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Monday, June 4, 2018

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 4, 2018 Getting a Private School Voucher in D.C. Lowers Students' Math Scores, Study Finds


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Getting a Private School Voucher in D.C. Lowers Students' Math Scores, Study Finds



Philly School Budget Press Conference Tuesday June 5th 2 pm City Hall
June 5, 2:00PM - 5:00PM 1401 JOHN F KENNEDY BLVD PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107
Please join members of City Council and PCCY for a press conference on Tuesday, June 5th at 2pm on the 4th Floor at City Hall.  Get together and tell Council to vote YES on investing $500 more per child in Philadelphia Public Schools.  We all have a stake in our children’s future. DOWNLOAD PDF Flyer  RSVP: info@pccy.org



“Why does the right to bear arms carry more weight than the right to be alive for the 26 students killed in schools so far this year?”
A civil solution: We must not shrink from the epidemic of school shootings
Post-Gazette Opinion by ELLIOTT S. OSHRY JUN 2, 2018 12:00 AM
The humorist Miss Manners (Judith Martin) opened her column with the phrase “Dear Gentle Readers.” I also want to address those gentle readers, if there are any remaining among us. We have become so accustomed to loud, hostile and untrue diatribes in lieu of civil debate, I am writing to ask everyone to hit the “pause” button on at least one horrifying topic: the endless mass killing of our students. Some of the facts are undeniable:
• Since 2009, there have been 288 mass shootings in our public schools, where the law requires that society provide an education for every American. Implicit in that obligation is that our young people won’t be killed in the process.
• The number of students killed in school shootings so far this year is greater than the number of U.S. military personnel killed in combat.
Equally distressing is that we have become accustomed to the headlines that students are being killed in our schools. We accept as a reasonable response that these victims and their families are in the “thoughts and prayers” of our elected officials.
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2018/06/02/A-civil-solution-We-must-not-shrink-from-the-epidemic-of-school-shootings/stories/201806020014

“While they’re at it, state leaders should do as much as possible to move toward the more equitable formula recommended in the 2015 report of the Basic Education Funding Commission. The formula this bipartisan group advised would recognize needs and growth, giving the Reading School District nearly $118 million more and about $10 million more to the Wilson School District. The state is moving all too slowly toward reaching the commission’s goal of an education funding formula that takes reality into account, rather than the so-called hold-harmless approach that protects school districts with declining enrollments from reductions in aid. This delay is depriving school districts of the funds they need and their children deserve.”
Editorial: Being on time not good enough this time for Pa. budget
If it’s June, that means it’s time for serious budget talks to start in Harrisburg. This year there are promises of a smoother process. That’s good, but it could be better. 
Delco Times by Reading Eagle POSTED: 06/03/18, 9:10 PM EDT
The news last weekend that a lack of shouting in Harrisburg might bring with it the first on-time, controversy-free state budget of the Wolf administration is a modest glimmer of hope. Merely passing a budget on time, and seeing Gov. Tom Wolf for the first time in his term signing it, would be nice but not sufficient. To make this a truly good budget year, Republican leaders in the Legislature and our Democratic governor should waste no time in agreeing to school funding – a state budget responsibility, more than one-third of state spending most years, called for specifically in Article III, Section 14, of the state constitution. School districts, which rely on state funds, must pass their budgets by June 30. It’s a disservice to school boards and their constituents when state leaders enact a budget right at the deadline or late. State lawmakers should make it a priority to agree to a specific education budget by June 15, promising to iron out any remaining disagreements without touching school spending. School districts, and the children learning in their buildings, deserve the stability of their state funding being a known quantity.
http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20180603/editorial-being-on-time-not-good-enough-this-time-for-pa-budget

