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PA Ed Policy Roundup August 6, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf calls charter schools ‘private,’ draws
heated response from their largest advocacy group
PA Senate Education
Committee Public Hearing on Charter School Funding
Wednesday, August 14,
2019 1:00 PM
Everett Area H. S. 1
Renaissance Cir. Everett, PA
In 2017-18, taxpayers in Senate Ed Committee Members’
school districts had to send over $149 million to chronically underperforming
cyber charter schools that they never authorized.
Data Source: PDE via PSBA.
|
Wayne Langerholc
|
R
|
Bedford
|
$10,352,558.79
|
|
Andrew Dinniman
|
D
|
Chester
|
$15,672,638.25
|
|
John DiSanto
|
R
|
Dauphin
|
$21,154,163.29
|
|
Joseph Scarnati
|
R
|
Potter
|
$11,443,339.56
|
|
Ryan Aument
|
R
|
Lancaster
|
$9,175,841.22
|
|
Patrick Browne
|
R
|
Lehigh
|
$10,444,374.84
|
|
Mike Folmer
|
R
|
Lebanon
|
$19,387,881.10
|
|
Robert Tomlinson
|
R
|
Bucks
|
$10,432,488.25
|
|
James Brewster
|
D
|
Allegheny
|
$15,897,374.62
|
|
Daylin Leach
|
D
|
Montgomery
|
$5,799,084.60
|
|
Lindsay Williams
|
D
|
Allegheny
|
$19,569,080.20
|
|
$149,328,824.72
|
Do your lawmakers support cyber charter school funding
reform?
Education Voters PA Blog Published by EDVOPA on August 2, 2019
Right now, lawmakers are in their districts
enjoying summer vacations. They are away from Harrisburg and have time to
reflect on issues they will prioritize in the fall. Emails from constituents
querying their positions on cyber charter schools will keep this issue on their
radar and ensure that they know their constituents are watching them and
expecting them to take action. Click HERE to email your state senator and
representative to ask them about their positions on cyber charter school
funding and accountability reforms.
As you know, in February, Education Voters of
PA issued a report about cyber charter school
funding. We detailed how capping cyber charter
school tuition rates at the actual cost of educating a child at home on a
computer would eliminate wasteful spending and save more than $250 million in
taxpayer dollars. We also detailed serious issues with cyber charter
accountability and performance. Since then, we’ve helped build substantial
statewide momentum behind cyber charter school reform. Thousands of advocates
(you!!) contacted state lawmakers demanding cyber charter school reform and
newspapers in 17 media markets throughout the state, from McKean to
Philadelphia to Westmoreland to Susquehanna Counties, have covered our report
and informed their readers about this issue. Three newspaper editorial boards
have even endorsed cyber school funding reform (the Pottstown Mercury, the Washington County Observer-Reporter, and
the Scranton Times-Tribune).
“According to Superintendent Michelle Saylor the average cost
for Bellefonte Area students to attend BeLA is about $4,000 per student. The
average tuition for one student in a cyber charter school is about $16,000.”
If passed, Senate Bill 34 could save district, taxpayers
money
Bellefonte Area School District Website By
Brit Milazzo bmilazzo@basd.net Public
relations, BASD
In the 2018-19 school year, Bellefonte Area
School District spent $582,113.56 to fund tuition for students within the
district attending cyber charter schools, which district Director of Fiscal
Affairs Ken Bean said is used with taxpayer dollars. Under Senate Bill 34, that
money could be saved and instead put toward a plethora of projects within the
district that could also come with savings for local residents. Senate Bill 34
would require families to pay out-of-pocket tuition to attend cyber charter
schools if their home school district offers its own cyber education program.
Bellefonte Area School District does, through the Bellefonte eLearning Academy,
under direction of Cyber Education Coordinator Rebecca Leitzell. The bill is
sponsored by Sen. Judy Schwank who said, “Currently, school districts are
responsible for the tuition of resident students attending cyber charter
schools. This is set at the amount of the district's net per-student share of
state basic education funding. Under my legislation, a district that offers a
cyber program equal in scope and content to the cyber charter school will not
be responsible for the tuition costs. Instead, tuition costs will be treated in
cyber situations the same as they are when resident students attend
non-district brick-and-mortar schools.” According to Superintendent Michelle
Saylor the average cost for Bellefonte Area students to attend BeLA is about
$4,000 per student. The average tuition for one student in a cyber charter
school is about $16,000. “Coupled with this staggering cost is that the vast
majority of PA cyber schools consistently place in the bottom five percent,”
Saylor said. “Often cyber charter students who return to the traditional public
schools show significant needs for remediation.”
