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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Nov. 8, 2019
5 questions: When school starts later, kids get more
sleep, and it shows in better grades, health, fewer accidents
by Sandy Bauers, For the Inquirer, Updated: November
7, 2019- 6:00 AM
Across the nation,
officials are delaying middle and high school start times. The reason: So teens
have a better shot at getting the sleep they desperately need. Among districts
that are considering the issue is the Owen J. Roberts School District in northern
Chester County. To help inform the decision, sleep specialist Wendy M. Troxel
will give a presentation from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at the middle school, 901
Ridge Rd., Pottstown. It is open to the public. Troxel, who has a doctorate in clinical and health psychology, is a
senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corp. and an adjunct faculty
member in psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She was an
advisory member of Pennsylvania’s Joint State Commission on Secondary School
Start Times, which in October issued a report concluding that the optimum
starting time for secondary school is 8:30 a.m. or later. The report stopped short of calling for a statewide policy. Troxel
recently spoke to us about the science behind teen sleep.
Ephrata may delay
secondary school start times in 2020; community meeting scheduled in December
Lancaster Online by
ALEX GELI | Staff
Writer Nov 7, 2019
With a new year may
come new start times at Ephrata Area School District. Responding to mounting
evidence that teenagers aren’t getting enough sleep, Superintendent Brian Troop
in early 2020 is expected to recommend that the board delay school start times.
One possibility is delaying the district’s middle and high school start times
to 8:30 a.m. If the board proceeds with Troop’s recommendation, Ephrata would
become the first Lancaster County school district to delay
secondary school start times. “This may be an area where we can improve the situation for our
students by just aligning to the research,” Troop said. The district has studied the issue since early spring. Troop said he quickly discovered Ephrata’s
middle school and high school start times — 7:20 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.,
respectively — didn’t necessarily match the physical and mental health needs of
students.
Pittsburgh Public Schools details 'action steps' to
reduce racial disparities
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE localnews@post-gazette.com NOV 7, 2019
7:08 AM
Pittsburgh Public
Schools on Wednesday unveiled a new plan as the district seeks to reduce
racial disparities and elevate the achievement levels of African American
students. The 97-page plan, called “On Track to Equity:
Integrating Equity Throughout PPS,” details 27 action steps the school district is taking to achieve
equity for all students. “Recognizing that all students are deserving of a
quality, culturally relevant public education, this plan represents the next
milestone in our efforts to improve outcomes for all students in the Pittsburgh
Public Schools,” superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a statement. The
seven focus areas of the plan are board support, instructional support, equity
in discipline, reducing the achievement gap, equity in special education and
special program access, monitoring, and administrative support.
School officials discuss results of Future Ready PA Index
Indiana Gazette By PATRICK CLOONAN,
pcloonan@indianagazette.net Nov 3, 2019
Updated Nov 4, 2019
Pennsylvania
Department of Education officials said the number of high school students
enrolling in advanced courses or industry-based learning opportunities is up
substantially from 2018. That’s according to the annual Future Ready PA Index
PDE released this past week, covering all public school districts including 11
that include Indiana County students. “It shows if student progress is on track
and illustrates how schools are preparing students with the education and
skills necessary to secure good jobs and strengthen the commonwealth’s
workforce,” said state Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said. The index
takes into consideration standardized tests such as the Pennsylvania System of
State Assessments and Keystone Exams.
The annual Future Ready PA Index PDE was
released this past week….
Future Ready PA Index
The Future Ready PA
Index is a collection of school progress measures related to school and student
success. The Index includes a range of assessment, on-track, and readiness
indicators, to more accurately report student learning, growth, and success in the
classroom and beyond.
Future Ready PA
Index contains the most recent data available in the 2018-2019 school year.
Nearly One in Five U.S. Students Attend Rural Schools.
Here's What You Should Know About Them
Education Week By Evie Blad on November 7, 2019 1:29 AM
More than 9.3
million U.S. students attended a rural school last year, a number larger than
the combined enrollment of the nation's 85 largest school districts, a new
report finds. But, despite their collective impact, rural schools sometimes
lack the resources of those in more populous areas and they often get less
attention, says the newest edition of "Why Rural Matters," released Thursday
by the Rural School and
Community Trust. Many rural
students live in poverty, some lag behind in academic achievement, and many are
taught by teachers with relatively low pay, says the report, which provides a
state-by-state look at a range of factors that affect rural students'
education. And logistical factors, including geographic isolation, can make it
difficult for rural students to access things like advanced courses and for
their schools to engage in improvement efforts.
