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
Coronavirus Vouchers: Back on Track Education Scholarship
Accounts
Taxpayers in House Majority
Policy Chairman Martin Causer’s school districts paid over $5 million in
2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA
taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Austin Area SD
|
$5,084.53
|
|
Bradford Area SD
|
$805,208.23
|
|
Cameron County SD
|
$424,702.74
|
|
Coudersport Area SD
|
$267,139.15
|
|
Galeton Area SD
|
$256,352.00
|
|
Kane Area SD
|
$216,950.20
|
|
Keystone Central SD
|
$1,875,265.10
|
|
Northern Potter SD
|
$91,239.48
|
|
Oswayo Valley SD
|
$309,777.07
|
|
Otto-Eldred SD
|
$195,121.08
|
|
Port Allegany SD
|
$253,454.36
|
|
Smethport Area SD
|
$321,604.43
|
|
|
$5,021,898.37
|
Data Source: PDE via PSBA
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?
Former Pennsylvania Governors Schweiker, Ridge and
Rendell Voice Support for Wolf Administration Response to COVID-19
PRESS RELEASE, PUBLIC HEALTH July 17, 2020
Three former Pennsylvania governors today
voiced their support for how Governor Tom Wolf and his administration have
responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, including endorsing statewide mitigation
efforts and mask-wearing. “As a former Governor of Pennsylvania, I know all too
well the importance of swift action to keep Pennsylvanians safe during a
crisis,” former Gov. Mark Schweiker said. “Governor Wolf has worked throughout
this pandemic to both safeguard our citizens and keep our economy moving during
this hard time. Yesterday’s executive order is meant to help us all avoid the
public health issues which we faced this past spring. These summer measures, as
I see it, are part of a strategy to help us avoid a second public health and
economic crisis later in the year. Wearing your mask amounts to saying let’s
beat the virus now, not later when it might be too late.” “All Pennsylvanians
should heed the Wolf Administration’s directives to wear a mask when out of the
home,” former Gov. Tom Ridge said. “Like all Pennsylvanians, Gov. Wolf and
Secretary Levine are hoping to avoid the COVID-19 spikes impacting other states
so that we can get our economy back up and running as soon as possible. Wearing
a mask is a simple, selfless act all of us should support….”
The governor’s most recent order on
mitigation efforts can be found here.
The secretary’s order on mask-wearing can be
found here.
FAQs on mask-wearing can be found here.
‘Every teacher I know is flipping out:' As pandemic
back-to-school plans form, educators are wary
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Maddie Hanna, Posted: July 18, 2020-
2:18 PM
Sharahn Santana dreams of a September return
to her classroom at Parkway Northwest High School. But after absorbing the
Philadelphia School District’s newly released reopening plan —
which would bring students back for in-person instruction two days a week — the
English teacher is terrified at the thought of classrooms without adequate room
for social distancing, windows that don’t open fully, a single mask provided to
last the year. “Under safe conditions, if we get the virus under control, I’d
go back with confidence,” Santana said. “But this is crazy. I don’t want the
measure of my dedication and commitment to be how willing I am to risk my and
my students’ lives.” School leaders are crafting ways to reopen their buildings
after a nearly six-month hiatus and amid a pandemic with no end in sight. But
around the region and across the country, educators are pushing back, voicing
fears about their leaders’ ability to keep them safe if any in-person
instruction happens, and in some cases, making contingency plans that include
taking leaves of absence or even retiring. In one national poll, one in
five teachers said they might not return to work this fall. The Pennsylvania
State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, on
Thursday called for Gov. Tom Wolf
to direct public schools to prepare for fully online
instruction.
