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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
PSBA Members - Register for PSBA
Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg Monday April 29, 2019
Register for PSBA Advocacy Day
now at http://www.mypsba.org/
School directors 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
Watch Governor Wolf’s Budget Address Today at 11:30 am
PASBO Legislative Update Email February 4, 2019
While it will be a full session week, this week will be primarily devoted to Governor Wolf's budget address, which he will give to the General Assembly on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. We expect that he will continue to prioritize education as an area of increased state investment, and his proposal will set off the lengthy budget hearing process, which begins in the House next week. On Tuesday, click here to watch Governor Wolf's budget address live.
“Here’s what we expect to hear.
Wolf has always insisted on raising state funding for public schools, and this year he will seek one of the biggest increases yet in Tuesday’s address, according to several sources who have been briefed on the budget. All asked not to be named for this story so as not to get out in front of the governor.
The school funding package will include more than $300 million in new money for k-12 education, with draft proposals breaking that down like this: $200 million more for districts to apply to their general operating funds; $50 million more for special education costs; $20 million in new funding for career and technical schools; and $45 million in a set-aside for school safety projects that can range from counseling services to physical security upgrades.
This is still a catch-up area for Pennsylvania because of the state’s public pension problem, but it is an area where Wolf has usually been able to find agreement with the GOP legislators.”
Gov. Tom Wolf will double down on policy favorites in budget proposal, but what about tax rates?
Penn Live By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com and Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Feb 4, 7:00 PM; Posted Feb 4, 5:50 AM
Gov. Tom Wolf is the governor we thought he was.
Meaning, as the governor fine-tunes a budget address that amounts to the unofficial kick-off to his second-term policy-making / legacy-building, he will double down on a bunch of issue favorites: a big minimum wage increase, more public school funding, and a new tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production. The big unknown is, will Wolf seek any other tax increases that he never quite took off the table during his run for a second term last fall? We’ll find out Tuesday, when the governor introduces his spending plan to a joint session of the General Assembly. In each of the last two years, by this time in the run-up to the annual address, it was widely known that the governor was not seeking an increase in either the state’s 3.07 percent income tax or the 6 percent sales tax. Wolf has made no such declarations this year. Closest we’ve seen were some mid-campaign statements last fall, usually in response to GOP challenger Scott Wagner, that he has “no plans” to increase taxes.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/02/gov-tom-wolf-will-double-down-on-policy-favorites-in-kick-off-to-second-term-but-where-does-that-leave-tax-rates.html
Annual PSBA Budget Briefing: Presented by the Commonwealth Budget Secretary Jen Swails FEB 7, 2019 • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Join Commonwealth Budget Secretary Jen Swails and PSBA Chief Advocacy Officer John Callahan for an exclusive, complimentary member webinar on the 2019-2020 state budget plan proposed by Gov. Wolf on Feb. 5. Learn how the budget proposal could impact public education and other highlights, straight from the office that works directly on the budget. Don’t miss this live members-only event.
Presenters: Commonwealth Budget Secretary Jen Swails and PSBA Chief Advocacy Officer John Callahan
Cost: Complimentary for members.
Register online through PSBA’s webconferencing host:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5684265505125889283
Comcast Newsmakers: REVISITING TEACHER EVALUATIONS – Runtime 4:16
Ryan Aument, Pennsylvania Senate Posted Feb 01, 2019
Ryan Aument (R), Pennsylvania Senate, District 36, talks about changing the way teachers are evaluated. Jill Horner hosts from Millersville University in Millersville, PA. senatoraument.com
https://comcastnewsmakers.com/Videos/2019/2/1/Ryan-Aument?autoPlay
Blogger note: For 2016-17, 32,968 students were enrolled in Pennsylvania’s 14 cyber charter schools, which collected over $454 million in tuition from our 500 school districts (source: PDE). Total cyber charter tuition paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014 and 2015 was over $1.2 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million and $436.1 million respectively.
“If a public school district offers a cyber-based program equal in scope and content to an existing publicly chartered cyber charter school and a student in that district attends a cyber charter school instead of the district's cyber-based program, the school district shall not be required to provide funding to pay for the student's attendance at a cyber charter school.”
Pennsylvania General Assembly Bill Information SB34 (Schwank) Referred to Senate Education Jan.11, 2019
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/BillInfo.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
Local Leaders Discuss Need for More Funding in Career and Technical Education
StateCollege.com by Centre County Gazette and Vincent Corso on January 30, 2019 5:00 AM
Local and state leaders gathered at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology earlier this month to discuss the vital role of career and technical education in supporting Pennsylvania’s economic development, and the need for more funding from the state to support those programs. CPI was an appropriate place for PA Schools Work, a nonpartisan statewide movement working to make sure public schools are fully and fairly funded, to hold the press conference together with Jennifer Myers, vice president of economic development for the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County and Dr. Richard C. Makin, CPI president. State Reps. Rich Irvin, R-Spruce Creek Township, and Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, were on hand, along with representatives from the office of state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, and Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. The group was joined by a contingent of CPI students.
http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/local-leaders-discuss-need-for-more-funding-in-career-and-technical-education,1479165/
This is Black Lives Matter week in schools
The week will feature evening events open to the public and curriculum taught in over 40 schools
The notebook Greg Windle February 4 — 8:45 pm, 2019
This week is full of events about racism, gun violence and trauma – organized by the Working Educators Caucus of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers as part of the national Black Lives Matter Week of Action in School. Philadelphia is one of more than 20 cities participating. The events were designed by the Racial Justice Committee of the caucus, which also distributed an extensive curriculum, for all grades and levels, that teachers can use in classrooms. They expect over 40 schools to participate. Based on Black Lives Matter’s 13 guiding principles, organizers are making four specific demands focused on improving the school experience for students of color:
·
End Zero Tolerance
Discipline for Students
·
Mandate Black
History and Ethnic Studies
·
Hire and Retain
More Black Teachers
·
Fund Counselors Not
Cops
In the evenings there will be events open to the
public.“My history classes in high school and society taught me early on that my Black life didn’t matter,” said Keziah Ridgeway, who teaches African American History at Northeast High School and is a member of the caucus. “I decided to become a history teacher and participate in Black Lives Matter Week so that the children that I educate will understand the value of their life and history.”
