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Editorial: Wagner goes after big, bad Wolf on education
Delco Times POSTED: 08/12/18, 5:10 AM EDT | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO
The residents of the William Penn School District are not going away. In fact, they were back in court this week, volleying with state officials in their long battle to get something they are supposed to be guaranteed by the state constitution: an equal education. Instead, what struggling districts like William Penn, with depressed economies and a sluggish tax base hanging like an anchor around their neck, deal with is a system that penalizes families, offering children a lesser education for no reason other than their zip code. The William Penn parents, along with groups from similarly depressed districts, filed suit back in 2014, claiming that the state was failing in its fundamental mission to provide an adequate – and equal – education, both in terms of funding and providing students with the resources they need to succeed in the classroom. After it was initially tossed, back in 2017, the state Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling, said the court could consider funding issues, something that previously had been solely the purview of the Legislature. Since then, the case has been about what you might expect in Pennsylvania – a feeding frenzy for lawyers. The state high court sent the case back to Commonwealth Court for a full trial. This week we heard from two of the defendants in the suit, Gov. Tom Wolf (representing the state Department of Education) and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-25. Both parties filed responses, but took starkly differing views of the basic claim in the suit. Wolf, long a proponent of increased education funding, differed with the senator, who claimed that the Fair Funding Formula enacted by the Legislature has effectively remedied the claim. The governor maintains that is not the case, that there is still much work to be done.
http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20180812/editorial-wagner-goes-after-big-bad-wolf-on-education
Outgoing Republican rep Costello talks midterm elections, challenges his party faces
Delco Times By Michael P. Rellahan, mrellahan@21st-centurymedia.com, @ChescoCourtNews on Twitter POSTED: 08/13/18, 5:22 AM EDT
WEST CHESTER >> Just back from a Congressional trip to Bogota, Colombia, where he saw that nation’s new president inaugurated, in between looking over the packed boxes that indicate the coming closure of his office in the Historic Chester County Courthouse, and before traveling to a television studio in Wilmington, Del., for an afternoon interview on CNN, U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello took a few moments last week to give his thoughts on the topics of the summer. Russian meddling. Fake news. Child separation. The coming midterm elections. And what came through in Costello’s answers was a sense of frustration with the way those issues are being handled, and a resignation that things may get worse before they get better, both for his beloved Republican Party as well as the nation as a whole. “I’ll just keep voting for what I think we should do, and I’ll be more outspoken in what I think the challenges to my party are,” he said at the end of the 25-minute conversation in his office overlooking East Market Street. “Philosophically I am a Republican, and I believe in what the principles of the Republican Party are. And I don’t say anything derogatory about the Democratic Party’s principles. There are good people who are Democrats. “But if we think that the future of our party is to divide people over immigration, and saying news we don’t agree with is fake news, and just embracing Donald Trump as the savior, that’s not going to end well for our party,” he said. “A political party has to be bigger than a person, and a political party has to be about ideas.”
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20180813/outgoing-republican-rep-costello-talks-midterm-elections-challenges-his-party-faces
Checking in on Pennsylvania’s predicted ‘blue wave’ | John Baer
Philly Daily News by John Baer | baerj@phillynews.com Posted: August 13, 2018 - 5:00 AM
A dozen weeks to Election Day. Time to test the waters. What's floating around out there? Dems overconfident? Republicans doomed? Do Democratic socialists give voters the heebie-jeebies? Can a rising youth vote sink the GOP? Let's dive in. Dems are pretty much sold on a "blue wave" thanks to President Trump. Republicans argue that because of the economy, things, for them, are looking better. If Dems are right, it's easy reelection for Gov. Wolf and Sen. Casey, congressional pickups en route to control of the U.S. House, and erosion of GOP majorities in the legislature (though almost certainly not enough to flip either chamber). But if the "wave" just laps to the shore on Election Day? Different story. Either way, it's all about Trump. Morning Consult's key states "2018 Midterm Wave Watcher" released late last week shows Trump's approval numbers still down in Pennsylvania. And it shows the generic R/D ballot here favoring Democrats by five points (41-36). But state GOP Chairman Val DiGiorgio says that's only because, "In all midterm elections intensity is with the party out of power." He says 40 staffers surveying in every Pennsylvania county are finding "the trend is getting better" for the GOP. He credits tax cuts and Trump going to Korea, and notes the generic ballot earlier this year had Republicans down double digits.
