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PA Ed Policy Roundup for May 4, 2020
School
Leaders: If you were previously registered for Advocacy Day at the Capitol,
please register and join us for our first ever Virtual Advocacy Day
on Monday, May 11, 2020, via Zoom. Register now at no
cost on myPSBA.
Editorial: School funding inequity affects online
learning
Delco Times Editorial May 2, 2020
Education by ZIP code has taken on a new
meaning in this coronavirus pandemic.
Since schools closed in March, learning for
most students has continued online. Teachers provide lessons; students work on
their home computers, laptops or Chromebooks to complete the coursework. But
access to online devices and the internet depends on where students live and
what their household can afford. In poorer districts, this “digital divide” has
prevented some students from participating in their school’s lessons. In
neighboring districts with wealthier households, access is not an issue. Most
homes have more than one computer and ample internet bandwidth. In Pottstown in
Montgomery County, it took a donation to the Pottstown Education Foundation
from an anonymous donor to be able to purchase enough Chromebooks for
elementary students. With the distribution of those Chromebooks, all elementary
students in the district will begin online learning on Monday, May 4.
With the Governor’s mandated closure of schools, why are
we not saving money?
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 2020-21
Preliminary General Fund Budget
Coronavirus takes a bite out of Lehigh Valley school
district budgets, but tax increases unlikely
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING
CALL | MAY 04, 2020 | 6:01 AM
As the economic crisis worsens in
Pennsylvania because of the coronavirus pandemic, Lehigh Valley school
districts are bracing for serious budget impacts that have not been felt since
the Great Recession a decade ago. Districts worry they will see a significant
decrease in local revenue streams such as earned income taxes and real estate
taxes, and that would create budget gaps as expenditures, such as special
education costs and charter school tuition, increase. The projected revenue
loss also comes as the state faces uncertainty over its own budget, meaning
districts might see a decrease or stagnation of state revenue. “It is a total
domino effect,” said John Vignone, Parkland School District’s director of
business administration. The extent of the possible fiscal damage is unknown at
this point, but some districts fear it could last for the next few years.
Property, earned income and real estate transfer taxes, as well as delinquent
tax collections and investment earnings, all are expected to take a serious hit
with so many people not working and businesses closing. As of last week,
Pennsylvania’s surging unemployment claims tallied more than
1.65 million.
“In Pennsylvania, costs for special education services and
pension payments have risen faster than state aid in recent years — as have
district payments to charter schools. The latter has been a point of contention
for district leaders, who have been pressing
lawmakers for changes to the funding formula. Under the
current formula, if school districts lose money next year, they will still have
to pay charters the same rate per student, Barrick said. “They’re not going to
be impacted at all,” she said. Charter advocates say funding changes could lead
to deep cuts for those students.”
Schools brace for budget cuts as the coronavirus wreaks
havoc on the economy
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Kristen A. Graham, Updated: May
3, 2020- 5:00 AM
The Upper Darby School District was hoping to
invest next year in its elementary schools, with a plan to hire more reading
specialists and guidance counselors for its youngest students. That was before
the coronavirus. Now the Delaware County district is scaling back those plans
while it prepares for a blow to its budget. "To know all the hard work
we’ve done might be wiped away … is difficult,” said Superintendent Dan
McGarry. Districts like Upper Darby have spent years rebuilding from the Great
Recession, which hit school budgets a decade ago. To make ends meet in
Philadelphia, for instance, administrators slashed programs and laid off
thousands of employees, including teachers, school nurses, aides, and every
guidance counselor, secretary, and assistant principal in the system.
Elsewhere, extracurriculars were cut and programs lost; class sizes swelled and
support programs were gutted. Some districts have still not fully recovered. The
coming economic storm could ultimately be worse, experts say.
Blogger note: this piece focuses on school districts in
Montgomery and Bucks counties.
Schools feeling budget crunch from coronavirus crisis
North Penn Reporter By David Mekeel
dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter May 3, 2020
School districts across Pennsylvania had a
tough time of it financially back in 2008.
