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. 7, 2019
HR1878 - the IDEA
Full Funding Act, which would create a 10 year flight path to full 40% promised
federal funding for special ed, now has 129 bipartisan cosponsors.
At 190 they have to
run the bill. Has your Congressperson cosponsored it yet?
What:
AAUW Informal discussion on cyber charter schools
When: 9 a.m. refreshments, 9:30 a.m. panel, Oct. 7
Where: Central PA Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, 800 E. Park Ave.,
State College
Hershey
Lodge & Convention Center OCT 15, 2019 • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
As the local
authorizing body, the school board is responsible for approving and evaluating
brick-and-mortar charter schools. This day of training allows district
leadership to learn from experienced Pennsylvania school solicitors as well as
others familiar with authorization, application review and renewal processes.
Attendees will be provided with actionable steps and useful tools for leading
their district through review processes and charter negotiations to ensure
district dollars are being used to offer high-quality educational options to
students.
Space is limited,
so register today! To register, please log in to myPSBA.org.
If this is your
first time registering for a PSBA event, please contact PSBA Registrar Janelle
Hoch. She will respond within 24 hours during the business week to ensure you
are able to successfully register for this event. janelle.hoch@psba.org (717) 506-2450, ext. 3437
Agenda and panel
members info: https://www.psba.org/event/navigating-charter-authorization/
H.R.1878 - the IDEA
Full Funding Act, which would create a 10 year flight path to full 40% promised
federal funding for special ed, now has 129 bipartisan cosponsors.
At 190 they have to
run the bill. Has your Congressperson cosponsored it yet?
Find your representative
in Congress by entering your address
GovTrack - Info on
Pennsylvania’s 18 Members of Congress
Education Law Center: Changes in special
education expenditures and revenues for all 500 Pennsylvania districts are
provided in the spreadsheet found at:
“We all recall the cartoon Peanuts, and
Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick only to pull it away at the
last second, right? Well, our legislature is Lucy, and fair funding for North
Penn is the football. Career state politicians making good salaries with
excellent benefits boast during election season about not raising state and
sales taxes. However, this is only because local school boards, the elected
volunteers that serve for no compensation of any kind, do the heavy lifting to
ensure that our students succeed.”
Lucy, Charlie Brown
And That Football: Harrisburg Politics And Your Local Tax Bill
North Penn Reporter
Opinion by Jonathan Kassa Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 6:29 PM
(Editor’s note: the
following is part one of a two-part Letter to the Editor, submitted by North
Penn School Board Director Jonathan Kassa. The views expressed in this
editorial are his own.)
North Penn School
District maintains the fifth-lowest tax rate out of 21 school districts in the
county. We are recognized nationally and statewide for student achievement,
based on our student-centered approach that meets whole-student needs while
remaining focused on protecting taxpayer return on investment. We must continue
to deliver on a 21st century education that raises expectations for the success
and well-being of our students, and continues to support our thriving
community. The high bond ratings and accolades our district receives for
budgeting, transparency and innovation proves that we optimize taxpayer
dollars. We are North Penn—we lead and don't follow. Yet there is a clear,
logical reason why local taxes always increase. It’s simple: our legislative
leadership in Harrisburg doesn’t share our bold stance, and continues to do
nothing but literally pass the tax buck.
“Pennsylvania, once a net exporter of
certified teachers, is quickly entering an era where we will need to import
teachers to meet current and future needs.”
How to address Pa.’s
looming teacher shortage? Increase teachers’ minimum wage | Opinion
By Timothy Williams Capital-Star Op-Ed
Contributor October 6,
2019
If you have young
children or are thinking about starting a family, or if your own children are
starting families of their own, you should be very concerned. If you have no
school-aged children and Social Security is in your future, you should also be
very concerned. Pennsylvania is facing a crisis it has not faced in
decades: highly qualified classroom teachers are becoming scarce. As the number
of applicants for teaching positions continues to decline, schools consider
themselves fortunate if they have one or two applicants for certain positions. Data
recently released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education points to the
reason why school districts are finding it challenging to draw qualified, let
alone certified, candidates for their vacant positions. The state’s data shows
a disturbing decline in the number of college graduates earning teaching
certificates. The downward trend is troubling for the future of the state and
the nation.
Greater Test Scores Often Mean Less
Authentic Learning
Gadfly on the Wall
Blog by Steven Singer October 5, 2019
The main goal of
schooling is no longer learning. It is test scores.
