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Reopening – 10 Weeks Until School Starts
Wonder where some of
that cyber charter tuition goes?
Morningstar: K12 Inc. Executive
Compensation 2015-2019
Your View by Bethlehem school superintendent: How we will
teach students to be ‘anti-racist’
By JOSEPH ROY THE MORNING CALL | JUN
19, 2020 | 9:00 AM
When we talk about racism, we tend to avoid
actually using the word race. This is a perfect example of the advantages and
power of primarily White leaders to choose the words we use. We talk about
training for multicultural awareness, tolerance, diversity, equity, inclusion ―
but we avoid the words race and racism. We ended this sad legacy in the
Bethlehem Area School District last August, when I challenged our teachers to
be “anti-racists” and not just “not racist.” Anti-racists actively look for and
work to end policies and practices that have a disparate impact on black and
Latino people. “Not racist” implies a bystander approach to racism. Anti-racism
requires us to do something. BASD is involved in powerful anti-racist work in
early literacy, closing racial opportunity gaps and moving black and Latino
students to higher levels of reading proficiency. Early reading proficiency is
highly correlated with high school and college graduation and more successful
life outcomes.
We can’t address racial injustice in Pa. without fixing
our unfair public school funding system | Opinion
By Jordan Harris, Matt Bradford, and Frank
Dermody Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor June 19,
2020
State Rep. Jordan Harris, of Philadelphia, is
the Democratic whip in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Rep. Matthew
Bradford, of Montgomery County, is the ranking Democratic member of the House
Appropriations Committee. Rep. Frank Dermody, of Allegheny County, is the
Democratic floor leader in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
For the last three weeks, many in our country
have had their consciousness awakened to long-standing fundamental inequities
disproportionately impacting communities and people of color. In the wake of the tragic murders of George
Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, and in the midst of a
global pandemic, we have all been called to acknowledge and confront systemic
racism. In Pennsylvania, the Legislative Black Caucus courageously advanced the
policy conversation by demanding votes on languished police reforms, but the
conversation cannot end there. We must have an open and honest conversation to
address the racial and socioeconomic inequities and injustices in our public
school system. It has been more than 66 years since the United States Supreme
Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial
segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, based upon the belief that
separate schools provided for unequal access to education and opportunity. Despite
this ruling, racial and economic segregation persist in public education
throughout the nation. Pennsylvania is no exception.
“The shape and form of instruction when schools reopen in the
fall is one of the greatest unknowns school districts are facing in preparing
for next year,” said Dr. Art Levinowitz, an Upper Dublin School District
board member and president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
Districts expect higher costs when schools reopen
Altoona Mirror by ROBERT SWIFT JUN 20, 2020
HARRISBURG — Local educators told a House
committee Wednesday they will be dealing with unknowns, the changing nature of
the COVID-19 pandemic and higher operating costs as they reopen schools this
fall. The Education Committee heard testimony from educators representing both
public schools and non-public schools about the efforts underway to start the
2020-2021 academic year. The meeting came two weeks after the state Education
Department announced that elementary and secondary public schools in
Pennsylvania can reopen starting July 1 provided they have health and safety
plans in place. The plans are to address issues ranging from social distancing,
wearing masks, protecting high-risk students and employees and restricting
large assemblies. Schools have been closed since Gov. Tom Wolf declared a
statewide disaster emergency in early March, although some have provided remote
learning to students. House Education Committee Majority Chairman
Curt Sonney, R-Erie, plans a second meeting to hear from more educators. The
educators asked lawmakers for specific types of assistance and warned of higher
costs as schools implement hybrid weekly schedules split between in-person
classes andinternet learning, change pupil transportation arrangements and
bridge a “digital divide” in internet access available to
students. The $25.1 billion stopgap state budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21
adopted earlier this month provides level state funding for secondary and
higher education.
Readers React: Schools will need more federal money
THE MORNING CALL | Letter by David J.
Hein JUN 21, 2020 | 8:30 AM
The writer is vice president of Parkland
School Board and vice president of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Governing Board.
