Wednesday, July 8, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for July 8, 2020: Philly-area charters receive $30 million-plus in PPP loans. One of the largest loans went to Chester Community Charter School


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PA Ed Policy Roundup for July 8, 2020
Philly-area charters receive $30 million-plus in PPP loans
One of the largest loans went to Chester Community Charter School


Join LEARN and PASA for a webinar: Keeping Your Students: How to Communicate About and Market Your Own Cyber Academy This Summer
Open to superintendents, deputy superintendents, communications staff and board members who regularly interface with the public.
Date: Thursday July 9 2020 Time: 10 a.m. - 11:30 am
For more information: sharon@learnpa.org


Which school districts paid the most in cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019?
Data source: PSBA

School District
Total Cyber Charter Tuition
Philadelphia City SD
$106,152,521.20
Pittsburgh SD
$12,976,083.08
Chester-Upland SD
$7,862,258.12
Pocono Mountain SD
$6,774,544.22
Reading SD
$6,699,373.04
Central Dauphin SD
$6,281,340.19
Allentown City SD
$6,062,793.00
Erie City SD
$5,964,477.96
York City SD
$5,798,404.56
Wilkes-Barre Area SD
$5,347,320.52
East Stroudsburg Area SD
$4,765,876.50
Harrisburg City SD
$4,730,170.79
Scranton SD
$4,650,525.96
Upper Darby SD
$4,383,591.11
Coatesville Area SD
$4,097,450.82
Chambersburg Area SD
$3,628,360.00
Bethlehem Area SD
$3,567,270.43
West Shore SD
$3,531,192.68
Altoona Area SD
$3,450,739.19
Lancaster SD
$3,163,518.00
Butler Area SD
$3,128,761.75
Pleasant Valley SD
$3,040,808.86
Woodland Hills SD
$2,924,198.53
Hazleton Area SD
$2,841,667.30
William Penn SD
$2,834,748.00
Norristown Area SD
$2,787,998.23
West Chester Area SD
$2,641,779.90
Stroudsburg Area SD
$2,636,803.37
North Penn SD
$2,585,547.92
Pottstown SD
$2,546,173.84

Tweet from PSBA_AdvocacyAmbassador @PSBAAdvocacyAm1 July 7, 2020
Shout out to .@windberschools for becoming the #275th school district to adopt PSBA's Charter Funding Reform Resolution. cc: .@SenatorStefano #RepJamesRigby #RepCarlMetzgar. Thank you, @KennethJSwanson!

Tweet from Pa School Boards Asn @PSBA July 7, 2020
Shout out to @WyoAreaSD for becoming the #274th school district to adopt PSBA's Charter Funding Reform Resolution. cc: @StateRepRozzi #RepMarkGillen @SenJudySchwank Thank you, @HMathiasPSBA!

One of the largest loans went to Chester Community Charter School
The notebook Neena Hagen and Dale Mezzacappa July 7 — 11:08 am, 2020
More than 20 Philadelphia-area charter schools and management organizations received a total of at least $30 million in low-interest loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program designed to help struggling small businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic.  Among the recipients are the state’s largest bricks-and-mortar charter, which is run by a for-profit company in Chester, and Mastery Schools of Camden. The $660 billion federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was intended to help businesses keep employees on the payroll and off unemployment benefits. The program has supported 51 million jobs, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The loans will be forgiven if businesses meet certain conditions, such as retaining or rehiring employees. According to a list released Monday by the SBA, most of the charter recipients in this region are single schools rather than large charter organizations. Mastery decided against applying for a loan for its Philadelphia schools — even though its April board of trustees meeting minutes show that the board approved loan applications. 

Philly-area charter, private schools receive millions in federal PPP loans
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: July 7, 2020 - 8:55 PM
The Chester Community Charter School received a Paycheck Protection Program loan in the range of $5 to $10 million. Like other charters, the school is funded by tax money but said it sought the loan due to financial uncertainty. Dozens of private and charter schools across the region received millions of dollars in emergency federal loans in the pandemic, amid wider questions nationally about who received the money and why. The recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program loans range from exclusive private schools on the Main Line like the all-girls Agnes Irwin and Baldwin schools, and the George School in Newtown, where tuition for boarding students tops $63,000, to the Independence Mission Schools, a network of Catholic schools in Philadelphia that laid off 180 teachers and staff this spring. The list also includes charters like Chester Community Charter, Franklin Towne Charter High School, and Mastery Charters, whose funding streams from home school districts have not been disrupted by the coronavirus. The loans to charters drew immediate criticism, based on the schools’ status as publicly funded but independently run organizations. Despite the financial pressures brought on by the pandemic, Pennsylvania school districts are obligated to keep paying charters.

