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
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principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 12, 2019:
“Here’s what happened: Lawmakers
unconscionably increased their own pension benefits by an astounding 50% in
2001, while raising those of state and public school employees by 25%. To not
jilt an important political constituency, lawmakers authorized increases the
following year for already-retired state and public school employees. At the
same time, having convinced themselves that investment revenue alone would
cover the increases, the Legislature did not make the state government’s
contributions and advised school districts to do likewise. When markets sharply
declined several times over the next decade — exploding the legislators’ false
premise and driving the plans deeply into debt — lawmakers passed on the cost
of their blunder to taxpayers rather than correct the “unfunded benefit
enhancements” described by PSERS.
Legislators since have tinkered with the
plans and seem to believe that they done well by having school district
contribution rates set at more than a third of payroll.
The burden they created will be
relentless absent much deeper reform, for which there is zero movement in the
Legislature.”
New PSERS rate not a
cause for celebration
Citizens Voice by THE
EDITORIAL BOARD / PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 12, 2019
According to the
Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, there is good news
regarding the amount that employers — that is, taxpayers through their local
school districts — will have to pay into the system during the 2020-2021 fiscal
year, beginning July 1. The rate will increase from this year’s 34.29% to
34.51% of each district’s payroll. That school districts have to pay the
equivalent of more than a third of their payrolls to cover pension costs is a
principal reason for hundreds of school districts regularly raising property
taxes without improving services. But, according to PSERS, the latest increase
is good news because it “... It compares favorably to the previously projected
rate of 34.77%,” PSERS said in a statement, and “this is the third year in a
row (the) PSERS employer contribution rate is less than previously projected
....”
Rather than a cause
for celebration, the new rate simply points to terrible governance. As PSERS
noted, 78% of the taxpayers’ contribution rate is to cover pension debt — debt
that was created by the Legislature itself and which the Legislature declines
to correct because doing so would affect lawmakers’ own benefits. PSERS was
candid, in a bureaucratic way, about what caused the debt: “The debt was caused
by years of suppressed employer contributions, unfunded benefit enhancements
and market downturns,” its statement said.
“Last
year, Iverson said, Wilkinsburg spent approximately 20 percent of its $30
million budget on charter school funding. The district paid charter schools
$12,879 for each regular-education student and $40,226 for each
special-education student. But, Iverson said, "the kicker" is
that Wilkinsburg uses many of the same providers and curriculums for services
as the charter schools do --- yet it pays "a fraction of the cost"
that the charters charge Wilkinsburg. Penn Hills spends $3,650 for
regular-education students and $32,096 for special-education students to attend
charter schools, totaling $15 million annually for charter school tuition and
an additional $8 million in transportation costs, according to district
Superintendent Nancy Hines.
The charters provide no explanation on
why students who have a “speech-only” impairment need the same level of
assistance as a student with physical mobility challenges, she said, but the
district is charged the same rate, regardless.
"You cannot tell me that the
speech-only disability requires that level of programming," Hines said.
"What are they doing with the extra money?”
Penn Hills is one of six school
districts in Pennsylvania in “financial recovery” status, along with Duquesne,
Chester-Upland, Harrisburg City, Scranton and York City.”
Mon-Yough School
Districts Say 'We All Face Similar Challenges'
Poverty, hunger are major distractions for
many students
By Richard Finch Jr. The Tube
City Almanac December 11, 2019
School superintendents who attended a press conference in McKeesport on Thursday said most urban school districts in the Mon-Yough area --- and across the country --- face similar challenges created by poverty. In the Wilkinsburg School District, about 99 percent of approximately 1,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, said Linda J. Iverson, superintendent. Some of them are coming from generations of poverty and "fragmented" home environments, she said. “It's not just that they're coming in from trauma-informed instances," she said. "They may not have had food or sleep the night before, or they may not have clothes.” Emotional or physical outbursts draw attention away from education for teachers and staff members, as well as for fellow students, she said. Besides the human and demographic pressures, there are financial challenges as well, said Mark Holtzman Jr., McKeesport Area superintendent. "We continue to fight rising education costs, relatively flat funding and rising pension costs," he said.
