Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education
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congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
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principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
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PA Ed Policy Roundup August 22, 2019
In 2009-10, the $220
million PA Charter School Reimbursement State Budget Line was completely
eliminated
PA Charter Trivia: In
2009-10, the $220 million PA Charter School Reimbursement State Budget Line
which partially compensated school districts for stranded costs/loss of state
aid when a child moves to a charter school, was completely eliminated.
PA Ed Policy Roundup will be offline on vacation
next week
Editorial: Charter
bills crucial for all districts Fair school funding imperative
Scranton
Times-Tribune BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD / PUBLISHED: AUGUST 21, 2019
Securing equitable
state funding for the Scranton School District is crucial to its success. As a grass-roots
movement grows to pressure the state for that money — $18 million or more by
which it has been underfunded relative to its peer districts — momentum also
has begun to build in Harrisburg for broader reforms that would help all of the
state’s 500 public school districts. Charter schools are public schools that
are funded by taxpayers, yet lack the same level of accountability, regarding
academics and finances, that state law demands of conventional public schools.
For the most recent school year, Pennsylvania taxpayers paid $1.8 billion to
charter schools. Those schools are funded according to the costs-per-student of
the students’ home school districts, rather than according to the charter
schools’ actual costs. Moreover, some of the charters have been found to
underperform the conventional public schools for which they purport to be an
alternative. Gov. Tom Wolf last week directed the Department of Education to
develop regulations to produce greater public accountability for charter school
operations to achieve these goals:
■ Allow school
districts to limit student enrollment at charters that do not provide a
high-quality, equitable education.
■ Require
transparent charter admissions policies that do not discriminate based on
intellectual or athletic ability.
■ Hold charters to
the same transparency standards that apply to public schools.
■ Hold charter
companies and boards of trustees to ethical standards to prevent conflicts of
interest involving financial benefits to themselves, families or related
interests — the same standards that apply to public school boards.
■ Require charters
to seek public bids for supply and service contracts.
■ Establish a
charter application process that informs contributing school districts about
proposed operations.
■ Require charters
to document all costs and prevent overcharging.
■ Recoup taxpayers’
costs that the Department of Education provides to for-profit charters.
All of those
measures will help to put conventional and charter schools on equal footing,
where they should be, given their common public funding. Wolf is not alone in
seeking a fairer charter system. Because charters affect the finances of all
500 public school districts, the issue is important to every legislator. The
governor and legislators from both sides of the aisle plan on seeking
legislative changes this fall to change how charter schools are funded.
Wolf touts investment
in education at Coebourn Elementary in Delco
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin
ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com August 21,
2019
BROOKHAVEN — Gov.
Tom Wolf stopped by Coebourn Elementary School in Brookhaven Wednesday
afternoon to tout the successes of public education before local schools open
their doors for a new year next week. The Democratic governor said he was there
to “brag” about public institutions like Coebourn and the billions of dollars
he has added to education funding in the five years he has served in
Harrisburg. “The future of Pennsylvania runs through places just like this, and
if we don’t do what we need to do in places like Harrisburg then shame on us
because we’re not doing what we need to do for our future,” said Wolf. “There
is not a whole lot that government should do in a system like ours, but making
sure we have a world–class education system has got to be, for me, the top
priority. “We have a long way to go get there in Pennsylvania, but we have done
some things. I’m proud that in the five budgets that I’ve been part of we have
actually brought 1.2 billion new dollars in K-12 education.” In the state
budget that Wolf signed for 2019-20, $160 million was added to basic education
with a $50 million boost for special education. Approximately $80 million was
added in funding for Pre-K, Head Start, career and technical programs, and
other education programs for the year.
“Allentown has pointed to rising charter
costs as the reason it asked 23 charters and cybercharters to take a tuition
cut. In 2009-10, it paid less than $10 million for 1,000 students to attend
charters. For the upcoming school year, the district is expected to pay about
$60 million. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run.”
Lehigh Valley charter
schools tell Allentown School District to ‘live within its means’; reject
tuition pay cut
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING CALL | AUG 21, 2019 | 8:07 PM
Almost 20
charter schools have sent a joint letter to the Allentown School District
saying they will not take a 10% tuition reduction to help Allentown balance its
budget.
