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
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principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
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PA Ed Policy Roundup August 16, 2019
Join @RepBrianFitz and @CongBoyle at this complimentary
focus meeting to talk about the critical need to modernize and fully fund the
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Register for Federal
Focus: Fully funding IDEA at William Tennant HS Wednesday August 21st,
7-9 pm
Blogger note: I’ve had the pleasure of
meeting and chatting with Merlyn Clarke a number of times at PSBA events over many
years. IMHO, his perspective on taxes, testing, school choice and PA
legislative ed policy is right on the mark…..
Your View by school
board member: How to avoid having people being taxed out of their homes
Opinion By MERLYN
CLARKE THE MORNING CALL | AUG 15, 2019 | 8:00 AM
Merlyn J.
Clarke is a member of the Stroudsburg Area School Board
It is apparently becoming
fashionable to refer to the school property tax as “the hated tax.” This is the
tax that, incidentally, bolsters the value of our property, educates the
workforce that will pay for senior citizen benefits such as Social Security and
Medicare and insures an educated public that is essential for our democratic
society. There’s really only one thing wrong with school property taxes: they
are too high. It’s instructive to consider why these taxes are high. The cost
of providing universal education is expensive. It requires buildings,
transportation and the services of thousands of professionals. But there are
factors that exacerbate these expenses — unnecessarily — that are the result of
legislative mandates or failures to act. A few are worth mentioning. Schools
are mandated to administer standardized exams, at the cost of millions of
dollars, that are of zero benefit to either students or teachers. Yet state
officials insist on them.
There is the
“school choice” craze, supported by many legislators. School districts in
Monroe County are mandated to spend $20 million every year in tuition for
redundant charter schools, whether brick-and-mortar or at-home cyber schools,
because some people prefer these schools over public schools. Taxpayers must pay
for this “choice” even though there isn’t a single failing school in Monroe
County. (For what other “public need” provider do we have choices? None.)
Additionally, the
State House recently passed
legislation that diverts some $200 million away from public schools to provide scholarships to private and religious
schools through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Finally, the
Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain school districts are
underfunded a combined $40 million every year because the state Legislature
fails to distribute education money according to its own fair funding formula.
Do cyber charter schools harm public education for the
most disadvantaged?
Brookings
Institution by David Baker and Bryan Mann Monday, June 24, 2019
Flat Rock School
District (not its real name) in eastern Pennsylvania suffers from all the problems
of exurban decay: Main streets and infrastructure need repair, many storefronts
are boarded up, good jobs are scarce, and a web of social problems from alcohol
and drug addiction to fragile families weighs heavy on the community. The
community’s schools must cope with these problems while faced with one of the
state’s lowest per-pupil funding levels. Flat Rock is also deep Donald Trump
country, as the president won every voting
precinct within the district, most by more than 30 percentage points. Pennsylvania school districts,
including Flat Rock, are at the epicenter of the cyber charter school
phenomenon, a school choice program established by the state’s former
republican administrations and that now receives an enthusiastic boost by the
Trump administration. Any family in any district can opt for their K-12 student
to receive all curriculum and instruction online, at home, and free-of-charge
from companies providing the service, which is paid for out of per-pupil funds
from the local district’s budget. Started with much marketing fanfare across
the state in 2000, enrollment in Pennsylvania’s cyber charters is among the
largest nationally, so large in fact that if all of these students lived in one
district it would be the third largest in the state. On the surface the cyber
charter school would seem like a good thing: more choice for parents,
diversification of a community’s education programs, and maybe even competition
to improve subpar public schooling. This might be true were it not for
two negative
consequences of the
program: dismal learning outcomes and its growing concentration of use among
the most disadvantaged districts across the state.
“Local attorney Frank Tunis Jr.
mentioned the lawsuit Monday during an organizational meeting of community
members interested in helping fight for fairer funding for the Scranton School
District. He has reached out to Michael Churchill, an attorney working on the
lawsuit, to add Scranton to the list of districts involved in the lawsuit.
Tunis said he’s expecting to hear back by the end of the week.”