Welcome to Pennsylvania's budget season: A show void of value | John Baer
Philly Daily News by John Baer, STAFF COLUMNIST  baerj@phillynews.com Updated: JUNE 3, 2018 3:21 PM EDT
Tis the season, as they say, for the governor and legislature to do their annual budget thing.
It’s a time our elected leaders slap together some phony fiscal plan allowing the commonwealth to maintain its mediocrity. And, if you’re talking jobs, business and quality of life, its bottom-dwelling status among states. To visualize the process, picture key players filling seltzer bottles, putting on white-face, red noses, curly wigs, then piling into tiny cars. Got that image? Now add calliope music. That’s the atmosphere in which the state budget, taxing and spending affecting virtually every resident of the nation’s fifth-largest state, is produced. But cheer up. Sports betting is on the way. And since we’re in an election year for Gov. Wolf, the full House and half the Senate, you can bet on a no-drama, no-new-taxes, maybe even on-time budget on or about the oft-missed June 30 deadline. What a relief, eh? No bitter battles twixt the Democratic governor and Republican legislature. No delayed funding for schools and others. No talk of darkness, plagues, locusts and/or water turning into blood.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/welcome-to-pennsylvanias-budget-season-a-show-void-of-value-20180604.html

Getting a Private School Voucher in D.C. Lowers Students' Math Scores, Study Finds
Education Week By Arianna Prothero on May 31, 2018 5:30 PM | No comments
Low-income students who received vouchers to attend private schools in the nation's capital scored significantly lower on math tests than their peers. That's according to the most recent congressionally mandated evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, the only federally funded voucher program in the nation. Although the District of Columbia's voucher program is among the smallest in the country, the findings are noteworthy insomuch as that vouchers are among the favored policies of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who continues to push for more federally funded private school choice programs. The findings will add grist to the mill for critics of DeVos and school choice. Vouchers are a controversial policy, even among school choice advocates. Created in 2004, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program serves about 1,100 low-income students. Most of them also come from poor-performing public schools and were already scoring below the national average in math and reading.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2018/05/private_school_voucher_in_dc_lowers_students_math_scores.html

Study: Students in voucher program perform worse on math
WTOP News By The Associated Press May 31, 2018 6:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal study shows math scores are 10 percentage points lower for students using vouchers to attend private schools in D.C. compared with their peers who applied but weren’t selected. The study from the Institute of Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Education Department, assessed children two years after they applied for the government subsidies. The district has the nation’s only federally funded voucher program, established by Congress in 2004. It provides about $8,000 for lower grades and $12,000 for high school tuition to about 1,100 students, chosen through a lottery, from low-income families trying to leave low-performing schools. The Washington Post reports that Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting delegate to Congress, says the study shows the program is ineffective.
https://wtop.com/dc/2018/05/study-students-in-voucher-program-perform-worse-on-math/

June is final frontier for Pennsylvania redistricting bill
AP News by Marc Levy June 2, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An issue that, for years, had little oxygen keeping it alive could become the talk of Pennsylvania’s Capitol during June’s long, humid days of budget-making. Some top Republican lawmakers have joined an effort to overhaul how Pennsylvania draws its legislative and U.S. House district boundaries, now that the state’s highest court dealt those same Republican lawmakers a stinging loss in a congressional gerrymandering case that made national headlines. Here’s the catch: There is a tight deadline to win approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature for a politically thorny concept. If no bill passes in the coming weeks, it becomes a practical impossibility to amend the constitution to change the district-drawing process before 2022′s elections, when every state must draw new boundaries to account for decade-long population shifts identified in the Census. “I’m not even thinking that far ahead,” said Senate State Government Committee Chairman Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, who is working to shepherd a bill through his chamber. “I want this done by July 6.”
https://apnews.com/dc2f30576e95460ab2f9713abc7b68c0

Advocate: Pa. plan to ax school property taxes not as advertised
By Tom Huntington - For Times Leader June 2, 2018 timesleader Local, News 2
WRIGHT TWP. — Susan Spicka, executive director of the Education Voters of Pennsylvania advocacy group, said this week that residents hoping for a tax break through House and Senate Bill 76 might not get what politicians are telling them. Spicka, who appeared at Crestwood High School at a public education funding seminar, said the proposed bill outlines a process for replacing real estate taxes while raising the state’s personal income and sales taxes. But she noted school districts could still levy real estate taxes to pay down existing debt. In fact, a York Daily Record story from April noted taxpayers in nearly half of Pennsylvania school districts would maintain at least 20 percent of their current property taxes because of debt. That’s based on an assessment of 2014-15 data by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
Spicka suggested taxpayers might actually be paying more in taxation if the bill passes.
https://www.timesleader.com/news/706393/advocate-pa-plan-to-ax-school-property-taxes-not-as-advertised