http://www2.philly.com/philly/columnists/john_baer/checking-in-on-pennsylvanias-predicted-blue-wave-20180813.html
Democrats and Republicans are fighting for the Latino vote. Only one of them is winning | Analysis
Penn Live By John L. Micek jmicek@pennlive.com Updated Aug 10; Posted Aug 10
READING, Pa. -- Nelson De Leon, an engineer, is the kind of voter that political candidates and activists lie awake dreaming about at night. A native of the Dominican Republic, De Leon, 59, hasn't missed voting in an election since he became an American citizen in 1991. "It's the least I can do for a country that's given me so much," De Leon, a self-identified independent, with a long history of voting for Democratic candidates, said. "You have to participate." With control of the U.S. House and Senate and the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion on the line in this November's midterm, Democratic and Republican activists want thousands of De Leons to to turn out at the polls on Election Day. Latino voters are a growing - and increasingly youthful - voting bloc that will make up an ever greater share of the electorate in years to come. And that means the competition to claim them is intense. Right now, the momentum is on the Democrats' side, while Republicans are largely rowing upstream - thanks, in no small part, to President Donald Trump's harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric.
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2018/08/latinx_voter_column_draft.html#incart_river_index
“Read by 4th partners are connecting families to texting services that send brain-development tips to their phones. We have offered nearly 500 workshops for parents on early literacy and the best ways to read to children. We are working to ensure books are getting into the hands of children and families who need them and have distributed nearly a half-million books this year alone. We are recruiting hundreds of volunteers to read with children in out-of-school-time programs. We have placed literacy coaches in 150 Philadelphia schools. We are providing principals with best practices for increasing school attendance in early grades. We are recruiting Reading Captains — more than 100 to date — to support the parents and families in their neighborhoods.”
How can we get Philly kids reading at grade level by fourth grade? | Opinion
by Jenny Bogoni, For the Inquirer August 13, 2018 - 5:00 AM
Jenny Bogoni is executive director of Read by 4th.
The week of July 22, more than 700 thought leaders and funders from across the country gathered in Philadelphia for Grade Level Reading Week, to set a course for improving literacy among our country's children. The conference was a powerful reminder of just how vital it is that children enter fourth grade reading on grade level. Most important, it was a reminder that we all have a role to play in helping children achieve this fundamental goal. Here in Philadelphia, this work is powered by a dynamic and diverse coalition of 130 organizations — anchored by the Free Library of Philadelphia — that have come together under the banner of the Read by 4th campaign. Our goal is simple: Ensure that all children read on grade level by the time they enter fourth grade. Read by 4th is made up of parents, educators, literacy specialists, neighborhood merchants, faith leaders, elected and appointed officials, and program providers. We're connected in our unwavering belief that we can rewrite the early literacy story for thousands of young people in Philadelphia. We know what it takes to get children to the grade-level reading benchmark. We need our children to enter kindergarten ready to learn; attend school every day, on time; and stay connected to learning in the summer. We need our schools to prioritize and invest in evidence-based reading instruction. And, most important, we need to support families and communities as the best and first teachers of their children.