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2019/02/04/black-lives-matter-week-in-schools/
Students and parents invited to explore manufacturing careers at ManuFest 2019
Pottstown Mercury By Donna Rovins drovins@21st-centurymedia.com @MercBiz on Twitter February 5, 2019
NORRISTOWN — Plans are well underway for ManuFest 2019, an annual expo which showcases manufacturing career pathways for middle and high school students in Montgomery County. The one-day event, organized by MontcoWorks, the workforce development board for Montgomery County, will be held March 12 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks — a new venue for ManuFest. The event aims to break outdated stigmas and inform attendees about up and coming career pathways, according to the event website. During ManuFest, students will be able to engage in hands-on activities related to possible career opportunities. The event has been expanded this year and given a new name to reflect the expansion, according to Jennifer Butler, executive director of MontcoWorks. “We are expanding ManuFest to ManuFest and More, including careers that support manufacturing as well as the building trades. We realized that there are viable career pathways in these fields as well and want to open our students’ minds to the possibilities,” she said.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/business/students-and-parents-invited-to-explore-manufacturing-careers-at-manufest/article_bc01046a-289d-11e9-a0ee-6f1fcf786f6c.html
Three ways high-quality preschool can improve the health of children
Washington Post Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss Reporter February 4 at 12:47 PM
Every now and then, critics of preschool will come out with something saying that there is no research showing that it has positive long-term effects on young children. W. Steven Barnett, founder and senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, has debunked that repeatedly, such as here and here, and now he is back with a post about how quality preschool programs can improve the health of students. Barnett’s research includes studies of the economics of early care and education, including costs and benefits, the long-term effects of preschool programs on children’s learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications and was recently named as one of the 75 most influential education researchers in the United States, according to the Education Next journal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/02/04/three-ways-high-quality-preschool-can-improve-health-children/?utm_term=.7ce45203db99
Cleaner Classrooms and Rising Scores: With Tighter Oversight, Head Start Shows Gains
New York Times By Jason DeParle Feb. 4, 2019
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When federal officials inspected this city’s Head Start program five years ago, they found moldy classrooms, exposed wires, leaking sewage, a sagging roof and trash-strewn playgrounds littered with safety hazards. A teacher had jerked a student so hard she dislocated the girl’s shoulder. The visitors were so alarmed at the neglect that they began changing diapers themselves. What they did next was even more unusual: They fired the nonprofit running the program, the Urban League, and chose a new one. Now run by Lutheran Services Florida, Jacksonville’s Head Start program has cleaner classrooms, more teachers with college degrees, a full-time teaching coach and rising scores on the federal government’s main yardstick of classroom quality. Once in the lowest 10 percent nationwide, Jacksonville now has scores that approach the national average. The change reflects an unheralded trend: Head Start, the country’s biggest preschool program, is getting better.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/head-start-preschool.html
Weakest students more likely to take online college classes but do worse in them
Survey of rigorous academic research on online education finds lower grades and higher drop out rates
Hechinger Report Proof Points Column by JILL BARSHAY February 4, 2019
Online college classes and degrees give working adults a lot of flexibility in furthering their educations but there’s a big policy debate over whether students are learning much. According to the most recent federal statistics from 2016, roughly one out of every three or 6.3 million college students learned online. That number is growing even as fewer people are going to college. About half of them were enrolled in online degree programs and take all of their classes on the internet. The other half took one or more of their college classes online as they were also studying in traditional classrooms on a campus. A new January 2019 paper from two researchers, one of whom served in the Obama Administration, documents the rise of online learning and reviews a large body of academic research on it. The researchers conclude that most students, especially those with weak academic backgrounds, aren’t being well served by the kinds of online courses that colleges are typically offering. The researchers then argue that these lackluster student results are why lawmakers and regulators shouldn’t relax the rules on colleges that teach online.
https://hechingerreport.org/weakest-students-more-likely-to-take-online-college-classes-but-do-worse-in-them/
Five Things to Watch for in Trump's State of the Union Speech
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on February 3, 2019 9:52 AM
So the political climate surrounding this year's State of the Union address is ... not awesome. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats have had a bruising fight about the recent 35-day government shutdown, and it's possible another shutdown will hit after Feb. 15. So in this volatile environment, will Trump pay any attention to addressing K-12 education in his speech? In his 2018 State of the Union speech, Trump barely mentioned education. He didn't even talk about what's supposed to be his favorite education policy: school choice. In fact, the last time a president's State of the Union speech included less about education than Trump's 2018 speech was in 1989. And Congress hasn't really responded to what Trump's asked for in the 2018 state of the union and his 2017 address to a joint session of Congress. But maybe this year he'll pay a little bit more attention to education? If so, here are a few of the things he might touch on.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/02/trump-state-of-the-union-school-safety-choice-immigration.html
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.
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
PSBA Members - Register for PSBA 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/
School directors 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
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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