Coronavirus Vouchers:Senator Judy Ward and Representative
Clint Owlett introduce bill to help students get back on track
NorthCentralPA.COM BY NCPA Staff July 17,
2020
Harrisburg, Pa. – Working to ensure all
Pennsylvania children will have access to the educational resources they need
to succeed, Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair/Fulton/Cumberland/Franklin/Huntingdon) and
Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter) introduced legislation that would
create new scholarship accounts for students whose education was disrupted by
the coronavirus pandemic. Senate Bill 1230 and House Bill 2696 each propose to
create Back on Track Education Scholarship Accounts (ESA) to empower parents by
providing funding to offset educational costs. The funding would go to parents
with school-age children in grades K-12. The scholarships are needed now more
than ever as parents are becoming increasingly worried school shutdowns due to
the coronavirus pandemic will have long-term effects on their children's
education. “With the coronavirus, there is more need than ever for flexible
education options since schools closed and families are bearing increased
expenses from at-home learning,” Ward said. “These ESAs will help students,
regardless of the type of school they attend, make up for lost schooling and
give parents some vital financial help to get their children the educational
resources they need.” Like health savings accounts or EBT cards for food
stamps, funds in Back on Track ESAs could only be used for approved
education-related purchases. Parents would receive $1,000 per child in the
scholarship account, which would come from a portion of the state’s federal
CARES Act funds. School-age children who currently qualify for Pennsylvania’s
free or reduced-cost lunch program would have priority in applying for the
ESAs. After the initial application period, any school-age child would be
eligible on a first-come, first-served basis. If the law is enacted, Back on
Track ESA accounts would be administered by the Pennsylvania Treasury, much
like the existing 529 program.
Letter to the Editor: Anti-public school choice advocates
fear change
Delco Times Letter by Dr. Maurice
"Reese" Flurie III, York County Jul 17, 2020
Dr. Flurie is President and CEO of Commonwealth
Charter Academy
Why are public cyber charter schools so
vilified and used as a scapegoat for the failures of traditional public
schools? The answer: money and control. After spending 35 years in public
education, I’ve seen how public school choice, if implemented correctly,
combines the best elements of traditional public education with the flexibility
and accountability inherent in a public cyber charter school education. Unfortunately,
many of my colleagues in traditional public schools refuse to change and listen
to the needs of students and families as well as the taxpayers who fund the system.
Sure, you’ll read opinion editorials and letters to the editor that chide
public cyber charter schools for their alleged lack of academic performance;
however, what the authors of those columns fail to mention is that the vast
majority of students who enroll in a public cyber charter school oftentimes
are, on average, three to four years academically deficient. Who is to blame
for that deficiency? Shouldn’t it be focused on the school that allowed this to
happen rather than the school that is viewed as a lifeline for the student and
his or her family? For example, a sixth-grade student who enrolls in a public
cyber charter school may be only performing at a second- or third-grade level.
Rather than exercise their right of public school choice, should the family be
forced to keep their child enrolled in the school that has failed them?
“By developing our own cyber option for students, we are hoping
to give our current students and teachers more choices even after the covid-19
crisis is over. “We also want to bring back those students who go to the cyber
charter schools because we, along with so many other public schools, have lost
millions of dollars over the years to cyber charters.”
Plum School District hires digital learning director
Trib Live by MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Saturday,
July 18, 2020 4:59 p.m.
Plum School District officials have hired a
virtual learning director to help lead their online learning efforts during the
covid-19 pandemic. Preston Hartman, an assistant principal at Seton LaSalle
High School, was unanimously appointed to the position Thursday night. Superintendent
Brendan Hyland said Hartman was selected out of 22 candidates to help develop
and implement Plum’s Digital Learning Academy as well as work with online instructors
to ensure quality of instruction and adherence to policies and procedures. “We
want the kids in Plum to stay connected to our schools because we think we have
a lot to offer,” Hyland said. “Having someone like Mr. Hartman, who is
extremely capable, joining the district is an essential first step. He has a
big task ahead of him, but he is ready to take it on. ”The district is making a
commitment to the vision that virtual education is a form of learning that is
here to stay,” Hyland said. “We want to embrace that challenge of building an
excellent cyber program from the ground up. We are confident we can do it, and
do it well if we fully commit to doing so.
