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
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Hite says Philly learning to be all virtual at least
until November
Taxpayers in Senate Majority
Caucus Administrator Kim Ward’s school districts paid over $13.9 million in
2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA
taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Derry Area SD
|
$971,636.03
|
|
Franklin Regional SD
|
$799,976.18
|
|
Greater Latrobe SD
|
$965,905.21
|
|
Greensburg Salem SD
|
$1,601,750.80
|
|
Hempfield Area SD
|
$2,282,995.00
|
|
Ligonier Valley SD
|
$1,826,153.83
|
|
Mount Pleasant Area SD
|
$1,346,729.44
|
|
Norwin SD
|
$1,000,241.84
|
|
Penn-Trafford SD
|
$1,377,164.88
|
|
Jeannette City SD
|
$999,390.58
|
|
Yough SD
|
$795,521.53
|
|
|
$13,967,465.32
|
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?
Political Cartoon: Virtually learning how to reopen
schools
Inquirer by Signe Wilkinson Posted: July 29, 2020 - 5:00 AM
An early review in Education Week of
remote learning during the initial weeks of coronavirus school closures showed
big inequalities in technology access, attendance, and ability to distribute
homework between rich and poor districts. By the end of the school year, more researchers found that
poor students fell well behind their more affluent peers, with Black and Latino
students especially likely to fall behind. Philadelphia’s school district announced
yesterday it plans to go online-only through its first marking period, which
ends mid-November. Meanwhile, Congress is considering a third stimulus bill with
money for education. If we truly believe in equality, let
us start now by providing the poorest
kids in America the tools they need for an equal education.
With the revised all-online school opening, advocates
call for more action on expanding internet access
Some say the city and corporate players need
to display more urgency.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa July 28 — 7:26 pm, 2020
As the Philadelphia School District announces
that digital learning will continue for all students at least through November,
there is more urgency to solving the issue of universal internet access across
the city. Board President Joyce Wilkerson said the responsibility to make sure
all families have access goes beyond the School District to the city and the
internet service providers. “My position is we’re not starting school unless
every child is connected,” said Wilkerson. “If we have to pay for it, we’ll pay
for it. But we can’t pretend we’re running school virtually, and we have children
who have no way of getting connected.” She notes that personal hotspots are
$190 a person “for just a one-year commitment.” The District bought 2,500 of
them for families this spring. Wilkerson added that it would be a “disgrace”
for the city “if we started the school year knowing children don’t have
supportive environment to be in school virtually. Those for me are huge issues.
The onus is on not just the District but the broader community to do its best
to put their resources together so all children have the opportunity to be
successful.”
Philly public schools will stay all-online at least until
November, sources say
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: July
28, 2020
Philadelphia public school students will not
return to classrooms until November at the earliest, according to multiple
officials with knowledge of the situation, after plans for a hybrid model of
in-person and online instruction sparked fierce opposition. Under the
new plan, the school year would begin fully virtually for 125,000 Philadelphia
School District students in September, as confirmed coronavirus cases rise in the
region and other districts also opting
to start the year without face-to-face instruction. Instruction would happen
via computer at least through the first marking period, which ends Nov. 17. A
school district spokesperson didn’t immediately comment Tuesday. An official
announcement is expected Tuesday afternoon. Initially, Superintendent William
R. Hite Jr. had called for a school reopening plan that would bring most
students back two days a week. That plan received intense pushback — including
six hours of impassioned calls from principals, parents, and teachers at a school board meeting last
week and a public rally for fully
virtual schools this weekend. Hite ultimately withdrew
it.
