Tuesday, March 19, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 19: Philly Board of Education releases annual charter reports


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

Philly Board of Education releases annual charter reports


Philly Board of Education releases annual charter reports
Evaluations for the 2017-18 school year are available for 72 schools.
the Notebook by Emma Lee/for NewsWorks March 18 — 3:48 pm, 2019
The Board of Education has released annual charter school evaluations for 72 of its 87 charter schools, covering most that are not up for renewal this school year. The brick-and-mortar charters enroll about 65,000 students. According to a board statement, general improvements across all charters include better practices to comply with required services for English learners, revised codes of conduct that differentiate consequences for students in the lower grades, and timely submission of financial audits. This is the fourth year for these annual evaluations, which cover academics, operational practices, and financial health.  The Charter Schools Office produces detailed reports on schools that are up for renewal; 12 schools are in that category this year. The information in the evaluations primarily covers the 2017-18 school year.
Reports for individual schools can be accessed here.

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. Over the next several days we will continue rolling out cyber charter tuition expenses for taxpayers in education committee members, legislative leadership and various other districts.
In 2016-17, Senator .@SenSantarsiero’s school districts had to send over $9.4 million to chronically underperforming cybers that they never authorized. SB34 (Schwank) or HB526 (Sonney) could change that.
Links to additional bill information and several resources have been moved to the end of today’s postings

Central Bucks SD
$1,383,453.48
Council Rock SD
$0.00
Morrisville Borough SD
$419,507.00
New Hope-Solebury SD
$81,614.70
North Penn SD
$1,928,469.36
Pennridge SD
$1,651,816.00
Pennsbury SD
$1,335,842.73
Quakertown Community SD
$1,748,268.89
Souderton Area SD
$881,944.12

$9,430,916.28

State rejects 1st version of Erie schools recovery plan
GoErie By Ed Palattella  Posted at 12:01 AM March 19, 2019
Education secretary tells state-appointed financial administrator to make revisions that focus on “definitive performance goals.” Revised plan due in 60 days. Like a high school teacher displeased with the draft of a term paper, the Pennsylvania secretary of education has sent back the Erie School District’s state-mandated financial improvement plan for more work. Secretary Pedro Rivera on Monday rejected the initial version of the plan and told the district’s state-appointed financial administrator to include clearer directives in the revised document. The administrator, Charles Zogby, has 60 days to submit a revised plan, according to a letter that Rivera sent to Zogby on Monday, the deadline for Rivera to approve or disapprove the initial version. The law requires Rivera to ask for revisions with a disapproval. Rivera wants Zogby to present more concrete targets that the school district must meet to avoid insolvency and get out of the financial-watch status with the state, according to the three-page letter, which the Department of Education provided to the Erie Times-News.

What happened when Philly closed 30 schools? New study offers answers
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent March 19, 2019
When Philadelphia closed more than 10 percent of its traditional public school buildings in 2012 and 2013, many worried about the thousands of students displaced by these closures. A new study, however, suggests that the students who struggled most academically during this tumultuous time were those attending schools that received the most displaced students. The paper by two University of Pennsylvania professors, to be published formally next month in the Economics of Education Review, is perhaps the most comprehensive analysis yet of the 30 school closings that rocked Philadelphia’s education landscape during the early years of this decade. Some of the study’s conclusions affirm the district’s approach, while others will embolden critics.

School Safety: Students, Teachers & Administrators Reflect On Safety In An Era Of Mass Shootings
WPSU By EMILY REDDY • 23 HOURS AGO
Moshannon Vally School District Superintendent John Zesiger said to make intruder drills more realistic they’ve added some complications.  “We block exits,” Zesiger said. “We have some students who are not where they're supposed to be. So that the staff and the students have to kind of think on their feet and say, ‘Geez, here’s where I'm supposed to go out, but I can't get out that way.’ And they look for the next best option.” The district has other tactics to head off school violence too. They have guidance counselors, armed security guards and cameras. They recently fenced the elementary school playground. And they’re replacing the last of the original doors from 1964.  But Zesiger said they don’t want to make it feel like the local prison. “We certainly walk a fine line. We don't want to be SCI Houtzdale,” Zesiger said.  For many schools, shootings like the ones in Parkland and Newtown have led to a new reality of locked doors, armed guards and intruder drills. School districts across the country are searching for a balance between preparing students and schools for tragedy, and maintaining a positive climate for learning. 

