Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education
policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors,
principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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If any of your colleagues would like to be added to the
email list please have them send their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Oct. 31, 2019
“Where you live determines what type of
education you receive in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. This
story is part of The Morning Call's ongoing series about poverty in the Lehigh
Valley. Where the tax base is high, the educational offerings tend to be many.
Where it is low, the options decline.”
Segregation in
Pennsylvania schools: How a ZIP code determines the quality of a child’s
education
THE MORNING CALL |
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO, SARAH M. WOJCIK and MICHELLE MERLIN OCT 30, 2019 | 7:00 AM
Students at
Allentown’s Harrison-Morton Middle School look forward to hearing the squeaky
wheels of the technology cart approaching their classroom, though the iPads
they hold may not be the latest models and time with them is limited. A luxury
in Allentown schools, such technology has become a necessity for many suburban
students — something they’re accustomed to tapping at-will and often. Technology
is one of the many things that separate students in Pennsylvania’s school
districts, where wealth equates to quality. Food is another. That’s why the
staff at Donegan Elementary School on Bethlehem’s South Side sends students
home with a bag of healthy snacks on weekends. Because clothing also can divide
students who have from those who have not, the Bethlehem Area School District
installed a washer and dryer at Donegan, ensuring children have access to clean
clothes. Language sets students or schools apart, too. And so do ZIP codes,
education reformers say, effectively segregating students by income and race.
“We’re going to continue to see the same results until the
disparity in school funding is fixed. And the crazy thing is, we already have
the tool to fix it. It’s just being used too sparingly. In 2016, the state
Legislature passed a school funding formula that was the product of exhaustive
work by a bipartisan commission (yes, there’s been such a thing in our
polarized state Capitol). The formula wisely accounts for factors such as
poverty, enrollment and a district’s tax base. But in their infinite wisdom,
lawmakers decided that only new state funding each year would be disseminated
through the funding formula. The reason? The “hold harmless” provision in state
educational funding law.”
Editorial: Remedying the school funding gap would help to
fix the school achievement gap
Lancaster Online
Editorial by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD October 30, 2019
THE ISSUE: Last week, the state Department of
Education released the results of the latest standardized tests — the
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and the Keystone exams. Among the top
performers were Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg, Manheim Township, Penn Manor and
Cocalico. Manheim Township alone had three of the highest-performing schools:
Neff, Nitrauer and Reidenbaugh elementary schools. As LNP’s Alex Geli reported,
Columbia Borough School District was one of the three lowest performing in Lancaster
County; the other two: School District of Lancaster and La Academia Partnership
Charter School. Once again,
standardized test scores confirm a tough reality.
“A significant gap
still exists between Lancaster County’s high- and low-performing schools,” as
Geli wrote. “One noticeable difference between the two groups: poverty.” He
noted: “School districts like Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg and Manheim
Township have historically performed well. Meanwhile, Columbia Borough, La
Academia Partnership Charter School and School District of Lancaster — schools
with far higher rates of economically disadvantaged students — consistently
fall below average.” This surprises no one, least of all the educators who
teach our county’s poorest children
https://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2019/10/pa-ed-policy-roundup-for-oct-30-in.html
Picasso Project supports innovative arts programs in
Philly schools
“We’ve
provided almost like a Band-Aid, which is the grant funding, but working
towards a bigger vision of full, equitable arts funding for all students in the
District,” said the program's director.
The notebook by Amber
Denham October 30 — 8:59 am, 2019
When Fairhill
Elementary School closed in 2013 due to budget cuts, Tim Gibbon lost his job as
a K-8 out-of-school-time coordinator, the staff member responsible for
after-school and summer programming. What he didn’t lose was his passion for
arts education. “For me personally, growing up, art and the music classroom was
like a sanctuary in my school,” Gibbon said. “They were the things that got me
excited about school. Because I loved those spaces, I could get excited about
the rest of learning.” After Fairhill’s closure, Gibbon earned his master’s
degree in art education at Temple University. During his program, he worked on
a project focused on inadequate and inequitable school funding, specifically
about the Fairhill Elementary closure. “We actually were able to take out the
old furniture and ceiling tiles and things from Fairhill School and install
[them] in an art installation classroom on the campus of Temple,” Gibbon said. After
working on this project, Gibbon said, his dedication to advocacy continued
through his work for Public Citizens for
Children and Youth (PCCY).
PCCY was founded in 1980 as a youth advocacy organization focused on education,
health care, and other issues that affect young people in and around
Philadelphia. Its Picasso Project began 17 years ago in response to substantial cuts to
funding for the arts, especially within the School District of Philadelphia.
