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Wednesday, November 6, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Nov. 6: “It’s insulting to the hardworking PA taxpayer that a cyber charter receives the same amount of funding despite not having these overhead costs.”


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.

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 Nov. 6, 2019
“It’s insulting to the hardworking PA taxpayer that a cyber charter receives the same amount of funding despite not having these overhead costs.”


“With cyber charters, the differences are easy to spot. Some of the expenses that a cyber charter does not incur are transportation, food service and the many costs that go with operating a physical structure (utilities, upgrades, cleaning and maintenance, etc.). It’s insulting to the hardworking Pennsylvania taxpayer that a cyber charter receives the same amount of funding despite not having these overhead costs. Reforms for fair funding could save hundreds of millions of dollars statewide. Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools receive taxpayer-supported tuition ranging from $7,300 a year for a regular student to more than $40,000 for a special education student, per a report from Education Voters. Yet the cost to educate a cyber student is estimated to be only $5000-$10,000 per year.”
Public cannot compare dollar amounts for public, charter schools
Westfield Free Press Courier by Lisa Lightener Nov 4, 2019
Pennsylvania is overdue when it comes to reforming charter school laws. Parents and taxpayers are weary of the untruths that are often purported to prevent any type of charter reform. It’s also worth noting that proponents of charter reform are quickly and often accused of “trying to shut down charters” which is untrue. Advocating for transparency and fiscal responsibility does not equal elimination. One of the frequent deceptions out there is the “but charter schools get less funding!” than traditional public schools argument. The figures I have seen argued vary from $0.68 to $0.91 for every $1 that TPSs get. But one only needs to do a little bit of digging to realize that this isn’t accurate. Comparing flat dollar amounts is not apples to apples. The fact is, when determining the per-pupil spending to pay a charter school, charters A) are not given money for services that they do not provide; and B) are not permitted to double dip from the funding sources which they receive directly. It’s not complicated.
http://www.tiogapublishing.com/free_press_courier/opinion/public-cannot-compare-dollar-amounts-for-public-charter-schools/article_ffd8dfeb-af0b-5e88-8256-7911ba133eb3.html

PSBA Video Edition Episode 23: Charter school legislation update and new charter data website
PSBA Video Edition Episode 23, November 5, 2019 Video Runtime 6:21
PSBA Chief Advocacy Officer John Callahan gives an overview of several charter school bills currently in the House and Senate and how PSBA and its members have been advocating. Learn about a new website, PACharterChange.org, that can provide factual data on charter schools and help you advocate on behalf of public schools.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpUVTsvwN4E&feature=youtu.be

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

More asbestos found; parents say they won’t send their kids back to North Philly school
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Wendy Ruderman, Updated: November 4, 2019
Frightened about the effects of asbestos found in their children’s North Philadelphia school, and furious at the school system’s top brass, a group of parents told officials Monday that they won’t send their children back to classes until the students are relocated to another building. At a meeting during which tempers frequently flared, dozens of T.M. Peirce Elementary parents shot down a School District plan to keep children at the school while dealing with the damaged asbestos. Officials have begun to implement the plan, relocating the lunchroom to the library and ordering portable bathrooms placed in the schoolyard. Principal Anthony Gordon said the school’s instructional program would continue uninterrupted. “I was told there’s no exposure, there’s no imminent danger,” Gordon said. But parent Felicia Thomas said parents don’t believe the district’s promises, and believe their children are being penalized because they are poor children of color. “They are babies, and you are putting them in harm’s risk,” Thomas said. “If we were in another neighborhood, this would not happen, period.”
https://www.inquirer.com/education/asbestos-philadelphia-school-district-peirce-20191105.html

Anger, confusion reign at North Philly school plagued by asbestos
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent November 4, 2019
For the second time this school year, a community meeting to address asbestos exposure in a Philadelphia school devolved amid anger and confusion. The scene this time was T.M. Peirce, a K-6 school in North Philadelphia where disturbed asbestos prompted officials to cordon off the school’s basement. District administrators called a parent meeting Monday to present a plan that would have kept students in the building while workers remediated the basement. That plan included wheeling large, temporary bathrooms into the school yard to replace bathrooms shut down during the remediation process. But Peirce parents — aggrieved over what they see as poor communication and a slow response — barely let district officials speak during a cacophonous, 90-minute meeting. By the meeting’s end, those officials vowed to reconsider their proposal and look into the possibility of moving students to an entirely different site. Peirce parents expressed their anger and feelings of betrayal with school district leaders.
https://whyy.org/articles/anger-confusion-reign-at-north-philly-school-plagued-by-asbestos/

Democracy Day helps to instill importance of civil discourse in younger generation [opinion]
Lancaster Online by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD November 6, 2019
THE ISSUE: “In Pursuit of Civil Discourse’’ was the theme for the second Democracy Day sponsored by LNP | LancasterOnline. The event, hosted Friday, Nov. 1, by the Donegal School District, was centered on “George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.’’ Students prepared for it by reading “Rules of Civility,’’ which informed the life of President Washington. Coverage of the event appeared in Sunday LNP and in Tuesday’s Schools section. Additionally, there are an extensive photo gallery and a video from Democracy Day on LancasterOnline.com.
Full disclosure: Members of the LNP Editorial Board were involved as organizers and facilitators for Democracy Day. So we can’t really be objective about our passion for this topic.
But we hope and believe everyone can praise those who took the time to participate in Friday’s event. We are in awe of the enthusiasm of the students from 28 public, private and parochial high schools and one home-school organization in Lancaster and Lebanon counties who participated.
We are thankful for the teachers and chaperones who accompanied each group of students. And we are extremely appreciative of the community members — including some of our elected officials — who participated as speakers or discussion facilitators. Republican U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who represents the 11th Congressional District, was a speaker at Donegal High School, as was Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument, who as a Mount Joy resident was on his home turf. The general session facilitator was retired federal Judge Lawrence Stengel, of the firm Saxton & Stump.
https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/democracy-day-helps-to-instill-importance-of-civil-discourse-in/article_4d31e210-0020-11ea-b3f5-379c2062c8ad.html