“Wolf referred to charter schools as
“the privatization of education in our public schools” at a July news
conference celebrating historic funding increases for public schools included
in the 2019-20 budget. In a news release about that event, he lamented the “increasing amounts of school
funding siphoned by private cyber and charter schools” and called for increased
accountability of the public funds flowing to charter schools. According to the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, school districts paid
charter schools more than $1.8 billion last year, which was a 10 percent increase
from the prior year.”
Gov. Tom Wolf calls charter schools ‘private,’ draws
heated response from their largest advocacy group
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com August 5,
2019
To say Gov. Tom
Wolf struck a nerve with the charter school community when he
recently referred to their schools as “private” is putting it mildly, but his administration is not backing away from
that description. An organization representing those schools sent Wolf a letter
on Thursday voicing their “grave concerns” about his comments as well as his
perception of charters, which are public schools that operate independently of
school districts. “I am shocked that you and your staff are unaware that none of Pennsylvanian’s charter schools [brick-and-mortar
or cyber] are private or for-profit institutions,” states the letter signed
by Ana Meyers, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public
Charter Schools, the state’s largest organization representing charter schools.
“I would have thought that a governor who has championed public education like
you have over the past four-plus years would know better. I believe that you
would have a much better understanding of how charter schools operate in Pennsylvania
if you took the time to visit a few of them.”
Vahan Gureghian is the poster child for school privatization in
Pennsylvania. While none of Pennsylvania’s charter schools [brick-and-mortar or
cyber] are private or for-profit institutions, charters may contract with
private, for-profit management companies.
Those companies are not subject to right-to-know laws and can operate
with virtually no accountability or transparency to the public. Gureghian’s CSMI also
manages the Chester Community Charter School, Pennsylvania’s largest
brick and mortar charter.
Gureghian charter school cut corners ‘for money’s sake,’
N.J. ex-principal says in suit
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: August 2, 2019
A former New Jersey
charter school principal says she was fired after raising concerns about
illegal practices at the school, managed by Gladwyne entrepreneur Vahan
Gureghian’s company. In a whistle-blower
lawsuit filed in Atlantic County, Jeanine Bethel accuses the
company, CSMI, of retaliating
against her after she repeatedly informed it of problems at the Atlantic
Community Charter School during her tenure, which lasted from 2016 to 2018. Among
her allegations: “Illegal deductions” were being taken from staff paychecks;
students weren’t being tested to determine whether they needed special
education; and CSMI’s administrators were illegally using federal money to
supplant, rather than supplement the charter school’s funding. Bethel also says
she was asked, but refused to misrepresent educational data on the school’s
plan for federal Title I money. “The common theme uncovered by plaintiff in her
tenure as principal was that CSMI, which was running a for-profit charter
school, would compromise the charter school’s educational program for money’s
sake,” says the lawsuit, dated June 26.
“When an area experiences a growth in
population of school-aged children, that leads to more school spending and
higher taxes. Our senior citizens, who for years worked tirelessly and now live
on a fixed income, struggle to pay the increased school property tax,” Davis
said in a release. “This should be the least of their worries, and a solution
should be put in place so that our most vulnerable citizens aren’t living
paycheck to paycheck.” In 2012 the Washington Post found that Pennsylvania had the
largest disparity in per-pupil
spending between wealthy and poor districts. The state is currently being sued for inequitable funding. That lawsuit is scheduled for trial in summer 2020.”
Bipartisan Group Of PA Lawmakers To Find Alternatives To
School Property Taxes
WESA By SARAH SCHNEIDER • August 5, 2019
Pennsylvania
lawmakers will meet soon to try to find alternatives to school property taxes.
The task force is far from the first effort to replace the funding mechanism. Attempts
to kill property taxes have stalled for years as legislators have searched for
the right mix of taxes to replace the $13 billion in property taxes that pay
for public education. There are a number of bills in the legislature that would
either cut property taxes entirely or shift more of the burden to other taxes
like personal income. Allegheny County Democratic representative Austin
Davis was recently appointed to the task force. He serves school districts
including McKeesport, Clariton and Steel Valley. “They have an older, shrinking
tax base. Their homes are not valued at the same amounts as places in, like,
the North Hills. So that absolutely adds to an equity issue,” he said. Davis
acknowledges that lawmakers have tried to find a more equitable solution for
decades. Pennsylvania puts a heavier burden on local taxpayers to fund public
education than most states. According to the 2016 Census, the state covers
about 38 percent, the rest comes from local districts through property taxes.
