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
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Auditor General DePasquale: Lincoln Learning Solutions’
$81.8 Million Reserve Points to Further Need for Charter School Law Reforms
Taxpayers in Senate Majority
Caucus Chair Bob Mensch’s school districts paid over $17.4 million in 2018-2019
cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600
million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Boyertown Area SD
|
$2,293,939.62
|
|
Brandywine Heights Area SD
|
$215,769.99
|
|
Easton Area SD
|
$2,509,432.41
|
|
North Penn SD
|
$2,585,547.92
|
|
Oley Valley SD
|
$581,370.91
|
|
Palisades SD
|
$589,618.50
|
|
Perkiomen Valley SD
|
$650,097.60
|
|
Pottsgrove SD
|
$1,402,025.00
|
|
Pottstown SD
|
$2,546,173.84
|
|
Quakertown Community SD
|
$1,947,611.00
|
|
Souderton Area SD
|
$864,060.43
|
|
Upper Perkiomen SD
|
$1,222,891.10
|
|
|
$17,408,538.32
|
Data Source: PDE via PSBA
Why are cyber charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar
tuition?
Why are PA taxpayers paying twice what it costs to provide a
cyber education?
Tweet from Pa School Boards Asn @PSBA July
22, 2020
School District #282 East Stroudsburg Area @ESASDRyanMoran adopted PSBA's
Charter Funding Reform Resolution.
Learn more here: http://ow.ly/NriX50AFdam
Tweet from Pa School Boards Asn @PSBA July
22, 2020
School district #281 to
adopt PSBA's Charter Funding Reform Resolution:
Tweet from Pa School Boards Asn @PSBA July
22, 2020
School district #280 @PASDMustangs signed PSBA's Charter Funding Reform Resolution!
Lincoln Learning audit reveals need for charter school
reform, state says
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene
DePasquale on Wednesday called on the state’s General Assembly to overhaul a
22-year-old charter school law after revealing that Lincoln Learning Solutions,
a Beaver County-based charter school management company, held nearly $82
million financial reserves as of June 30, 2018, and gave sizable raises to key
executives in recent years.
Ellwood City Ledger By Chrissy
Suttles @ChrissySuttles Posted
at 4:01 PM July 22, 2020
A state audit found that Lincoln Learning
Solutions held nearly $82 million financial reserves as of June 2018 and gave
sizable raises to key executives in recent years. A local education services
company is the focus of a statewide push to reform Pennsylvania’s charter school
law — considered by some to be one of the nation’s worst. Pennsylvania Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale on Wednesday called on the state’s General Assembly
to overhaul the 22-year-old law after revealing that Lincoln Learning
Solutions, a Rochester-based charter school management company, held nearly $82
million in financial reserves as of June 30, 2018, and gave sizable raises to
key executives in recent years. Lincoln Learning Solutions manages Midland’s
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School, both of which DePasquale said appear to be “almost entirely funded by
public sources.”The registered nonprofit receives millions of school tax
dollars every year for students, but its financial status can’t be reviewed by
the state because of its legal status. Lincoln Park also received a federal
Paycheck Protection Program loan, funding that was not available to public
school districts, alongside dozens of other Pennsylvania charter schools. In
2019, DePasquale requested financial statements from Lincoln Learning to
determine how it spent taxpayer money in years prior. Under current charter
school law, neither the Department of the Auditor General nor the state
Department of Education can perform a full review of the company’s books. The
nonprofit’s tax forms showed it had received a “substantial amount of revenue”
from PA Cyber in 2017, he said.