http://www2.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/reading-level-philadelphia-education-public-schools-20180813.html
Community Schools: Pittsburgh Public eyes expansion of community schools as first five take shape
ELIZABETH BEHRMAN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lbehrman@post-gazette.com AUG 11, 2018 6:17 PM
Pittsburgh Langley K-8 has a new closet for students who need clothes or “school appropriate” attire. It also has a new backpack program, providing snacks and other supplies to students who need them. Those are some examples — albeit small ones — of changes recently instituted at Langley in Sheraden, one of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ five inaugural “community schools.” Since the schools were officially designated last year, district and school leaders have been studying and coordinating what support services are needed in those buildings, crafting memorandums of understanding with various community partners and drawing up contracts for the social services, programs and resources provided. Errika Fearbry Jones, chief of staff to superintendent Anthony Hamlet, described this phase of the model implementation as necessary, even if it doesn’t seem “sexy.” She said the district hopes to expand the community school concept to others in the city within the next year, although she offered no official timeline. “There’s pressure to grow because there is such a need, people want to get on board, but we also want to do it in a way that really honors the process,” she said. “If you're going to do this and give this to parents and give this to kids and a community, the worst thing you can do is not be able to sustain it.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2018/08/11/Pittsburgh-Public-community-schools-Wilkinsburg-Homewood-Children-s-Village-Westinghouse-students-services/stories/201808110004
Community Schools: LeBron's radically different vision for public education is what we need
The Guardian by Nikhil Goyal Fri 10 Aug 2018 06.00 EDT Last modified on Fri 10 Aug 2018 15.42 EDT
The Trump administration is proposing to cut funding for programs that can provide all children, not just the rich and a lucky few, the education they deserve
It’s become fashionable for celebrities and the ultra-rich to start charter schools or make philanthropic gifts with the aim of remaking our “failing” public schools. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, gave away $100m to schools in Newark, New Jersey, which was largely squandered on consultants. The rapper Pitbull founded a charter school in Miami. It is run by a for-profit charter management company which was under federal investigation in 2014. The Gates Foundation invested hundreds of millions in revamping teacher evaluation systems, which failed to boost student achievement. But this July, basketball player and philanthropist LeBron James broke with this tradition and brought nationwide attention to community schooling in Ohio. The purpose of community schools is to turn the school into the anchor of the community and educate the whole child: children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. The evidence-based approach has recently been under assault by the Trump administration, whose proposed budgets would eliminate all federal funding for these types of programs.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/10/lebrons-radically-different-vision-for-public-education-is-what-we-need
State funding for public schools is uneven and inequitable, but this bill isn't the answer [opinion]
Lancaster Online Editorial by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD August 13, 2018
THE ISSUE: A bipartisan proposal in the state House would make a significant change in the way the state allocates funding to Pennsylvania schools, LNP staff writer Alex Geli reported Friday. House Bill 2501, authored by state Rep. Christopher Rabb, a Democrat from Philadelphia, would require all basic education funding allocated by the state government to flow through the fair funding formula approved in 2016. As Geli noted, “Since the 2015-16 school year, only increases in basic education funding have been appropriated through the formula, which takes into account factors such as enrollment, poverty and the number of English language learners when funding schools.” State Rep. Mike Sturla, a Lancaster Democrat, is co-sponsoring Rabb’s bill. When the Basic Education Funding Commission unveiled its fair funding formula for Pennsylvania’s public schools in 2015, we were enthusiastic supporters, not least because of the way it came to be. Members of that bipartisan commission heard from more than 110 school leaders, academics, business leaders, nonprofit groups and parents in 15 hearings around the state. And heaven knows, Pennsylvania needed such a formula. The commonwealth had gone without one for more than 25 years. But the state General Assembly applied it only to annual increases in basic education funding, not to all state dollars going to schools. According to LNP, just 8.8 percent, or $539 million, of the state’s nearly $6.1 billion basic education allotment currently flows through the formula. Because it was applied to such a small percentage of state education funding, it didn’t do much to narrow the gulf between the commonwealth’s neediest and most affluent schools. Which is why six school districts, including the School District of Lancaster, are among the petitioners in a lawsuit against state officials arguing for equitable funding. Here’s the dilemma: If the fair funding formula was to be applied — as House Bill 2501 proposes — to all basic education funding, some school districts would surely benefit. But others would be hammered.
