will also receive a $15 million annual subsidy increase starting with the 2018-19 school year. The $14 million will come from the state’s $21.15 million Educational Access account, while the subsidy increase will be part of the annual state budget. There is no timetable for Gov. Wolf to select an administrator, who will be an employee of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Polito said. The salary, believed to be around $100,000, will be paid by the state.

What is the best way to choose a (Philly) school board?
South Philly Review By Gloria C. Endres Feb 9
By this time, almost every family with school-aged children is aware there has been a major change in the governance of Philadelphia’s public school system. On Nov. 16, the five-member School Reform Commission voted to abolish itself. For the last 17 years, thanks to PA Act 46, the SRC has had almost unlimited power to close schools, permit or cancel charters, sign or not sign workers’ contracts, and generally exercise authoritarian control of the entire school system. They never had to answer to the citizens of Philadelphia for any decision. Citizens could attend meetings, demonstrate, make speeches and ask questions, but that was it. Unlike every other school district in Pennsylvania, the parents and citizens of this city were denied any decision making power over their own schools. Act 46 was written with only Philadelphia in mind. It was a takeover by the state of a school district that lawmakers judged to be “in distress.” Anyone who paid attention during the first few years of the SRC witnessed unprecedented upheaval as they experimented with one governing model after another. They tried education management organizations, charter schools and other privatization models that split the district into numerous subsections with different rules, little to no oversight, and subject to arbitrary changes. William Hite is the third appointed superintendent, and his contract will extend beyond the SRC. All the while, school taxes were levied and funds spent with absolutely no accountability to the people who paid the bills. All that is about to change. Mayor James Kenney just announced a panel of 13 city residents to nominate a list of 27 candidates from which the mayor will appoint a nine-member school board.

Pittsburgh teachers union authorizes leaders to call strike
ELIZABETH BEHRMAN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lbehrman@post-gazette.com FEB 12, 2018  
6:37 PM
Members of the Pittsburgh teachers’ union Monday voted overwhelmingly to authorize its leaders to call a strike if negotiators are unable to reach a contract agreement with the school district. The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers announced the results of the strike authorization vote Monday night. The union voted 2,309 in favor and 144 against striking, as 94 percent of the union members voted in favor of the authorization. The union’s executive board will decide how to proceed at a meeting Thursday, president Nina Esposito-Visgitis said. The next negotiation session with the district is scheduled for Friday.  "Our members do not take this vote lightly," Ms. Esposito-Visgitis said in a statement. "It has been more than 40 years since the PFT has gone on strike. We want to be in the classroom with our students. This is clearly a demonstration that our members feel strongly about the items that we are still negotiating and want a contract that is good for students and fair to educators." School board president Regina Holley said district officials recognize the hardship a strike would pose to students and the city. She said the district is continuing to work toward a resolution of contract issues.

Commentary: Philadelphia’s children deserve human teachers, not algorithms and data-mining
The notebook Commentary by Alison McDowell February 12, 2018 — 3:27pm
On Thursday, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission will vote on two resolutions.One (B-12) allocates $10 million for virtual classes and adaptive learning systems, and the other (A-7) awards Pearson $9.5 million for cloud-based services that collect data and deliver educational content to students. Online curriculum is gradually replacing face-to-face instruction in schools, and it appears the SRC intends to cement this trend firmly in place before disbanding. For our underfunded district to devote these enormous sums to cyber education when so many other pressing needs remain unmet amounts to a hostile takeover. Philadelphia has become a hub for educational technology development. Wharton School-affiliated venture capital, combined with research support from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, and Temple fuel growth in this sector. Many ed-tech companies have positioned themselves as vehicles for social impact investments, which ImpactPHL promotes as a tactic to expand our regional “impact economy.” Digital education will greatly benefit telecommunications companies that build skyscrapers with tax abatements that undermine tax revenue for neighborhood schools. One such company recently sponsored a closed-door event where Chamber of Commerce members discussed the future of business in schools while public school parents, teachers, and community members protested outside.