Scranton School
District may join legal fight for state funding
Times-Tribune BY
KATHLEEN BOLUS, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: AUGUST 14, 2019
A lawsuit blaming the
state for
the financial struggles of many Pennsylvania school districts, set to go to
court next summer, could affect the Scranton School District. Meanwhile,
district officials and citizens are considering filing their own lawsuit
against the state. The school funding lawsuit was filed on behalf of the
Wilkes-Barre Area School District in Luzerne County; William Penn School
District in Delaware County; Panther Valley School District in Carbon County;
the School District of Lancaster in Lancaster County; Greater Johnstown School
District in Cambria County; and the Shenandoah Valley School District in
Schuylkill County; as well as seven parents from across the state, the
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP-Pennsylvania
State Conference. The suit alleges the state Department of Education and
several state officials named as defendants violated the education and the
equal protection clauses of the state constitution by not adequately funding
the state’s 500 school districts. It also claims the state “adopted an
irrational and inequitable school financing arrangement” that drastically
underfunds districts across the state and discriminates against children on the
basis of where they live.
New group forms to
speak up for Scranton School District
Times-Tribune BY
KATHLEEN BOLUS, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: AUGUST 13, 2019
Citizens began to
push for change for the financially struggling Scranton School District on
Monday at the Tripp Park Community Center. “What are we going to do?” West
Scranton resident Mike Williams said. “Are we going to lay down and take the
funding snub from the state or are we going to fight back?” Williams, a past
Scranton School Board candidate, helped assemble an Organization Meeting to
Fight for Fair Funding for the district Monday. More than 100 concerned
citizens and local elected officials filled the community center in West
Scranton, hoping to compel the state to fairly fund the school district. The
group is planning to bus more than 1,000 citizens to Harrisburg when the state
Legislature is in session and protest at the Capitol to fairly fund the
district.
Scranton School
District's recovery officer outlines consequences of rejecting recovery plan
Times-Tribune BY
KATHLEEN BOLUS, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: AUGUST 15, 2019
SCRANTON — If the
Scranton School Board votes down the district’s recovery plan today, all
resources from the state would come to an end by Friday. By Feb. 3 — more than
366 days after the state Department of Education placed the district in
financial recovery — Scranton could be in receivership, Chief Recovery Officer
Candis Finan, Ed.D., said Wednesday. That means class sizes could balloon,
classroom support staff could disappear and work already being done to find
savings in the district would halt. Finan addressed questions during the first
of two public meetings to review the district’s financial recovery plan, which
was released July 25. The second meeting is today from 10 a.m. to noon in the
Scranton High School auditorium. The nine-member board is set to either approve
or deny the plan during a school board meeting at 6:30 p.m., also at Scranton
High School. After the Scranton School District was placed in financial
recovery — the last step before receivership — Finan, the former Delaware
Valley School District Superintendent, was appointed recovery officer by the
state in February. She worked with a team from and funded by the state to
create the five-year plan to get the cash-strapped district to financial
solvency.
Blogger note: Going back several years, Pennsylvania’s
students and taxpayers have this state-appointed financial administrator, Charles
Zogby, to thank for cyber charters being authorized and “overseen” by PDE
instead of local school boards.
“If Zogby is put in charge of the
11,000-student Erie School District, he would oversee all of the district’s
operations, whether financial or educational, Polito said. The School Board
would have no authority except to raise taxes, and Zogby would be able to
enforce all the provisions of the financial improvement plan, including the two
directives that the School Board rejected.”
State officials reviewing Erie School Board’s defiance
GoErie By Ed Palattella Posted
Aug 15, 2019 at 6:05 PM
Education
Department studying board’s votes, which could lead secretary to order state
takeover of Erie School District.
The Erie School
Board’s game of political chicken has started.
The state
Department of Education said it is “discussing next steps” in response to the
board’s votes on Wednesday night that defied two directives in the financial
improvement plan by the Erie School District’s state-appointed financial administrator.
The office of Gov. Tom Wolf is also likely to get involved, Erie schools
Superintendent Brian Polito said. A state takeover “is a real possibility at
this point,” Polito said on Thursday. The School Board’s rejection of the
directives could trigger a takeover under the terms of the financial
improvement plan. The school district must follow the plan as a condition of
the district’s receipt, starting in 2018, of an unprecedented $14 million in
additional state aid to stay solvent. State law empowers state Education
Secretary Pedro Rivera to order the financial administrator, Charles Zogby, to
assume the authority of the School Board if the board fails to comply with the
financial improvement plan — as the board did with the two votes on Wednesday
night. The state Department of Education “is reviewing the board’s decisions
and discussing next steps,” department spokesman Rick Levis said in an email on
Thursday.