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 Updated Jul
14, 2020; Posted Jul 14, 2020
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.
Delco school districts deal with fluid reopening plans
Delco Times Pete Bannan Pbannan@21st-Centurymedia.com July 20,
2020
ASTON — Reopening plans for area schools are
coming into focus this week despite changing guidance from state officials On
Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed new orders in response to the recent rise in
COVID-19 cases, limiting indoor events and gatherings of more than 25 persons.
One group that was affected was the Penn-Delco School Board, which had planned
to meet that evening at the Northerly Middle School for its first in-person
meeting in months. “We know the situation with COVID-19 is changing, my gosh,
by the hour sometimes,” said Superintendent Dr. George Steinhoff as he
presented school board members with their "Pathways to Reopening 20/21" held
on the Zoom virtual meeting platform. “How do we get our kids back to school?
How do we get back to the place prior to March 13? If we can’t get back to that
place, what is the best option we can create for our kids so they have an experience
that was better than most of the experience between March and June?” Steinhhoff
said just a week ago most districts felt they were in a very good place to be
able to reopen their doors and get back to school on a day-to-day basis and
meet all their students’ needs, but the situation had changed as school
administrators dug deeper in really examining what it all meant, getting
students back in and having students and staff attend school in a healthy and
safe manner. He said just a week ago they expected to open the schools for
every student, five days a week; that is now uncertain.
As schools’ reopening plans balance safety with
education, officials left feeling they’re picking ‘the best bad option’
Trib Live by MEGAN GUZA AND MEGAN
TOMASIC | Saturday, July 18, 2020 12:01 p.m.
Some school officials say their districts are
in a no-win situation as they draw up reopening plans meant to balance health
and education amid a pandemic that closed schools in the spring and upends any
hope of normalcy in the fall. Those plans, required by state health and
education officials before any district can resume in-person classes, will be
imperfect, most agree, and it will be impossible to come up with a solution
that pleases every student, teacher and parent. “We have a whole lot of bad
options, and we’re just trying to pick the best bad option,” said Joe
Scheuerman, president of the Hempfield Area teachers union. Recommendations
released Thursday by state officials touch on everything from recess and
lunchtime to hallways and buses. The basic tenets of most of the
recommendations, though, come down to masks and social distancing. Keeping
students away from each other is easier said than done. “It’s just tough to put
into practice the guidelines,” Scheuerman said. “That’s a tough call.” Schools
were largely left on their own to create health and safety plans because of the
“diversity of Pennsylvania’s school communities and the different circumstances
related to covid-19,” said Nicole Reigelman, spokeswoman for the state
Department of Education.
Lehigh Valley school districts grapple with shifting state
guidelines, divided communities as they plan for reopening
By MICHELLE MERLIN and KAYLA DWYER THE MORNING
CALL | JUL 17, 2020 AT 1:52 PM
Easton Area School District Superintendent
David Piperato started a Thursday meeting about the district’s reopening plan
by acknowledging that families, staff and experts are divided on the best way
to move forward. “There is no one correct answer to the question, How do we
restart schools in the fall?” Piperato said. “While some parents expressed
concern about their children having to wear masks, other parents have expressed
concerns about students around their children not wearing masks.” Similar
sentiments ― confusion, frustration, dissatisfaction ― have been echoing around
the Lehigh Valley as school officials begin to unveil their reopening plans for
the fall, with proposals due to the state before students return to school. It’s
no easy task as they grapple with constantly changing state guidelines, health
recommendations and coronavirus caseloads. They readily acknowledge that all
their carefully laid plans could change in a moment. And on Thursday afternoon,
the state threw them another curveball with a new set of guidelines that recommend 6 feet of
separation between desks and classrooms in gyms and auditoriums, among other
things. “We’re still approximately 50 days
away from the first day of school, and everyone, including me, wants a plan of
action today,” said Northampton Area School District Superintendent Joseph
Kovalchik. “These options might be out the window in another week.”
