Started in
November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors,
administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, superintendents, school solicitors,
principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
These daily
emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
If any of your colleagues would like to be added to the
email list please have them send their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
Advocates are sounding the alarm on impending threats to
districts’ ability to operate the federal school meals programs this fall
Learn more about the history of
cyber charters, their academic performance and the impact of cybers on your
local district school.
Cyber Charter Schools
Webinar August 26, 1:00 pm
Free and
Open to the Public · Hosted by Councilmember Helen Gym
As families across the state plan for
the start of the school year, join Councilmember Helen Gym, PA Auditor General
Eugene DePasquale, Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Public Citizens for
Children and Paige Joki, Staff Attorney at Education Law Center for a
discussion on Cyber Charters. This event is free and open to the public. RSVP
and submit questions for the experts at: tinyurl.com/cybercharters
Parents considering cyber charters due to COVID might not
be aware of their 20 year consistent track record of academic underperformance.
School Districts Reportedly Opening Virtual Only as of
August 20, 2020
Keystone State Education Coalition
Blogger note: this is work in process. Please
let me know if you have additions or corrections to this list
August Advocate: USDA COVID-19 School Nutrition Waivers
Each month, the AASA policy and advocacy team
writes an article that is shared with our state association executive
directors, which they can run in their state newsletters as a way to build a
direct link between AASA and our affiliates as well as AASA advocacy and our
superintendents. The article is called The Advocate, and here is the August
2020 edition.
As we’ve previously highlighted on the
Leading Edge Blog, school leaders, nutrition directors,
and advocates are beginning to sound the alarm on
impending threats to districts’ ability to operate the federal school meals
programs this fall. The current concerns are with the decision, by U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture’s, Sonny Perdue not to extend or establish any new
Family First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA) waivers/flexibilities for the 2020-21
school year (SY).
Background: The
passage of the FFCRA enabled the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) to pass
flexibilities and waivers associated with the federal school meals programs.
Most notably for school districts, this work resulted in USDA’s (1) Unexpected
School Closures, (2) Nationwide Meal Times, (3) Non-congregate Feeding, (4)
Meal Pattern, (5) Parent/Guardian Meal Pick-Up, (6) Afterschool Activity, (7)
Area Eligibility, (8) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) Parent Pick Up,
(9) FFVP Alternate Sites, (10) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Data, and
(11) 60-Day Reporting waivers. Additionally, the passage of the Family First
Coronavirus Response Act granted USDA the authority to create the Pandemic EBT
program. A comprehensive chart of all of USDA‘s COVID-19 waivers is
available here. Please
note this figure includes a description and expiration date for each of the
department’s previously mentioned waiver or program.
Although Sec. Perdue has elected to extend
the non-congregate, meal service time, meal pattern flexibility, and parent
pick-up waivers until August 31, 2021, at this stage in the game, it is clear
that more extensions and flexibilities will be necessary for school districts
to sustain their nutritional services next year. Specifically, this is the case
because many students will not be in the building five days a week or have
access to school breakfast and lunch each day, and districts are still in the
process of establishing what “school” will look like next year. Therefore, to
preserve the feasibility of school districts operating the federal meals
programs, AASA is requesting the following policy changes from USDA.
Students of Color Caught in the Homework Gap
17 million kids have no wired broadband; 7.3
million have no computer or tablet; disparities greatest for poor children,
children of color and rural children.
Alliance for Excellent Education 2020
Pa. lawmakers concerned ‘guidance’ for schools could open
the door to COVID-19 lawsuits
Inquirer by Cynthia Fernandez, Posted: August
19, 2020- 7:12 PM
Spotlight
PA is an independent, non-partisan
newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The
Patriot-News, Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign
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HARRISBURG — As students prepare to begin a
highly unusual school year, Pennsylvania lawmakers on Wednesday told Wolf
administration officials that they are concerned the state’s COVID-19 guidance
could open districts to lawsuits. Potential liability should students or staff
become infected with COVID-19 at school is a top concern among education
leaders. Some districts are making changes to plans to operate in-person,
virtually, or through a hybrid model as the state updates its
recommendations. While the administration ordered the
closure of schools statewide in April, it has left decisions about fall
operations to local districts. The Departments of Health and Education in July
released guidelines recommending, among other policies, that schools keep
students at least six feet apart and serve meals in classrooms. But during a
joint House and Senate hearing Wednesday, the minority chair of the Senate
Education Committee told top state officials that district leaders don’t see
the guidance as optional.