When the Great Recession hit, their revenues
dropped. Collection of property taxes, earned income taxes and real estate
transfer taxes plummeted as the U.S. dealt with rising unemployment and a
rupture of the housing bubble. The result was a wave of cuts. Cuts of program,
cuts of extracurricular activities, cuts of staff. Twelve years later, schools
are once again facing an economic disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked
havoc on Pennsylvania's economy. A mandated, statewide shutdown of most
businesses has caused unemployment to skyrocket to historic highs. So what will
it mean for the state's public school districts? According to a recent study by
the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, it will mean financial
pain. PASBO is estimating school districts could see a combined loss of more
than $1 billion in local revenues for the 2020-21 school year. If the economy
bounces back quickly, those losses might be around $850 million.
Blogger note: this piece focuses on school districts in Berks
and Chester counties.
Local revenue loss forecast puts schools in tough
financial spot
Pottstown Mercury by David Mekeel
dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter May 2, 2020
School districts across Pennsylvania had a
tough time of it financially back in 2008.
When the Great Recession hit, their revenues
dropped. Collection of property taxes, earned income taxes and real estate
transfer taxes plummeted as the U.S. dealt with rising unemployment and a
rupture of the housing bubble. The result was a wave of cuts. Cuts of program,
cuts of extracurricular activities, cuts of staff. Twelve years later, schools
are once again facing an economic disaster.
Blogger note: this piece focuses on school districts in Delaware
county.
CHART: Delaware County school districts could face $47
million punch after coronavirus pandemic
Delco Times by By David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com
@dmekeel on Twitter May 2, 2020
School districts across Pennsylvania had a
tough time of it financially back in 2008. When the Great Recession hit, their
revenues dropped. Collection of property taxes, earned income taxes and real estate
transfer taxes plummeted as the U.S. dealt with rising unemployment and a
rupture of the housing bubble. The result was a wave of cuts. Cuts of program,
cuts of extracurricular activities, cuts of staff. Twelve years later, schools
are once again facing an economic disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked
havoc on Pennsylvania's economy. A mandated, statewide shutdown of most
businesses has caused unemployment to skyrocket to historic highs. So what will
it mean for the state's public school districts?
“Property, earned income and real estate transfer taxes, as well
as delinquent tax collections and investment earnings all are expected to take
a serious hit with so many people not working and many businesses either closed
or limited while mandatory shut-downs are in place, he said. And that impact
likely will drag on once the restrictions are lifted. Hardie said the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials recently compiled a
report on what to expect for the 2020-21 school year. He said the group
estimated Ellwood City Area would lose $630,000 to $762,000 in revenue.”
Dire forecast: School districts’ finances sickened by
pandemic
The Ellwood City Area School District is one
of many in the state struggling with how to deal with the financial impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Patrick
O’Shea @NewsAddict2 Posted
May 1, 2020 at 12:05 AM
Pennsylvania school districts are learning
their finances have been another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pennsylvania
school districts are learning their finances have been another victim of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with uncertainty about how much revenue they
reasonably can expect with expenses still rising, districts are struggling with
ways to create balanced budgets for next year without massive cuts to programs
and possibly even furloughs of employees. It is a problem being faced by most
industries in the nation right now, but for schools it has the added dilemmas
of involving the educational lives of millions of children and a lack of
control over many costs due to government mandates and contracts. “It is the
hardest thing we ever have had to deal with,” said Wade Killmeyer, executive
director of the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV in Grove City, which oversees
public, private, career-technical and charter schools in Butler, Lawrence and
Mercer counties. One of the districts in his intermediate unit dealing with the
situation is Ellwood City Area, which serves about 2,000 students in southern
Lawrence County.
At a budget meeting earlier this week, the
district’s business manager, Jason Hardie, warned school board members that
they could be facing a dire financial outlook for 2020-21.
Click here to see the estimated range of total local
revenue loss for each school district under PASBO's assumptions for 2020-21.
Click here to see the estimated range of total local revenue loss for each school district in spreadsheet form.
Click here to see the estimated range of total local revenue loss for each school district in spreadsheet form.