Auditor General calls for change to state's charter
school law after review of PA Cyber, Lincoln Park
NICK TROMBOLA Pittsburgh Post-Gazette JUL 22,
2020 5:50 PM
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene
DePasquale called upon the state General Assembly on Wednesday to reform
Pennsylvania’s charter school law after his review of Lincoln Learning
Solutions’ recent tax filings. A statement from Mr. DePasquale’s office said
that his findings revealed LLS’s nearly $82 million fund balance in the
2017-2018 fiscal year, along with a myriad of other concerns of how the charter
management company spent its money. LLS manages Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Beaver
County. The schools receive millions of tax dollars each year. Based on state
Department of Education data from 2018, the two schools have a combined enrollment
of 11,000 students. LLS, which is registered as a nonprofit organization, is
almost entirely funded by public sources, according to Mr. DePasquale, but
Pennsylvania’s charter school law prevents both the state’s auditor general and
Department of Education from performing full reviews of charter management
companies’ books, meaning that the money they receive cannot be fully tracked. “At
a time when school districts are facing enormous revenue shortfalls, taxpayers
deserve to know exactly where their money is going,” Mr. DePasquale said. “The
General Assembly should revisit Pennsylvania’s charter school law — which I
believe is the worst in the nation — to make sure our limited education funding
is not being diverted to benefit private companies.”
Nonprofit management company spent $622,549
in 4 years to lobby legislators in PA, other states
PA Auditor General Press Release July 22 2020
HARRISBURG (July
22, 2020) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today again called on the
General Assembly to reform Pennsylvania’s charter school law after revealing
that Lincoln Learning Solutions Inc., a charter school management company, was
holding a nearly $82 million financial reserve as of June 30, 2018. The Beaver
County-based firm, which is registered as a nonprofit, appears to be almost
entirely funded by public sources but its books cannot be reviewed by the
state. “At a time when school districts are facing enormous revenue shortfalls,
taxpayers deserve to know exactly where their money is going,” DePasquale said.
“The General Assembly should revisit Pennsylvania’s charter school law – which
I believe is the worst in the nation – to make sure our limited education
funding is not being diverted to benefit private companies.” Lincoln Learning
Solutions Inc. (LLS) manages Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber CS)
and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School (Lincoln Park PACS), which
receive millions of school tax dollars every year for their roughly 11,000
enrolled students. Lincoln Park PACS also received a federal Paycheck
Protection Program loan, funding that was not made available to public school
districts. Because of how closely associated LLS is with the charter
schools, as well as the convoluted nature of LLS’ businesses and related entities,
determining exactly how much money LLS receives from the schools it manages is
nearly impossible.
“So if the first sin was failing to control the pandemic, the
second was letting the virus run wild in a country ill suited to handle the
cascading consequences. The people left to figure it out are superintendents,
school board members, teachers and parents, for whom that simple word “reopen”
actually entails a dizzying array of interlocking problems. The people who will
pay the eventual price are America’s children, for years to come.”
Reopening Schools Is Way Harder Than It Should Be
So is leaving them closed. Now what do we do?
New York Times By Sarah Darville July
23, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
Ms. Darville is a managing editor at
Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news outlet focused on education, with which this
article is being copublished.
Of all the American institutions the
pandemic has shut down, none face pressure to reopen quite like schools do. Pediatricians
exhort schools to open their doors wherever possible or risk developmental harm
to kids. Working parents, particularly mothers, are in crisis, worried about
having to leave the work force altogether in the absence of a place to send
their young children each day. And President Trump is campaigning for schools
to reopen, threatening to withhold funding if they don’t. The pressure has
mounted as school districts have made it clear that they can do no such thing.
Across the country — including in Phoenix, Houston and a huge chunk of
California, where coronavirus cases are rapidly rising — schools are preparing
their students and staffs for a continuation of the
“remote learning” that began in the spring. In New York City and Chicago, where the
virus is more under control, schools are moving toward a hybrid option with
remote learning some days, in-person school others. Even in places like Detroit and Memphis, where
districts plan to offer in-person school for those who want it, local leaders
could change course if virus cases rise; they also have yet to figure out what
to do if too many worried teachers or students opt out. Outrage over schools’
inability to fully reopen should not, of course, be directed at schools
themselves, but at the public health failure that makes it impossible for most
of them to do so. The consequences of closed or half-open schools, meanwhile,
are far vaster than the brutal economic challenge facing working parents and
their employers. That’s because schools do much more than provide child care.
