Wednesday, March 6, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 6: ELC report says charters are more segregated, serve relatively fewer students with the highest needs


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.

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ELC report says charters are more segregated, serve relatively fewer students with the highest needs



Join @PSBA on Wed. March 6th for a #twittertownhall! Leading education policy analyst and researcher on the #2019StateofEd report will be answering your questions about PA public education data from 12:30-1:30PM. Follow #PAEdData for updates! @PasaSupts @PAPRINCIPALS @PAIU



“Back in 1975, when the law that was to become the Individuals with Disabilities Act was passed, Congress authorized itself to pick up 40 percent of the extra cost of educating a student in special education. But the federal government has never come close to that level. Right now, the federal government pays for about 14 percent of those expenses, leaving the rest to states and school districts. Current federal spending under the IDEA stands at $12.5 billion.”
National School Boards Association Pushes for Federal Special Education Law Overhaul
Education Week By Christina Samuels on March 5, 2019 2:11 PM
Is this the year that Congress will take up the long-overdue renewal of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—plus boost funding for the law?  The National School Boards Association wants to see both. Advocating for "full funding" of IDEA is a perennial issue, but the association is also drawing attention to the fact that the law, last reauthorized in 2004, needs to be rewritten to address more up-to-date concerns about educating students with disabilities. "This is our big initiative, our big push for this Congress," said Thomas Gentzel, the executive director of the school boards association. And the organization is moving forward on multiple fronts. First, Congress has already shown it can pass major education bills—the Every Student Succeeds Act was passed four years ago, and in 2018, Congress passed and President Trump signed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, a reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. That $1.2 billion program was last passed by Congress in 2006.  So, Gentzel said, Congress has shown that it can do this policy work, even though lawmakers have yet to introduce this session a bill that would increase IDEA funding. "It's important for Congress to express its support for the legislation it passed but funding it at the level it promised to fund it." 

Charter leaders fired back, saying that inequity is embedded in District practices and policies.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa March 5 — 4:19 pm, 2019
Philadelphia’s traditional charter schools enroll a smaller share of the city’s most disadvantaged students – those from the most poverty-stricken families, those who have special needs, and English language learners – than District-run schools do, according to a new report from the Education Law Center. The findings suggest that the 58 schools “are not sharing equitably in the responsibility of educating all students,” the report said. Roughly 30 percent have no English language learners at all, it said. More than half of these charters are “hyper-segregated,” ELC stated, which is when more than two-thirds of a school’s students are from one racial group and less than 1 percent of them are white. Just 9 percent of District schools are hyper-segregated, the report found. The ELC report stated that traditional charter schools as a whole “disproportionately enroll more advantaged students” and that this demographic difference gives these charters a “significant edge” in presenting themselves as more successful than District schools in academics and sustainability. It also noted that traditional charters are more likely to be more than 50 percent white (12 percent of charters meet this criterion) than District schools are (5 percent meet the criterion) and more likely to be located in predominantly white neighborhoods. Overall in the District, about 15 percent of students are white. Although the simple requirement that students must apply to enroll in charters already guarantees a self-selected population, “systemic charter practices exacerbate the differences between district and charter populations, deepening the ‘double segregation’ of race and poverty for students who remain in district schools,” the report said.

A new divide between charters and traditional public schools? | Editorial
The Inquirer Editorial Board Updated: 20 minutes ago
Charter schools can be viewed through multiple lenses when comparing them to traditional public schools: academics, innovation, cost. Another lens with which to assess the value of charters is how equitable they are in their choice of students. When Education Law Center (ELC) recently scrutinized student populations of English language learners, disabled students, and students of color, they found that charters were not serving as broad a range of students as traditional district schools. Among its findings: that charters are more economically and racially segregated than district schools, and serve a more financially advantaged population. In addition, charters serve fewer English language learners than district schools. And, they serve a lower percentage of students with severe disabilities. These are important findings because more than 30 percent of Philadelphia’s kids are enrolled in charter schools and 33 percent of the total public school spending goes to charters. Comparisons of academic performance of charters and traditional public schools is a matter of debate. Charter supporters say they’re better; detractors say that charters “cream” students, finding ways to reject more challenging students. Notably, one of the reasons it’s hard to compare academics precisely is that there are variances in the populations of charters and district schools. The ELC report confirms that, suggesting charters are less equitable and less diverse than they should be. It found that more than half of charters are hyper-segregated with more than two-thirds of students from a single racial group. Imbalances were also found in enrollments of English language learners – with district schools serving three times as many English learners as charter schools.