PASBO ESTIMATES SCHOOL DISTRICTS COULD EXPERIENCE $1
BILLION LOSS IN LOCAL REVENUE IN 2020-21
PASBO On:
04/28/2020 11:23:42
PASBO released it's projection of the drop in
local revenues for school districts next year the day after the House State
Government Committee approved a bill to freeze school district property taxes
next year. PASBO's estimate of the loss of local revenue is based on a study of
the effect of school taxes during the Great Recession and a projection that the
COVID-19 economy will create deeper and much more immediate cuts. “Every school
district tax source and other non-tax revenue will suffer a precipitous decline
for the upcoming school year,” according to Dr. Timothy J. Shrom, PASBO
director of research, who developed the PASBO projection with Dr. Andrew
Armagost, PASBO research and advocacy manager. “In an economic downturn we know
that unemployment goes up, thereby reducing our local income tax revenue, and
we know that the real estate market will be affected resulting in a reduction
of our real estate transfer tax We also know that our taxpayers will need more
time to pay, thus reducing property tax revenues, and with the significant cuts
in the rates, interest earnings will take a hit as well” stated Shrom. If
there is a quick turnaround in the economy, the PASBO data suggests the
reduction in total local revenue will be more than $850 million for 2020-21. If
the economic recovery lags, however, PASBO projects a loss in total local
revenue of $1.07 billion. Currently, school districts collect about $18 billion
in total local revenue so the PASBO projected decline represents a loss of 4-5%
in total local revenue. This projected loss in local revenue for school
districts comes as the state faces its own financial challenges, creating
unprecedented uncertainty for school districts on all revenue fronts for
2020-21.
State reports $2.2 billion shortfall in April tax revenue
Beaver County Times By Chrissy
Suttles @ChrissySuttles Posted
May 1, 2020 at 5:44 PM
Pennsylvania officials on Friday reported a
significant revenue shortfall amid tax-deadline extensions and COVID-19-related
economic shutdowns. Pennsylvania officials on Friday reported a significant
revenue shortfall amid tax-deadline extensions and COVID-19-related economic
shutdowns. The amount of state tax collections in April was nearly half of what
was initially anticipated, or $2.2 billion less than it would have been had
restrictions not been imposed. The department estimated approximately $1.7
billion of the shortfall can be attributed to a number of tax-filing deadline
extensions and another $395 million is due to reduced economic activity. Fiscal
year-to-date General Fund collections now total $27.5 billion — $2.2 billion,
or 7.4 percent, below estimate. “As we anticipated, there is a significant
revenue shortfall this month when we compare collections to our original
estimate,” said Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell. “That’s mainly because we have
extended several tax deadlines to provide relief to Pennsylvania taxpayers
during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Lawmakers Seek State Help For Morrisville Schools
Facing a $1.5 million budget shortfall, the
district is considering layoffs and slashing programs including all sports and
kindergarten.
By Doug
Gross, Patch Staff May 1, 2020 1:23 pm ET
MORRISVILLE, PA — Lawmakers representing
Morrisville on Friday said they are pushing for state help for the borough's
school district, which is considering drastic cuts to make up for a $1.5
million budget shortfall. "Morrisville is a great, great community,"
said state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, during an online news conference. "It
has a great history. A storied history, in fact, and great potential. But it
also has great challenges." Earlier this week, Morrisville's school board
said it is eyeing cuts that would include furloughing
assistant principals, media specialists and other support staff as well as
eliminating all sports programs, kindergarten programs and the arts.
The cuts would come along with a 2.79-percent
property tax increase — which would bring the district's tax rate to its
legally mandated limit. Santarsiero, along with state representatives Perry
Warren and John Galloway, wrote a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and
legislative leaders asking for help. In it, they requested that the state look
at how its school funding formula applies to Morrisville schools.
