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Monday, February 18, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup Feb. 18: In 2018, PA Students First PAC spent $4,838,500 on political contributions primarily in support school privatization candidates


Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg




Join PA Schools Work For a Webinar at Noon on Feb. 26!
Do you know how the Governor's proposed budget will impact your school? Do you know how you can effectively advocate for as much funding as possible? Grab a sandwich and join PA Schools Work on February 26 at noon as we unpack the Governor's budget and learn how to be an effective advocate for our schools and students.
What You Need to Know to be an Effective Advocate
During this hour, PA Schools Work's seasoned experts will walk you through the Governor's proposed budget allocation for education and what it means to you and your school. During this hour, we will also hone in on the tools and tips you need to ensure that you are making the biggest impact with your advocacy efforts. Join us to make sure you are equipped with all you need to know. Knowledge is power!



How much could your school district and taxpayers save if there were statewide flat tuition rates of $5000 for regular ed students and $8865 for special ed.? See the estimated savings by school district here.
Education Voters PA Website February 14, 2019

 “…wasteful spending could be curbed by setting a single, statewide tuition for both regular and special education students in cyber charter schools that is tied to the actual costs of cyber education”.
NEW REPORT: Commonsense Cyber Charter School Funding Reform
Real reform will eliminate wasteful spending and save $250 million in taxpayer money
Education Voters PA Report February 13, 2019
In 2015, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted a new school funding formula that based funding on actual student enrollment and other cost factors. The legislature has not yet addressed similar flaws in Pennsylvania’s system for funding cyber charter schools. With a nearly $500 million annual price tag, funding of cyber charter schools remains just as flawed as the old system of funding basic education was, and has created ever worsening problems for our state’s school districts and wasted tax monies.

Blogger note: over the next several days we will continue rolling out cyber charter tuition expenses for taxpayers in education committee members and legislative leadership districts.
In 2016-17, taxpayers in Senate President Pro Tempore .@senatorscarnati’s districts had to send over $10.7 million to chronically underperforming cybers that locally elected school boards never authorized. SB34 (Schwank) could change that. Data source: PDE via @PSBA


Austin Area SD
$2,875.00
Bradford Area SD
$416,092.34
Brockway Area SD
$149,942.34
Brookville Area SD
$248,130.96
Cameron County SD
$467,303.38
Canton Area SD
$219,358.83
Clarion-Limestone Area SD
$274,246.66
Clearfield Area SD
$847,317.65
Coudersport Area SD
$261,597.67
Dubois Area SD
$781,498.59
Forest Area SD
$326,168.02
Galeton Area SD
$367,370.95
Jersey Shore Area SD
$729,876.96
Johnsonburg Area SD
$259,139.74
Kane Area SD
$146,979.43
Keystone Central SD
$1,077,260.40
Northern Potter SD
$67,549.21
Northern Tioga SD
$423,039.27
Oswayo Valley SD
$75,472.38
Otto-Eldred SD
$170,310.95
Port Allegany SD
$140,633.48
Punxsutawney Area SD
$1,066,764.18
Ridgway Area SD
$223,709.93
Smethport Area SD
$337,873.37
Southern Tioga SD
$650,426.40
Saint Marys Area SD
$256,147.70
Wellsboro Area SD
$472,963.79
West Branch Area SD
$323,061.45
             Total:
$10,783,111.03


Blogger note: Total cyber charter tuition paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 was over $1.6 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million,  $436.1 million and $454.7 million respectively.
Bipartisan, bicameral interest in saving our 500 PA school districts up to $450M/year. 
SB34 @SenJudySchwank, (D-11 Berks) referred to Senate Education Committee January 11, 2019:
“Under my legislation, a district that offers a cyber program equal in scope and content to the cyber charter school will not be responsible for the tuition costs. Instead, tuition costs will be treated in cyber situations the same as they are when resident students attend non-district brick-and-mortar schools.”
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2019&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0034 …
House Education Committee Chairman Curtis Sonney (R-4, Erie) co-sponsorship memo dated Feb. 5, 2019:: 
“I am preparing to introduce legislation that will require a student or the student’s parent/guardian to pay for the student’s education in a cyber school if the student’s school district of residence offers a full-time cyber education program”
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=28226 …