Pa. quietly reverses ‘lunch shaming’ ban as school
district debt grows
WHYY By Emily Rizzo
October 31, 2019
In a reversal of a
2017 ban, Pennsylvania quietly reinstated a “lunch shaming” policy over the
summer that allows schools to give cheaper, alternative meals to students who
can’t afford food in the cafeteria. Language within this year’s school code
bill allows districts to withhold hot meals from students who accrue more than
$50 in lunch debt. “Lunch shaming exists because you got the cheese sandwich.
We all know what the cheese sandwich means,” said State Rep. Donna Bullock,
D-Philadelphia, who helped lead the 2017 effort to ban
lunch shaming. The
practice typically affects students who don’t qualify for free or reduced-price
lunch programs but still struggle to pay for school meals. “School districts
are using tools that are not just bullying to these children but shaming
families and parents that may be in a difficult situation. And oftentimes, it’s
for very small amounts — a couple hundred dollars at most,” said Bullock. So
why the law change? In part, because districts are on the hook for lunch debts
that in some cases have doubled since shaming was banned.
Teachers’ pension fund has a secret plan for urban
renewal in Harrisburg. They won’t talk about it.
Inquirer Joseph N. DiStefano | @PhillyJoeD | JoeD@inquirer.com October 31, 2019
Last summer, the
Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, which has $57 billion
invested around the world and needs a $4.8 billion “employer contribution” from
public-school and state taxpayers this year, bragged
it won a “Transparency Award” from a government finance officers’ group pleased with the charts
and graphs of its annual report. Transparent, for whom? PSERS trustees met for
hours behind closed doors and agreed to spend another $5 million in the third
year of their $13.5-million-so-far campaign to buy up and demolish city blocks
along Market Street east of the agency’s headquarters. The millions are “for
use in the site preparation and development of real property located in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as more fully set forth in the confidential
recommendation memorandum of Glen R. Grell, Executive Director," according
to the agenda. What’s in the memo? Can’t tell you: That’s confidential, said
Steve Esack, a PSERS spokesman.
Quakertown school district to sue vaping manufacturers
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: October 30, 2019- 1:39 PM
The Quakertown
school board has authorized litigation against e-cigarette manufacturers,
joining school districts around the country taking legal action in response to
the rapid rise of vaping among students. Lawyers for the Bucks County school
district plan to file a lawsuit next week. Other school districts in the county
may join the suit, Quakertown officials said. While a number of school districts have
sued e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs amid mounting vaping-related illnesses and deaths, Stephen Corr, a
lawyer representing Quakertown, said he believes this lawsuit will be the first
by a Pennsylvania district. A
resolution approved
by the Quakertown board last week said the district “has and continues to
experience significant problems with student use of Juul e-cigarettes"
that “has created a substantial and ongoing interruption of and disturbance to
its educational mission." It also says use of e-cigarettes “has resulted
in the diversion of substantial resources in an attempt to abate and prevent
such use” and “poses a significant risk to the health and well-being of its
students.”
'Investment in our
future' | Foundation awards grant money to early education programs
Johnstown Tribune
Democrat By David Hurst dhurst@tribdem.com Oct 30, 2019
SOMERSET – Inside
Trinity Lutheran’s Child Care and Learning Center, classrooms often get
creative to encourage preschool children to embrace the core building blocks of
literacy. Sometimes that means tracing ABC’s in a plate of foamy shaving cream
or dried rice, rather than pencil to paper to foster letter recognition, Trinity’s
director, Jody Jurgevich said. But for the early education providers behind the
classwork in Cambria and Somerset counties, it isn’t all fun and games.
Oftentimes they’re working on shoestring budgets to prepare children for
kindergarten – inside outdated and under-equipped classrooms with under-trained
teachers, Jurgevich and Learning Lamp CEO Leah Spangler said. Community
Foundation for the Alleghenies officials launched the first of a long-term
investment aimed at changing that Tuesday, awarding $235,000 to eight agencies
representing 50 early learning centers across Cambria and Somerset counties.
PA Department of Labor & Industry Announces $2.5
Million to Connect Businesses and Schools, Boost Job Training Opportunities
HARRISBURG, PA — Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jerry
Oleksiak is urging local workforce development boards (LWBDs) to apply for $2.5
million in new Business-Education Partnership (BEP) grants that will connect
businesses and school districts and expand career opportunities throughout
Pennsylvania. “This funding supports one of Governor Tom Wolf’s key workforce
development objectives to provide students with the technical training they
need to get good-paying jobs when entering the workforce,” Secretary Oleksiak
said. “These business and education partnerships give students the skills to succeed in
today’s economy, while simultaneously creating new generations of
highly-skilled workers for Pennsylvania employers.” A total of $2.5 million in
funding is available through L&I to LWDBs to implement Business-Education
Partnership programs. These programs help increase awareness of in-demand
technical careers for students, parents, guardians, and school faculty. Each of
the 22 statewide LWDBs are strongly encouraged to apply.
