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 April 21, 2020
Blogger note: House Majority Leader
Bryan Cutler had introduced an amendment to HB974 that would have frozen
property taxes for the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Yesterday afternoon he withdrew the amendment without a vote taking place. We
have not found any press coverage of this action.
“It’s no coincidence that school districts have steered clear of
using Pennsylvania’s cyber-charter schools as a model for remote instruction. Despite
more than a decade of experience
with online education, all of Pennsylvania’s 14 cyber charters
are among the lowest performing in the state. Six of those 14 have performed so
poorly that they’ve been designated for state intervention based on federal
accountability laws. These schools have failed to demonstrate
that they can provide students with a quality education, in spite of
receiving more than $500 million in taxpayer money each year.”
To help all students, Pa. needs to establish a distance
learning task force | Opinion
By Susan Spicka Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor April 19,
2020
Susan Spicka is the executive director of the
advocacy group Education Voters of Pennsylvania. She writes from Shippensburg,
Pa. Her work appears frequently on the Capital-Star’s Commentary Page.
In his recent commentary, (Schools out. We know that. The rest is a mess, 4/13/2020) Capital-Star
Editor in Chief John L. Micek channels the frustration that many
parents are experiencing right now as the reality sets
in that schools will not reopen this year. I have two high
school daughters who are engaged in emergency remote learning. They
are not thrilled about this and neither am I. Our schools are built
for physics experiments and art class, marching band and drama club, group
projects, pep rallies, class trips, and so much more. As one of my
daughters said, the emergency remote learning she is doing on her
Chromebook, which includes online trigonometry lectures and tests,
learning chemistry without a hands-on lab, and reading Shakespeare instead of
performing it with classmates, is “all of the bad things about school with none
of the good parts.” But, I’ve never been more grateful for Pennsylvania’s teachers, school
administrators, and staff than I
am today. Within days and with no advance
notice, teachers and school leaders pivoted from in-person
instruction to emergency remote education. And they put in
place new ways to serve meals to students
to ensure they won’t go hungry. To be clear, there’s work
to be done to ensure that all of our school districts — and all of students —
have resources and access for robust online learning.
Guest Opinion: PA budget proposal would cripple charter
schools
Doylestown Intelligencer Opinion By Wendy
Ormsby Posted Apr 20, 2020 at 5:31 AM
Wendy Ormsby is the Director of
Organizational Development and Founder of the Souderton Charter School
Collaborative.
For the last 20 years, I have been fortunate
to be a part of one of Pennsylvania’s most successful public schools — the
Souderton Charter School Collaborative in Montgomery County. We have
consistently met or exceeded statewide testing goals, and our teachers are
empowered to provide individualized support to every child, wherever they are
on their educational journey. Despite our success, the governor’s state budget
proposal for special education students in charter schools threatens to pull
resources from Souderton’s educational model and threatens the very existence
of public charter schools in Pennsylvania. I joined the public charter school
community 25 years ago after my family’s personal experience with public
education. When my eldest daughter with special needs began kindergarten, it
quickly became clear that the goal of the district was to label her and push
her into a segregated special education classroom. I dreamed of a school where
my son and daughter could learn together in the same space, regardless of their
individual needs — a model that has been successfully replicated across the
country. We are fortunate that Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law enabled the
creation of schools like Souderton to develop innovative teaching methods and
new professional opportunities for teachers while providing parents and
students with expanded choices. Our tiny school of 230 students, with a waiting
list of nearly 300, has accomplished all of this through a model of co-teaching
and the strategic use of special education teachers throughout the school.
Schools seek ways to minimize COVID-19 learning loss
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com APR 20,
2020 6:41 PM
Educators have been concerned for years about
student learning loss during extended periods without school, such as summer
break. While experts say research is inconclusive about how much learning is
set back during those times — and varies between subject, grade levels and
along socio-economic lines — there is little doubt that it has some impact
student achievement. With some schools closed for a month or more because
of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators are turning their focus toward how they can
reduce losses from what Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet
called the “second-semester slide.” “What’s on all of our minds right now
is the drastic learning loss that we know is going to happen,” Mr. Hamlet said
last week during a video conference. “Yes, we’re going to have some drastic
learning loss, but what are we doing to minimize those and mitigate those as
best we can?”
Philly students will not be penalized for absences or
missed work during virtual school
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent April 20, 2020
Public school students in Philadelphia will
soon begin a more official version of online school — and the details of that
experiment are taking shape. Starting May 4, teachers will be expected to hold
three hours of “daily instruction,” according to a School District of
Philadelphia “continuity of education” plan sent to staffers and shared with
WHYY. That daily instruction is supposed to include live video chats between
students and teachers as well as “small group instruction.” Students are
expected to participate in these daily lessons “to the extent possible,”
according to the plan. The assignments handed out from May 4 until the end of
the academic year on June 12 will be graded and counted as part of students’
third-marking-period scores. Crucially, however, any grades students receive in
the third marking period can only improve their overall grades, according to
the district’s “continuity of education” plan. Students will effectively not be
penalized if they don’t complete assignments.