An article, “School budget deadlines
are looming. Here’s what Lehigh Valley school districts are proposing,
including tax hikes, in wake of coronavirus” (June
8), outlines the way school districts in the area are dealing with financial
difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, districts state-wide
are dealing with these challenges as they finalize their budgets. The article
outlines how revenue shortfalls and cost increases are forcing districts to put
projects on hold, enact pay freezes, leave open positions unfilled, cut
technology and curriculum budgets, and furlough teachers and staff. Pennsylvania’s
school districts are projected to lose up to $1 billion in local revenue for
the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19. Getting students through this crisis
will be a struggle. Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a budget that protects
schools from state funding cuts, but that will not address the local funding
shortfall. That’s why Congress needs to provide additional money to local
schools. Especially now, it is critical that we support public school students.
Congress has the power to provide more certainty to districts for next school
year by allocating them more federal dollars.
Coronavirus changed everything for Class of 2020
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: June
21, 2020- 5:00 AM
They are a class unlike any other: high
school seniors coming of age during a pandemic, against a backdrop of a clamor
for racial justice and a recalibration of the way the world works. Whether they
attend public school or private, come from the city or the suburbs, the members
of the Class of 2020 have been forged by circumstances they never could have
imagined. Here are some of their stories, their hopes, their dreams, and the
lessons they have taken from a most unusual senior year:
Ten Weeks Until School Starts—What Now?
Education Week By Rick Hess on June
16, 2020 9:00 AM
More than a few school leaders are publicly insisting
that, absent a huge new influx of federal dollars, they can't afford to open
schools. A fifth of teachers are saying
they won't go back in the fall, and plenty more are expressing discomfort. A
sizable number of parents currently say they don't want to send kids back to
school until there's a vaccine. In short, it seems like there's a vocal,
influential constituency inclined to justify continued school
closures in the fall. At the same time, for those of us who believe that
education matters, this spring's remote learning experiment was a mess—a shoddy
stopgap that addressed, at best, a piece of what we want schools to do. Even worse,
it wasn't clear that things got a lot better over time. The Center for
Reinventing Public Education has looked at 477 school districts and reports that
just 1 in 3 expected all teachers to deliver instruction and that less than
half communicated an expectation that teachers would either take attendance or
check in with students regularly. My AEI colleague Nat Malkus tracked a
national sample of hundreds of districts and found that,
even as the school year ground to an end, less than half of districts offered
even a little bit of real-time instruction. For most of the rest, "remote
instruction" meant some combination of websites with links, downloadable
worksheets, and canned resources. Education Week has reported that
teachers say more than 1 in 5 students went absent without a trace when schools
closed. And parents report that kids' work is less rigorous and that there
seems to be less of it.
So, where does that leave us?
Pennsylvania School Reopening Task Force Report June 18,
2020
This report represents a compilation of
insights and considerations from the following organizations: the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association (PSBA), the Pennsylvania State Education Association
(PSEA), the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA), the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), the Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU), the PA Principals Association, the
Pennsylvania Association of Career & Technical Administrators (PACTA) and
the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS). Knowing the
magnitude of the work ahead as school leaders, educators and administration
plan for the 2020-21 academic year, these eight public education associations
came together as the 2020 Back to School Task Force to generate considerations
and information in support of their decision-making.
Berks County IU, superintendents create 'roadmap' for
school re-entry
WFMZ by Jim Vasil June 18, 2020
MUHLENBERG TWP., Pa. - Like the rest of us,
the Berks County Intermediate Unit doesn't have all the answers on what life
will be like for Berks County's 70,000 students when they eventually return to
the classroom. "We have to be flexible. We have to adapt," said Jill
Hackman, the BCIU's executive director. "We know we're going to learn more
information." But the agency has created, what you might call, a study
guide on how each department inside each school should prepare. It's called the
"Workplace Readiness Essentials Roadmap." "It will be customized
by each of the school districts based on feedback from their stakeholders,
which will include parents, students, community members, and ultimately, their
plan will be approved by their board of directors," said Hackman. Each of
the county's 18 public school superintendents collaborated to make the roadmap,
including the Reading School District's Khalid Mumin, who plans on presenting
his re-entry plan to the school board next week. The Reading School District
wouldn't share any details of the plan, but BCIU officials said it should have
influence from the framework.