Ask your state lawmakers to support REAL cyber charter school funding reform that will save at least $250 million in taxpayer money.
Action Network by Education Voters
Every year school districts struggle to balance their budgets because state funding comes up short. The time has come for lawmakers to reform Pennsylvania’s charter school law so that school district payments to cyber charter schools match the actual cost of educating a child at home on a computer. This will help control property tax increases and reduce pressure on school districts to cut teachers and programs by keeping school funding in local public schools instead of driving it into cyber charter schools, where much of this money would be wasted instead of spent educating children. Cyber charter schools are privately-operated, publicly funded schools that educate students at home on a computer. In Pennsylvania they are authorized by the state and funded by school districts, which are mandated by law to pay 100% of the tuition charged for each student who lives in the district and attends a cyber school.
Cyber charter schools have materially lower costs than either traditional public schools or brick and mortar charter schools. They have a higher student to teacher ratio than district schools and frequently use recorded programs that can be re-used in many classes or for students individually. Infrastructure is greatly reduced. In spite of this different cost structure, they are paid the same as brick and mortar charter schools. Pennsylvanians simply cannot afford to continue paying cyber charter schools, which are among the lowest performing schools in the state, more than they spend educating children. We cannot afford to continue wasting precious school tax dollars on things like million-dollar advertising campaigns, giveaways of expensive equipment to cyber students, and inflated prices charged by private management companies. Visit www.educationvoterspa.org to read our full report and to learn how much your school district would save with REAL cyber charter school funding reform.

Cyber Charter Funding Reform Needed Now
 BASDproudparents  February 15, 2019
Recently, our friends at Education Voters of PA issued a report that examines Pennsylvania’s flawed cyber school funding system and provides recommendations for a new system that will more closely match the funding sent to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of providing students with an online education.
This proposal would help control property tax increases and reduce pressure on school districts to cut teachers and programs by keeping school funding in local public schools instead of driving it into cyber charter schools, where much of this money would be wasted instead of spent educating children. Click HERE to read their new report.
Cyber charter schools are privately-operated, publicly funded schools that educate students at home on a computer. In Pennsylvania, they are authorized by the state and funded by school districts, which are mandated by law to pay 100% of the tuition charged for each student who lives in the district and attends a cyber school. Cyber charter schools have materially lower costs than either traditional public schools or brick and mortar charter schools. They have a higher student to teacher ratio than district schools and frequently use recorded programs that can be re-used in many classes or for students individually. Infrastructure is greatly reduced. In spite of this different cost structure, they are paid the same as brick and mortar charter schools.
In 2015, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted a new school funding formula that based funding on actual student enrollment and other cost factors. This was a major step forward in correcting a decades-old, deeply flawed, and inequitable system of funding public school districts. The legislature has not yet addressed similar flaws in Pennsylvania’s system for funding cyber charter schools. With a nearly $500 million annual price tag, the funding of cyber charter schools remains just as flawed as the old system of funding basic education was, and has created ever-worsening problems for our state’s school districts and wasted tax monies.

The Death Of PA’s Cyber Charter Schools?
WSKG By Avi Wolfman-Arent | February 14, 2019
STATEIMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A proposal with potentially dire consequences for Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools re-emerged in Harrisburg this session. And one of the politicians pushing it now has a key education post in the state capital. The proposal, formally introduced as Senate Bill 34 last month, would require a family to pay out-of-pocket tuition to attend a cyber charter school if their home district offers a “cyber-based program equal in scope and content.” Depending on its interpretation and implementation, this measure could halt the flow of millions in taxpayer dollars from traditional school districts to cyber charters. If the law applies to any school district with some sort of digital learning program, cyber charters could be in big trouble. “I think cyber charter schools would no longer exist,” said Maurice Flurie III, CEO of Commonwealth Charter Academy, the state’s second-largest cyber charter. Last week, Rep. Curt Sonney (R-Erie) announced plans to introduce a similar bill in the State House. Sonney has authored legislation like this in past sessions. But it’s the first time he’ll do so as chair of the House Education Committee, a position he assumed in January. In a co-sponsorship memo, he said his bill “will encourage school districts to offer full-time cyber education programs to their students, will encourage students to enroll in these school district programs, and ultimately will result in savings for school districts.”