School superintendents who attended a press conference in McKeesport on Thursday said most urban school districts in the Mon-Yough area --- and across the country --- face similar challenges created by poverty. In the Wilkinsburg School District, about 99 percent of approximately 1,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, said Linda J. Iverson, superintendent. Some of them are coming from generations of poverty and "fragmented" home environments, she said. “It's not just that they're coming in from trauma-informed instances," she said. "They may not have had food or sleep the night before, or they may not have clothes.” Emotional or physical outbursts draw attention away from education for teachers and staff members, as well as for fellow students, she said. Besides the human and demographic pressures, there are financial challenges as well, said Mark Holtzman Jr., McKeesport Area superintendent. "We continue to fight rising education costs, relatively flat funding and rising pension costs," he said.
According to the
Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are currently five school districts
in “financial watch” status because they face severe financial difficulties.
They are all in small cities or urbanized boroughs --- Aliquppa, Erie City,
Reading, Steelton-Highspire and Wilkinsburg.
Public charter schools’ survival is vital to Pennsylvania
families
Penn Live Opinion By Ana Meyers Posted Dec 10, 2019
Ana Meyers is the executive director of the
Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools.
For more than two
decades in Pennsylvania, parents have had some ability to decide where, when
and how their children will receive their public school education. Currently,
the families of 143,000 of these students have decided that their child’s best
choice for a quality, safe and engaging education is a public charter school.
And thousands more, including more than 30,000 kids in Philadelphia, are on
waiting lists for the opportunity to attend charter schools in Pennsylvania. Those
numbers alone should tell policymakers that public charter schools are a vital
educational option for our kids. Yet every year, lawmakers, bureaucrats and
special interest groups take aim at public charter schools and seek to impose
destructive, crippling measures that would devastate thousands of their
constituents. This year, Gov. Wolf has stepped up the anti-charter rhetoric,
calling for measures that would reduce funding to charter schools, limit their
enrollment and make it easier to close charter schools.
“It’s a classic charter (and voucher)
argument that manages to paint the policy as having only the best interests of
the poor at heart, even as it promotes inequality by offering access to a few lifeboats rather than repairing the ship.”
How Media Turn Support for Public Schools Into Opposition
to Children of Color
Fair.org by JULIE HOLLAR DECEMBER 7, 2019
Bernie Sanders,
Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic presidential candidates are rejecting the
Obama administration’s embrace of charter schools, and media observers aren’t
taking kindly to it. “Minority Voters Chafe as Democratic Candidates Abandon
Charter Schools,” blared a recent New York Times headline (11/26/19). “The front-runners for the presidential nomination are moving away
from the charter school movement, and black and Latino families ask why their
concerns are lost,” read the subhead. The “minority voters” who the New
York Times (11/26/19) claims “chafe” at Democratic candidates’ criticism of charter schools
do not include the NAACP or Black Lives Matter, both of which call for a
moratorium on new charters. The article
itself was slightly more nuanced, reporting that the shift away from charters
has left “some black and Latino families feeling betrayed”; buried deep within,
the reporters note that “there is no consensus on charter schools among
families of color.” (Black and Latino voters support charter schools at
higher rates than do whites, but less than 50% view them positively; the NAACP and Black Lives Matter have called for a moratorium on new charter schools.) But the
article also relied heavily on uncontested quotes from charter school founders
and leaders, who accuse Democrats who would stop funding new charters of having
“a lack of respect for black voters in the party” and “writing off years, if
not generations, of kids.”
Failed charter schools cost federal government almost
$505M in nine years: report
The Hill BY JUSTINE COLEMAN - 12/09/19 09:22 PM EST 1,059
Charter schools
that never opened or that have opened then closed between 2006 and 2014 have
cost the federal government almost $505 million, according to a recent report. The Network for Public Education, an advocacy group, released a report
Friday that found more than 35 percent of charter schools never opened or ended
up closing down in that time frame, The Washington Post reported. Those schools received more than a half of $1 billion, or 28 percent,
of the funding from the federal Charter School Program (CSP). Through
analysis of almost 5,000 schools, researchers found almost 540 schools never
opened between 2006 and 2014 but were funded $45.5 million, the report said.