Philly public schools will start school year remotely;
hybrid learning could follow
Special to the Capital-Star By The
Philadelphia Tribune July 28, 2020
PHILADELPHIA — School
District of Philadelphia administrators now want to start the school year with
all students learning remotely. Students would transition to a hybrid
instructional model — a mix of in-person learning and remote learning — after
the first marking period, which ends on Nov. 17, as long as local, state and
federal health officials say it is safe. Administrators originally planned to
start the school year with the hybrid model. “These changes were not made
lightly. All of the decisions we are making due to the COVID-19 pandemic are
difficult ones with no obvious answers for how to account for the many, and
often competing, needs of our students, staff and families,” Superintendent
William Hite said in a news release. “As I’ve stated many times before, this
school year will be a challenge for us all, as we learn how to cope with this
‘new normal.’ And being flexible will be essential for us all.” Administrators
plan to propose this change at the Board of Education meeting on Thursday.
This story will continue to be updated as we
learn more details.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa July 28 — 12:58 pm, 2020 UPDATED
6:30 p.m.
Responding to an avalanche of opposition and
fear regarding safety, Superintendent William Hite is now proposing that school
be virtual through at least the first marking period, which ends on Nov. 17. In
a letter posted on the
District website, he said that “after careful consideration of all the feedback
we’ve received,” the District is backing off its initial hybrid plan that would
have had most students learn in person at least two days a week and would have
required teachers to be in the building four days a week. “I believe it’s
important to listen. And it’s important to have your trust and support as we
all try to create a plan that will help our children learn in an environment we
have never experienced,” Hite wrote. After the first quarter, students would
“transition to the hybrid learning model as long as guidance from the
Philadelphia Department of Health and other indicators support it is still safe
to do so.” He also noted that they are not going forward with the Districtwide
digital academy option, which neighborhood school families and staff worried
would result in a loss of resources and teachers at their schools. “For the
hybrid model, we will continue to evaluate digital opportunities that
prioritize students being taught by teachers in their enrolled school,” he
wrote.
PPS board member on reopening schools: 'There's more
questions than answers'
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUL 28,
2020 6:19 PM
Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Kevin
Carter said he still has many questions about the ability for schools to reopen
safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why he introduced a resolution
last week that would mandate virtual learning for all district students for the
first nine weeks of the school year, which he said was a necessary measure to
protect public health. “People are looking to the school district — school
board members, the superintendent — to be public health experts, and
that,” Mr. Carter said Tuesday in a phone interview, “we are not. The idea
that it is our job to come up with a solution for a public health problem and
using our students and faculty as front line indicators, it’s not going to
happen.” The public will have a chance to voice its opinion on the
district’s reopening plans, including Mr. Carter’s proposal, at a comment
session before the school board at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The board will vote on the
plan Friday, less than five weeks away from the start of classes.
Weary parents are on the fence about sending their kids
back to school — even if they can
Penn Live By Ivey
DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com Today 5:10
AM
Right about now parents would typically be
shopping for back-to-school and looking forward to getting kids out of the
house after the summer break. This year, with the highly contagious coronavirus
still upending life, legions of parents find themselves in an ambivalent
position: Amid conflicting reports, many remain on the fence as to whether they
will allow their children to return to school, if schools even open. Others
don’t even know at this time if their school districts will open up for
in-classroom instruction in a few weeks. More resolute parents have long made
up their minds to keep the kids home. All in all, for thousands of parents
across the region, this year’s back-to-school rite of passage remains riddled
with frustration and uncertainty. Parents say they lack clear assurances from
officials about the safety of their children; others say they lack information
and guidance as a whole. “Harrisburg is not giving us the time to make that
decision,” said Star Williams, a mother of six. “I should have the time to
think about it. To think about the questions. But they are not giving us that
opportunity.”
Scranton School District could lose $426k of stimulus
funds to private schools
Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Jul 29,
2020 Updated 1 hr ago
The Scranton School District could lose more
than $426,000 in stimulus money if the federal government orders states to
redistribute the funds to private schools. The district has not spent all of its
$4 million allotment from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security
(CARES) Act, but planned to use the remainder for technology, safety measures
or emergencies because of the pandemic. “This is a very slippery slope,” said
Candis Finan, Ed.D., the district’s chief recovery officer. “It’s begun a trend
of taking money away from public ed and giving it to private schools.” The
interim federal ruling, which is open for comment through Thursday, redirects
money and “targets a disproportionately greater amount of federal funds to
students from higher income households,” according to the Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials. Scranton, which would see the largest
impact locally, would see its private school share increase from $110,685 to
$537,501, according to the school district. Meanwhile, private school advocates
argue their students will receive money they deserve and need for a safe return
to classrooms this fall.