That creates a disparity between wealthier and poorer districts. Davis also
worries about senior citizens who he says can’t afford the tax increases that
school districts say they need.
Skopov announces
second challenge to Turzai
PA Capital Star By
Stephen Caruso August 2, 2019
After falling short
in 2018, Democrat Emily Skopov, a former screenwriter and nonprofit executive,
is taking another run at toppling the state House’s highest ranking official,
Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny. Turzai, first elected in 2001, beat Skopov
54.4 percent to 45.6 percent last year. At the same time, Democrats dominated
the district at the top of the ballot. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf did best,
winning nearly 55 percent of the district’s voters in his successful reelection
campaign. The 28th House District, which Turzai currently holds, is in the
affluent northern Pittsburgh suburbs, including McCandless, Franklin Park and
Marshall townships. President Donald Trump won the district by 52 percent in
2016, a full ten points
less than 2012 GOP nominee Mitt
Romney, according to data collected by Daily Kos, a progressive blog. Skopov
announced the run in a press release Thursday. She told the Capital-Star that
she thinks her race last year was a signal to both state politicos and the
district’s voters. “The people here are now realizing this is a race that can
be won by a Democrat,” she said, adding that “no one really understood what
that district was yet.” A spokesperson for Turzai’s reelection campaign did not
return a request for comment. In 2016, Turzai won 65-35 against a Democratic candidate. He was unopposed in the previous
two races.
Reprise April 2019: School choice is a necessary
complement to public schools | Opinion
Mike Turzai, For the Inquirer Updated: April 30, 2019 - 6:00 AM
Every student in Pennsylvania
deserves the best education possible; one that fits the individual needs of
each student. When it comes to serving these individual needs, we know that one
size does not fit all. So, I have introduced House
Bill 800 to bring the best
of what other states have done to Pennsylvania and to continue to lead the way
on school choice and innovation. Each year, the largest expenditure in Pennsylvania’s
state budget is dedicated to primary and secondary education — more than $11
billion to support every public school in the Commonwealth. When added to local
spending, we devote more than $30 billion annually to funding our public-school
districts. In return for this great investment, Pennsylvania boasts many of the
best public schools in the nation, providing immense benefit to our students
and our communities. But, for a variety of reasons unique to each individual,
these great public schools are not always the right fit for every child or
every family.
Emily Skopov’s
Campaign Website Statement on Education
If a community
cannot provide excellence in its public education, then it is failing not only
the children of that community, but the future of that community. Emily
is dedicated to creating a Pennsylvania in which every single child has access
to the high quality public education that they deserve, regardless of their zip
code. She will fight for increased funding for our public schools, while also
making sure that charter schools are held to the same standard as traditional
public schools. Emily will work for a fair severance tax on oil and gas
drilling in Pennsylvania, dedicating a majority of the revenue to improving our
schools and protecting the environment without adversely impacting the economic
benefits of the industry. Though our public universities and community colleges
are outstanding institutions, their skyrocketing tuition has made them
increasingly unaffordable. Emily pledges to combat this out of control
spending by insisting on more accountability and transparency, while working to
increase funding where it is most needed. Knowing that our economy is
everchanging, Emily will work to increase funding for job training programs and
incentivize the creation of paid apprenticeships to ensure that every
Pennsylvanian who wants a well paying job will have the skills to enter or
remain in the workforce.
‘We cannot accept
this as normal’: Wolf calls on U.S. Senate to pass background check bill
PA Capital Star By John L. Micek August 5, 2019
Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Wolf on Monday called for the U.S. Senate to return from its summer recess
to take up gun-control legislation previously approved by the U.S. House. The
Democrat also called on Republican leaders in the majority-Republican state
House and Senate to “advance common-sense reforms that would reduce access to
guns for violent and dangerous individuals.” Wolf’s office released a statement
just hours after President Donald Trump used a
televised address to the nation to
pledge more resources for mental health treatment, but not stricter gun-control
measures, after lone gunmen killed 31 people and wounded scores more in
separate incidents in Texas and Ohio over the weekend. “The biggest and most
immediate step that we could take as a nation is for the United States
Senate bill, approved by the U.S. House
in February,” Wolf’s statement reads. “Further, it is my belief that Congress
should immediately pursue a ban or significant restrictions on assault rifles
and ammunition accessories — those weapons of choice of mass shooters. I call
on Majority Leader McConnell to immediately end the Senate’s recess and bring
this bill to a vote. This is a nationwide crisis and it demands a national
solution.”