Pa. schools are worried about lawsuits if they ignore
state COVID-19 guidance; ’Don’t let the fear envelop you,’ lawmaker says
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Aug
19, 2020; Posted Aug 19, 2020
School boards and superintendents are asking
lawmakers for protection from lawsuits that may arise if they choose to ignore
guidance from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in
their buildings. With school starting in some corners of Pennsylvania already
and in others within the next few weeks, lawmakers say school leaders are
finding themselves in a situation of deciding whether to shift gears to comply
with the last-minute changes in state guidance or continue down the path they
charted for themselves at the risk of getting sued. The issue of liability that
schools may carry if they ignore the state’s guidance was among several topics
raised during a joint hearing on Wednesday of the House and Senate education
committees with state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera and Health Secretary Dr.
Rachel Levine. Senate Education Committee Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria County,
led off the hearing, complaining about the new guidance the departments issued
in recent days about the type of instructional
delivery a school should use based on the
community spread of COVID-19 in a county. He also criticized an order issued on Monday
requiring students to wear facial coverings all day,
with limited exceptions, even if they are six feet away from others has led to
upheaval in schools. “When are we going to trust local school districts and
stop issuing recommendations that are essentially mandates that leave them more
confused than they were in June?” Langerholc said.
PA cyber academy enrollments surge with cash-strapped
districts left to foot the bill
WLVR Lehigh Valley Public Media By Chloe
Nouvelle August 18, 2020
Pennsylvania cyber charter leaders say
they’re seeing a surge in student enrollments. One cyber official says his
school is on track to double their student count this year. It’s turning
out to be a trend that’s worrying public school superintendents. For some
of the commonwealth’s school districts, cyber school tuition may turn out to be
another, substantial, pandemic related cost. That’s because when a student
enrolls at a public cyber school, their local district is sent a tuition bill.
Even though Christopher Dormer, the superintendent of the Norristown area
school district, sent less than 130 students to cyber schools last year, he
says his bill was still in the millions. “The $125-ish that we have now, cost
us upwards of you know, probably two to three million dollars,” said Dormer. And
Dormer says he wouldn’t be surprised if that number went up this year. This is
all coming at a time when schools have to invest in their own new, digital
supplies and programs while expecting less cash to come in. “We’re predicting
somewhere between a four and six million dollar reduction in local revenues
based on what we collected last year.” Dormer says he supports school choice
but given the pandemic. He’d now like to see the department of education cap
cyber charter enrollments or their tuition rates.
Children’s Hospital Policy Review: Evidence and
Considerations for School Reopenings
DATE: Aug 2020 Download here:
Staffing shortages force East Pennsboro to switch to
fully remote instruction
The Sentinel Joseph Cress August 19,
2020
Gaps in staffing have forced the East
Pennsboro Area School District to switch gears suddenly to a fully remote
learning model a week before school is scheduled to begin. Just a week ago,
district officials were planning to start 2020-2021 in a “Level II” blended
learning/hybrid model where students would attend in-person classes two days a
week and online instruction three days a week, according to an article on Pennlive.com this
week. But staffing issues forced the school board to convene an emergency
meeting Monday to switch to fully remote learning. So many teachers have gone
on sabbatical or sought medical waivers from classroom duty due to COVID-19
that the district can’t properly staff the in-person component of the hybrid
model, district spokesperson Katelynn Edger told Pennlive Tuesday morning. She
added the situation is exacerbated by regular staff vacancies and the need for
students to practice social distancing and other anti-viral measures. “The
stark reality is that we did not have enough qualified teachers and aides able
and willing to teach face-to-face with students to begin school in Level II,”
district officials told parents in an email.