The real cost of cyber charter schools
The Daily Review Opinion by Rebecca Ferguson,
Sullivan County School Board member July 28, 2020
I have lost count of the number of television
ads I have seen in the last few weeks for cyber and cyber charter schools. They
all state the same thing: they are free public education. Yes, they are free to
the family that signs up, because they are paid for by the public school
district in which the student would normally be enrolled! And, at a cost of
between $20,000 and $27,000 per student (or more), it does not take many
sign-ups to seriously hurt the budget of the local school district. When a family signs their child up for cyber
school, they think that the cyber school is paying for all supplies, but it is
really the public school that foots the bills — for computers, books, internet
connections, and all supplies. Additionally, none of the Pennsylvania cyber
schools meets the minimum criteria required of public schools. Families assume
that the cyber school sign-up means that they will have a trouble-free
connection for their computer, and a teacher for all classes who will devote
one-on-one time to their child. Unfortunately, living in rural northeastern or
northcentral Pennsylvania usually means that their internet connection is
spotty, at best, and most teachers for cyber schools are supervising multiple
classes, each with dozens of students.
Bellefonte adds ‘hybrid’ option to fall reopening plan,
updates face coverings requirement
Centre Daily Times BY
MARLEY PARISH JULY 28, 2020 10:35
AM , UPDATED JULY 28, 2020 06:11 PM
After hearing community feedback and
additional state guidance, the Bellefonte Area School District updated its
preliminary fall reopening plan to include a third learning option and
additional health guidelines. Last week, the district announced that students
will have the opportunity to learn in-person twice a week and attend virtual
classes the other three days of instruction. This “hybrid” option aims to limit
the number of students in school facilities and make compliance with social
distancing easier, Marion-Walker Elementary principal and pandemic coordinator
Karen Krisch wrote in a letter to
families. Children will be assigned to either
an A or B group which will determine when they attend in-person classes. For
remote learning, lessons will be completed on Google Classroom. “The A group
will attend school on Monday and Thursday; the B group on Tuesday and Friday,”
Krisch wrote. The district also updated its fall reopening plan to accommodate
to the state Department of Health mandate that requires face coverings while at
school. If parents decide to send kids to in-person school for the 2020-21
school year, students will be required to wear a mask unless a medical
exemption is submitted to the district by a health care provider.
Parkland approves reopening plan: Hybrid attendance for
some grades, full-time for others, with an all-virtual option
By KAYLA DWYER THE MORNING
CALL | JUL 28, 2020 AT 10:04 PM
Families in the Parkland School District will
have a choice this fall between sending their children to school for
face-to-face instruction — either full-time or part-time, depending on their
grade level — or keeping them home for online learning, according to the reopening plan school
board directors approved in a 7-2 vote Tuesday night. More than 500 people
watched the virtual school board meeting and dozens submitted public comments
about the plan, representing the gamut of viewpoints: from the measures being
“draconian” to not going far enough. They asked questions administrators
answered one by one, from what lunch time will look like to how masking can be
enforced. “There’s no one educational decision that will allay every concern or
satisfy the desires of every person in the Parkland School District,”
Superintendent Richard Sniscak said, following more than an hour of input from
community and board members. The plan falls into the Pennsylvania Department of
Education’s category of “scaffolded reopening,” in which different groups of
students participate in in-person or remote learning at different times. The
face-to-face hybrid plan has students in kindergarten through fifth grade
coming to school every day, and students in sixth through 12th grades coming to
school two days a week, learning online the remaining three days. Secondary
students with last names beginning with A through L would report in person
Monday and Tuesday, and last names M through Z would report Thursday and
Friday. Every Wednesday, all secondary school students will learn online at
home while the school closes for additional sanitation. School spaces, buses
and frequently touched surfaces will be sanitized daily.