Students and community members have a family talk during Black Lives Matter Week of Action
From social justice lessons to personal stories, organizers sought to reinforce the movement's 13 guiding principles.
The notebook by Daryl C. Murphy February 12, 2018 — 10:41am
Family was the emphasis when students and community members gathered at Martin Luther King High School as part of the Black Lives Matter Week of Action. The Caucus of Working Educators organized last week’s event to promote racial justice and equality in education.  The event — "It Takes a Village: Black Families" — was “all about building a commitment to creating strong villages, strong families, strong communities,” said Kendra Brooks, a caucus member. “It’s all about reflecting on the past and thinking toward what’s next for the future.” Brooks invited the racially diverse, intergenerational group of attendees to share their fondest family memories, the impact their families have had on them, and ways to improve their family relationships. Stories emerged about long road trips, family disputes, traditions, and communication. The event reinforced several of the 13 guiding principles of Black Lives Matter that center on community and a strong bond through the generations. The discussion “helped reveal a common thread that we often don’t see,” said Eric Marsh, a parent at Edward T. Steel Elementary: “We’re all part of the same family.”

President Trump returning to Ambridge for campaign rally next week
Beaver County Times By J.D. Prose Posted Feb 12, 2018 at 6:10 PM Updated Feb 12, 2018 at 6:18 PM
AMBRIDGE — President Donald Trump will make a return visit to Ambridge Area High School for a campaign rally Feb. 21, just 16 months after his first rally there when he was running for the White House. The rally is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the field house. It will be Trump’s 20th rally in the state and fifth in the Pittsburgh area since he started running for president in June 2015, according to a campaign release. “This rally will provide an excellent opportunity for the president to connect once again with hard working Americans in the local community,” said Michael Glassner, the executive director of Trump’s campaign, in a statement. Registration for tickets can be done at www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/ambridge-pa-feb-2018. “President Trump looks forward to an exciting visit to the Pittsburgh area to deliver the amazing news about our booming economy now that America is once again open for business,” Glassner said. “As more and more businesses across Pennsylvania, and the country, report new bonuses, wage increases and investments in our economy, this rally will be a great moment to celebrate the success of the president’s historic tax cuts, and look ahead to more great victories for the American people under the president’s fearless leadership.” Trump is not up for re-election until 2020, but there are mid-term congressional races this year and events such as this can allow the president to rally the party’s base in a political climate that increasingly favors Democrats making heavy gains. The president was last in the area Jan. 18 when he spoke to about 600 supporters at H&K Equipment about the recently passed Republican tax plan. Trump did not tout Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone’s campaign in the 18th Congressional District’s March 13 special election, but that appearance was followed by a trip to the district by Vice President Mike Pence, who campaigned for Saccone. Democrat Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran and former prosecutor, and Air Force veteran Saccone, R-39, Elizabeth Township, are running in the special election. Beaver County is in the 12th Congressional District represented by U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, under the state’s current congressional districts map that could change following a state Supreme Court ruling.

Early-Childhood Programs Go From Famine to Feast in New Budget Deal
Education Week Early Years Blog By Christina Samuels on February 9, 2018 3:34 PM
Federal early-childhood programs that were hanging by a thread, such as home visiting, are set to receive a new infusion of money thanks to the budget deal signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. Other programs that support families and young children would also see additional funds under the bill, which calls for $300 billion in new military and domestic spending over two years. There's still a lot to be worked out, and the deal gives Congress six weeks to hammer out the final details. But congressional leaders have already signaled what they plan to give to certain domestic programs:

The Education Department Says It Won't Act On Transgender Student Bathroom Access
NPR by CORY TURNER and ANYA KAMENETZ February 12, 20185:39 PM ET
Do transgender boys or girls have the right to use the restroom at school that corresponds with their gender identity? The U.S. Education Department said Monday that it won't hear complaints about or take action on this question. Almost one year ago, the department under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made national headlines by rolling back Obama-era steps on transgender student protections. While the Trump administration rescinded that guidance, the department never made clear how it would handle future discrimination cases filed by transgender students. Last month, the Huffington Post reported that the Education Department had recently dismissed several such cases. And on Monday, BuzzFeed reported and department spokeswoman Liz Hill confirmed to NPR that the department is taking that rollback a step further. "Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity," Hill stated.


