PA Ed Policy Roundup April 9: Suddenly, the nation is debating teacher salaries

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Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup April 9, 2018

Suddenly, the nation is debating teacher salaries


Editorial: Suddenly, the nation is debating teacher salaries
Delco Times POSTED: 04/07/18, 10:19 PM EDT | UPDATED: 14 HRS AGO
Forget the apple for the teacher. They want something a bit more green for their efforts. Cash. The nation is about to be confronted with a basic question of arithmetic: How much do we value education? And what are we willing to pay those to whom we entrust our children each day? For the second time in less than a month, a state has been engulfed in a demand from teachers for better pay. This time it was Oklahoma, where teachers walked out Monday in an effort to shine a light on their pay structure. Schools have been closed all week. This comes just weeks after teachers likewise hit the bricks in West Virginia, shutting down public schools across the state for nine days and forcing the nation to pay attention to education issues — specifically the putrid pay for teachers in many ares of the country. West Virginia, Almost Heaven? Not if you’re in command of a classroom. Teachers in West Virginia rank 48th in the nation when it comes to their pay. The average elementary school teacher in West Virginia makes $47,340 a year, as opposed to $59,020 for the national average. That’s a 24 percent difference. In high schools, the math reads $45,240 for a teacher in West Virginia; $61,420 in the nation, a whopping 35 percent difference. In the face of schools that had been shuttered for two weeks, state officials approved a 5 percent increase for West Virginia teachers. It was a wake-up call for a political force not heard from so much in recent years in West Virginia – the power of organized labor. With the state’s coal-mining industry in tatters, the sway of unions also has been in decline – until teachers hit the bricks and vowed not to return to the classroom until they got what they wanted.
http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20180407/editorial-suddenly-the-nation-is-debating-teacher-salaries

Stephen Schwarzman's billionaire lottery won't save public schools. But Oklahoma might | Will Bunch
Philly Daily News by Will Bunch, STAFF COLUMNIST  @will_bunch |  bunchw@phillynews.com APRIL 8, 2018 — 3:27 PM EDT
It sounds like a pretty cool thing — a kid opening up her grade school textbook and seeing it was once the property of a big-time celebrity, who in this case was country-music superstar Blake Shelton. But it was no laughing matter for the girl’s mom, Shelly Bryan Parker, a former teacher — who instead was incensed that the battered, dog-eared reading book was signed by Shelton in their Ada, Okla., elementary school way back in 1982, or 36 years ago. “Marley is EXCITED that her ‘new’ reader belonged to Blake Shelton, but I am EMBARRASSED!!!” Parker wrote on Facebook, using the anecdote to highlight the ways that Oklahoma — a blood-red state where GOP lawmakers have spent their days cutting taxes for oil companies and for millionaires, passing insane bills that ban Sharia law, and utterly ignoring public education — shortchanges its kids. Indeed, other Oklahoma teachers have been posting photos of their stacks of non-celebrity-endorsed, battered and chewed-up textbooks from the 20th century, which are doled out in schools that over the last few decades of conservative-led fiscal starvation have been denied basic supplies and sometimes only hold class four days a week because that’s all they can afford.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/will_bunch/stephen-schwarzman-abington-25-million-oklahoma-teacher-strike-20180408.html

SB1095: McGarrigle proposes alternative high school graduation requirements
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin, ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com, @KevinTustin on Twitter POSTED: 04/06/18, 9:10 PM EDT | UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO
A bill recently introduced in the state Senate that proposes changes in the use of standardized testing as a graduation requirement for high school students is receiving praise from educators near and far. State Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, on April 3 submitted Senate Bill 1095 to alter the prevalence of student performance on the Keystone Exams, a statewide, standardized, end-of-course test in the subjects of algebra I, biology and literature. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, students are expected to pass these exams with a proficient or advanced score in order to graduate. Earning basic or below basic presents a project-based alternative that students must complete. The bill will shift the focus on making sure that students are college and/or career ready for what their own goals are after high school. McGarrigle is proposing students meet one of the following three requirements when the passing of Keystones becomes mandatory starting next year: Meet or exceed local grade requirements in subjects tested by the Keystone exams and present at least three pieces of evidence from the student’s career portfolio; meet or exceed local grade requirements in subjects tested by the Keystone exams and complete a subject-specific advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or armed services vocational aptitude test, gain acceptance in a registered apprenticeship program, or attain a career readiness certificate; and meet or exceed a composite score across Keystone exams in algebra I, biology, and literature, and demonstrate at least “basic” performance on each of the three exams.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20180406/mcgarrigle-proposes-alternative-high-school-graduation-requirements

