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 May 19, 2020
Delaware County Teen Town Hall Virtual
Meeting Friday May 22nd at 11 am
Join Congresswoman Mary Gay
Scanlon along with State Lawmakers and Students from Delaware County. CLICK HERE TO
REGISTER VIA ZOOM
Political Cartoon: 2020’s summer slide for school kids
Inquirer by Signe Wilkinson Updated: May 19, 2020 - 5:00 AM
“Challenges in maintaining
student engagement are inherent in online institutions.” Duh. That
is the nice way a Mathematica researcher stated the obvious — that kids learn
better with a teacher in front of them and not just a computer screen with
virtual lessons streaming by. So how are things looking for kids who’ve spent
this spring at home “learning online"? When our kids do head back to
school, their teachers will have a whole lot of catching up to do. It’s going
to be even tougher for the kids who
weren’t studying in stable homes with stable internet and a stable of resources
to back them up. Those are the kids new funds for our schools will help unless
our Secretary of Education,
Betsy DeVos, gets away with skimming that money for the
richest schools. What kind of president would let her get away with that?
“Last month, the district’s lawyer filed a plan with the court
to consider opening the entire district to charter operators — a broadening of
a proposal that first arose in November, when
Pennsylvania’s largest brick-and-mortar charter school petitioned the court to allow charter
operators to propose to take over the fiscally distressed district’s pre-K to
eighth-grade schools. The school, Chester Community Charter, already enrolls
60% of Chester Upland elementary students. The education management company
that runs Chester
Community Charter, CSMI, is a for-profit venture founded by Vahan
Gureghian, a Gladwyne lawyer and major Republican Party donor.”
Judge says Chester Upland can consider possible takeover
by charter schools
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: May 18, 2020- 6:17 PM
A Delaware County judge has directed the
struggling Chester Upland School District to move forward with proposals to
outsource the management of its schools — a step that could lead to the entire
district being turned over to charter operators. The order, issued Thursday by
Judge Barry Dozor, opened the door to what could be one of the widest
expansions in Pennsylvania of charter schools, which are independently run but
publicly funded. It also drew protests from advocates of traditional public
education, who said such a step would further deplete district resources and
lacked adequate accountability measures. “The last thing that students in the
Chester Upland School District need is an expansion of charter schools that
will drain more resources from their neighborhood public schools,” said Chris
Lilienthal, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the
union that represents district teachers. District leaders, meanwhile, sought to
calm community fears, describing outsourcing as simply one option, and saying the district would
have the final decision — though it has been overseen by a
court-appointed receiver for more than seven years. “The recovery plan includes
many possibilities for us to consider as part of the best interest of our
students,” said a Facebook message posted Sunday by Superintendent Juan Baughn
and School Board President Anthony Johnson. “This is only one of those
possibilities.”
Chester Upland ordered to open its doors to charters
Delco Times by Alex Rose May 16,
2020
Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge
Barry Dozor on Thursday issued an order that would open up all grades in the
Chester Upland School District to outsourced management as part of a financial
recovery plan. The order includes a directive for the district's receiver to solicit
requests for proposal and for the district to consider “the potential need for
strategic options in managing and delivering pre-kindergarten – 12th grade
schools, or any variation thereof.” “This order is intended to be a ‘road map’
for the school district, providing priority to initiatives and strategies
recommended in the revised financial recovery plan,” Dozor wrote in an
accompanying letter. “The order is intended to confirm authority to the
receiver to move ahead with various recommendations and initiatives, including
further investigation and requests for proposals for strategic initiatives.” Interim
Receiver and former district Superintendent Gregory Thornton will leave the
position later this month. He stepped in after former receiver Peter Barsz
resigned in October. Dozor has appointed outgoing Superintendent Juan Baughn to
take over as the new receiver May 25. Under the language of Act 141 of 2012,
which dictates Chester Upland’s “Financial Recovery Status,” the district could
convert an existing school or schools to charters if doing so would result in
financial savings. Chester Community Charter School, the largest
brick-and-mortar charter school in the state with more than 4,300 students,
filed a petition in November asking the court to direct the district and the
Pennsylvania Department of Education to issue RFPs on charters taking over
elementary schools in the district as part of its financial recovery plan.
Ever wonder why it might be so difficult to pass meaningful
charter reform in Pennsylvania?
Blogger note: for those of you who may be new to following PA ed
policy here’s some background on for-profit charter operator Vahan Gureghian.
Reprise: PA Ed Policy Roundup July 16, 2019: Follow the
Money: Campaign Contributions by Vahan Gureghian 2013-2019; the intersection of
money, politics, government and schools
Keystone State Education Coalition July 16,
2019
Blogger commentary: In an effort to gain a
better understanding of the dynamics in Harrisburg, from time to time over the
years we have published “Follow the Money” charts using data from the PA
Department of State’s Campaign Finance Reporting website:
We’ll leave it up to our readers to draw
their own conclusions regarding how such contributions may or may not influence
policymakers as they go about the people’s business in Harrisburg.
The chart at the link below lists over
$470,000 in campaign contributions made by Mr. and Mrs. Gureghian for PA state
offices from 2013 through July 2019.
Highlights include $205,000 to the House
Republican Campaign Committee, $37,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign
Committee, $30,000 to House Speaker Mike Turzai, $82,000 to Senate Majority
Leader Jake Corman’s Build PA PAC, $85,000 to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe
Scarnati and$16,000 to House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler.
Reprise: PA Ed Policy Roundup June 1, 2011: Follow the
Money: Campaign Contributions by Vahan Gureghian 1/1/07 - 5/31/11
Keystone State Education Coalition
- This post was last updated on March 29, 2013
2007
YTD $224,620.00
2008
YTD $267,205.93
2009
YTD $330,302.76
2010
YTD $421,025.00
2011
YTD $77,500.00
Total 2007-2011: $1,320,653.69
Pittsburgh school board urged to change student-athlete
eligibility policy
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com MAY 18,
2020
More than a dozen people Monday evening
endorsed introducing an intervention program into the Pittsburgh Public Schools
student-athlete eligibility policy. Participating in the program would afford
students who fall below the 2.0 GPA eligibility requirement an opportunity to
remain a part of school sports teams. Parents, coaches and City League
supporters encouraged the policy change in pre-written statements that were
read aloud by district administrators during a virtual public hearing before
the school board. “The phrase ‘it’s a privilege to play a sport’ has
been used my whole life,” wrote city resident Jason Russell. “As I have gotten
older, I’ve realized that for many high school athletes, sports is not a
privilege — it’s a tool. A tool to teach students discipline, accountability,
effort, responsibility, along with a family atmosphere that may be the most
positive atmosphere some of these players have.” Under the proposed policy,
students with a 1.05 to 1.99 GPA at the end of the previous report period would
be entered into the district’s academic intervention program. Students
would be able to maintain their eligibility by completing the academic
intervention program designated by the superintendent or designee and
earning a 2.0 GPA by the end of the next report period. That would
be a change from the current Pittsburgh Public Schools policy, which dictates
that a student with less than a 2.0 GPA loses eligibility for the year.
Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding
reform
In this legislative session, PSBA has been
leading the charge with the Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor’s
Administration to push for positive charter reform. We’re now asking you to
join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re asking all school
boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school funding reform at your
next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and to PSBA.
Over 230 PA school boards adopt charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 230 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution
calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law
to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality
and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from
school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform.
Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from
the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions
of dollars to charter schools.
The school boards from the following
districts have adopted resolutions calling for charter funding reform.
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
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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