“The board also granted five-year
renewals to KIPP DuBois and Inquiry charter schools. Inquiry is part of the
Belmont charter network, which has been seeking to buy a building its other charter leases from the district. The board
pulled that sale from its agenda in June, citing concerns about a legislative
change that appeared to benefit Belmont. On Thursday, it approved giving
Inquiry an additional 28 seats, up from 275.”
Philly school board clears way for sale of district
building for charter
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: August 15, 2019- 10:00 PM
The Philadelphia
school board voted Thursday to sell a vacant school to a company working with
the KIPP charter network after adding a provision to guard against a developer
flipping the property. While the School District had recommended the sale of
the former John Whittier School to MIS Capital to be renovated into a new
campus for KIPP, several board members questioned whether the agreement would
prevent the property from being resold. Still, they voted to approve the sale
with amended language to give the district the right to buy back the building
if it was no longer being used for education. The board also approved new
modular classrooms for two overcrowded schools, more money for the School
District’s fundraising arm, and five-year renewals for two charter schools. Here’s
what you need to know from the board’s first meeting since June.
“Inquiry Charter is one of three schools
in a network founded by developer and big political contributor Michael Karp.
It originally came up for renewal in 2017, but failed to sign an agreement
until now. At its last meeting, the board declined to sell to Karp’s
organization the former Belmont Elementary School. The building is now occupied
by Belmont Charter, which serves as the neighborhood school for the Mantua
neighborhood. Board member Christopher McGinley said that selling the building
would be equivalent to abandoning its responsibility for educating students in
its catchment area. The board was also blindsided by legislation passed by the
pro-charter school General Assembly that was apparently tailored to Karp, creating the new category of “innovation school” with
specifications that make Belmont the only school eligible to apply. That
category would free the school from oversight by the School District.”
Board paves way for KIPP Prep to move into the former
Whittier Elementary School
It also
passed a resolution
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa August 15 — 11:01 pm, 2019
The Board of
Education on Thursday took action that will allow KIPP Philadelphia
Preparatory, a middle school, to move to the vacant former Whittier Elementary
School at 26th and Clearfield in North Philadelphia. The board voted 7-0 — two
members were absent — to sell the building to an entity called MIS
Capital, LLC, for $775,000. After renovations, the building will open to KIPP
students in fall 2020. It also gave five-year renewals to two charters, both
located in the West Parkside neighborhood: KIPP DuBois, a high school, and
Inquiry Charter, a pre-K-5 school that is part of the Belmont Charter Network. KIPP
Philadelphia Prep, now located at 2539 N. 16th Street, enrolls 360 students in
grades 5-8. The move will locate Prep closer to KIPP Philadelphia Elementary,
its K-4 feeder school, said Christina Grant, head of the Charter Schools
Office.
“Because tuition rates are fixed, locally
elected board members cannot make choices to reduce the cost of charters,” Wolf
said. “To offset the loss districts must instead raise revenue primarily
through raising property taxes. … And because cyber charters are not based in
one district, they don’t receive any input from local school boards. This has
left some districts paying thousands of dollars to cyber charters, over which
they have no say and which may not be providing their children and their
district with the education we all need them to get. This isn’t good for
anyone.”
Gov. Wolf Issues
Order Imposing Ethics, Transparency Reforms On Charter Schools
Levittown Now By Dave Lemery | The Center Square August 15, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf took
aim Tuesday at what he described as a lack of accountability and transparency
in the state’s charter school system, announcing an executive order designed to
make charter administrators behave more like traditional public school leaders.
Speaking at a news conference in Allentown, the governor said that the state’s
transparency laws make it reasonably easy for taxpayers to track how their
money is being spent in the public school system. But when public dollars are
spent in charter schools, the outcomes are opaque, he said. “[Pennsylvania’s
charter school law] has gained national notoriety for being one of the most
fiscally irresponsible laws in the nation, a law that has forced some school
districts to increase property taxes way out of proportion to the educational
outcomes,” Wolf said. “And I want Pennsylvania to be known for having a good
charter school law, one that emphasizes quality and accountability,
transparency, fairness and fiscal responsibility.”