SB2 and SB383: Reckless policy-making must stop (Op-Ed by Kevin Carter)
Pittsburgh Courier Opinion by KEVIN CARTER April 8, 2018
Kevin L. Carter is a member of the Pittsburgh Public School Board, 8th District. He is also CEO of the Adonai Center Inc.
The Pennsylvania State Legislature, led by a Republican Party majority, over the last several years has imposed and passed a myriad of reckless educational policies that do not fit or meet the needs of students and educators in Pennsylvania. Since the Administration of Governor Tom Corbett, the Republican-dominated Legislature has been empowered to continue their hack job on public education in our Commonwealth. We have weakened seniority and layoff protections for teachers, eliminated charter school reimbursements for districts, and nearly eliminated property taxes that are public school districts’ largest revenue streams. Now our Legislature is considering two new bills that will continue the recklessness of the Republicans and their unconscionable and misguided efforts to “reform” public education. One such misguided policy is PA Senate Bill 383, which will allow local school boards to adopt a policy that will provide school personnel access to firearms on school grounds to “enhance school safety.” We have all been rocked by the high level of gun violence we have seen in our schools, and in our streets. The killing of students in our schools and educational campuses must be addressed, but arming educators and the use of armed guards in our schools is not the answer. We need to implement reforms and increase accountability for gun control in the Commonwealth, as well as invest in strategies that will tighten security in our schools without providing school personnel firearms. Equally misguided is PA Senate Bill 2, which will take funding from public schools to provide parents funds in the form of ESA’s that will allow students from the lowest performing 15 percent of public schools to attend private and religious schools.
https://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2018/04/08/reckless-policy-making-must-stop/

Teachers? Yes. Education activists? No. What do Kenney's board picks say about what he wants for Philly schools?
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham & Maddie Hanna - Staff Writers Updated: APRIL 7, 2018 7:30 AM
The members of the soon-to-be-extinct School Reform Commission were often businesspeople or lawyers — politically connected types, and dominated by men. The soon-to-take-power Philadelphia Board of Education is heavy on teachers, people with social-service backgrounds, women, and very few people well-known in education or government circles until Mayor Kenney called their names Wednesday morning. The nine new members of the board have impeccable resumés, and are being greeted largely with enthusiasm. But the panel has not been universally hailed. Activists who helped push for a return of the district to local control were left off the list, and no one directly connected to the city’s most troubled schools is on the panel.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/teachers-yes-education-activists-no-what-do-kenneys-board-picks-say-about-what-he-wants-for-philly-schools-20180407.html

Pa. GOP chair calls on governor candidate Paul Mango to pull ad attacking rival Scott Wagner
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Apr 6; Posted Apr 6

·         Update: Mango says he's not pulling the ad

The chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party is calling on GOP gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango to pull his most recent ad attacking party-endorsed candidate Scott Wagner. In a statement released on Friday, party Chairman Val DiGiorgio expressed surprise and disappointment that Mango would go to such lengths. He goes on to say that the claims made in the ad were known and rejected by state committee members before they overwhelmingly endorsed Wagner in February. Further, he said, the attacks only serve to undermine what should be Republicans' shared goal of defeating Democratic incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf in the fall. "For the good of our party and our commonwealth, it is time we rise above personal attacks and focus on substantive solutions to the problems facing Pennsylvanians," DiGiorgio said. "As such, I call on Paul Mango to take down this misleading ad."
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/04/pa_gop_chairman_calls_on_guber.html#incart_2box_politics