Michigan, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s home state, had the most charter schools that never opened at 72. The
Hill reached out to the Education Department for comment. The department did
not respond to the Post’s request for comment about the report. Casandra
Ulbrich, the president of the Michigan State Board of Education, told the Post
she thought the report was “extremely troubling.” “It raises some very
legitimate questions about a federal grant program that seems to have been
operating for years and years with little oversight and very little
accountability,” she said.
Most Philly charter schools failed to test water for lead
–– and city gave them a pass
WHYY By Ryan Briggs Avi Wolfman-Arent December 11, 2019
Two years after
Philadelphia officials pledged to crack down on lead in drinking water at
school buildings, most city charter schools still haven’t tested for the
dangerous neurotoxin. The lapse was not caught until now because the city
agencies tasked with oversight have failed to enforce Philadelphia’s
post-Flint-crisis water quality standards. The rules are simple: City Council
passed legislation in 2017 requiring all Philly public schools to test for lead once every
five years and post results online for review. The School District of
Philadelphia has complied with this
law. But a
PlanPhilly/Keystone Crossroads investigation found that 45 out of 64 charter
schools required to conduct independent lead tests ignored these requirements. Several
school administrators contacted for this story seemed shocked to hear about the
law. “What lead tests?” asked Edward Poznek, CEO of the Christopher Columbus
Charter School. “I don’t know anything about it.”
Suburban school
director calls Bethlehem superintendent’s comments on race, poverty and charter
schools a ‘new low’
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING CALL | DEC 11, 2019 | 5:55 PM
The Saucon Valley
School Board President is calling for Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy
to resign over recent comments that some parents in urban districts choose
charter schools so their children won’t have to attend school with poor
children or minorities. At Saucon Valley’s meeting Tuesday night, President
Shamim Pakzad said Roy’s comments at a news conference last week regarding
charter schools was a “new low.” Pakzad did not name Roy, but he read aloud
what Roy had said before offering his own opinion. “These people ought to
apologize and immediately step down from their leadership positions,” Pakzad
said. “They just don’t belong there anymore. What they said was ugly, divisive
and outside of the boundaries of human decency.” At a news
conference last week at Bethlehem’s Northeast Middle School about charter school law reform, Roy was asked why parents choose
to send their children to charter schools. More than 2,000 students from the
Bethlehem Area School District attend charter schools, costing the district
about $30 million a year. Roy listed a number of reasons why parents choose
charters such as bus transportation, longer school days, specific academic
programs and required uniforms. He then mentioned race as an issue too. “The honest fact is, not all, but some parents
send their kids from urban districts to charters to avoid having their kids be
with kids coming from poverty or kids with skin that doesn’t look like theirs,”
Roy said last week. “That’s a fact.”
A Philly charter school bought this church building, and
now it faces a preservation battle
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: December 11, 2019- 5:21 PM
The church at 63rd
and Callowhill Streets in West Philadelphia sits empty, its stone facade rising
above a row of houses and small businesses. Boys’ Latin Charter School owns the
former Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church and sees it as a future
gymnasium and performing arts space for its middle-school students, who
currently play in a parking lot. To historian Celeste Morello, it’s an
architecturally distinctive piece of Philadelphia’s past worth preserving. “I
see this building and its function in the community and what it serves
visually," she said. "It tells a story.” Morello’s vision — designation of the church
on the city’s Register of Historic Places — is opposed by Boys’ Latin, which
wants to renovate the building without having to adhere to standards for
historic structures. The Philadelphia Historical Commission is scheduled to
consider the matter Friday. If it designates the building as historic, Boys’
Latin says its proposed renovation costs could grow, from $3.5 million to $7.5
million. School leaders say that would be prohibitively expensive.
This is the time to rightsize, but will we be able to
agree on what is “right?”
The important CSPR
process come at a time when the District needs to regain public confidence.