East Penn School District approves hybrid reopening plan
based on last names, with fully remote option
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING
CALL | JUL 28, 2020 AT 8:48 AM
East Penn students who return to school in
the fall will likely do so with half-full classrooms and six feet of distance
between each student. The East Penn School Board on Monday voted to approve a
health and safety plan that calls for students of all ages to start school with
a mix of in-person and online classes, but also allows families to enroll their
children in a fully remote option. The hybrid plan calls for elementary, middle
and high school students with last names beginning A-K to attend school on
Mondays and Tuesdays, and those with last names beginning L-Z to attend
Thursdays and Fridays. They would alternate on Wednesdays. Students not in
school would be learning remotely. Families can also opt for their children to
be entirely remote, and district officials can decide to close schools if they
deem them unsafe. The district is asking parents who decide to do all remote
learning to let them know soon and commit to three weeks at a time. Board
members approved the plan 8-1 in a special meeting in which they also approved
an agreement with Emmaus to provide a school resource officer. The East Penn
School District is just the latest in the Lehigh Valley to approve a health and
safety plan, which must be submitted to the state before students return.
School districts across the state have been grappling with
changing coronavirus numbers, health recommendations and state guidelines. The
Allentown School District opted to keep school entirely online when classes
start again in the fall, with the hope that they can resume in-person in
November. The Bethlehem Area School District plans to open with a
hybrid model in which students go to school
two days a week.
Black Masterman students call out racism
WHYY Air Date: July 28, 2020 Listen 16:36
When recent Masterman High School grad Kayla
Gibson first saw her white classmates posting about the death of George Floyd
on Instagram, she felt supported. “But then, I kind of began to think about it
and I’m realizing that all these people all of a sudden are learning about
systemic racism, but they aren’t really thinking about how they personally are
perpetuating it,” she says. At a time when Black students at other Philly area schools were
anonymously calling out their alma maters on social media, Kayla took different
approach: She made a documentary called “16,” featuring
16 stories of racism, stereotyping and microaggressions she and her peers
experienced at the selective magnet school where 16% of the students are Black.
The Why spoke to Kayla and to Masterman principal Jessica Brown about what
students and the school are doing to address the issues raised in her
documentary.
Pa. school officials share challenges of preparing for
new year amid ongoing coronavirus pandemic
Reading Eagle By David Mekeel
dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter July 29, 2020
It's simply something Dr. James Scanlon isn't
equipped to do. The West Chester School District superintendent, speaking
during a state Senate Majority Policy Committee workshop Tuesday, said he and
his fellow school leaders across Pennsylvania are being asked to make medical
decisions despite not having medical backgrounds. "The only medical
training I have had is first aid," he said. The decisions he and his
school board make are fracturing the community. Superintendents and school
boards are on the hot seat right now. In just a few weeks, a new school year
will begin. It will be unlike any before it. The last school year ended
virtually, with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a statewide closure of school
buildings that stretched from mid-March to the final day of school. Local
school officials have been left with the unenviable task of figuring out what
school will look like moving forward. They're trying to figure out how to
educate students amid an ongoing pandemic. And it's far from easy. "We're
all working at a furious pace to find a way to safely open our schools next
month," Scanlon said. Scanlon was one of nine panel members to take part
in Tuesday's workshop, which was arranged at the request of state Sen. Tom
Killion, a Republican who represents parts of Chester and Delaware counties, to
get feedback on the hurdles school districts are facing in attempting to
reopen. The session was held at Bayard Rustin High School in the West Chester
School District and streamed live on the internet.