Exeter School District to furlough 90 support staff
workers
Pottstown Mercury By Michelle N. Lynch
mlynch@readingeagle.com @BerksMichelle on Twitter Aug 19, 2020
Ninety employees of the Exeter School
District will be furloughed, effective Sept. 19.
The school board voted at a meeting Tuesday to
place the 90 on furlough until the district returns to either a hybrid
instruction model or a fully in-person instruction model. The board voted early
this month to begin the school year using remote education only, due to the
coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic has created a huge number of very difficult
votes and decisions for our district,” Kimberly I. Minor, district
superintendent, said when introducing the resolution authorizing the furlough.
“And certainly this item this evening represents one of the most difficult for
anybody to face. “This is not a referendum on the value of these positions and
it is certainly not a referendum on the value of the employees,” she said. Minor,
in a telephone interview Wednesday, said the administration had an obligation
to review all employees who receive salaries and benefits through taxpayer
funds and ensure the district could provide them with meaningful work during
the period of remote instruction. The duties of 290 support staff were
scrutinized, she said, and the district determined it could not provide
meaningful work for 90 employees.
Virtual classes force staff furloughs in Chichester
Delco Times by Pete Bannan Pbannan@21st-Centurymedia.com August 20,
2020
With classes starting virtually in Chichester
schools, the district will be furloughing some staff employees, Superintendent
Daniel G. Nerelli has confirmed. “Due to the virtual teaching, yes, we are
looking at reducing some of our departments because of the lack of work,”
Nerelli said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Each department is going to have
their reduction of staff. Those numbers haven’t been fully identified.” Nerelli
said administrators met with some staff and bus drivers on Wednesday, though they
hadn’t gotten to the point of officially notified groups of furloughs. The
reductions do not include teaching positions. However, some classroom support
staff may be affected. Bus drivers and support staff were paid though the
spring when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools. A state General Assembly
mandate known as Act 13 required districts to pay any staff employed as of
March 13 for the remainder of the year.
Nerelli said that mandate ended and now the
district has to be responsive to taxpayers who question paying staff when there
isn’t enough work for them.
Greater Johnstown teachers question safety of return to
classes
Johnstown Tribune Democrat By Joshua Byers jbyers@tribdem.com August 20,
2020
The Greater Johnstown School Board had
to cancel its special meeting Wednesday because too many people
showed up. Teachers from the district attended en masse to voice their concerns
about the safety of reopening schools for the next academic year and with
the board members and administrators the room reached the state
recommended limit of 25 people per gathering. “We just want to convey the
feeling that, basically, ‘not until it’s safe,’ ” Greater Johnstown Education
Association President-elect Nancy Behe said on behalf of the group. Several
factors about the return have the teachers worried not just about
their health but that of the students as well. Behe said there’s concern
about the rising number of cases in the area and multisystem inflammatory
syndrome in children, a condition that inflames various parts of the body,
including internal organs, and is found in those who have either had COVID-19
or been around someone who has.
Abington Heights students will officially begin school
year online
Times Tribune BY KATHLEEN BOLUS STAFF WRITER Aug 19,
2020
Students in the Abington Heights School
District will begin their school year on Sept. 9 virtually with the intent of
returning to school under a hybrid model on Oct. 5 if pandemic conditions
permit safe in-person instruction. The school board unanimously approved the
district’s reopening plan during a virtual meeting Wednesday, where
administrators also discussed what students’ days will look like if the
district returns to part-time in-person instruction. Beginning on Sept. 9,
students in kindergarten through fourth grade will receive live, interactive
daily lessons in all core subjects and specials courses. Attendance in live
sessions is encouraged but not mandatory. Recorded lessons would be available.
Students in grades 5-12 would follow the district’s normal bell schedule and
participate in live instructional periods. Attendance for live lessons is
mandatory.