ACLU report says Pa. schools need fewer arrests, more mental health aid
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella and Kristen A. Graham, Updated: March 5, 2019- 12:48 PM
A new report on school safety from the American Civil Liberties Union confirms what leaders in Pennsylvania districts with large numbers of disadvantaged kids have been seeing for years —– too many students are getting arrested instead of receiving mental health aid to head off violence before it starts. “For a lot of our children — especially in urban areas with this violence, in Chester and Philly…the mental trauma piece is missing,” said Anthony Johnson, president of the Chester-Upland school board, when asked about the ACLU’s finding that many U.S. schools lack needed counselors, psychologists or nurses, even as armed policing increases. In Johnson’s Delaware County district — dogged for years by a lack of funding and high poverty rate — administrators are looking to place more mental health providers in schools. “We probably need on-site people every day to deal with this trauma,” he added. The ACLU study — entitled Cops and No Counselors: How the Lack of School Mental Health Staff is Harming Students — found there are as many as 1.7 million American children attending schools that have police officers but no counselors, part of a disturbing trend of criminalizing youth behavior while not offering enough early intervention.

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, taxpayers in .@SenBartolotta’s districts had to send over $14.2 million to chronically underperforming cybers that locally elected school boards never authorized. SB34 (Schwank) or HB526 (Sonney) could change that.
Data source: PDE via @PSBA


Aliquippa SD
$648,861.30
Ambridge Area SD
$927,709.18
Avella Area SD
$220,530.59
Bentworth SD
$275,827.37
Bethlehem-Center SD
$598,329.88
Brownsville Area SD
$1,469,117.33
Burgettstown Area SD
$622,578.65
California Area SD
$338,409.47
Canon-McMillan SD
$1,235,101.40
Carmichaels Area SD
$512,335.77
Central Greene SD
$616,337.09
Charleroi SD
$630,397.42
Chartiers-Houston SD
$239,655.36
Fort Cherry SD
$342,488.85
Hopewell Area SD
$710,264.75
Jefferson-Morgan SD
$320,306.39
McGuffey SD
$874,476.08
Ringgold SD
$1,020,865.05
South Side Area SD
$403,433.00
Southeastern Greene SD
$170,495.59
Trinity Area SD
$925,251.07
Washington SD
$705,612.96
West Greene SD
$481,527.90

$14,289,912.45


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?

PA House Ed Committee Chairman Curt Sonney sits down with North East School District officials
The Corry Journal By Kim Lux, Editor Mar 1, 2019
State Rep. Curt Sonney (R-4) visited the North East School District on Monday, Feb. 25, to meet with district officials.  The meeting was set up by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. PSBA Advocacy Ambassador Mark Ferrara said Sonney’s trip to North East is one of several visits he will make to discuss the state’s budget and education matters with local school districts. Sonney serves as the chair for the state’s education committee. “Statewide, we find that about 70 percent of legislators don’t have a relationship with their local public schools,” Ferrara said. “We like to hold these visits as a way to open communication lines between schools and our state’s legislators.” NESD Superintendent Dr. Frank McClard said the district stays in good contact with local elected officials — especially Sonney.  “We always enjoy talking with Rep. Sonney because he is honest with us and tells us exactly what to expect,” said McClard.  NESD Business Administrator Jeff Fox and Special Education Supervisor Rebecca Kelley were also on hand to discuss the rising costs of special education.

What’s At Stake When There’s A Language Barrier Between Families And Schools?
WESA's Education Special By SARAH SCHNEIDER • MAR 1, 2019 Audio Runtime 21:49
This is one of two parts of our hour-long special, airing at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 1, looking at translation services in western Pennsylvania school districts. The other part is available here.
Life changed for Maka Osman when Pittsburgh Public Schools hired her sister-in-law, Amina Muya six years ago. Osman speaks limited English and relies on Muya to interpret communication from the schools into her native language, Chizigua, a Bantu dialect. “It has been a major change and it has been very helpful,” Osman said through Muya. “And even though the kids sometimes do make mistakes and do the wrong thing and make poor choices, with the ability of communicating with the teachers and knowing what’s going on, we have been able to take the right actions.” Osman has had children in the Pittsburgh Public School district for 15 years. She emigrated with her family from Somalia in 2004. Before Muya was hired, Osman said she had a hard time navigating communication with the schools. “Like, for example, if the kids were involved in a fight and they got suspended, they wouldn’t know what actually happened,” Osman said through Muya. “That was a major challenge. But now that’s a little bit better because we have people who speak our language.”