Pa. can build on apprenticeships, skills training and STEM education progress
York Daily Record Opinion by Governor Tom Wolf Published 2:16 p.m. ET June 1, 2018
Pennsylvania’s economy is growing and setting records, recently passing more than six million jobs for the first time in our history. All of us working together makes the commonwealth the 14th largest economy in the world. But the global marketplace is extremely competitive. To attract businesses to grow and expand here, we need more talented workers, and we must prepare now. Recently, I brought together labor and business leaders, who along with educators, traveled the state, listening to employers, workers, and job trainers. We heard a clear message: Businesses are looking to expand but cannot find skilled workers and workers want more training to improve their skills. After restoring education funding over the past three years, it’s time to build on that success by investing in our workforce. The numbers tell the story. Over the next decade, most good paying jobs in Pennsylvania will require some form of education or training after high school, especially in fast-growing science, engineering, math and technology (STEM) and computer science fields. But college isn’t for everyone and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work.
https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/06/01/pa-can-build-apprenticeships-skills-training-and-stem-education/664365002/

Philly congressmen seek federal help to fix 'unconscionable' condition of city schools
Inquirer by Jonathan Tamari, Washington Bureau  @JonathanTamari |  jtamari@phillynews.com Updated: JUNE 1, 2018 — 1:27 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — Philadelphia’s three congressmen on Friday urged House leaders to devote federal money to repairing the city’s schools, which are suffering from mold, deteriorated asbestos, and peeling lead paint. The letter from Democrats Bob Brady, Brendan Boyle and Dwight Evans came in response to the Inquirer and Daily News series “Toxic City: Sick Schools,” which detailed the conditions and the sometimes devastating health consequences for school children. “The conditions detailed in the Philadelphia Inquirer are nothing short of unconscionable and unacceptable in the United States of America,” Boyle said in a joint statement. Evans said, “It is entirely unacceptable for our students to be expected to succeed in classrooms that are crumbling right before their very eyes,” while Brady said “Philadelphia needs aggressive federal support. In spite of best efforts, local and state tax revenues are not adequate.” The three urged House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to include money for school buildings in any infrastructure program considered in Congress.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/congress-bob-brady-brendan-boyle-dwight-evans-lead-asbestos-mold-philadelphia-schools-toxic-city-20180601.html

When it comes to school safety, 'we can't waste another day,' U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta says
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jun 1; Posted Jun 1
This story was updated to include a staffer to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's response.
The nation's schools ought to be at least as safe for students as safe as government buildings are for elected officials and employees, says a congressman from Pennsylvania. "It's embarrassing and unacceptable," said U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa. He joined state lawmakers and two midstate school superintendents at the Capitol on Friday to call for more funding and legislation to prevent mass school tragedies like the ones that killed high school students in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, N.M. Barletta, who is the Republican candidate challenging U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in his re-election bid, recalled how fast Congress acted to provide money to put in place additional safety measures for themselves in their district offices and even at their homes in the wake of the shooting at the Republicans' early-morning practice ahead of a charity baseball game last summer that wounded U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and a member of the Capitol police force.
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/06/when_it_comes_to_school_safety.html#incart_2box_politics

In Southeast PA, 9 of 10 districts are hiking taxes–June 1, 2018
PCCY Website June 1, 2018
The math is simple. Yet so very hard. We’re talking about the simple math (figuratively speaking) behind school district budgets. School districts need funding to deliver schools ready for students to succeed. But current funding levels just aren’t enough to do the job. There are two main funding sources for districts: local funding, mostly though property taxes, and state funding. How are we on state funding? Well, a major lawsuit filed by parents and school districts against the state is currently weaving its way to trial before the Commonwealth Court. The plaintiffs and their supporters, like PCCY, argue that the state is failing its constitutional duty to provide a thorough and efficient education system that all students are entitled to. Speaker of the House Mike Turzai and other legislative leaders say no such rights exists. That partially explains why PA ranks 47th in the country in state share for education funding. No need to flog a deadbeat horse. When the state is woeful, we need to think local. This week, PCCY surveyed Philadelphia and districts in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester counties and found 9 out of 10 districts are proposing to raise property taxes to answer the needs of their students.
http://www.pccy.org/news/southeast-pa-9-10-districts-hiking-taxes-june-1-2018/