Raising them. Measuring
growth. Determining what
each score means in terms of future instruction, opportunities, class
placement, special education services, funding incentives and punishments, and
judging the effectiveness of individual teachers, administrators, buildings and
districts. We’ve become so
obsessed with
these scores – a set of discrete numbers – that we’ve lost sight of what they
always were supposed to be
about in the first place – learning. In fact, properly
understood, that’s the mission of the public school system – to promote the
acquisition of knowledge and skills. Test scores are just supposed to be tools to help us quantify that
learning in meaningful ways. Somewhere along the line we’ve misconstrued
the tool for the goal. And when
you do that, it should come as no surprise that you achieve the goal less
successfully. There are two kinds of
standardized assessment – aptitude and achievement tests. Both are supposed to measure scholarship and skill – though in
different ways.
Here's how much
Lancaster County school districts can raise property taxes in 2020-21 [chart]
Lancaster Online by
ALEX GELI | Staff
Writer Oct 5, 2019
Lancaster County
school districts can raise property taxes as much as 2.6% to 3.9% next year,
based on limits recently released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For
now, that is. Every fall, the state issues its Act 1 index, which limits how
much each of the commonwealth’s 500 public school districts can raise property
taxes. Columbia Borough has the most flexibility among Lancaster County school
districts, with a 3.9% allowable increase. At 2.6%, the lowest allowable
increase, are Conestoga Valley, Eastern Lancaster County, Manheim Central,
Manheim Township and Pequea Valley. As budget talks heat up in the winter
months, school boards may decide to seek an exception from the state. They have
until Feb. 13, 2020, to do so for reasons such as construction, emergencies or
disasters, an unforeseen enrollment hike, or increases in special education,
health care or retirement costs.
Rep. Turzai and Secretary DeVos do not appreciate the
service public school teachers provide to their students | PennLive Letters
Penn Live Letter By Joyce Raser Posted Oct 06, 2019
Two weeks ago the
United States Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, visited a Harrisburg private
school accompanied by State Rep. Mike Turzai. Betsy DeVos has no comprehension
or appreciation of the importance of public school in our country and state.
Apparently, Rep. Tuzai was the appropriate guide for her visit. In response to
a public school advocate’s sign protesting Ms. DeVos’ visit, Mr. Turzai said
that public school teachers “don’t really care about the kids.” When asked
about his comments, he said they were taken out of context. Here is a context
for both Ms. DeVos and Mr. Turzai. After wading through the always new, tangled
educational concepts and practices dictated by both the state and federal
government, a public school teacher needs to adapt those ideas so that each
student in her classroom can be a successful, happy learner. The curriculum is
only the beginning. In addition, here are some other things those “uncaring”
public school teachers do:
OP-ED: Education isn't one-size-fits-all model
York Dispatch Opinion by Jane Swan, Reach
Cyber Charter School Published 11:01 a.m. ET Oct. 6, 2019
Jane Swan is
a school leader for Reach Cyber Charter School
On Monday,
Sept. 16, Reach Cyber Charter School students, parents, teachers and staff
lined up inside the state Capitol rotunda to make our voices heard in regards
to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to impose new rules on charter schools. Two
considerations are missing from these conversations about proposed charter
school reform in Pennsylvania: education should not be a one-size-fits-all
model, particularly for students with high degrees of mobility, and education
funding is attached to students, not to districts or schools. In
Pennsylvania, families have educational choice. Students across the state
choose cyber charter schools for a variety of reasons, from those who need an
alternative to the traditional classroom to those who need a flexible schedule
or learn at a different pace from their peers. With 19 years as an educator and
11 years of experience in cyber charter education, I have witnessed how online
schools foster student success for a range of students, especially mobile
students.
Ben Franklin/SLA communities prepare for showdown over
building, asbestos issues
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Wendy Ruderman, Updated: October 6, 2019- 8:40 PM
Charging that the
Philadelphia School District has demonstrated an “utter disregard for the needs
of our students,” a group of parents, teachers and supporters of Benjamin
Franklin High School and the Science Leadership Academy are fighting back as
the two schools prepare to relocate
amid concerns over asbestos
in their building. In a
blistering letter to Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. sent Sunday, a
coalition made up of representatives from both schools blasted the district as
committing “gross negligence” during the $37 million construction project to
co-locate the schools. The project has been marred by delays, missed days of
school, health concerns for students and teachers, and, most recently, the
discovery of damaged
asbestos.