PA: The Death of Cyber Charters (Maybe, Finally)
In the entire education ocean, cyber charters continue to be a festering garbage patch, and a recently proposed bill could clean them out of Pennsylvania.
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Friday, February 15, 2019
It is not that cyber charters could not be useful for a select group of students with special needs. But in the whole panoply of failed reform ideas, none have failed harder and more thoroughly than cyber charters. In fact, they have failed so hard that among their opponents you will find many supporters of bricks and mortar charters. CREDO, the clearing house for choice friendly research, found them hugely ineffective. Their problems are legion. Even The 74, a generally pro-choice site, recently took a hard swing at cybers. In at least five states, cybers are being shut down. But in Pennsylvania, it's still cyber-Christmas. Pennsylvania has one of the largest cyber-sectors in the country, and provides no oversight or accountability? How little? No PA cybers have yet "passed" a single year of school accountability scores. One of the biggest fraudsters had to be caught by the feds. And perhaps most astonishing, we learned last month that ten of the fifteen Pennsylvania cyber charters are operating without a current charter agreement! In one case the charter expired in 2012. PA cybers are huge money makers; they are reimbursed at the full per-pupil formula, but spend far less. So a cyber collects generally from $10,000 to $25,000 for each student, and spends a fraction of that on each student, pocketing the rest. Several lawmakers in Harrisburg would like to put a stop to that.

Blogger note: along with his business partners Arthur Dantchik and Joel Greenberg at the Susquehanna International Group, Ms. Yass’ husband Jeff Yass are the principal funders at Pennsylvania’s Students First PAC, which has spent millions supporting school privatization candidates over the past several years.  According to the PA Department of State Campaign Finance Online Reporting website, in 2018, PA Students First PAC spent $4,838,500 on political contributions primarily in support of school privatization candidates. The PAC is affiliated with Betsy and Dick DeVos’ American Federation for Children, which contributed $1.2 million in 2012.
Teacher strikes are about power, not students | Opinion
By Janine Yass and David Hardy, For the Inquirer Updated: February 18, 2019 - 5:25 AM
Janine Yass is a philanthropist and a founding board member of the Philadelphia Schools Partnership. David Hardy is founder of Boys Latin Public Charter School. Both authors have also served on the Board of the Center for Education Reform.
Now that the Denver teachers who abandoned their classrooms for picket lines are back to work, parents here and across the country should remember how this and the Los Angeles teacher strikes revealed the true goals of teachers’ unions. They’re not striking to provide a better education for students — they’re striking to keep control over education in the hands of the powerful. The leadership, the teachers they represent and the politicians they support must be thrilled with the outcome of the well-orchestrated strike. The teachers lucky enough to be included in this group will enjoy shorter work days, longer vacations, more pay, more pension money, better healthcare and re-election — all with no strings, like academic outcomes of students, attached. In fact, even before this new deal, in L.A., a teacher who worked for 10 years and made $75,000 to 85,000 for each of three years could retire at age 63 and receive $1,945 a month in perpetuity. If they’re lucky to live 30 more years, they’ll have earned $700,000 during their retirement. That’s not something any other profession can boast. The unions must think it was well worth the six-day shutdown in L.A. or the three-day shutdown in Denver. And let’s not mention the L.A. stealth play to demand a cap on charter schools, guaranteeing that benefits, pensions, and vacation days will continue without the future threat of competing schools.

Reprise Sept. 2018: Wagner received $1M from DeVos-affiliated PAC, report shows
Logan Hullinger, York Dispatch Published 1:51 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2018 | Updated 8:45 a.m. ET Sept. 28, 2018
Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner's most recent campaign finance report shows that in July his campaign received $1 million from a political action committee affiliated with U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The Students First PAC was co-founded in 2010 by Joel Greenberg, a board member of the American Federation for Children, a Koch brothers-backed national group once chaired by DeVos.  The Students First PAC touts its partnership with the federation on its website.

Editorial: Pa. has long history of denying funds for public schools
Pottstown Mercury Editorial February 16, 2019
Those words, spoken in a toast by Thaddeus Stevens in 1826, illustrate just how long the battle for school funding has existed in this commonwealth. Stevens is best known for his role in Congress as a fierce advocate for emancipation and co-author of the 14th Amendment. But earlier, as a Pennsylvania lawmaker from Lancaster and York counties, he fought for free public education for all children. Fawn M. Brodie’s biography “Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South” describes fiery rhetoric in the state House to convince lawmakers of the value of public education for all Pennsylvanians, not just those who could afford private schools. Nearly 200 years later, the advocacy for an equitable public education continues in fits and starts, moving forward but not closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget address  earlier this month raised the level of school funding with increases in grants for Basic Education, Early Education and raises in the minimum salaries for teachers. However, the lack of a proposal to fix the system of school funding which relies heavily on local property taxes was unaddressed, disappointing fair funding advocates, the Associated Press reported last week. The AP report, and a drumbeat of protests by school districts in this region, point out that despite Wolf’s attempts to put through gains in state funding, Pennsylvania's school-funding system remains one of the least equitable in the nation.

