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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Senate Resolution 417 would require the Joint State Government Commission to
conduct a comprehensive study of the issues, benefits and options related to
instituting a later start time in PA. This study would NOT lead to a
mandate, but rather serve as a research tool that school districts could use as
part of their own respective evaluative processes. It would also raise awareness
among legislators of this issue. Senate
Resolution 417 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee on
September 25. Now it sits on the Senate Calendar waiting for the Senate
Majority Chair, Senator Corman, to call it for a vote. Please consider
contacting his office to urge him to bring SR417 to a vote.
Congressional Democrats Want Government Watchdog to Sniff Around Virtual Charter Schools
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on October 10, 2018 3:01 PM
Two Democratic senators have asked the Government Accountability Office to look into how full-time virtual charter schools work and their results. In a Wednesday letter, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, express concerns about the virtual charters' student-teacher ratios, students' performance compared to their peers in traditional public schools, and their transparency when it comes to issues like executive pay and advertising.
"Accountability models, funding formulas, and attendance policies were created for brick-and-mortar schools, and yet, state funding and accountability policies have not kept pace with the growth of virtual charter schools," Brown and Murray wrote to the agency.
Virtual charters have been going through a very difficult stretch. There's intense skepticism about their performance and management practices. In Brown's own state of Ohio, for example, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow disintegrated after a lengthy court battle over its claims about student enrollment. (Brown and Murray mentioned the ECOT fallout in their letter). Cyber charters in states like Georgia and New Mexico have also struggled to stay open.
In their letter, the two senators cite a 2016 investigation by our colleague Ben Herold into Colorado's largest online charter school, the GOAL Academy, which continued to grow even as questions arose about its students' performance and their level of engagement with the online materials.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/10/democrats-congress-virtual-charter-schools-government-watchdog.html
“Research on virtual charter schools shows that students attending such schools perform much worse than their peers receiving in-person instruction in traditional, brick-and-mortar public schools,” the Senators wrote in their letter to GAO. “In order to better understand the reforms needed to ensure student success with the growth of virtual charter schools, we request that GAO study the student experience at these schools.”
Senator Brown Urges Government Accountability Office to Examine Troubling New Findings on Virtual Charter Schools in Ohio
New Study Shows Virtual Charter Schools have Prioritized Profits over Student Outcomes; Ohio Scandals, Like ECOT, Have Cheated Students, Families, & Taxpayers; Senator Urges Federal Accountability Officials to Look into Findings to Determine Best Ways to Serve Students
Senator Brown’s website Wednesday, October 10, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined Senator Patty Murray(D-WA) today in writing to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to urge the Comptroller General to examine policies and practices related to student experiences and outcomes at full-time virtual charter elementary and secondary schools. The Senators’ call comes on the heels of a new Center for American Progress report that shows K12 Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit virtual school operator, spent over $15 million on compensation for the top five executives in fiscal year 2017 while students continued to perform significantly worse than students receiving in-person instruction in traditional public schools. The Senators said there is little accountability and transparency when it comes to for-profit and virtual charter schools, leading to scandals like that of Electronic Classrooms of Tomorrow (ECOT) in Ohio. ECOT defrauded families and taxpayers by manipulating attendance numbers, as well as years of poor student outcomes and low graduation rates, before state and local regulators acted.
https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-urges-government-accountability-office-to-examine-troubling-new-findings-on-virtual-charter-schools-in-ohio
“A vote by the Senate is needed to OK these amendments. McGarrigle spokesman Mike Rader said a concurrence vote by the Senate could be had as early as Monday when the chamber reconvenes. Wolf press secretary J.J. Abbott said the bill is expected to be signed into law when it gets to the governor. “We are supportive to alternatives to the Keystone Exams and the bill is in-line with recommendations from our Department of Education,” said Abbott Wednesday afternoon.”
SB1095: McGarrigle's graduation bill back to Senate for final vote
Daily Local By Kevin Tustin ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com October 10, 2018
The state House unanimously passed an education bill that would change graduation requirements for high school seniors in accordance with performance on state standardized tests, leaving just one more vote by the Senate before it is sent to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. A 191-0 vote of the House - which included every representative serving Delaware County - on Senate Bill 1095 Tuesday brings the bill back into the Senate for a final concurrence vote on the amended piece of proposed legislation that would provide more opportunities for students to graduate high school if their performance on the Keystone Exams is not proficient. The Pennsylvania Department of Education had reported that in 2017 no less than 72 percent of all students were proficient in the exam subjects of literature, algebra I and biology. State Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, the bill's prime sponsor, was very proud it cleared both chambers of the Legislature. “The can has been kicked down the road for too long on the failures of standardized testing,” McGarrigle wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday. “Time to get rid of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.”
