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 Jan. 15, 2020
“Eric Levis, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said
Tuesday that “there’s no easy way to tell” how many management companies are
running charter schools in Pennsylvania. Nor Levis could immediately confirm
how many non-profit management companies are clients of larger, for-profit
operators, as is the case with ASPIRA.”
Management companies don’t have the same rights as
charter schools, appeals board rules
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison January 15,
2020
A powerful state board ruled on Tuesday that
charter management companies, the private entities that primarily operate
charter schools in southeastern Pennsylvania, don’t have the same rights as
their charter school clients to challenge decisions by locally elected school
boards. The decision that the six-member Charter Appeals Board handed
down at its monthly meeting in Harrisburg was a victory for the Philadelphia
public schools, which sought to quash an appeal from ASPIRA Inc, Pa., a
management company running two imperiled charter schools in the city. The vote
may prevent other management companies, some of which operate for profit, from
deploying their resources on behalf of taxpayer-funded charter schools to help
them secure appeals. The case landed before the panel after the Philadelphia
Board of Education voted in October to revoke charters from Olney Charter High
School and John B. Stetson Charter School, the ASPIRA-run schools, and put them
back under district control. The decision came three years after the
Philadelphia district initially decided not to renew the schools’ charters
based on academic and financial issues, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Blogger note/commentary: The House Education Committee is scheduled
to hold a public hearing on Ed Committee Chairman Curt Sonney’s (R-4) cyber
charter bill, HB1897, on Tuesday, January 21st at 11:00 a.m. in Room
G50, Irvis Office Building at the Capitol.
Although they have none of the costs associated with operating brick
and mortar schools, under existing state law cyber charter schools charge the
same tuition rates as their brick and mortar charter school counterparts.
Unlike brick and mortar charters which must be authorized by a
local school board (elected officials representing their taxpaying neighbors)
cyber charters are authorized by the PA Department of Education.
Other than monthly invoices, local school boards get virtually
no information back from cyber charters regarding either their students’ academic
performance or any detail regarding how those public tax dollars are being
spent.
Cyber charters have been the subject of scrutiny and criticism
for their lack of accountability for student performance since their inception.
On September 16, 2019, Education Voters of PA issued a press
release about their cyber charter school funding report entitled “Cyber Charter
Waste Grows to $290 Million in Taxpayer Money Annually” which they released on
Monday, September 16. The report has been updated with 2017-2018 cyber charter
school expenditure data.
You can read the text of the bill, HB1897, here:
Here is Chairman Sonney’s cosponsorship memo describing
this proposed legislation:
MEMORANDUM
Posted: September 20, 2019 02:31 PM
From: Representative Curtis G. Sonney
To: All House members
Subject: School
District Cyber Education Programs
I am preparing to introduce legislation that will require all
school districts in the Commonwealth to offer full-time cyber education
programs accountable to local communities.
In 2002, the General Assembly authorized the creation of cyber charter schools, which are authorized at the state level. None of these schools are accountable to local communities even though local taxpayer dollars are used to support them. Under my legislation, the constant tension between school districts and cyber charter schools will be eliminated. Cyber charter schools, instead of being separate school entities, will be able to serve as third-party vendors and work with school districts to offer full-time cyber education programs. School districts will also be given the flexibility in creating their own full-time cyber education programs or work with third-party vendors such as intermediate units, cyber charter schools, institutions of higher education, other school districts, or educational entities to offer these programs. The goal of my legislation is to offer students access to high-quality cyber education programs in a way that is accountable and transparent to local communities. Key components of my legislation include:
·
School districts must offer full-time cyber education programs
by the 2021-22 school year.
·
To preserve school choice, school districts will be required
to offer students with the choice to attend three different full-time cyber
education programs.
·
In order to participate in a full-time cyber program, students
and parents must participate in an annual onboarding process and orientation.
·
To ensure direct access to teachers, there are maximum
student-to-teacher ratios for core subjects.
·
All staff must be properly certified.
·
If a certain number of students are enrolled in the cyber
program, the school district must establish a cyber school for academic
accountability purposes.
·
The State Board of Education must convene a Cyber Education
Advisory Committee consisting of superintendents, school board members, and
representatives from intermediate units, third-party vendors, and the
Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide advice and guidance on cyber
education.
·
If a school district contracts with a third-party vendor, all
information related to the contract is required to be posted on the district’s
publicly available website.
·
A public hearing must be held on a school district’s planned
cyber education offerings.
