Wednesday, May 30, 2018

PA Ed Policy Roundup May 30: Legislature needs to take school funding reform seriously


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, charter school leaders, 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
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Legislature needs to take school funding reform seriously



You are invited to help build the future of public education!
Commonwealth Education Blueprint
The Commonwealth Education Blueprint is a multiyear effort founded and managed by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) to develop and implement a statewide vision for the future of public education. Through this comprehensive project, education stakeholders from across the state and from many areas of expertise collaborate to proactively determine what education should look like in years to come. Your involvement is critical to the Blueprint’s success! We hope you will participate in this short survey to build the foundation for public education in the future. Please complete it by May 31, 2018: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/edblueprintpa



Legislature needs to take school funding reform seriously
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Editorial Saturday, May 26, 2018, 3:41 p.m.
It's late May, so it's time for school boards to pass a preliminary budget. Most often, they are accompanied by dire warnings of either steep tax increases, deep program cuts or significant teacher and support personnel layoffs. Often though, something unforeseeable seems to happen as the June 30 budget deadline nears that has school boards finding fairly innocuous cuts or extra money from the state. Then school directors praise themselves for passing a “bare bones” budget. This school budgeting season has an entirely different vibe. Nearly every school district in Westmoreland County is on the verge of really raising taxes — sometimes to the maximum allowed — and making deep program cuts and/or staff. Some are avoiding tax increases, or whittling them down, by dipping into their reserve funds. It's an alarming situation that questions what will happen in the near future.
http://triblive.com/opinion/editorials/13665645-74/legislature-needs-to-take-school-funding-reform-seriously

Despite differences, Dems and GOP say they expect quick budget talks
WITF Written by Katie Meyer, Capitol Bureau Chief | May 30, 2018 5:07 AM
(Harrisburg) -- With the commonwealth's budget deadline a month away, negotiations haven't begun in earnest. But talks are ongoing behind the scenes--and that means a familiar tug-of-war between Democrats trying to bolster state programs, and Republicans determined to limit spending. Centerpieces of Governor Tom Wolf's February budget proposal included funding hikes for education and services for the elderly and disabled, plus new cash from a natural gas severance tax and fees for state police coverage. Republican leaders in the legislature have repeatedly shot down the tax and police fees. House GOP spokesman Steve Miskin said it's likely education spending will go up, but it's too soon to say what other cash will have to move around to make that happen. "That's where the performance-based budgeting comes in," he said. "You know, what programs are working? What isn't?" Senate Republicans have also made some calls for higher education spending--particularly President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, who recently said he was "going to make it my priority to find the money, and find it in a big way" to increase school safety.
http://www.witf.org/state-house-sound-bites/2018/05/despite-differences-dems-and-gop-say-they-expect-quick-budget-talks.php

Outsiders spent big to shape election
Mystery spending questioned in race to fill Shuster’s seat
Altoona Mirror by JIM HOOK MAY 29, 2018
Voters in Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District will never know who was behind at least $230,000 spent in the GOP primary. Conservative Leadership Alliance Inc., a “dark money” group, is not required to disclose its donors. Its separate political action committee also has not disclosed its donors. Both CLA and CLA PAC ads blasted state Sen. John Eichelberger and Art Halvorson, presumably to the benefit of the eventual winner, Dr. John Joyce. Other PACs supported state Rep. Steve Bloom by running independent ads supporting him and attacking Joyce. Bloom finished third. PACs and outside political groups spent nearly a million dollars to influence the selection of a candidate to succeed U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Everett, in Congress. “We should know who is interested in our elected officials and how much money they are getting from outside,” said Alison Dagnes, Shippensburg University political scientist. “If a candidate benefits from $230,000 in an ad drop, we should know where they are getting their support. It could be that they are golfing buddies. That’s fine. We should know.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2018/05/outsiders-spent-big-to-shape-election/