Read the Latest F&M Poll Results
The October 2019
Franklin & Marshall College Poll finds that Pennsylvania voters are
generally satisfied with the direction of the state and their personal
finances. Half (57%) of the state’s registered voters believe the state is
“headed in the right direction.” Most voters report they are “better off” (30%)
or the “same” (52%) financially compared to last year and most expect to be
“better off” (31%) or the “same” (51%) financially next year—these sentiments
are virtually unchanged since our last Poll. Contrasting with their feelings
about the state, only one in three (35%) registered voters believes that the
United States is “headed in the right direction.” About one in three (35%)
registered voters in Pennsylvania believes President Trump is doing an
“excellent” or “good” job as president, which is consistent with recent
Franklin & Marshall College Polls. Two in five (37%) registered voters believe
President Trump has done a good enough job to deserve re-election, while three
in five (59%) voters say it is time for a change. More than half (57%) of
registered voters in the state support an impeachment inquiry into President
Trump, although this support differs along party and ideological lines. Nearly
half (47%) express “strong support” for the inquiry while nearly two in five
(37%) registered voters “strongly opposes” it. Only one in five (21%)
registered voters believes it is acceptable for a president to ask a foreign
leader to investigate a political opponent, regardless of how they feel about
the impeachment inquiry itself.
Twitter bans all political advertisements
Inquirer by Associated Press, Updated: October
30, 2019- 4:16 PM
SAN FRANCISCO —
Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social
media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly
targeted, misleading messages. Facebook has taken fire since it disclosed
earlier in October that it will not fact-check ads by politicians or their
campaigns, which could allow them to lie freely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told
Congress last week that politicians have the right to free speech on Facebook. Twitter
CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted the change Wednesday, saying the company is recognizing
that advertising on social media offers an unfair level of targeting compared
to other mediums. The majority of money spent on political advertising in the
U.S. goes to television ads. Twitter’s policy will start on November 22.
Elizabeth Warren made charter school supporters mighty
angry. Now they are targeting her.
Washington Post Answer
Sheet By Valerie Strauss Oct. 30, 2019 at 3:32 p.m. EDT
(Update: Adding reaction from charter
supporters)
Elizabeth Warren,
the Democratic senator from Massachusetts running for her party’s presidential
nomination, struck a deep nerve with charter school supporters when she
released her
plan for
pre-K-12 education and called for a freeze on federal funds for new charters.
Now they are targeting her. Last week, Warren spelled out a detailed plan that
would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to improve public schools from
prekindergarten through 12th grade, saying she would pay for it by taxing
America’s wealthiest people.
She calls for,
among other things, quadrupling federal Title I funding for schools in
high-poverty neighborhoods, which would add $450 billion over the next 10 years
— and change the way that funding is implemented so that the neediest students
benefit. The plan would also fund the Individuals With Disabilities Education
Act at the level the federal government originally promised — 40 percent of the
total cost of educating students with disabilities. But this is what set off
supporters of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately
operated: She said she would end federal investment in charter school
expansion, ban for-profit charter schools and ensure existing charter schools
are subject to the same transparency and accountability requirements as that of
traditional public school districts. Warren also said she wants to ensure that
only school districts can authorize the opening of charter schools.
Register now for PSBA’s
Sleep & Student Performance Webcast OCT
31, 2019 • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 27,
2019 IN PSBA
NEWS
Our students face
many issues today, but who would have imagined sleep deprivation could be a
significant issue? The Joint State Government Commission established an
advisory committee to study the issues, benefits and options related to school
districts instituting later start times in secondary schools. Register now to hear from the executive director of the Commission, Glenn
Pasewicz, commission staff and David Hutchinson, PSBA’s appointee to the
commission, on the results of their study and work.
PSBA New and Advanced
School Director Training
Do you want
high-impact, engaging training that newly elected and reseated school directors
can attend to be certified in new and advanced required training? PSBA has been
supporting new school directors for more than 50 years by enlisting statewide
experts in school law, finance and governance to deliver a one-day foundational
training. This year, we are adding a parallel track of sessions for those who
need advanced school director training to meet their compliance requirements.
