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, 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
Taxpayers in House Majority Caucus Secretary Mike Reese’s
school districts paid over $7.4 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition.
Why are PA taxpayers paying twice what it
costs to provide a cyber education?
Why are cyber charter tuition rates the same
as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in House Majority
Caucus Secretary Mike Reese’s school districts paid over $7.4 million in
2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA
taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Conemaugh Township Area SD
|
$375,201.69
|
|
Greater Latrobe SD
|
$965,905.21
|
|
Hempfield Area SD
|
$2,282,995.00
|
|
Ligonier Valley SD
|
$1,826,153.83
|
|
Mount Pleasant Area SD
|
$1,346,729.44
|
|
North Star SD
|
$613,966.34
|
|
|
$7,410,951.51
|
Data Source: PDE via PSBA
Philadelphia State Senator Anthony Williams tests
positive for the coronavirus
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA, July
14, 2020
Spotlight
PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom
powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia state Sen. Anthony
H. Williams has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the second
Pennsylvania legislator to contract COVID-19. Williams’ disclosure of a
positive diagnosis Tuesday led at least two of his Democratic colleagues who
recently attended a press conference with him — including Senate Minority
Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) — to seek testing. Another lawmaker, Majority
Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre), said he decided not to return to the Senate
floor Tuesday for the voting session because he had been in contact with
Williams in the past 14 days, and believed it was prudent to self-quarantine. “I
just thought it was the proper thing to do, to be cautious,” said Corman,
adding that he is not exhibiting symptoms. In a statement, Williams said he is
following recommended health guidelines, and had informed Senate Democratic
leadership and those he had come into contact with “so they can take the
necessary steps to evaluate if they are running any risk.”
Bill giving Pa. school districts the option of granting
taxpayers more time to pay tax bills sent to governor
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com July 14, 2020 Updated 6:42 PM
Legislation that would provide the
opportunity for school districts to grant homeowners some relief this year in
paying their school property tax bills is on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk
for enactment. Senate Bill 1125 passed the
House unanimously on Tuesday after winning a unanimous vote in the Senate on
June 10. It authorizes school boards, by a majority vote and adoption of a
resolution, to extend the 2% discount period and waive the addition of a 10%
penalty for failing to make a payment of school real estate taxes within four
months of tax bills going out. The bill would give school districts the
power to help more taxpayers who are struggling financially in the wake of the
COVID-19 public health emergency, said Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster County,
who sponsored the bill. The bill has been approved by both the Senate and the
House of Representatives and is on its way to the governor’s desk to be signed
into law.
Radio Times: Can schools reopen?
Air Date: July 15, 2020 10:00 am
Guests: Anya Kamenetz, Becky Pringle, David
Rubin
Parents, teachers, even most kids want
schools to reopen this fall. They’ve seen the limitations of online learning
and are missing the socialization. There are also many challenges to parents,
particularly working parents, who have to monitor their children’s learning.
Still most people agree that schools can only open if it is done safely.
President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have threatened schools
with funding cuts if they don’t reopen schools fully in the fall and this has
made the discussion even more complicated as infection rates spike around the
country. This hour, we talk about reopening schools and what it will take. We
start off with NPR education correspondent ANYA KAMENETZ on the
politics of the reopening debate. Then BECKY PRINGLE, a former
middle school science teacher and vice president of the National Education
Association, and DAVID RUBIN, a pediatrician and director of Director of
CHOP’s PolicyLab, talk about the complexities of getting back to school safely.
York City school board members pan proposed Lincoln
Charter expansion
By Tina Locurto York
Dispatch July 14, 2020
Several York City school board members
openly criticized Lincoln Charter's proposed expansion a week ahead
of when the board is scheduled to vote on the issue. On Monday,
school board members blasted the charter's proposal to add middle
school grades, which is included in Lincoln Charter's five-year renewal
application. "Are we thinking common sense, are we thinking business
sense, are we thinking no sense?" said York City board member Arleta
Riviera. "How do you want your school district to flow? Do you want it to
flow commonly? Do you want it to flow businessly? Or do you want it to go down
the drain?" The district has been supportive of the charter school in the
recent past — offering a second chance when the charter school's officials
submitted untimely audits and renewing the charter several times. However,
this year, district officials were hit hard financially, with a 2020-21
budget that cut more than 44 positions — 32 of them teachers —
and eliminated or reduced funding for several programs. York City's district is
also facing a $2.5 million increase in statewide charter tuition next year,
which could be exacerbated by even more children attending Lincoln. Additionally,
York City School District foots the cost of Lincoln Charter's utilities
and maintenance, which Lincoln Charter pays back quarterly to York
City, said district spokesperson ShaiQuana Mitchell. York City School
District owns the Lincoln Charter building, located at 559 W. King
St., Mitchell said. "We foot their facility and their bills. They
pay us nothing," Riviera said. "Let alone they're taking away our
children from our school district, which is also taking away money out of our
school district. That's what we need to be thinking about."