State gives North Hills the nod for kids to work at home during snow days
Trib Live by  Tony LaRussa Monday, November 4, 2019 | 5:15 PM
Students in the North Hills School District will no longer get a day off when it’s too snowy to make it to school. The state Department of Education has approved a request by the district to replace snow days with so-called Flexible Instruction Days that allow students to work at home when school is cancelled because of weather or some other reason, according to district officials. Superintendent Patrick Mannarino said he will be ready to use the program when the second semester begins on Jan. 13. The district’s application covers three years, which means as many as five flex days can be scheduled each year through the 2021-22 school year. “We are excited to be able to provide quality instruction to our students on a day we normally would not be able to without taking away a vacation day in the future,” Mannarino said. The superintendent said the lesson plans that will be used for the flex days won’t be filled with busy work. “This is going to be quality instruction,” he said. “I don’t want to have any wasted days in education. I’m looking for these to be quality instruction or we’re not going to do them.” The district is building lesson plans and activities for each subject area in each grade level.
https://northjournal.triblive.com/state-gives-north-hills-the-nod-for-kids-to-work-at-home-during-snow-days/

Supporters of arming teachers in classrooms claim victory in Tamaqua board election
WHYY By Jen Kinney November 5, 2019
It’s been a contentious two years for the Tamaqua Area School District.
First, there were allegations of sexual misconduct against School Board President Larry Wittig, who has held the position since 1995. Then, he spearheaded a controversial policy that would make Tamaqua the first district in the state where classroom teachers could carry guns.  Residents don’t vote on school board policy, and despite public pressure, Wittig did not resign after, in December 2017, the Philadelphia Inquirer published allegations rooted in 1980s behavior. This month’s school board election was the closest Tamaqua would get to a referendum on arming teachers, and on Wittig himself. On Tuesday, the results were decisive: supporters of arming teachers claimed victory. Wittig and fellow incumbents Melanie Dillman and Daniel E. Schoener were re-elected for five year terms. Two conservative-leaning newcomers, Trina Schellhammer and Thomas Bartasavage, were elected too. Wittig was the lowest vote getter among the winners. Five liberal-leaning candidates, most of whom were inspired to run because of their opposition to arming teachers and to Wittig’s leadership, did not pick up seats.
https://whyy.org/articles/supporters-of-a-policy-to-arm-teachers-in-classrooms-claim-victory-in-board-election/

Downtown business group hears about PA Cyber School
Wilkes Barre Times Leader By Bill O’Boyle - boboyle@timesleader.com November 4, 2019 
WILKES-BARRE — Amid the usual business of discussing upcoming downtown events, the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association Friday heard about a relatively new endeavor in the city. About 25 members of the downtown group gathered at the PA Cyber School at East Northampton and Washington streets for its monthly meeting and Dave Veon, supervisor of regional offices, and Lauren Dennis, regional representative, provided an overview of the operation. Veon and Dennis explained that the local office serves 750 students from Luzerne County and neighboring counties. Statewide, they said PA Cyber, which was founded in 2000, has 10,000 student enrolled in grades k through 12. Graduates receive a state certified high school diploma, they said. Headquartered in Midland, Beaver County, PA Cyber has offices in Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Philadelphia. Pittsburgh, State College and Warrendale.
https://www.timesleader.com/news/761009/downtown-business-group-hears-about-pa-cyber-school

DeVos’ formula revealed: Trash public schools and push privatization | Opinion
PA Capital Star By Bryan Alexander  Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor November 4, 2019
When U.S Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos discussed the results from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, she described them as “devastating” and part of a worsening crisis in education. The results showed a slight decline in reading scores and a flattening in math scores. She noted that two out of three of the nation’s children aren’t proficient in reading. She also decried as ineffective the US$1 trillion in federal spending on education over the past 40 years, saying it has done nothing to stop the widening gap between the highest- and lowest-performing students. “We cannot abide these poor results any longer,” DeVos stated. “We can neither excuse them away nor simply throw more money at the problem.” As an education scholar, here are several issues that I see with DeVos’ take on the state of American education.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/devos-formula-revealed-trash-public-schools-and-push-privatization-opinion/


National Association of Charter School Authorizers Launches Search for New Leader Following Resignation of CEO
November 5, 2019 | Contact Corrie Leech, Director of Media Relations | Categorized: NACSA Updates
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) announced today that Greg Richmond, its President and CEO, resigned and departed the organization, and M. Karega Rausch, NACSA’s current Vice President of Research and Evaluation, will serve as acting President and CEO while the organization’s Board of Directors conducts a nationwide search for a new leader. “After much reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the time has come for me to pass the reins of NACSA over to the next generation of leadership,” said Richmond. ”As I reflect on my 20 years with NACSA, including the last 15 years as CEO, I am proud of the work we have done and look forward to seeing great things from NACSA in the future” Under Richmond’s leadership, NACSA has become a leading national voice for quality charter schools and the importance of authorizing, smart oversight, and accountability. In 2012, the organization issued a five-year challenge to authorizers to proactively close failing schools and open great ones, ultimately leading to more than one million students attending better schools across the country.
https://www.qualitycharters.org/news-commentary/press-releases/nacsa-ceo-resignation/


PSBA New and Advanced School Director Training in Dec & Jan
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/

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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