Guest Column: Why Pa. needs to level education funding field
Delco Times Opinion By David Mosenkis Times Guest Columnist February 16, 2019
Kudos to the editorial board for its bold editorial on the hard reality of education funding in Pennsylvania. The board was so bold as to call for applying the state’s fair funding formula to all education funding, not just new money. This commonsense suggestion is simple, fair and politically achievable. It is also essential in order to eliminate the systemic racial bias that for decades has favored whiter districts over comparable districts with more students of color. Here in the Delaware Valley, the vast majority of school districts currently get less than their fair share of funding. Five local districts (Pottstown, Philadelphia, Norristown, Upper Darby and Southeast Delco) are shortchanged more than $1,200 per student this year. All five serve mostly students of color, and this pattern of racial inequity exists across the state. Critics of 100 percent fair funding, like Education Voters of PA’s Susan Spicka in her recently published letter, like to count up the number of districts that would get less funding if all the funds were distributed fairly. They regularly fail to mention that a shift to fair funding would increase funding for the majority of students and the majority of state legislators. It is a false choice to frame funding policy as a choice between increased funding and fair distribution. Pennsylvania sorely needs both. These two objectives support each other in achieving adequate and equitable funding, and in garnering political support. When we have both equitable distribution and increases in funding, fewer districts will face a decrease and more districts will receive truly adequate funding. While reasonable people can disagree over what the total education budget should be, do we really need to argue whether to distribute funding using a proven discriminatory way instead of a universally acclaimed fair formula?


“The catch: “Free” costs, and the price can be steep. According to state data, Luzerne County’s 11 districts spent $98.5 million for special education in 2016-17. And the price has climbed rapidly. A comparison of data from 2008-09 to 2016-17 by the Education Law Center (ELC) found that among Luzerne County’s districts, special education cost increases ranged from 22 percent at Lake-Lehman to 114 percent in Wilkes-Barre Area.”
Report: Special education students getting shortchanged by state
February 16, 2019 timesleader  By Mark Guydish - mguydish@timesleader.com
EXETER — They may not be studying advanced calculus or conducting experiments in chem lab, but their aspirations post-high school are the same when compared to students in other classrooms: striking out on their own, finding a job they can enjoy, and being happy.
But a recent report contends the state increasingly leaves them in the lurch, and leaves local taxpayers paying the price. When Life Skills teacher Anita McKeown asks her students to choose among hypothetical community college courses, they smile at the prospects. Jesse Sherlinski picks metal welding “so I can make a suit of armor.” Ashley Tietjen shyly says she would make a rose with skills learned in the same class. Victoria Young is more adventurous, raising her hand for almost every suggested course, and raising bothhands for the one that would teach paper making. McKeown teaches basics of independent life to 10 special education students from four area school districts — and that’s a few flakes on the tip of an iceberg. In 2017-18, Luzerne County’s 11 school districts had total special education enrollment of 7,371, each with an Individual Education Plan (IEP), and each with a federal and state legal right to a “Free Appropriate Public Education.”

Safe2Say school threat system fields thousands of tips in first month
Delco Times By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press February 18, 2019
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A threat reporting system now required for all Pennsylvania schools fielded more than 4,900 tips in its first month, about a third of them considered serious enough to pass along to local police and school officials. The goal of the Safe 2 Say Something program, which funnels tips to an around-the-clock call center at the attorney general's headquarters in Harrisburg, is to respond to troubling behavior, unsafe school situations and anything else tipsters deems appropriate to report. The program passed the Legislature with near unanimity last year, mandating it encompass all K-12 students in Pennsylvania, including charter, private and vocational-technical schools.


