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
Sec’y Rivera: We Have Work To Do
Task force report coming soon
New school reopening guidance report coming
this week. Education organizations including @PSBA, @PSEA, @PasaSupts, @pasbo_org, @PAIU, @PAPRINCIPALS., PACTA,
and @PARSS2go formed a
task force to address school reopening concerns. Learn more:
Blogger note: this week Reynolds SD #255; Pine Richland #256 and
Warren County #257. Has your school board adopted a resolution on charter
funding reform yet?
Over 250 PA school boards adopt charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 250 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.
PDE School of Thought Blog By: Secretary
of Education Pedro A. Rivera June 15, 2020 11:00 AM
Over the past several weeks, as communities
across the country have erupted in deep-seated anger and frustration over
George Floyd's murder, I've been listening and reflecting on what I can do to
help spur the change our society has needed for generations. Don't get me
wrong, I'm outraged. Outraged that George Floyd's murder is just the latest
incident in a multi-generational history of ignored brutality. Outraged that
unarmed black men and women continue to die at the hands of law enforcement.
Outraged that black and brown communities continue to live in fear of
individuals who have pledged to serve and protect. Outraged that systemic
racism continues to exist in our nation. This must stop. Our education system
is not without fault in perpetuating the systemic inequities and institutional
bias that many of our communities have accepted as normal. Education is an
institution rife with historic inequities in resourcing, inequities in
discipline, and inequities in opportunity. These structures must be dismantled.
As a leader in our education system, I'm taking my outrage and using it to fuel
my commitment to right these wrongs, correct for the injustices, dismantle the
systemic barriers, and ensure every student has access to the opportunities to
learn and achieve regardless of their skin color.
PSBA’s Equity Commitment and Action Plan:
PSBA announces new equity impacts and
initiatives.
“Why should taxpayers be funding cyber tuition at the same rate
as brick and mortar charters when the cyber charters have none of the expenses
associated with buildings? I have spoken with many legislators from both
parties who find this to be absurd and ridiculous.”
After 20 years it is well past time for the legislature
to act on cyber charter school funding reform| Opinion
Penn Live By Lawrence A. Feinberg Posted Jun
16, 2020
With the anticipated loss of revenue facing
school districts due to COVID-19, now, more than ever, the Pennsylvania
legislature must grab the bull by the horns and reform the way that cyber
charter schools are funded. Cyber charters may be a great fit for some highly
motivated, self-disciplined students or those with very involved parents or
guardians. But overall, by any measure, after 20 years the state’s cyber
charters have consistently underperformed. Generally speaking, cyber students
are not learning, and taxpayers are paying twice what they reasonably should,
with the excess funds being taken away from all the other students remaining in
a school district when a parent chooses to send their child to a cyber charter.
Responding to parents’ concerns about returning to school buildings in September,
cyber charters will be spending your tax dollars on advertising, trying to
convince parents that the education they offer is better than what your student
might receive if they stay in their own district. Despite the impression those
ads may give, your child will not be sitting in front of a screen facing a live
teacher all day, and many cyber charters require that a parent be involved as a
coach.
“According to his Squarespace website, Krajewski wants to put a
moratorium on all new charter schools; he does not support the use of public
school vouchers to pay for private school tuition; and he believes that all
state educational revenue streams should be funneled through the Fair Funding
Formula, which Pennsylvania enacted in 2016 to equitably distribute state
education revenue.”
State Rep. Roebuck, minority education chair, loses to
progressive candidate
Rick Krajewski wants a charter moratorium and
a statewide effort on cleaning up toxic schools.
The notebook by Neena Hagen June 16 — 3:36
pm, 2020
Longtime Pennsylvania State Rep. James
Roebuck has lost to challenger Rick Krajewski in the Democratic primary to
represent West Philadelphia’s 188th District. With the in-person and mail-in
votes almost fully counted from the June 2 election, Krajewski declared victory
on Monday with a lead of almost 20 points over Roebuck in the
four-way race. He becomes one of at least seven progressive candidates to win a
primary election in Philadelphia. Roebuck is the minority chair of the House
Education Committee. The results are unofficial, and Roebuck has not yet made a
statement. “I think what this means is, honestly, that the city is ready for
and needs ideas and a political vision that goes beyond the status quo,”
Krajewski said in a Zoom call Monday with fellow progressives in state
government. Krajewski is virtually certain to be elected in November because
nobody ran for the Republican nomination.
“Roebuck, first elected in 1985, is the ranking Democrat on the
House Education Committee and currently one of the longest-serving House
members.”
Longtime Philly state lawmaker loses primary bid
Rick Krajewski, a community organizer, led
18-term Rep. James Roebuck by nearly 2,600 votes with counting just about
finished in Philadelphia.