Panel gets input on how to safely open local schools
Daily Local News by BILL RETTEW July 28,
2020
WESTTOWN—Like a small boat piloted by a lone
captain during a hurricane, school districts grapple with how to best educate
and keep students and staff safe during the ongoing pandemic. Districts have
been directed to individually decide how to best serve students with little
firm input from the state, according to several members of a Pennsylvania
Senate Panel, held Tuesday at Rustin High School. The hybrid panel, with both
in-person and virtual participants, was designed to discuss how to open schools
safely and was organized by Sen. Tom Killion, R-9th, of Middletown, who is
seeking reelection this year. “There is much uncertainty,” said Sen. Wayne
Langerholc Jr., Education Committee Chairman. “I feel frustration and a lack of
clarity from everyone and how we’re supposed to move forward,” Rep. Chris
Quinn, R-168th, of Media said. More than a dozen participants seemed to agree
when West Chester Area School District Superintendent Dr. Jim Scanlon said, “At
the end of the day, it’s about the kids.”
School officials tell Pa. Senate panel they need to be
shielded from lawsuits to reopen safely
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison July 28,
2020
Since Pennsylvania reported its first two
cases of COVID-19 in March, lawmakers have tried to protect everyone from
business owners to medical equipment manufacturers from lawsuits that hold them
liable for spreading the disease. Healthcare providers got broad immunity from
civil lawsuits in May, under an executive order signed
by Gov. Tom Wolf. School leaders told state lawmakers on Tuesday that they need
those same protections if students and staff are going to return to classrooms
this fall. “School districts in Pennsylvania are making decisions, in part,
[based on] fear of lawsuits,” John Sanville, superintendent of the
Unionville-Chadds Ford School District in Chester County, said at a joint
hearing of the Senate Majority Policy and Education committees. “I know
educators across the state are making good-faith decisions, but that does not
preclude the threat of litigation.” Sanville was one of a handful of
school administrators who asked lawmakers Tuesday to pass legislation
protecting superintendents and elected school board directors from legal
liability if a student or staff member says they can trace their COVID-19
diagnosis back to school grounds.
Pa. health secretary: Data will guide state’s approach to
high school sports
Trib Live By: Chris
Harlan Tuesday, July 28, 2020 | 8:11 PM
The PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee
strongly recommends starting high school sports on time, but Health Secretary
Dr. Rachel Levine declined to endorse that decision Tuesday. Levine said the
same data that’s being used to determine how schools reopen should guide
whether interscholastic sports are played in the fall. “We’re going to be
looking at all of those different pieces of data, not only in terms of return
to school, but also in terms of sports,” Levine said. “All of that is being
considered. We want to make sure that we have the best data before those
decisions are made.” The SMAC met online last week and agreed unanimously that
PIAA sports could start on time “so long as essential safety guidelines and
protocols are adhered to by participants,” according to meeting minutes. Levine,
who conferred last week with the PIAA, was asked about the SMAC’s
decision during a press
conference Tuesday.
PIAA sports medicine committee votes unanimously that
fall sports should start as scheduled
York Dispatch by JOBY FAWCETT (Scranton)
Times-Tribune (TNS) July 28, 2020
- The
PIAA Board of Directors will have a teleconference meeting on Wednesday.
- The
PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Steering Committee has given fall sports the
OK to start.
- Fall
sports are scheduled to start Aug. 10 with heat acclimatization and Aug.
17 for full practice.
One committee has given its approval for
the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to return to fall sports
on schedule. According to the agenda for Wednesday’s teleconference meeting of
the PIAA Board of Directors, the PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Steering
Committee voted unanimously to recommend fall sports practices start Aug. 10
with heat acclimatization and Aug. 17 for full practice, as long as essential
safety guidelines and protocols are followed. The committee also recommended a
policy that reads: “Based on currently known information, the Committee
believes that strict adherence by schools and teams to their school-adopted
plans and the Governor’s School Sports Guidance should provide a reasonably
safe environment for student athletes to participate in interscholastic
athletics as currently scheduled.” All of the fall sports steering committees
met last week via teleconference in response to the PIAA announcing it intends
to sponsor fall sports on time amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Government can’t discriminate against religious schools,
but they can discriminate when they hire teachers | Opinion
Penn Live Opinion By Alan Garfield Posted Jul
28, 2020
In two recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme
Court held that the government may not discriminate against private religious
schools, but the schools may discriminate against their employees. Sound
troubling? It is. While there is a kernel of logic in each decision, the logic
was stretched past the breaking point. The first case involved a Montana scholarship
program that allowed state-subsidized
scholarships to be used at private secular schools but not private religious
schools. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, held that the
exclusion of religious schools violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause, which he
said forbids discrimination against religion.