Philly Board of Education to hold virtual committee
meeting and a budget hearing this week
Up to 15 members of the public will be
permitted to join each meeting via Zoom. An unlimited number can submit written
testimony.
the
Notebook April 20 — 5:13 pm, 2020
The Board of Education will hold one joint
meeting for its Finance & Facilities and Student Achievement & Support
committees on Thursday, April 23, beginning at 5 p.m. Prior to that meeting, a
budget hearing will be held at 3 p.m. Fifteen slots will be available at each
meeting for members of the public to join via the videoconferencing app Zoom.
An unlimited number can submit written testimony, which will be summarized and
read by board members, according to a board press release. People who wish to
speak at the budget hearing must register by 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, by
submitting a form found here,
emailing schoolboard@philasd.org, or leaving
a voicemail at 215-400-5959. People who wish to speak at the committee meeting
must register by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, by submitting a form found here, or
emailing, or leaving a voicemail as above. Written testimony for both meetings
will be accepted through the email and voicemail until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The
meeting will be livestreamed to the public at https://www.philasd.org/schoolboard/action-meetings/live-stream and on
Comcast Channel 52 and Verizon FIOS Channel 20. It also will be recorded and
posted later on the District’s website.
“To keep the real estate tax hike at 2.9%, rather than the
maximum 3.4% permitted under state taxing formula, the district intends to tap
its capital reserve fund.”
Norwin proposes 2.9% hike in school taxes
Trib Live by JOE
NAPSHA | Tuesday,
April 21, 2020 12:01 a.m.
North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin
property owners will pay 2.9% more in school real estate taxes for 2020-2021
fiscal year under a $76.4 million tentative budget the Norwin School Board
unanimously approved Monday. The proposed tax increase would raise the millage
by 2.4 mills to 84.8 mills for property owners in the three Westmoreland County
municipalities for the next school year, which begins July 1. For the 18
property owners in the Allegheny County portion of the district, the taxes also
will increase by 2.9%, from 12.36 mills to 12.72 mills. The millage rate is
different for residents in the two counties because of differences in
assessment of properties for tax purposes. For property owners in the three
Westmoreland municipalities with an average assessment of $22,000, the tax hike
would mean paying an extra $54 a year, Ryan Kirsch, business affairs director,
told the board in budget presentation on April 6.
Our view: Coronavirus shadows end of school
GoErie By the Editorial Board Posted
at 12:02 AM
The disruption of the school year for high
school seniors pulls at the heartstrings.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed so many
lives in so many ways as much of daily life has been put on hold as most of us
do our part to contain COVID-19. The worst of it has been widespread illness
and death, followed by the loss of livelihoods and other economic damage being
done by necessarily shutting much of the country and economy down. But the
virus has also robbed people of communal moments, rituals and rites of passage.
One disruption that pulls at the heartstrings results from Gov. Tom Wolf’s
April 9 order to keep all school buildings in Pennsylvania closed for the
remainder of the academic year. That denies the Erie region’s high school
seniors the experience of finishing their time together and making the memories
that normally come with this moment of their lives. It seems likely that the
coronavirus crisis will also cost this year’s seniors some of the most
cherished rituals of school’s end, or at least delay them. It’s hard to imagine
traditional graduation ceremonies and proms occurring at the appointed times. Some
school officials have begun making plans for virtual graduations, perhaps
capped by a more traditional ceremony later if safety allows. COVID-19 has
delivered a double whammy to many of the region’s high school athletes. After
the governor announced the closing of all schools for the remainder of the
school year, the Pennsylvania Scholastic Athletic Association called off spring
sports seasons and what was left of winter sports playoffs.
Manheim Township tops US News high school rankings; how
did your school fare?
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer April 21,
2020
It took seven years, but Manheim Township High
School is back on top in Lancaster County. The suburban school was ranked the
best high school in the county – and 68th in the state – in the latest batch of
annual high school rankings released
Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. It’s the first year Manheim Township
ranked No. 1 in the county since 2013. Other high-ranking county high schools
include Lampeter-Strasburg, 70th in the state, and Hempfield, 91st. Lampeter-Strasburg
topped the chart last year after
Penn Manor reigned supreme from 2015 to 2018. U.S. News assessed more than
17,700 traditional public high schools, charter schools, STEM schools and
magnet schools nationwide, including 671 in Pennsylvania. Culling data from the
U.S. Department of Education and The College Board and other sources, it ranked
schools based on college readiness, or performance on advanced placement or
International Baccalaureate exams; math and reading proficiency on standardized
tests; outcomes of black, Hispanic and low-income students; and graduation
rates. Pennsylvania placed 15th in the nation with 26.5% of schools ranked in
the top 25% nationally.
