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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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If any of your colleagues would
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TASD Super: Understand the real cost of cyber charters
PSBA Webinar:
Building the Foundation for Equity and Trauma-Informed Approaches Through
Policy JUN 25, 2020 • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Learn more and register
today: https://www.psba.org/event/webinar-building-the-equity-foundation-through-policy/
Tweets from yesterday....
@GovernorMifflinSD board of school directors
becomes the 267th locally elected Pennsylvania school board submitting a
resolution calling for charter school funding reform. Has your district?
#JohnsonburgAreaSD board of
school directors becomes the 266th locally elected Pennsylvania school board
submitting a resolution calling for charter school funding reform. Has your
district? .
“I see the biggest threat to us right now as cyber charter
enrollment,” McPherson said. “They’re advertising really hard and I need the
community to understand the real cost of cyber charter.” When a student living
in the district enrolls in a cyber charter school, Tunkhannock Area schools
lose $15,000 per student, and $34,000 each for those in special education. Last
year, the district lost $1.5 million for 72 students enrolled in cyber charter
schools. “Those are your tax dollars and they’re walking out the door,” she
said.
Tunkhannock Area School District super preparing on all
fronts
By BROOKE WILLIAMS Wyoming County Press
Examiner Jun 24, 2020
The Tunkhannock Area School District has been
planning for four different scenarios that could take shape this fall. “The
first is that we could return under normal conditions,” said Superintendent
Heather McPherson. “The second is that we would return with social distancing,
screening capabilities, etc. in place. The third scenario is that we would
return, and then we would have to close again in the fall. The fourth scenario
is that we cannot return, that we would be in the red in the fall.” During a
“Restart Rebound Rebuild” webinar with the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce
on June 17, McPherson explained the school district’s ideas for bringing
students back. The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently put out
preliminary guidance for reopening schools in the 2020-2021 academic year.
McPherson noted in this evolving situation, plans for Tunkhannock Area schools
are subject to change.
Philly-area students, alumni are demanding their schools
address systemic racism
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: June 24, 2020- 5:00 AM
As protests swept the nation after the killing
of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Machayla Randall thought about her own
brushes with racism, most of which had taken place in school. A rising senior
at Cherry Hill East, Randall, who is Black and Native American, said she’s
sometimes told “you’re not Black,” or “you’re kind of white.” People touch her
hair. Despite earning straight As, she said she was recommended for only one
honors class in high school — unlike other friends with similar grades. She and
Black classmates with similar experiences decided to take action, organizing a
march last Friday and calling on Cherry Hill to require a high-school course in
African American studies, examine school discipline rates and address implicit
bias among staff. “If you look at everything going on you can reflect back —
why is this happening?” Randall said. Like other students, she believes part of
the answer is in the classroom. Schools are the latest institutions facing a
reckoning over racism — a conversation led by high school students and recent
graduates who say their educations on race stopped with To Kill a
Mockingbird and the civil rights movement, and failed to explain the
systemic racism underlying modern unrest. And Black students are speaking out
about discrimination they have endured in schools, inflicted by peers or disproportionately white
teaching staffs.
The class of 2020: Three students come of age as pandemic
meets racial reckoning
WHYY By Kevin
McCorry Avi Wolfman-Arent Miles
Bryan June 25, 2020
Listen Audio
runtime about 34 minutes
The class of 2020 is bound for the history
books.
They were born in the wake of 9-11. Entered
kindergarten during the Great Recession. Had their senior years interrupted by
a global pandemic. And have now graduated into an uncertain future amid mass
COVID-19 deaths, staggering unemployment and civic upheaval in the streets. In this episode of Schooled, we’re
telling the stories of students coming of age in a moment where the world feels
both ‘on hold’ and ‘on fire.’
Two Pittsburgh school board members seek more
transparency from school police
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUN 24,
2020
Two Pittsburgh Public Schools board members
are seeking more information on interactions between students and police inside
of city schools. Board members Devon Taliaferro and Pam Harbin introduced a
resolution during a school board meeting Wednesday calling on the district to
release student arrest data to the public and form a community task force
to “reimagine school safety.” “I think it’s time that we really do what it
takes to make sure that we are able to provide transparent data and information
about areas which relate to our students as well as to be able to open up for
community conversation,” Ms. Taliaferro said during a videoconference board
meeting. “I’m happy to put forth this resolution today to be able to start that
conversation and truly reimagine how we deliver school safety to our students,
staff and the community.” The resolution was the result of momentum generated
by nationwide calls for police reform that has grown since a Minneapolis
officer killed George Floyd in May. School districts in several large cities —
including Minneapolis, Seattle and Denver — have suspended or cut ties with
police.