The notebook Commentary by Debra Weiner December 11 — 2:35 pm, 2019
The Comprehensive
School Planning Review ( CSPR) is likely to be the most controversial
undertaking in the Philadelphia School District since the closing of 23 schools
in 2011. As some neighborhoods in South Philly and University City have
rapidly gentrified and others like Mayfair have experienced an influx of young
working class families, still others have witnessed a major exodus of students
to charter schools. Space utilization has been revolutionized in less
than a decade. And given buildings with an average age of 70, decades of
deferred maintenance due to underfunding by the State, and an estimated $5
billion price tag for bringing every building up to par, this is clearly the
time to right size. If we could only agree on what is “right.” The challenge is
daunting, which is why it has been avoided for far too long. And the
context isn’t exactly favorable. CSPR arrived on the heels of the
ill-fated Ben Franklin High School renovation to accommodate Science Leadership
Academy, leading many to question the District’s fundamental competence in
addressing facilities needs.
Baer: The gerrymander slayer: Meet PA‘s grandma on a
mission
Written by Livingston Contributor on December 11, 2019
CAROL KUNIHOLM of
Exton, a 61-year old grandmother of three, is on a mission most view
impossible: Get gerrymandering out of Pennsylvania politics. She‘s a Mount
Vernon, N.Y., native who grew up as “the poorest kid in a pretty wealthy
community” with good schools that she says shaped her life. She has a Penn PhD
in American literature, and worked as a youth pastor with at-risk kids in
Philly‘s Kensington neighborhood. She and her husband have three grown
children. He works for the American Bible Society in Philly‘s historic
district. Now she‘s running Fair Districts PA, an effort aimed at ending
gerrymandering – the practice of politicians drawing congressional and
legislative district lines to protect themselves by diminishing or
extinguishing electoral competition. Pennsylvania is routinely ranked among the
nation‘s most gerrymandered states. For more than a year, Kuniholm‘s been
pushing electoral reform hard on social media and at public meetings. She‘s
talking and working with state lawmakers and groups affiliated with the effort,
including the Committee of Seventy, Common Cause, the Pennsylvania Council of
Churches, and the Commonwealth Foundation. She says she‘s watching interest
grow in gerrymandering. And she knows a thing or two about watching and
growing. She‘s an avid birdwatcher and a native-plant gardener (somebody who
studies what plants should be growing where you live). She recently chatted
with political columnist John Baer.
“By contrast, Torsella’s office points
out, the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, continues to
buy hedge funds. It fell a little short of its own 7.25 percent target for that
same period. Since it pays lifetime pensions, PSERS invests for a longer time
period than the college fund, so it sets a higher return target. Even with all
PSERS’ investments, state and local taxpayers will be charged $4.9 billion to
keep the pension fund from becoming less solvent this year. That amounts to a
35 cent surcharge on top of every dollar collected in public school paychecks
-- money not available for teaching or other school programs.”
PA dumps dozens of hedge funds in cost-cutting move
Joseph N. DiStefano | @PhillyJoeD | JoeD@inquirer.com Updated: 31 minutes ago
Pennsylvania
Treasurer Joe
Torsella last
month told the world he’d pulled the state’s money -- or at least the slice he
oversees -- “out of all so-called hedge-fund investments, resulting in [over]
$14 million in annual fee saving.” The claim sounded familiar. I looked it up,
and sure enough Torsella had announced back
in April 2017 that he was moving $2.4 billion in state funds away from private investment managers into a
“passive investment strategy, saving an estimated $5 million per year in fees.”
The 2017 purge was against “actively-managed” stock investors. This fall’s
move, dumping nearly $500 million out of hedge funds, was “the next
installment,” Torsella spokeswoman Ashley Matthews told me. This was smaller
than the stocks move (just one-fifth of the assets), but also bigger (almost
three times the fee savings). And it jives with Torsella’s plan to put more
state pension in low cost index funds while avoiding high-fee hedge funds.
“Thanks to the 1,020 PSBA members that
took the time to engage their legislators on these campaign issues.”