Pa. Gov. Wolf calls for banning assault weapons and
targeting white nationalism after mass shootings
Penn Live By Ed Mahon & Emily Previti |
PA Post Updated Aug 4, 10:04 PM
In the wake of mass
shootings in Texas and Ohio that left at least 29
people dead, Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Wolf called for increased gun restrictions and targeting white nationalism.
Several other Pennsylvania politicians called for action, following the mass
shootings in El
Paso, Texas, and Dayton,
Ohio, this weekend. Sen.
Bob Casey echoed Wolf in a statement, concluding: “Today, President
Trump should address the nation to condemn white nationalism and pledge an all
of government effort to confront white nationalist terrorism. For years,
Congressional Republicans have blocked action on measures to reduce gun
violence and they must be held accountable. It’s time for Senator McConnell and
Congressional Republicans to confront gun violence or get out of the way.” Casey
and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey also took to Twitter:
El Paso Shooting:
Another day, another mass shooting in America. Let’s end it now | Opinion
By Shanna Danielson Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor August 4,
2019
Shanna Danielson, of Dillsburg, is the
Legislative Lead for the Capital Region chapter of MOMS Demand Action for Gun
Sense in America.
This weekend, I had
the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to attend a nationwide training
with MOMS Demand Action, a group dedicated to reducing and eliminating gun
violence in our nation. Two thousand dedicated gun violence prevention
volunteers, leaders, and survivors from all 50 states came together to train,
learn from each other, and celebrate our victories. While we were assembled
together for lunch, we learned of yet another mass shooting in America, this time in El
Paso, Texas. It seems
that not a day goes by without news of a shooting. Mass shootings receive
endless media attention, but we also regularly experience gun violence in our
communities in central Pennsylvania. There is so much we can do. An easy place
to start is to pass the background check bill currently stalled in Washington.
We need our senators in Washington D.C. to vote to require a background check
on all gun sales. Join MOMS Demand Action and ask U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D) and
Pat Toomey (R) to demand action, too. Text CHECKS to 644-33 and join our
efforts. Together, we can make a difference and make America a safer place to
live.
We don’t have to be sitting ducks for white nationalists:
We can stand and fight | Pennlive Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board Updated Aug 5, 4:53 PM; Posted Aug 5,
12:34 PM
We don’t have to be
sitting ducks. That’s one of the main messages they tell you in active shooter
training. Don’t just let them kill you. If there’s no chance for flight, then
you should fight. Let’s face it, we’re all under threat from hate-filled people
with guns. Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, all of us – and of
our children -- are going down when the shooting starts. These folks don’t take
the time to ask about your political ideology, whether you’re a member of the
NRA or who you voted for in the last election Flying bullets don’t distinguish
between race, culture or creed. We may as well face it. We can’t run from this.
We all in the room together, and we can hear the shots just outside the door.
We have to stand and fight -- together. We have to stop this foolishness and
figure out how to protect ourselves from deranged bigots who seem to be multiplying
like . . . well, you know. People are dying, and we could be next. It’s a
no-brainer we need to make it harder to kill dozens of people in a minute. No
one needs an assault weapon outside of a battlefield. We understand hunters
want their rifles to take down the deer, and we all want to protect our homes.
No argument from us on this.
“In Dayton, police said they took down
the gunman in 30 seconds. In that time, the guy fired dozens of shots in that
time, killing 9 people and injuring 27 others. He used a .223-caliber
high-capacity rifle with 100-round drum magazines. So, let’s start with taking
a cold, hard look at the kinds of weapons we allow on our streets. And then
let’s ban them and get the off the streets.”
Pat Toomey seeks to revive background checks legislation;
opposes ban on military style firearms
Penn Live By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com Updated Aug 5, 3:56 PM
U.S. Sen. Pat
Toomey is seeking to revive his defeated
proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers even as he holds firmly to the idea that bans on
military style weapons and restrictions to magazine size are not solutions for
staving off mass shootings. During a phone press conference on Monday, the
Lehigh Valley Republican renewed his pitch for the expanded background checks
measure that he and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) introduced six years ago in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. The
so-called Manchin-Toomey bill would expand background checks to all gun sales.
The measure was defeated in the Senate in 2013 when only four Republican senators
voted in favor of it.