'We have to stop
letting it be cute': Students in Lancaster County and beyond must overcome math
struggles, experts say
Lancaster Online by
ALEX GELI | Staff
Writer 20 hrs ago
Lancaster County
students, on average, perform better at math than their peers statewide.
But the good news
stops there. The county — along with Pennsylvania and, perhaps, the nation — is
facing a crisis. As a society, experts say, we’ve become complacent with being
average, at best, in math. And that doesn’t bode well for the local workforce,
which is starving for math- and science-literate workers. “If our community
continues to normalize lack of math proficiency among K-12 students,” said
Sandy Strunk, executive director of the Lancaster County STEM Alliance, “we
shouldn’t be surprised when our children fail to thrive in an increasingly
global economy.” According to an analysis of Pennsylvania
standardized test scores from
2015 to 2019, less than half of the county’s students in grades three through
eight are at least proficient in math. The same can be said for the state as a
whole, as students across Pennsylvania perform significantly better at science
and English than math. From 2015 to 2019, proficiency rates on the math
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment have remained steady in the mid-40s.
Across the state, math proficiency rates have flip-flopped between high 30s and
low 40s.
Republicans have a
problem with suburban voters, Democrats have a problem with rural voters. Where
does that leave Pa.’s balance of power?
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso November 8, 2019
As Democrats romped
through the southeast on election night Tuesday — winning control of every
county’s government from Allentown to Coatesville — a long foreseen but sudden
reckoning came in coal fields and mill towns around Pittsburgh. Democratic
county commissioner majorities holding on in three southwestern counties, once
home to blue dog Democrats, were flipped by the GOP, matching a trend that was
emphasized by President Donald Trump’s wide margins there. Democrats “got
clobbered,” Joe DiSarro, a political science professor at Washington &
Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., told the Capital-Star. Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties all saw Republicans take over their respective boards of
commissioners Tuesday. Across the state, in northeastern Pennsylvania,
Republicans also flipped control of the Luzerne County Council. The county was one of three former strongholds of unions
Democrats that candidate Trump carried in 2016, securing his slim Pennsylvania
victory. The results are more than symbolic. They signal potential long-term
issues because on Tuesday, Democrats lost the building blocks of political
power in what used to be the backbone of their statewide electoral coalition.
Secret Service: Most school attackers showed warning
signs
York Dispatch by Colleen Long, The Associated
Press Published 9:08 p.m. ET Nov. 7, 2019
WASHINGTON — Most
students who committed deadly school attacks over the past decade were badly
bullied, had a history of disciplinary trouble and their behavior concerned
others but was never reported, according to a U.S. Secret Service study
released Thursday. In at least four cases, attackers wanted to emulate other
school shootings, including those at Columbine High School in Colorado,
Virginia Tech University and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. The
research was launched following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School.
The study by the
Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center is the most comprehensive
review of school attacks since the Columbine shootings in 1999. The report
looked in-depth at 41 school attacks from 2008 through 2017, and researchers
had unprecedented access to a trove of sensitive data from law enforcement including
police reports, investigative files and nonpublic records. The information
gleaned through the research will help train school officials and law
enforcement on how to better identify students who may be planning an attack
and how to stop them before they strike. “These are not sudden, impulsive acts
where a student suddenly gets disgruntled,” Lina Alathari, the center’s head,
said in an Associated Press interview. “The majority of these incidents are
preventable.”
Most School Shooters Showed Many Warning Signs, Secret
Service Report Finds
Education Week By Stephen Sawchuk November 7,
2019
Most of the violent
attacks in schools over the past decade were committed by students who
telegraphed their intentions beforehand—and could have been prevented, a new
report from the U.S. Secret Service concludes. Most of those students were
motivated by a specific grievance, and every single one was experiencing
extreme stress. But there remains significant variation among the perpetrators,
and schools should use a comprehensive analysis to detect true threats rather
than trying to profile students, the report says. The report, released Nov. 7
by the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, analyzes 41 violent
incidents in schools between 2008 and 2017. The devastating school shootings in
2018 in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Texas, helped prompt the study, but were
not included in the report. The analysis generally confirms the conclusions of
the agency’s influential 2002 publication on school safety, which said
checklists of characteristics supposedly common to school shooters were not
helpful in preventing violence.