PSBA: Top advocates
in VoterVOICE
POSTED ON DECEMBER 11,
2019 IN PSBA
NEWS
The 2019 advocacy
campaign season was busy for PSBA and our members. Together we fought hard as a
unified voice on issues related to Voucher Bill HB 1800, House Bill 49
-Security Personnel, Senate Bill 334 – Assessment Appeals, Charter reform,
PlanCon and passing the state budget in June. This teamwork helped us reach 510
legislators through a total of 1,168 letters, emails and phone calls. Thanks to
the 1,020 PSBA members that took the time to engage their legislators on these
campaign issues. PSBA would like to especially recognize those individuals that
consistently took action through VoterVOICE and have stood out among the rest
with their advocacy efforts this season:
- Mr. Joe Caffrey
- Mr. Larry Feinberg
- Mr. David Hein
- Mrs. Susan M. Jordan
- Mr. Henry Karg
- Mr. Al Marazas
- Dr. Barbara Parkins
- Mr. John Raymond
- Mr. James Routh
- Dr. Gary Smedley
- Dr. Jeanne Smith
- Mrs. Kathy Wega
- Mr. Eric Wolfgang
- Mr. Evan Williams
Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge says Trump asking a foreign
leader for a political favor is an 'abuse of power'
Post-Gazette by THE PATRIOT-NEWS, HARRISBURG,
PA. (TNS) DEC 11, 2019 9:10 AM
Pennsylvania’s
former Gov. Tom Ridge is leaving it up to Congress as to whether President
Donald Trump should be impeached, but in his mind there’s little doubt the
president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate his rivals,
including Joe Biden. Mr. Ridge, a Republican, was in Harrisburg on Tuesday to
speak at a renewable energy symposium sponsored by the Pennsylvania
Conservative Energy Forum and not for Trump’s
campaign rally in Hershey later
in the day. Mr. Ridge, the nation’s first homeland security secretary,
indicated he is disturbed by Mr. Trump’s actions that led House Democrats to
unveil articles of impeachment on Tuesday against the president. “I am
disappointed and troubled by the very fact that my president – and he is my
president – would ask a foreign leader of a troubled country who’s been
besieged by an enemy of the United States, to do him a political favor,” said
Mr. Ridge. “As far as I’m concerned, it is abuse of power.”
Impeach President Donald Trump | Philadelphia Inquirer
Editorial Board
Inquirer Editorial Updated: December
11, 2019 - 5:55 PM
Since taking office
as president in 2017, Donald Trump has used the unfiltered power of social
media to broadcast his daily disdain and mockery of rivals, and to promote his
version of the truth. That he has continued this mockery to the impeachment
process — the most serious action Congress can initiate beyond a declaration of
war — is of grave concern. On Tuesday, the Democratic leadership of the House
of Representatives unveiled
two articles of impeachment against the president, calling for his trial and removal from office, and
charging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The first
article charges
Trump with abuse of power for “soliciting the interference of a foreign
government to influence the 2020 presidential election.” Trump’s pressuring
Ukraine to act on his behalf in the campaign, holding federal aid hostage in the process, has
harmed our national security – and our democracy. But it is the second article
– the obstruction of Congress, by his “unprecedented, categorical and
indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas” — that should have us all frightened. It
reads: “In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the
complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so
comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate
‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors.' This abuse of office served to cover up the
President’s own repeated misconduct and to seize and control the power of
impeachment — and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard.”
In defying these
orders, and through his continued ridicule of the impeachment process and the
members of Congress who initiated it, Trump has severely disrespected his
office and the document he swore to protect and uphold. Should this process end
with a trial and a Senate vote to remove him from office — a prospect that
seems highly unlikely — it’s not hard to imagine that he would insist that the
process was invalid and refuse to go. Such an act of tyranny is what the
Constitution was created to protect against. That is why this impeachment
process is urgent and should move forward without delay.
Training: Enhancing
School Safety Jan. 9th, 8 am – 1 pm Council Rock High School South
The training is
provided by the United States Secret Service and the Office PA Rep Wendi
Thomas, in partnership with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, Bucks County DA
Matt Weintraub and PSEA.
Date: Thursday,
January 9, 2020, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Council Rock High
School South, 2002 Rock Way, Holland PA 18954
This is the region’s
first presentation of the National Threat Assessment Center's (NTAC) 2020
research on actionable plans to prevent violence in schools. The training is
provided by the United States Secret Service (USSS)
and is based on updated operational research conducted by the USSS and the
NTAC. The training will offer best practices on preventing incidents of
targeted school violence. This workshop will focus solely on how to proactively
identify, assess, and manage individuals exhibiting concerning behavior based
on USSS methodologies.