Masterman alumni issue demands to improve racial equity
at selective school
Principal Jessica Brown responds and promises
action.
The notebook Neena Hagen July 14 — 7:44 pm,
2020
Following a series of impassioned protests on Sunday where
Black teachers, students and graduates called for an end to racism in
Philadelphia schools, Masterman alumni publicly released a long list of demands urging
its administration to eliminate “disadvantages and trauma” for Black students
who attend the top Philadelphia school. Masterman Alumni for Change (MAfC), an
organization that includes graduates from the 1990s to the class of 2020, is
asking for more transparency in the admissions process, stronger disciplinary
action against teachers who commit racist acts in the classroom, and a
restructuring of the curriculum to include literature by more authors of
color. All of these changes come with the intention of making Masterman more
accessible to and comfortable for Black students, whose representation at the
school has been precipitously declining since the 90s. While the District as a
whole has an enrollment that is 52% Black, at Masterman only 15% of students are Black. Alumni say
the enrollment of Black students was 55% in 1997.
Philly teachers endorse ‘hybrid’ school model, but could
reverse position
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent July 14, 2020
Philadelphia’s teachers union formally
endorsed a “hybrid” model for returning to school this fall, while saying that
it could change its mind if coronavirus case numbers rise in the city. A new
list of’ “reopening recommendations” by the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) calls for Pennsylvania’s largest
school district to use a staggered weeks approach — meaning that students would
attend school in-person on alternating weeks and then spend their off weeks
learning online. In a recent PFT survey of members, a majority said they
supported some sort of hybrid approach. And among the hybrid approaches, a
majority backed the staggered weeks model. PFT president Jerry Jordan said the
union’s recommendations are based on those survey results, and the
recommendations don’t include details for how the district could logistically
divide staff to ensure that all students are getting the attention they need
both in-person and online.
Philly teachers question ability to return to school in
the fall as districts begin releasing back-to-school plans
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Maddie Hanna, Updated: July 14, 2020- 8:49 PM
The city teachers’ union on Tuesday
questioned the Philadelphia School District’s ability to safely resume
in-person learning this fall, laying out conditions it says must be met before
in-person instruction can safely resume for the 2020-21 term. The Philadelphia
Federation of Teachers called for measures from robust contact tracing and
COVID-19 testing to stringent cleaning and sanitizing standards. “There are
lots and lots of concerns,” said Jerry Jordan, PFT president. “People are
absolutely frightened of the danger that this virus has — it’s unlike anything
that we’ve ever had to deal with. My members just keep asking, ‘How are we
going to make this happen?’ ” The union’s plan comes as district administrators
prepare to reveal their plans for the 125,000-student district on Wednesday and
as school systems around the region and across the country begin to articulate
what the 2020-21 school year will look like. There is wide divergence among
already-announced plans, from full face-to-face instruction, which the Ridley
School District is aiming for, to 100% virtual, announced this week by Los Angeles Unified School
District, the second-largest in the country. Even if
they plan to bring students back to class, most districts, including Ridley,
are offering a fully remote option for families with health concerns.
Pittsburgh Public Schools provides more details on its
preliminary reopening plans
Administrators caution it's 'a fluid
process': 'What happens today may look different in another week'
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUL 14,
2020 8:59 PM
Pittsburgh Public Schools students will not
return to the classroom full-time in the upcoming school year, if they go back
at all. Students will have a choice of blended-instruction — both in-person and
online — as well as an online-only option for the 2020-21 school year. District
administrators announced the schedule models Tuesday evening as they released their
preliminary health and safety plan for the reopening of city schools amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. The “All in to Reopen Our Schools” plan was built using
more than 400 recommendations from community stakeholders in key areas, such
as academic programming, school operations and family support. “What
happens today may look different in another week based on the guidelines we get
from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and our state government
and our health department,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said. “Understand
that plans may change … but understand that we’re focused and committed to
making sure we provide the best, equitable educational opportunities for our
students in a safe, healthy environment for faculty and staff, students and our
community.”