They provide education, fundamentally. But as the pandemic has made clear, they
also provide meals, social connection and health services.
Very few Americans back full school reopening, according
to poll results
Inquirer by Collin Binkley and Hannah
Fingerhut, Associated Press, Posted: July 22, 2020- 2:07 PM
BOSTON — Virtual instruction. Mandated masks.
Physical distancing. The start of school will look very different this year
because of the coronavirus — and that’s OK with the vast majority of Americans.
Only about 1 in 10 Americans think daycare centers, preschools or K-12 schools
should open this fall without restrictions, according to a new poll from The
Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Most think mask requirements
and other safety measures are necessary to restart in-person instruction, and
roughly 3 in 10 say that teaching kids in classrooms shouldn’t happen at all. The
findings are a sharp contrast to the picture that President Donald Trump paints
as he pressures schools to reopen. The Republican president claims to have wide
support for a full reopening, arguing that Democrats oppose it for political
reasons. Few schools, however, plan to return to business as usual. Many of the
nation’s largest school districts have announced that they’ll be entirely
virtual in the fall or use a hybrid model that has children in classrooms only
a couple of days a week.
Pa. coronavirus numbers double what they were last month;
back-to-school worries intensify
Inquirer by
Anthony R. Wood, Melanie
Burney and Oona Goodin-Smith, Posted: July
21, 2020- 7:29 PM
With COVID-19 numbers rising stubbornly in
the region — and more dramatically in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the
nation — the virus continues to cast an ominous shadow over the 2020-21 school
year, with administrators confronting unprecedented challenges. “It’s like
we’re planning in quicksand,” said Katrina McCombs, superintendent of the
Camden City School District, who announced Monday that a third of the teachers
in the 15,000-pupil district might not return to classrooms in September
because of coronavirus fears.In Pennsylvania, where the seven-day average of
daily confirmed cases — 871 — has more than doubled since mid-June, bumped up
by outbreaks in the Pittsburgh area, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said he would sue the
Trump administration if it attempted to
withhold federal funds from schools that don’t reopen fully.
Allentown School District wants to reopen schools
virtually
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING
CALL | JUL 22, 2020 AT 7:42 PM
The Allentown School District wants to start
the upcoming school year by doing virtual learning for all 17,000 students
because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Allentown, the region’s
largest district, made the announcement Wednesday night. The School Board will
vote on the district’s plan at its meeting Thursday. As part of the plan to go
virtual, the district would expand the use of technology, including creating a
1:1 model that will allow every student to receive a device. It will also
develop external partnerships to help support digital access for all students.
The first day of school would be Sept. 8. In a news release, the district said
face-to-face instruction still remains a goal and the district will work to
allow groups of students to eventually return. Allentown closed its buildings
in mid-March because of the spread of the coronavirus. But unlike other
districts, Allentown lacked the
resources and technology to quickly get online learning
up and running. The district used federal money to buy 5,000 laptops and relied
on community partners to donate more.
Pittsburgh Public Schools to consider starting school
year virtually amid rising COVID-19 cases
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUL 22, 2020
9:30 PM
The Pittsburgh Public Schools may move
classes fully online for the first quarter of the 2020-21 academic year. School
board member Kevin Carter on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would
enforce remote instruction for the first nine weeks of the year in an effort to
start school safely amid rising COVID-19 cases in the region and give the
district more time to prepare for the return of students. “The goal of
this resolution is to help structure our focus for the fall given the fact that
we keep having more and more positive cases of COVID every day,” Mr. Carter
said. “I think this resolution provides both the board and the administration
the necessary time to really read out some of the missing details of what
in-person in-class instruction will look like.”
The school board plans to vote on the
resolution at a special legislative meeting Aug. 4. The district will seek
public comment on the plan July 29.