East Penn School District announces middle and high
school students will go fully remote
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING
CALL | AUG 19, 2020 AT 8:15 PM
All middle and high school students in East
Penn School District will start the school year remotely after the district
announced Wednesday that it couldn’t carry out its plans for hybrid learning. Most
East Penn families, about 5,000, opted for hybrid learning in which their
children would physically attend school half the time based on their last
names. Another 2,000 families opted to keep their children fully remote. Now
those with children in middle and high schools won’t have a choice. Elementary
school students can still attend school under the hybrid model, or fully
remote. In a message to families, Superintendent Kristen Campbell said the
district hopes secondary students can have a hybrid model starting Oct. 26. “This
is a reminder for all families that situations regarding the reopening of our
schools are constantly changing,” she wrote. “We understand that these changes
can be significant and are a disruption to family schedules.” She said the
reopening plan was complicated by staffing issues and district officials
decided to refocus resources on their youngest students.
Here's when Lancaster County school districts are
starting the 2020-2021 school year
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer August 19,
2020
In less than one week, many Lancaster County
public school students who haven't seen the inside of a classroom since the
middle of March will return to school. Tuesday marks the beginning of the
school year for several county school districts. Others, a handful of which
pushed the first day of school back to squeeze in another week to prepare, will
start as late as Sept. 8. As it stands, the only Lancaster County school
districts planning to start fully remote are School District of Lancaster and
Octorara Area. The latter serves students from Chester and Lancaster counties. The
other 15 school districts are either reopening under a blended model, in which
students learn in-person some days and online other days, or a fully in-person
plan with online options.
LGBTQ teachers forced to balance schoolwork and staying
safe
By Sebastian Fortino Special to the Capital-Star August 20,
2020
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s new school
year begins on September 2, but it will be virtual, for now. In late July the
school board voted 7-1 to keep students learning virtually until at least
November. In-person learning in public schools has been suspended since March
13, though distance learning still remains far from ideal. How have teachers
adjusted to the challenges of Zoom classrooms, and what are they concerned
about as their schools try to adjust to the realities of COVID-19? PGN spoke
with four LGBTQ educators on how they feel going in to the new school year. Maddie
Luebbert has been teaching for four years in the City of Philadelphia. They
currently teach English at the Kensington Health Sciences Academy. Luebbert and
many other school teachers across the city were grateful when the school
district of Philadelphia announced that classes would be 100% virtual for now.
Initially, a hybrid model was suggested with students coming in on alternating
days, but this didn’t sit well with the teachers involved. “Many of us knew
that [reopening physically] would take strong district leadership, tons of
supplies, and equitable oversight to be successful, which added major doubts:
our district has a pretty bad track record on doing what it says it will when
it says it will,” said Luebbert. “The change to a virtual start happened after
an outpouring of debate and critique from the community.”
Neshaminy OKs tax relief measures
Chris English Bucks
County Courier Times August 19, 2020
Neshaminy School District officials are
providing a little relief this year for residents who might be having a hard
time paying their property taxes because of financial hardship created by the
coronavirus pandemic or other reasons. The school board voted unanimously
during Tuesday night's live meeting at Maple Point Middle School to extend the
2% discount period for paying taxes from Aug. 31 to Sept. 30. Included in the
same motion was the elimination this year of the 10% penalty for those who pay
their property taxes after Oct. 31, so long as they are paid by Dec. 31. Extending
the discount period was suggested by board President Steve Pirritano, and the
other board members readily agreed to add it to the motion that was approved. "I
don't believe it would be detrimental to the finances of the district," he
said. Business Administrator Donald Irwin agreed, saying that tax collections
are actually running ahead of schedule and that the two tax relief measures are
very appropriate in the current economic climate. "These steps would not
have any effect on our finances whatsoever," he said. "And there are
a lot of people struggling at this time."