WITF by The Associated Press JUNE 16,
2020 | 5:40 AM
(Harrisburg) — A challenger to a longtime
Democratic lawmaker from west Philadelphia declared victory Monday in a
four-way primary contest for a state legislative seat. Rick Krajewski, a
community organizer who was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, led
18-term Rep. James Roebuck by nearly 2,600 votes with counting just about
finished in Philadelphia in the June 2 primary election. Results are still
preliminary, but Roebuck would become the sixth Democratic incumbent to lose in
the primary. Also losing were Sen. Larry Farnese and Reps. Maria Donatucci and
Roni Green of Philadelphia, Sen. Daylin Leach of Montgomery County and Rep.
Adam Ravenstahl of Allegheny County.
State to spread $157 million to help schools pay for
cleaning, get ready for classes
Trib Live by JOE
NAPSHA | Tuesday, June
16, 2020 6:36 p.m.
Schools in the state — public and private —
will get at least $120,000 to help pay for cleaning and sanitizing classrooms,
cafeterias, gyms and offices in time for students to return for the resumption
of in-person classes in August for the first time since mid-March. Gov. Wolf
announced Tuesday the state would release $157.5 million of more than $215
million that has been allocated from the state’s share of federal CARES Act
money for sanitizing 770 school entities, the public schools, charter schools,
career and technology centers. The money also can be used to make any
modifications necessary to prevent the spread of covid-19 when students and
staff return to school. The Disaster Emergency School Health and Safety Grants
Act 30, which Wolf signed on June 5, sets aside $114 million to be distributed
to the school districts based on average daily enrollment of the districts.
Schools are to apply for the money by June 30, and get the funds by July 15.
U.S. House Dems call for more federal aid to schools
By Allison Stevens Capital-Star Washington
Bureau June 16, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats
called Monday for more federal aid for education as the nation’s schools
prepare to reopen this fall. “Unless the federal government provides immediate
relief, it won’t be a matter of whether education funding will be cut, but how
deep the cuts will be,” said U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, chair of the House
Committee on Education and Labor. He spoke Monday during a committee hearing on
the impact of COVID-19 on public education. Becky Pringle, vice president of
National Education Association, said students will not be able to return to
school safely this fall without more funds for public education. “For us to
think that we are going to send our students back to school safely and provide
them with the quality education we believe they all deserve — we know that
cannot happen,” she said. “We need the Senate to act right now.” Federal aid is
especially needed to support low-income students, students of color, students
with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, Scott and others said.
Advocates still working to divert horse racing subsidy to
education
The money now comes from taxes on slot
machine revenue.
The notebook by Neena Hagen June 16 — 8:57
am, 2020
With race tracks across Pennsylvania opening
up, fans of horse racing can once again make their wagers. But no one’s
showering larger amounts of money on horse-racing than the Pennsylvania state
government, which has subsidized the industry with an average of $240 million
every year since 2004. Pennsylvania has allocated more than $3 billion to horse
racing, making the Race Horse Development Trust Fund the largest economic
incentive program financed by the state government. Advocates want that
money to be spent on education instead, but they face an uphill political
battle in making this happen. “The goal is to redirect the slots tax
money to invest in education rather than paying the bills of the horse race
industry,” said Sharon Ward, senior fellow at Ed Voters PA and author of a report on the fund
and its impact. The advocates sought to make this change in an interim budget that
Gov. Wolf signed on May 29. That budget funds education for a full year at
current levels and everything else for five months, meaning the General
Assembly will have to come back in November to finalize funding for the rest of
the fiscal year, which ends in June 2021. Ward and other education advocates
are now focusing their efforts on November.
Report: The Race Horse Development Fund: How
Pennsylvanians Bankroll the Sport of Kings
Education Voters PA Report By Sharon Ward May
2020
A day after leaving Pennsylvania General Assembly, Turzai
has new job
By Paul J. Gough – Reporter,
Pittsburgh Business Times Jun 16, 2020, 9:31am EDT
Former House Speaker Mike Turzai has
been named general counsel of Peoples, a day after his final day of his 19-year
term representing the North Hills in the General Assembly. Turzai at Peoples
will report to Christopher Luning, EVP, general counsel and secretary of
Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG), the Bryn Mawr-based parent company of
Peoples that also owns Aqua America. Turzai announced in a speech last week
that he would be leaving Harrisburg on June 15, resigning both his speakership
and his seat. He had in January announced that he wasn't going to be seeking
re-election and hinted then that he may leave before his term is over. "As
general counsel for Peoples, he will be one of the key leaders of our natural
gas business that plays a critical role in the everyday lives of families and
individuals in more than 760,000 homes and businesses," Luning said.
"Caring for those families and individuals we serve and the more than
1,500 Peoples employees that ensure the safe and reliable delivery of our
natural gas, will be the cornerstones of his leadership."