Metcalfe’s exit as key committee chairman fuels optimism among redistricting reform supporters
Beaver County Times By J.D. Prose Posted Feb 17, 2019 at 11:00 AM
A new year brought a change in leadership to the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee and with it came renewed optimism among anti-gerrymandering advocates that reform bills might have a chance this year. Aliquippa resident Jennifer Wood, co-coordinator of the Beaver County chapter of the anti-gerrymandering group Fair Districts PA, said there’s a feeling among reform supporters that “we’ll at least get a hearing on a bill” now that longtime State Government Committee chairman state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12, Cranberry Township, is out. In a recent email to supporters, Carol Kuniholm, the chairwoman and co-founder of Fair Districts PA, also seemed confident about the prospects of reform. “We’re looking forward to a very different legislative session,” she said. “With 43 new legislators, many who ran on the issue of redistricting reform, and a new House State Government Committee chair willing to meet and talk, this may be the year that real reform takes place in our Pennsylvania General Assembly.” Metcalfe stridently opposed reforming the state’s electoral map-drawing process and flatly rejected any proposals made by Democrats, even if they enjoyed bipartisan support. Last year, Metcalfe stunned redistricting advocates by gutting a bill to create an independent citizens commission to draw maps so that it maintained legislators’ power, turning most supporters against the bill. Redistricting supporters’ hopes, though, were buoyed in January when they learned that Metcalfe was being moved from the State Government Committee to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

“The district plans to cover the LCCC tuition for those students who participate. Tuition is $55 per college credit, so the 60 credits would equal $3,300 per student. The district also will cover the costs of lunch, transportation and textbooks.”
Get your high school diploma and associates degree at same time? Allentown School District says yes
Allentown School District is planning to push a dual enrollment program with Lehigh Carbon Community College so students can graduate high school and get an associate’s degree at the same time.
Margie Peterson Special to The Morning Call February 15, 2019
Allentown School District is planning to push a dual enrollment program with Lehigh Carbon Community College so students can graduate high school and get an associate’s degree at the same time. ASD is also looking at adding a new course that teaches students skills such as job interviewing, resume writing and public speaking to make them more employable. In addition, the district will be adding a driver’s education theory course to prepare students for the behind-the-wheel training. Those are just some of the curriculum changes planned for 2019-20 school year that were discussed at Thursday’s Allentown School Board committee meetings. The dual enrollment is for juniors at Allen, Dieruff and Building 21 high schools who would take classes at LCCC in Schnecksville or at the Donley Center in downtown Allentown to earn an associate’s degree along with a high school diploma. That would give them a head start should they decide to go to a four-year college, or they could use their associate’s degree to find work, school directors said. School Director Cheryl Johnson Watts said with that kind of incentive, even ASD students who are lagging might find a reason to get to school on time and get better grades. “Let’s get the word out about this program,” she said.

Pa. schools with highest truancy rates: Some see half their students skipping class
Penn Live By Jana Benscoter | Posted February 14, 2019 at 05:30 AM | Updated February 14, 2019 at 08:45 AM
Pennsylvania public school districts are required to keep records of when students ages eight to 17 skip classes. They are specifically required to report when a student misses three days of classes, defined as truant, or when a student misses six or more consecutive, unexcused days of classes, defined as habitual truancy.  Lawmakers changed the definition of habitual truancy in 2016, when they passed Act 138. The 2017-18 academic year was the first year the commonwealth's 500 public school districts used the new definition to report habitual truancy to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  Several districts that reported extremely high truancy rates, when contacted by PennLive, said the numbers were incorrect, either due to errors made while inputting the data or human error.  These districts, the truancy rates they reported and the numbers they say are correct, can be found at the bottom of this story.  Excluding the schools that reported erroneous rates, here are the 10  Pennsylvania public school districts reporting the highest rates of truancy, followed by a list of truancy rates reported by every school district in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Perry and York counties.