Philly mulls later start time for high schoolers amid
pandemic planning
WHYY By Avi
Wolfman-Arent July 22,
2020
With its hand forced by the coronavirus
pandemic, the School District of Philadelphia
may push high school start times back as far as 9:30 a.m. By doing so, the
district could stumble into an interesting experiment: what happens when tens
of thousands of teenagers get 90 minutes more sleep than normal? It’s a
prospect that entices pediatricians and psychiatrists who’ve long argued that
early high school start times disrupt natural adolescent sleep patterns —
creating students who are less physically and mentally prepared to learn. But
the logistics of such a shift are fraught. Families and school staff worry
later starts — and dismissals — will burden working parents, inhibit students
from working their own jobs and generally throw routines into chaos. The school
district would not divulge its scheduling plans when asked, but it did confirm
that it’s considering later school start times for older students. Two
Philadelphia principals said they were under the impression that high schools
would likely start at 9:30 a.m. — compared to 8 a.m. last year.
Educators express doubts about Philadelphia’s school
opening plan
More than 30 principals plan to speak at
Thursday's board meeting.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa and Bill
Hangley Jr. July 22
— 7:19 am, 2020
UPDATED 10
a.m. with a response from Superintendent William Hite.
As the Board of Education gets ready to hold
a special meeting Thursday, the Philadelphia School District is facing a rising
chorus of concern about Superintendent William Hite’s plan to reopen schools in
September from the teachers and principals who will have to make it work. On Tuesday, the unions for those two groups raised questions and doubts about
the hybrid plan announced last week, in which most students will attend school
two days a week and learn virtually the rest of the time. The school board
is scheduled to vote Thursday on a “health and safety plan” for school
reopening as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. But it will
not vote on the details of the District’s plan, which was assembled by Hite and
his staff over the last several months largely out of the public eye, although
it was informed by surveys of staff and families. “We’ve received more
than 3,500 submitted questions regarding the District’s plan. There is a
tremendous amount of fear amongst my members,” said Jerry Jordan, president of
the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT). “There’s so many questions,”
said Robin Cooper, head of the principals’ union, the Commonwealth Association
of School Administrators (CASA). And as their leaders share concerns, the rank
and file appear unhappy or worse, with teachers and principals alike accusing
District planners of overlooking the harsh material realities of Philadelphia
schools and setting up overly rosy expectations. Social media has been alive with critiques, and no
fewer than 32 Philadelphia principals plan to speak at the Board of Education meeting
to air concerns.
‘Someday everything will make perfect sense’: Pandemic
woes weigh heavy as Wilson Area High School holds socially distanced graduation
with only 34 seniors present
By BINGHUI HUANG THE MORNING
CALL | JUL 22, 2020 AT 7:55 AM
Wilson Area High School’s outdoor stadium
Tuesday evening had all the trappings of a graduation: parents holding up their
phones to record the ceremony, students in their nicest shoes, the hot summer
sun and speeches about all the accomplishments of the graduating class. But
despite all attempts to make one of Lehigh Valley’s first in-person graduations
this year feel as normal as possible, the presence of the coronavirus pandemic
was heavily felt. Only 34 students graduated during the evening ceremony,
because the class was divided into four groups to allow for social distancing.
Some people wore masks, others did not. And the feeling of hope and
accomplishment was dampened by the disappointment of missing out on major
senior-year events like prom, and the uncertainty about what the future holds. The
senior class chose a John Mayer quote that embodied this complicated moment:
“Someday everything will make perfect sense, so for now laugh at the confusion,
smile through the tears, be strong and keep reminding yourself that everything
happens for a reason,” valedictorian Jillian Pote read during the ceremony. The
Wilson Area High School seniors were luckier than many of their counterparts
across the state and country, many of whom only had virtual graduations or
drive-thru graduations that didn’t allow for the same pomp and circumstance.