Advisory committee learns of virus' financial impact on
Scranton School District during
BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL, STAFF WRITER /
PUBLISHED: MAY 2, 2020
The Scranton School District could lose as
much as $5 million in local tax revenue next year because of the coronavirus
pandemic. Members of the district’s financial recovery advisory committee
learned of the projection during a meeting Thursday, but officials failed to
invite or inform the public. The lack of public notice is a violation of the
state’s open meetings law, according to an expert. “Any committee of the school
district that renders advice or takes official action is subject to the
Sunshine Act,” said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania
NewsMedia Association. “The fact that the school district is in recovery means
the district should have more transparency, not less.” Chief Recovery Officer
Candis Finan, Ed.D., said she scheduled Thursday’s meeting on Wednesday when
she realized she had a break between other obligations and wanted to fit a
committee meeting in during the month of April.
Wilmington modifies school tax collection
New Castle News April 29, 2020
Wilmington Area School District residents
will get more time to pay their 2020 taxes, as well as the opportunity to
spread payments out longer. At its meeting Tuesday, the school board modified
its real estate tax collection schedule to give residents an additional 30 days
— 90 days overall — to pay at the discounted rate. Taxpayers also will be able
to pay in four installments, rather than three and a 30-day period to pay at
penalty (instead of 60 days). These changes, business manager Joshua Latore
said, are being made to reflect the financial difficulties some may face as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mars Schools budget process for next year put on hold
Post Gazette by SANDY TROZZO MAY 2,
2020 12:54 PM
The business manager for Mars Area School
Board has told the members that because of the COVID-19 shutdown, she is
putting work on next year’s school budget on hold. Jill Swaney said that
although the budget process began in March, she is unable to continue because
of the stay-at-home order and business shutdowns that affect revenue
projections. People are unable to buy houses, which affects real estate
revenues. And people who aren’t being paid during quarantine will be paying
less earned income tax. Those taxes account for 70% of the district’s revenue,
Ms. Swaney said at a board meeting last month. In addition, she expects to
receive less from the state and federal governments as those revenues will be
down as well. “Quite suddenly, the 2020-21 budget outlook became very bleak,”
she said. “The district will temporarily pause the budget process until the
stay-at-home order is lifted and businesses are permitted to resume
operations.” She added that the budget process “may require many difficult
decisions.”
Digital Notebook by Evan Brandt Friday, May
1, 2020
The Pottsgrove School Board plans to avoid a
tax increase for the coming school year. The board voted unanimously Thursday
night to adopt a proposed final $68.7 million budget for the 2020-2021 school
year that keeps taxes at the same millage as the current rate of 38.102 mills. The
state's tax cap would have allowed the board to raise taxes by 3.4 percent this
year, but Pottsgrove taxes have been raised significantly less than the Act 1
index in recent years. According to the budget document posted in last night's
agenda, the preliminary budget estimates revenues coming in about the same
level as two years ago. Pottsgrove might be lucky to get that. The preliminary
budget projects a revenue loss of $1.6 million. But the Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials recently released a report predicting
severe revenue shortfalls for school districts across the Commonwealth as a
result of the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. PASBO used two
methods to come up with estimates and under each one, Pottsgrove could see
between $2 million to $2.5 million less than the previous year's revenues.
North Hills taking steps to avoid hiking taxes for 7th
consecutive year
Trib Live by Tony
LaRussa Friday, May 1, 2020 | 9:00 AM
The North Hills School Board has approved a
preliminary budget for the 2020-21 school year that holds the line on property
taxes, maintains all programs and curriculum, and keeps staffing at its current
level. “Due to the extreme financial difficulties faced by many at this time
because of covid-19, we are supporting a budget without a tax increase,” board
President Allison Mathis said during the April 30 virtual school board meeting.
“The reality is we are forced to make these decisions with limited information
about what next year looks like,” she said. “However, we are committed to doing
the best we can for the entire North Hills community, for our schools and for
the residents of West View and Ross Township.” The board is expected to vote on
whether to adopt the budget at its June 11 meeting. By law, districts must
submit a balanced budget to the state by June 30. If the budget is approved as
presented, it will end a six-year run of
property-tax increases.
Council approves Philly Board of Education nominees
Ameen Akbar was sworn in with seven returning
members. There is one vacancy.