Lehigh Valley
charter schools have rejected Allentown School District’s attempt to balance
its budget by having them accept 10% less in tuition payments, telling the district
to “live within its means.” In a letter dated Wednesday and addressed to school
board President Audrey Mathison, Ana Meyers, executive director of the
Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, on behalf of 19 of the
Valley’s 23 charter and cybercharters, called Allentown’s request “not
acceptable.” “Like public
charter schools, the district needs to live within its means and budget
accordingly,” Meyers wrote in a joint letter. Her group represents some but not
all the Valley’s charter schools. Like public charter
schools, the district needs to live within its means and budget accordingly. The Allentown
School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last
week, Julie Benjamin, the district’s communications director, said that if
charter schools don’t agree to the reduction, Allentown would explore other
options. Benjamin said Allentown has enough
money to meet its financial obligations until the spring. The Allentown School District this month submitted a $341.8 million
budget to the state that is balanced only if charter schools agree to a tuition
reduction that saves Allentown $6 million. The district publicly made its
request at a June 27 meeting, but individual letters weren’t sent to the
charter schools until last week.
LETTER: Make an
informed decision on education
Observer Reporter
Letter by Joe Zupancic, Canonsburg August 22, 2019
As the start of the
school year approaches, our televisions and social media platforms are being
flooded by advertisements from Pennsylvania cyber charter schools trying to
lure students and parents away from their own traditional public schools. These
schools, or their nationally affiliated education management companies, try to
use terms like “individualized instruction” and “tuition-free public school” to
sweeten the pot in trying to get new customers. When evaluating the option of
whether to remove their children from their home public school and send them to
a cyber charter school, parents should be armed with the knowledge necessary to
make an informed decision. Fortunately for parents, the Pennsylvania Department
of Education provides them with just such a tool. The website www.futurereadypa.org is the site where the Department of Education uses to host the data
regarding the performance for all schools in the commonwealth, whether they are
traditional public schools, brick-and-mortar charter schools and cyber charter
schools. Anyone can access this data and analyze the performance of their home
school district and any other school. One of the extremely helpful features of
the site is that it allows one to compare the performance of more than one
school at a time. By using this feature, parents can see for themselves the
difference between the public school their children now attend and the cyber
charter schools that are competing for their students and our tax dollars.
All parents should
honor their obligation to make the best decision possible regarding the
education of their children. The best way to honor that obligation is to make
that decision an informed one.
“It was one of Philadelphia’s first ‘no
excuses’ charter schools. And the students were like guinea pigs in an intense
educational experiment, one designed to alter lives and, crucially, measure
whether it worked. A dozen years after the school’s first class graduated
eighth grade, the students are now in their mid 20s. We caught up with Jayuana
and 32 of her former classmates. Some who made it to graduation, some who
didn’t. Some who praise the school, others who abhor it. But we were most
interested in the people themselves.”
Don’t eat the marshmallow: Students from a ‘no excuses’
charter grow up to tell the tale
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent August 21, 2019 Listen
Jayuana Bullard sat
upright on her bed — in a room wallpapered with lipstick imprints, in a house
crumbling from neglect, in a neighborhood known as one of Philadelphia’s most violent. The thought came easily, like she’d summoned it before. “I wonder if
they felt like they failed somehow,” she said. They were her
teachers from a middle school she’d left more than a decade ago. She not only
remembered them, she wanted their approval. Still. All these years later. “Sometimes
I think about it,” she said. “And I wonder.” Jayuana is 25, an age when middle
school is often a distant memory. We may be able to name a teacher or class
that still resonates. Perhaps we had some social awakening as we passed from
childhood to adolescence. Few of us probably see our lives as a referendum on
the people that taught us in middle school. Not Jayuana. “As far as my
character, as far as me figuring out how to get things done and figuring out
how to treat people on a daily basis…Me as a human?” she said. “They played
such a big role.” There’s not a statistic, a data point, a concrete, measurable
outcome in Jayuana’s life that would lead you to this conclusion. But, when you
talk to talk to Jayuana and hear the plain conviction in her voice — you know
it.
So what was this
school?
