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. 2, 2020
Happy New Year! School Leaders: Make a resolution to be a
stronger advocate for your students and your schools. Sign up for @PSBA @PASA @PAIU Advocacy Day at the Capitol on March 23rd. For more
information: https://psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/… or register at http://mypsba.org
Blogger comment: Will 2020 be the year
that lawmakers make cyber education accountable to the taxpayers who fund it?
In 2007, I presented Testimony on Cyber Charter School Funding, Oversight and
Accountability to the PA House Education Committee. Nothing has changed since
then, except that Nick Trombetta is in jail.
“Lawmakers should embrace Sonney’s ideas
and examine others that create public accountability for the use of public
education money.”
Editorial: Make cyber
schools more accountable
Citizens Voice Editorial
by THE EDITORIAL BOARD / PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 13, 2019
Charter schools in
Pennsylvania are public schools, funded with local and state tax money, but
they are not subject to the same level of accountability as conventional public
schools regarding academic performance and the use of the public funds. That is
all the more so for online cyber charter schools, that operate from remote
locations and are an additional step further removed from traditional
accountability mechanisms. Republican state Rep. Curt Sonney of Erie, a
longtime school choice advocate and chairman of the House Education Committee,
plans to introduce a bill that would maintain cyber
education while making it more accountable to the taxpayers who fund it. Sonney’s
idea is to create local control of cyber education, rather than leaving it in
the hands of the cyber school operators themselves. He would require every
school district to offer cyber education in conjunction with its regular
curriculum, separately, or both. That would make cyber operations accountable
through local school boards. The proposal would allow districts to offer the
programs themselves as some already do or through partnerships with other
districts, regional intermediate units or universities.
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 31, 2019: EdVotersPA: We just paid a cyber charter school $250.00
Blogger comment: Pennsylvania’s charter school law has a
reputation as one of the worst in the country. Here’s one possible reason why
our state legislature has done virtually nothing to improve it over the past 20
years…
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 20, 2019: Follow the Money:
Selected 2007 - 2019 Campaign Contributions by Vahan Gureghian
Two Philly elementary schools to remain closed because of
asbestos damage
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: December 31, 2019
Philadelphia’s
McClure and Carnell Elementary Schools won’t reopen this week, after the
discovery of damaged asbestos led the district to close the buildings before
the holiday break. District officials on Tuesday announced that the
buildings, closed
since Dec. 20, would
remain shut Thursday and Friday out of an “abundance of caution.” The schools,
which together educate roughly 1,600 students, are the fifth and sixth closed
by the district due to asbestos concerns this school year. When they will
reopen isn’t clear. Imahni Moise, a spokesperson for the district, said Tuesday
that while “imminent hazard” asbestos issues had been addressed at Carnell, in
Oxford Circle, “there is still concern for some additional areas, the need for
more aggressive follow-up cleaning, and also another round of testing before
the school can reopen."
“Prior to learning about these
environmental threats, I thought the greatest challenge of choosing a public
school education in an urban environment was the often overcrowded and
underfunded classrooms. I did not know that this choice would also mean more
children potentially breathing in asbestos fibers and less money to remediate
it.”
As a pediatrician, my advice for parents worried about
Philly’s asbestos problem | Opinion
Katie Lockwood, for the Inquirer Updated: December 30, 2020 - 11:01 AM
Katie Lockwood is a
pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, host of “Primary Care
Perspectives” podcast, and the parent of two children in Philadelphia.
Each September, I
regularly write notes excusing my patients from school for their annual
doctor’s office appointments. Recently, one mom waved my note away, saying,
“She didn’t have school today due to the asbestos.” In fact, by October,
students in this patient’s school had already missed nine days due to
environmental hazards, including lead and asbestos. As of Dec. 20, asbestos
had closed
six schools in
Philadelphia. At a time of year when school absences due to colds and viruses
become commonplace complaints in my office, hearing about asbestos concerns is
an unwelcome addition. My daughter also walks the halls of a school cited as a
lead and asbestos risk. Instead of offering her the usual platitudes about
learning, I find myself shouting, “Don’t drink the water!” as she skips into a
building lined with asbestos insulation and lead paint.
Proposed charter schools make case to Pocono Mountain SD
Pocono Record By Maria
Francis Posted
Dec 28, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Multiple charter
schools have their eyes on the Poconos.
Pocono Mountain
School District held two public hearings on Dec. 17 and 18 for charter school
applicants Pocono Charter High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and
the Summit School of the Poconos. “Pocono Mountain School District’s officials
are conducting a thorough and fair review of each charter school application,”
said Wendy Frable, Director of Public Relations for Pocono Mountain School District.