People for People Applies for Second High School: Frederick Douglass Charter High School
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools By Lisa Haver February 2019
Frederick Douglass Charter High School 700 North Broad Street and 1415 Fairmount Avenue    19130 Francisville
Enrollment:  Year 1, 2019-20— Grades 9-10, 250 students; Year 5— 500 students in grades 9-12
Cost to SDP for 5-year term:  $29,741,677
Members of the People for People (PFP) organization have applied to open an additional high school, Frederick Douglass Charter High School (FDCHS), at two different locations—700 No. Broad Street and 1415 Fairmount Avenue. The opening narrative of the application enumerates issues that hinder student achievement, including “pervasive poverty…poor housing conditions….single parent households”, then goes on to imply that granting this application would solve those problems: “…FDCHS will be founded to serve as the innovative high school educational arm of People for People, Inc.—a community development corporation devoted to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty in the lives of North Central Philadelphia residents by providing them with positive alternatives to gangs, drugs, welfare, and crime.”  The application states that allowing PFP to open a new charter will help to “break the cycle of intergenerational poverty”. (Board of Education Vice-President Wayne Walker serves on the board of People for People, Inc.) It’s a lofty goal, and one that its existing charter, in operation for 17 years, has not made a dent in. The narrative asserts: “FDCHS will enroll students of all abilities and needs. Our goal is to ensure our students’ academic growth is consistently higher than the national average during the charter term.” That is doubtful in light of the fact that PFP has failed to do so in its existing school. Concerns cited by the Charter Schools Office at the January 22 hearing include:


Northwestern Pennsylvania Schools Receive Money to Enhance School Cafeterias
Schools can use the money to purchase new refrigerators, freezers, stoves and dishwashers.
Erie News Now Thursday, February 14th 2019, 2:24 PM EST
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is awarding more than $885,000 in grants to 79 elementary, middle and high schools across the state, including several in Erie, Crawford, Warren and Venango Counties, for the purchase of new food service equipment for cafeterias, according to an announcement Thursday. The grant funding was made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The money is awarded to schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and have 50 percent or more of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Schools can use the money to purchase new refrigerators, freezers, stoves and dishwashers. Here is a list of the grants awarded and how the money will be used:

Pennsylvania Awards More than $885,000 to Enhance School Cafeterias
HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that more than $885,000 in competitive grants has been awarded to 79 elementary, middle and high schools across the state for the purchase of new food service equipment for cafeterias. “Research shows that students perform better in school when they have access to regular, nutritious meals,” said Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera. “These grants will help schools upgrade equipment so they can continue to provide the essential meals that our students need throughout the day.” Funding for the grants is made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is awarded to schools which participate in the National School Lunch Program and have 50 percent or more of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Schools often use the grants to purchase new refrigerators, freezers, stoves and dishwashers.

Phoenixville debates fining students who vape on campus
PHOENIXVILLE — The Phoenixville Area School Board held off on adopting a new policy to deal with teen smoking and vaping on campus Thursday with board members sharply divided over whether fines should be imposed on the offenders. Several board members, including Jeesely Soto, Lisa Longo and Lori Broker, are against a proposed policy that would fine students $100 per offense after the first. After the first offense, the draft policy change calls for the student to go to a workshop outlining the dangers of vaping. Although the draft policy change applies to all tobacco, the increased use of e-cigarettes is of primary concern. "It's a national epidemic," said Schools Superintendent Alan Fegley. He's not wrong.


Who’s Next Education: 16 young educators helping make Philly’s future bright
Philadelphia’s kids are lucky to have these dynamic teachers, grant writers, project coordinators, principals and founders.
Billy Penn by Mónica Marie Zorrilla Today, 6:30 a.m.
In a city where schools are beset by low graduation rates, teacher retention issues, a lack of playgrounds and uncertain funding, making the most of childhood education takes superstars willing to go above and beyond. Since launching our Who’s Next series four years ago, Billy Penn has been honored to feature more than 500 of Philly’s most promising young leaders. In this edition, we invite you to get to know some of the city’s most impressive education professionals under the age of 40. These dynamic teachers, grant writers, project coordinators, principals and founders may have vastly different day-to-day schedules, but they’re all aiming to lift up the overall education climate in Philly. Below, meet this year’s 16 outstanding honorees in the field of education, listed in alphabetical order.


Applauding proposal for more equitable high school sports playoffs [opinion]
Lancaster Online Editorial by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD February 18, 2019
THE ISSUE: The dominance of the state’s private schools in Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association postseason championships — particularly in basketball and football — continues to frustrate some officials from public schools, who believe enrollment rules put them at a competitive disadvantage. Now, state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre County, plans to introduce a bill that would establish separate playoffs for public and private schools, LNP’s Mike Gross reported Friday. Conklin says he will introduce his bill in Harrisburg on Tuesday, hopes for it to attract co-sponsors from both parties, and would like for it to become law this year.
Though it’s extremely early in the process — Conklin hasn’t even introduced his bill yet — we support any effort toward a more equitable system for high school sports playoffs. Some background: More than 80 percent of schools in the PIAA are public, or “boundary” schools. The rest are “nonboundary” schools — parochial, private or charter schools. Boundary schools are limited to students drawn from the geographic areas of their school districts. Nonboundary schools can draw students from anywhere, including from outside Pennsylvania. Largely due to that advantage, nonboundary schools have been dominating the state playoffs, which classify schools by enrollment size and lump the boundary and nonboundary schools together. Over the past three years, Gross reports, 78 percent of state basketball champions and 60 percent of state basketball finalists have been nonboundary schools. In football, from 2016-18, eight of 18 champs and 13 of 36 finalists were nonboundary schools.