All This Integration Talk Is Distracting Us From Giving Black Families Better Schools
Education Post By Sharif El-Mekki POSTED MAY 22, 2018
Sharif El-Mekki is the principal of Mastery Charter School–Shoemaker Campus, a neighborhood public charter school in Philadelphia, and he is a principal fellow with the U.S. Department of Education.
Last week the Journey for Justice Alliance released a report called “Failing Brown v. Board.” The report is a direct attack on public charter schools and “school choice,” arguing that they perpetuate segregation and thereby increase educational inequity. I’ll agree with the report on one thing—our country has not lived up to the promise of Brown v. Board, which was decided 64 years ago last week. But Journey for Justice—along with my friend, Andre Perry, who praises the group’s report—states that school choice and charter schools are part of the problem as long as they aren’t deliberately seeking racial integration. What they don’t seem to understand is that this should be about the ability for Black families to choose a quality school for their family. And Black families pursuing educational justice cannot be bound to neighborhood schools that have struggled to properly educate children for generations.
http://educationpost.org/all-this-integration-talk-is-distracting-us-from-giving-black-families-better-schools/

Say goodbye to the rule requiring Pa. athletes to get waivers to wear hijabs | Helen Ubiñas
Philly Daily News by Helen Ubiñas, STAFF COLUMNIST  @NotesFromHel |  ubinas@philly.com Updated: MAY 29, 2018 1:56 PM EDT
In what shall henceforth be called the Nasihah Thompson-King Rule ™, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recently decided that athletes no longer need to get prior approval to wear head garments for religious reasons. We can, and should, thank a Philadelphia teenager for that. Thompson-King, a 16-year-old high school student and basketball player, forced the association into the 21st century by reminding some very cranky officials about some very basic civil rights. She resisted, she persisted, and now other athletes in Pennsylvania can observe their beliefs and play sports without some special waiver. The First Amendment isn’t a perk, people. It’s an inalienable right. As I first told you last winter, the Mastery Charter School sophomore was about to play in a quarterfinal playoff game against Academy at Palumbo when a referee chose the rule books over common sense and told her she had to take off her hijab if she wanted to play. That wasn’t a choice for Thompson-King.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/helen_ubinas/piaa-waiver-religious-freedom-nasihah-thompson-king-20180529.html

Commentary: What if we changed everything?
The notebook Commentary Zachary Wright May 29 — 10:00 am, 2018
Zachary Wright is a master educator at Mastery Charter’s Shoemaker Campus, where he has taught world literature and AP literature since 2010. He was named Philadelphia’s Teacher of the Year in 2013 and is a regular weekly contributor to Education Post.
Another school shooting, this time leaving 10 dead in Texas, brings the number to 22 shootings thus far in 2018. Dozens of students have been murdered at school this year, and it’s only May. Not coincidentally, nearly 136,000 cases of harassment and bullying in America’s schools were reported in 2016. Who knows what the true number actually is. Teachers have walked out in Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia, exposing widespread feelings of general distrust, anger, and frustration between schools and their communities. In cities across the country — and right here at home — children sit in asbestos-filled school buildings, walk across flaking paint chips, and inhale toxins. Meanwhile, a mere 10-minute drive away in a wealthier suburb, other students tap away at their school-provided iPads.
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2018/05/29/commentary-what-if-we-changed-everything/

Millcreek School Board adopts final 2018-19 budget with 2 percent tax raise
GoErie By Times-News staff Posted at 12:01 AM Updated May 30, 2018 at 6:18 AM
Board also approves final bids on several school security projects.
The Millcreek Township School Board on Tuesday adopted a final $99.6 million 2018-19 school budget that will increase taxes 2 percent. The approval marks the district’s sixth consecutive tax increase. “I think it’s a very fair budget,” Board President John DiPlacido said. “Obviously, nobody likes an increase in taxes, but I think everybody can take into account we’re spending it the right way, we’re doing the right things, we do have a plan for this, and as everybody can see, we have a lot of financial pressures that are coming up that we need to take into account when we do a budget.” Additional revenues from the tax increase would help the district cover a 2.15-percent increase in costs, including increased employee salary, benefit, and retirement costs. The 2018-19 increase would cost homeowners an additional $27 for each $100,000 of their home’s assessed value, officials said. “We brought this budget down from, I think we had an almost 4 percent (tax increase) at one point, down to 2 percent by doing some things, which is a fair compromise to help us,” DiPlacido said.
http://www.goerie.com/news/20180530/millcreek-school-board-adopts-final-2018-19-budget-with-2-percent-tax-raise#