“Officials have attributed the deficit to “under-funded and
unfunded mandates” from the state. The district is projecting $7.2 million in
special education costs for 230 students, with roughly $775,000 in funding from
the state and $530,000 from the federal government, according to budget
figures. The addition of 30 special education students to the district also
contributed to an increase in mandatory spending, Superintendent Jason Harris
said. In addition, state-required Morrisville tuition payments for students
living within the district who attend charter schools will cost an additional
$1 million, or roughly $100,000 more than the previous school year. The
district also is on the hook for a $3 million contribution to the Pennsylvania
School Employees Retirement System, which is about $200,000 more than last
year.”
Tax increase, no cuts in Morrisville school budget
Bucks County Courier Times By Anthony
DiMattia @dailydimattia Posted
at 6:28 AM
The Morrisville school board approved a 2.79%
increase Thursday to help fill a roughly $630,000 deficit in the district’s
$22.5 million 2020-2021 school year spending plan. The Morrisville school board
approved a $113 average tax increase but avoided making painful staff and
program cuts to the 2020-2021 school year budget. The board OK’d a 2.79%
increase Thursday to help fill a roughly $630,000 deficit in the district’s
$22.5 million spending plan. Board President Damon Miller along with members
Donna Getty, Wanda Kartal, Jon Perry, Jacquelyn Catalini, Julie Shemelia, Joe
Gilleo andCarolyn Grau voted yes, while Leseh Lentner voted no. While they
understood the burden on taxpayers, members said the increase was necessary to
retain staff and programs while boosting the district’s dwindling savings
account. Officials also anticipate additional spending related to the
coronavirus pandemic once students return Sept. 8.
'Wouldn’t wish on anybody': York City school board makes
deep cuts
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 7:17 a.m. ET June 25, 2020 | Updated 7:21 a.m. ET June
25, 2020
York City's school board on Wednesday
approved a $155.8 million budget with position and program cuts beyond
the $6.2 million in cuts proposed in May. Two school police officers,
the athletic and assistant athletic directors, the district's performing arts
program, an additional teacher, the attendance office supervisor and contracted
armed guards were the new eliminations. The district's May announcement to cut
44 positions — 32 of them teachers — drew strong pushback from the York City
Education Association, a union representing more than 450 professional
staff in the district. "Many of these cuts would directly impact class
size and reduce the number of adults who would directly interact with
students," said Clovis Gallon, a high school teacher who spoke for the
union before Wednesday's vote. Gallon read a list of alternative
suggestions for the board to consider, including more cuts to the
administration and shortening the school day. A petition shared
by the association urging board members not to act prematurely on a budget that
could halt district progress in the past few years had about 300 signatures as
of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The additional cuts were to offset $2.5 million the
district will not be receiving in state funding after the state's education
budget was flat-funded because of COVID-19.
New Kensington-Arnold to lay off 28 teachers, projects up
to 600 students won’t return to school in fall
Trib Live by BRIAN C. RITTMEYER | Wednesday,
June 24, 2020 1:22 p.m.
New Kensington-Arnold School Board voted
Tuesday to lay off 28 teachers because the district said research projects up
to 600 students won’t be returning to its schools in the fall. Even with the
layoffs and a 3-mill tax increase, also approved Tuesday, the district plans to
spend $1.1 million more than it brings in next year. The board said it will
cover the deficit with reserves, depleting that account to about $300,000. Superintendent
John Pallone said most of the layoffs are based on preliminary results of a
survey of district families, showing that 550 to 600 of the district’s nearly
1,950 students won’t come back to its buildings in the fall. Survey respondents
who said their children would not be returning to school in person expressed
concern about the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
Digital Notebook by Evan Brandt Wednesday,
June 24, 2020
The Boyertown School Board voted 7-2 Tuesday
night to adopt a $124.9 million school budget that raises taxes by 3.2 percent,
the maximum allowed by the state's Act 1 index. The millage will be raised to
28.2 mills as a result of the vote. School board members Ruth Dierolf and
Christine Neiman cast the two votes against the budget. Both said they
appreciated all the hard work that went into crafting the budget, but that they
have heard from too many constituents that they can't afford the tax hike. "Some
have lost their businesses or haven't gone back to work yet and they can't pay
their bills," Neiman said. Board member Jill Dennin, who heads the finance
committee, said when the budget process began, "we thought we had things
under control and then the pandemic hit." School Districts across
Pennsylvania have suffered staggering revenue losses due to
decreased revenues from local sources, due to the shut down of businesses.
