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
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
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 Dec. 19, 2019
Have
newly elected members on your school board? If any of your new colleagues would
like to be added to the PA Ed Policy Roundup email list please have them send
their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
The PA House and Senate are slated to
reconvene on Tuesday January 7th
How States Are Changing Attendance and Funding Policies
for Virtual Schools
Education Week
Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on December 18, 2019 2:31 PM
Over the past three
years, states have used policy levers to push virtual schools to increase both
attendance and completion, and to make funding for the online education
programs more transparent. Those are two main conclusions from a report
released earlier this month by the Education Commission of the States, a policy
and research group. The analysis looks at the 25 states that enacted at least
45 bills related to virtual schools from 2017 to 2019. (At least 106 bills were
introduced in 36 states, according to the report's author, ECS policy
researcher Ben Erwin). Indiana enacted five bills during that period, the
most among the states ECS looked at, followed by Florida with four. In
2017-18, close to 300,000 students were enrolled in virtual schools in 35 states,
the report states, with the vast majority enrolled in virtual charter schools.
These schools have proven to be polarizing, including in the broader community
of charter schools. Some believe that they provide an additional and important
service for students and a natural option parents should have. Others emphasize
that the sector has been plagued by mismanagement and a lack of
accountability.
Here are a few
examples from the ECS report of legislation that states have enacted over the
past three years :
- California passed "a
two-year moratorium on non-classroom-based charter schools, including
virtual schools."
- Indiana approved new
measures the state school board can take in response to virtual schools
that score in the lowest-performing category on the state accountability
system, "including the implementation of a school improvement
plan, a reduction in the administrative fee collected by the authorizer, a
prohibition or limitation on enrollment growth, or the cancellation of the
charter."
- Ohio says virtual
schools must now "automatically disenroll students who miss 72
consecutive hours of learning opportunities, a reduction from the previous
105 hour limit."
- Oklahoma law now
"requires virtual charter schools to be subject to the same reporting
requirements, financial audits and audit requirements as a school
district."
The ECS report in
general shows a trend toward more accountability and transparency for virtual
schools. There's an emerging tension in some states in which lawmakers on the
one hand don't want to banish virtual schools, yet have seen headlines and
research highlighting concerns about their outcomes, said Micah Wixom, a policy
analyst at ECS who's also studied charters and school choice. She also noted
that in several places there is "pretty vocal parent advocacy" in
support of virtual schools. "You end up with state leaders who say,
'Look, we want to provide options for students. We are just concerned about how
this option is playing out for some students,' " Wixom said, adding that
some virtual schools "do really well" for some students.
“When they authorized charter schools in
1997, lawmakers reimbursed districts for up to 30% of what they paid charters.
Then it cut that funding in 2011. Minimal reimbursements have been restored,
but they’re a pittance of what the state’s share should be.”
Paul Muschick: Enough
about charter schools and racism. Here’s what we should be discussing.
By PAUL MUSCHICK THE MORNING CALL | DEC 18, 2019 | 8:00 AM
……Why students
attend charter schools is important. If school districts improved their
performance, their facilities and their safety, maybe fewer students would
choose charters. But that debate must take a backseat to the more pressing one
of how
charters are funded.
Charter schools
have a place in the state’s public education system. But they shouldn’t have a
place at the expense of traditional public schools, and their taxpayers, as
happens now.
School districts
such as Bethlehem and Allentown are forced to divert too much money to
charters, many of which are operated by for-profit companies. Statewide,
districts sent $1.8 billion last year to charters, through tuition payments for
students who enroll.
Those payments
don’t always reflect what it costs charters to teach those students. And
districts don’t see an accompanying dollar-for-dollar reduction in their costs.
If districts didn’t have to pay charters so much, they could invest in
themselves and give more students a reason to stay.
The money going to
the state’s 15
cyber charters is particularly appalling.
They don’t have to
pay for buildings and other expenses. Yet they get paid by school districts at
the same rate as brick-and-mortar charters. Taxpayers are overpaying cyber
charters more than $250 million annually, according to a February study by
Education Voters of Pennsylvania, a project of the left-leaning Keystone Research
Center. The state has to come up with a better formula. And it also should help
school districts cover their costs.