This back to school event in Philly is touching. It’s also what’s wrong with how we pay for schools | Wednesday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star Commentary By  John L. Micek July 8, 2020
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
First off, let’s agree that the Aug. 22 event sponsored by the Philadelphia community group The Block Gives Back is exactly the kind of local involvement and advocacy that we want to see in Pennsylvania’s cities and towns: Dedicated volunteers coming together to truly make sure that no child is left behind when school resumes this fall — whatever that looks like. Now let’s also take a moment to consider the radical notion that the fact that such a group even needs to exist in the first place is not only proof positive of the yawning wealth and racial gaps laid bare by the COVD-19 pandemic, it’s also confirmation of the deeply broken and inequitable way that Pennsylvania still insists on using to pay for K-12 public education. Because if it wasn’t, then a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s school funding system wouldn’t be pending before Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, and it wouldn’t require this enthusiastic group of advocates to do something like this:

“The order, however, has some exceptions. Students will be allowed to remove face coverings when at least six feet apart from each other while eating or drinking, at least six feet apart while seated at desks or work spaces, and at least six feet apart during activities, such as recess or mask breaks.”
Pennsylvania mask requirement applies to schools
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUL 7, 2020
If students in Pennsylvania return to school in the fall, they will likely have to wear a mask for at least a portion of the day. That’s because the order signed last week by state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine requiring individuals age 2 and older to wear face coverings in public places includes all K-12 schools. “For the safety of students, staff and families, and to avoid community spread of COVID-19, students and staff are considered to be members of the public who are congregating in indoor locations,” the Pennsylvania Department of Education said Monday. “As such, they are required to adhere to this order.” The health secretary’s order remains in effect until further notice, and health and safety plans that schools submit to the state before they reopen must reflect the order. The order applies to individuals in public, private and parochial K-12 schools, brick and mortar and cyber charter schools, career and technical centers and intermediate units.  It also applies to individuals in non-educational placements, such as residential facilities at boarding schools, detention centers and hospital settings, as well as state Pre-K Counts, Head Start programs and preschool early intervention programs, private academic nursery schools and locally funded pre-K activities.

Masks will be mandatory in Pennsylvania schools. Here’s a Q&A on what the rule means for students and teachers
By MORNING CALL STAFF THE MORNING CALL | JUL 07, 2020 AT 4:42 PM
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Education Department posted a Q&A on its website, clarifying how the Health Department’s latest mask mandate applies to schools and students. Here are select questions from the full Q&A.

Will there be masks in Pa. schools this fall? The state says yes.
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Updated 6:19 AM; Today 6:00 AM
Pennsylvania public schools hope to welcome students back in August and September despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It just looks like students’ excited grins will now be hidden behind face coverings. The Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a Q&A about face masks Monday, July 6, on the heels of the state expanding its mask order beyond businesses. Amid rising COVID-19 cases across the state, Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine last week mandated that facial coverings must be worn anywhere outside the home where one can’t maintain six feet of distance in public. It means that school districts are again having to tweak their re-opening plans. For instance, the Bethlehem Area School District did not plan to have elementary school students wear masks.

“But if officials really want US schools fully open and operational—and also reasonably safe—in the fall, they will need to put money where their mouths are.”
Want Schools Open In The Fall? Then Pay For It.
Forbes by Peter Greene Senior Contributor Jul 7, 2020,12:28pm EDT
“SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!” tweeted Donald Trump (roughly three days after declaring that schools are teaching students to hate America). Education Secretary Betsy DeVos tweeted back, “American education must be fully open and operational this fall.” DeVos didn’t actually use the word “school,” but Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran certainly used it when mandating that all Florida schools must open in brick and mortar fashion for at least five days a week in August. Back in May, many folks were operating on the —well, “assumption” might be too strong, so let’s say “fervent hope”—that life would be more or less back to normal by the fall, and schools with it. But now the first day of school looms, and nobody is quite sure how to manage. Teachers are pointing out and pointing out and pointing out the many ways that school in a Covid-19 world faces some real problems. At the same time, all sorts of folks (most of whom don’t actually work in schools) are declaring that schools need to open. Juliette Kayyem, a former Department of Homeland Security Official, notes that the US has made the mistake of not calling schools “essential infrastructure” and calls for a “groundswell of public support” for schools.