Norristown school board approves budget for new school
year
Times Herald By Gary Puleo gpuleo@21st-centurymedia.com
@MustangMan48 on Twitter June 23, 2020
NORRISTOWN — Norristown Area School Board
Tuesday night approved a final budget for the 2020-21 school year in the amount
of $ 163,728,295. Resolutions set the millage rate at 39.204 mills, or $3.92 on
each $100 of assessed valuation of taxable property. This budget carries with
it a 3.30 percent tax increase. In other business, after a lengthy discussion
at Monday’s meeting, the board postponed its decision on when to allow student
athletes to return for voluntary practice. In keeping with Pennsylvania
Department of Education’s requirement that school districts reveal plans to resume
interscholastic athletics, Superintendent Christopher Dormer noted, “This is a
little more time sensitive because we recognize that with the loss of our
spring season … in order to be ready for fall we need to make available to our
student athletes and teams and coaches a voluntary workout that they do every
summer.”
Mechanicsburg school board approves Sept. 8 start date,
eyes options for fall instruction
Phyllis Zimmerman For The Sentinel June 24,
2020
Mechanicsburg schools will open two weeks
later than originally scheduled for the 2020-21 school year as the district
continues post-COVID preparations. At a virtual meeting on Tuesday night, the
Mechanicsburg school board unanimously agreed to change the start of the
upcoming school year to Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day. While the new start
date is a just over two weeks later that the Aug. 24 start date previously
approved by the school board, it won’t affect the end date of the 2020-21
calendar already in place, Superintendent Mark Leidy said. Leidy introduced the
proposal to delay the start of school for the school board’s consideration on
June 11. At that time, he said, “As we’re trying to figure out where we’re
going this fall, we need all the time we can get.” This week, district
officials remained undecided about which educational model would be in place for
students when schools open on Sept. 8. On Tuesday, Leidy presented several
options for a phased reopening of school of full-time face-to-face instruction,
full-time remote learning, or a hybrid instruction model of both.
Comcast extends offer of two months free internet to new
customers as well as public hotspot availability
Superintendent Hite says that this will not
fix the access problem for all students. He described the company as a
"partner" in working on further solutions.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa June 24 — 11:20 am, 2020
UPDATE 6/24: Comcast
announced Wednesday that it is also extending through the end of 2020 access to
its 1.5 million public Xfinity WiFi hotspots to anyone who needs them,
including non-customers. “We saw a huge jump in usage after we opened up our
public hotspots, and we’re excited to keep them open through the end of the
year as the nation begins taking steps to reopen,” said Dana Strong, President
of Xfinity Consumer Services. END UPDATE
Comcast said Thursday that it would extend
its offer of 60 days of free online access to new Internet Essentials customers
until the end of the year, an offer that was originally set to expire on June
30. The company also said it would continue until the end of the year to waive
the requirement that customers have no past-due balance in order to qualify. In
his weekly press call Thursday morning, Superintendent William Hite said that
5% of District students have consistently reported having no internet access,
and he wondered whether that number would increase if households who took
advantage of the two-months-free offer decided, for whatever reason, not to maintain
the service and pay the $9.95 monthly charge.
EDITORIAL: Protect the students of Spring Grove
York Dispatch Editorial Board Published 1:28
p.m. ET June 24, 2020 | Updated 9:38 p.m. ET June 24, 2020
A vocal contingent of Spring Grove Area
residents is urging that public schools reopen in a business-as-usual format
this fall, regardless of coronavirus-related health concerns. No masks for
students or teachers. No social distancing. No kidding. Schooling is,
indeed, badly needed in the district — for these tragically misinformed
residents. Among the lessons: The coronavirus is not a political ideology;
refusing to take precautions is not an exercise of rights; and not being afraid
of contracting the virus is inconsequential. More: Spring Grove school board
member: COVID-19 pandemic 'a crock of sh--' They’d
likewise benefit from a few lessons in consideration for others. Same goes for
a couple of Spring Grove school board members, including Douglas White, who
could also use a remedial course in civility.
Success Academy spokesperson resigns over ‘abusive’
practices at NYC’s largest charter network
Chalkbeat By Alex Zimmerman Jun 23, 2020, 3:35pm EDT
A spokesperson for New York City’s largest
charter network resigned in protest, stating she can no longer defend Success
Academy’s “racist and abusive practices” that are “detrimental to the emotional
well being” of its students. “I am resigning because I can no longer continue
working for an organization that allows and rewards the systemic abuse of
students, parents, and employees,” wrote Liz Baker, a Success spokesperson, in
a resignation letter Tuesday.
“As the organization’s press associate, I no longer wish to defend Success
Academy in response to any media inquiries,” she continued in the letter, which
was obtained by Chalkbeat. “I do not believe that Success Academy has scholars’
best interests at heart, and I strongly believe that attending any Success
Academy school is detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children.” The
stunning resignation letter comes as the network has been besieged by complaints from
employees, parents, and students about a culture that some argue is racist.