CASD tables final vote on 2018-19 budget, will seek emergency funding from state Legislature
Daily Local By Lucas Rodgers, lrodgers@21st-centurymedia.com, @LucasMRodgers on Twitter POSTED: 06/01/18, 11:11 AM EDT | UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO
CALN >> A vote on Coatesville Area School District’s controversial budget plan, which would raise property taxes by 8.4 percent, has been postponed. Coatesville Area School Board members voted to table a resolution for the final adoption of the district’s proposed budget for the 2018-19 school year during a meeting on Tuesday evening. Although a vote on the budget was originally planned for this meeting, the district posted a notice on its website prior to the meeting to inform residents that school board members were planning to table the vote. The school board is looking into securing emergency funding from the state Legislature, according to the notice. “Over a year ago, the board established a legislative committee and has been actively working to engage with our legislators as we work to move the district forward,” the notice reads. “Last week, that committee went to Harrisburg to meet with legislators who reached out to us in support of the good work that has been occurring. We are pleased to say that our (state) senators have stood beside us, and our community, in recognizing the need for emergency funding that would reduce the financial burden on our residents while maintaining the high standard of education for our students.
http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20180601/casd-tables-final-vote-on-2018-19-budget-will-seek-emergency-funding-from-state-legislature

Ears on the SRC: May 17, 2018
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by Diane Payne June 1, 2018
 SRC Limping to June 30th
Both the elected and appointed officials who control the SRC seem to hold the people of Philadelphia in very low regard.  Mayor Kenney removed two of the previous Commissioners, Chris McGinley and Joyce Wilkerson, so that they would be able to serve on his newly-appointed school board. Their seats were filled by two placeholders, former SRC Chair Marge Neff and former district staff member Fran Burns. In addition, the SRC has been conducting business with only four seats filled because of Governor Wolf’s decision not to replace Farah Jimenez after she unexpectedly resigned in February. Bill Green showed his disrespect for district stakeholders by skipping yet another meeting (we’ve lost count of all the meetings he has been absent or late for in the last year).  The charter schools Green supports can fire staff without explanation or due process, and Green can be absent without explanation or regard for the community. We did wonder whether the SRC withdrew two resolutions concerning charters just prior to the meeting, without explanation, because of Green’s absence. Present at this meeting were: Chairwoman Estelle Richman and Commissioners Fran Burns and Marge Neff.
https://appsphilly.net/2018/06/01/ears-on-the-src-may-17-2018/

West Chester Area and Downingtown Area School Districts Call for Risk Assessment of Pipelines
June 1, 2018 - by MyChesCo - Leave a Comment
WEST CHESTER, PA —  Two Chester County School Districts with schools located near the Mariner East pipeline project have expressed concerns regarding the project’s safety and appealed to Governor Wolf for a comprehensive independent risk assessment, according to State Senator Andy Dinniman. The superintendents of both the West Chester Area School District (WCASD) and Downingtown Area School District (DASD) wrote to Wolf almost two months ago, but have indicated to Dinniman that they have yet to receive a response.  “The bottom line is our schools, parents, students, teachers, and staff deserve clear answers about the risks associated with this pipeline project and what to do in the event of an emergency,” Dinniman said. “The fact that we still can’t get straight answers about potentially life-and-death scenarios from our state government, including the very agency responsible for pipeline safety — the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission — is extremely alarming. One has to wonder whether they have answers.” In a letter to Wolf dated March 29th, WCASD Superintendent Jim Scanlon wrote, “The WCASD has four (4) buildings within 3000 feet of the pipeline and more than 25,000 residences living on or near the pipeline. For the past 18 months our school district administration and staff have been working with Chester County Emergency Management First Responders and have developed safety protocol in the event of a pipeline breach . . . Without a comprehensive risk assessment, it is difficult to measure our plan against potential risks if we don’t know what they are.”
http://mychesco.com/a/education/school-districts/downingtown-sd/west-chester-area-and-downingtown-area-school-districts-call-for-risk-assessment-of-pipelines/