Lancaster school formerly named after Revolutionary War
Gen. Edward Hand to be temporarily called Southeast Middle School
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer July
28,2020
School District of Lancaster’s middle school
formerly named after Revolutionary War Gen. Edward Hand will be temporarily
named Southeast Middle School, district Superintendent Damaris Rau announced
Tuesday. The decision comes a week after the school board agreed to strip the
school of its name because Hand, who lived in Lancaster at the
farm-turned-museum Rock Ford before his death in 1802, owned slaves. To settle
on an interim name, families voted on two options: Southeast Middle School or
South Ann Middle School. During Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting with
the school board, Rau said 56% voted in favor of Southeast. The district will
begin the process for selecting a permanent name beginning in September, Rau
said. That process, she said, should wrap up by spring 2021. “We feel like
we’re in good shape,” Rau said, adding that the district will roll out the new
name, as well as class lessons exploring the reasons behind the name change, by
the start of the upcoming school year.
Anthony Fauci to Teachers: You'll Be 'Part of the
Experiment' in Reopening Schools
Education Week By Madeline Will on July
28, 2020 8:33 PM
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious
diseases expert, told educators in a virtual town hall that
when it comes to reopening school buildings for in-person instruction, there
are still many unanswered questions about how the coronavirus is spread by
children. "As you try to get back to school, we're going to be learning
about that," he said. "In many respects, unfortunately, though this
may sound a little scary and harsh—I don't mean it to be that way—is that
you're going to actually be part of the experiment of the learning curve of
what we need to know. Remember, early on when we shut down the country as it
were, the schools were shut down, so we don't know the full impact, we don't have
the total database of knowing what there is to expect." His comment
sparked some uproar on Twitter from teachers, who said they didn't sign up to
be part of such an experiment. As the first day of school approaches, teachers
are worried about their health and that of their families—and say there are still too many unanswered questions
for them to feel safe.
Why Is There No Consensus About Reopening Schools?
New York Times By Kim Tingley July 29,
2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
Is it possible to reopen school buildings in
the fall in a way that keeps kids, educators, staff and their families and
communities safe from Covid-19? Is it possible not to do so
without harming them in other ways? Already, school closures have set children
behind academically. More than 20 million children rely on school breakfasts
and lunches. Too many parents face the choice between losing their jobs or
leaving their children at home unsupervised. Vaccination rates for various
dangerous diseases, typically required before students can attend school, have
plummeted. Isolating children from their peers exacts social and emotional
costs, which differ by age group and are nearly impossible to quantify. And
whether schools reopen or remain closed, the risks are borne disproportionately
by low-income communities and people of color. “This is really one of the most
perplexing and complex issues I’ve ever faced in 40 years,” says Dan M. Cooper,
a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. A flood of
guidance has been issued in recent weeks, much of it urging schools to reopen
and suggesting safety precautions. Media outlets as well have relayed reams of
often conflicting expert advice on how to weigh risks and benefits, to
individuals and to society. In every case, that calculation is constrained by
major gaps in our understanding of how Covid affects children and those in
contact with them.
Blogger commentary:
Parents considering cyber charters due to COVID might not be
aware of their consistent track record of academic underperformance. As those
parents face an expected blitz of advertising by cybers, in order for them to
make a 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.
PSBA: Adopt the resolution against racial inequity.
School boards are asked to adopt this
resolution supporting the development of an anti-racist climate. Once adopted,
share your resolution with your local community and submit a copy to PSBA.
Learn more:
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.
283 PA school boards have adopted charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 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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