'Keep it coming' defiant GOP governor hopeful Scott Wagner says of rival's attack commercial | Analysis
Penn Live By John L. Micek jmicek@pennlive.com Updated Apr 7; Posted Apr 7
 (*Updated to include comment from Pa. Democrats)
EAST PENNSBORO Twp. -- Given a second chance Saturday to back off on a controversial campaign commercial that's roiling this spring's GOP primary for governor, Paul Mango doubled down again. "Absolutely not," the Pittsburgh businessman responded if he planned to take down an attack advertisement that gets up close and personal with primary rival Scott Wagner. The spot, put together by veteran GOP ad man John Brabender, paints Wagner, a York County state senator, as a polluter, slum lord, and, most controversially, as a "deadbeat dad." As they separately addressed an annual gathering of Pennsylvania conservatives, a defiant Wagner shot back a few minutes later: "Keep it coming, if that's what you have to do. Then that's what you're going to have to do." The ad was so radioactive that state Republican Party Chairman Val DiGiorgio called on Mango to pull it from the airwaves on Friday. Wagner won the state party's endorsement in February.
http://www.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2018/04/keep_it_coming_defiant_gop_guv.html#incart_2box_opinion

Scott Wagner and Paul Mango are spending millions on negative TV ads while Gov. Tom Wolf starts launching commercials of his own
Lancaster Online by SAM JANESCH | Staff Writer April 8, 2018
Tom Wolf ushered in a new era in Pennsylvania politics when he honked the horn of his 8-year-old Jeep Wrangler. The three friendly beeps reverberated in living rooms across the state for months as the only gubernatorial campaign ads on television. By the time Wolf’s opponents put their own commercials on the air, it was too late. The cabinet-making businessman appearing in those folksy ads had built a lead he would never relinquish. “There isn’t any argument. Tom Wolf’s introductory commercial … took a race where he was about five or six in the polls and put him into the front of the pack, and he never trailed in the primary or in the general election,” said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. Four years later, Wolf has revived his old campaign playbook; he spent $350,000 on media in the last few weeks without a primary opponent in sight.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/scott-wagner-and-paul-mango-are-spending-millions-on-negative/article_abebbbd2-39d4-11e8-8cef-3bbc3b0c7e43.html

Big changes in Lehigh Valley congressional politics
Bill White Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call April 7, 2018
L.V. congressional landscape has changed drastically
What a difference a year makes. This time last year, Charlie Dent was the Lehigh Valley's most popular politician, firmly entrenched as congressman in a district that had been ruthlessly gerrymandered to keep him safe, not that he needed much help. He had crushed a succession of Democratic opponents, discouraging the area's best-known Dems from even considering a run at him. He not only was a fixture in the Valley, but also on cable news, where he was one of the few Republicans willing to concede that their emperor had no clothes. Today, Dent is a lame duck, so discouraged by Washington's dysfunction and his party's standard bearer that he decided not to seek re-election just as the GOP's right fringe began its quest to replace him with someone more reliably Trump -like. His district has been ungerrymandered in a historic state Supreme Court decision that reunited the Lehigh Valley in the renamed 7th District and sent lots of Republican voters to our west packing. Two young Republican challengers already have fallen by the wayside, and a big field of Democrats is vying for Dent's seat.

Under leaked Trump proposal, using public benefits would count against immigrants
District officials are watching to see how access to school lunches might be affected, as the policy goes through several drafts.
The notebook by Bill Hangley April 6, 2018 — 2:49pm
The latest leaks in Washington indicate that the Trump administration remains serious about discouraging documented immigrants and their children from using federally funded health and nutrition programs – a policy change that could have wide-ranging implications for the Philadelphia School District and its students. “What they’re saying is that they’re going to greatly broaden the conditions in which [immigrants] could be considered a ‘public charge,’” said Mark Greenberg of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. “This would count against you.” A draft of proposed new rules from the Department of Homeland Security, obtained by The Washington Post, shows that the agency hopes to significantly redefine the so-called “public charge doctrine,” allowing caseworkers to consider an immigrant family’s use of a wide range of public benefits when deciding whether to approve green cards or other changes in legal status. This could penalize documented immigrants whose families use virtually any federally funded, means-tested, non-cash assistance, including nutrition programs, Medicaid, and a host of tax credits and health-care subsidies. Advocates say the policy unjustly discourages documented immigrants from using public benefits even when they pay taxes and their children are U.S. citizens. Administration officials say they’re just watching out for the taxpayers. And Philadelphia School District officials say they’re keeping an eye on the policy, which has yet to be officially discussed in any detail despite more than a year of leaks. Among the outstanding questions is whether it will affect the District’s school lunch programs.
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2018/04/06/proposed-new-trump-regulations-could-penalize-all-immigrants