ECASD Planning Multiple Options for Back to School
Ellwood City Ledger POSTED BY: TRACEY FERGUSON JULY 14, 2020
Back to School this year could look quite
different for the Ellwood City Area School District. Due to Covid-19, going
back isn’t just as simple as going back. With state mandates and guidelines
changing weekly, if not daily, administrators and educators in the district are
working to develop multiple plans for multiple scenarios. The district’s pandemic
task force and its subcommittees have been meeting regularly to make sure that
students can return safely. “In late June, we were hoping for a full
reopening,” said ECASD’s Superintendent Joseph Mancini at a recent board of
directors meeting. Mancini said that hope changed as an order came down from
the state’s department of education requiring a face covering when at least 6
feet of “social distancing” isn’t possible. According to Mancini, keeping that
type of distance between students will be too difficult with a full house. The
district surveyed parents regarding their thoughts on back to school. Mancini
said a resounding majority opinion was that although parents want kids back in
school, they don’t want them wearing masks all day. That proposes a challenge
to the district regarding how to proceed. Because of this, the task force
developed a hybrid option that will allow the students to return to school in
groups. The hybrid option would also include online instruction completed at
home.
Greater Johnstown adopts safety plan for classes during
COVID-19
Johnstown Tribune Democrat By Joshua Byers jbyers@tribdem.com July 15,
2020
The Greater Johnstown School Board approved
the health and safety plan to reopen the district at the special meeting on
Tuesday. Prior to approval, the board was walked through the entire plan by
multiple administrators who helped design it. “This plan is specific to us as a
district,” Assistant Superintendent Frank Frontino said. “Is the plan perfect?
Absolutely not. But we are not living in a perfect world with an ongoing
pandemic, as these times that we are living in, currently, are completely
uncharted territories.” He added that the plan will constantly be updated
to fit the needs of students, staff and parents of Greater Johnstown.
The majority of the proposal focused on what operations would look like in the
green and yellow phases. Both are similar in the approach to handling education
during the pandemic, though the yellow phase includes more aggressive
cleaning efforts and a hybrid style of learning where students alternate
attendance in the brick-and-mortar establishments.
Ephrata Area School District plans for in-person
instruction
For EASD, it's not a matter of if but how
will students learn this fall. Dr. Brian Troop says many students will
physically return, but approx. 20 percent may not.
Author: Grace Griffaton (FOX43) Published: 3:49
PM EDT July 14, 2020 Updated: 5:01 PM EDT July 14, 2020
LANCASTER
COUNTY, Pa. — It's a national question, and the answer varies on the school
district: Will students physically return to school this fall? For
Ephrata Area School District, it's not a matter of if but how will
students learn this fall. Superintendent Brian Troop says not everyone will
have to walk through school doors. "Once we the school year up and
running, there may be situations that cause one child to be at home and
quarantine," explained Dr. Troop. "There may be a whole class that
needs to go home and quarantine. We can't stop learning in those situations."
Dr. Troop spoke with FOX43 about the district's current plan, which a group of
administrators, teachers, and others drafted, and the school board approved.
Under the plan, he says, the students who physically return to class and the
ones who opt to stay home will receive comparable education. "We have our
cyber program which mirrors any cyber, charter that's out there,"
explained Dr. Troop. "It's the same curriculum and same opportunities for
those parents that say, 'you know what? I know that the district's doing a
great job of trying to figure this out, but I just want another option just for
this year.'"
COVID-19 pandemic pushes rural broadband access to top of
Pa. legislative agenda
York Daily Record by J.D. Prose jprose@timesonline.com July 14,
2020
As school districts plan for the fall and
healthcare providers rethink services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for
reliable, broadband internet in rural Pennsylvania is more critical than ever. “This
is an issue that has risen to the top, and we need to make sure that we keep it
there,” said state Rep. Pam Snyder, a Democrat from Greene County in the
state’s far southwest corner. In the last few years, Snyder has partnered with
state Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York County, to become advocates for
unserved and underserved rural Pennsylvania communities that lack access to
high-speed broadband, estimated at more than 500,000 by Gov. Tom Wolf’s
administration. The two are co-founders of the General Assembly’s bicameral
Broadband Caucus, which champions access for rural and underserved areas. When
the pandemic hit, schools — from elementary to college level — were forced to
transition to online learning, and telemedicine, which involves patients
visiting with physicians via live video, became a normal part of everyday life.
Phillips-Hill, chairwoman of the Senate Communications and Technology
Committee, said the lack of access to broadband for small, rural districts
“really impedes what they can offer their students.”
Editorial: Safe buses are back-to-school basics
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Tuesday, July 14,
2020 6:01 p.m.