Oxford Area School Board passes budget with no tax increase
Daily Local By Marcella Peyre-Ferry, For Digital First Media POSTED: 05/29/18, 5:27 PM EDT
LOWER OXFORD >> The Oxford Area School Board voted unanimously to adopt the final budget for the 2018-19 school year during their Tuesday, May 15 meeting. The new general fund budget, in the amount of $69,268,862, is an increase of about 700,000 over the 2017-18 budget figure, but tax rates will remain unchanged from the present year at 31.1484 mills. Many property owners qualify for a tax reduction through the homestead/farmstead exclusion. Money for this reduction is given to the school districts by the state, out of a fund derived mainly from state gambling tax refunds and Philadelphia tax credit reimbursement funds. These funds total $1.566 million this year for the district’s 5,631 qualified homesteads and 187 qualified farmsteads. The homestead/farmstead reduction that will show on tax bills will change by only a few cents, with the maximum reduction at $270.59, up just 22 cents from the 2017-18 tax year.
http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20180529/oxford-area-school-board-passes-budget-with-no-tax-increase

A Deadly School Year: 35 People Killed in School Shootings
Education Week by Denisa R. Superville and Evie Blad May 28, 2018
Santa Fe, Texas - Is this inevitable?
It had been just 93 days since the last mass shooting at an American school when 10 people—eight students and two teachers—were gunned down at Santa Fe High School. The mass shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people had unleashed a torrent of rage and a remarkable youth-led movement to change gun laws. Lawmakers in nearly every state have been debating a range of policies to stop school shootings. But on May 18, it happened again. Santa Fe High, about 35 miles south of Houston, has two armed police officers patrolling a campus of 1,400 students. The staff is trained in emergency response, students practice lockdown and active-shooter drills, and the school district has been praised by Texas officials for its safety program. Despite those security protocols, a 17-year-old junior walked into his own high school, carrying a shotgun and .38 pistol under a trench coat he was known to wear, and blasted away at classmates and teachers. Authorities say the school's police officers—one of them seriously wounded—confronted the shooter, who surrendered after exchanging gunfire with police.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/05/30/a-deadly-school-year-35-people-killed.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mrss


States Are Favoring School Choice At A Steep Cost To Public Education
The current debate over school funding must move beyond teacher salaries and whether the books in public schools are tattered.
Huffington Post By Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina/The Conversation05/01/2018 12:47 pm ET
Colorado teachers rally outside the state capitol on April 16 to demand more funding for schools. Teacher strikes are generating a healthy focus on how far public education funding has fallen over the past decade. The full explanation, however, goes beyond basic funding cuts. It involves systematic advantages in terms of funding, students and teachers for charter schools and voucher programs as compared to traditional public schools. Increasing public teacher salaries may end the current protests, but speaking as an expert in education law and policy, I believe it won’t touch the new normal in which public education is no longer many states’ first priority. My forthcoming research shows that, from funding and management practices to teacher and student policies, states are giving charter schools and private schools a better deal than public schools. These better deals have fueled enormous growth in charter schools and voucher programs that is now nearly impossible to unwind. The most basic shift occurred between 2008 and 2012. Florida and North Carolina illustrate the nationwide trend. Each cut public education funding by 20 percent or more in three years. During the same period, North Carolina lifted its cap on new charter schools and quickly doubled its charter school spending. Florida similarly changed the rules for its voucher program and quadrupled its size.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/states-are-favoring-school-choice-at-a-steep-cost-to_us_5ae7457de4b08248abaa6ea9

The GOP’s Public-Education Dilemma
The Atlantic by Reihan Salam/May 29, 2018
A conservative teacher’s surprise victory in the Kentucky legislature indicates that rural voters expect more from the party that presents itself as their champion.
Public-school teachers have long been a vitally important constituency for the Democratic Party, and teachers’ unions are known for backing progressive causes. It must be said, though, that not all public-school teachers are on the left. Some are social conservatives who resent the fact that the mainstream of the Republican Party is, by their lights, so hostile to their interests. For the most part, these teachers have been invisible. Either they’ve chosen to put aside their reservations about education policy and vote for GOP candidates on other grounds, or they’ve supported Democrats despite their misgivings about the party’s approach to issues other than public education. But in Kentucky, one conservative teacher, Travis Brenda, was so dismayed by a pension-reform bill that he decided to run for the Republican nomination in the rural state House seat held by a much-admired GOP incumbent, Jonathan Shell, one of the lawmakers most responsible for its passage. And on May 22, Brenda won, despite having been massively outspent by Shell.
https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-the-gops-public-education-dilemma/f-cac4e16107%2Ftheatlantic.com