“Since health and phys ed are not measured via a statewide assessment in Pennsylvania, school districts must have a local assessment system in place and determine the proficient levels, according to Nicole Reigelman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. “Neither the PDE nor the state (education) board mandate a specific number of minutes or times per week that health and physical education is provided,” Reigelman said. “Each school district has the authority to make the decision as to the most appropriate manner in which to schedule classes as long as it is within the boundaries of the Pennsylvania School Code and the Pennsylvania Code.”
Physical education carrying less weight in some W.Pa. school districts
Trib Live by PATRICK VARINE  | Sunday, April 8, 2018, 12:45 a.m.
Gym class isn't what it used to be, depending on where your child goes to school. The Pennsylvania Department of Education provides physical-education benchmarks that school districts must meet, but it does not mandate a specific number of gym or health-and-wellness class credits for students. How those benchmarks are met varies widely from one district to the next. In the Norwin School District, students must have 1.5 physical education credits to graduate. “We did recently change the number of required credits within the past couple of years,” said Tim Kotch, Norwin's assistant superintendent of secondary education. “We went from two credits to 1.5.” The majority of Norwin's phys ed classes last one semester. In the Hampton School District, students must attain two phys ed credits.
http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13465335-74/physical-education-carrying-less-weight-in-some-wpa-school-districts

 “Dr. Brenda Freeman, superintendent of the Wellsboro Area School District, said about 30 percent of the district’s students don’t have access to broadband.
“We want every one of our students in the district, when they go home at night, and mom and dad say, ‘What did you do at school today?’—  instead of the typical response, they say, ‘Let me show you,’” Freeman said. “That can only be possible with allowing every one of our students to have access to internet at home.”
Rural Pa. demands broadband access; providers cite logistical difficulties
WHYY By Min Xian April 5, 2018
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania hosted a public hearing in Tioga County on Thursday, hearing from providers and consumers about the lack of broadband access in rural areas. Dr. Robert Gillio is in charge of telemedicine at J.C. Blair Hospital in Huntingdon county. But he has no internet access at home. “I can’t get Comcast at my house, two miles from the hospital,” Gillio said. “I want to log in at home and help? I got to drive to the damn hospital to log in to help my patient with telemedicine.” Gillio, the hospital’s medical director for population health and clinical innovations, said he requested service from a provider after moving to Huntingdon, but was told it’d take $100,000 to have his neighborhood wired. The doctor is not alone. Gillio is one of 800,000 Pennsylvanians that lack access to high-speed broadband internet according to the Federal Communications Commission, an issue for six percent of the state. The majority, like Gillio, are from rural Pa.
https://whyy.org/articles/rural-pa-demands-broadband-access-providers-cite-logistical-difficulties/
http://www.mcall.com/opinion/white/mc-bw-big-changes-in-congressional-politics-20180329-story.html

What are Parents’ Real Choices with Schools?
League of Women Voters Website Posted on April 8, 2018 by Sue Legg
Do Floridians want one school system that is equitable or several, each with its own rules? In today’s Gainesville Sun, the League asks three critical questions to help parents decide which choice to make for their schools: Who pays?, Who is in control?, and What does it matter? In an expanded system of choice, local voters are asked to pay more than the State to compensate for less funding and cost inefficiency due to expanded choices. Go to a charter and pay more in hidden fees and transportation. Go private and select a cheap school or pay the difference in tuition. Go public and worry the funding may not fix the air conditioning. The State and private education management companies take control away from locally elected school boards. Parents lose their voices in how choice schools are owned and managed. “Don’t like it, then leave” is the response to complaints. All of this matters. Schools are becoming more segregated by income and student ability while our nation is becoming more diverse. Student achievement stays flat in our choice system. The reason is clear; students learn better when they learn together. Isolate poor children, and they feel they have no stake in the system. Isolate high income children, they don’t learn the real world skills needed to be successful. The kids in the middle disappear; no one is thinking about them. Students who learn only in like minded groups will be ill prepared for the diverse world in which they will work. Learning to live together starts in schools. The real choice is whether we value the diverse world in which we live or try to escape it by creating mini school clusters of like minded people. You can read the article here. It comes out under our local president’s name.
http://lwveducation.com/what-are-parents-real-choices-wuth-schools/

