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Thursday, December 5, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 5: Judge rejects petition to charterize all of Chester, calling it “premature”


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.

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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 5, 2019



AASA Major call to action Thursday and Friday on IDEA funding in Congress
American Association of School Administrators Website December 3, 2019
Congressional appropriators are close to finalizing a deal on education funding, but still hammering out allocation on IDEA. We need you to call them (use our script and this 1-800 number) Thurs & Fri. Details here:



“Charter schools in Pennsylvania are paid a certain amount per student, money that comes from the sending school district. Based on a formula, charters can receive more than three times as much for students with special needs, but isn’t required to spend all that money on those students. CCCS has historically had a relatively high proportion of special education students, compared to other charters and most districts. Despite court orders, Gureghian has declined to make public the books of his management organization, saying that as a private business he is not obligated to, even though most of his revenue comes from taxpayer dollars. The Philadelphia Board of Education said in a statement that it was paying $15.6 million this year to CCCS, plus another $1.5 million for transportation. It said it is required to turn over this money despite lacking any ability to monitor the Chester-based school for academic, operational and financial integrity. Those figures are up from $7.2 million in 2016-17 for less than 1,000 students.”
Judge rejects petition to charterize all of Chester, calling it “premature”
The door is not closed, however, to further charter expansion. About 1,500 Philly students attend Chester campuses run by the charter organization seeking to take the district over.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa December 4 — 7:39 pm, 2019
The latest chapter in the long, sad tale of Chester Upland schools played out in a Media courtroom on Wednesday, with Delaware County Common Pleas Judge Barry C. Dozor denying an unprecedented motion to convert all its schools into charters, except for Chester High. However, Dozor’s decision was largely procedural, and the door has not been closed to a potential charter takeover of the beleaguered district. Dozor continues to preside over efforts to complete a financial recovery plan for Chester Upland, which has been under some form of state receivership for 25 years and already sends a majority of its pre-K through eighth grade students to charters. Now, there are just under 3,000 students in six remaining district schools, about a third of them in the high school. The petition was filed on behalf of Chester Community Charter School (CCCS), the largest bricks-and-mortar charter school in Pennsylvania by far, with an enrollment of more than 4,300 students on several campuses. It is operated by Charter School Management, Inc., a for-profit company owned by Vahan Gureghian, a multimillionaire businessman and top Republican donor. The petition was to allow CCCS to write a “request for proposal” to charterize the district. CCCS attorney Francis Catania argued that “solutions in the past don’t work…and won’t work this time,” and cited the need for “another remedy.” But Dozor declared at the end of the nearly three-hour hearing: “This petition is premature.” He also said it did not meet all requirements of state law, including a demonstration that the potential charter operator was financially stable and could improve educational quality for students.

Judge denies petition to convert Chester Upland schools to charters, says charter expansion may be an option
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: December 4, 2019- 4:48 PM
A Delaware County judge on Wednesday denied a request that could have allowed nearly all Chester Upland School District schools to be converted to charters. But Judge Barry Dozor said he would consider further expansion of charter schools to stabilize the fiscally distressed district, which has been controlled by a court-ordered receiver for seven years. Chester Community Charter School’s petition to let charter operators submit proposals to take over district schools is “premature,” Dozor said at the end of the hearing. A new financial recovery plan for the district is being prepared, and Dozor said he would schedule hearings in February or March on it. Chester Community — the state’s largest brick-and-mortar charter, which enrolls more than half of Chester Upland’s 7,000 students — had argued that the court should solicit proposals to convert Chester Upland’s remaining pre-K-8 schools to charters. “Why would an entity or an institution in this kind of continuous financial distress be averse to hearing new ideas?” said Francis Catania, a lawyer for Chester Community. Lawyers for the Chester Upland school board said it supported the petition. The Pennsylvania Department of Education, which opposed the move, contended the charter was trying to circumvent the authority of the receiver and could gain an unfair advantage if its petition were approved.