US News Best High Schools in Pennsylvania
We reviewed more than 24,000 U.S. public high
schools; 671 Pennsylvania schools made our rankings.
PSBA Guidance for hosting virtual board meetings
POSTED ON APRIL 20, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
PSBA is offering all member districts a year
subscription to Zoom video conferencing services. In addition, PSBA released
guidance to boards on hosting virtual meetings. Below is additional guidance on
the requirements of advertising virtual meetings.
While there are no specific requirements for
advertising a virtual board meeting, districts should use the usual format for
advertising open meetings based on newspaper requirements, website format, etc.
The published newspaper notice could simply include the link for the meeting as
a location and direct people to visit the district website for additional
connection information and details. PSBA also recommends including suggestions
for accessing public internet in the community, such as library or district
access in parking lots that follows social distancing guidance, and an
explanation of public comment process for your virtual digital meeting.
Following school closures due to COVID-19,
PSBA conducted two webinars addressing recommendations for holding virtual
board meetings, including how to handle public comment and accessibility
considerations. Both webinars are free in the Online Learning area of myPSBA.org. PSBA
encourages districts to consult their school solicitor with any concerns about
conducting the meeting in accordance with the Sunshine Act.
Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary
DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss April
20, 2020 at 5:29 p.m. EDT
One of the biggest challenges for school
districts across the country that are delivering distance learning to millions
of students at home because of the covid-19 crisis is providing legally required
services to students with disabilities. Under the federal Individuals With
Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, school districts must offer all students
an equitable education or they are not supposed to offer it to any of them. Not
many school systems have come up with a way to extend online learning and other
critical services to the 7 million children with disabilities across the
country. And some districts, because they cannot provide special education
services at home, aren’t offering online instruction to any student. Now, there
is tension between groups that advocate for these students — who each have an
Individualized Education Program or IEP — and organizations that represent
special education administrators. The advocates are demanding that school
districts deliver education equitably, as the law requires, while
administrators say they cannot do the same things they did when schools were
open and need some flexibility.
Two groups of administrators — the Council of
Administrators of Special Education and the National Association of State
Directors of Special Education — jointly sent a letter to Congress asking for
flexibility on IDEA timelines, such as when districts must respond to legal
complaints or review a student’s IEP.
Online School Demands More of Teachers. Unions Are
Pushing Back.
Educators say they want to teach from home
during the pandemic, but are fighting to limit work hours and counter demands
that they consider unreasonable.
New York Times By Dana Goldstein and Eliza
Shapiro April 21, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
If it’s naptime and Becky Atherton Dukes’s
2-year-old won’t lie down, she bribes him to stay quiet with the promise of a
Matchbox car. She has 380 other children depending on her. As an art teacher in
Tulsa, Okla., Ms. Dukes’s typical day includes creating and uploading video
drawing lessons, corresponding with parents, attending remote staff meetings
and training to use new online tools. She does it all while taking care of her
son and 5-year-old daughter, as her husband works round-the-clock shifts as a
firefighter, answering emergency calls for potential Covid-19 patients. “It’s
been extremely stressful,” she said. Two years ago, Ms. Dukes was part of
a nationwide effort by teachers and their
unions to win higher pay and force
lawmakers to increase budgets for public education. Many of the protests won
concessions, in part because they attracted broad public support, especially
from parents. As the coronavirus outbreak has rapidly remade American
education, teachers’ unions are asserting the power they have amassed over the
last few years, this time in response to the changing demands being placed on
educators in the midst of the pandemic. Unlike many other college-educated
workers, teachers are unaccustomed to spending the day tethered to screens.
Many work under meticulously negotiated contracts that detail their work hours,
break times, and rules for how they engage with administrators — contracts that
now seem all but irrelevant with students and teachers confined to their homes.
NSBA Names Anna Maria Chávez Executive Director & CEO
NSBA Website April 20, 2020
The National School Boards Association
(NSBA), the leading advocate for public education, today announced it has
appointed Anna Maria Chávez as its Executive Director and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO). Working with and through 49 state associations and the U.S.
territory of the Virgin Islands, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in
public education through school board leadership. In her new role as the
Executive Director and CEO, Chávez will be responsible for leading NSBA’s staff
teams to advance the association’s mission and growing the value of the
organization. Chávez will lead efforts to expand on NSBA’s strong federal, legal
and public advocacy, reputation, and credible voice. Chávez brings
25 years of extensive experience in government and non-profit organizational
leadership and management, including strategic planning, advocating for
children and under-served populations with federal and state legislators,
building new partnerships, and growing revenues. Currently, Chávez serves as
the Interim President and CEO for the National Council on Aging (NCOA).