Both applicants had submitted their charter applications before the Nov. 15
deadline for proposed school openings in the following 2020-2021 school year. There
is a legal process that school districts must follow when reviewing
applications to open a charter school. “Initial hearing dates as required by
law were scheduled so that the charter applicants could present their proposals
to the public,” said Frable. “The decision on whether to approve or deny the
charter applications is, by law, required to be made by the Pocono Mountain
School District’s Board of Directors.”
At a Philly public school, blind children finally have a
fantastic place to play
Inquirer by Kristen A.
Graham, Updated: December
31, 2019
For a long time, it
was a dream that seemed like it might never come true. Overbrook Education
Center, the Philadelphia School District’s school for blind and visually
impaired children, had many things other schools would envy: small classes,
engaged families, extracurricular activities, talented students who often go on
to have their pick of the city’s select high schools. But it lacked a safe
place for its nearly 300 students to play. When the weather was good, teachers
could cross two streets to take students to a nearby city park, but it took
considerable time and staffing to safely shepherd students there and back. Too
often, the kids had to make do with a narrow strip of cracked asphalt. So from
the moment Meredith Foote became OEC’s principal five years ago, she told
anyone who would listen: Our school needs its own playground. Then she heard
that the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the district’s
charitable arm, had launched a crowdfunding
campaign in
which principals could create wish
lists for
their schools, which individual donors and foundations could then browse and
potentially fulfill. So Foote aimed high in a way her operating budget did not
allow her to.
U.S. should strengthen bilingual education | Opinion
Jamail Khan, for the Inquirer Updated: December 31, 2019 - 6:59 AM
America — that
glorious symbol of multiculturalism, the great melting pot — qualifies as part
of the developed world, right? Not quite, if we consider the state of second
language learning in schools across the country. According to a 2018 study from
the Pew Research Center, Europe is consistently tops the U.S. in foreign
language education in schools. A median of 92% of European students are learning a language
in school. In America
it’s only 20%. In more than 20 European countries, studying a foreign language
for at least one year is compulsory. In comparison, only 10 states and D.C
require learning a foreign language for graduation. Let’s put this into
perspective: I went to a public school in Pennsylvania that ranked on
Newsweek’s list of America’s top high
schools in 2015. In a
school of such esteem, foreign language learning was not a graduation
requirement. And the existing foreign language department left much to be
desired. A common response to such stories and statistics is: So what? Why
should Americans care about learning another language when English has recently
seemed to dominate as the unofficial
language of the world? There are
many reasons for schools to prioritize foreign languages. Here are three
especially relevant ones:
State High senior pushes for more opportunities for Pa.
students to learn ASL
Centre Daily Times BY
MADDIE AIKEN FOR THE CDT JANUARY 01, 2020 03:14 PM
When Melody Sharp
was in first grade, her teacher taught her class how to say “good morning” in
sign language. Learning this phrase sparked Melody’s interest in American Sign
Language. Now a
senior at State College Area High School, she has dedicated the past 11 years
of her life to learning ASL with her mother, Kim Sharp. Melody’s passion for
ASL had to be pursued outside of the classroom, as her schools did not offer
sign language courses during her academic career. She wants other children and
teens to have the opportunity she did not have. Through her Girl
Scout Gold Award project, Melody
advocated for the increased presence of ASL courses in schools and the ASL
certification of teachers in Pennsylvania. “I just wanted there to be more
opportunities for people to learn about (ASL) and deaf culture,” she said. “To
be able to raise awareness and bring hearing and deaf people together more.” Her
project specifically sought to raise awareness of House Bill 572, which passed
in 2002 and recognized ASL courses as satisfying foreign language requirements
for high school graduation, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s
Certification and Staffing Policy Guideline 41, which set
a clear pathway for educators to acquire ASL instructional certification.
“In much of the country, sex education
is not a standard part of the curriculum. Only 24 states and Washington, D.C., have mandated that public schools
teach sex ed. Pennsylvania is not one of them. Schools in Pennsylvania are required, however, to focus on abstinence from sex. The
commonwealth also requires schools to provide preventive education on sexually
transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. Teaching students about consent is not
mentioned.”