'We need all hands on deck': Teachers plead with
Congress, parents for support as reopening looms
Lancaster Online by ALEX
GELI | Staff Writer July 23, 2020
Do teachers feel safe returning to school
buildings in a few weeks despite the threat of COVID-19? The answer isn't so
simple. With the beginning of school just a few weeks away, there remains
myriad questions regarding how schools can safely resume in-person instruction.
And perhaps most at risk as schools reopen are teachers, some of whom are
already more prone to infection because of age or other health factors. Teachers
meeting virtually with LNP | LancasterOnline Opinion editor Suzanne Cassidy
discussed this and more in an hourlong discussion about possibly reopening
schools this fall.
Here are three takeaways from the
conversation.
Could cyber schools see a boom this fall? One place says
the interest is 'astronomical'
Commonwealth Charter Academy is one of 14
public cyber schools across the state of Pennsylvania
Author: Jamie Bittner (FOX43) Published: 3:05
PM EDT July 22, 2020 Updated: 4:58 PM EDT July 22, 2020
"Astronomical." That's the
word Commonwealth Charter Academy's Tim Eller
uses to describe the increased interest he's been seeing from parents who are
calling for information on cyber school enrollment this fall. "We are
seeing a four to fivefold increase in the number of families, and that's just
CCA. There are 14 (public) cybers across Pennsylvania and we're just one,"
said Eller, who is the Vice President of CCA's Outreach & Government
Relations. Eller admits interest does not always lead to enrollment.
However, the cyber institution must still prepare for families to sign their
students up and that means officials must take a hard look at staffing and
equipment. "It's something we're doing projections on based on interest to
make sure we have the staff necessary to accommodate the number of
students," said Eller. FOX43 asked Eller what he believes is driving the
increased interest from families who are requesting information about cyber
school. He said many parents whom he has heard from reference what their
children experienced in the spring when schools first shut down due to
COVID-19.
Cyber charter schools seeing increase in enrollment amid
pandemic
WJAC by Sydney Jaxtheimer Wednesday,
July 22nd 2020
Insight PA Cyber Charter School says they
have seen an increase in new enrollment compared to previous years. (WJAC)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WJAC) — While school
districts across the region are finding new ways to adjust during the pandemic,
cyber schools are avoiding the need for change and are actually seeing an
increase in interest. Insight PA Cyber Charter School is known for their
online, individualized classes. CEO, Eileen Cannistraci says right now they’re
seeing an increase in new enrollments by 50% compared to last year. She
believes the pandemic is the contributing factor. “Typically, at this time of
the year in July you don’t see parents who are really engaging in trying to
find out about schools,” said Cannistraci. “You see that more towards
mid-August. So we are seeing a spike at a time of the year when we normally
don’t but we don’t know if this trend will continue or is it just that it’s a
little earlier this year due to COVID versus last year,” she added. While local
school districts are trying to navigate what it will look like for students to
return to the building in the fall, cyber schools have not been forced to make
changes to their teaching styles.
In split vote, Central Bucks approves school reopening
plan offering several options
Bucks County Courier Times By Chris
English
@CourierEnglish Posted
Jul 22, 2020 at 1:46 PM
The choices for students in grades
kindergarten through six will be all virtual, all in-person or hybrid. The
choices for grades 7-12 will be all virtual or hybrid. Central Bucks School
District students in grades kindergarten through six will be offered three
options when instruction resumes Aug. 31, and those in grades 7-12 will have
two choices. Elementary school students in Bucks County’s largest school
district will have the choice of all virtual, full-time in-person or a hybrid
model combining in-class and virtual learning. Secondary school students must
choose between all virtual and hybrid. That measure and many others were
included in a health and safety reopening plan approved
6-3 by the school board at its Tuesday night virtual meeting. Families will be asked to make their
instructional choices through a registration process that started Wednesday.
South Fayette pushes back start, end of school year
because of coronavirus concerns
Trib Live by MICHAEL
DIVITTORIO | Wednesday,
July 22, 2020 10:58 p.m.