Ed Palattella: Finance classes irk a few on Erie School Board
GoErie by Ed Palatella June 3, 2018
In exchange for receiving the $14 million in recurring annual funding, the Erie School Board must undergo 10 hours of annual training.
The Erie School Board sets policy to make sure that 11,500 students take their required classes. But if you ask the school directors to take classes, watch out — even if the classes are required by a new state law tied to the $14 million in additional state funding that the Erie School District received to stay solvent. Several of the nine directors all but said they would like to play hooky rather than attend annual training that must include, as the law states, “no less than 10 hours in school finance and policy.” “We are elected by the people,” School Director Robbie Fabrizi said. “For them now to put a requirement on you for a class of any kind is unheard of. I have never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life.” Fabrizi spoke at a School Board study session on May 16. He commented after Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito told the directors that the administration is working with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to develop a training program to abide by Act 55, which became law on Nov. 6. In exchange for receiving the $14 million in recurring annual funding, according to Act 55, the Erie School District, among other things, had to get a state-appointed administrator and the Erie School Board must undergo 10 hours of annual training.
http://www.goerie.com/opinion/20180603/ed-palattella-finance-classes-irk-few-on-erie-school-board?rssfeed=true&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#

East Stroudsburg Area School District teachers set strike for Sept. 10
Morning Call by Bill Cameron Of The Pocono Record (TNS) June 2, 2018
East Stroudsburg Area School District teachers have set Sept. 10 as a strike date. The union representing the district's professional staff announced its intentions Tuesday, after more than two years of negotiations. “All we want to do is be able to teach and do what we love,” President Ann Catrillo of the East Stroudsburg Education Association said in the union's statement. “The last thing we want is to be out of the classroom. We have proposed a contract that is not only fair to teachers, but fair to the community and the students we serve.” The school board's negotiation committee put two offers on the table over the course of three meetings between April 19 and May 2, Chairwoman Lisa VanWhy said. Committee members expected to see a counterproposal during the Tuesday night meeting. They were greeted with the strike notice instead. “We provided two richer, different offers, as we've continued to do all along,” VanWhy said. “We have offered quite a substantial amount of money in raises and backed out of some of the healthcare sticking points. Of course we respect our teachers, but our main point is to offer a contract that is affordable and still maintain a high level of education for students.”
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-east-stroudsburg-teachers-strike-date-20180602-story.html

“When we look in the aggregate at all the charters in any given state, and compare them to all the regular public schools in that state serving the same demographic, virtually all studies show no conclusive advantage for the charters. 
But my reading of the data produces a more troubling conclusion.  Both in the United States and abroad, choice policies tend to exacerbate racial and socio-economic segregation.  The minority, low-income parents who have the time, education, drive and cars to take advantage of the choices offered, do so and those who do not have these things, do not.  The result is that the low-performing schools are drained of the students and parents who have the desire and means to take advantage of the options offered, leaving behind those who don't, leaving in their wake schools that are even more isolated, chaotic and desperate than they were before.
If you are among those who have given up on the regular public schools, at least in our cities, and see charters as a way to offer inner-city parents and students an option they would not otherwise have, then perhaps the most you can hope for is saving some of the kids who might otherwise be consigned to a very doubtful future. 
I have not given up on our public schools, in our inner cities or anywhere else.  It is not just the lowest-performing schools that are in trouble.  The students in every quartile of performance in the entire country are behind their counterparts in the top-performing countries.  I would spend the rest of my career studying charter school management systems if someone could present any evidence that implementation of charter systems at scale would lift the performance of American students to globally competitive levels.  But I have yet to see that evidence.”
Are Charter Management Companies a Laboratory for Effective School Systems?
Education Week By Marc Tucker on May 23, 2018 12:57 PM
Mike Petrilli, one of the most thoughtful members of this country's education commentariat, wrote a note to me the other day about a blog I'd recently written.  The blog was about the need for more research to determine why some education systems at the scale of states and nations are more effective than others.  He liked the blog, he said, but wanted to know why was I not writing about the growing systems of charter schools, run by charter management companies, which he clearly views as viable examples of systems that work. I can see why Mike would take that view.  As charter systems have grown, they have had to do what any well-run business has to do: figure out how to hire, train and support first-rate staff, produce the best possible results at an acceptable cost, find efficiencies and improve productivity.  As these charter school networks grow, they have to face the challenge of growing without compromising quality, creating leadership structures that will preserve the culture the founders created without suffocating the initiative of the people on the ground and so on.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2018/05/are_charter_management_companies_a_laboratory_for_effective_school_systems.html