Baker, who has worked at Success for about a year and four months, is one of
the network’s most visible employees and was responsible for responding to
reporters’ questions about the network.
When kids go back to school, who’s going to drive the
bus?
Bus drivers, like other school support staff,
are often older and can’t do their jobs remotely. School administrators are
struggling to figure out how to reopen while keeping these staff safe.
Hechingr Report by NEAL MORTON June 24, 2020
For the past three months, Bridget and Jerry
Boyce have taken every precaution to avoid bringing the novel coronavirus into
their rural Oregon home. Both drive buses for the Sutherlin School District —
Bridget, for the past five years; Jerry, for two. After schools closed, they
chose not to participate in a meal-delivery program to students’ homes. They
rarely go to grocery stores, only shop at retailers that require face masks and
thoroughly disinfect themselves after each trip. And since mid-March, the
Boyces, both in their mid-50s, haven’t seen their daughter or grandchildren who
live two hours away. Now, as schools in Oregon prepare to reopen this fall,
they must weigh whether returning to work — and greeting the students they
sorely miss — is worth the risk of exposing themselves to the novel
coronavirus.
Planning Your 2020-21 School Year? Use Our 'Guide to the
Guides' on Reopening
By Stephen Sawchuk on June
22, 2020 2:53 PM
As summer gets underway in earnest and most
schools let out, the nation's 14,000 school systems are now full-bore preparing
for the 2020-21 school year and trying to square all the uncertainties that the
novel coronavirus pandemic has thrown up. One by one, the major professional
associations that serve teachers and leaders are now releasing guidance for
districts beginning this Herculean task. They're excellent resources for
superintendents, principals, and other district leaders, all much more detailed
than anything state agencies are putting out. The challenge is figuring out which
guide will be most helpful for your needs at this moment. Enter Education Week's new Guide to the
Guides. We hope this will give you some starting points for the challenging
deliberations and decisions to come. In addition, Education Week has begun its
own series, How We Go Back to School, which
includes some downloadable resources sure to help you begin the conversation with
your leadership teams, principals, and staff—all coupled with our trademark
analytical journalism. See part one of that series here.
And now, here's our curated list.
“It’s not that DeVos isn’t hard at work — it’s just that she’s
not devoting her efforts to what we would assume a federal education head should
be prioritizing. For DeVos, the pandemic is no obstacle to pushing her long
crusade for charter schools and “school choice,” not to mention cracking down on
people struggling to repay student loans. She’s attempted to
reroute a portion of the $13.5 billion in the Cares Act dedicated
for K-12 funding needs — money that’s supposed to be distributed based on
poverty and need formulas — to independent and religious schools. She continues
to promote school choice and the use of vouchers.”
Betsy DeVos is an abysmal failure and our nation’s
schoolchildren are paying the price
The Washington Post Opinion by Helaine Olen Columnist
June 21, 2020 at 1:45 p.m. EDT
Months after schools across the country
closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, it’s still
not clear how, or even if, children can safely return to classrooms in the
coming weeks and months. Despite the best efforts of teachers suddenly plunged
into teaching remotely, the loss of learning has been staggering, especially
for low-income students. This would be the moment, you’d think, when the
nation’s top education policy official would step up and attempt to offer
leadership and best practices going forward. Instead, Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos is missing in action, at least when it comes to the issues that
matter most. Almost two months ago, the American Federation of Teachers released
a plan detailing how schools could reopen safely. Their recommendations include
mandatory hand-washing on entering the school and capping class sizes to
encourage physical distancing. Last month, the conservative American Enterprise Institute released
one as well; among other things, it urges schools to evaluate students for
learning gaps as a result of the closures. The Education Department, by
contrast, is all but silent, issuing little in the way of guidance, and doing
little to review what did and didn’t work.
Senate approves 200th federal judge nominated by Trump
Inquirer by Matthew Daly, Associated
Press, Posted: June 24, 2020- 6:06 PM
WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved the
nomination of a Mississippi judge to a federal appeals court, the 200th federal
judge named by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the
Republican-controlled chamber. It’s the highest number of judicial nominees
confirmed at this stage of a presidency in four decades. Cory Wilson was
elevated to a seat on the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal
despite Democratic objections that he has a record of working to undermine
voting rights of African Americans and other minorities. Approval came on a
nearly party-line, 52-48 vote Wednesday. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the only
Republican to vote against Wilson. Wilson, a former Republican state
legislator, has been a state appeals court judge for 16 months. The 5th
Circuit, which hears cases from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, is considered
one of the most conservative appeals courts in the nation.
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 260 PA school boards adopt charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 260 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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