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Thursday, October 31, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Oct. 31: Segregation in Pennsylvania schools: How a ZIP code determines the quality of a child’s education


Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Oct. 31, 2019
Segregation in Pennsylvania schools: How a ZIP code determines the quality of a child’s education

“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.
https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-education-poverty-20191030-uexghohk6jdoxovj56hsuxxrwe-story.html

“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.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2019/10/30/arts-picasso-project-supports-innovative-programs-in-philly-schools/

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.
https://whyy.org/articles/pa-quietly-reverses-lunch-shaming-ban-as-school-district-debt-grows/

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.
https://www.inquirer.com/business/phillydeals/pensions-pennsylvania-teachers-public-psers-harrisburg-real-estate-20191031.html

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.”
https://www.inquirer.com/education/vaping-lawsuit-school-district-quakertown-pennsylvania-juul-20191030.html

'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.
https://www.tribdem.com/news/investment-in-our-future-foundation-awards-grant-money-to-early/article_5e1dd462-fac6-11e9-9a2d-3fbd8a6d07eb.html

PA Department of Labor & Industry Announces $2.5 Million to Connect Businesses and Schools, Boost Job Training Opportunities
October 30, 2019 - by MyChesCo - Leave a Comment
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.
https://mychesco.com/a/news/pennsylvania/pa-department-of-labor-industry-announces-2-5-million-to-connect-businesses-and-schools-boost-job-training-opportunities/

Read the Latest F&M Poll Results
October 21 - 27, 2019 Franklin & Marshall College Poll 
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.
https://www.fandm.edu/fandmpoll

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.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/nation-world/twitter-bans-all-political-advertisements-20191030.html

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.
Elizabeth Warren calls for billions of new dollars to reform pre-K-12 schools and fight privatization. Here’s how she plans to pay for it.
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.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/30/elizabeth-warren-made-charter-school-supporters-mighty-angry-now-they-are-targeting-her/


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.
https://www.psba.org/2019/09/register-now-for-the-sleep-student-performance-webcast/

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
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
Locations and dates

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.)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-personal-statement-with-director-julie-dressner-penn-c89-tickets-75871253963

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
Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1261156731797681154
*Note: registration closes one hour prior to the event.
https://www.psba.org/event/webinar-introduction-to-psbas-equity-toolkit/

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:
https://npeaction.org/2020-conference/

Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then Call for Charter Change!
PSBA PA Charter Change Website September 2019
https://www.pacharterchange.org/

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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