Entering his 7th year as Philly superintendent, Hite
emphasizes consistency, puts more focus on equity
In his back-to-school
interview, Hite discusses building upgrades, hiring and the comprehensive
planning review.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa August 21 — 9:35 am, 2019
As he enters his
seventh year as Philadelphia schools’ superintendent — making him the longest
serving District leader since Constance Clayton (1982-93) — William Hite is
emphasizing a story of steady progress and consistent focus on crucial goals. To
be sure, he acknowledges, city schools still face daunting obstacles of
concentrated poverty and financial struggles abetted by a broken state funding
system. “The things that school districts don’t do well is maintain a focus on
things they’ve set out to accomplish,” Hite said in a back-to-school interview
on Tuesday. “They start a lot of things, add a lot of things, and it feels like
a lot of activity and energy. One thing that is important here in Philadelphia,
we’re focused on the same things as last year.” Among the most important:
improving early literacy and getting more students to graduate with “the skills
and ability to pursue their aspirations and dreams.” Other areas of focus
include recruiting and retaining talented teachers, and stepping up facilities
repairs and upgrades.
Pa. can’t wait any
longer on broadband expansion. Here’s why | Opinion
By Pam Snyder Capital-Star Op-Ed
Contributor August 22,
2019
State Rep. Pam Snyder, a Democrat, represents
the 50th House District, which includes parts of Fayette, Greene, and
Washington counties. She writes from Harrisburg
Imagine the
following scenarios:
- A sixth grader, who is trying to finish an
online project, can only complete this assignment while sitting in her
parent’s car in the parking lot of her school.
- A physician, whose patient lives more than an
hour away, wants to utilize remote patient monitoring technology, but is
unable to do so.
- A large employer is considering relocating to
Pennsylvania, bringing with it the potential of hundreds of jobs and
community investment, but has decided against it.
What’s the common
denominator in each of these scenarios?
It’s unreliable
broadband internet service.
For the past three
years, I have been pushing for all Pennsylvanians – rural, urban and suburban –
to have access to reliable, affordable broadband access, regardless of the
county in which they reside. In particular, the more rural and densely
populated areas of our state have been most affected by this lack of access.
Teacher salaries: Pa. ranks among top states for starting
teachers, study shows
Penn Live By Janet Pickel | jpickel@pennlive.com Today 5:41 AM
In his 2019 state
budget, Gov. Wolf proposed setting Pennsylvania’s minimum salary for teachers
at $45,000. The
minimum starting pay for teachers has been at $18,500 for 30 years. Across Pennsylvania, almost a third of school
districts have teachers earning salaries below $45,000, according to the state
Department of Education. Other employees with a bachelor’s degree earned a
median salary of $47,000 in 2017 in the state. While the minimum salary
boost remains
just a proposal in Pennsylvania, the state
ranked well on a study of starting teacher salaries vs. other salaries.
Gun-law changes supported by Pa. suburban women,
Republican poll shows
Penn Live By Katie Meyer | PA Post Posted Aug 20, 2019
(Harrisburg) — A Republican polling firm
says its latest survey found compelling evidence that a key bloc of swing voters want
stricter gun control. The pollsters, from the group Public Opinion Strategy, surveyed 500 suburban women in five districts, including Pennsylvania’s
first congressional. They found that out of seven options, the women said their
highest priority issue is guns. That option got first choice ranking from 30
percent of respondents. The next, healthcare, garnered 24 percent. National
security, at the bottom, had eight percent. More: Reducing gun
violence to save lives is aim of Pa. Gov. Wolf’s latest executive order The suburban women overwhelmingly — 72% to 4% — said they think gun laws
should be stricter, and that they’d be much more likely to vote for a GOP
candidate who supports gun control measures like universal background checks
and waiting periods for firearms purchases. Suburban districts are often home
to the moderate voters who help decide elections. Muhlenberg College professor
Chris Borick, who runs his own poll, said women are particularly key for a
couple reasons. “One is, there’s a high turnout rate among the group,” he said.
“And two, over the last few decades they have shown a willingness to switch
party allegiance.”
“The
question is, will state lawmakers show equal leadership and courage? They need
to take notice – something has changed in Pennsylvania and in America. Inertia
will no longer be tolerated. People are no longer buying the excuses that the
constitution protects extremists and mass murderers. People have had enough of
bloodshed in mosques, synagogues, churches, bars and Walmarts. And people have
had enough of rapid-fire weapons blowing away individuals while we contemplate
the Second Amendment. To be crystal clear, we do not support banning any
law-abiding person from owning weapons to defend person and property. We
understand many of our neighbors in Pennsylvania are responsible hunters, and
we see no reason to deny them access to the weapons they need for sport. But we
also see no reason hunters or home defenders need assault weapons that have
killed dozens of people in a matter of minutes.”