Lawmakers will rule again over redrawing of Pa. political boundaries, but critics aren’t giving up
Inquirer by Cynthia Fernandez, Posted: July 8, 2020
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — For a moment, anti-gerrymandering advocates in Pennsylvania had a victory in sight.  Fed up with political districts that experts said were drawn to benefit one party over another, grassroots groups launched a campaign to take lawmakers out of the process and create a commission of everyday voters to do the work instead.  They held rallies, demanded public hearings, and even showed up on the doorstep of one top lawmaker’s home, all with the goal of getting a constitutional amendment to voters before maps are drawn again in 2021.  The stakes are significant: Independent research shows gerrymandering protects incumbents and strips communities of political power by heavily concentrating one party’s voters into a single district or spreading them out unnaturally.  But with the General Assembly on summer break, time has officially run out, said Fair Districts PA co-founder Carol Kuniholm: “The bills that were constitutional amendments are dead.” Advocates are now turning their attention to Plan B, a bill that would keep lawmakers at the helm of the process but check them through new transparency requirements. It would also institute new rules that would prohibit the most egregious practices, like disregarding county and city boundaries to pack voters into a single district.  

Amid Black Lives Matter protests, more school districts are pushing to address racism. Is it enough?
Bucks County Courier Times Anthony DiMattia and Chris English July 7, 2020
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — T.R. Kannan is no stranger to racism. The school board president in the Pennsbury School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has seen it firsthand before immigrating to the U.S. from India, where discrimination on religion, caste and gender is widespread. More than 20 years later, Kannan has grown accustomed to experiencing microaggressions, or unconscious biases that others may not be aware of.  “Sometimes there’s a feeling of unease that’s always there,” he said. “I’ve seen it myself, I’ve heard it from family, friends and everyone.” To create an environment in schools where students hopefully will not feel these pressures, the administration has asked the school board to come up with a plan to make equity a key focus by creating a dedicated position to provide “leadership and oversight in equity and excellence,” officials said. “You need to look at policies, you need to look at curriculum, you need to look at disciplinary practices, you need to look at simply educating everyone on what’s going on,” Kannan said. “You need to look at hiring. So I would say almost every aspect of what we need."

PSBA: Adopt the resolution against racial inequity
School boards are asked to adopt this resolution supporting the development of an anti-racist climate. The resolution is a template and may be revised based on local context to reflect the needs and commitments of your board and to include action steps taken to support this goal. Once adopted, share your resolution with your local community and submit a copy to PSBA.
Click here to download the resolution.
Click here to submit your adopted resolution.
Survey says Pottsgrove parents support return to school in the fall
LOWER POTTSGROVE — Two-thirds of Pottsgrove parents responding to a school district survey say they would return their children to school in the fall, despite coronavirus fears. The survey results also show that the older the students are, the more willing their parents are to have them return to school, at least part-time. Nevertheless, the majority of those responding also want to be assured property safety guidelines are in place. Parents are pretty evenly split about providing their own transportation to school and putting their students on a bus. Among three options — full-time in-person classes, half and half, or full-time at- home learning — the hybrid option was the least popular among parents who responded to the survey. The survey also showed that almost 100 percent of Pottsgrove households responding have Internet access; adequate bandwidth; and 85 percent have at least one device for each student in the household. As of June 24, 714 responses to the survey had been received, which represents 37 percent of the 1,950 families with students in the district. Schools across the Commonwealth and across the country are struggling to puzzle out the best response to the start of school, now less than two months away, and also follow the endlessly shifting health guidelines being issued to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Council Rock holding special reopening plan forum
The Council Rock school board will hold a special virtual forum Thursday night to discuss and get public feedback on the district’s health and safety plan for reopening schools.
Bucks County Courier Times By Chris English @CourierEnglish Posted Jul 7, 2020 at 11:22 AM
The district has a steering team and six committees working on its health and safety plan required for reopening schools in late August. The Council Rock school board will hold a special virtual forum at 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss and get public feedback on the district’s required health and safety plan for reopening schools in late August. A steering team and six committees are working on the plan, which the school board is expected to review sometime this month. The steering team consists of Superintendent Robert Fraser, other high-level administrators, the Council Rock nursing coordinator and the presidents of the teachers and support staff unions. The six committees, each consisting of staff members in various areas, have been tasked with looking at six topics related to reopening. They are: promoting a clean and safe environment; preparing for closure at a moment’s notice/business continuity planning; social distancing/logistics; caring for the district’s most vulnerable; distance learning and communication. Council Rock officials said they are preparing for multiple reopening scenarios and, like many districts across the area, are surveying parents and staff members to get their ideas on reopening.