Despite progress, racial diversity remains a big challenge for education newsrooms
The 2018 newsroom diversity update shows that some education outlets are making progress but many are stuck or lagging; the result is too many important education stories going untold.
Phi Delta Kappan Online By Alexander Russo May 2018
Last week in Los Angeles, the Education Writers Association (EWA) hosted an event for education journalists that – for the first time I’m aware – focused explicitly on newsroom diversity. The #EWA18 “Room For All?” conference featured several panels focused on helping journalists understand the importance of diversity for journalism as well as for education. They included a first-day luncheon panel moderated by EdWeek’s Francisco Vara-Orta and a three-hour seminar moderated by the Dallas Morning News’ Eva-Maria Ayala. The most informative and moving part for me came when USC’s LaVonna Blair Lewis took us through a race and privilege self-identification exercise. (You know, the one where you stand or sit down in response to a series of questions about your life experiences.) I’ve read about these exercises being done in schools and classrooms for years but never imagined that I’d see one done by a group of education reporters.
The effort did not go unnoticed: “Kudos to #ewa18 organizers for taking on a tough issue like newsroom diversity despite its membership being predominantly white,” tweeted AP education reporter Sally Ho during a lunchtime discussion featuring Danielle Belton from The Root and AP’s Jesse Holland. Now that the conference is over, however, the focus returns to the actual newsrooms. That’s where, day after day, most education journalism gets made.
http://www.kappanonline.org/russo-newsroom-diversity-remains-big-challenge-education-journalism/

Testing Resistance & Reform News: May 23-29, 2018
Submitted by fairtest on May 29, 2018 - 12:55pm 
The growing impact of the assessment reform movement is clear in this week's clips, many of which reflect a critical perspective on test overuse and misuse. This fall's elections will play a major role in determining whether new public officials will roll back standardized exam overkill or if the same old officials will continue discredited test-and-punish policies.
http://www.fairtest.org/testing-resistance-reform-news-may-2329-2018


You are invited to help build the future of public education!
Commonwealth Education Blueprint
The Commonwealth Education Blueprint is a multiyear effort founded and managed by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) to develop and implement a statewide vision for the future of public education. Through this comprehensive project, education stakeholders from across the state and from many areas of expertise collaborate to proactively determine what education should look like in years to come.
VISION: Pennsylvania will provide an equitable, exceptional public education that empowers all learners to achieve a meaningful, productive life in our democratic society.
The Process & Your Involvement: The project steering committee conducts meetings and collects data (ongoing since Oct. 2017) toward drafting the Blueprint. They have also been convening Blueprint study groups, focus groups and, now a statewide survey.
Your involvement is critical to the Blueprint’s success! We hope you will participate in this short survey to build the foundation for public education in the future. Please complete it by May 31, 2018: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/edblueprintpa
What’s Next? After all of the data has been compiled and analyzed, a comprehensive report will be and will serve as the driving document to set and benchmark milestones toward achieving the vision and shaping all future education-related legislation and advocacy. We hope you will join us in distributing the Blueprint and this vision later in 2018. For more information about the Commonwealth Education Blueprint, contact Ashley Lenker White, senior director of strategic initiatives, at (800) 932-0588 or ashley.white@psba.org.