Ex-House speaker Mike Turzai, a gas industry ally, joins
gas utility
He's now the general counsel for the
Pittsburgh-based natural gas division of Essential Utilities Inc..
WITF by The Associated Press JUNE 16,
2020 | 11:46 AM
(Harrisburg) — A day after leaving his post
as speaker of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, Mike Turzai has become
general counsel for the Pittsburgh-based natural gas division of Essential
Utilities Inc., the company said Tuesday. Turzai, a Republican from suburban
Pittsburgh, was an ally of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry while in office,
including helping to rebuff efforts to impose a tax on production from the vast
Marcellus Shale reservoir. The Associated Press reported in January that Turzai
was said to have received an offer from the company before Turzai announced
that he would not run for re-election. It is not clear who might succeed Turzai
as speaker. Next in line in GOP leadership is House Majority Leader Bryan
Cutler of Lancaster County.
Editorial: The future of standardized tests
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Tuesday, June 16,
2020 7:01 p.m.
Lots of schools are dropping the SAT and ACT
as part of the admission process. Some are just for this year — like Saint
Vincent and Pitt’s Bradford, Greensburg Johnstown and Titusville campuses.
Others, such as Carnegie Mellon (above) and Penn State, are making the scores
optional for 2021, too. In July 2019, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene
DePasquale suggested the state’s Keystone exams — the tests
taken by high school students to prove proficiency in required subjects and
qualify for graduation — were too expensive and redundant. Rather than paying
$18 million a year to test high school students with the state-specific
instrument that matters to no one but the school districts and the state
Department of Education, he argued Pennsylvania would be better off paying for
the SAT or ACT. Those tests would save money. They wouldn’t reinvent the wheel,
as they are already supposed to decide if a student absorbed what should have
been gleaned from a high school education. And they would also be available for
the student to use in applying to colleges.
Dover Area school board to ask Pa. Supreme Court to keep
Washington Twp. in district
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 10:30 p.m. ET June 16, 2020
Dover Area School District will appeal a
court decision earlier this month allowing Washington Township to secede from
the district. A state judge reversed earlier denials from the state Board
of Education in a nearly decade-long case in which the township sought a
transfer to Northern York County School District. Better taxes, education and
proximity were the reasons for leaving back when a petition of more than 1,400
signatures was signed and a taken to court in 2012. The school board
unanimously approved petitioning the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for an
appeal to applause from 70 or more attendees at Tuesday's meeting in the
Dover Elementary School gym. "Is this really about what's best for our
kids?" said board member Steve Cook of township residents' push to leave
Dover before the vote. If that were true, students would be the ones who wanted
to leave, he said. A number of parents and students spoke during the meeting
out against the move, and board President Nathan Eifert held up a stack of
emails he received from families in support of the appeal.
Bucks Health director issues back-to-school guidelines
Bucks County Courier Times By Peg
Quann @pegquann Posted
Jun 16, 2020 at 5:01 PM Updated
Jun 16, 2020 at 9:43 PM
County is working closely with 13 school
districts to plan for classes in the fall.
The Bucks County Health Department has issued
guidelines to allow the county’s 13 school districts to reopen in the fall. Dr.
David Damsker, health department director, said in a letter to district
administrators that the safety advice will allow schools to implement “a safe
and reasonably normal” reopening for in-person instruction. Schools throughout
Pennsylvania have been closed since mid-March when Gov. Tom Wolf issued an
emergency shutdown to thwart the spread of the coronavirus. In early April, he
ordered them closed for the rest of the school year as cases of COVID-19,
caused by the virus, mounted. Each school district must enact its own health
and safety plan for reopening but the health department is recommending that
masks be worn on school buses and possibly in halls, but not in classrooms,
except by adults who work closely with students and cannot do social
distancing.
The health department also recommends:
– Three-feet separation of seats in
classrooms;
– Cafeteria seating be staggered and possibly
assigned to enforce social distancing;
– Hallway traffic be minimalized and possibly
staggered; and
– Handwashing be strictly enforced.
Parents and guardians must screen children
for symptoms as must district staff before leaving for work. The state Department
of Education is requiring that each district school board create and approve a
health and safety plan before the district can reopen in the fall, and that the
plan should be in consultation with the county health department.
Erie County schools begin completing sports safety plans
GoErie By Tom
Reisenweber @etnreisenweber Posted
Jun 16, 2020 at 3:47 PM
Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria, Seneca first to
finish coronavirus protocols
High school athletic directors in Erie County
held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss several topics, including
safety protocols regarding the coronavirus. The sharing of information and
ideas has been important as schools look to standardize some of their efforts
to plan for the fall season as the pandemic lingers. “I’ve been working with
other athletic directors, administration, trainers, and the (school) board will
be involved,” said McDowell athletic director Mark Becker. “We’ve also taken
input and guidance from multiple sources like the NFHS, PIAA, CDC, DOH and the
governor’s office to craft a plan to fit our district’s needs.” Gov. Tom Wolf’s
administration gave the go-ahead for high school sports last week as soon as
schools develop a plan for safety protocols, which have to be approved by their
respective governing bodies, such as school boards for public schools. The
plans must be published publicly for parents, coaches and athletes to review
and follow this coming school year.