At the conclusion
of the training, attendees will be able to:
· Understand operational research on preventing incidents of targeted
school violence;
· Be able to proactively identify, using USSS methodologies, concerning behaviors
prior to an incident;
· Be able to assess concerning behaviors using best practice standards and
use identified methods to better manage individuals who exhibit concerning
behaviors with the goal of preventing school violence.
Charter Schools;
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
PENNSYLVANIA
BULLETIN PROPOSED RULEMAKING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [ 22 PA. CODE CH. 711 ]
The award winning documentary Backpack Full of
Cash that explores the siphoning of funds from traditional public
schools by charters and vouchers will be shown in three locations in the
Philadelphia suburbs in the upcoming weeks.
The film is
narrated by Matt Damon, and some of the footage was shot in Philadelphia.
Members of the
public who are interested in becoming better informed about some of the
challenges to public education posed by privatization are invited to attend.
At all locations, the film will start promptly
at 7 pm, so it is suggested that members of the
audience arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the
screening.
………………………………………….
Backpack Full of
Cash hosted by State
Senator Maria Collett, and State Representatives Liz Hanbidge and Steve Malagari
Monday,
December 2, 2019
Wissahickon
Valley Public Library, Blue Bell 650 Skippack Pike Blue Bell, PA 19422
………………………………………….
Backpack Full of
Cash hosted by
Montgomery County Democracy for America (Montco DFA)
Thursday,
December 5, 2019
Jenkintown Library
(Park and enter at rear.)
460 York Road
(across from IHOP) Jenkintown, PA 19046
………………………………………….
Backpack Full of
Cash hosted by State
Representatives Mary Jo Daley, Tim Briggs, and Matt Bradford
Monday,
January 6, 2020
Ludington
Library 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr,
PA 19010
A Networking and
Supportive Event for K-12 Educators of Color (teachers, school counselors, and
administrators)! Thursday, December
12, 7:00-8:30 pm Villanova University, Dougherty Hall, West Lounge
You are cordially
invited to this gathering, with the goal of networking and lending support and
sustenance to our K-12 Educators of Color and their allies. This is your chance
to make requests, share resources, and build up our community. Please feel free
to bring a school counselor, teacher, or administrator friend! Light
refreshments provided.
Where: Villanova
University, Dougherty Hall, West Lounge (first floor, back of building)
Directions, campus
and parking map found here
Parking: Free
parking in lot L2. Turn on St. Thomas Way, off of Lancaster Avenue. You will
need to print a parking pass that will be emailed shortly before the event to
all who register.
Questions? Contact
an event organizer: Dr. Krista Malott (krista.malott@villanova.edu), Dr.
Jerusha Conner (Jerusha.conner@villanova.edu), Department of Education &
Counseling, and Dr. Anthony Stevenson, Administrator, Radnor School District
(Anthony.Stevenson@rtsd.org)
PSBA Alumni Forum: Leaving school board service?
Continue your connection and commitment to public education by joining PSBA Alumni Forum. Benefits of the complimentary membership includes:
Continue your connection and commitment to public education by joining PSBA Alumni Forum. Benefits of the complimentary membership includes:
- electronic access to PSBA Bulletin
- legislative information via email
- Daily EDition e-newsletter
- Special access to one dedicated annual briefing
Register
today online. Contact Crista Degregorio at Crista.Degregorio@psba.org with questions.
Save the Date: PSBA/PASA/PAIU
Advocacy Day at the Capitol-- March 23, 2020
PSBA Advocacy Day
2020 MAR 23, 2020 • 8:00 AM - 2:30 PM
STRENGTHEN OUR
VOICE.
Join us in
Harrisburg to support public education!
All school leaders
are invited to attend Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in
Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators (PASA) are partnering together to strengthen our advocacy
impact. The day will center around meetings with legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education.
Registration: As a
membership benefit, there is no cost to register. Your legislator
appointments will be coordinated with the completion of your registration. The
day will begin with a continental breakfast and issue briefing prior to the legislator
visits. Registrants will receive talking points, materials and leave-behinds to
use with their meetings. Staff will be stationed at a table in the Main Rotunda
during the day to answer questions and provide assistance.
Sign up today
at myPSBA.org.
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
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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