Walmart says it will keep selling guns, even as advocacy
groups and workers voice concerns
Post-Gazette by ABHA BHATTARAI The Washington Post AUG 6, 2019 4:30 AM
Walmart said Monday
it will not stop selling firearms or change its open carry policies, even as
advocacy groups and workers voiced concerns about shootings at two of its
stores that killed 24 people in the past week. “There has been no change in
company policy,” spokesman Randy Hargrove said in an interview. “With this
incident just having happened over the weekend, our focus has been on
supporting associates, customer and the El Paso community.” A man with an
assault rifle opened fire Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 20
people and injuring more than two dozen others. Two more people died Monday,
authorities said. Days earlier, a Walmart employee in Southaven, Miss., fatally
shot two co-workers. “The entire Walmart community is heartbroken,” chief
executive Doug McMillon wrote on Instagram in response to the shootings. “I
can’t believe I’m sending a note like this twice in one week.”
“Most tips, the report said, are not
about violent threats. “The numbers in this report show the reality of what our
children are facing in school as they struggle with bullying, anxiety and
thoughts of self-harm,” the report concluded, urging state lawmakers to
increase mental health resources in schools.”
State school safety tip system fielded 23K reports this
year
AP News By MARK
SCOLFORO August 5, 2019
HARRISBURG, Pa.
(AP) — A state report released Monday said bullying, self-harm and suicide were
the most common concerns fielded during the first half-year of operation for a
new threat reporting system that covers Pennsylvania schools. The 21-page
report by the state attorney general’s office said the Safe 2 Say Something
program generated more than 23,000 tips between mid-January, when it launched,
through the end of June. Most tips, the report said, are
not about violent threats. “The numbers in this report show the reality of what
our children are facing in school as they struggle with bullying, anxiety and
thoughts of self-harm,” the report concluded, urging state lawmakers to
increase mental health resources in schools. The report said there were 607
tips about threats against schools and 523 about threats against people. About
1,300 tips were determined to be pranks, including a majority of them that were
immediately identified as false. “There is no question that this program is
contributing to a safer school environment,” said Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, a
prime sponsor of the legislation. “The success of Safe2Say lies in a caller’s
trust that they will remain anonymous and that their tip will be taken
seriously and acted upon swiftly.” Safe 2 Say
Something covers all
K-12 students in Pennsylvania, including charter, private and vocational-technical
schools.
“Less than three percent of the total
tips received were about threats of school violence — 607 of them between mid-January
and the end of June.”
Pa. school safety tip-line used more to report bullying,
suicidal thoughts, than violent threats
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent August 5, 2019 Update: 4:40 p.m.
A Pennsylvania tip
system created to improve school safety fielded some tips about school
violence, but received far more inquiries about student mental health,
according to new data. The state created
the Safe2Say Something program — an anonymous tip line — after school shootings
in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas. And while lots of students,
educators, and administrators used the program during its first six months, few
used it to report threats of violence against their schools. Instead, many of
the 23,494 tips received online or by phone were related to bullying,
self-harm, thoughts of suicide, or depression, according to data released by
Pennsylvania’s Office of the Attorney General. “The numbers in this report show
the reality of what our children are facing in school as they struggle with
bullying, anxiety and thoughts of self-harm,” according to the program’s
inaugural report. “The Attorney General urges Pennsylvania’s Legislature to
read this report, study the data and act to address the need for increased
mental health resources for students across our Commonwealth.”
“This
summer, Philabundance is providing 57,000 meals to kids who lose their school
breakfast and lunch while school is out. LunchBoxes will be provided to
children 18 years and younger through the end of August.”
Nonprofits work together to help fill summer meal gap in
Bucks, Montgomery counties
Intelligencer By Lauren Purnell /
lpurnell@thebct.com / @LaurenPurnellNJ Posted
Aug 1, 2019
School’s out, and
that means kids who receive free or reduced meals are vulnerable to not getting
enough food. Philabundance is working with local nonprofits to ensure they get
nutritious meals. For a lot of Bucks County children, the end of the school
year also means the end of a reliable source for lunch during the week. On
Tuesday, Fresh Connect Bucks County hosted a free farmer’s market in Warminster
Community Park, where Philabundance helped provide fresh produce and 100 lunch
boxes. Fresh Connect redistributes the packed lunches to meet the need in the
county. It was just one site in the region trying to fill the hunger gap.