The notebook Dale
Mezzacappa May 1 — 6:04 pm, 2020
City Council signed off Friday on Mayor
Kenney’s renominations of seven members to the Board of Education and approved
his addition of Ameen Akbar to the panel, which determines spending and
policies for the School District and its more than $3 billion budget. Several
Council members applauded Kenney’s choice of Akbar, who has spent his career
working with underserved youth, particularly African American males. He has
been a mentor and a basketball coach and has worked in juvenile justice. For 14
years, he has been a staff member at YouthBuild, a charter school that prepares
students for careers by teaching them construction skills. “I am appreciative
of this opportunity,” said Akbar during the virtual meeting, adding that he
looked forward to bringing his unique perspective to the position. Kenney
appointed Akbar to replace Board Vice President Wayne Walker, who declined to
seek renomination for personal reasons. Besides Akbar, Council approved the
reappointment of seven current board members – Julia Danzy, Mallory Fix-Lopez,
Leticia Egea-Hinton, Lee Huang, Angela McIver, Maria McColgan, and Board
President Joyce Wilkerson. Kenney had also renominated the other original board
member, Christopher McGinley. But in February, after the nominating process had
concluded, McGinley announced he would leave as of April 30, citing family
responsibilities. The mayor has not yet named his replacement. The members were
sworn in shortly after the vote. The City Charter requires that new members be
seated by May 1.
Fall semester shrouded in uncertainty for Pennsylvania
schools
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com APR 30,
2020 6:55 PM
Smaller class sizes and students equipped
with digital devices would have been a dream for many educators two months ago,
but those conditions may be necessary if schools hope to reopen in the
fall. “When we return back to school, they will not look like the schools
that we participated in a little over a month ago,” state Secretary of
Education Pedro A. Rivera said Tuesday during a conference call. There is no
guarantee that schools will reopen in the fall if the COVID-19 pandemic
continues, according to Mr. Rivera. He said the DOE will use data from the
Department of Health to determine when schools can resume in their
brick-and-mortar settings. Mr. Rivera said the education department
is “planning for the best, but we’re preparing for the worst,” and he
acknowledged that there is “a great deal of uncertainty.”
The same goes for the Pittsburgh Public
Schools
School grading policies vary amid remote instruction
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com MAY 3, 2020
12:00 AM
Much has changed for students over the past
couple of months as schools have switched from in-person instruction to remote
learning in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. For many students, the
grades they earn during the final part of the academic year will also be
different. Schools across the state have altered their grading guidelines
to give students some leeway as they adjust to the new reality caused by the
pandemic, while still holding them accountable for the work they are
assigned. “Every district is deciding how can we support our kids, how
can we continue their education during these unprecedented times, and then how
can we measure their progress so that the kids and the families have an
understanding and an idea as to where they are in their academic progress,”
said Joe Guarino, superintendent of the New Brighton Area School District in
Beaver County. While the state Department of Education has given some guidance
to schools on how to approach grading during remote instruction, it is up to
local education agencies to decide the specifics. The policies that schools
choose affect all students, but they have serious implications for high school
students whose transcripts could be affected, impacting their post-secondary
pathways, availability of scholarships and opportunities for athletics.
Honoring graduates: Schools exploring ways to recognize
seniors
Students can take comfort in the fact that
the community realizes they deserve recognition
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAY
3, 2020 6:15 AM
This is the time of year on the school
calendar when the focus turns to an important life milestone for millions of
students in high school and college — graduation. The annual acknowledgment of
the completion of years of coursework, complete with the requisite cap-and-gown
ceremony, is a tradition long honored across the country. This year, however,
the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to drastically alter the much-deserved
recognition and celebration for high school seniors and college graduates.
School administrators and leaders locally deserve credit for trying to find
creative ways to honor their students in the midst of an unprecedented
situation.
General McLane plans virtual commencement
GoErie Posted
May 1, 2020 at 8:34 AM
Seniors will be scheduled to come to school
to be photographed in their caps and gowns.