https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/state-funding-for-public-schools-is-uneven-and-inequitable-but/article_74e5465a-9ce7-11e8-8fa4-f3d892ddfb3c.html
Parkland shooting survivors and Pennridge 225 hold town hall at St. Stephen’s in Perkasie
Intelligencer By Freda Savana Posted Aug 8, 2018 at 11:46 PM
Survivors of the Parkland school shooting in Florida and others are on a Road To Change bus tour to encourage voter registration and renew gun violence awareness. They stopped in Perkasie on Wednesday for a town hall and meeting with members of Pennridge 225. Hundreds of people packed the pews and spilled into an overflow room at St. Stephen’s United Church of Christ on Wednesday. They came to hear survivors of the school massacre in Parkland, Florida, join Pennridge High School students to discuss gun violence and the empowerment that comes from voting. They came too, to show their respect. The eight teens were welcomed with a standing ovation from the diverse crowd that cheered as they took their seats at the front of the Perkasie church. “I think in America we need to feel something,” said Lauren Hogg, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people were murdered and 17 wounded Feb. 14. “We’ve become numb.” Holding up her arm, her wrist wrapped with bracelets, Hogg said each represented someone who had lost their life to gun violence. “Four of them are for my good friends that I should be laughing with,” she said. The students, who were joined by Arieyanna Williams, of Chicago, and Bria Smith, of Milwaukee, arrived in a large, gray touring bus, part of the summer-long Road To Change tour. From California to Texas to New York, the bus has stopped in 20 states. At each location, the youth spoke about the urgent need for gun reform and the critical importance of voting. The tour, which ends later this month, is an extension of March For Our Lives, a student-led movement that began following the Parkland killings. “REV: Register, Educate, Vote,” shouted Kyrah Simon, a Parkland student, to the enthusiastic audience. “You have to know who you’re voting for, educate yourselves on issues and candidates,” she said, “and vote.”
http://www.theintell.com/news/20180808/parkland-shooting-survivors-and-pennridge-225-hold-town-hall-at-st-stephens-in-perkasie/1
As part of new security measures, Allentown School District weighs active shooter training
Margie Peterson Special to The Morning Call August 10, 2018
The shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead was only alluded to a couple of times at the Allentown School Board committees meeting Thursday. But the tragedy loomed large in the presentations on new school safety measures being proposed. District officials are considering hiring a prominent safety organization to do active shooter training for staff from each building in the district. School officials also expect to appoint a district safety and security coordinator and will vote on adding a tip line so students, parents and other community members can report information on threats, bullying or other dangers. The ALICE Training Institute provides two-day staff training on the most effective response to active shooter situations. ALICE stands for Alert, Lock Down, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. ALICE can train some staff from each school, who in turn would educate their colleagues in proper protocols, according to Keith Falco, the Allentown School District’s director of operations.
http://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-allentown-school-district-security-measures-20180810-story.html
Khepera charter school appeals to state, further delaying closure
The notebook by Greg Windle August 10 — 6:53 am, 2018
It takes a long time to close a charter school, and the process is riddled with opportunities to delay closure for years. Khepera charter school has exhausted all but the final opportunity to delay and is now appealing to the state’s Charter Appeals Board to overturn the local decision to close the school. Khepera is a K-8 charter school with 450 students located in Hunting Park. It was awarded its first charter in 2004, renewed in 2009, but after declining academics it was renewed in 2014 with explicit conditions written into its charter, along with the proviso that failure to meet these conditions would cause the school to close. Many of the conditions were never met; beyond that, the school continued to violate the state charter law. Since signing the 2014 charter, the school failed to hire enough certified teachers. Growth on the PSSAs largely reversed as scores began to plummet. It promised to revise its discipline policy and reduce student suspensions; instead, they went up, even among kindergarten students. Board members didn’t file the required conflict of interest forms. Nor did the school submit required financial reports and independent audits. In 2015, the SRC’s Charter School Office first warned Khepera that it was failing to meet its conditions. Khepera, however, has been operating ever since and, by all indications, plans to open for the 2018-19 school year.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2018/08/10/khepera-charter-school-appeals-to-state-further-delaying-closure/
School funding would undergo seismic shift under new House bill cosponsored by Mike Sturla
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer August 10, 2018