“The scholarships that private schools may use to purchase these academic materials are paid for either directly by the state or with tax credits — money diverted from the state budget by corporations that make scholarship donations and then write off an equivalent amount from their state tax bills. The scholarships are available to students from low-income families or to those with disabilities, and their parents are free to enroll them in any private school that accepts the state-backed vouchers. Nearly 80 percent of scholarship students attend religious schools, and most of those institutions are Christian. About 16 percent of the scholarship schools are Catholic, and those schools use their own curriculum as do some other schools including those that are Islamic or Jewish (combined they make up about 5 percent of the schools) and those without religious affiliation.”
Schools Without Rules: Private schools' curriculum downplays slavery, says humans and dinosaurs lived together
Leslie Postal, Beth Kassab and Annie Martin Contact Reporters Orlando Sentinel June 1, 2018
Some private schools in Florida that rely on public funding teach students that dinosaurs and humans lived together, that God’s intervention prevented Catholics from dominating North America and that slaves who “knew Christ” were better off than free men who did not. The lessons taught at these schools come from three Christian publishing companies whose textbooks are popular on many of the about 2,000 campuses that accept, and often depend on, nearly $1 billion in state scholarships, or vouchers. At the Orlando Sentinel’s request, educators from Florida colleges and school districts reviewed textbooks and workbooks from these publishers, looking at elementary reading and math, middle school social studies and high school biology materials. They found numerous instances of distorted history and science lessons that are outside mainstream academics. The books denounce evolution as untrue, for example, and one shows a cartoon of men and dinosaurs together, telling students the Biblical Noah likely brought baby dinosaurs onto his ark. The science books, they added, seem to discourage students from doing experiments or even asking questions.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-voucher-school-curriculum-20180503-story.html

Court sides with Millcreek district in Ridgefield case
GoErie By Madeleine O’Neill  Posted at 11:56 AM Updated at 11:56 AM
State Supreme Court overturns a ruling that benefited the Montessori charter school’s attempt to buy the former Ridgefield school. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a setback to the Montessori Regional Charter School’s effort to purchase the former Ridgefield Elementary School property. In a decision issued Friday, the seven-judge Supreme Court unanimously overturned a decision by the state Commonwealth Court that ordered a public sale of the Ridgefield property. The Millcreek Township School District had tried to sell a portion of the property to Velocity Network, or VNet, over the objection of Montessori in 2015. Erie County Judge John Garhart approved the $1.1-million sale to Velocity Network following a two-day hearing in September 2015 and rejected a last-minute offer from Montessori to purchase the entire property for $1.6 million. The sale was never finalized because of the appeals. Garhart wrote in his opinion on the sale that he declined to consider Montessori’s offer because it was last-minute and because he did not find the claims of the charter school’s former CEO, Anthony Pirrello, to be credible, according to the Supreme Court’s opinion.
http://www.goerie.com/news/20180601/court-sides-with-millcreek-district-in-ridgefield-case

Review: Which school board members have the worst attendance in Allegheny County?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MATT MCKINNEY mmckinney@post-gazette.com JUN 4, 2018 5:43 AM
Dharmesh Vyas has missed at least 19 Fox Chapel Area school board meetings over the past 2½ years as a member. Keystone Oaks board member David Hommrich has missed at least 23 meetings during that span. His colleague Robert Brownlee: 21. When Christine Matsko was a member of the Duquesne school board, she missed at least 24 meetings — in a row. She was listed as a member as recently as March 27, but the board has replaced her since then. These officials have some of the worst attendance records among local school board members, but they’re not alone. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reviewed more than 2,000 attendance records for Allegheny County school boards between January 2016 and last month.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2018/06/04/Allegheny-County-school-board-members-attendance-missing-meetings/stories/201805310202