Gov. Wolf is acting to reduce gun violence, but he needs
the Legislature to follow his lead | Pennlive Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board Posted Aug 21, 2:48 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf has
done the right thing. He has taken decisive action to help stem the tide of gun
violence in our state. Now it’s time for the Legislature to follow his lead. After
the mass shooting that killed 12 innocent people in Virginia Beach in
May, Pennlive called for
the governor to do something to help prevent another tragedy here in Pennsylvania. We urged him
to take the modest step of organizing a bipartisan task force to come up with
initiatives to address the scourge that threatens us all. Then, the shootings
in El Paso and Dayton took place, killing dozens of people in incidents less
than 24 hours apart. And a week later, six police officers were shot in a
standoff with someone who shouldn’t have had
a gun in Philadelphia. The
governor heard the cries resounding in Pennsylvania and throughout the country,
calling on leaders to “do something.” And do something he did.
Voting for Gun Control: March For Our Lives Group Has a
Federal Plan for That
Education Week By Stephen Sawchuk on August 21, 2019 1:42 PM
The March for Our
Lives, the group founded by students in Parkland, Fla., after the slaughter
last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has issued a wide-ranging
plan to address "a national public health emergency": gun violence. Since
its formation, the group and the surge of
extraordinary youth activism that accompanied it have successfully
reframed the issue of gun control as a safety issue rather than exclusively a Second Amendment one.
States passed dozens of bills on guns and safety that year. But so far, that
activism has led to few legislative successes at the federal level. The plan
offers the group's most detailed outline to date of what laws it thinks needs
to happen at that level. Described as "a Green New Deal, but for
guns," by one of the
organization's key leaders, it calls
on policymakers to:
Public Support for Teachers' Unions and Charter Schools
Grows, Survey Says
Education Week
Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on August 20, 2019 12:01 AM
An annual poll
conducted by an education research and policy journal reports an increase in
public support for charter schools—but also for teachers' unions, which are
often among charters' biggest antagonists. The
2019 survey from Education Next, which
oversees an annual poll on attitudes toward education, also affirmed previous
polling showing that the
issue of school choice divides Democrats. White members of the party were
significantly less likely to support both vouchers and charter schools than
their black and Hispanic counterparts, according to EdNext. The public's
backing for teacher pay raises also rose again this year, as
it did in 2018 following a
series of high-profile teacher strikes over salaries and working conditions. On
a related note: Among Republicans, approval for teachers' unions spiked
compared to a year ago, although it remains relatively low. And what about how
students feel? Most give top marks to their high school—however, they're
markedly less likely to give their own local public schools an A grade (68
percent) than their parents (82 percent). Overall, however, 60 percent of the
public gave their local public schools an A or B grade—an increase of 9
percentage points from last year and the highest percentage since 2007.
Adolescent Health and
School Start Times: Science, Strategies, Tactics, & Logistics
Workshop Nov 13, Exton
Join school administrators and staff, including superintendents, transportation directors, principals, athletic directors, teachers, counselors, nurses, and school board members, parents, guardians, health professionals and other concerned community members for an interactive and solutions-oriented workshop on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Clarion Hotel in Exton, PA
Join school administrators and staff, including superintendents, transportation directors, principals, athletic directors, teachers, counselors, nurses, and school board members, parents, guardians, health professionals and other concerned community members for an interactive and solutions-oriented workshop on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Clarion Hotel in Exton, PA
The science is clear. Many middle and high school days in Pennsylvania, and
across the nation, start too early in the morning. The American Medical
Association, Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, and
many other major health and education leaders agree and have issued policy
statements recommending that secondary schools start no earlier than 8:30 am to
allow for sleep, health, and learning. Implementing these recommendations,
however, can seem daunting. Discussions will include the science
of sleep and its connection to school start times, as well as proven
strategies for successfully making change--how to generate optimum community
support and work through implementation challenges such as bus routes,
athletics, and more. Register for the workshop here: https://ssl-workshop-pa.eventbrite.com Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are able to offer early bird
registration for $25, which includes a box-lunch and coffee service. Seating is
limited and early bird registration ends on Friday, September 13.