Action is needed
immediately. The longer it takes, the more it costs taxpayers. Allentown’s
costs have doubled to $60 million, 20% of its budget, in just five years.
Bethlehem pays about $30 million a year. Until the state steps up to protect
school districts, superintendents such as Roy should continue demanding reform.
“There are many school and student
success stories all over Pennsylvania every year,” Cowell said. “But the
greatest challenge is for schools to successfully educate a high percentage of
students in communities where there is a high concentration of poverty.”
Former state rep Ron
Cowell will present ‘The State of Education in Pennsylvania’ in Murrysville
Trib Live by PATRICK VARINE | Wednesday, December 18, 2019 1:29 p.m.
Ron Cowell
of Murrysville will present “The State of Education in Pennsylvania” on Jan. 9
at the Murrysville American Association of University Women’s meeting.
As education
experts in Pennsylvania go, it’s tough to top Ron Cowell.
In addition to 24
years as a state representative with 12 years on the House Committee on
Education, Cowell has been president and executive director for the Education
Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg since 1999. He has been a member of
the National Education Goals Panel and held leadership positions with the
Education Commission of the States, the National Association of State Boards of
Education and more. Cowell will present “The State of Education in
Pennsylvania” at the Jan. 9 meeting of the Murrysville American Association of
University Women. It will be at 9:30 a.m. in the Murrysville Community Library’s
meeting room at 4130 Sardis Road. The public is invited, and registration is
not required. “There are many school and student success stories all over
Pennsylvania every year,” Cowell said. “But the greatest challenge is for
schools to successfully educate a high percentage of students in communities
where there is a high concentration of poverty.” Cowell discussed regional
education issues recently with the Star. This interview has been
edited/condensed for length.
Blogger comment: Congress might be
divided on some other issues, but the House has sent a very clear message
rejecting the DeVos privatization agenda. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania this week,
Speaker Turzai made another run at pushing the DeVos agenda with a proposed
amendment to his voucher bill HB1800 that would have dramatically increased
EITC funding. He was apparently unable to muster sufficient GOP support to
bring it to a vote before the recess. Keep an eye out for this to come back around in January.
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Wednesday,
December 18, 2019
The House has passed a budget, and Betsy DeVos's
Education Freedom Tax Dodge is not
in it. This is not a big surprise, though both Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump stepped up in recent weeks to try to help sell it. EdWeek reports that the deal struck by federal lawmakers has nary a cent for the
Education Freedom Scholarships program. The program was "ignored" and
there is neither money for administering that "fund a private school and
get out of paying your taxes all at the same time" program, nor does it
address the $5 billion budgetary hole that the DeVos plan would create. The
program, despite all the DeVosian love lavished upon it, has been ghosted.
EdWeek notes a few other education items.
Trump asked for a 10% cut to the department and the elimination of twenty-nine programs. That didn't happen (though it's worth noting that many Trump appointees like DeVos have figured out that you can cut spending in your department by simply letting positions stand empty).
There is more money for Title I. It's about a 3% increase, while Democratic candidates are calling for increases of 200% to 300%.
The Charter Schools Program-- the fund that has wasted a billion dollars on charter school waste and fraud-- will stay art current levels, with neither the boost the GOP wanted nor the cut that Democrats called for.
And special ed funding will once again not be increased to its full, required level. This makes forever years for Congress to stiff the states on the granddaddy of all unfunded mandates. Thanks a lot, Congress.
EdWeek notes a few other education items.
Trump asked for a 10% cut to the department and the elimination of twenty-nine programs. That didn't happen (though it's worth noting that many Trump appointees like DeVos have figured out that you can cut spending in your department by simply letting positions stand empty).
There is more money for Title I. It's about a 3% increase, while Democratic candidates are calling for increases of 200% to 300%.
The Charter Schools Program-- the fund that has wasted a billion dollars on charter school waste and fraud-- will stay art current levels, with neither the boost the GOP wanted nor the cut that Democrats called for.
And special ed funding will once again not be increased to its full, required level. This makes forever years for Congress to stiff the states on the granddaddy of all unfunded mandates. Thanks a lot, Congress.