Keep schools open 10 hours a day? Kamala Harris wants to
align student and work schedules.
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: November 7, 2019- 2:50 PM
Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris has proposed a 10-hour day for
students to align school with work schedules — a pitch she says is intended to
ease the burden on working parents. The Californian’s plan, introduced
Wednesday, would
extend the day — though not necessarily classes — in 500 schools nationwide by
awarding five-year grants of up to $5 million to elementary schools with a
large share of low-income students. A number of school districts in the
Philadelphia region have been moving to change schedules recently. But instead
of extending the school day, area districts are shifting it later to
help sleep-deprived teenagers. Under Harris’ plan, schools would work with community partners to
develop academic, athletic, or enrichment opportunities for students from “at
least” 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Instead of closing for parent-teacher
conferences or professional development, schools would be required to provide
activities for students.
“For the second time in as many city
elections, an insurgent candidate has emerged from the world of public
education activism and surged into a citywide office. What was once the realm
of outsiders now looks like a legitimate springboard to political power.”
With insurgent Brooks joining Gym on council, what’s next
for public education in Philly?
By Avi Wolfman-Arent November 7, 2019 Listen 2:05
Shakeda Gaines met
Councilmember-elect Kendra Brooks back in 2014 when they were both parent
advocates fighting the spread of standardized tests. Fellow parent Tonya Bah was in
the trenches with them, shoulder-to-shoulder with longtime education rabble-rouser Helen Gym. “We all were just
regular parents just wanting something different for our children,” Gaines
recalled. A lot has changed
for the quartet since then. Gaines is the president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council. Bah has become a
regular presence at school board meetings and ran a campaign for City Council this past spring. Gym went a step further,
capturing an at-large council seat in 2015 and vaulting into bonafide mayoral contender status with a dominant showing in her re-election campaign this
year. Now comes Brooks, who on Tuesday won her own City Council seat and became
the first candidate in generations to break the two-party hold on Philly
government. “I’m so proud of her,” Gaines said. “And I’m proud
of the movement.”
Many states now
require anti-bullying training that includes a focus on LGBTQ students – but
risks remain | Opinion
By Daniel A Cinotti Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor November 7, 2019
Dharun Ravi spent spent weeks gossiping with his friends about the sexual
orientation of his freshman roommate at Rutgers University in New Brunswick,
New Jersey. Initially, he texted and used social media. His roommate, Tyler
Clementi, eventually learned that Ravi had used a web-cam to secretly film his
intimate moments with another man. On Sept. 22, 2010, Clementi jumped to his
death from the George Washington Bridge. In January 2011, the state responded
by passing the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. While all 50 states have passed anti-bullying laws in the past decade, mainly to
address growing concerns over cyberbullying, New Jersey’s is among the strongest. I’m an instructor for New York
state’s anti-bullying
training programs for
public school staff, providing the six hours of required training mandated
by the state’s law, which was implemented in 2012. I also consult with school
counselors to create programs and events designed to prevent bullying and
improve school culture. I have trained more than
3,000 teachers, counselors, administrators and other educators to identify and intervene when bullying occurs.
In my work, I can see that although not everyone remembers Clementi’s tragic
death, it had lasting consequences.
“Nearly half of all teachers say they experience high levels of stress, and it doesn’t
take much to see how such stress manifests itself in Philadelphia. Schools
experience an astonishing level of teacher turnover in Philly; according
an Inquirer report from earlier this year, several schools have cycled
through more than 120 teachers over the course of seven years, from 2012 to
2018.”