Asbestos-tainted Philly school building to be closed
indefinitely; district seeks alternate sites for 1,000 students
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Wendy Ruderman, Updated: October 4, 2019
With asbestos
issues unresolved, Philadelphia School District officials said Friday that they
will indefinitely close to students the building that houses Benjamin Franklin
High School and Science Leadership Academy and seek other locations for
students to resume their classes later next week. Superintendent William R.
Hite Jr. said classes will be canceled Monday and Tuesday — and all schools
have a planned day off Wednesday — but promised that by Thursday, the district
will have come up with sites to teach the nearly 1,000 students enrolled at the
two schools in the city’s Spring Garden section. Officials also have planned
two town hall meetings on Monday to discuss the issues with Ben Franklin and
SLA parents and staff. By the time students return, they will have missed nine
days of school due to environmental hazards and construction delays on a
project whose price tag is $37 million and rising.
Ben Franklin and SLA to be closed for foreseeable future
The District
is seeking alternate locations. Town hall meetings will be held with families
on Monday.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa October 4 — 6:43 pm, 2019
Updated at 8:50
p.m. Friday with comments from Superintendent William Hite.
Science Leadership
Academy and Benjamin Franklin High will be closed for the near future due to
concerns about asbestos in the building at 550 N. Broad St. that has been
disturbed by construction undertaken to allow the co-location of the two
schools. The School District now must find alternate locations to hold classes
for the schools, which enroll more than 1,000 students between them. “We’re not
taking any chances,” Hite said in an interview Friday night. “If asbestos is in
the building and construction is disturbing asbestos to the degree it is
unhealthy, we’re not going to put children or staff at risk.”
Hite made the
announcement Friday afternoon at a hastily called news conference, saying that
students would not return to school on Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday, which is
Yom Kippur, is a scheduled day off. By Thursday, he promised, the new location
or locations will be announced.
Philly City Council passes bills outlawing discrimination
against gender non-conforming youth
Council
member Helen Gym introduced the legislation.
the Notebook October 3 — 8:21 pm, 2019
City Council passed
a package of bills on Thursday that will require schools and other
organizations serving youth to adopt policies designed to protect those who are
transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse from discrimination. “City Council
just took a big step toward making this city safe and affirming for all
people,” said Council member Helen Gym, who introduced the legislation. “For
far too long, trans and nonbinary people have lived with the uncertainty that
their jobs and their lives are not protected. Every Philadelphian deserves the
right to live their life with dignity. Today, we move closer to that goal.” She
cited statistics showing that gender non-conforming people have higher rates of
suicide, depression, and social victimization. The Philadelphia School District
already has a policy shielding transgender and non-binary students from
discrimination, which includes a requirement that they be allowed to use
bathrooms and locker rooms for the gender that matches their identity. One bill
would require the District to go beyond that by mandating that staff be trained
in nondiscriminatory behavior. That bill was co-sponsored by Council members
William Greenlee, Mark Squilla, and Derek Green.
Ex-Congressmen Pat Meehan, Charlie Dent, and Ryan
Costello move to lobbying ranks
Inquirer by Jonathan Tamari, Updated: October 4, 2019
WASHINGTON — Three
former Pennsylvania congressmen, including two who served on the House ethics
committee, are joining the hundreds of former lawmakers seeking influence with
their one-time colleagues in the Capitol. Pat Meehan of Delaware County and
Charlie Dent of Allentown have already registered as lobbyists. Chester
County’s Ryan Costello has announced plans to do so in January, as soon as he
completes the one-year “cooling off” period required by law before ex-lawmakers
can become lobbyists. Dent and Meehan, who each sat on the ethics committee,
resigned last year before completing their terms, starting the clock sooner on
their waiting periods. The three Republicans join a roster than 440 former
senators and House members from both parties who now use their connections to
attempt to sway public policy on behalf of clients, according to the nonpartisan
Center for Responsive Politics.
To Shrink Achievement Gap, Integrate School Districts
Educational
disparities among minority students are largely driven by their concentration
in high-poverty areas, new study finds
Wall Street Journal
By Jo Craven McGinty Oct. 4, 2019 7:00 am ET
Does segregation
still matter?