Congress Mostly Snubs DeVos Agenda in Deal Increasing
Education Spending
Education Week Politics
K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on December 17, 2019 10:05 AM
Federal lawmakers
have struck a spending deal that
would boost funding for the U.S. Department of Education to $72.8 billion in discretionary aid, a $1.3 billion increase that would include
hundreds of millions of dollars more for big-ticket programs for public schools
such as Title I and special education grants. The
fiscal 2020 appropriations bill, which was approved by the House on Tuesday before heading to the
Senate, also includes a $550 million increase for Head Start and a $25 million
increase for Preschool Development Grants. Other programs to get more money
under the deal include Title IV grants for academic enrichment and student
supports, English-language acquisition, and after-school programs. Click here for a
detailed chart about education programs in the spending deal for fiscal 2020. By contrast, the bill largely ignores the Trump administration's
proposed Education Department budget, which would slash aid to the agency by
about 10 percent. In fact, the spending bill continues
to fund all the 29 programs the administration sought to eliminate. The spending deal also ignores Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos'
signature proposal, Education Freedom Scholarships, which would use federal tax
credits administered by the Department of the Treasury to pay for private
school costs and a host of other educational services. The Treasury
Department's budget under the deal includes no mention of new funds to
administer these tax credits.
Blogger note: here’s the Koch Brothers-funded
Commonwealth Foundation spin, which, BTW, doesn’t mention the $1.2 million in
contributions to the PA GOP from Betsy Devos’ American Federation for Children….
In Pennsylvania, Democrats Fight a GOP Bill to Expand
School Choice
National Review By KEVIN
MOONEY December 17,
2019 6:30 AM
Kevin Mooney
is an investigative reporter with the Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg,
Pa., and for the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania
lawmakers are poised to put Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, on defense for his
opposition to new school-choice legislation. Republicans aim to offer better
schooling options to some of the state’s neediest students. Meanwhile, Wolf and
his union benefactors, who mouth support for improving education outcomes, seek
to block choice-based solutions at every turn. The Pennsylvania State Education
Association (PSEA), which describes itself as an organization devoted to
“student-centered teaching and learning,” contributed more
than $1.5 million to
Wolf during his successful reelection effort in 2018. The PSEA has made
significant campaign contributions not just to Wolf but to other
Democratic-party candidates and officials in recent election cycles. Like Wolf,
the PSEA is also on record opposing the latest in a series of school-choice
initiatives that would empower parents and students to break from the orbit of
failing public schools.
Editorial: Better
school funding needed in Pennsylvania
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Wednesday,
December 18, 2019 5:06 p.m.
It should not cost
more to teach math in Squirrel Hill than it does in New Kensington.
It should not be
more expensive to teach history in Hempfield than in Jeannette.
It should not take
more money to teach reading in Upper St. Clair than in Clairton.
But geography ends
up being the deciding factor in school district budgets because the purse
strings are tied to property taxes, putting a disproportionate burden on people
whose largest — sometimes only — asset is their home. There has to be a better
way. How much opportunity a smart kid has to bloom and grow should not be
tethered to the size of the lawns in her neighborhood. How much help a
challenged kid can access shouldn’t be limited by property values. It is
important because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Shortchange the educational
capital available to those kids today and they will fall short on the economic
return they can generate tomorrow.
“Under the proposal, $85 million of the
money would go to Philadelphia Public Schools for remediation. Philadelphia has
200 public schools built before 1950, meaning the potential for exposure to
toxins is higher. $30 million would go to districts with high poverty rates,
and $10 million would go to any other districts that need remediation. Parents
say this funding would protect the state’s most important resource: the
children.”
Advocates, Lawmakers Call on PA Legislature to Fund
Cleanup of ‘Toxic’ Schools
These
advocates are calling on the state Legislature to pass Bills that address what
they call toxic conditions in public schools across Pennsylvania.
Erie News Now Wednesday,
December 18th 2019, 4:59 PM EST by Cody Carlson
Teachers, students,
and parents packed the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday morning, joining lawmakers to
rally for cleaner schools. They say right now, children are exposed to
dangerous learning conditions. These advocates are calling on the state
Legislature to pass Bills that address what they call toxic conditions in
public schools across Pennsylvania. “The conditions that our students and
educators and staff people face right now, it is a public health emergency,”
says Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D- Philadelphia).
House Bill 1636,
introduced by Rep. Fiedler, would establish a $125 million grant fund within
the Department of Education. The money would come from the state’s General
Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, and would pay for projects like lead
and asbestos remediation. Lawmakers in favor of the Bill say right now,
students are forced to go to school in terrible conditions.