Approximately 400,000 children in Philabundance’s nine-county service area
receive school meals, and face uncertainty when it comes to lunch time meals
during the summer. Philabundance’s LunchBox program is a partnership with Giant
Food Stores. “It’s a partnership that just makes sense,” said Heather Foor,
Fresh Connect food program manager and Bucks County Opportunity Council
counselor. “We want to meet the need in Bucks County. It just makes sense,
since we’re already doing Fresh Connect, to just add the lunches because we’re seeing
families that we see their children coming through the line, and we know that
summers can be a hard time for kids because they’re not getting meals at
school, so we want to make sure that we have an option for the kids.”
Newly retired York City Superintendent Eric Holmes led
district through troubled times
Lindsay C. VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 10:55 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2019 | Updated 12:09 p.m. ET Aug.
5, 2019
York City School
District officials are still waiting to hear if the state will accept their
request to be removed from financial recovery status — a decision that was expected
to come this July. The state Department of Education unofficially told the
district it could be another three to four weeks, said the district's
Chief Recovery Officer Carol Saylor on Monday, July 29, but department
spokesman Eric Levis said the delay is just a normal part of the process. The
district has been following a mandated recovery plan since just before former
Superintendent Eric Holmes took over in the 2013-14 school year. Following
his retirement this July, some applauded him for his leadership during one of
the district's most trying periods. “He led the school district out of the
immediate financial distress and at the same time made some gains in the
education of the students, as shown by improvement in most of the schools,”
said York City Mayor Michael Helfrich. Though achievement scores on state
assessments are still below all other county districts and charter schools,
students met or exceeded the growth standard in all state assessments for the
past two years, according to the most recent Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment
System data.
Should the state have acted sooner to take over the
Harrisburg School District?
Penn Live By Christine Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.com August 5,
2019
The list of
mistakes by the Harrisburg School district in recent years is long.
The district:
- Hired dozens of teachers at the wrong pay
levels.
- Employed teachers without valid certifications.
- Paid for continued health care for 54 employees
for years after they left the district.
- Hired outside consultants at an alarming rate.
- Lacked basic human resource records.
- Logged timesheets for federal spending on
paperwork that disappeared.
- Claimed to have increased teacher salaries by
nearly $16 million over three years when staffing and experience levels
had declined and there were only small raises.
- Claimed to have spent $10 million on capital
improvements in recent years in addition to general maintenance, even
though the condition of district buildings remained dreadful.
All of this
happened while the district was under the oversight of the Pennsylvania
Department of Education. The district has had a state-appointed chief recovery
officer since late 2012. The state also brought in a financial consultant to
assist the district’s struggling business office in 2012. Outside local
auditors reviewed financial statements each year and flagged problems that
received little, if any, publicity.
Targeted by the GOP,
Pa’s Democratic U.S. House newcomers fill 2020 war chests
By Robin Bravender
Capital-Star Washington Bureau August 4,
2019
WASHINGTON — Freshmen Democrats from Pennsylvania are just getting settled in
the U.S. House, but they continue to rake in campaign cash as they brace for
battle again in 2020. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran
who flipped the 6th District in suburban Philadelphia from GOP control in 2018,
has already raised more than $847,000 so far this year for her 2020 race,
according to her most recent campaign finance report. Her campaign has $1.5
million in the bank. “It’s a lot of money,” said Leah Askarinam, an
analyst with the nonpartisan newsletter Inside Elections. Houlahan jumped
into the 2018 race expecting to face off against incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan
Costello, but he dropped out after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the congressional
districts had been illegally gerrymandered. The new map gave Democrats an
advantage in the district and Houlahan cruised to victory over Republican Greg McCauley. And while it’s
early in the cycle, and Houlahan’s race doesn’t yet appear to be competitive,
the freshman congresswoman doesn’t seem to be taking anything for
granted. “She was recruited as somebody who needed to be able to raise a
lot of money,” Askarinam said, and Houlahan is the same candidate, even though
the district changed.
Area school districts
eye snow day alternative with caution
Pottstown Mercury
by MediaNews Group August 5, 2019
They're the bane of
school administrators and the hopeful dreams of students. They mean waking
early to scour weather reports and scout out road conditions. They mean days
spent on the couch watching "The Price is Right" or outside sledding
and building snow forts. They mean scheduling challenges and lesson
interruptions and, in some cases, delayed graduation ceremonies. Snow days, at
least in the Northeast, are as much a part of the educational experience as gym
class and textbooks. But soon they might be a thing of the past, at least for
some of the days off. It could occur as soon as the coming winter. The
Pennsylvania Legislature has passed a bill that would create flexible
instructional days, a way to avoid the classroom time lost when winter weather
whips through and leaves a blanket of white behind. Flexible instructional days
use nontraditional methods to provide instruction to students in their homes.