These sessions will be delivered by the same experts but with advanced content.
Look for a compact evening training or a longer Saturday session at a location
near you. All sites will include one hour of trauma-informed training required
by Act 18 of 2019. Weekend sites will include an extra hour for a legislative
update from PSBA’s government affairs team.
New School
Director Training
Week Nights:
Registration opens 3:00 p.m., program starts 3:30 p.m. -9:00 p.m., dinner with
break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., program starts at 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., program starts at 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Advanced
School Director Training
Week Nights:
Registration with dinner provided opens at 4:30 p.m., program starts 5:30 p.m.
-9:00 p.m.
Saturdays: Registration opens at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Locations
and dates
- Saturday, December 7 — AW Beattie
Career Center, 9600 Babcock Blvd., Allison Park, PA 15101
- Saturday, December 7 — Radnor
Township School District, 135 S. Wayne Ave., Wayne, PA 19087
- Tuesday, December 10 — Grove City
Area School District, 511 Highland Avenue, Grove City, PA 16127
- Tuesday, December 10 — Penn Manor
School District, 2950 Charlestown Road, Lancaster, PA 17603
- Tuesday, December 10 — CTC of
Lackawanna County, 3201 Rockwell Ave, Scranton, PA 18508
- Wednesday, December 11 — Upper St. Clair
Township SD, 1820 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241
- Wednesday, December 11 — Montoursville
Area High School, 700 Mulberry St, Montoursville, PA 17754
- Wednesday, December 11 — Berks County
IU 14, 1111 Commons Blvd, Reading, PA 19605
- Thursday, December 12 — Richland
School District, 1 Academic Avenue, Suite 200, Johnstown, PA 15904
- Thursday, December 12 — Seneca Highlands
IU 9, 119 S Mechanic St, Smethport, PA 16749
- Thursday, December 12 — School
District of Haverford Twp, 50 East Eagle Road, Havertown, PA 19083
- Saturday, December 14 — State College
Area High School, 650 Westerly Pkwy, State College, PA 16801
- Saturday, January 11, 2020 — PSBA
Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Blvd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Film Screening: PERSONAL STATEMENT with director Julie
Dressner Penn C89 Sat, November 9, 2019, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EST
Location: Zellerbach
Theatre, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia,
PA 19104
Please join us for
a free screening and panel discussion of PERSONAL STATEMENT. This award-winning
documentary film created by a Penn alumna features three inspirational high
school seniors who are working as college counselors in their schools and are
determined to get their entire classes to college, even though they are not sure
they are going to make it there themselves. Screening will be followed by a
panel discussion with director Julie Dressner (C’89), cast member Enoch
Jemmott, Netter Center founding director Dr. Ira Harkavy (C'70 GR'79), and
others. Free and open to the public! (Registration strongly encouraged but not
required.)
Webinar: Introduction
to PSBA’s Equity Toolkit
NOV 12, 2019 • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
The equity toolkit
supports school entities as they incorporate equity into district practice.
This webinar will offer a walk-through of the components of the toolkit, from
the equity lens approach to the equity action plan. Participants are encouraged
to ask questions and share experiences throughout the webinar.
Facilitator: Heather Bennett J.D., Ph.D., director of equity services
Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1261156731797681154
*Note: registration closes one hour prior to the event.
*Note: registration closes one hour prior to the event.
UPDATE: Second Workshop Added Thursday, November
14, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm: Adolescent Health and School Start Times:
Science, Strategies, Tactics, & Logistics Workshop in Exton, PA
The first workshop on November 13 sold out in
less than 4 weeks. Thanks to recent additional sponsorships, there will
be a second workshop held on Thursday, November 14. Register HERE.
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 a
second interactive and solutions-oriented workshop on Thursday, November 14, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Clarion
Hotel in Exton, PA. The science is clear. Many middle and high schools 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.
For more information visit the workshop
website www.startschoollater.net/workshop---pa or
email contact@startschoollater.net
Congress, Courts, and
a National Election: 50 Million Children’s Futures Are at Stake. Be their
champion at the 2020 Advocacy Institute.
NSBA Advocacy Institute
Feb. 2-4, 2020 Marriot Marquis, Washington, D.C.
Join school leaders
from across the country on Capitol Hill, Feb. 2-4, 2020 to influence the
legislative agenda & shape decisions that impact public schools. Check out
the schedule & more at https://nsba.org/Events/Advocacy-Institute
Register now for
Network for Public Education Action National Conference in Philadelphia March
28-29, 2020
Registration, hotel
information, keynote speakers and panels:
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA PA Charter
Change Website September 2019
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.