General McLane High School seniors will
graduate in a virtual commencement ceremony June 4. Seniors will be scheduled
to go into the school individually on May 11, 12 or 13 to pose for photographs
in their caps and gown. Students are asked to wear the same dress clothes that
they would wear to commencement. The schedules will be posted on the school
district’s website, on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms
this Friday. Caps that can be decorated for the first time this year will be
delivered to seniors on May 8 along with the photography schedule and
congratulatory yard signs purchased by the school district. The virtual
ceremony won’t preclude a face-to-face commencement this summer if COVID-19
precautions are eased, Principal Dan Mennow said in a message to senior parents
Thursday.
Drive-ins, drive-thrus and social distancing: Here's how
schools are honoring the Class of 2020
LAUREN LEE Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAY 2,
2020 7:00 AM
While not every district in the region has
given up on holding a traditional graduation ceremony amidst the statewide
school shutdown, others in the region are planning drive-ins, drive-thrus and
other creative ways to honor their seniors. After news broke that Burrell High
School would be canceling the rest of its year, Genia Koziarski knew her
daughter, a senior, and her friends would be “thoroughly disappointed.” With no
graduation ceremony, something needed to be done, she said. “When it was
announced that they were only going to get their diplomas in the mail, it was
totally crushing to them,” said Ms. Koziarski, a Burrell school director. “And
it was heartbreaking for me.” Then, around Easter, Ms. Koziarski heard
that the Riverside Drive-In Theater in Armstrong County would be open for
church services. What if that same space were used for her daughter Hannah’s
graduation, she wondered.
Manheim Township delivers 441 congratulatory yard signs
to class of 2020 [photos]
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer May 1, 2020
More than 70 Manheim Township School District
employees on Friday helped distribute 441 yard signs to the
homes of students in this year’s graduating class. One by one, cars lined up
outside Manheim Township High School as an administrator placed a pile of
congratulatory signs in their trunk. Employees then delivered them to homes
throughout the community. Schools countywide are working to honor seniors who
may not be able to experience a traditional, in-person prom or commencement due
to the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed schools statewide through the end
of the school year.
Murrysville school plans ‘drive-thru graduation’ for
kindergarten students
Trib Live by PATRICK VARINE | Friday, May
1, 2020 3:16 p.m.
The drive-through service model is working
well for restaurants and some other businesses during the coronavirus pandemic,
so Mother of Sorrows School officials in Murrysville thought: why couldn’t it
work just as well for kindergarten students making the transition to first
grade? The school, on Old William Penn Highway, will host a “Drive Thru
Graduation” for kindergartners on May 28. “Putting it off until the end of the
summer just didn’t seem to make sense for this age group,” Principal Theresa
Szmed said. “We were collaborating with our kindergarten teachers about how we
could make it fun, saw the (social media posts) about parades happening
throughout the area and immediately thought, ‘That’s what we should do.’” School
officials plan to line the road with double-sided signs that include each
graduating kindergartner’s face on one side and a congratulatory message on the
other.
Principals Find Novel Ways to Honor Seniors During
Shutdown
“The absolute most important thing is that
they know that they’re cared about,” said a principal in Texas who drove 800
miles to visit each of his school’s 612 graduating seniors.
New York Times By Mariel Padilla May 3, 2020
With school closed and graduation canceled,
the principal of a high school in suburban Dallas set out on April 17 with his
wife, a bag of Snickers bars and a mission: visiting each of the 612 seniors at
their homes. Virdie Montgomery, the principal of Wylie High School in Wylie,
Texas, said he thought it would take only a couple of days to see each student,
deliver a note and a candy bar, and ask how they were doing. It ended up taking
79 hours across a dozen days, and about 800 miles traveled. Wearing a mask
covered in skulls and crossbones — a tribute to the school’s pirate mascot —
Mr. Montgomery, 66, took a selfie with
each student. He told them the school was a much less happy place in their
absence, but that one day they would “look back on this and snicker.” Then he
handed them a candy bar. “I delivered the same lame joke more than 600 times,”
Mr. Montgomery said. “I wanted to see them and make sure they were doing all
right.” Across the country, high school teachers and administrators are going
out of their way to recognize their seniors as the coronavirus pandemic
has closed schools and
forced the cancellation of proms and
graduation ceremonies.