GUIDANCE FOR BUCKS COUNTY SCHOOL REOPENINGS
Bucks County Health Department June 15, 2020
Dear Chief School Administrators, The
COVID-19 pandemic has been a tremendous challenge for our community in many
different ways. Our schools were put in the unenviable position of having to
close suddenly and deal with a situation no one had ever encountered. Both your
partnership with the Health Department and your enduring dedication to
prioritize the health and safety of all school stakeholders during these trying
times have been greatly appreciated. The County, from the start, has put into
place strong measures to contain and track the virus over time, allowing us to
understand how and where infections were likely originating. Bucks County has
achieved a consistent pattern of low levels of baseline pure community spread,
defined as those cases whose source of infection cannot be determined. If we
continue on the same course, the Governor is expected to move the County to the
“green” status no later than June 26. We now face the task of planning for a
safe, and reasonably normal, return to school in just a few short months. With
the support of everyone involved, including students, their families, and district
staff, this can be accomplished effectively.
CHOP Policy Lab: Health and Safety Considerations for
Reopening K-12 Schools
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Policy
Lab Webinar Jun 2020 Video Runtime 1:11
ith schools in the U.S. developing strategies
to reopen following their closures for the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many
important health and safety concerns that we must consider to protect students,
teachers and staff. What will physical distancing look like within classrooms
and in transportation to school? How will school health services change? What
are the best methods for surveillance and testing? Will everyone need to wear
masks? On June 2, 2020, PolicyLab hosted a virtual conversation titled, “Health
& Safety Considerations for Reopening K-12 Schools,” with educators,
administrators and public health experts who shared their perspectives on these
issues. The discussion was informed by PolicyLab’s comprehensive policy
review of interventions to guide local jurisdictions and school
administrators in their planning to safely reopen schools.
Panelists included:
- David
Rubin, MD, MSCE, director of PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia (moderator)
- Susan
Coffin, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious
Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and
attending physician at CHOP
- William
Hite, Jr., EdD, superintendent, School District of Philadelphia
- Molly
Ticknor, MA, ATR, LPC, executive director, Show-Me School-Based Health
Alliance of Missouri
- Matthew
Stem, deputy secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education,
Pennsylvania Department of Education
American Association of School Administrators Releases
Guidelines For Reopening Schools
Guidance Generated from AASA COVID-19
Recovery Task Force
Alexandria, Va. – June 19, 2020 –AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the
nation’s premier organization representing and supporting superintendents and
other public school district leaders, is pleased to release today a
consensus-driven set of guidelines for reopening schools effectively in the
COVID-19 environment. The AASA COVID-19 Recovery Task Force Guidelines
for Reopening Schools: An Opportunity to Transform Public Education is
comprised of recommendations by superintendents throughout the U.S. who shared
their leadership experiences and insights throughout the pandemic. “Perhaps the
most striking outcome of the task force discussions is a universal commitment
to transform the crisis we are facing into the opportunity to transform public
education as we know it,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA.
“We will continue to update this report as changes occur at federal, state and
local levels. As part of this process, we invite superintendents and staff to
share their success stories and updates on emerging issues confronting them in
this process of reopening and transforming public education.” The task
force was created in April to recommend solutions
for our nation’s more than 13,000 school districts on how schools will reopen
and what they will look like in the aftermath of the outbreak. As the group
moved toward consensus, the following recurrent issues and concerns were
evident among participants:
State school officials hold call on reopening plans
Daily American by MATTHEW TOTH mtoth@dailyamerican.com Jun 17,
2020
State officials are asking a similar question
about schools reopening this fall: “Are we trying to bite off more than we can
chew?” The House Education Committee held a hearing with school officials on
Wednesday discussing potential pitfalls with trying to reopen schools in the
fall amid COVID-19 concerns. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all school buildings to
close for the rest of the 2019-20 school year because of the crisis earlier
this year. Joe Scheuermann, a math teacher from Hempfield Area High school,
told the committee that he could see his advance placement calculus students
struggling when using online formats. “The most common thing I read on tests
from students was that they missed their friends,” he said. “They missed
sitting down next to a human person and speaking with them.” According the the
state Department of Education, school buildings can be reopened as early as
July 1, but only after school boards pass reopening plans.