“Our prisoners are
living in better conditions than our children are going to school. We need to
make sure that our schools are safe for our children. These are our future, and
if they have lead, that affects your education level. If you’re breathing in
asbestos, you might not know the damage for decades later. If it starts in our
building, that’s unacceptable,” says Rep. Bob Merski (D-Erie).
“The state is
mandating that our children go to poisonous, toxic, crumbling environments
where none of these Legislators would allow their own children to attend,” says
Senator Vincent Hughes (D- Montgomery, Philadelphia), who has companion
legislation sitting in the Senate.
After closures from asbestos and other hazards, Pa. and
Philly schools need emergency repairs | Opinion
Elizabeth Fiedler, For The Inquirer Updated: December 18, 2019 - 11:06 AM
State
Representative Elizabeth Fiedler serves South Philadelphia’s 184th District in
the Pennsylvania State House. She is in her first term as a lawmaker. She is
the mother of two young children, who will soon spend their days inside a
Philadelphia public school.
Imagine being
forced to go into a building five days a week where you might get brain damage
because of chipped lead paint, or cancer because of
exposed asbestos — a
chemical that, as of Dec. 17, has shut down four
Philadelphia schools this
year. That’s the daily reality of students across Pennsylvania who are paying
the price for decades of disinvestment in education. Schools are supposed to be
setting kids up for a bright future full of possibilities. Instead, these crumbling
facilities are making students sick. It shouldn’t be this way. Every child
deserves to go to school knowing they will get to learn with the educators and
support staff they need, in a safe and healthy building. Where they live, what
they look like, or how much money their parents make shouldn’t determine the
conditions they learn in. These are the basic civil rights all Americans were
promised and we can’t wait any longer. Every day that passes with no action is
another day students and staff are being put in danger. As a state
representative, and as a mom of two children under five, fixing our schools is
one of my biggest priorities. That’s in part because I’ve heard too many
heartbreaking stories from students in my district.
“This is the first time the district
attempted to raise taxes in five years. Those in support of the tax increase
have noted that the city has the lowest school district millage rate in
Allegheny County. The proposed budget represents a $15.6 million increase over
the 2019 spending plan. Some of the driving factors included increases in
spending on teacher salaries, retirement expenditures and charter schools.”
Pittsburgh school board passes budget, but it can't be
funded as tax increase fails
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com DEC 18, 2019
The Pittsburgh
Public Schools board Wednesday evening approved the district’s 2020 general
fund budget by a vote of 5-4. However, the board voted against the proposed
2.3% tax increase that would have funded the budget. School district solicitor
Ira Weiss said that means the 2020 budget would not be funded, and the district
would be at risk of shutting down Jan. 1. "There's no way the district
could function without real estate taxes," Mr. Weiss said. The failure of
the tax measure meant that the district would face a $180 million hole in 2020,
according to Ronald Joseph, the district’s chief financial officer. After the
tax vote failed, board members agreed to suspend the meeting until Dec. 27,
when they will try to work out differences and pass a measure that will fund
the 2020 budget.
Defenders of Public Education Speak Before the Phlly BOE,
December 12, 2019
Alliance for
Philadelphia Public Schools December
18, 2019 appsphilly.net
Click on the individual’s name to read a
transcript of his or her testimony.
Hempfield, Solanco
among districts studying later school start times
Lancaster Online by
Alex Geli December 18, 2019
If Ephrata Area
School District decides to delay
school start times next
year, it would be the first Lancaster County school district to do so. And it
perhaps wouldn’t be the last. A handful of school district officials LNP
contacted last week said they were watching Ephrata’s
decision closely,
and a couple have already begun studying sleep research that tends to support
later start times, particularly for teenagers. “Such a reform is promising
because it represents an attempt to address a need for a school district, which
is continuing to develop approaches to improve the emotional health of
students,” Solanco Superintendent Brian Bliss said. “Through this lens, we are
absolutely studying this possibility.” For Solanco, Bliss said, one of the main
challenges is transportation. The district spans 188 square miles — the largest
geographic size of all 17 Lancaster County school districts. Hauling kids to
and from school and other potential challenges must be weighed against the
benefits, “chief
among them would be recommendations from medical personnel regarding the
developmental needs of adolescents,” Bliss said, before a change is made. At
Hempfield, district spokeswoman Kim Snyder said Superintendent Mike Bromirski
recently told parents that the district was “exploring the impact of this topic
to our district.” After an “internal review,” Snyder said, the district will
provide an update to the school board and its parent advocacy committee. That
should come in spring 2020, she said.