Community Schools: Minnesota Lawmakers Look to Invest in 'Full-Service' Schools
Minnesota lawmakers look to fund 'full-service' community schools that provide education, health care and other student and family needs.
US News BY ELIZABETH SHOCKMAN, Minnesota Public Radio News Feb. 16, 2019
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The front office at St. Paul Music Academy looks like most school offices. There's a spot for the principal, the school nurse and the receptionist. But there's also a dentist chair where students and their siblings can get needed dental care several times a month. The school also has a therapist, provides literacy tutoring, hosts a monthly food shelf and operates a family center offering resources on housing, energy and other assistance. It's known as a full-service school, a place where education, health care and other student and family needs are met under one roof. The model has been tried in a few school districts around Minnesota, including Faribault, Duluth and Rochester. It caught the attention of new DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who praised the idea during last year's campaign. A bill in the Minnesota Senate now would put up $30 million over two years to expand full-service schools, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. A House bill would also put money toward community schools, along with funding school-linked mental health. House Democrats say they are working on another free-standing bill to fund the community-school model.

New studies point to a big downside for schools bringing in more police
Chalkbeat BY MATT BARNUM  - February 14, 2019
Local governments across Tennessee paid to add 213 school resource officers this year, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
It’s been a year since 17 people were killed at a Parkland, Florida high school, sparking a national conversation about gun control and a race to ratchet up school security. Florida lawmakers, for instance, passed legislation requiring every public school in the state to have an armed guard. A Trump administration commission recommended armed school personnel, among other safety measures. Already, 71 percent of U.S. public high schools have at least one law enforcement officer who carries a gun. While some argue that these efforts are increasingly necessary, others point out that school shootings are rare and fear that more security will backfire — making schools less conducive to learning and making it more likely for students of color to be funneled into the criminal justice system. Now, two new academic studies provide strong evidence that some of those concerns are valid. Both released this week and looking at large groups of students, they are among the first research to directly link more police to worse academic outcomes for students.


PSBA Members - Register for Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg Monday April 29, 2019
All PSBA-members are invited to attend Advocacy Day on Monday, April 29, 2019 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. In addition, this year PSBA will be partnering with the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) to strengthen our advocacy impact. The focus for the day will be meetings with legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. There is no cost to attend, and PSBA will assist in scheduling appointments with legislators once your registration is received. The day will begin with a continental breakfast and issue briefings prior to the legislator visits. Registrants will receive talking points, materials and leave-behinds to use with their meetings. PSBA staff will be stationed at a table in the main Rotunda during the day to answer questions and provide assistance. The day’s agenda and other details will be available soon. If you have questions about Advocacy Day, legislative appointments or need additional information, contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org  Register for PSBA Advocacy Day now at http://www.mypsba.org/
PSBA members can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need assistance logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data System Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org or call her at (717) 506-2450, ext. 3420

Board Presidents’ Panel
Learn, discuss, and practice problem solving with school leader peers facing similar or applicable challenges. Workshop-style discussions will be facilitated and guided by PSBA experts. With the enormous challenges facing schools today, effective and knowledgeable board leadership is essential to your productivity and performance as a team of ten.
Locations & Dates
Due to inclement weather, some dates have been rescheduled. The updated schedule is below.
Feb. 21, 2019 — Danville Area High School (Section 3)(Rescheduled from Jan. 31)
Feb. 28, 2019 — St. Marys Area High School (Section 2)(Rescheduled from Jan. 31)
Mar. 28, 2019 — Crawford Cty CTC (Section 1)(Rescheduled from Jan. 30)

PSBA Sectional Meetings - Ten convenient locations in February and March
School safety and security is a complex, multi-perspective topic impacting school entities in dramatic ways. This complimentary PSBA member meeting featured in ten locations will offer essential updates and information on Safe2Say reporting, suicide awareness related to student safety, school climate, and emergency preparedness planning. Representatives from the Attorney General’s office, PEMA, and a top expert in behavioral health will be presenting. Updates on legislation impacting your schools will be presented by PSBA staff. Connect with the experts, have your questions answered, and network with other members.
Locations and Dates
Section Meetings are 6-8 p.m. (across all locations).
Register online by logging in to myPSBA.