https://www.dailylocal.com/news/state/mcgarrigle-s-graduation-bill-back-to-senate-for-final-vote/article_8c99d592-ba60-52f8-8772-234c5cb873ec.html
Upper Darby School Board fires blank to arm school officers
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com : Oct. 11, 2018
UPPER DARBY — The Upper Darby School Board is holding off on a policy to allow armed security officers in its schools pending further revisions. Adoption of a proposed revision to Policy 316.1 was expected at the board’s Oct. 9 meeting to allow the districtwide, 40-member school security personnel to carry a loaded firearm as part of their uniforms, but the policy was pulled from the agenda and put back into committee. Administrators have suggested putting one armed officer in each of its 14 school buildings under the policy. School board President Rachel Mitchell said the policy was going under “substantial” changes by the four-person policy review committee led by board member Lee Jordan with help by fellow board and committee members Ed Brown, Gina Curry and Don Fields. Jordan said after the meeting that they were cleaning up some of the policy language. This is the first school safety initiative being entertained by the board since lengthy discussions on the topic started in February after the shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school that killed or injured 34 people.
https://www.delcotimes.com/news/upper-darby-school-board-fires-blank-to-arm-school-officers/article_18b44510-cc9a-11e8-b51b-778e47f07ea8.html
A month before the election, Wolf and Wagner face student questioners
Appearing separately, they fielded questions about everything from school funding to homelessness.
The notebook by Darryl C. Murphy October 10 — 5:16 pm, 2018
Less than a month before election day in what has been a humdrum campaign for governor of Pennsylvania, area fourth and fifth grade students got a chance Tuesday to question Republican challenger Scott Wagner, a former state Senator, and the incumbent Tom Wolf . Philadelphia students from Robert B. Pollock, Anne Frank, and E.M. Stanton elementary schools were among those who posed questions to the candidates at an event hosted by the Rendell Center of Civics and Civic Engagement. They asked about school funding, safety, homelessness, standardized testing, and bullying. The candidates appeared separately at the event, held in the auditorium at Philadelphia School District headquarters at 440 North Broad Street. The city students were joined by Cynwyd Elementary students from nearby Lower Merion School District, and one of the questions came from a school district in Pittsburgh.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2018/10/10/a-month-before-the-election-wolf-and-wagner-face-student-questioners/
Wolf, Wagner grilled by a tough panel — Philly schoolkids
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: 7 hours ago
The audience at Wednesday's Pennsylvania gubernatorial forum sat attentively in their seats, awed by the politicians in front of them — and the urgently whispered directions of their teachers, who sat nearby. Gov. Wolf and Scott Wagner, the former state senator, fielded questions from fourth, fifth and sixth graders from local schools, vowing to keep schoolchildren safe and fund their schools robustly, though their visions for what that meant and how it should happen differed sharply. Sixth graders from E.M. Stanton Elementary in South Philadelphia and fifth graders from Anne Frank Elementary in the Northeast asked the candidates what they would do about bullying and ensuring safety in a world where school shootings were increasingly common. (The children asked the same questions twice, once to each candidate; Wolf and Wagner, brought to Philadelphia School District headquarters by the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, never appeared on stage together.)
http://www2.philly.com/philly/education/wolf-wagner-grilled-by-philly-schoolkids-gubernatorial-election-ed-rendell-20181010.html
“Wagner has received large contributions from the Republican Governors’ Association of Pa., as well as a $1 million contribution from Students First PAC, an organization that supports school choice.”
Wolf leads Wagner in large donations in Pa. governor’s race — a breakdown
WHYY By Robert Brod October 11, 2018
About a month before Election Day, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has raised significantly more money than Republican challenger Scott Wagner. Wolf has raised $15 million, compared to Wagner’s $8.5 million. Wolf’s edge is especially pronounced based on the number of large donations that he has received. Based on contributions greater than $25,000, Wolf has raised $9.5 million, with Wagner raising just under $3.8 million. These figures come from public filings tracking contributions from January 1, 2018 to September 17, 2018. Labor unions have made up over half of Wolf’s large contributions. They include the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Service Employees International Union, and the Committee for a Better Tomorrow, which represents Philadelphia trial lawyers.
https://whyy.org/articles/wolf-leads-wagner-in-large-donations-in-pa-governors-race-a-breakdown/
G. Terry Madonna & Michael Young: Barletta's perfect storm
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Opinion Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, 11:27 a.m.
G. Terry Madonna is professor of public affairs at Franklin & Marshall College. Michael Young is a speaker, pollster, author and former professor of politics and public affairs at Penn State.
Pennsylvania is holding a U.S. Senate race this year (if you hadn’t heard, you are apparently not alone) . While Republican Congressman Lou Barletta and incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey are the names on the ballot, Donald Trump is the issue in the race. Barletta has been joined at the hip with Trump on policy since becoming a very early supporter and co-chair of Trump’s Pennsylvania 2016 campaign. Consequently, Barletta is perceived as one of Trump’s acolytes, while Casey has been one of his strongest critics. At the moment, Barletta isn’t doing too well. The RealClearPolitics polling average has him down about 15 points. Why Barletta isn’t doing better is a good question.