Reopening is tricky for York County schools
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 10:44 a.m. ET June 15, 2020 | Updated 3:00 p.m. ET June
16, 2020
York County districts are beginning to
formulate their reopening plans, and as it was for remote
learning, there's an emphasis on flexibility. West York Area
Superintendent Todd Davies said that though the fall of 2020-21 would not look
the same as a normal year — and might even include a hybrid of distance
and in-person instruction — he's committed to finding whatever works best
for everyone. "We’re going to work with families to make that option
best for students," he said. "It’s the families that are
going to have to help us make those decisions." The Pennsylvania
Department of Education on June 3 announced schools would be permitted to
reopen beginning July 1, provided districts post a health and safety plan
online, approved by their boards. These should include, for example, in
counties in the governor's green phase — for which York County was
cleared to enter June 12:
- guidelines
for hygiene practices and the use of face coverings
- protocols
that allow for 6 feet of separation among students and staff when
appropriate;
- methods
to limit classroom numbers, interaction between groups and sharing of
materials
“It can often be a very big issue when you’re
talking about school cafeterias,” said Chris Lillienthal, spokesperson for the
Pennsylvania State Education Association.
With eyes on the fall, some schools to bring in students
for summer instruction
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUN 21,
2020
Now that all of southwestern Pennsylvania has
entered the “green phase” of the state’s reopening plan, schools in the
region soon will have the green light to reopen. The state Department of
Education this month said schools in counties where some of the COVID-19
restrictions have been lifted can resume in-person instruction and other
activities at brick-and-mortar locations in July. But just because
schools can open their doors does not mean they will. Schools throughout the
area, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, decided weeks ago to shift summer
educational programming online. At the same time, many school leaders have
already turned their attention toward the upcoming academic year. “We’re
in the process of trying to figure out what reopening is going to look like in
the fall,” said Jeffrey Fuller, superintendent of the Freedom Area School
District. “That’s our primary focus.”
COVID-19 rules drive Erie schools to revamp busing
GoErie By Ed
Palattella @etnpalattella Posted
at 12:03 AM Updated at 6:14 AM
Erie School District, other school systems
scrambling to figure out how to get students to school with social distancing,
On a typical day during this past school
year, the Erie School District relied on Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority
buses traveling 28 routes to get 3,264 students to and from school on time. But
typical days will not return to the district for an extended period — and
neither will the usual bus patterns. The pandemic has the Erie School District
scrambling to assemble a transportation plan that could include staggered start
times for schools or even caps on the number of middle school and high school
students who attend school each day. The plan is meant to accommodate as many
students as possible while the district abides by social distancing
requirements that will severely limit the number of riders on each bus,
particularly those that EMTA operates. The numbers — and the number of needed
adjustments — are staggering. For the district to get all the 3,264 EMTA
passengers to school on time and abide by social distancing guidelines, the
number of EMTA routes would have to increase from 28 to 272, which is clearly
an impossibility. The alternative is not much better. By following social
distancing guidelines, in which students would have to sit as much as 6 feet
apart, EMTA’s fleet would be able to transport only 600 students per day to and
from school, far fewer than the 3,264 students its buses transported under
regular circumstances in 2019-20, the district said.
Blogger comment: I’d love to see these folks do a similar piece
on school choice.