House Bill Would Boost K-12 Aid by Over $500 Million, but Cut Charter School Fund
Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa on July 7, 2020 8:54 AM
The spending bill for the next fiscal year from House Democrats would increase spending on federal programs for low-income students, children with special needs, and for social-emotional learning—but the federal fund used to expand charter schools would lose nearly 10 percent of its money. The fiscal 2021 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Education was released Monday by the House appropriations committee. It aligns with previous Democratic pushes to increase funding for Title I education for the disadvantaged and Individuals with Disabilities Education state grants. However, there's a good chance that the annual appropriations process might not make real headway for several months; in fact, it's possible that Congress will simply roll over current spending well beyond Sept. 30, when fiscal 2020 is due to end.  The legislation "represents our critical work to defeat the coronavirus" and builds upon previous plans to counter the virus, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the chairwoman of the House subcommittee that oversees the Education Department's budget. But the bill released Monday isn't really focused on providing emergency relief for schools. For more on what a coronavirus bailout for education might focus on, go here. The subcommittee responsible for the department's budget in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, has yet to release an education appropriations bill for fiscal 20201. 

“In remarks announcing the lawsuit Tuesday, the top legal officers for California and Michigan stressed that the Education Department's rule takes resources away from needy students and improperly provides it to private school students, including those from affluent backgrounds.”
States Sue to Stop DeVos Rule on Virus Aid for Private School Students
Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa on July 7, 2020 3:14 PM
Several states have announced a legal challenge to overturn a recently published rule from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about how much federal coronavirus relief public school districts must set aside for private school students.  The suit has been filed by the state attorneys general for California and Michigan along with other three states and the District of Columbia.The suit seeks to have the courts declare DeVos' rule unlawful and to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing the rule. The rule that's the subject of the suit says districts that share CARES Act with all their schools, including those that didn't get federal aid for low-income students in the last school year, must reserve money to provide certain services to all local private school students. The rule adds another option for districts, although it might be unpalatable for many local school leaders.

Trump Leans on Schools to Reopen as Virus Continues Its Spread
President Trump spearheaded an administration-wide push to pry open the nation’s elementary and secondary schools, the next phase of his effort to get the economy on its feet.
New York Times By Peter Baker and Erica L. Green July 7, 2020Updated 9:35 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Trump demanded on Tuesday that schools reopen physically in the fall, pressing his drive to get the country moving again even as the coronavirus pandemic surged through much of the United States and threatened to overwhelm some health care facilities. In a daylong series of conference calls and public events at the White House, the president, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other senior officials opened a concerted campaign to lean on governors, mayors and others to resume classes in person months after more than 50 million children were abruptly ejected from school buildings in March. Mr. Trump and his administration argued that the social, psychological and educational costs of keeping children at home any longer would be worse than the virus itself. But they offered no concrete proposals or new financial assistance to states and localities struggling to restructure academic settings, staffs and programs that were never intended to keep children six feet apart or cope with the requirements of combating a virus that has killed more than 130,000 Americans.

“Best time to see Comet NEOWISE: The best time and place to look will be about 10º above the northeastern horizon before dawn. Comet NEOWISE is currently in the constellation of Taurus. It will soon enter Gemini, then visit Auriga, Lynx and Ursa Major. However, as July wears on, Comet NEOWISE should—if it remains this bright—be easier to see because it will be higher above the horizon. Comet NEOWISE will be closest to the Earth on July 23, 2020, so that’s going to be the peak week to look if it remains bright. That’s also when Comet NEOWISE will be visible before midnight and during a New Moon, so the night skies will be dark.”
How To See Comet NEOWISE From Your Backyard This Week
Forbes by Jamie Carter Senior Contributor Jul 6, 2020,10:00am EDT
It’s time to see a comet in 2020—complete with a tail!
After a few weeks of will-it, won’t-itComet NEOWISE appears to have survived a close encounter with the Sun (unlike Comet ATLAS and Comet SWAN, which both fell apart) and has become easy to see in binoculars in the northern hemisphere—and has even become a naked-eye object. Imaging Comet NEOWISE on July 5, 2020, Flagstaff, Arizona-based photographer Jeremy Perez described it on Twitter as “an easy naked-eye object, but really rewarding through binoculars.”


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 seeking Allwein Society nominations
POSTED ON JUNE 29, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS
PSBA is accepting nominations for The Allwein Society, the association’s award program recognizing school directors who are outstanding leaders and advocates on behalf of public schools and students. This prestigious honor was created in 2011 in memory of Timothy M. Allwein, a former PSBA staff member who exemplified the integrity and commitment to advance political action for the benefit of public education. Learn more and submit your nomination online.

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 270 PA school boards have adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be a concern as over 270 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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