Program cuts and teacher furloughs in the Crestwood School District may be averted this year, thanks to a tentative deal struck between the district and teachers. This reprieve from teacher furloughs and deep cuts in programs will be temporary, however, if the state legislature does not make a commitment to providing adequate funding to public education. Pennsylvania ranks 47th in the nation in terms of state share of funding for public schools, providing just 34% of the cost of K-12 education in PA. The national average is close to 50%.
Harrisburg, Please Help Our Schools! scheduled for Thursday, May 31 in the Crestwood HS auditorium 
Harrisburg, Please Help Our Schools is a community event that will be led by Susan Spicka, Executive Director of Education Voters of PA. Susan will provide the Crestwood community with a short presentation about school funding in PA, the school funding lawsuit, and the path to ending Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis.  Students from the Crestwood School District will speak about their experiences and the value of the education they have received. The presentation will conclude with a call to action for people to write, call, and visit their state lawmakers and spread the word in the community that without Harrisburg’s help, students in Crestwood will receive far fewer opportunities than their brothers and sisters who came before them.
Local lawmakers, leaders of the Pennsylvania School Board Association, and community advocates have been invited to participate in this community event.  All advocates and concerned citizens of public education funding are welcome to attend and are not required to be taxpayers of the Crestwood School District.
WHO: Event MCs: Pat Magin and Ed Stepanski
Presenter: Susan Spicka, Executive Director of Education Voters of PA
Additional speakers: Current Crestwood Area SD students
Legislators confirmed to be in attendance: Reps. Pashinski, Mullery, and Carroll.
WHAT: Harrisburg, Help our Schools!
WHEN: Thursday, May 31, 2018 7:00 pm
WHERE: Crestwood High School Auditorium
281 S Mountain Blvd, Mountain Top, PA 18707
QUESTIONS: sspicka@educationvoterspa.org

Apply Now for EPLC's 2018-2019 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program!
Applications are available now for the 2018-2019 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).  The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). 
With more than 500 graduates in its first eighteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community leaders.  State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to certified public accountants.
Past participants include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals, school business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization. The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 13-14, 2018 and continues to graduation in June 2019.
Applications are being accepted now.
Click here to read more about the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
The application may be copied from the EPLC web site, but must be submitted by mail or scanned and e-mailed, with the necessary signatures of applicant and sponsor.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Fellowship Program and its requirements, please contact EPLC Executive Director Ron Cowell at 717-260-9900 or cowell@eplc.org.

Join with EdVotersPA and PCCY for Capitol Caravan Days and fight for our public schools! When: 9:00-3:00 on June 12 or June 20 (your choice!)
Where: The Harrisburg Capitol
Why: To show state lawmakers that their constituents expect them to support public school students in the '18-19 budget
Education Voters of PA joining together with Pennsylvania Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) for a lobby day in Harrisburg. Join a team and meet with your state legislators and legislative leaders to talk about how the state can support K-12 students in the state budget.
Register Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrk24gH61bp7Zjy_JFpIELPYcEvXx05Ld4-_CPltQYyqLSPw/viewform

POWER 100% SCHOOL FUNDING Day of Action Wednesday, June 20th at 1 PM at the PA Capitol
On Wednesday, June 20th at 1 PM, students, parents, community activists, and faith leaders from different traditions will gather on the steps of the State Capitol Main Rotunda for POWER’s 100% SCHOOL FUNDING Day of Action to demand support for legislation to put 100% of the Commonwealth's Basic Education Budget through PA's Fair Funding Formula. We ask you to join us as we stand in solidarity with one another and continue demanding fair and fully funded education for Pennsylvania’s public school students. In addition to a large rally, we will march to Governor Tom Wolfe's office to pray for his support for 100% through the Formula. Join us as we hold meetings that day with our legislators asking each one to speak out in favor of POWER's 100% plan.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/100-school-funding-day-of-action-tickets-46143414194?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing

EquityFirst #CivilFundingWar Meeting on Education Funding
EquityFirst and The Citizens for Fair School Funding
Harrisburg, PA Monday, June 4, 2018 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
PENNSYLVANIA KNOWINGLY UNDERFUNDS POOR, MINORITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY MILLIONS
Harrisburg School District is underfunded by $31.77 million $38 million! Every Year in Basic and Special Education Funding
JOIN US FOR A PUBLIC MEETING TO LEARN ABOUT HOW WE CAN FIX THIS!
Monday, June 4, 2018 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Meeting Light Refreshments will be served.
Living Water Community Church 206 Oakleigh Avenue, Harrisburg, PA
For more information contact: Shelly@SupportEquityFirst.org or 717.623.0909 or visit www.SupportEquityFirst.org.
Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/equityfirst-civilfundingwar-meeting-on-education-funding-tickets-46197055637