While they can involve off-line instruction, the most common method is online
lessons.
Philly teen tech entrepreneurs take matters into their
own hands, or phones
WHYY By Naomi Brauner
August 5, 2019 Listen 3:09
As students at
Dobbins Technical High School, Kyree Keels, Nasir Holloman and Kadir Douglass
could study culinary arts, barbering, building and property management, and a
host of other subjects. Instead, they’re so excited about studying computer
systems networking that Keels, Holloman, and Douglass quickly started to be the
“go-to” people on campus for tech repairs. “Technical things are just things
that there’s one solution to one problem, and they’re most likely easier than
you probably would think,” Keels said. As word of their skills spread, Keels,
Holloman and Douglass soon became part of the school’s unofficial IT
department. “So we’re working with networking wires. Somebody’s board’s not
working, we’ve got to fix that. You know, just regular tech service things
around the school, computers, iMacs, laptops, everything,” Keels said. The work
came with perks.
Former tech exec teaches entrepreneurship in Roxborough
Teaching, he
says, "is all about selling."
The notebook by Makoto
Manheim August 5 — 10:26 am, 2019
“I created a culture where kids expect hard
things and get it done.”
Frank Fesnak strongly believes in the potential of his students. He has reinvented the business and technology program at Roxborough High School to the extent that his students have been able to win awards and understand concepts that were never introduced to prior classes. Fesnak is also one of the 60 teachers who won the Lindback Award for distinguished teaching this year. Though Fesnak says he didn’t need the recognition, he found it validating and looks at it as an objective data point that justifies his decision to go into teaching, which is his second career. “I didn’t want to teach if I couldn’t do it well, and this is the validation that I did,” Fesnak said. He always had the idea of being a teacher in the back of his mind. He had some excellent teachers himself growing up, and they gave him the support that he needed.
Frank Fesnak strongly believes in the potential of his students. He has reinvented the business and technology program at Roxborough High School to the extent that his students have been able to win awards and understand concepts that were never introduced to prior classes. Fesnak is also one of the 60 teachers who won the Lindback Award for distinguished teaching this year. Though Fesnak says he didn’t need the recognition, he found it validating and looks at it as an objective data point that justifies his decision to go into teaching, which is his second career. “I didn’t want to teach if I couldn’t do it well, and this is the validation that I did,” Fesnak said. He always had the idea of being a teacher in the back of his mind. He had some excellent teachers himself growing up, and they gave him the support that he needed.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2019/08/05/former-tech-exec-teaches-entrepreneurship-in-roxborough/
ESSA Puts Pressure on Schools to Reduce Student Absences.
Here's How They Might Do It
Education Week By Evie Blad on August 4, 2019 12:41 PM
The Every Student
Succeeds Act puts more pressure on schools to ensure their students show up
every day. But when it comes to addressing chronic
absenteeism, some educators
and policy makers say they are building the plane in the air, relying on a
growing body of research about everything from student health and motivation to
mentoring to family poverty to find ways to move the needle. A new brief from
FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University, explores existing
strategies state and local
decision makers my consider. Working
with University of Illinois researcher Patricia A. Graczyk, the report's
authors explored the research behind 22 different approaches to determine how
well they meet ESSA's requirements for evidence-based school improvement.
PDK Poll shows widespread frustration among teachers over
pay and respect
By Laura Meckler August 5 at 7:00 PM
Half of teachers
say they have seriously considered leaving the profession, and most said they
would strike if given the opportunity, according to a survey released Monday. The
poll found widespread teacher complaints about low pay and poor funding for
their schools, and nearly half said they felt unvalued by their communities.
Most said they would not want one of their own children to follow them into teaching.
The annual survey was conducted by PDK International, an association of
teachers, administrators and other education professionals, which has measured
public attitudes toward schools for 51 years. This year’s version surveyed
teachers as well as parents and members of the public. It found that nearly
two-thirds of all adults supported teaching Bible studies in public schools, a
trend taking hold in parts of the country. It also found, as in years past,
that Americans rate their local schools far higher than the nation’s schools in
general. Respondents’ views of their children’s schools improved a bit, while
opinions about schools in their wider communities and across the country fell. The
survey of 565 public school teachers, sampled to be representative of the
nation’s teaching force, suggests that the discontent that drove teacher
strikes in big cities such as Los Angeles and Denver as well as rural areas of
West Virginia and Oklahoma is commonplace.