Save the Date: PA School Funding Lawsuit Wed. March 7, 2018 9:30 A.M.
Commonwealth Court Hearing on Legislative leaders motions to Dismiss the Wm Penn SD challenge to state funding.
Before the Court en banc sitting in Court Room No. 1 Ninth Floor, Widener Building, 1339 Chestnut Street, One South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107
All members of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court will hear oral argument on motions to dismiss filed by legislative leaders in the school funding lawsuit William Penn School District, et al. v. Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, et al.  The Legislators are arguing that the Petition challenging the inadequacy and inequity of Pennsylvania’s funding of schools is moot because the new school formula has supplanted the funding scheme existing when students and school districts filed their Petition in 2015.  In addition, Legislators also contend that the Petition failed to allege that insufficient state funding caused any harm such as poor PSSA results or lack of sufficient instructional resources.   In September, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the Commonwealth Court to hold a trial on whether state officials are violating the state’s constitution by failing to adequately and equitably fund public education.  The Legislators objections have delayed efforts to bring this case to trial.   

Snooze or Lose: Promoting Sleep Health in Adolescents
Dr. Wendy Troxel Mon., March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Radnor High School auditorium 
The Radnor Township School District Adolescent Sleep & School Start Time Study Committee will welcome licensed clinical psychologist and certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist Dr. Wendy Troxel for a presentation to the Radnor community on Mon., March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Radnor High School auditorium (130 King of Prussia Road, Radnor). Dr. Troxel is a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation and Adjunct Faculty in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. A licensed clinical psychologist and certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Troxel been widely cited by the media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Financial Times, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR and BBC. Dr. Troxel was also one of the featured sleep experts in the National Geographic documentary “Sleepless in America.” Her TED talk on the impact of school start times on adolescent sleep has received more than 1.4 million views.
THIS EVENT IS FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

Help draft a plan to implement a statewide vision for the future of public education in PA!
PSBA Member Roundtables/Receptions – February and March Dates
Join your PSBA Member Roundtable and Reception to hear the public education advocacy and political updates affecting your school district. Take this opportunity to network, learn and develop your leadership skills. Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and networking with fellow school directors in your area, then provide your input on the future vision for public education in PA. Roundtable Discussion: Help draft a plan to implement a statewide vision for the future of public education in PA! PSBA would like to capture your thoughts on what education should look like in the coming decades. We will compile your expertise with the perspectives of others from across the state to develop the Commonwealth Education Blueprint. The Blueprint will then serve as our guiding resource and will set milestones for creating the best public education experience for future generations of students. Don’t miss your opportunity to weigh in!
Agenda:
·         6:00 -6:15 pm – Association update
·         6:15 -7:00 pm – Governor’s budget address recap
·         7:00 -7:45 pm – Networking Reception
·         7:45 -8:30 pm – Member Round Table Discussion



Registration is now open for the 2018 PASA Education Congress! State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018
Don't miss this marquee event for Pennsylvania school leaders at the Nittany Lion Inn, State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018.
Learn more by visiting http://www.pasa-net.org/2018edcongress 

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Join the PA Principals Association, the PA Association of School Administrators and the PA Association of Rural and Small Schools for PA Education Leaders Advocacy Day at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, at the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA.  
A rally in support of public education and important education issues will be held on the Main Rotunda Steps from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Visits with legislators will be conducted earlier in the day. More information will be sent via email, shared in our publications and posted on our website closer to the event.
To register, send an email to Dr. Joseph Clapper at clapper@paprincipals.org before Friday, June 8, 2018.
Click here to view the PA Education Leaders Advocacy Day 2018 Save The Date Flyer (INCLUDES EVENT SCHEDULE AND IMPORTANT ISSUES.) 

SAVE THE DATE for the 2018 PA Educational Leadership Summit - July 29-31 - State College, PA sponsored by the PA Principals Association, PASA, PAMLE and PASCD.  
This year's Summit will be held from July 29-31, 2018 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College, PA.

Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization that I may be affiliated with.


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