“Rather than placate our students by
offering them unrealistic school schedules, I think we teach them how to handle
life experiences. Our students would benefit tremendously by ensuring they have
internships and cooperative work experiences at local businesses so they can
find out what jobs are available and what it takes to fill them. Our youth may
as well learn now that they’ll have to adjust to employers’ schedules and not
the other way around. Maybe we should sleep on this issue before we make any
hasty decisions about later start times in our schools.”
Former farm kid rolls
eyes at plan to start school later [column]
Lancaster Online
Opinion by LISA GRAYBEAL | Special to LNP December 19, 2019
Lisa A. Graybeal is
a dairy farmer who serves on the board of the Lancaster County Agriculture
Council.
If you’re a past or
present farm kid like I am, you probably just shook your head when reading
about the idea of starting school later so students can get more sleep. The
idea is to reset school start times so school schedules better match the
teenage body clock. Ephrata Area School District is considering starting school
an hour later. And, as LNP staff writer Alex Geli reported this week, a
“handful” of other school district officials LNP contacted “said they were
watching Ephrata’s decision closely, and a couple have already begun studying
sleep research that tends to support later start times, particularly for
teenagers.” It doesn’t seem to me like an extra hour or so would make that much
difference in the reported health benefits to our children, but apparently our
adolescents are sleep-deprived and this proposal could help. But starting
school later has some potential disadvantages, negatively impacting scheduling,
transportation and after-school activities. A new California law means many
schools there are now starting the day later. The law, which gives school
districts a three-year implementation window, mandates that first periods
cannot begin earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools and 8 a.m. for middle
schools. Instructional time requirements remain the same, which means lost
class time at the start of the day has to be made up in the middle or end of
the day.
Letter to the Editor:
How to really cut costs in Wallingford-Swarthmore
Delco Times Letter
by Mike Mayer December 18, 2019
To the Times: As
the Wallingford Swarthmore School District debates a later high school start
time, many residents have been discussing the cost of the transportation
department, i.e. buses. In hopes of bringing some common sense to the
discussion I offer the following:
The school
transportation budget is $3.8 million dollars. The total school budget is just
shy of $85 million. That means that the transportation budget is 4.7% of the
school budget. Now keep in mind that the buses and their drivers are not only
for getting students back and forth to school but also used for field trips for
all five schools (three elementary, one middle school and one high school) as
well as transporting special needs students (required by law), but also for
transporting the multitude of sports teams for both the middle and high school
teams. For the sake of
argument let’s just cut the transportation budget to $0. Parents can make their
own arrangements for transportation. Kids can walk to school. We don’t really
need field trips and after-school sports. We may not be able to avoid
transporting special needs kids, but let’s assume we can. If your school tax
bill is $6,000 a year and we eliminate transportation we saved you $282 per
year or $23.50 a month. If we don’t have a transportation department we should
eliminate the sports programs in the high school and middle school. Lots of
people think that’s a waste of money anyway! We can’t expect to play all our
games at home and we’ll save some money that way. Hard to tell but I suspect
sports programs probably cost us about $1.5 million per year (about 2% of the
budget). So now we’ve knocked down your tax bill by another $122!
Join us in Harrisburg to support public
education Monday March 23, 2020!
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. Click here for
more information or register at http://www.mypsba.org/
School
directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need
assistance logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data
System Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org
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
Representatives Mary Jo Daley, Tim Briggs, and Matt Bradford
Monday,
January 6, 2020
Ludington
Library 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr,
PA 19010
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.
Register
Today for 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
Additional sessions now being offered in
Bucks and Beaver Counties
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 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
- Saturday, January 25,
2020 — Bucks County IU 22, 705 N Shady Retreat Rd,
Doylestown, PA 18901
- Monday, February 3, 2020 — Beaver Valley IU 27, 147
Poplar Avenue, Monaca, PA 15061
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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