Central York school board punts on curriculum decision
after controversy
Lindsay C VanAsdalan York
Dispatch August 18, 2020
Central York's school board voted
unanimously Monday to table a vote on a social studies curriculum after
two board members took issue with its depictions of race relations, white privilege
and police. About 3½ hours into a meeting — during which the school board
nearly swapped its reopening plan for a fully online model — board member
Veronica Gemma said Monday was not the time to rush into a curriculum
decision and requested time for the board to do more research. "I
want to make it clear that I support diversity and I love and respect all
people ... there are simply too many other pressing issues to deal with
relating to COVID and opening school," she said. The decision to punt
came a week after Gemma and board member Vicki Guth criticized the
proposed curriculum, saying it was too focused on white privilege and
racism and failed to acknowledge the value of police officers. Both said was
inappropriate to be talking about these issues with children, with Gemma adding
that children should not be viewed as “racist." The curriculum would be
tailored to students in grades K-12. A district statement Aug. 11
stressed comments from individual board members did not reflect the
views of the board or district as a whole.
Insurance could become hurdle if PIAA OKs fall seasons
Beaver County Ties by Tom Reisenweber Erie
Times News August 20, 2020
The months-long saga over whether the
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association will conduct fall sports
should come to a defining moment Friday. The final say on which schools will
compete this fall, however, might go on another week or two while individual
school districts determine whether their athletes will compete. Now it appears
liability and the PIAA’s insurance might become issues with school boards. The
PIAA is set to meet on Friday at 3 p.m. via Zoom to take a final vote on
whether to move forward with fall sports during the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic. All indications point
toward a vote to approve fall sports after
PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi told the Pennsylvania Senate’s Athletic
Oversight Committee on Tuesday, “We would like to move forward with sports.”
Citizens United 10 years on
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Pittsburgh Post-Gazette AUG
20, 2020 6:15 AM
American politics is the most expensive game
in the world. You have to pay to play.
Private interests with the means to pay are
uniquely positioned to influence political outcomes. Politicians meanwhile must
ingratiate themselves to a tiny fraction of the electorate who can fund their
political careers. That system was in play long before 2010; however, the
Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case broke the corporate dam,
and with it the trust of the American people. Since the early 20th century,
American courts consistently ruled that corporations were subject to
restrictions during campaign seasons, and legislation prevented them from
paying directly for political advertisements. The Roberts court deemed this
unconstitutional on the grounds that banning such advertising is a violation of
free speech rights. Citizens United gave corporations the same privilege
wealthy individuals won in the Buckley v. Valeo decision in 1976: unlimited
spending. For decades the affluent have been able to pay to see their ideology
translated into public policy, and to block any reform seen as threatening to
the status quo.
‘We got as wet as everyone else’: Pa. teachers’ pension
fund to dump billions in underperforming Wall Street investments
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso August 19,
2020
The state teacher’s pension fund is pulling
almost $2 billion from Wall Street firms that promised, and failed, to bring in
steady financial returns even during uncertain times. The Pennsylvania Public
School Employees Retirement System unanimously agreed to the move in a board
meeting Wednesday as part of a reallocation of about $5 billion out of hedge
funds and pipelines and into stocks, bonds, commodities and infrastructure,
among others. The biggest move is cutting the pension’s investments in
so-called “risk parity” funds that have only lost value since PSERS first
invested in them in 2012. Risk parity funds use diverse investments to try to
perform well even during a stock market tumble, and have gained popularity
since the 2008 crash, according to Reuters.
Dark money mystery: Top Pa. lawmaker helped raise cash
for nonprofit whose agenda is largely a secret
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad
Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus, Posted: 35 minutes ago
Spotlight
PA is an independent, non-partisan
newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The
Patriot-News, Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — In early March, a little-known
Pennsylvania nonprofit called the Growth and Opportunity Fund Inc. hosted a
gathering of donors at a California golf resort frequented by professional
athletes, Hollywood celebrities, and presidents. The main draw at the posh La
Quinta club near Palm Springs that day: state Senate Majority Leader Jake
Corman, a Republican from Centre County who is next in line to ascend to the
chamber’s most powerful job later this year. Unlike traditional campaign
events, however, the money Corman helped the Growth and Opportunity Fund raise
that day was dark money. Launched by Ray Zaborney, a well-known political
strategist who runs Corman’s campaigns and also doubles as a lobbyist, the fund
has been operating in Pennsylvania for six years with little public presence or
policy impact.
For those seeking to influence the agenda in
Harrisburg without public scrutiny, such funds are particularly useful tools.