“These are reasonable changes that have no significant impact on gun ownership, hunting, target shooting or gun collecting. In sum, these measures do not violate the Second Amendment right to firearm ownership.”
Reasonable gun bills: U.S. Senate should follow the House’s lead
These measures do not violate the Second Amendment right to firearm ownership
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAR 5, 2019 6:00 AM
It’s only a matter of time before commonsense gun reform is codified in American law.
We got a hopeful sign of what’s to come when, for the first time in a generation, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved sister bills that tighten some gun purchasing loopholes and toughen background checks — two measures favored by the majority of everyday Americans, according to multiple polls. Expectedly and despite the leanings of most citizens, the National Rifle Association began spewing vitriol almost immediately and pundits began opining that the measures don’t stand a chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Senate. Of course they did and of course they don’t. Still, the winds of change are beginning to blow. The House votes, which largely followed party lines, would extend to 10 days the deadline for completing a background check before a gun sale and the background checks would be required for firearm purchases at gun shows and over the internet. Currently, background checks must be completed within three days or the purchase may go through automatically. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., a sponsor of the background check bill, said 4,800 guns were sold in 2017 to people who should have been restricted from purchasing a gun — that is, people with criminal records or a history of mental illness. 

Decision to reverse expulsion a chilling precedent for school safety [opinion]
Lancaster Online by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD March 6, 2019
THE ISSUE - In an order filed last week, Lancaster County Judge Leonard Brown III “reversed the expulsion of a Manheim Township High School junior who was expelled last year for sending what school officials deemed to be threatening social media messages to another student,” LNP’s Alex Geli reported Saturday. Brown explained that, in his view, school district officials did not provide sufficient evidence to back up the expulsion. Manheim Township School District was given 30 days to appeal the decision.
This reversal has spurred passionate responses on both sides of the issue, and we can understand that — to an extent. This is a painful situation. Nobody wants to see a student expelled from school. And everyone, we believe, wants our schools to be as safe as possible. But we ultimately join school administrators in being greatly concerned by this court decision. It could have a chilling effect on their ability to make crucial calls on school safety.

Philly students become designers for a weekend
Fresh Artists Design Lab participants created carrying pouches for a local toy company.
The Notebook by Maya Wernick March 5 — 11:42 am, 2019
Twelve students from nine Philadelphia-area schools got a crash course in working on a design staff as part of Fresh Artists’ Design Lab program. The Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization provides free art programs to public and charter schools across the country. The group primarily works with schools where 70 percent or more of the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Before participating in Design Lab, students go through a process to ensure that they will be a good fit for the program. These programs are weekend-long, focused workshops with a specific product or result in mind and they require a certain type of student to succeed. Fresh Artists director Barbara Allen said the organization typically holds one or two Design Labs per year. Before each local Lab, they send a design brief to every art teacher in the Philadelphia, Camden, Norristown, and Chester Upland school districts describing the project. The teachers nominate students who want to participate, and Fresh Artists interviews the nominees and their families.

An electrical engineer in heels? Get used to it, says nationwide STEAM advocate at Thaddeus Stevens College
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer March 5, 2019
Not every electrical engineer is into high heels. But Paige Kassalen is. And she doesn’t care who knows it. “What’s so wrong with that?” Kassalen told a crowd of about 750 middle and high school girls at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Tuesday morning. “The answer to that is nothing.” Kassalen, a nationwide advocate for girls pursuing careers in STEAM — science, technology, engineering, the arts and math — served as the keynote speaker for “Reach New Heights,” Thaddeus Stevens’ annual event recognizing Women’s History Month. Students representing 14 schools from Lancaster and surrounding counties participated in the program emceed by WGAL-TV meteorologist Christine Ferreira. The overarching theme: Don’t let others tell you something is impossible. “I learned that I should always believe in myself,” Brooke Rankin, an eighth-grader at Swift Middle School, said after the event. “And if people are telling me that I can’t do it but I know I can, I should get new friends.”

Faint of art: New evidence bolsters the argument for arts education
Fordham Institute by Robert Pondiscio 2.20.2019
There are two ways to read this report of a first-of-its-kind arts education experiment from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. The first is with a measure of relief. The authors claim measurable academic, social, and emotional outcomes associated with arts education for elementary and middle school students. Bravo! The second is with a touch of vexation, perhaps sadness, or even resignation. Do we reallyneed a randomized control trial study to justify the arts as an essential part of a well-rounded education? If a rock-bottom basic function of K–8 schooling is to expose children to the broadest range of human knowledge, discovery, and expression (that isthe function, right?), then a permission slip is hardly needed to include the arts. What would we do if the results had proven no measurable outcomes? Would some argue to remove the arts from the school day? Alas, that ship has sailed. Arts education has been in decline since the 1980s, note Daniel H. Bowen of Texas A&M, and the University of Missouri’s Brian Kisida, the present study’s coauthors. The emphasis on standardized testing in reading, math, and other core subjects since the passage of No Child Left Behind has also “coincided with notable declines” in exposure to the arts in school, they report.


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 April 27th 8am – 4:30pm at DCIU
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.

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.

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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