As chairman of the House Education Committee, I constantly
hear concerns from constituents related to the cost and accountability of
cyber charter schools. Cyber education is an important choice parents should
be able to make for their children, but local accountability is desperately
needed to control the quality and cost of these programs. Please join me in
sponsoring this important legislation.
|
HB1800 Voucher Bill: House Democrats accuse Speaker
Turzai of making votes on defeated bills disappear
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso January 14,
2020
State House Democrats have accused House
Speaker Mike Turzai, the chamber’s top Republican, of twice failing to record
votes against bills he supports this week, in violation of the chamber’s rules.
The two votes at issue involved a bill imposing
mandatory minimum sentences for certain for gun crimes, sponsored by Rep. Todd
Stephens, R-Montgomery. The other was an amendment to a Turzai-sponsored bill
authorizing school vouchers for the
Harrisburg School District. According to House Democrats, the minority party,
both measures were defeated in bipartisan, majority votes, but the final
results were not recorded.
Advocacy groups say Pa. underfunds special education
By Sarah
Schneider, WESA January 13, 2020
The proportion of special education costs
covered by the state of Pennsylvania has steadily declined over the last
decade, according to analysis from the Education Law
Center and Research For Action. The state
used to cover a third of costs and now pays for a fourth of what districts
spend on services for students with disabilities. At the same time, advocates and school district leaders say
costs for special education supports and services are rising. That’s why
more than two dozen organizations and lawyers asked Gov. Tom Wolf last week to
increase spending by $100 million – or about 8%. Many of the groups asked for the same
increase last year.
Lebanon County DA elected to 48th Senatorial District
Penn Live By Jana Benscoter | jbenscoter@pennlive.com Posted Jan
14, 2020
Republicans retained a seat in the state
senate Tuesday when voters in Lebanon, Dauphin, and York counties elected
Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold. As of 9:45 p.m., the Pennsylvania
Department of State is reporting that Arnold has nearly 60 percent of the vote
with 30 percent of districts counted. According to local media reports,
Arnold’s competition, Democrat Michael Schroeder called to concede around 9:30
p.m. The special election was held to replace former Sen. Mike Folmer,
who resigned in September following
his arrest for having possession of child pornography.
“Arnold, who has served as Lebanon County’s district attorney
for 14 years, largely campaigned on property tax reform and supporting Second
Amendment rights. Schroeder, who ran on increased access to healthcare,
increased education funding and action to combat climate
change, said the results were disappointing. However, he did not
rule out running for a seat once again in the future, he said.”
Republican Dave Arnold wins Senate race to replace Folmer
Logan Hullinger, York
Dispatch Published 10:22 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2020 | Updated 10:39 p.m. ET
Jan. 14, 2020
Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold
has won the state's 48th Senate District special election and will take over
the seat previously held by state Sen. Mike Folmer. Arnold, a Republican,
handily beat out Democrat Michael Schroeder, a history professor and Lebanon
Valley College, with 64.7% of the vote on Tuesday, Jan. 14, according to
unofficial results. The 48th District includes northeastern York County,
part of Dauphin County and all of Lebanon County. Republicans have held the
seat since 1963.
“Allentown Superintendent Thomas Parker has been outspoken about
how much of a financial
burden charter schools are on the district. To compete, the
district must be creative and Building 21 is a big part of that.”
Paul Muschick: Don’t bury Allentown School District’s
Building 21 because of pitiful test scores
By PAUL MUSCHICK THE MORNING
CALL | JAN 14, 2020 | 8:00 AM
The Allentown School District made a
commitment to try something different for its students by opening the Building
21 high school about four years ago. It has a different grading system and
different hours. Its class sizes are smaller. It allows students to work at
different paces and at internships. Administrators knew it would take time to
perfect the unique school. They should keep working at it and not panic over
the low test scores that dominated the discussion at a school board meeting
last week. A study of Building 21 was presented to the board Thursday night.
The board had been waiting for the analysis for more than a year, as it mulls
the school’s future. The presentation included
the school’s 2019 Keystone test results. They weren’t just bad. They were
pitiful — 27% of students passed literature, 17.6% passed algebra and 6.9%
passed biology. The state averages are 72% in literature, 63% in algebra and
63% in biology.
“At Bethune, 43 percent of the teachers are Black men, the most
in the School District of Philadelphia.”