'Cry when you get home’: Teachers need therapy to process
the trauma of urban classrooms | Opinion
Quinn O'Callaghan, For the Inquirer Updated: November 7, 2019 - 1:47 PM
The first time I
realized something was deeply wrong with the state of the general mental health
of teachers was during a meeting at the first place I taught, a South Philly
school. It was a school no different from the many others I’ve spent time in: a
substantial number of students with emotional distress, trying to be an
important institution in a neighborhood desperate for them. At the meeting, a
teacher was giving a short talk about managing workload and emotional distress,
and I can remember none of it, with the exception of one line. “Be brave for
them here, and cry when you get home.” What stays in my head is the cheerful,
stoic tenor of it. The admission of subsuming emotional distress coupled with
the painful, staid acknowledgment that the most a teacher can hope for is a
moment to weep alone. It’s nearly impossible to describe the emotional load
that teachers shoulder. We are not just educators. We know the secrets of as
many hearts as any priest; we put in as much actual work as any CEO; we can
sustain unknowable exhaustion and spiritual burn, and we rise every day to
serve. But such devotion comes at a cost.
Meek Mill Is Set To
Create A New Charter School In Philly
WPGC NOVEMBER 7,
2019
Meek Mill is
putting his money where his mouth is. In a recent tweet, the rapper mentioned
the shear number of abanadoned schools in his hometown of Philadelphia and
determined to do something about it. "Since they got like 30 abandoned
schools in Philly {*}{*}{*}{*} can we buy one and build a super school in our
own neighborhood! I hang wit a lot of billionaires that really care about
education {*}{*} “all we need is one school to start!," he wrote. Meek
linked up with 76er’s owner Michael Rubin to create a plan to finance and
build a free charter school in Philly. In addition to this, he is challenging
other billionaire friends to pitch in for other schools, according
to Hip Hop Overload. Today with
the help of his billionaire best friend 76er’s owner Michael Rubin, Meek
announced that he will be creating a free charter school for the philly youth.
Meek is gathering all his billionair buddies to buy over 30 vacant schools that
stand collecting dust all over Philadelphia.
Michael Bloomberg considers run for president against
Trump
Inquirer by Craig Gordon, Bloomberg, Updated: November
7, 2019- 6:15 PM
Former New York
City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is once again considering a run for president
in 2020, with an adviser saying he is concerned that the current crop of
Democratic contenders will not be able to defeat President Donald Trump. Bloomberg,
77, had considered a run earlier this year but decided not to run and instead
support Democratic efforts to regain control in Washington. Now he is open once
again to running against Trump himself. Bloomberg is the founder and majority
owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. “We now need to
finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated – but Mike is increasingly
concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned to do
that,” said Bloomberg adviser Howard Wolfson in a statement. Wolfson said
Bloomberg would run on his record of serving as mayor of the nation’s largest
city, building his own company and contributing to global causes through his
philanthropic activities.
Michael Bloomberg is one of the biggest charter school
backers with $1.8M donated to the cause
By DENIS SLATTERY NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | MAY 13, 2017 | 12:21 PM
While in
office, Bloomberg was major proponent of expanding the use of privately run
public schools — a movement that is largely backed by the ultra-wealthy.
Former Mayor
Michael Bloomberg is still the city's biggest charter school supporter.
The billionaire
media mogul is among the nation's top financial backers of the school-choice
movement, topping the list of New York's political contributors. Over the past
decade, Bloomberg has donated $1.8 million to ballot measures and political
action committees focused primarily on school choice, according to an analysis
by the Associated Press. While in office, Bloomberg was major proponent of
expanding the use of privately run public schools — a movement that is largely
backed by the ultra-wealthy. The AP analysis found only 48 individuals and
couples accounted for the majority of reported contributions to pro
school-choice initiatives from 2000 through last year. Bloomberg ponied up
$490,000 in support of a failed effort to expand charter schools in his home
state of Massachusetts, the AP found. Other Big Apple residents opening their
wallets for school choice are Ann Dinning, managing director of the investment
firm D.E. Shaw and Co., and consultant and former MTV President Michael Wolf,
who each contributed $250,000 to Washington state's successful bid to
establishing charter schools. Investor Bruce Kovner contributed $100,000 to
Michigan's failed 2000 proposal to establish a school voucher program. The move
toward charter school expansion has largely been underwritten by some of the
country's wealthiest people, including Betsy DeVos, President Trump's newly
appointed education secretary.
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
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:
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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