Tom Ridge: Selfish protests against stay-at-home orders dishonor
America’s veterans | Opinion
Inquirer by Tom Ridge, For USA Today Updated: May
1, 2020 - 9:48 AM
Tom Ridge was the 43rd governor of
Pennsylvania and the first U.S. secretary of Homeland Security. He served as an
infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. This
piece originally appeared in USA Today.
Bennie Adkins died the other day. The retired
Army command sergeant major was 86 and had fought a 23-day battle against the coronavirus. A little
more than 50 years ago, halfway around the world, Bennie’s heroic actions at
the battle of Dai Do in Vietnam resulted in his being awarded the Medal of
Honor. I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about my fellow veterans.
Honorable men like Bennie Adkins. And John McCain. We carried the weapons of
war in defense of our nation and our liberties. In recent days, we have seen
images of Americans carrying weapons as part of their protests to immediately
reopen society. What are they planning to do, shoot the virus with their
AR-15s? These self-absorbed and selfish Americans complain they are irritated,
anxious, bored, upset — unhappy that their lives have been affected by this
temporary restraint on their freedoms. Some have even gotten into
confrontations with nurses and other frontline health-care workers who believe
now is not the time to resume normality. Every day, there are heartbreaking new
reports of nurses and doctors sick or dying because of their service to our
country. They find themselves at the tip of the spear as we combat this
pandemic. That they have to take precious time from getting desperately needed
rest or being with their families to counter these protesters makes my blood
boil.
“But Success Academy starts in Kindergarten. For that you
have to go way back to 2010 when they had 353 students in the class of
2020. If you use that as your baseline then only 28% of the cohort
persisted. Regardless of how you want to define the ‘class of 2020,’ it is
disingenuous of The New York Post to call this ‘all’ or ‘the entire class.’ All
the data I found is publicly available here.”
98 Success Academy Students Accepted To College
Gary Rubersteion’s Blog Posted on May 2, 2020by garyrubinstein
But is that a lot?
The New York Post seems to think so.
Three times in a recent article they
suggest that this is 100% of the seniors. The title “Entire Success
Academy senior class accepted to college” certainly implies it. The first
sentence “Every senior in one of the city’s largest charter school networks has
been accepted to a college this year, officials said.” reinforces it. And
the second sentence “All 98 of the 12th graders at Success Academy’s HS of the
Liberal Arts in Manhattan earned admission to universities — including Yale,
Penn, Duke and Georgetown.” further drives the point home. But a responsible
reporter would ask the logical follow up question. Is 98 really all the
students in the class of 2020? The answer, of course is, ‘no.’ What the
actual number is depends on how you define the class of 2020. If you go back
to a New York Post editorial
from just six months ago, it begins with the sentence “Seniors
at the Success Academy HS of the Liberal Arts just got their SAT scores — and
all 114 did great, with an average score of 1268, 200 points above the national
average.” So six months ago there were 114 seniors, which is 16 more than
the 98 that are now called the ‘entire’ senior class. For Success Academy
to lose roughly one-seventh of the students who were in the senior class just
six months ago is stunning. These 16 students had been at the school
since at least 3rd grade. Where did those 16 students go?
But if you look further back to the state
data, you will find that the class of 2020 had 146 eleventh graders for the
2018-2019 school year. This means that they lost about 1/3 of the class
of 2020 between then and now.
If you previously registered for this live event at the Capitol
please register for the virtual event.
PSBA Virtual
Advocacy Day 2020 MAY 11, 2020 • 9:00
AM - 4:30 PM
Now
more than ever before – Make your voice heard!
Join
us virtually to support public education!
All
public school leaders are invited to join us for our first ever Virtual
Advocacy Day on Monday, May 11, 2020 via Zoom. We need all of you to
help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center around reaching out to
your legislators to discuss the steps you have taken to deal with the pandemic
crisis and the steps legislators can take to provide schools the flexibility
and creativity needed to weather the storm. Mandate relief, budgeting
flexibility, charter funding reform and other legislative changes need to be
considered to give school district flexibility.
Info
and Registration: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/
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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