Pearson Embraces a Digital Knock-Off of
Authentic Education
Tultican Blog By T.
Ultican 7/6/2019
The world’s largest
publishing company is betting on cyber education. Great Britain’s Pearson
Corporation took a financial beating when common core state testing did not
turn into a planned for cash cow and concurrently the market for text books
slowed. With its world-wide reach, Pearson’s new play is for digital education
to open up global markets. The corporation envisions creating life-long
relationships with its customers to provide virtual schooling, professional
certifications, assessments, and other services. In April, Education
International Research published “Pearson 2025
Transforming teaching and privatising education data.” Authors Sam Sellar and Anna Hogan report, “Pearson aims to lead the
‘next generation’ of teaching and learning by developing digital learning
platforms, including Artificial Intelligence in education (AIEd). It is
piloting new AI technologies that it hopes will enable virtual tutors to
provide personalised learning to students, much like Siri or Alexa. This
technology will be integrated into a single platform—Pearson Realize™—that has
now been integrated with Google Classroom.” “… [I]ts corporate strategy is
premised upon creating disruptive changes to (a) the teaching profession, (b)
the delivery of curriculum and assessment and (c) the function of schools,
particularly public schooling. These disruptions do not follow a coherent set
of educational principles, but capriciously serve the interests of the
company’s shareholders.”
IU1 and The
Consortium for Public Education: Rachel's Challenge Presentation - Aug. 14 9:00 – 3:30 California University of
PA
IU1 and the
Consortium for Public Education are joining forces to bring you a FREE
professional development opportunity, Rachel's Challenge, presented by Darrell
Scott. The mission of Rachel's Challenge is to equip and empower adults and
students to sustain a positive culture change in their organization and
communities by starting a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. Rachel's
inspiring story provides a simple, yet powerful example of how small acts of
kindness and acceptance motivates us to consider our relationships with people
we come in contact with every day. Rachel's story gives us permission to start
our own chain reaction of kindness and compassion, which positively affects the
climate in our schools and communities. For more information, please visit https://rachelschallenge.org/.
To receive Act 48
hours for this event, you must complete all areas of the registration form
below, including entering your PPID number. Each person from your team must
register individually.
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
Register for Federal Focus: Fully funding IDEA at William
Tennant HS Wednesday August 21st, 7-9 pm
PSBA News July 30, 2019
Join U.S. Representative Brian
Fitzpatrick (R-01) and other IDEA Act co-sponsors at this complimentary focus meeting to
talk about the critical need to modernize and fully fund the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Learn about bipartisan
efforts now in the U.S. Congress to ensure that special education funding is a
priority in the federal budget, and how you can help bring this important
legislation to the finish line. Bring your school district facts and questions.
This event will be held Aug. 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Centennial School District in
Bucks Co. There is no cost to attend, but you must register through myPSBA.org. Questions
can be directed to Megan McDonough at (717) 506-2450, ext. 3321. This
program is hosted by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and the
Centennial School District.
“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 (*).
Take the four-week PSBA advocacy challenge
POSTED ON JULY
22, 2019 IN PSBA NEWS
Calling all public
education advocates! Even though students are out for the summer, we need you
to continue your efforts to share your district's story, and the needs of
public schools across the state, with your legislators. Follow the four easy
steps on the challenge to increase your engagement with lawmakers this summer
and you'll receive some PSBA swag as a thank-you. We've also included some
talking points to help inform you on the latest issues. Contact Advocacy
Coordinator Jamie Zuvich at jamie.zuvich@psba.org with questions. Click
here to see the challenge and talking points.
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.
The deadline to
submit a cover letter, resume and application is August 19,
2019.
Become a 2019-2020 PSBA Advocacy Ambassador
PSBA is seeking
applications for two open Advocacy Ambassador positions. Candidates
should have experience in day-to-day functions of a school district,
on the school board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the
PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement
of local school directors and public education stakeholders through the
advocacy leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will
be responsible for assisting PSBA in achieving its advocacy goals. To
achieve their mission, ambassadors will be kept up to date on current legislation
and PSBA positions on legislation. The current open positions will
cover PSBA Sections 3 and 4, and Section 7.
PSBA Advocacy
Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA and serve
as liaisons between PSBA and their local elected officials. Advocacy
Ambassadors also commit to building strong relationships with PSBA members with
the purpose of engaging the designated members to be active and committed
grassroots advocates for PSBA’s legislative priorities.
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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