Puerto Rico to close nearly one-third of its public schools as it pushes charters and vouchers
Washington Post Answer Sheet blog By Valerie Strauss April 6 Email the author
Puerto Rico is planning to close 283 schools — or nearly a third of its public schools — to save money and address declining enrollment that resulted from devastation that the U.S. territory sustained during 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The closings come as island leaders are starting an initiative to open charter schools and voucher programs. The decision to close the schools was announced Thursday by Education Secretary Julia Keleher, who said her department hoped to save about $150 million, though it would do so without laying off teachers or other personnel. “We know it’s a difficult and painful process,” Keleher told the Associated Press. “Our children deserve the best education that we are capable of giving them taking into account Puerto Rico’s fiscal reality.” Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, and some 40,000 students are reported to have left the island. Keleher said that almost half of the public schools on the island are only 60 percent filled.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/04/06/puerto-rico-to-close-nearly-one-third-of-its-public-schools-as-it-pushes-charters-and-vouchers/?utm_term=.a49bda1537f1

AP: Women file to run for U.S. House seats in record numbers
WITF Written by Geoff Mulvihill and Maureen Linke/The Associated Press | Apr 8, 2018 4:50 AM
 (Cherry Hill, N.J.) -- The number of women running for the U.S. House of Representatives set a record Thursday, most of them Democrats motivated by angst over President Donald Trumpand policies of the Republican-controlled Congress. Their ranks will continue to swell, with candidate filing periods remaining open in more than half the states. In many places, women are running for congressional seats that have never had female representation. "It's about time," said Kara Eastman of Nebraska, one of two Democrats trying to win a primary and the right to challenge a GOP incumbent in a district centered in Omaha. A surge of women into this year's midterm elections had been expected since the Women's March demonstrations nationwide just after Trump's inauguration in January 2017. Numbers analyzed by The Associated Press show that momentum is continuing. After Virginia released its candidate list Thursday, a total of 309 women from the two major parties have filed candidacy papers to run for the House. That tops the previous record of 298 in 2012. The AP analyzed data going back to 1992 from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and did its own review of candidate information released by the states.
http://www.witf.org/news/2018/04/ap-women-file-to-run-for-us-house-seats-in-record-numbers.php


2018 PSBA Advocacy Day April 16, 2018 Harrisburg
Join PSBA and your fellow school directors for the annual Advocacy Day on Monday, April 16, 2018, at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. PSBA is partnering with Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units to have a stronger voice for public education. Hear how advocacy makes a difference in the legislative process and the importance of public education advocacy. Government Affairs will take a deeper dive into the legislative priorities and will provide tips on how to be an effective public education advocate. There will be dedicated time for you and your fellow advocates to hit the halls to meet with your legislators on public education. This is your chance to share the importance of policy supporting public education and make your voice heard on the Hill. This event is free for members; registration is required.
Register online here: http://www.mypls.com/Default.aspx?tabid=3753
https://www.psba.org/event/2018-psba-advocacy-day/

NPE: Join us in a Day of Action April 20^th to Stop Gun Violence in our Schools
Network for Public Education February 16, 2018 by Darcie Cimarusti
After the slaughter of students and staff in Parkland, Florida, the time for action has never been more urgent. The politicians sit on their hands as our children and their teachers are murdered in their schools. We will be silent no more! The failure to enact rational laws that bar access to guns designed for mass shootings is inexcusable. It is past time to speak out and act. Pledge your support to stop gun violence here. We call for mass action on April 20, the anniversary of the horrific shootings at Columbine High School. We urge teachers, families, students, administrators and every member of the community to engage in acts of protest in and around their schools. Create actions that work best in your community.  Organize sit-ins, teach-ins, walkouts, marches–whatever you decide will show your school and community’s determination to keep our students safe. One elementary teacher suggested that teachers and parents link arms around the school to show their determination to protect children.
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/2018/02/join-us-day-action-stop-gun-violence-schools/

PASA Women's Caucus Annual Conference "Leaders Lifting Leaders"
May 6 - 8, 2018 Hotel Hershey
**REGISTRATION NOW OPEN**
Featured Speakers...
*Dr. Helen Sobehart - Women Leading Education Across Continents: Lifting Leaders from Here to There
*Dr. Tracey Severns - Courageous Leadership
*Dr. Emilie Lonardi - Lead and Lift: A Call for Females to Aspire to the Superintendency
*Deputy Secretary Matt Stem - Update from the PDE
Registration: https://www.pasa-net.org/wcconf

Gerrymandering: Fair Districts PA Statewide Calendar of Events

https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/events

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.

http://dlvr.it/Q5d0c8 

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.