Top Pa. GOP lawmaker fast-tracking a lucrative gambling
expansion that would benefit a major campaign donor
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and
Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus June 19, 2020
Spotlight
PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom
powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette and PennLive/The Patriot-News. Sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — Last fall, more than 2,300 miles
from Pennsylvania’s Capitol, the top lobbyist for a gaming company seeking a
lucrative gambling expansion helped host a fundraiser in Las Vegas for the
leading Republican in the state Senate, Joe Scarnati. The elaborate event was
held at the famed Bellagio Hotel and Casino, records show. For tickets ranging
in price from $7,500 to $25,000, donors gained access to rounds of golf, a
hockey game, and a cocktail hour and dinner at a glitzy restaurant overlooking
the Vegas strip. Several months later, executives from the gaming company,
Golden Entertainment, poured thousands of dollars into a campaign committee
controlled by Scarnati and close associates. Now, Scarnati and other top
Republicans are working feverishly behind closed doors to whip up votes for a
bill that would help Golden and others like it cash in on the next frontier of
expanded gambling, potentially worth millions of dollars: video-gaming
terminals, known better as VGTs. In recent days, lobbyists and top Republican
leaders have mounted a full-court press to convince rank-and-file senators to
vote for ushering in thousands more of the slots-like terminals, according to
two legislative sources familiar with the effort. The behind-the-scenes push,
expected to culminate in a Senate vote as soon as Monday, comes as the
legislature faces massive challenges, most notably the fallout from a pandemic
that has killed 6,361 Pennsylvanians and ravaged the economy, as well as the
largest civil rights protests of a generation and demands for systemic overhauls of the
police.
“The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will hold an election
on Monday for a speaker to preside over the GOP-controlled chamber. House
Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster County, is the hands-down expected
winner for that seat, but his ascension would create an opening for majority
leader. House Majority Whip Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County (bottom left)
and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor of York County are said
to be the top contenders for that spot.”
Electing a new Pa. House speaker expected to lead toward
leadership shake-up in GOP caucus
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Today 5:30
AM
A shake-up in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives is expected to take shape Monday within the Republican Caucus. By
the end of the day, at least two people from central Pennsylvania could move
into top leadership positions. All of this is triggered by last Monday’s resignation of Mike
Turzai, who vacated his House seat and the Speaker’s
chair to take a position as general counsel at Peoples, a Pittsburgh-based
gas utility. That leaves the speaker’s seat in the GOP-controlled chamber up
for grabs. The candidate most
likely to ascend into that most powerful position in the House is Majority
Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County.
Retirements, resignations and more: These are all the Pa.
lawmakers who won’t be back in 2021
By Capital-Star Staff June 18,
2020
A million years ago —okay, last fall — the
Capital-Star started tracking what seemed like a plethora of retirements in the
state House and Senate ahead of the 2020 election season.
Months later, with a primary, some
resignations, and not least of all, the COVID-19 pandemic, changing the state’s
political topography, we’ve updated our map to include primary losers and some
recent departures from the General Assembly. Many thanks to Capital-Star
Staff Reporter Stephen Caruso who did the work. You can mouse over the
map below for fully updated information. All told, 25 lawmakers are leaving
office in both chambers. They include both House Speaker Mike Turzai,
R-Allegheny, and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson.
Turzai, after announcing plans to retire this winter, resigned from office on June
15. Of them, six lost in the June 2 primary, all Democrats. Two of the
lawmakers leaving aren’t going far for their new jobs, though. Rep. Carolyn
Comitta, D-Chester, and Rep. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, each won their respective
primaries to represent open Senate seats. Comitta will run to replace Sen.
Andrew Dinniman, D-Chester in a suburban Philly district. Dush will likely
replace Scarnati in a deep red north-central Pennsylvania district. Open seats,
particularly in the suburbs, will likely be battlegrounds in fall between
Republicans hoping to defend and expand their majorities, and Democrats hoping
to wrest control of the General Assembly.
Calls increase to remove police officers from Pittsburgh
Public Schools; rally planned today
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUN 22,
2020 5:21 AM
In her work as a juvenile public defender in
Allegheny County and at the Youth Advocacy Clinic at Duquesne University,
Tiffany Sizemore said she has seen some questionable arrests by school police
officers. A couple of years ago, an 18-year-old girl was arrested on charges of
bringing a bag of marijuana to school. The girl, a Pittsburgh Public Schools
senior, spent the night in the Allegheny County Jail. In 2017, an 18-year-old
boy who was a senior in the district was arrested after officers accused him of
taking a fighting stance and acting aggressively toward them. He spent the
night in county lockup. Security camera footage showed that the police lied. One
arrest that sticks in Ms. Sizemore’s memory was that of a 10-year-old girl who
drew her name on a school file cabinet with a Sharpie. The girl had to go
before a magistrate. “These types of things are not things that should be
handled in court systems and by police systems,” Ms. Sizemore said in a video
interview last week. “These are things that should be handled at a school
building level with an after-school detention or a few hours of community
service.”