Superintendents' forum: State needs to change law on funding charter schools
Twin Valley schools chief says there are serious problems with current system.
Reading Eagle Written By Dr. Robert F. Pleis FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2019 07:24 AM
Historically schools have reflected the needs of society. Over the years the method of educating students has changed. Students have many educational options: attending their local public school or a private or nonpublic school; receiving education at home; or enrolling in the latest option, charter and cyber charter schools. Unfortunately, charter and cyber charter schools are funded through public school districts. This creates an issue as they are not held to the same educational requirements and standards as public schools. Public schools are required to make tuition payments to charter schools based on the budgeted expenditures of the school district rather than the charter school's actual costs to educate a student. The Berks County Committee on Legislative Action reported in 2018-19 that Pennsylvania charter and cyber charter schools received on average $12,540 per regular education student and $28,003 per special education student from Berks County school districts. In 2017-18, Berks schools spent more than $17 million on cyber charter schools. The Twin Valley School District paid more than $1.3 millions in 2018-19. Special education tuition payments paid by school districts do not have to be spent entirely on special education expenses by charter/cyber charter schools. Even with this amount of financing, no cyber charter schools had their students collectively exceed the state average on the 2018 Pennsylvania State Assessments in literature, math and science.

On December 5th at noon - 20 school districts across the state, including Norristown, Pottstown & Upper Darby are holding rallies for charter law reform and better school funding.
Upper Darby School District hosts a fair-funding press conference on December 5th Upper Darby, PA - As the anniversary of the beginning of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks in 1955 nears, the Upper Darby School District joins PA League of Urban Schools in the statewide fight for fair funding of public schools for students across Pennsylvania. The PA League of Urban Schools will hold a simultaneous statewide press conference to call attention to the need for charter reform and funding inequities that are dramatically impacting urban schools and placing the heavy financial burden of funding public education on taxpayers.
On December 5th at noon - 20 school districts across the state, including Norristown, Pottstown and Upper Darby are holding rallies for charter law reform and better school funding.
Pick the district closest to you and go with other education advocates to support our schools!
  • Norristown – December 5th at Noon. Location: Norristown School District Administration Building, 401 North Whitehall Road, Norristown, PA 19403. For more information and to RSVP contact: Kathy DiMaio at 610-630-5012 or Kdimaio@nasd.k12.pa.us
  • Pottstown – December 5th at Noon. Location: Pottstown High School, Audion Room in the Main Lobby, 750 N. Washington Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. For more information and to RSVP contact: Diane Nash, 610-323-8200 or dnash@pottstownk12.org 
  • Upper Darby – December 5th at Noon. Location: Upper Darby High School, Board Room, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave, Drexel Hill, PA 19026. For more information and to RSVP contact: Aaronda Q. Beauford at (610) 789-7200, ext. 3232 or abeauford@upperdarbysd.org

Charter Schools; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN PROPOSED RULEMAKING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [ 22 PA. CODE CH. 711 ]

“Since 2014, ethnic and racial minorities make up more than half the student population in the U.S. public schools, yet about 80 percent of teachers are white and 77 percent of them are female. A mere 2 percent of teachers across the U.S. are Black men. The demographics are more skewed in Pennsylvania, where 96 percent of teachers are white. The majority of African-American teachers in the state work in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.”
Philly program aims to bolster number of minority teachers
By John N. Mitchell  Special to the Capital-Star December 4, 2019
John N. Mitchell is a reporter and columnist for the Philadelphia Tribune, where this story first appeared.
PHILADELPHIA — One title Pennsylvania holds that leaders would like to shed is the commonwealth’s recognition as the state with the lowest percentage of teachers of color. Longtime educator Sharif El-Mekki believes that a first-of-its kind teacher recruitment initiative aimed at addressing the deficit is a step in the right direction. “A lot of states look at just one part of the pipeline. They may look at retention, or this is how we build,” El Mekki said. “But in reality those are just potholes. This is a comprehensive plan that addresses a pathway. You can either fill potholes, or you can build the road. This is building the road.” The program — Aspire to Educate — will provide free or reduced tuition, and mentoring and training to students of color who plan to attend one of seven participating colleges or universities and become educators after they graduate. “Aspire to Educate will help Pennsylvania attract, recruit, train and retain a new generation of teachers and education leaders,” state state Department of Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera in a news release. “It will not only help the commonwealth address the shortage of educators and the lack of diversity in the teacher pipeline but will also provide a career pathway for students in the teaching profession.”