They do not have to disclose a word about who bankrolls them, and must only
make public limited information on spending.
‘Just a mess’: $1m spent on Pittsburgh Public packets
with more financial challenges to come
Public Source by TyLisa
C. Johnson | August 19, 2020
The scramble to get Pittsburgh Public
students back to learning in the spring led to at least one costly and now
locally infamous stopgap. The printed instructional packets distributed to
students and described by several parents as "a complete failure" and
"just a mess" cost the district more than $1 million to print and
assemble. The district printed 60,000-plus instructional packets as it
attempted to quickly move its 23,000 students online in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic. They were to serve as a needed resource to continue learning
for all students, especially those without access to technology or the internet,
but the packets drew swift criticism from families for being inconsistent,
dense and illegible at points. When Melanie Tedesco, mother to three
students in the district, reflects on the instructional packets, she sighs.
Then, she rattles off a list of reasons to explain why she thought “they were
terrible.” Tedesco wasn’t alone in this thought. She spoke to at least eight
other families and said, “I don’t know any family that ended up liking them at
all.” The instructional packets from the spring illustrate the tip of the
iceberg in unprecedented, increased spending districts statewide will face in
the months and possibly years to come as they grapple with the best solutions
to keep students learning and families and staff safe.
IG report: High school construction project exposed
Philadelphia students, staff to ‘deplorable conditions’
Chalkbeat Philly By Dale Mezzacappa Aug
19, 2020, 1:37pm EDT
The botched construction project to move the
elite Science Leadership Academy into Benjamin Franklin High School last year
was plagued by “a series of critical missteps,” according to a report released
Wednesday by the district’s Inspector General. The errors — including an
unrealistic timeline and the decision for Benjamin Franklin students to remain
in the building during the renovations — exposed “students, staff, and contractors
to deplorable conditions and caused costs to balloon, according to the 124-page
report. Among the more startling revelations: Some staff members at Ben
Franklin were hospitalized for breathing problems as construction dust swirled
through the building during the work conducted during the 2018-19 school year.
Concerns from staff, including the principal, were ignored. Principal Christine
Borelli advised the month before school started in September 2019 that the
building was not ready for SLA to move in, but those warnings also were not
heeded. Two SLA students with asthma were hospitalized before the building was
finally closed.
On the $50M Ben Franklin/SLA project, Philly school
district ignored warning signs, endangered students’ health
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Wendy Ruderman, Updated: August 19, 2020-
7:51 PM
The Philadelphia School District ignored
warning signs, rushed crucial work, wasted money, and endangered students and
staff on a disastrous $50 million construction project aimed at co-locating
Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy, the district’s
inspector general has found. There were “critical missteps” in the planning,
design, and construction stages of the project that resulted in significant
environmental and health concerns and ultimately the displacement of nearly
1,000 students, the inspector general said in a report issued Wednesday. The
findings echo an Inquirer
investigation of the project. The 124-page
report lays out in blistering detail layers of missteps that doomed the
project, swelled its cost to five times the original budget, and landed staff
and students in the hospital. But the mistakes should have been no surprise to
district higher-ups, it said. Teachers, principals, district staff, and
contractors voiced concerns throughout the project.
Will school work this year? Philly students and teachers
share hopes and fears
Online learning feels safest, but it can also
have drawbacks.
Billy Penn by Mustafa Aboud Yesterday, 12:45 p.m.
Schools are some of the most densely-packed
places in modern society, so in light of pandemic social distancing, districts
across the nation have come up with alternative learning plans. After first
rolling out a hybrid education model, the School District of Philadelphia
changed course and is now planning online only. But Philly students, parents
and teachers are still full of worry — and it seems like there’s little chance
of finding a solution that can satisfy everyone. “If you contract this virus,
you wouldn’t know for weeks,” said Miracle Smith, a junior at Penn Treaty High,
asked how she’d feel about attending class in person. “You might pass that on
to somebody else and you wouldn’t know until the symptoms start to show up.” On
the other side, there are concerns about how effective virtual classrooms can
be, especially for certain students or subjects. “I go to an art school,” said
Kaitlyn Rodriguez, a sophomore at Kensington High School for the Creative and
Performing Arts. “I feel like online wouldn’t be as beneficial for art or
ceramics.” Then there’s the fact that some teachers are also parents, with kids
who go to school in districts that do have in-person learning.