South Fayette School District officials have
changed the proposed start and end of the upcoming school year because of
covid-19 concerns. The school board voted 6-1 Tuesday night to adjust the
2020-21 school calendar to move the first day of school from Aug. 19 to Sept. 2
and the last day from June 4 to June 11. Vice President Alan Vezzi dissented.
He did not give a reason during the meeting. Superintendent Ken Lockette said
the rise in coronavirus cases and added restrictions in Allegheny County as a
result necessitate a later start. “Our initial health and safely plan that was
presented last Tuesday was
developed starting in May and throughout June when cases in Allegheny County
were declining and reached levels indicating low to no community spread,”
Lockette said. “Over the last three weeks, as everyone is aware, this has
changed dramatically. The county reported over 300 cases early last week on the
day we discussed our reopening plan.” Lockette said moving the calendar also
gives the district more time to make other adjustments to the overall
return-to-school plan to accommodate ever-changing safety guidelines.
West Jefferson Hills School District reopening plans
include most students returning to buildings
Trib Live by MICHAEL
DIVITTORIO | Wednesday,
July 22, 2020 10:28 p.m.
West Jefferson Hills School District
officials are planning for most students to return to schools next month. That
is based on survey results revealed Wednesday night during a virtual forum with
Superintendent Michael Ghilani. More than 74% of 3,000-plus survey respondents
said they want their children in in-person classes for the 2020-21 school year,
according to the presentation. Ghilani said the survey is being taken into
consideration as district officials continue to develop their reopening plan
during the covid-19 pandemic, which has options for both in-person and online
schooling. “We are still working on the fine details of our plan, but I do
think we have enough of a framework to share,” Ghilani said.”It is such a fluid
situation, and it changes, it seems, like every day.” Plans include requiring
all students and staffers to wear face coverings when unable to adequately
social distance by six feet or more. Signage would be posted in schools
promoting proper hygiene and distancing. Masks would be necessary for bus
rides, and parents would be asked to take their children’s temperature and
check for symptoms prior to sending them to school. Ghilani said officials are
also asking parents to transport their children to school if possible to reduce
the number of students on buses.
Mid Valley could start hybrid learning
Times Tribune BY KATHLEEN BOLUS STAFF WRITER Jul 22,
2020 Updated 2 min ago
Under the Mid Valley School District's hybrid
learning plan, half the district would attend in-person classes on Mondays and
Tuesdays while class would be in session for the other half of students on
Thursdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays, everyone would learn virtually while the
schools are disinfected to stop the spread of COVID-19. "At this
point with the reports from PDE and reports from and guidance from the CDC and
the Department of Health ... I don't think fully bringing the population back
is appropriate because of the nature of the virus and the spread," said
Superintendent Patrick Sheehan. Administration and the school board discussed
the hybrid plan during a virtual special board meeting on Wednesday. Sheehan
recommended the district begin classes in a hybrid model. However, at-risk
families or families whose schedules cannot accommodate the model can choose to
have their students learn entirely remotely. The board has to approve the plan
before it is put in place.
Poll: Only 1 in 10 Americans want schools to fully reopen
York Dispatch by Collin Binkley and Hannah
Fingerhut The Associated Press July 22, 2020
BOSTON — Virtual instruction. Mandated masks.
Physical distancing. The start of school will look very different this year
because of the coronavirus — and that’s OK with the vast majority of Americans.
Only about 1 in 10 Americans think daycare centers, preschools or K-12 schools
should open this fall without restrictions, according to a new poll from The
Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Most think mask requirements
and other safety measures are necessary to restart in-person instruction, and
roughly 3 in 10 say that teaching kids in classrooms shouldn’t happen at all. The
findings are a sharp contrast to the picture that President Donald Trump paints
as he pressures schools to reopen. The Republican president claims to have wide
support for a full reopening, arguing that Democrats oppose it for political
reasons. Few schools, however, plan to return to business as usual. Many of the
nation’s largest school districts have announced that they’ll be entirely
virtual in the fall or use a hybrid model that has children in classrooms only
a couple of days a week.