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Tuesday,
August 13, 2019
It was not so long
ago that Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Wolf made charter supporters sad by rejecting the claim
that charters are public schools. Today, he took
another step and
put charters in PA on notice. At a news conference at a school in Allentown,
Wolf said he would take executive action to change state regulations for
charters, including tightening ethics standards. He also said he would push to
revise Pennsylvania’s charter law, which he called “one of the most fiscally
irresponsible laws in the nation." Wolf also said that the current
system "isn't good for anyone," harkening back to 2016 when the
Auditor General called PA charter laws “simply the worst
charter school law in the United States.” And he also gave special mention to cyber-charters, which have become a
boondoggly cash grab of
epic proportions in Pennsylvania.
What he will do, exactly, is unclear. There have been some bills that were lofted this year that would provide some good ideas-- like the bill that made it so that a school district would pay cyber-school tuition only if that school district did not offer a cyber-school option of their own. Heck, it would be nice to see a simple rule that said that charters could never again claim (in their taxpayer funded marketing materials) that they are "free." Rather, make them state publicly that they are funded with taxpayer dollars. Wolk's executive order seems designed to bring charter oversight and transparency laws in line with those of state actors, along with yet another attempt to fix the funding problems.
https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2019/08/pa-governor-puts-charters-on-notice.html?spref=tw
What he will do, exactly, is unclear. There have been some bills that were lofted this year that would provide some good ideas-- like the bill that made it so that a school district would pay cyber-school tuition only if that school district did not offer a cyber-school option of their own. Heck, it would be nice to see a simple rule that said that charters could never again claim (in their taxpayer funded marketing materials) that they are "free." Rather, make them state publicly that they are funded with taxpayer dollars. Wolk's executive order seems designed to bring charter oversight and transparency laws in line with those of state actors, along with yet another attempt to fix the funding problems.
https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2019/08/pa-governor-puts-charters-on-notice.html?spref=tw
Poll: Should Pa. tighten its regulation of charter
schools?
By Jim Flagg | For lehighvalleylive.com Posted Aug 15, 1:43 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf is
asking state lawmakers for legislation to make charter
schools in Pennsylvania more accountable for their students’ performance and the taxpayer money they spend.
At a press conference in the Lehigh Valley this week, Wolf noted that the
Allentown School District sends $60 million a year to charter schools, and
Bethlehem pays out $30 million. “This law has gained national notoriety for
being one of the most fiscally irresponsible laws in the nation," Wolf
said. "(It) has forced some school districts to increase property taxes
way out of proportion to the educational outcomes.” The 22-year-old law has
spawned many charter schools — 180 in Pennsylvania, with more than 137,000
students. The law was intended to give parents an option for educating their
kids, provide specialized curricula, and force public schools to get better
through competition. Charters are privately run schools supported by taxpayers.
When a student enrolls in a charter, their home district must pay their
tuition, which in Pennsylvania totaled $1.8 billion in 2017-18. Many school
district officials say the law has weakened public schools and let for-profit
charters spend public money without adequate oversight — including building new
schools without public bidding. Two examples are the Lehigh Valley Charter
School for the Arts’ $26 million high school in Bethlehem, and Lehigh Valley
Academy’s plan to spend $50.4
million on a
new Bethlehem Township school.
Did the assault
weapons ban reduce mass shootings? Just look at the data | Opinion
By John A. Tures Capital-Star Op-Ed
Contributor August 16,
2019
Former Vice
President Joe Biden recently penned a New York Times column calling
for the assault weapons ban to be reinstated. Critics argue that the ban did nothing to stop crime, gun violence, or
mass shootings. In this column, I don’t just examine the evidence — I let you
do so, too. “With Senator Dianne Feinstein I led the effort to enact the 1994
law that banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for 10 years,”
Biden wrote. “Those gun safety reforms made our nation demonstrably more
secure. They were also, sadly, the last meaningful gun legislation we were
able to sign into law before the N.R.A. and the gun manufacturers put the
Republican Party in a headlock.” Biden adds, “I fought hard to extend the
assault weapons and high-capacity magazines bans in 2004. The Republicans who
allowed these laws to expire asserted that they were ineffective. But, almost
15 years after the bans expired, with the unfortunate benefit of hindsight, we
now know that they did make a difference.”