To teach young kids the concept of consent, focus on
bodily autonomy
WHYY By Emily Scott January 2, 2020
Isy Abraham-Raveson
starts her “Yes to Consent” sex-education workshop by asking this question:
What’s your favorite part of your body? Hands eagerly shot into the air one
recent afternoon, as a dozen third-graders — part of the health-and-wellness
nonprofit Puentes de Salud’s after-school program — sat on a multicolored
carpet square at the Southwark School at Ninth and Mifflin streets in South
Philadelphia. “My favorite part of my body is my brain because it helps me be
smart,” one student said. The question made for an easy segue into the kinds of
touch the children like or don’t like. “I love hugs from friends and family,”
one boy said. “I like to hold my best friend’s hand,” a girl replied. After
asking his permission, Abraham-Raveson tickled one of the boys. A little
silliness makes kids more comfortable talking about serious topics, she said —
things like setting physical boundaries and understanding consent.
“Mr. Miller was later elected to the
board of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, where he served from 1976-1986 and in
1982, he was among the founders of the Pennsylvania School District Liquid
Asset Fund, an investment program operated by school districts. In 1991, he
served as president of the PSBA and from 1999 to 2012, he was a director and
officer at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust.”
Obituary: Robert I. 'Bob' Miller: Longtime Penn Hills
school board member
July 2, 1929
-- December 27, 2019
BY JANICE CROMPTON Pittsburgh Post-Gazette jcrompton@post-gazette.com JAN 1, 2020
Robert
I. “Bob” Miller wasn’t a native son of Penn Hills, but few did more to
promote and serve the community in the eastern suburbs. “He really embraced
Pittsburgh when he moved here, and one of the ways he expressed his love for
the area was serving on the school board,” said his daughter Drue Miller, of
Forest Hills. “He was really, really dedicated to public service.” Mr. Miller
served 26 years on the Penn Hills school board, and for years as a director and
president of both the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association. The retired engineer from the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic
Power Laboratory was among the team that drafted the Home Rule Charter for Penn
Hills in the early 1970s and he lent his expertise for many years to several
state education funding agencies and public service groups.
“The Senate passed a bill I authored to
improve the state’s teacher evaluation system to ensure the best and brightest
educators remain in the classroom. These reforms would reduce the emphasis on
standardized testing, acknowledge the relationship between poverty and student
performance on tests, and give our educators the useful and meaningful feedback
that they need to boost student performance.”
Guest Column:
Progress in 2019 sets stage for greater things in Pa. in 2020
Delco Times By Sen. Ryan Aument
Times Guest Columnist Dec 31,
2019
Sen. Ryan Aument is
a Republican representing the 36th District in Lancaster County. He is a
member of the Senate Education Committee.
The beginning of a
new year offers a golden opportunity to look back at accomplishments and
disappointments, while at the same time charting a new course for a brighter
year ahead. For many local families – and for me personally – the biggest
disappointment was the failure of lawmakers to reach a consensus on legislation
that would have prevented the premature retirement and the loss of jobs at
Three Mile Island. Lawmakers cannot run from complicated or contentious issues.
We must be willing to make difficult choices in order to protect our
Commonwealth now and in the future. Decisions regarding the energy industry and
protecting our environment are no exception.
Five things keeping Pa. politics hot in 2020 | John Baer
By John Baer | For PennLive Today 5:30 AM
Even if you pay
just scant attention to the politics of our time, you likely know
Pennsylvania’s key to the presidential race -- key, as in who wins the state
also wins the White House. So that’s thing one: we’re the center of the
universe, white-hot and worshipped. We’ll be inundated with polls,
candidate visits, surrogates, TV ads, mailers, rallies, robocalls, Tweets,
door-knocks, all the delights employed these days in the wonderful world of
politics.
Join us for Advocacy
Day 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
PA SCHOOLS WORK:
Special Education Funding Webinar Tue, Jan 14, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST
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.
PSBA: Required School
Director Training
Your trusted and
approved source
The Pennsylvania
Department of Education has named PSBA an approved provider of required school
director training. Your association has more than 100 years of statewide
expertise in school law, policy, finance and ethical governance, so you can be
sure you’re receiving the highest quality learning, relevant to your role. To
learn when you or your board will be required to complete training hours,
please refer to PDE’s
FAQs here
Act 55 and Act 18
Training requirements specific to you:
• Newly elected and appointed school board directors –
• Successful completion of five training hours.
• Re-elected school board directors –
• Successful completion of three training hours.
Training requirements specific to you:
• Newly elected and appointed school board directors –
• Successful completion of five training hours.
• Re-elected school board directors –
• Successful completion of three training hours.
PSBA knows that
everyone has unique scheduling requirements and distinct learning styles.
Therefore, we have created two pathways in meeting state requirements:
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 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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