When it comes to
educating our nation’s school children, the answer is yes, according to research
published last week by the
Stanford University Center for Education Policy Analysis. But the problem isn’t
race, the study finds. It is poverty. Decades after the end of legalized
segregation, and the funding disparities that accompanied it, minority students
remain disproportionately concentrated in high-poverty areas. Academically,
they trail students in more affluent areas, and they fall increasingly behind
as the years pass. The result is an achievement gap that limits the educational
and career opportunities of nonwhite children. But the gap narrows, according
to the research, when school districts are integrated, exposing poor minority
students to the same opportunities as their richer peers. The findings
represent the work of researchers at Stanford, Penn State and St. John’s
universities. To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers examined eight
years of standardized test scores for grades three through eight for all public
school districts in the U.S.—a total of 350 million scores. An accompanying
website maps
learning rates, test scores and trend data across every public school district
in the U.S., allowing policy makers, educators and others to explore the data.
(PA) 2019 Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter
Schools Annual Conference October 9 - October 11 Harrisburg
The Pennsylvania
Coalition of Public Charter Schools invites charter school leaders, board
members, new school developers, educators, support staff, and advocates to our
second annual conference focused on educating, inspiring, and connecting the
charter movement in Pennsylvania on October 9-11, 2019 in Harrisburg, PA!
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.
According to state
law, all school directors must complete training. How many hours are required
if you are a new school director? What about if you’re re-elected? Get the
answers to these and other related questions in this episode of PSBA’s #VideoEDition.
Information about the
education sessions for the 2019 @PasaSupts @PSBA School Leadership Conference are now live on our
website! We hope to see you there! #PASLC2019
What: Informal
discussion on cyber charter schools
When: 9 a.m.
refreshments, 9:30 a.m. panel, Oct. 7
Where: Central
Pennsylvania Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, 800 E. Park Ave., State College
AAUW State College
Branch invites you to attend an informational panel discussion to learn more
about background and issues connected with cyber charter schools. Join us on
Oct. 7, at the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800 E. Park
Ave., State College (visitor center off Porter Road). Refreshments, 9 a.m.;
panel discussion, 9:30 a.m.
The American
Association of University Women State College Branch is part of a nationwide
network of about 1,000 branches that are dedicated to advancing equity for
women and girls.
Adolescent Health and
School Start Times: Science, Strategies, Tactics, & Logistics
Workshop Nov 13, Exton
Join school administrators and staff, including superintendents, transportation directors, principals, athletic directors, teachers, counselors, nurses, and school board members, parents, guardians, health professionals and other concerned community members for an interactive and solutions-oriented workshop on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Join school administrators and staff, including superintendents, transportation directors, principals, athletic directors, teachers, counselors, nurses, and school board members, parents, guardians, health professionals and other concerned community members for an interactive and solutions-oriented workshop on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Clarion Hotel in
Exton, PA
The science is clear. Many middle and high school days in Pennsylvania, and across the nation, start too early in the morning. The American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, and many other major health and education leaders agree and have issued policy statements recommending that secondary schools start no earlier than 8:30 am to allow for sleep, health, and learning. Implementing these recommendations, however, can seem daunting. Discussions will include the science of sleep and its connection to school start times, as well as proven strategies for successfully making change--how to generate optimum community support and work through implementation challenges such as bus routes, athletics, and more. Register for the workshop here: https://ssl-workshop-pa.eventbrite.com Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are able to offer early bird registration for $25, which includes a box-lunch and coffee service. Seating is limited and early bird registration ends on Friday, September 13.
For more information visit the workshop website www.startschoollater.net/workshop---pa or email contact@startschoollater.net
The science is clear. Many middle and high school days in Pennsylvania, and across the nation, start too early in the morning. The American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, and many other major health and education leaders agree and have issued policy statements recommending that secondary schools start no earlier than 8:30 am to allow for sleep, health, and learning. Implementing these recommendations, however, can seem daunting. Discussions will include the science of sleep and its connection to school start times, as well as proven strategies for successfully making change--how to generate optimum community support and work through implementation challenges such as bus routes, athletics, and more. Register for the workshop here: https://ssl-workshop-pa.eventbrite.com Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are able to offer early bird registration for $25, which includes a box-lunch and coffee service. Seating is limited and early bird registration ends on Friday, September 13.
For more information visit the workshop website www.startschoollater.net/workshop---pa or email contact@startschoollater.net
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!
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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