Bethune revises blueprint with teaching model
Philly Trib by Chanel Hill Tribune Staff
Writer January 4, 2020
The success of the Mary Mcleod Bethune
Elementary School does not just rely on the students’ academic excellence and
personal growth. The teachers, parents, staff, and faculty at the Pre-K-8
school at 3301 Old York Road also play a pivotal role by providing students
with endless opportunities they might not receive anywhere else. At Bethune, 43 percent of the teachers are Black men, the
most in the School District of Philadelphia. A study from Johns Hopkins
University published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that
Black students who have one Black teacher by third grade are 13 percent more
likely to enroll in college. Those who have more than one teacher who looks
like them are 32 percent more likely to do so. “We have so many people at the
school who look like the children that they teach,” said principal Aliya
Catanch-Bradley. “Through that, the kids are able to see things differently by
seeing what they could aspire to be. They are represented throughout this whole
building and it’s something we are truly proud of. “Bethune is a school with a
social justice lens fighting for instructional strategies for all children,
especially children of color,” she added. “We want to create an atmosphere
where the students are not only learning about social justice and
African-American history, but we also want to make sure that they have a love
for learning and a love for self. “Enter to learn, Depart to serve.” That’s
what we want to have each one of our children here ready to do.” With nearly
600 students at Bethune, Catanch-Bradley said the school makes it a priority to
provide the students with the tools to succeed, not just academically but
personally.
Students at this school district can head to library for
‘stress relief’ kits of chocolate, herbal tea and bubble wrap
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING
CALL | JAN 14, 2020 | 7:04 PM
Amanda Evans knows today’s testing culture
creates stressed and anxious teenagers. As the teen library assistant at the
Parkland Community Library, she’s seen firsthand how much pressure teenagers
put on themselves to perform well on standardized tests. So to help Parkland
School District students get through Keystones and midterms, Evans has created
de-stress kits. The kits, being handed out this week at the library, include
chocolate, herbal tea and bubble wrap to pop during study breaks. “When you’re
stressed out, you kind of just want to unwind," she said. All this week,
the kits will be at the library’s circulation desk, and all Parkland students
are welcome to pick one up. It’s a busy time for Parkland students. Last week,
they took Keystone tests in algebra and biology. (The Keystones are
end-of-course assessments in literature, biology and algebra I for high school
students and some middle schoolers.) This week, students are studying for next
week’s midterm exams, according to the district calendar. Evans said
that with today’s focus on mental health, she especially wanted to do something
for teenagers. Critics have pointed to high-stakes standardized tests such as
the Keystones for creating a stress culture with too much emphasis on
assessments. Over the years, Pennsylvania has moved to de-emphasize the
Keystones and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment by cutting down on the
time students take the tests, but the exams are still required.
Think Education Is a Public Good? Think Again.
Education Post by Zachary Wright POSTED JAN.
13, 2020 IN BETTER CONVERSATION
Zachary Wright, a national finalist for the
United States Department of Education’s School Ambassador Fellowship is an
assistant professor of practice at Relay Graduate School of Education serving
Philadelphia and Camden. Prior to that, he was the 12th-grade world literature
and AP literature teacher at Mastery Charter School Shoemaker Campus for the
last eight years, teaching the school's first eight graduating classes. FULL PROFILE →
Education ought to be a public good. And it
never has been. Most Americans want education to be a public good, an inherent
right guaranteed to all that exists outside the imperfections and inequalities
of the free market. I also want education to be a public good. But I also
believe in seeing things as they are, rather than as I wish them to be. Education,
from the very beginning, has been just another commodity, bought and sold on
the market, with the highest quality paid for by those who can afford it. While
some decry charter schools as the primary agents of privatization that make
schools into commodities to be bought and sold, the reality is that all schools
are commodities. The wealthy and privileged buy their way into accessing the
schools they desire, while the working-poor and under-resourced access merely
what is offered to them free of charge.
Liberal arts education: Waste of money or practical
investment? Study’s conclusions might surprise you.
Washington Post by Susan Svrluga Jan. 14,
2020 at 12:01 a.m. EST
When Erika Hagberg started college at
Washington and Lee University, she thought she might want to be a doctor but
quickly discarded that idea. She took journalism classes, business classes,
music theory, history, calculus, economics, art history. “I had no idea what
the hell I wanted to do with my life,” she said. Twenty-some years later, now
director of global sales for Google, Hagberg credits her wide-ranging liberal
arts education with preparing her for a demanding business career. A
study from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce finds
that over the course of a career, a liberal arts education is remarkably practical,
providing a median return on investment 40 years after enrollment that
approaches $1 million. The results, searchable and sortable by
institution, were released Tuesday. It might seem counterintuitive — especially
to parents cringing at tuition bills and poetry seminars. But Hagberg said she
quickly learned that in the small classes at Washington and Lee, she had to
have done the work, be ready to answer tough questions, appreciate multiple
perspectives and be able to explain her ideas effectively.
School Leaders: Register today for @PSBA @PASA @PAIU Advocacy Day at the
Capitol on March 23rd and you could be the lucky winner of my school board
salary for the entire year. Register now at http://mypsba.org
For more information: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/
Charter
Schools; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN PROPOSED RULEMAKING DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION [ 22 PA. CODE CH. 711 ]
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, 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
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
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.