For more information visit the workshop website www.startschoollater.net/workshop---pa or email contact@startschoollater.net
For more information visit the workshop website www.startschoollater.net/workshop---pa or email contact@startschoollater.net
EPLC/DCIU 2019 Regional Training Workshop for PA School
Board Candidates Sept. 14th
The Pennsylvania Education
Policy and Leadership Center will conduct a regional Full Day Workshop for 2019
Pennsylvania School Board Candidates at the DCIU on September 14, 2019.
Target Audience: School Board Directors and
Candidates, Community Members, School Administrators
Description: Full Day Workshop for 2019 Pennsylvania School Board Candidates. Incumbents, non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to participate in this workshop. The workshop will include Legal and Leadership Roles of School Directors and School Boards; State and Federal Policies: Implications for School Boards; School District Finances and Budgeting; Candidates and the Law; Information Resources; "State and Federal Policies" section includes, but is not limited to:
K-12 Governance
PA Standards, Student Assessment, and Accountability
Curriculum and Graduation Requirements
K-12 State Funding
Early Education
Student Choices (Non-Public, Home Schooling, Charter Schools, Career-Technical, and more)
Teacher Issues
Linking K-12 to Workforce and Post-Secondary Education
Linking K-12 to Community Partners
***Fee: $75.00. Payment by Credit Card Only, Visa or Mastercard, PLEASE DO NOT SELECT ANY OTHER PAYMENT TYPE*** Registration ends 9/7/2019
Description: Full Day Workshop for 2019 Pennsylvania School Board Candidates. Incumbents, non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to participate in this workshop. The workshop will include Legal and Leadership Roles of School Directors and School Boards; State and Federal Policies: Implications for School Boards; School District Finances and Budgeting; Candidates and the Law; Information Resources; "State and Federal Policies" section includes, but is not limited to:
K-12 Governance
PA Standards, Student Assessment, and Accountability
Curriculum and Graduation Requirements
K-12 State Funding
Early Education
Student Choices (Non-Public, Home Schooling, Charter Schools, Career-Technical, and more)
Teacher Issues
Linking K-12 to Workforce and Post-Secondary Education
Linking K-12 to Community Partners
***Fee: $75.00. Payment by Credit Card Only, Visa or Mastercard, PLEASE DO NOT SELECT ANY OTHER PAYMENT TYPE*** Registration ends 9/7/2019
“Each member entity will have one vote
for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to
come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during
the open voting period (Aug. 23 – Oct. 11, 2019).”
PSBA Officer
Elections: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members
seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination
form no later than June 1, 2019, to be considered. All candidates who properly
completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates
below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 15th at
PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to
bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly
qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to each person’s name
with an asterisk (*).
In November, many boards will be
preparing to welcome new directors to their governance Team of Ten. This event
will help attendees create a full year on-boarding schedule based on best
practices and thoughtful prioritization. Register now:
PSBA: Start Strong:
Developing a District On-Boarding Plan for New Directors
SEP 11, 2019 • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In November, many
boards will be faced with a significant transition as they prepare to welcome
new directors to their governance Team of Ten. This single-day program
facilitated by PSBA trainers and an experienced PA board president will guide
attendees to creating a strong, full year on-boarding schedule based on best
practices and thoughtful prioritization. Grounded in PSBA’s Principles for
Governance and Leadership, attendees will hear best practices from their
colleagues and leave with a full year’s schedule, a jump drive of resources,
ideas for effective local training, and a plan to start strong.
Register online at MyPSBA: www.psba.org and click on “MyPSBA” in the upper right corner.
PSBA: Nominations for The Allwein Society are open!
This award program
recognizes school directors who are outstanding leaders & advocates on
behalf of public schools & students. Nominations are accepted year-round
with selections announced early fall: http://ow.ly/CchG50uDoxq
EPLC is accepting
applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy
& community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program
schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org
2019 PASA-PSBA School
Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and
Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October
16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact
created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the
drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging
role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the
challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education
and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest
product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference to grow!
NPE Action National
Conference - Save the Date - March 28-29, 2020 in Philadelphia, PA.
The window is now open for workshop proposals for the Network for Public
Education conference, March 28-29, 2020, in Philadelphia. I hope you all sign
on to present on a panel and certainly we want all to attend. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBCNDKK
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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