Elanco weighs discontinuing showering and changing during gym classes until student privacy policy is in place
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer March 19, 2019
The Eastern Lancaster County school board on Monday discussed two interim policy options to allay the community’s concerns over accommodations the board has made for a transgender high school student. The board, however, ended up not voting on either one. “It just shows the board is taking their time and processing everyone’s concerns and processing the volume of data that they have us collecting for them,” district Superintendent Bob Hollister said after the meeting. The two policy ideas were presented by school board President Glenn Yoder. Had the policies been approved Monday, he said, the district would have implemented them quickly, and they would have lasted until a permanent policy was in place. The first option: Allow students to use only the restrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological gender. The second: Discontinue showering and changing for gym classes at the high school, and decommission the urinals in boys’ restrooms. Option one, Yoder said, would be “a gamble with very high stakes,” as the district would risk a lawsuit from the transgender student’s family — a lawsuit the district most likely would lose, he said. Yoder, the rest of the board, plus Hollister, favored the second option. Hollister said the district would need a two-week window before the board implemented such a policy. That way, the district could notify parents, and gym teachers could reconfigure their classes to include less vigorous physical activity. But the board passed on the vote. Board members agreed to revisit the issue in April, when a four-member committee formed in February will have finished a monthlong review of student privacy districtwide.

'There's no change happening unless we force it': Lancaster County students rally for action on climate change in Penn Square
Lancaster Online by TY LOHR | Digital Staff Mar 15, 2019
Students rallied together at Penn Square on Friday, calling for lawmakers to take more action against global warming.  Across the country, hundreds of thousands of students worldwide rallied Friday, mobilized by word of mouth and social media.  Ashton Clatterbuck, a senior at The Stone Independent School, organized the local protest that drew honks from passing cars and some shouts of solidarity.  "There have been dozens of reports saying that we have anywhere between 12 years and 45 years to make remedial change to curb climate change," Clatterbuck said. He went on to cite instances like the California wildfires as examples of climate change, and said, "this is the generation that's going to have to deal with that."  Clatterbuck said that among students from The Stone Independent School, students were also at the protest from McCaskey, Lancaster Mennonite and Lancaster Country Day. "There's no change happening unless we force it," He said. 
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/there-s-no-change-happening-unless-we-force-it-lancaster/article_51326eba-4749-11e9-9572-0f020a698d20.html

Listen to and support students speaking out on climate change [opinion]
Lancaster Online by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD March 19, 2019
THE ISSUE: About 30 people, many of them students, gathered in Lancaster city’s Penn Square on Friday to call on lawmakers to take more immediate and aggressive action to counteract the man-made aspects of climate change. It was just one of many international demonstrations by students that day. “From the South Pacific to the edge of the Arctic Circle, angry students in more than 100 countries walked out of classes to protest what they see as the failures by their governments,” The Associated Press reported.
“What Will I Be Telling My Kids?”
“#YouthClimateStrike”
“Denial is not a policy”
“Make Earth Cool Again”
“There is no Planet B”
These were among the slogans on the handmade signs that students from across Lancaster County displayed Friday in Penn Square. Their local numbers were relatively small, but they were part of a growing worldwide chorus of young people — including more than 150,000 across Europe that day, per the AP — who are concerned about the future of Earth’s climate. The message is clear. The planet is warming rapidly, and we must respond faster. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, began staging demonstration last year to decry the lack of action to combat climate change. Since then, the AP reports, “the weekly protests have snowballed from a handful of cities to hundreds, fueled by dramatic headlines about the impact of climate change during the students’ lifetime.” Thunberg has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Climate change is an existential crisis, Thunberg says. We agree. This is a pivotal turning point. In December, we stated:“We, as individual citizens, must be examples and leaders, too. We must change our consumption habits, pivot toward renewable energy and be willing to make inconvenient adjustments to our fossil-fueled lifestyles. We can do these things. Or we can doom our descendants, starting with those who have already been born, to a likely future of devastating hurricanes, droughts, crop disasters, food shortages, health epidemics and coastal flooding across the globe.” And so we praise students — here and across the world — for standing up and getting loud on this issue.
https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/listen-to-and-support-students-speaking-out-on-climate-change/article_f1117ea0-49c2-11e9-9bb5-b7114dbe7e13.html

State Rep. Brian Ellis, accused of sexual assault, resigns
Inquirer by Liz Navratil and Angela Couloumbis, Updated: March 18, 2019- 5:54 PM
HARRISBURG — State Rep. Brian Ellis resigned on Monday, six days after a woman accusing him of sexual assault filed a formal complaint with the majority House Republicans. “It is with immense gratitude to the sacrifices made by my family, the support of my constituents, and the friendship of my colleagues that I have concluded that it is in the best interests of my family, the residents of the 11th House District, and my own health that I resign from the General Assembly,” Ellis, a Republican from Butler County in Western Pennsylvania, wrote in a two-paragraph letter submitted to the speaker. Attorneys for Ellis said they did not want to comment “at this time.” In a statement last week, the law firm representing him, Myers, Brier & Kelly LLP, described the accusations as “just plain false” and an effort to “generate sensational press coverage.” Ellis’ resignation was effective immediately. He had been listed on medical leave each session day this year, according to a spokesperson for House Republicans. It was unclear why he was on medical leave.
https://www.philly.com/news/brian-ellis-resign-sexual-assault-pa-house-20190318.html