Open Board Positions for 2019 PA Principals Association Election
Thursday, January 10, 2019 9:05 AM
Margaret S. (Peg) Foster, principal, academic affairs, in the Crestwood School District, has been appointed by President Michael Allison to serve as the chairperson of the 2019 PA Principals Association Nominations Committee to oversee the 2019 election. Her committee consists of the following members: Curtis Dimmick, principal in the Northampton Area School District; Jacqueline Clark-Havrilla, principal in the Spring-Ford School District; and Joseph Hanni, vice principal in the Scranton School District.   If you are interested in running for one of the open board positions (shown below) in the 2019 election, please contact Stephanie Kinner at kinner@paprincipals.org or (717) 732-4999 for an application. Applications must be received in the state office by Friday, February 22, 2019.

Pennsylvania schools work – for students, communities and the economy when adequate resources are available to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed.
Join A Movement that Supports our Schools & Communities
PA Schools Work website
Our students are in classrooms that are underfunded and overcrowded. Teachers are paying out of pocket and picking up the slack. And public education is suffering. Each child in Pennsylvania has a right to an excellent public education. Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves access to a full curriculum, art and music classes, technical opportunities and a safe, clean, stable environment. All children must be provided a level chance to succeed. PA Schools Work is fighting for equitable, adequate funding necessary to support educational excellence. Investing in public education excellence is the path to thriving communities, a stable economy and successful students.
http://paschoolswork.org/

Indiana Area School District Safety & Security Symposium March 15, 2019
Indiana Area School District Website
Background: It’s 2019, and school safety has catapulted as one of the top priorities for school districts around the country. With an eye toward providing educators with various resources and opportunities specific to Pennsylvania, the Indiana Area School District -- in collaboration with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA Representative Jim Struzzi, and as well as Indiana County Tourist Bureau-- is hosting a FREE safety and security symposium on March 15, 2019. This safety and security exchange will provide information that benefits all stakeholders in your education community: administrators, board members, and staff members alike. Presenters offer valuable resources to help prepare your organization to continue the discussion on safety and security in our schools.  Pre-registration is required, and you will be invited to choose the breakout sessions that you feel will have the most impact in your professional learning on these various topics, as well as overall impact on your District’s systems of operations. Please take time to review the various course breakout sessions and their descriptions.  Don’t miss this opportunity to connect and learn.
How to Register: Participants attending the Safety Symposium on March 15, 2019, will have the option to select a maximum of 4 breakout sessions to attend on this day.  Prior to the breakout sessions, attendees will hear opening remarks from former Secretary of Education - Dr. Gerald Zahorchak.  We want to empower the attendees to exercise their voice and choice in planning their day!  Please review the various break out session descriptions by clicking on the "Session Descriptions" on the right-hand side of this page.  On that page, you will be able to review the sessions offered that day and register for the symposium.  
https://www.iasd.cc/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1491839&type=d&pREC_ID=1637670

Annual PenSPRA Symposium set for March 28-29, 2019
Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association Website
Once again, PenSPRA will hold its annual symposium with nationally-recognized speakers on hot topics for school communicators. The symposium, held at the Conference Center at Shippensburg University, promises to provide time for collegial sharing and networking opportunities. Mark you calendars now!
We hope you can join us. Plans are underway, so check back for more information.
http://www.penspra.org/

2019 NSBA Annual Conference Philadelphia March 30 - April 1, 2019
Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Registration Questions or Assistance: 1-800-950-6722
The NSBA Annual Conference & Exposition is the one national event that brings together education leaders at a time when domestic policies and global trends are combining to shape the future of the students. Join us in Philadelphia for a robust offering of over 250 educational programs, including three inspirational general sessions that will give you new ideas and tools to help drive your district forward.
https://www.nsba.org/conference

Save the Date:  PARSS Annual Conference May 1-3, 2019
Wyndham Garden Hotel, Mountainview Country Club
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools
https://www.parss.org/Annual_Conference


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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