Previously, she was NCOA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer.
For five years, Chávez served as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the
USA.
People Recreate Works of Art With Objects Found at Home
During Self-Quarantine
MyModernMet By Sara Barnes on April 17, 2020
Musicians recall the life and times of Philadelphia folk
radio legend Gene Shay
Delco Time By Don Botch
dbotch@readingeagle.com April 20, 22020
Folk music lost one of its icons over the
weekend — one who never played a note. Gene Shay, the venerable Philadelphia
disc jockey who emceed the Philadelphia Folk Festival throughout its existence
and helped launch the careers of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and a host of others,
succumbed to complications of COVID-19 on Friday night. He was 85. Shay was
arguably one of the most influential figures folk music has ever known. Berks
County musician Jack Murray, who appeared twice on Shay's weekly Sunday night
"Folk Show" on WXPN in Philadelphia, noted that Shay's death marked
the second time in 10 days that COVID-19 claimed the life of a folk legend. "John
Prine was such a huge loss all by itself," Murray said, "and
Gene Shay, they were almost comparable. They were giant figures of the folk
movement."
PSBA Board Presidents Panels (Zoom) April 27, 28, 29 and
30 (depending upon the size of your district)
This annual event supports current and
aspiring school board leaders through facilitated discussion with colleagues in
leadership. Board Presidents Panel is designed to equip new and veteran board
presidents and vice presidents as well as superintendents and other school
directors who may pursue a leadership position in the future.
Due to current social distancing
requirements, this annual program will shift from a series of in-person
regional events to a digital platform using Zoom Meetings. Participants of each
of the four sessions will meet in small groups using virtual breakout rooms.
Experienced facilitators will guide discussions on attendees’ unique
challenges, solutions and experiences related to board leadership during the
COVID-19 school closures.
This year’s program will be organized to
group together leaders from schools of similar enrollment sizes for relevant
conversation. Members may register for one or two nights to participate in all
of the topics offered. If your district's average enrollment is above 3,500,
you are invited to join the sessions on Tuesday, April 28 and/or Thursday,
April 30. If your district's average enrollment is below 3,500, opt to join the
sessions on Monday, April 27 and/or Wednesday, April 29.
Request@PSBA.org: PSBA establishes
channel to answer COVID-19 questions
POSTED ON MARCH 19, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
In light of statewide school closings and as
the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, PSBA is here to provide support to members
and answer questions regarding how schools will operate, meet instructional
requirements and provide services both now and in the future. Please send your
questions to request@psba.org with
your name, district and contact information. A member of PSBA staff will
respond directly or will funnel your inquires to the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. PSBA will act as your voice and ensure you receive the answers and
information you need to make decisions at this crucial time.
PSBA: Coronavirus Preparedness Guidance
In the last few weeks, the novel coronavirus
(SARS-CoV-2), which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has become a topic
of concern nationwide. Although the virus is not widespread in Pennsylvania at
this time, that status could change. Being proactive is key to prevention and
mitigation. Below, you will find a list of resources on all aspects of
preparedness, including guidance on communication planning, policy, emergency
management and disease control. Use these resources to help you make decisions
regarding the safety and health of those in your school district.
Blogger note: we’re waiting for details on this event becoming
virtual.
Rescheduled: Join us for Advocacy Day in Harrisburg to support public
education Monday May 11, 2020! (subject to change)
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
Cancelled: PARSS Annual Conference April 29 – May 1, 2020
in State College
Due to current conditions caused by the
coronavirus pandemic, we have cancelled the 2020 PARSS Conference, scheduled
for April 29 through May 1, 2020. Please read our cancellation letter for
important information.
Register today for the 2020 PASA/PA Principals
Association PA Educational Leadership Summit, August 2-4, at the Lancaster
Marriott at Penn Square
(hosted by the PA Principals Association and
the PA Association of School Administrators). Participants can earn up to 80
PIL hours (40 hours for the Summit and - for an additional cost of $50 -
40 hours for EdCamp) for
attending the conference and completing program requirements. Register
early to reserve your seat! The deadline to take advantage of the Early Bird
Discount is April 24, 2020.
Click here to
register today!
Network for Public Education 2020 Conference in Philly Rescheduled
to November 21-22
NPE Website March 10, 2020 7:10 pm
We so wanted to see you in March, but we need
to wait until November!
Our conference will now take place on November
21 and 22 at the same location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please
read the important information below.
Registration: We will be rolling over our
registration information, so there is no reason to register again. You will
be automatically registered for the November dates. If you cannot attend in
November, we ask that you consider donating your registration to absorb some of
the costs associated with rescheduling the conference. If you feel you cannot
make such a donation, please contact: dcimarusti@networkforpubliceducation.org.
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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