The Pandemic's Toll on School Leaders Is Palpable. Here’s
What's Needed for a Successful School Year.
EdSurge By Marc Brackett, Mark Cannizzaro and Scott Levy Jul 16, 2020
In early May, when what seemed like the worst
of the pandemic was behind us, the Yale
Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI),
in collaboration with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators
(CSA) in New York City, conducted a survey to understand how urban school
leaders were feeling during the COVID-19 crisis. Over 1,000 principals,
assistant principals and district-level supervisors from New York—then the
epicenter of the outbreak in the United States—participated. Leaders were asked
to share the three emotions they had experienced the most during the prior two
weeks. An overwhelming 95 percent of the feelings they named could be
classified as “negative.” The most commonly mentioned emotion was anxiety,
which stood out glaringly above all others—overwhelmed, sad, stressed,
frustrated, uncertain and worried. (These findings mirror
the results from a survey of
more than 5,000 teachers we conducted with CASEL in the spring). The toll of
the coronavirus on our nation’s school leaders is palpable.
Frustration, stress and anxiety each impact
leaders’ motivation, engagement and physical and mental health—and in some
cases can lead to burnout. And although at first they may seem interchangeable,
they are in fact distinct feelings, each with their own source and solution.
Child care dilemma: Philly parents scrambling to plan for
three days a week of virtual school
WHYY By Miles
Bryan July 17, 2020
When Melissa Roselli, 43, found out on
Wednesday that the Philadelphia School District’s reopening plan has most
children attending in-person classes only two
days a week, she felt her stomach sink. Her
daughter 7-year-old Francesca will be starting second grade at McCall
Elementary this year. “I need to go to work,” said Roselli, a primary care
doctor who lives in Center City. “In the middle of a pandemic, people need
their doctors to be present.” Roselli can work remotely, but usually only two
days a week, leaving one day of child care uncovered.The family can afford a
babysitter, but finding someone consistently available one day a week is a
challenge. Roselli’s husband, also a physician, spent much of this spring
treating COVID-19 patients and living away from the family — something he would
repeat if cases spike in the city again. And Roselli’s child care provider told
her it may not be open in the fall. The lack of options, Rosselli said, has her
considering what was previously unthinkable: closing her private practice. “In
one way, this is what we signed up for as physicians,” Roselli said. “But we
never really thought about it in a pandemic setting, having to choose between
job and children, kind of always assuming they would be in school.”
Scranton School District to seek approval for major tax
increase
Times Tribune By KATHLEEN BOLUS STAFF WRITER Jul 17,
2020 Updated Jul 19, 2020
Property owners in Scranton could see taxes
increase if the state approves a request by the Scranton School District to
impose a higher tax rate in 2021, a proposal the district says is a side effect
of the pandemic. “Unexpected expenses, supply chain challenges and
pandemic-related needs will continue to come into focus,” a news release
Thursday from the district states. “Current delays in tax collection deadlines
in light of COVID-19 have also presented a challenge in assessing actual 2020
revenue collection to date.” A proposed 16% tax increase is included in the
district’s $168.7 million proposed preliminary budget, but it is not definite,
even if the state grants the exceptions. The final millage rate will be set
when the final budget is approved by the school board in December. A mill is a
$1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value. In January 2019, the state
placed the district in financial recovery. That August, the school board
approved the district’s 214-page five-year recovery plan that called to raise
real estate taxes to the Act 1 Index — the maximum rate the state allows — or
around 3.4% each year of the plan. The plan also calls to explore seeking
exceptions to raise taxes past the index and states the district must balance
its budget “without one-time revenue sources or unfunded debt borrowings.” The
$166 million 2020 budget, passed in December, raised taxes by 3.4%.