Betsy DeVos just crossed another line. She's an ongoing
danger to teachers and students.
Schools must look inward, assess local COVID-19
conditions and ignore pressure from DeVos. They have authority over whether to
reopen. She doesn't.
USA Today by David Sciarra and Derek W. Black
Opinion contributors July 22, 2020
David Sciarra is executive
director of the Education Law Center. Derek W. Black is
the Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law at the University
of South Carolina and author of "Schoolhouse
Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy," coming
Sept. 22. Follow him on Twitter: @DerekWBlack
As much of the country experiences an
alarming surge of COVID-19 cases, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is carrying
President Donald Trump’s water by demanding that states reopen their
schools after the summer break. She
makes this demand with no sense of how schools can do this safely. But just
beneath her disregard for public health is a shocking ignorance about the
fundamental nature of authority over public schools in this country. The
secretary assumes she has that power and wants to run roughshod over those who
do. In fact, shortly after making the demand, the governors of South Carolina, Iowa and Florida bowed
to her assertion of authority, much to the dismay of educators in those states.
DeVos’ blanket demand that schools open is dangerous in its complete lack of
consideration for student and teacher safety. She dismisses the risk of
spreading COVID-19 among students, teachers and staff in school buildings. She
offers no guidelines or standards on what measures are necessary to allow for a
safe return to the classroom. She refuses to say schools should follow guidance from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or acknowledge that schools
will need to close and return to remote learning in the event of an outbreak.
How to See Comet NEOWISE
NASA Website July 14, 2020
Observers in the Northern Hemisphere are
hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE as it zips through the inner solar
system before it speeds away into the depths of space. Discovered on March 27,
2020 by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE)
mission, Comet NEOWISE is putting on a dazzling display for skywatchers before
it disappears, not to be seen again for another 6,800 years. or those
hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE before it’s gone, there are several
observing opportunities over the coming days when it will become increasingly
visible shortly after sunset in the northwest sky. If you’re looking at the sky
without the help of observation tools, Comet NEOWISE will likely look like a
fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, so using binoculars or a small telescope is
recommended to get the best views of this object.
For those hoping to see Comet Neowise for
themselves, here’s what to do:
- Find
a spot away from city lights with an unobstructed view of the sky
- Just
after sunset, look below the Big Dipper in the northwest sky
- If
you have them, bring binoculars or a small telescope to get the best views
of this dazzling display
Each night, the comet will continue rising
increasingly higher above the northwestern horizon as illustrated in the below
graphic:
Blogger commentary:
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more informed decision, you might consider providing them with some of the info
listed below:
A June 2 paper from the highly respected
Brookings Institution stated, “We find the impact of attending a virtual
charter on student achievement is uniformly and profoundly negative,” and then
went on to say that “there is no evidence that virtual charter students improve
in subsequent years.”
In 2016, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers,
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the national charter lobbying
group 50CAN released a report on cyber charters that found that overall, cyber
students make no significant gains in math and less than half the gains in
reading compared with their peers in traditional public schools.
A Stanford University CREDO Study in 2015 found that cyber students on
average lost 72 days a year in reading and 180 days a year in math compared
with students in traditional public schools.
From 2005 through 2012 under the federal No Child Left
Behind Act, most Pennsylvania cybers never made “adequate yearly progress.”
Following NCLB, for all five years (2013-2017) that Pennsylvania’s School
Performance Profile system was in place, not one cyber charter ever achieved a
passing score of 70.
Under Pennsylvania’s current accountability system, the Future Ready PA Index, all 15 cyber charters that operated
2018-2019 have been identified for some level of support and improvement.
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.
The 2021 PA Superintendent of the Year nominations are
now open.
Those
seeking to nominate must first register on the American Association of School
Administrators (AASA) Superintendent of the Year website. For more information,
visit: https://t.co/2omWRnyHSv
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.
280 PA school boards have adopted charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as 280 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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