Girls and minorities break records in AP computer science as fastest-growing groups!
Code.org Aug 27, 2018
When Code.org launched in 2013, AP Computer Science was tiny. Fewer than 30,000 students took the course, and almost all of them were white boys. Fewer than 6,000 of the students were female students. Fewer than 4,000 were underrepresented minorities. In five years, thanks to a collaborative effort with the College Board, hundreds of partners, the support of state and federal government, and most importantly, the daily classroom work of tens of thousands of teachers, computer science is seeing explosive growth in schools. AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles exams since 2007 Last year saw the biggest jump thanks to the record-breaking launch of the new Computer Science Principles.This year the momentum continues. In 2018, a total of 135,992 students took the AP Computer Science exam, a rise of 31% from last year.Female students and underrepresented minorities showed the greatest increases from last year:
https://medium.com/@codeorg/girls-and-minorities-break-records-in-computer-science-as-fastest-growing-groups-39d23425810e

Who Are the Students Attending Charter Schools With Low Graduation Rates?
Education Week By Arianna Prothero on March 18, 2019 1:22 PM
By Arianna Prothero and Alex Harwin. 
In nearly 1,000 public high schools, less than half of all students graduate on time, according to a recent Education Week analysis of federal data. And more than half of those high schools are charters. So, who are the students attending these schools with 4-year graduation rates below 50 percent? It may not come as a surprise that these schools educate larger proportions of black, Latino, and low-income students compared to public high schools overall. The yawning gaps in graduation rates between black and Latino students and their white peers has been well documented. The chasm between white students' grad rates and those of students of color and low-income kids is clear when looking at the public high schools that are not charter schools. As you can see in the chart below, non-charter high schools with graduation rates below 50 percent educate a significantly larger share of black and Latino students, and a far smaller share of white students, than non-charter high schools where more than 50 percent of students earn a diploma within four years.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2019/03/who_are_the_students_attending_charter_schools_with_low_graduation_rates.html

“Charter schools are public schools that must be established by non-profit corporations, but there’s no limit on their dealings with for-profit managers and landlords. Charter schools, which Florida first authorized 20 years ago, can play a useful role if they pursue their original purpose. That was to provide laboratories for innovation, free of many of the regulations that govern other public schools. What worked was supposed to be shared with the traditional schools. But little if any of that sharing seems to be happening. Despite multiple studies in Florida and elsewhere, there’s no consensus on whether charters are doing as well, better or worse than the traditional model in educating children. What the Florida data do show — conclusively — is that they enroll smaller percentages of low-income students and students with disabilities, leaving the public schools responsible for the rest, even as charters and private schools siphon off more tax money.”
Charter school companies feast at the public trough | Editorial
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants to do something about “bad actors” in the charter school industry, but he has yet to say what that would be. The problem is the very existence of the for-profit sector. Charter schools should be non-profit in all respects.
South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board March 15, 2019
In the Summer 2015 edition of the conservative magazine National Affairs, two of America’s leading charter school proponents made a striking confession. “We wanted the infusions of capital and entrepreneurialism that accompany the profit motive, but we didn’t take seriously enough the risk of profiteering,” wrote Chester Finn Jr., and Bruno Manno, both former assistant U.S. secretaries of education. They also warned against letting the charter sector “ossify into a conventional interest group.” Florida has become Exhibit A of both counts: profiteering and interest group politics. Under the uncritical eyes of an indulgent Legislature, for-profit education companies now manage nearly half of the state’s 650 publicly financed charter schools and enroll more than 130,000 students, but with woefully insufficient controls on what they spend and to whom they pay it. Like the private prison industry and other banqueters at the public trough, they’re investing heavily in lobbying — $5.3 million in just over 10 years — and in political expenditures.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-charter-schools-20190314-story.html

Southwest Key, Known for Migrant Shelters, Cashes In on Charter Schools
The schools are struggling with debt even as the charity sits on tens of millions.
New York Times By Kim Barker March 15, 2019
At East Austin College Prep in Texas, raccoons and rats invade offices and classrooms. When it rains, the roof of the main building leaks. Room 106 was so rickety a chair leg fell through the floor. Yet for all this, the secondary school pays almost $900,000 in annual rent. It has little choice: Its landlord is also its founder, Southwest Key Programs, a charity that is the nation’s largest provider of shelters for migrant children. The nonprofit says it formed the charter school and three others to help disadvantaged students get to college, but Southwest Key has financially benefited from the schools. Not only does it collect rent, but it has forced them to hire its for-profit companies, which have charged high fees for everything from maintenance to school lunches. “We don’t even have a cafeteria — we eat in our gym,” said Yamilet Perez, 18, the student council president at the Austin secondary school. “You’re sitting there eating your lunch, and you can still smell the sweat of the class before.” The operations of the charter schools, serving about 1,000 students, show how Southwest Key profits off public money, boosting compensation for charity leaders and stockpiling tens of millions of dollars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/us/southwest-key-schools.html