Philly high school students get to be part of a famous
art movement
Inquirer by Brandon T. Harden, Posted: July
17, 2020
Wendy Wang, a recent graduate of Central High
School, thumbed through the pages of Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible
Man and stopped at page 575, just a few pages from the end. “The fact
is that you carry part of your sickness with you, at least I do as an invisible
man,” she read out loud to about a dozen high school students on a Zoom call
last week during an innovative art workshop. “You go along for years knowing
something is wrong, then suddenly you discover that you’re transparent as air.”
In modern art terms, Wang and the others were “jamming” — a technique
associated with New York’s influential Studio K.O.S. collective — in which one
artist reads a groundbreaking text and others respond by literally tearing it
apart to make art. The Zoom call was a part of a weeklong virtual art workshop
for high school students organized by Old City’s Wexler Gallery and led by original members of
K.O.S. (Kids of Survival), founded in the Bronx in 1982 by Tim Rollins. Artworks
from the collective are now displayed in more than 120 museums and public
collections, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, London’s Tate Modern,
and the Art Institute of Chicago. To make them, Rollins or another member of
the group would read selections like W.E.B. Du Bois’ Darkwater and
Franz Kafka’s Amerika while others cut or ripped the pages of
the text, or drew or painted on them.
Every recommendation in Pa.’s return-to-school guidance
From the Pennsylvania Department of Education
GoErie Posted at 6:16 AM
Staggered class times, reduced classroom
occupancy, the elimination of buffet-style cafeteria meals and desks turned in
the same direction are among the suggestions. Pennsylvania on Thursday released a set of best
practices for schools planning to bring
students back to the classroom for the first time since March. Staggered class
times, reduced classroom occupancy, the elimination of buffet-style cafeteria
meals and desks turned in the same direction are among the suggestions offered
to schools to help minimize the risk of viral spread.
Here is the full guidance issued by the
state:
PDE update on minimal instructional time requirements
POSTED ON JULY 17, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
On Monday, July 6, PA Department of Education
(PDE) released information that addresses the minimum instructional time
requirements and other issues that must be
considered when making decisions related to the provision of instruction during
a global pandemic. That correspondence provides a pathway for remote
instruction and other schedule modifications to satisfy the legally required
minimum of 180 days of instruction and 900 hours of instruction at the
elementary level and 990 hours of instruction at the secondary level. Local
education agencies should submit temporary instructional time provisions to PDE
using the Emergency Instructional
Time Template. This template addresses each of the
elements required in the law and will foster an efficient review and approval
process. Submit completed templates as a stand-alone document or as an addendum
to a Health and Safety Plan, and any questions, to: RA-EDContinuityofED@pa.gov.
Congress considers legislation that would support local
news organizations
Beaver County Times By Dean Ridings, CEO of
America’s Newspapers July 19, 2020
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act,
introduced on July 16, is a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ann
Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from Arizona, and Dan Newhouse, a Republican from
Washington state. In brief, the legislation provides for tax credits for
subscribing to a local newspaper, payroll credit for paying journalists who
provide local news, and credit for advertising in local newspapers and local
media.
In the past five months, Congress has
responded to the coronavirus public health crisis with several emergency relief
measures, including the stimulus checks sent to individuals and households,
payroll protections to small businesses, expanded unemployment payments, fee
waivers for borrowing against 401(k) plans and more. Now, Congress will get the
opportunity to pass a relief measure that protects your access to trustworthy
local news, helps grow local businesses through ads placed in local news media
— and rewards you for subscribing to a newspaper like this one. The Local
Journalism Sustainability Act, introduced on July 16, is a bipartisan bill
co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from Arizona, and Dan
Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state. In brief, the legislation
provides for tax credits for subscribing to a local newspaper, payroll credit
for paying journalists who provide local news, and credit for advertising in
local newspapers and local media.
Trump sours on online learning that his administration
evangelized
"Why do students have to go to a school
building in the first place?" Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in
2018.