Superintendent Anthony Hamlet announces new strategic plan for city schools
The plan to 're-imagine' Pittsburgh Public Schools is still in its early stages
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE DEC 4, 2019
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials on Tuesday unveiled the early stages of a plan to “re-imagine” the district and tackle challenges with support from local government, foundations and higher education institutions. “Now it’s time to imagine PPS differently,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said during the school board’s education committee meeting in Oakland. “We can’t do it alone. That’s why we have partners with us.” The proposal titled “Imagine PPS” suggests more than a dozen initiatives, including birth-to-age 8 programming, mental health care, special education, expanded arts and athletics, and career-focused classrooms. Community “stakeholders” will meet in January to discuss specific focus areas and deliver recommendations to the board in June.

Unanswered questions about Harrisburg School District finances cloud its present and its future | PennLive Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board Updated Dec 04, 2019;Posted Dec 04, 2019
It’s been several months now since the nightmare that once was the Harrisburg School District came to an end. Parents and teachers rallied around Court-appointed Receiver Janet Samuels as she and her new team plunged in, firing staff they deemed incompetent, establishing a new atmosphere of accountability and promising transparency in managing the district’s governance. Nowhere was transparency more crucial than in figuring out the Harrisburg School District’s finances. Within the first week of the new regime, Samuels and her staff warned the budget that had been presented to the public was a sham, based on figures apparently pulled out of thin air, with procedures no self-respecting accountant would support.

“Toepel is the fifth House lawmaker to announce their retirement in the past month, joining two other Republicans and two Democrats.”
High-ranking House Republican Toepel announces 2020 retirement
PA Capital Star By  Stephen Caruso December 3, 2019
The fourth-highest ranking House Republican in the state House says she’s not running for re-election in 2020. Rep. Marcy Toepel, of Montgomery County’s 147th District, said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon that she was stepping down at the conclusion of her current term. Toepel, who presides over private lawmaker meetings as GOP Caucus chairwoman, called her time in office “an awesome and humbling experience.” A former Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds, Toepel was first sent to Harrisburg in a 2010 special election. As a lawmaker, she cited restoring mandatory minimums for individuals who illegally purchased firearms as a top accomplishment. “It has been rewarding to have a number of bills signed into law, but there is still much to do, including the urgent need to address property taxes and how we fund our schools,” Toepel said in a release. In the release, she also named preserving district green space, as well as $3.5 million in state funding to in-district projects, as top achievements. Toepel’s sprawling suburban Philadelphia district includes some suburbs of Pottstown, as well as Schwenksville, Upper and Lower Salford, and Douglass Townships, among others.

“The problem has been exacerbated by a longstanding vacancy on the charter appeals board, which makes it “more difficult to get a majority, especially when people recuse themselves,” Lisa Colautti, a lawyer representing the Pittsburgh City school district, said at the time.”
‘A complete breakdown’: Pittsburgh charter school’s case is still stuck before state appeals board
PA Capital Star By  Elizabeth Hardison December 4, 2019
The third time may be the charm, but not for Pennsylvania’s Charter School Appeals Board.  The six-member appeals board found itself once again hamstrung by legal precedent at its meeting in Harrisburg on Tuesday, when it was unable to render a verdict in an appeal brought by Propel Schools, a network of Pittsburgh charter schools.  It was the third time in six months that the board has voted 3-1, with two members recusing themselves, to reject Propel’s bid to consolidate 13 campuses in Pittsburgh under a single board and administration.  Because of a 2018 Commonwealth Court ruling, however, none of the votes the appeals panel has  taken have mattered.  That decision from the appellate court requires a majority of the entire board to vote the same way to settle a dispute — not just a majority of the members are voting. With two board members recusing themselves from Propel’s case, the appeal is stuck in limbo unless the remaining four members all vote unanimously.  Lawyers representing Propel and Pittsburgh City Schools told the Capital-Star in October that the impasse is costing Pittsburgh taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and travel costs. 