Going back to school doesn’t start with
sitting at a desk. It doesn’t start with putting things in a locker or even
walking through the door. For many, it starts with stepping onto a school bus.
According to the Safe Routes to School Partnership, 55% of American children
get to school on a bus. That means making transportation safe is a vital part
of making a transition back to in-person classroom instruction amid the
coronavirus pandemic, which many school districts are committed to attempting
for the 2020-21 school year. That looks like a challenge. A full-size school
bus can fit 48 adults at two per seat or 72 children at three per seat. That is
definitely not with social distancing. Three kids on a yardlong seat cannot be
6 feet apart. School districts will face the question of how to get their kids
to school and still maintain the safety standards being laid out. Would there
be one student to a seat, alternating every other seat on each side of the
aisle? How will that be enforced?
Band camp will go on, but will the halftime show?
MICHAEL A. FUOCO Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mfuoco@post-gazette.com JUL 15,
2020 6:15 AM
The video opens with text scrolling up toward
a vanishing point as a John Williams score plays in an easily recognizable
homage to a “Star Wars” movie.
“It is a period of global uncertainty.
Countries around the world are dealing with a pandemic that has made some lose
hope. “As the world begins to open back up, we are left with many questions of
what is to come. One thing is for certain ... Band Camp!”
The smile-inducing video is a clever reveal
that the Trinity High School Marching Band will be performing “Star Wars” tunes
this year, with the music and choreography to be rehearsed during a two-week
camp beginning Monday. But the video also provides a wry counterpoint to the
seriousness and unpredictability of COVID-19. Despite the spread of the new
coronavirus, high school marching band camps are scheduled this summer, albeit
with health and safety protocols that have become all too familiar during the
pandemic — social distancing, wearing masks when feasible, hand washing
and disinfecting instruments and equipment. Chris Snyder, president of the
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association, said he hadn’t heard of
band camps being canceled by any of 20 high schools in Allegheny, Washington,
Westmoreland, Beaver, Butler and Armstrong counties. But what they will do in
the fall is much less clear.
Betsy DeVos Has a Plan. It Just Has Nothing to Do With
Health and Safety in Schools.
Public education is the Overlook Hotel, and
DeVos always has been the caretaker.
Esquire BY CHARLES P. PIERCE JUL 13,
2020
On Sunday, on CNN, Betsy DeVos, the Secretary
of Education and the most egregious Cabinet member not named Bill Barr, or Ben
Carson, or...the hell with it, showed up to shill for the administration*'s
idiotic offensive to open the nation's schools. For the benefit of readers who
may have joined us late, the only thing DeVos knows about education is how to
turn a buck on it. Public education never has had an alleged caretaker that's
more committed to its ultimate destruction. Anyway, she was pressed by CNN
anchor Dana Bash on what plan her department has done to
help schools open in the face of the pandemic. DeVos, as is her wont, threw out
a vast cloud of squid ink and then pretty much told every parent, grandparent,
teacher, principal, and local school board to open their doors and fend for
themselves. Here's one exchange that must have had Bash wondering seriously
about her career choices.
The COVID-19 Effect: State Sales Tax Receipts Shrank $6
billion in May
Tax Policy Center Urban Institute and
Brookings Institution by Lucy Dadayan July 14, 2020
May state sales tax receipts shrank by nearly
$6 billion, or 21 percent, compared to May 2019, according to data compiled
by the Tax Policy Center. State stay-at-home orders, decisions to close
businesses, states’ sales tax filing and payment deadline extensions, and
COVID-19 cases all contributed to the freefall of sales tax revenues. State
sales tax revenue data for May are available from 42 states (five states have
no broad-based sales tax). Revenues declined in every sales tax state that has
reported May data, but because the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, business
mix, and reliance on sales taxes are so different from state-to-state, there
was wide variation in the size of the drop (Figure 1). For example,
year-over-year revenues fell only slightly in Utah and Idaho but plummeted by
more than one-third in Connecticut, New York, and (surprisingly) North Dakota.
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/covid-19-effect-state-sales-tax-receipts-shrank-6-billion-may
Aging Teachers Ask Themselves, Do I Quit Or Risk My Life?
As school districts consider reopening, aging
or immunocompromised teachers must balance financial, health and insurance
concerns.