ANALYSIS: PENNSYLVANIA NEEDS TO DO MORE TO PREPARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT
Public Interst Law Center Webiste By Darlene Hemerka, Esq. Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP May 30, 2018
Download the full analysis here. Hear Ms. Hemerka discuss Act 26 and other law on students with disabilities transitioning to life after high school on the Episode 80 of the Good Law | Bad Law podcast.
Executive Summary - This article analyzes the first three reports published by the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) as required by the Work Experience for High School Students with Disabilities Act, also known as Act 26. The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 26[1] in May of 2016. The purpose of the law is to increase the number of students with disabilities ages 14-21 who are obtaining Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) during high school and entering competitive employment upon graduation. CIE is secured when students with disabilities earn at least minimum wage and work alongside their non-disabled peers. To measure the increase, the law requires OVR to track and report data on this population. In order to achieve its purpose, the Act requires OVR to collaborate with school districts and other educational entities, such as the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), in several ways. For example, OVR counselors must attend Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings with school district personnel, an individual student, and his or her family members to create goals that will lead to the student securing competitive employment. OVR must also collaborate with PDE in the collection and sharing of data, as outlined in more detail below.
https://www.pubintlaw.org/cases-and-projects/analysis-pennsylvania-needs-to-do-more-to-prepare-students-with-disabilities-for-employment/

The Numbers That Explain Why Teachers Are in Revolt
After a quarter century of steady growth on education spending, a shock to the system.
New York Times By Robert Gebeloff June 4, 2018
American teachers are angry.
They have taken to the streets in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado — and more recently in North Carolina. Dissent is building in Louisiana and Nevada, too. But while the protests are spreading this year, the underlying conflict between public school employees and policymakers has roots in decisions made during the last recession, when states and local districts short of cash curtailed education spending for the first time in decades. This had a pronounced effect on school staffing, with layoffs hitting many states. Districts cut support staff as well as regular classroom teachers. In North Carolina, the number of teachers is down 5 percent since peaking in 2009, while the number of teaching assistants is 28 percent lower. And teacher pay stagnated nonetheless. Moreover, the recovery that has lifted the private economy has not quite restored school spending to pre-recession levels, especially in states run by fiscal conservatives determined to hold the line on government spending. For a system that had experienced nothing but spending growth for a quarter century, the past few years have been a major shock. K-12 pending per pupil rose 26 out of 29 years before 2010, only to tumble three consecutive years at the beginning of this decade.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/upshot/school-funding-still-lags-after-recession-ended.html?mabReward=CBMG1&recid=15Y7u05cArJwzjFYIY7twJyGFoo&recp=7&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

Charter School Advocates Spend Record High in CA Governor’s Race
Maplight by Alec Saslow | May 29, 2018
A political committee backed by wealthy donors who support charter schools has spent more than $15 million on the California governor’s race -- the most by any single independent expenditure committee in a California governor’s race since online data has been available, according to a MapLight analysis. The committee, “Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018,” has spent roughly $14.5 million to support former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and another $1.1 million to oppose Republican John Cox.   Recent polling shows a close race for second place between Villaraigosa and Cox, with both candidates trailing Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.  The top two candidates from the June 5 primary will face off in the November general election. Villaraigosa’s own campaign committee has raised $7.8 million, roughly half as much as the independent expenditure committee backed by megadonors who can make unlimited contributions to outside groups. Six wealthy political donors have written seven-figure checks to the pro-charter school committee, including contributions of $7 million from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings; $2.5 million from entrepreneur Eli Broad; $2.5 million from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and $2 million from investor William Oberndorf. 
https://maplight.org/story/charter-school-advocates-spend-record-high-in-ca-governors-race/


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.


Nominations for PSBA’s Allwein Advocacy Award due by July 16
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/

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

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

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

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.) 

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.

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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