Educators look to beef up Pennsylvania school science
curriculum on climate change
Morning Call By LINDSAY C VANASDALAN ASSOCIATED
PRESS | JUN 20, 2020 | 12:00 PM
A group of educators from throughout the
state aims to overhaul some of the country’s oldest standards for science
education, all while avoiding a protracted political dispute over climate
change and evolution. Pennsylvania’s science standards haven’t changed since
2002, and repeated efforts in the past to overhaul them stalled during the
review process — which involves an independent commission with input from the
Legislature. The state has different hurdles than some others, as its standards
are not approved directly by the Legislature, though that body can veto them if
it disapproves. “We want to make sure we’re pushing the students,” said Eric
Wilson, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Red Lion Area
School District in York County. Wilson is one of two educators from Red Lion on
a 60-member committee tasked with the rewrite. This summer's review will
include a look at the Next Generation Science Standards — a 2013 effort at
national standards developed by 26 states out of a framework from the National
Research Council.
Locked out in East Penn, Zoom bombed in Bethlehem
Township: Virtual meetings raise Sunshine Act issues
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING
CALL | JUN 20, 2020 | 6:08 PM
There was a lot of interest this month in the
East Penn School Board meeting, where the agenda included plans for reopening
in the fall, a new high school schedule and a vote on next year’s budget. More
than 100 people tried to join it. But some were virtually locked out. Once 100
participants entered the online Zoom room, anyone else trying to get in got a
message saying the meeting had reached capacity and they should try to log on
later. The meeting continued without them. That raised compliance issues with
the state’s Sunshine Act, which requires public bodies to conduct business in
public and allow residents and taxpayers to comment. The law was not suspended
during the coronavirus pandemic. Inherent in that law is the public’s ability
to be present during the proceedings, said Erik Arneson, executive director of
the state’s Office of Open Records. School board members should have responded
as they would during a regular public meeting, he said, by figuring out a way
to accommodate the overflow or postponing the meeting. The way the board
handled the situation is problematic, added Melissa Melewsky, counsel for the
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. “It raises Sunshine Act compliance issues
and exposes them to liability,” she said. “Just as importantly, it actively
harms the relationship with some of their constituents.”
In this era of protest, students win approval for
historical marker of 1967 walkout
The Masterman students want to honor their
predecessors in student activism.
The notebook by Shayleah Jenkins June 19 —
3:47 pm, 2020
Allison Fortenbery and Aden Gonzales were
among the students who urged an end to school police at the Board of Education
hearing Thursday night. They did so with some historical perspective: They are
two of five students from Julia R. Masterman Laboratory & Demonstration
School who have secured approval for the installation of a state marker to
commemorate the 1967 Philadelphia school walkout, during which student
protesters were beaten by police. The walkout is an example of
student-led civil rights activism. With protests and police violence now in the
news, the recognition is especially timely. Fortenbery and Gonzales were joined
by Tatiana Bennett, Taryn Flaherty, and Nia Weeks, all rising Masterman
seniors, in submitting the application to the Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission for the marker. The students came together in the summer of
2019 to organize their proposal for the marker after all five of them won the
2019 National History Day competition at both the city and statewide levels. Applying
the research skills they had developed, the students were able to shine a light
on an often-overlooked aspect of Philadelphia’s history.
Concerns over unknowns accompany vote to approve Carlisle
school budget
Reading Eagle by Joseph Cress - The Sentinel,
Carlisle, Pa. (TNS) Jun 20, 2020
With all the uncertainty, Carlisle Area
School District could use a new fortune-telling device. “Our crystal ball is nearly
broken,” school board member Brian Guillaume said Thursday. “If anybody has a
warranty for said crystal ball, please let us know.” His comment was a lighter
moment during a serious discussion held after board members voted unanimously
to adopt a nearly $87 million budget for 2020-21 that includes a 3% real estate
tax increase. Under the hike, property owners would pay $1,535.28 on every
$100,000 of assessed property value or $44.71 more than in 2019-20. The tax
rate will go from 14.9057 mills to 15.3528 mills. Projecting revenues and
expenditures can be a challenge during a normal budget cycle, but that is
nothing compared to the dicey scenario school districts face this year in the
aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. State law requires school boards to adopt
their final budgets by June 30, the day before the official July 1 start of the
new fiscal year. This year, districts are working with incomplete information
in a fluid situation while planning for the reopening of schools following a
pandemic shutdown.