A bipartisan proposal in the state House calls for a seismic shift in the way schools are funded in Pennsylvania. House Bill 2501, authored by state Rep. Christopher Rabb, of Philadelphia, would require all basic education funding allocated by the state government to flow through the fair funding formula approved in 2016. Since the 2015-16 school year, only increases in basic education funding have been appropriated through the formula, which takes into account factors such as enrollment, poverty and the number of English language learners when funding schools. This measure, which is cosponsored by state Rep. Mike Sturla, of Lancaster, would redistribute $1.17 billion from 357 school districts, many of them in rural areas, to the state’s 143 school districts with the most need, according to an analysis by the state House Appropriations Committee. “At some point, we have to start looking at what’s equitable,” said Sturla, who helped create the formula with a bipartisan group of legislators in 2014 and 2015. But for some, a proposal without a substantial increase in funding attached to it wouldn’t be worth the impact on rural communities that would suddenly be left without millions of dollars in support. “There’s going to be many, many school districts that aren’t going to fare well in that scenario,” Edward Albert, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, said of the bill.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/school-funding-would-undergo-seismic-shift-under-new-house-bill/article_b8d7609c-9c19-11e8-bb09-43458849d452.html#comments
Girls In Technology Academy inspires new generation of engineers
Success Starts Here Website June 27, 2018
Colonial School District’s Girls In Technology Academy gives girls in fifth through eighth grade the opportunity to explore robots, 3D modeling and engineering. Part of Colonial’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) culture, the four-day summer camp encourages the girls to work together to solve problems and create new things. The projects at the Girls In Technology Academy this year include: using 3D modeling software to design and print jewelry, programming robots and working in teams to build “Rube Goldberg” machines — elaborate contraptions with a variety of slopes, pulleys, tubes, levers and found objects — that perform a relatively simple task. For the Girls In Technology campers, the machine needed to erase a word from a whiteboard.
https://www.successstartshere.org/story/colonial-girls-in-tech-062718/
More Schools Are Using Anonymous Tip Lines to Thwart Violence. Do They Work?
Anonymous school violence reporting systems include mobile apps, which allow students to share concerns about issues like bullying, drug use, suicide, and planned school attacks.
Education Week By Evie Blad August 10, 2018
After students in one Oklahoma high school finish a lockdown drill, they immediately hear a plea from administrators over the intercom: Report your safety concerns. Students can reduce the already slim chances of an attack on their school if they anonymously share tips about violence, threats, and bullying through a smart phone app or a quick phone call. That message, blanketed across their school on posters, stickers, and classroom signs, seeks to create a culture where students feel comfortable sharing their fears and seeking help from adults, said Tim Makris, the executive director of Sandy Hook Promise, a gun-violence-prevention organization. “When an incident does happen, they can look on the wall, look on the floor, look on the mirror in the bathroom, and there’s something there that can remind them to say something,” Makris said, describing the Oklahoma school and others that have partnered with the organization since it launched its Say Something anonymous reporting system in March.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/08/10/more-schools-are-using-anonymous-tip-lines.html?cmp=soc-tw-shr
PSBA Officer Elections: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later than June 1, 2018, to be considered. All candidates who properly completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 17 at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to each person's name with an asterisk (*). Voting procedure: Each school entity will have one vote for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during the open voting period (Aug. 24-Oct. 11, 2018). Voting will be accomplished through a secure third-party, web-based voting site that will require a password login. One person from each member school entity will be authorized as the official person to register the vote on behalf of his or her school entity. In the case of school districts, it will be the board secretary who will cast votes on behalf of the school board. A full packet of instructions and a printed slate will be sent to authorized vote registrars the week of August 7. Special note: Boards should be sure to add discussion and voting on candidates to their agenda during one of their meetings in August, September or October before the open voting period ends.
https://www.psba.org/2018/07/psba-officer-elections-slate-candidates/
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.
2nd Annual National Black Male Educators Convening, Oct. 12-14,
Philly
Teacher diversity works. Increasing the number of Black
male educators in our nation’s teacher corps will improve education for all our
students, especially for African-American boys.Today Black men represent only
two percent of teachers nationwide. This is a national problem that demands a
national response. Come participate in the 2nd National Black Male Educators
Convening to advance policy solutions, learn from one another, and fight for
social justice. All are welcome. Register to attend. Nominate a speaker.
Propose a workshop. Sponsor the event.
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!
Housing now open!
“Not only do we have a superstar lineup of keynote speakers including Diane Ravitch, Jesse Hagopian, Pasi Sahlberg, Derrick Johnson and Helen Gym, but there will be countless sessions to choose from on the issues you care about the most. We will cover all bases from testing, charters, vouchers and school funding, to issues of student privacy and social justice in schools.”
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
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