Elizabeth Forward sues bus company over broken contract,
kids at risk of no transportation on first day of school
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE localnews@post-gazette.com AUG 15, 2019
More than 2,300
students in the Elizabeth Forward School District are at risk of having no
school-provided transportation after the district’s bus company broke its
contract, according to a lawsuit. The district filed the lawsuit Thursday in
the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against Pennsylvania Coach Lines. Elizabeth
Forward said in a news release that the bus company informed the district Aug.
2 that it will not honor the contract approved by the school board
last October. The district, which serves students in the 42 square miles of
Elizabeth and Forward townships, said 2,343 students would not have
district-provided transportation at the start of the coming school year if
Pennsylvania Coach Lines’ decision is not challenged.
Blogger note: this type of charter
organization takeover of low performing schools was touted for Pennsylvania not
too long ago…..
“Still, the scores deliver another blow
to the credibility of the turnaround effort once heralded as a national
exemplar. This year, the district — whose low-performing schools are taken
over by charter school organizations tasked with improving them — lost its third leader,
had its poor performance analyzed by an academic study, and came under scrutiny from the state’s new education chief.”
As Tennessee’s turnaround district enters its eighth
school year, scores remain stubbornly low
Chalkbeat BY CAROLINE BAUMAN - 23 HOURS AGO
At a make-or-break
moment for Tennessee’s turnaround school district, its 30 schools have
collectively delivered another round of low test scores. Only 3.4% of high
schoolers in the Achievement School District met the state’s proficiency
standards on this year’s math and English exams, while 12.6% of elementary
students reached that benchmark, according to data released by the state education department Thursday. The news is
not surprising: The Achievement School District oversees 30 of the state’s
lowest-performing schools, the majority of which are in Memphis. Still, the
scores deliver another blow to the credibility of the turnaround effort once
heralded as a national exemplar. This year, the district — whose
low-performing schools are taken over by charter school organizations tasked
with improving them — lost its third leader, had its poor performance analyzed by an academic study, and came under scrutiny from the state’s new education chief.
Commissioner Penny Schwinn says she plans to announce major changes to the district soon. Those changes will
target a district where only a handful of students meet the state’s standards
in reading and math.
Schools Worry Over New Trump Rule on Immigrants and
Federal Benefits
Education Week Politics
K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on August 12, 2019 12:30 PM
A new Trump
administration rule regarding immigrants' use of federal benefits could have an
indirect but significant impact on schools if it deters families from seeking
assistance under certain programs, education advocates warn. The
administration has released its final
rule for what's known as "public charge." This is the process by which the U.S. government determines if an
immigrant seeking to become a permanent resident or extend a visa is likely to
become "primarily dependent" on federal benefits—such a determination
can lead the government to deny permanent residency or the visa. Previously,
benefits that were factors in this process included a limited number of
programs such as Supplemental Social Security and Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families. However, according to the finalized rule, other benefits that
can now be included in these determinations include the Supplemental
Nutritional Assistance Program—also called "food stamps"—most forms
of Medicaid, and forms of housing vouchers and rental assistance under Section
8, among others. The administration has argued that moving public charge in
this direction would remove a potential burden on the federal government's
welfare programs. The Trump team released a draft of the rule last year that
included those changes to public charge.
Kentucky schools meet ‘In God We Trust’ requirement with
$1 bill
AP News August 14,
2019
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)
— A new state law requires Kentucky public schools to display the motto “In God
We Trust,” and one school district has responded with framed copies of a $1
bill.
Fayette
Superintendent Manny Caulk told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Wednesday that all schools in the district have been provided
the framed copy to display. Parent Brittany Pike posted a message on Facebook
saying she was pleased to see the back of the dollar bill framed at an
elementary school last week and said her children “don’t feel awkward or
excluded for not believing in any God.” Republican state Rep. Brandon Reed of
Hodgenville filed the legislation that created the new law. He says he’s
disappointed to see schools “spend time searching for silly loopholes,” noting
the law passed with broad support.
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
Join @RepBrianFitz and @CongBoyle at this complimentary focus
meeting to talk about the critical need to modernize and fully fund the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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 (*).
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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