Politico By MICHAEL STRATFORD 07/17/2020
07:45 PM EDT
President Donald Trump’s newfound disdain for
online education is a sharp departure from what his administration and
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have long championed in terms of policy on
virtual learning. As he presses schools and colleges to physically reopen their
doors this fall, Trump has dismissed online learning as an acceptable strategy
that local education leaders can employ as they face surging coronavirus cases
in many parts of the country. “Now that we have witnessed it on a large scale
basis, and firsthand, Virtual Learning has proven to be TERRIBLE compared to In
School, or On Campus, Learning,” Trump said in a tweet last week. “Not even
close! Schools must be open in the Fall.” In events and media appearances over
the past several weeks, the White House and administration officials have
repeatedly insisted that the nation’s schools and colleges must physically
reopen classes — and that online instruction, fully or partially, isn’t an
appropriate alternative. They’ve threatened to use federal funding as a lever
to prod schools into physically reopening.
Former director of L.A. charter schools admits to
embezzling $3.1 million in funds
L.A. Times By STEPHANIE LAI JULY 17, 2020 5:13 PM
The former executive director of a Los
Angeles charter school operator on Friday agreed to plead guilty to embezzling
$3.1 million in school funds that she spent on her personal use, including
Disney cruises and theme park admissions, according to the U.S. Department of
Justice. Janis Bucknor, 52, who formerly ran the for-profit Community
Preparatory Academy, pleaded guilty to criminal theft and tax fraud in an
agreement with federal prosecutors filed in U.S. District Court, authorities
said. CPA’s charter schools in Carson and South Los Angeles closed in 2019
after the Los Angeles Unified School District decided not to renew the
company’s charter. Bucknor, a resident of Baldwin Hills, faces a maximum
sentence of 15 years in federal prison when she formally enters her plea in
court, authorities said. A hearing has not yet been scheduled in the case. Bucknor
admitted using stolen funds to pay for personal travel, restaurants, Amazon and
Etsy purchases and private school tuition for her children, the U.S. attorney’s
office for the Central District of California said in a statement. More than
$220,000 was spent on Disney-related expenses, including cruise line vacations
and theme park admissions. The total $3.1 million in stolen funds made up
nearly a third of all federal and state funding that went to CPA from early
2014 to November 2019, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
“How to see the comet: To catch NEOWISE yourself, look up at the
northwest skies about an hour and a half after sunset. Experts suggest going to
the darkest area you can for best viewing. Find the Big Dipper and follow its
ladle as it arcs in the direction of the horizon. NEOWISE will appear under the
Big Dipper about 10 degrees above the horizon and be about as bright as that
constellation’s stars. If you hold out your arm, 10 degrees is roughly the part
of the sky covered by your fist. Over the next few days, NEOWISE will move
higher in the sky and be easier to spot, reaching its apex on July 23, when it
makes its closest approach to Earth.”
Comet NEOWISE: How to See It in Night Skies
Enjoy it while you can. The frozen ball of
ice won’t return to the inner solar system for 6,800 years.
New York Times By Adam Mann July 15,
2020
Eager sky watchers are turning to the heavens
as Comet NEOWISE, one of the brightest comets in a generation, starts climbing
ever higher among the evening stars. A
majority of comets fly through the solar system invisible to humans, usually
too small and dim to be seen with the naked eye. The last frozen ice ball that
gave us a big show was Hale-Bopp, a comet that was visible for nearly 18 months
around its closest approach to Earth in 1997. Officially designated C/2020 F3,
Comet NEOWISE was discovered on March 27 and had until this week been visible
only to committed comet viewers willing to wake up in the early pre-dawn hours.
But on Monday, NEOWISE tipped into the post-sunset sky and has even been
spotted by people living near city centers with all the light pollution. “It’s
the first time in 23 years that this is possible,” said Federica Spoto, an
astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “You can
watch it from your backyard and you don’t need a telescope.”
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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