$113M OJR budget will raise taxes 2.6%
Pottstown Mercury by Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com
@PottstownNews on Twitter June 17, 2020
SOUTH COVENTRY — The Owen J. Roberts
School Board Monday unanimously adopted a $113 million budget for the next
school year that will raise taxes by 2.6%. The tax rate will increase by .8308
mills from 31.9550 mills to 32.7858 mills. The average assessed value of the
district’s residential properties is $184,318. Based on this average, tax bills
will increase by $153 from $5,890 to $6,043, according to the budget text. According
to the budget, for the last five years Owen J. Roberts has raised taxes by the
maximum allowed by the state and, in two of those years, more than the maximum,
using "exceptions" for higher tax rates written into the Act 1 law.
PSBA Webinar: Intersections – Addressing This Moment
JUN 18, 2020 • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
This webinar invites PA district leaders to
discuss the context of national protest related to the deaths of George Floyd
as well as other unarmed black men and women who have died. It will explore the
intersection of racism, protest and public schools with a panel of Pennsylvania
public school leaders.
Panelists:
- Dr.
Khalid Mumin, superintendent, Reading School District
- Dr.
Seria Chatters, director of equity, State College School District
- Dr.
Scott Eveslage, assistant superintendent, Lower Merion School District
Moderator:
Dr. Heather Bennett, director of school
equity services, PSBA
Cost: Complimentary
for members.
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_R0JG0OCzROSRn0WuWQqshA
Apply Now for EPLC's 2020-2021 PA Education Policy
Fellowship Program!
Applications are available now for the 2020-2021 Education
Policy Fellowship Program.
The Education Policy Fellowship Program is
sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center
(EPLC). The 2020-2021 Program will be conducted in briefer, more
frequent, and mostly online sessions, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The content
will be substantially the same as the traditional Fellowship Program, with some
changes necessitated by the new format and a desire to reduce costs to sponsors
in these uncertain fiscal times.
The commitment of EPLC remains the same. The
Fellowship Program will continue to be Pennsylvania's premier education policy
leadership program for education, community, policy and advocacy leaders! The
Fellowship Program begins with two 3-hour virtual sessions on September 17-18,
and the Program ends with a graduation event in June 2021.
The application may be
copied from the EPLC web site, but it must be submitted by mail or scanned and
e-mailed, with the necessary signatures of applicant and sponsor.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of
the Fellowship Program and its requirements, please contact EPLC Executive
Director Ron Cowell at 412-298-4796 or COWELL@EPLC.ORG
FairTest: More Than Half of Nation’s Universities Drop
Entry Tests for 2021
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By
dianeravitch June 16, 2020 //
FairTest has been battling the abuse, misuse,
and overuse of standardized testing since the early 1970s. It took a global
pandemic to demonstrate that students applying to college need not take a
standardized test for admission. How will colleges decide whom to admit? They
will figure it out. Just watch. Many colleges and universities went
test-optional years ago and managed to choose their first-year class.
MORE THAN HALF OF ALL U.S. FOUR-YEARS
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WILL BE TEST-OPTIONAL FOR FALL 2021 ADMISSION;
SHARP INCREASE IN SCHOOLS DROPPING ACT/SAT
DRIVES TOTAL TO 1,240
A new tally of higher education testing
policies shows that more than half of all 4-year colleges and universities will
not require applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores for fall 2021 admission. The
National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), which maintains a
master list, reports that 1,240 institutions are now test-optional. The
National Center for Educational Statistics counted 2,330 U.S. bachelor-degree
granting schools during the 2018-2019 academic year.
Fully 85% of the U.S. News “Top 100” national
liberal arts colleges now have ACT/SAT-optional policies in place, according to
a FairTest data table. So do 60 of the “Top 100” national universities,
including such recent additions as Brown, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia,
Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, Virginia, Washington University in St. Louis, and
Yale.
Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Julian Vasquez Heilig
Wednesday, June 17, 2020 • 7:30
PM – 9:00 PM• Eastern Daylight Time
The Network for Public Education invites you
to join us for a video conference with NPE President Diane Ravitch. Diane's
guest this week will be NPE Board Member and University of Kentucky College of
Education Dean, Julian Vasquez Heilig. Join Diane and Julian as they discuss a new
vision for a community based reform agenda.
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 250 PA school boards adopt charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 250 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.
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
The Network for Public Education Action Conference has
been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel
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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