Nominations for PSBA’s Allwein Advocacy Award
PSBA Website May 14, 2018
The Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award was established in 2011 by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. In addition to being a highly respected lobbyist, Timothy Allwein served to help our members be effective advocates in their own right. Many have said that Tim inspired them to become active in our Legislative Action Program and to develop personal working relationships with their legislators. The 2018 Allwein Award nomination process will begin on Monday, May 14, 2018. The application due date is July 16, 2018 in the honor of Tim’s birth date of July 16.
Download the Application
https://www.psba.org/2018/05/nominations-allwein-advocacy-award/

Electing PSBA Officers:  Applications Due by June 1st
Do you have strong communication and leadership skills and a vision for PSBA? Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to submit an Application for Nomination no later than June 1, 11:59 p.m., to PSBA's Leadership Development Committee (LDC). The nomination process
All persons seeking nomination for elected positions of the Association shall send applications to the attention of the chair of the Leadership Development Committee, during the months of April and May an Application for Nomination to be provided by the Association expressing interest in the office sought. “The Application for nomination shall be marked received at PSBA Headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked by June 1 to be considered and timely filed.” (PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 5.E.).
Open positions are:
In addition to the application form, PSBA Governing Board Policy 302 asks that all candidates furnish with their application a recent, print quality photograph and letters of application. The application form specifies no less than three letters of recommendation and no more than four, and are specifically requested as follows:
https://www.psba.org/2018/03/electing-psba-officers/

the notebook Annual Celebration - June 5, 2018 - New Location!
Please join us on June 5, 2018, at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia! Please note the new location!
Buy your tickets today!
Every June, 400 public school supporters gather in celebration at the end of the school year. This festive event features awards for outstanding high school journalism, talented local musicians, a silent auction, and the opportunity to speak with the most influential voices in the local education community. This year, the Notebook staff and board of directors would like to honor public education advocates who are committed to our mission of advancing quality and equity in our city’s schools.
Our Honorees:
Debra Weiner - A longtime advocate for public education at a variety of nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions, and a member of the Notebook’s editorial advisory board
Mary Goldman - Former 27th Ward Leader and advocate for children and public schools
Our City Our Schools - A coalition of local grassroots organizations that campaigned to return the school board to local control
The event will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, at the National Museum of American Jewish History.
http://thenotebook.org/annual-fundraiser

BRIEFING: PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING IN PENNSYLVANIA
IN PHILLY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018, 8:30-10:00 A.M.
Join Law Center attorneys Michael Churchill, Jennifer Clarke, and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg for a free briefing on the state of education funding in Pennsylvania. They’ll cover the basics of education funding, our fair school funding lawsuit, the property tax elimination bill, the 2018-2019 state budget, and more! RSVP online here. The briefing will be held on Wednesday, June 13th at 8:30 a.m. at 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
Download a flyer for this event.
https://www.pubintlaw.org/events/briefing-public-education-funding-in-pennsylvania-2/


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.

Save the Dates PASA/PSBA School Leadership Conference – Hershey, Oct. 17-19, 2018 
Mark your calendar! The Delegate Assembly will take place Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.
Housing now open!

Our Public Schools Our Democracy: Our Fight for the Future
NPE / NPE Action 5th Annual National Conference
October 20th - 21st, 2018 Indianapolis, Indiana
We are delighted to let you know that you can purchase your discounted Early Bird ticket to register for our annual conference starting today. Purchase your ticket here.
Early Bird tickets will be on sale until May 30 or until all are sold out, so don't wait.  These tickets are a great price--$135. Not only do they offer conference admission, they also include breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. Please don't forget to register for your hotel room. We have secured discounted rates on a limited basis. You can find that link here. Finally, if you require additional financial support to attend, we do offer some scholarships based on need. Go here and fill in an application. We will get back to you as soon as we can. Please join us in Indianapolis as we fight for the public schools that our children and communities deserve. Don't forget to get your Early Bird ticket here. We can't wait to see you.


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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