HuffPost By Rebecca Klein07/14/2020 12:25 pm ET
David Galloway became a teacher 13 years ago,
after three decades working in other fields. He calls teaching a calling,
but now he’s considering cutting his time in the classroom short. Galloway, who is 64, has type II diabetes and
is married to a breast cancer survivor, teaches sixth grade science in Jackson
County, Florida. Last week, the state’s education commissioner said that all
schools would soon have to open five days a week, despite the state’s record-setting number
of COVID-19 cases. Galloway
misses his students, but returning to the classroom suddenly feels like a
gamble. “They never went over this stuff in teacher college,” said
Galloway. He is one of a number of aging or immunocompromised teachers around
the country who might quit their jobs or retire early if they’re asked to
return full-time to the classroom this fall. Nearly 20% of private and public
school teachers are over the age of 65, an age group that is especially
vulnerable to COVID-19, according to the American Enterprise
Institute. Some teachers near or in this age range
have to consider how long they can make their money last if they quit; whether
it’s worth it to leave a job over health concerns; and the reality that
quitting could jeopardize their access to health insurance.
Testing Resistance & Reform News: July 8 - 14, 2020
Submitted by fairtest on July 14, 2020 -
12:59pm
Two steps forward, one step back. At
the same time assessment reform activists are pressing to have standardized
exams waived for the upcoming school year -- if classes even resume this fall
-- the test-and-punish crowd is pushing to restore previous requirements
. . . and then some! Because testing is primarily a political
policy, not an educational one, effective organizing by parents, educators and
will be needed to block the reimposition of punitive assessments and
extend testing suspensions at least through June 2021.
First COVID-19 vaccine tested in US poised for final
testing
WHYY By Associated Press Lauran Neergaard July 14, 2020
The first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S.
revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped,
researchers reported Tuesday — as the shots are poised to begin key final
testing. “No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci,
the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, told The Associated Press.
The experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci’s colleagues at the National
Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will start its most important step
around July 27: A 30,000-person study to prove if the shots really are strong
enough to protect against the coronavirus. But Tuesday, researchers reported
anxiously awaited findings from the first 45 volunteers who
rolled up their sleeves back in March. Sure enough, the vaccine provided a
hoped-for immune boost.
“For best viewing, Guinan recommended binoculars. Look to the
northwestern horizon 60 to 75 minutes after sunset just to the right of where
the sun sets. The comet will be below the bottom of the Big Dipper
constellation, about 20 degrees off the horizon. “I always enjoy binoculars
because you can see the tail,” Guinan said. “The best thing with this, it has
to be clear with dark skies looking on the northwest horizon. It will get
higher and higher in the sky as the days go on but it is getting further from
the sun so it is getting a little fainter.”
Look skyward for rare visitor this summer
Delco Times by Pete Bannan Pbannan@21st-Centurymedia.com July 15,
2020
NEWTOWN — The next few days will provide
a chance for Delaware Valley residents to spot a rare visitor to our region,
Comet NEOWISE, which is now visible as it passes through the inner solar system
on a 6,800-year round trip journey across the galaxy. “It’s not one of the
great comets, like Hale-Bopp. It isn’t going to blow your socks off, but
it’s good," said Edward F. Guinan, professor of astronomy and astrophysics
at Villanova University “It has been viewable as a morning object (in the
sky) but it is switching over, and from now on, you can see it in the evening.”
Hale-Bopp was visible in the
late '90s across the globe including in light-polluted cities It was one
of most-viewed comets of all time and was well photographed with a number of
websites created to follow its progress.
Cybers charters are paid at the same tuition rates as brick
& mortar charter schools, even though they have none of the expenses
associated with operating school buildings. It has been estimated that cyber
charters are paid approximately twice what it costs them to provide an online
education. Those excess funds are then not available to serve all of the
students who remain in the sending school districts.
Interested in becoming an Advocacy Ambassador? PSBA is seeking
ambassadors to fill anticipated vacancies for Sections 1, 2 and 6.
PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program brings legislators to
you
POSTED ON JULY 1, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
PSBA’s Advocacy Ambassador program is a
key resource helping public school leaders connect with their state legislators
on important education issues. Our six ambassadors build strong
relationships with the school leaders and legislators in their areas to support
advocacy efforts at the local level. They also encourage legislators to visit
school districts and create opportunities for you to have positive
conversations and tell your stories about your schools and students. PSBA
thanks those school districts that have worked with their advocacy ambassador
and invites those who have not to reach out to their ambassador to talk about
the ways they can support your advocacy efforts. Interested in becoming an
Advocacy Ambassador? PSBA is seeking ambassadors to fill anticipated vacancies
for Sections 1, 2 and 6. For more information contact jamie.zuvich@psba.org.
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 275 PA school boards have adopted charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 275 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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