https://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/14163701-74/g-terry-madonna-michael-young-barlettas-perfect-storm
To make the most of new safety grants, Pa. schools need to do their homework | Opinion
Penn Live Guest Editorial By Kathleen Duffy Bruder Updated 8:02 AM; Posted 8:00 AM
It is difficult to believe that a few pieces of black construction paper, taped over the window of a classroom door, saved the lives of a room full of children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. In that horrifying 2012 tragedy in Connecticut, security professionals believe the shooter assumed that the classroom was empty because he couldn't see inside, past that dark construction paper. That "paper" defense highlights several tenets of school safety: While each tragedy is different, common elements exist, and schools can make even the simplest modifications to protect children. Other common-sense safety measures that impeded the shooter included locked doors, a call to 911 and quick response, hiding in place and fleeing at the right time. The situation also demonstrates that though schools can install the most high-tech, multi-million-dollar security system, if the staff is not trained to use it, cameras are not monitored and danger is ignored from within and without, the chilling reality is that our kids are at risk.
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2018/10/to_make_the_most_of_new_safety.html#incart_2box_opinion
“The Parkland seniors, sitting in on the live taping of a First Amendment forum created in conjunction with the Freedom Forum Institute, Muhlenberg College, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and PBS-39, had already been heard through their input on a survey mirroring the national “State of the First Amendment” annual survey conducted by the Freedom Forum Institute. The Parkland seniors were surveyed on the same questions as adults were in the national survey. The forum will be aired on PBS on Oct. 24.”
Parkland High School students urged to value, protect First Amendment freedoms
Sarah M. Wojcik Contact Reporte rOf The Morning Call October 10, 2018
In the midst of today’s highly partisan political climate, First Amendment advocates sought Wednesday to gauge and persuade the newest generation of adults to value their rights to free speech, assembly and an independent media landscape and be prepared to protect it. Gene Policinski, a veteran journalist and founding editor of USA Today who now is chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C., told about 800 seniors at Parkland High School that they are in a new age where freedom of speech is more prevalent than ever. Social media has changed things, Policinski said, allowing more people to express their own opinions more frequently and more widely than any other generation. “I think the great challenge for you is that you’re going to live in an environment in which you are much more often and in a much more emotional way going to encounter views that run counter to those you hold,” Policinski told the students. “You’re really going to be tested in what the American experience is all about — that is this marketplace of ideas where all can be heard.”
http://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-parklamd-first-amendment-forum-20181010-story.html
School counselors struggle to meet the varied needs of all students
Trib Live by JAMIE MARTINES | Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, 11:33 a.m.
A day in the life of a Jeannette school guidance counselor could include tracking college applications and financial aid deadlines, or coordinating field trips to give students on-the-job experience. It could also involve listening to a student who had a bad night at home, or getting help for a student who has suggested self-harm. “Your first line of defense here is a school counselor,” said Shelley Muto, director of pupil services at Jeannette City School District, which recently hired an additional guidance counselor to spread out these responsibilities and to make sure students always have access to an adult who is trained to support their mental health needs.
“We’re ensuring that the buildings are covered in case there would be an emergency,” Muto said.
Debates about how to best support students’ mental health are playing out at the state and local levels as schools wrestle with concerns over student safety, wellness and the pressures of preparing them for college or the workforce. Regional listening sessions conducted by the Pennsylvania School Safety Task Force, an effort led by the state auditor general and governor’s offices this summer, revealed that school communities across the state feel that there should be more mental health professionals—counselors, nurses, psychologists or social workers—in schools. Locally, many districts are falling short of the number of such professionals experts recommend should be available to each student on a day-to-day basis.
https://triblive.com/news/healthnow/14156965-74/school-counselors-struggle-to-meet-the-varied-needs-of-all-students
Students hit the streets for 'Walk to School' Day in Pottstown
Mercury by Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter October 10, 2018
POTTSTOWN — Pottstown students hit the streets Wednesday for International Walk and Bike to School Day. Because of the borough's compact size, nearly all students live within a mile of their elementary school so Pottstown prides itself on being a "walking school district," although the addition of bike lanes in town recently as part of a Safe Routes to School grant has also made biking to school safer as well. At Rupert Elementary School, whose students have some of the longer walking distances, something called The Walking School Bus has been established.
Parents and community volunteers meet students at certain "stops" on a pre-arranged route and accompany them to school every morning. "We already have established routes that are available to parents on our website. Our Walking School Bus Routes are established by our Wellness Coordinator, Shelby Iezzi. She develops these and gives them to the volunteers," Rupert Principal Matthew Moyer recently told a reporter for WKYW Newsradio. "The school publicizes this with parents and students, through social media and other means. The volunteers for our Walking School Bus are all community members," said Moyer.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/students-hit-the-streets-for-walk-to-school-day-in/article_97d09a28-ccbe-11e8-bac8-f399be9d7e41.html
EdPAC reception helps support election of pro-public education leaders
Join EdPAC for an evening reception with lieutenant governor candidates Jeff Bartos and John Fetterman on behalf of EdPAC, a political action committee that supports the election of pro-public education leaders to the General Assembly. The reception will be held during the 2018 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 17 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Cocoa Suite 2 and 3. Visit the conference website for details and to register online. Walk-ins are welcome!
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.
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do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization
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