Charlie Dent: I'm voting for Joe Biden
CNN Opinion by Charlie Dent Updated 5:02 PM
ET, Wed August 19, 2020
Republican Charlie Dent is a former US
congressman from Pennsylvania who served as chairman of the House Ethics
Committee from 2015 until 2016 and chairman of the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
from 2015 until 2018. He is a CNN political commentator. The views expressed in
this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.
(CNN)I cast my
first vote at the age of 18 in 1978 for Dick Thornburgh. That year, he won the
race for Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and would later serve as
Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Two years
later I voted for
Arlen Specter, who replaced outgoing
moderate Republican Senator Richard Schweiker. In 1990, I received a
powerful endorsement during my first race for State Representative while
standing next to Pennsylvania's other US Senator, the much beloved John Heinz.
Four years later I campaigned for -- and was a very early supporter -- of
then-US Congressman Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker in their successful run for
Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. This is the Pennsylvania
Republican Party, in which I proudly and very comfortably grew up. Label these
great public servants however you choose — center-right, pragmatic, common
sense conservative, moderate or centrist — it really doesn't matter. What these
men represented, most assuredly, was the governing wing of the Republican
Party. They were all thoughtful, measured and steady leaders who came from the
tradition of former Pennsylvania Gov. William Scranton, Sr., who
unsuccessfully challenged Barry
Goldwater for the 1964 Republican Presidential nomination. All of them, like
myself, would have no doubt called themselves Abraham Lincoln Republicans. From
that noble heritage came Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower,
Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and the Bushes, all of whom we hailed as decent,
honorable and impactful leaders. The same would be said of GOP Presidential
candidates Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. So here we are, with
President Donald Trump, who has never been part of this great tradition. In
fact, he speaks disparagingly
and disrespectfully of his predecessors. What's worse, he has spent the better
part of his presidency undermining the
international order — methodically and carefully built, defended and repurposed
on a bipartisan basis after World War II and again after the Cold War.
Nurses Are on the Virus Front Lines. But Many Schools
Don’t Have One.
Less than 40 percent of the nation’s schools
had a full-time nurse before the pandemic, and there has been no national
effort to hire more.
New York Times By Dan
Levin Aug. 20, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
As the lone nurse for her school district in
central Washington State, Janna Benzel will monitor 1,800 students for
coronavirus symptoms when classrooms open this month, on top of her normal
responsibilities like managing allergies, distributing medications and writing
hundreds of immunization plans. “I’ll have to go to these schools and assess
every sniffle and sneeze that could potentially be a positive case,” she said.
“I just don’t know if I can do it alone.” School nurses are already in short
supply, with less than 40 percent of schools employing one full time before the
pandemic. Now those overburdened health care specialists are finding themselves
on the front lines of a risky, high-stakes experiment in protecting public
health as districts reopen their doors amid spiking caseloads in many parts of
the country. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every school
have a nurse on site. But before the outbreak, according to the National Association of
School Nurses, a quarter of American schools did
not have one at all. And there has been no national effort to provide districts
with new resources for hiring them, although some states have tapped federal relief
funds.
Blogger commentary:
Parents considering cyber charters due to COVID might not be aware
of their 20 year 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.
PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference October 14-15
Virtual
Registration is now open for the first ever
virtual School Leadership Conference! Join us for all-new educational sessions,
dynamic speakers, exhibitors, and more! Visit the website for registration
information: https://t.co/QfinpBL69u #PASLC20 https://t.co/JYeRhJLUmZ
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.
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: http://ow.ly/yJWA50B2R72
Save The Date: The PSBA 2020 Equity Summit is happening
virtually on October 13th.
Discover how to build a foundation for equity
in practice and policy.
Learn more: https://t.co/KQviB4TTOj
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.
287 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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