“Following May’s
budget proposal, Peggy Gillespie, assistant to the
superintendent for finance and operations, said the district was expecting a
financial hit in the next year due to the covid-19 pandemic. The district is
anticipating a loss of between $1.7 million and $2 million, focused in areas of
earned income, realty transfer taxes and interest earnings, she said.”
Kiski Area taxpayers will pay about 2% more in school
property taxes next school year
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Saturday,
June 20, 2020 3:55 p.m.
The Kiski Area School Board approved a slight
tax increase for the 2020-21 school year.
Westmoreland County residents will see an
increase of 1.46 mills to 92.06 mills, or an equalized millage of 90.61. Under
the state’s equalization process, the increase in payment will equate to about
2%. At the rate, the owner of a property assessed at $16,492 — the average
assessed value in the county — would owe $1,518 in taxes, or $29.52 more than
this year. Residents in Armstrong County’s Parks Township would see a 0.73-mill
increase to 46.04 mills, or an equalized millage of 45.31. A Parks Township
property with an assessment of $22,760 would owe $4.10 less in taxes if the
budget is adopted. The state applies an equalization formula to calculate tax
bills because property assessments differ among counties. The total budget for
the 2020-21 school year is nearly $62.9 million.
The leaders of Pa.’s giant school pension plan are
stumped by how to invest in this economy
Inquirer by Joseph
N. DiStefano | @PhillyJoeD | JoeD@inquirer.com Posted: June
20, 2020 - 5:01 AM
Pennsylvania’s largest pension plan, the $50
billion-plus Public School Employees’ Retirement System, didn’t bet big on the
U.S. stock market before the March skid amid coronavirus shutdowns. But board
and staff are still worried and seeking guidance amid volatile markets, its
investment committee conference call on Friday made clear. The PSERS board,
chaired by Chris Santa Maria, a history teacher in the Lower Merion public
schools, has in recent years favored private equity, real estate, and hedge
funds, and other exotic investments. The board has taken that direction over
the objections of a minority of board members, including state Treasurer Joe
Torsella and State Rep. Frank Ryan (R., Lebanon), who questioned whether
high-priced private investment advisers are worth the extra fees they charge
compared with cheap Vanguard-style index funds.
It looks like the beginning of the end of America’s
obsession with student standardized tests
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss June
21, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
America has been obsessed with student
standardized tests for nearly 20 years. Now it looks like the country is at the
beginning of the end of our high-stakes testing mania — both for K-12
“accountability” purposes and in college admissions. When President George W.
Bush signed the K-12 No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, the country began an
experiment based on the belief that we could test our way to educational
success and end the achievement gap. His successor, Barack Obama, ratcheted up
the stakes of test scores under that same philosophy. It didn’t work, which
came as no surprise to teachers and other critics. They had long pointed to
extensive research showing standardized test scores are most strongly
correlated to a student’s life circumstances. Real reform, they said, means
addressing students’ social and emotional needs and the conditions in which
they live, and making improvements in school buildings.
PSBA Fall Virtual Advocacy Day: OCT 8, 2020 • 8:00 AM - 5:00
PM
Sign up now for PSBA’s Virtual Advocacy Day
this fall!
All public school leaders are invited to join
us for our fall Virtual Advocacy Day on Thursday, October 8, 2020, via Zoom. We
need all of you to help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center
around contacting legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public
education. Registrants will receive the meeting invitation with a link to our
fall Virtual Advocacy Day website that contains talking points, a link to
locate contact information for your legislator and additional information to
help you have a successful day.
Cost: As a membership benefit, there is no
cost to register.
Registration: School directors can register
online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you
have questions about Virtual Advocacy Day, or need additional information,
contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org.
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
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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