Who benefits from tuition voucher programs? | PennLive letters
PennLive Letters to the Editor by William C. Fenstermaker Posted Dec 04, 2019
William C. Fenstermaker, is a retired career public school teacher and administrator, and former school board member; Jackson Township, Lebanon County.
When politicians advocate school voucher programs they always claim the purpose is to help “poor” families. This is a lie. The only people who actually benefit are middle and upper class. The proposed voucher program in Harrisburg, for example, would provide about $8,000. Wealthy families already sending kids to private schools would, of course, love this undeserved windfall. But actual “poor” families would see no value in it at all. For example, the current average private high school costs about $13,000 a year. If a family is actually “poor” there is no way they could make up that difference. If there is ANY out-of-pocket expense involved, actual poor families could not manage it. Many middle-class families would have trouble coming up with an extra $5,000 per year. Eugene DePasquale is absolutely correct in his criticism of the proposed plan. It would bankrupt the district. But I’ve always believed that is the real goal of these proposals - to weaken and eventually destroy the public schools, which would lose many of their wealthier students but would continue to serve all the poor families which would remain. Tuition voucher programs benefit only the wealthy. Not the poor. Don’t believe the lie.

Readers React: Pennsylvania should implement school vouchers
THE MORNING CALL Letter by Lynn Donches | DEC 04, 2019 | 1:30 PM
The Nov. 30 Morning Call article, “Catch me if you can,” regarding families using out of district or fake addresses in order for their children to attend better schools is all the support needed to justify 1) the complete elimination of school property taxes and 2) implementation of the voucher system of school choice. If both of these ideas were legislated, families could choose to live wherever they prefer, not somewhere they are forced to in order to afford the steep school property taxes, and parents could send their children to the school of their choice. Neither is based on ZIP code or economic status. If there would be a mass exodus from some schools, those schools would close or step up their game. A child’s opportunity for a great education should never be based on ZIP code.

“It's no secret that Republicans and private interests are working throughout the country to privatize education.  But education remains a public responsibility, one that benefits society at its very core. Sure, elderly taxpayers grumble about ever-increasing taxes. Schools in poor, minority communities struggle financially and academically. And lawmakers lack the seriousness to address the systematic failings of a property tax-based system that creates haves and have nots. But the "school choice" red herring only serves to line investors' pockets and rob taxpayers of accountability. And, judging by recent history, the enemies of public education are targeting Pennsylvania's weakest districts first.”
EDITORIAL: Pa.'s weakest districts targeted
The York Dispatch Editorial Board Published 6:02 a.m. ET Dec. 5, 2019
The vultures are circling, and York City School District officials would be wise to take notice.
York City is among four Pennsylvania districts placed in state-mandated financial recovery in 2012 under a new law proponents said would finally hold to account school districts that have failed taxpayers and students alike. York City schools clearly earned the dubious designation, one it will keep after state officials in August denied the district's request to be removed from recovery. Its graduation rates are among the lowest in the state — among, unsurprisingly, its peers also listed on the state's initial list of underperformers: Harrisburg, Chester Upland and Duquesne. Its financial condition has been a dumpster fire for years. And, all the while, York City property owners never get a whiff of tax relief.  But one can't help but wonder if the past few months were a harbinger of things to come for York City. And, if that's true, the district should gird itself against an onslaught of special interests and right-wing politicians conspiring to undermine the very idea of public education itself.

On school choice, Democrats are the hypocrites | Opinion
Albert Eisenberg, For the Inquirer Updated: December 4, 2019 - 9:54 AM
Albert Eisenberg is a Philadelphia-based political consultant. He formerly served as the communications director for the Philadelphia Republican party
Ask most Democrats, and they will claim that it is their party that represents marginalized Americans, and specifically lower income black and Hispanic voters. This makes the Democratic Party’s near abandonment of charter schools, and the mostly minority voters who need them, one of the most politically perplexing shifts in recent memory. This movement away from choice, and the interests of the Democratic base, is not a new phenomenon in the party that lives or dies by the votes and campaign contributions of organized labor. But it is now bubbling to the surface, most notably during the recent Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta. There, Democratic candidates were confronted by “black and Latino charter school parents and supporters,” whose children could be denied the opportunity of a better education – to the benefit of the established teachers unions.