Conservatives, It's Time for Us to Focus on Teacher Professionalism
5 policy facets of the teacher profession that lawmakers should consider
Education Week Commentary By Mary Scott Hunter, Mike Bileca, & John Eichelberger March 11, 2019
Mary Scott Hunter is a former member of the Alabama State Board of Education. Mike Bileca is the former chairman of the Florida House Education Committee. John Eichelberger is the former chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee. The three currently serve on an advisory board for William Bennett's Conservative Leaders for Education.
This is an exciting time of year for many state legislators. The states are where the hard work of education policymaking and reform is actually accomplished, and the critical period of the legislative session is happening right now for many states. This is a time for state policymakers across the nation to consider what specific issues they will prioritize in the coming months. While every state faces unique challenges and will develop unique solutions (just as it should be in educational policy!), many are focused on a host of issues that all revolve around enhancing the profession—and professionalism—of teaching. In the last year and right up to the moment as we write this, a huge amount of attention is being paid to teachers for their walkouts and strikes in states including Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, California, and Colorado. In spite of the attention, a much deeper and far-reaching discussion of what the future of the teaching profession could look like has been drowned out. We know that conservative state lawmakers are intensely interested in this big-picture issue. We believe it is time for this discussion. We encourage our colleagues across the country to consider the many policy facets of teacher professionalism.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/03/12/conservatives-its-time-for-us-to-focus.html


The League of Women Voters of Delaware County and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit present: EPLC 2019 Regional Training Workshop for PA School Board Candidates (and Incumbents) April 27th 8am – 4:30pm at DCIU
Ron Cowell of The Pennsylvania Education Policy and Leadership Center will conduct a regional full day workshop for 2019 Pennsylvania School Board Candidates.
Date & Time: Saturday, April 27, 2019, 8am to 4:30pm
Location: Delaware County Intermediate Unit, 200 Yale Ave. Morton, PA
Incumbents, non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to participate in this workshop. Registration is $75 (payable by credit card) and includes coffee and pastries, lunch, and materials. For questions contact Adriene Irving at 610-938-9000 ext. 2061.
To register, please visit http://tinyurl.com/CandidatesWksp

“BACKPACK FULL OF CASH” DOCUMENTARY You Are Invited to A Free Screening presented by BASD Proud Parents and the Bethlehem Area School District MARCH 21, 6:30pm – 8:00pm  NITSCHMANN MIDDLE SCHOOL Discussion to Follow
“BACKPACK FULL OF CASH” DOCUMENTARY – Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, Matt Damon, BACKPACK explores the real cost of privatizing America’s public schools. Before the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the appointment of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, filmmakers Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow couldn’t have known that the new administration would dramatically shift the national debate about education to the very issues at the heart of their film: charter schools, vouchers and privatization. Now, this timely new documentary takes viewers into the world of market-based education “reform”.
BACKPACK FULL OF CASH follows the tumultuous 2013-14 school year in Philadelphia and other cities where public education – starved of resources and undermined by privatization – is at risk. The documentary also showcases a model for improving schools – a well-resourced public school system in Union City, New Jersey, where poor kids are getting a high-quality education without charters or vouchers. BACKPACK FULL OF CASH makes the case for public education as a basic civil right. The film features genuine heroes like the principals, teachers, activists, parents and most hearteningly, students who are fighting for their education. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, writer David Kirp and policy expert Linda Darling Hammond are among the national thought leaders who provide analysis in the film.

2019 State of Education report now online
PSBA Website February 19, 2019
The 2019 State of Education report is now available on PSBA.org in PDF format. The report is a barometer of not only the key indicators of public school performance, but also the challenges schools face and how they are coping with them. Data reported comes from publicly available sources and from a survey to chief school administrators, which had a 66% response rate. Print copies of the report will be mailed to members soon.

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 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.

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/

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


PSBA Tweet March 12, 2019 Video Runtime: 6:40
In this installment of #VideoEDition, learn about legislation introduced in the PA Senate & House of Representatives that would save millions of dollars for school districts that make tuition payments for their students to attend cyber charter schools.
http://ow.ly/RyIM50n1uHi 

PSBA Summaries of Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 526

PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Statewide Cyber Charter School Funding Reform

PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 256

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


Has your state representative cosponsored HB526?

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.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)