Support for charters in 2020 election comes with a price
Black leaders must not sacrifice jobs, communities for false charter promises
Hechinger Report Column by ANDRE PERRY December 4, 2019
At a campaign rally in Atlanta for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a day after the fifth presidential debate in November, dozens of charter school supporters interrupted Warren’s speech to protest the presidential candidate’s plan to curb charter school growth. The New York Times reported that the protesters were members of the Freedom Coalition for Charter Schools, an alliance of black and Latino education leaders, who toted signs that read “Charter schools = self-determination,” and “Black Democrats want charters!” Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts, a black lawmaker and Warren surrogate, threw the presidential candidate a life preserver. “We are grateful for your activism and your voice and you are welcome here,” Pressley told the activists. But she also made it very clear that Warren’s voice would not be silenced. It was, once again, an example of black leaders rushing to the rescue. Oddly enough, the charter activists and Pressley were both coming to the defense of white-led causes that could stand more vigorous feedback from black people. Because Democrats have to earn the black vote in black cities, the black community has leverage to demand that our concerns be addressed. Warren needs to learn from black voices — but the charter school movement is not ours to defend.

No Easy Answers on PISA: U.S. Scores Flat in Reading, Math and Science
Experts urge caution in interpreting results as advocates call for major overhaul of public education
Education Writers Association by EMILY RICHMOND DECEMBER 3, 2019 
With the results of a global exam showing flat scores for American 15-year-olds in reading, math and science, education journalists were busy this week parsing the data, providing context, and explaining why comparisons among countries’ results can be a tricky business. The U.S. saw its international rankings climb in all three subjects tested because scores slipped in some other countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, the results of which were published Tuesday. PISA was launched in 2000 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to provide a comparable measure of education systems around the globe. Students in about 80 countries and jurisdictions — largely industrialized — are tested on critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as proficiency in core subjects. The PISA results are often used by education advocates to point to U.S. students’ relative readiness to compete in the global workforce. U.S. 15-year-olds earned average reading scores of 505, math scores of 478, and a science score of 502, on the PISA scale of zero to 1,000. The U.S. ranked eighth in reading and 11th in science — above the OECD average. But the U.S. was 30th in the world in math, below the OECD countries’ average. The test was administered in 2018. China — based on scores for students in four provinces — topped the rankings in all three subjects, with scores of 555 in reading, 591 in math, and 590 in science. Education researcher Tom Loveless used a Twitter thread to point to concerns about China’s PISA performance, including the practice of using high-stakes entrance exams to determine which students advance into the academic high school track and are ultimately among the testing pool.

China is No. 1 on PISA — but here’s why its test scores are hard to believe
Washington Post Answer Sheet By  Valerie Strauss  Dec. 4, 2019 at 4:02 p.m. EST
Mainland China was the big winner in the newly released scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, which tests 15-year-old students in dozens of countries in math, reading and science every three years. With 600,000 students from 79 countries and school systems taking the exam in 2018, four provinces in China — which for PISA constitutes mainland China — were collectively ranked No. 1 in all three subjects. But there is good reason to view the scores from mainland China with skepticism, and that’s the subject of this post by Tom Loveless, an expert on student achievement, testing, education policy and K-12 school reform. A former sixth-grade teacher and Harvard policy professor, Loveless was a senior fellow in governance studies and director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Washington-based nonprofit Brookings Institution. He wrote 16 volumes of “The Brown Center Report on American Education,” an annual report analyzing important trends in education.



PSBA New and Advanced School Director Training, Haverford
Thursday December 12, 2019 • 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Haverford Middle School, 1701 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083


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:
  • 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
Advanced School Director Training
Week Nights: Registration with dinner provided opens at 4:30 p.m., program starts 5:30 p.m. -9:00 p.m.
Saturdays: Registration opens at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Locations and dates

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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