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
With the first schools open barely a week, one question
is quickly arising: How many positive cases should it take to close down again?
Taxpayers in Senate Minority
Caucus chair Wayne Fontana’s school districts paid over $20.2 million in
2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA
taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Avonworth SD
|
$302,648.84
|
|
Baldwin-Whitehall SD
|
$176,513.64
|
|
Bethel Park SD
|
$533,060.80
|
|
Carlynton SD
|
$699,608.18
|
|
Chartiers Valley SD
|
$546,152.59
|
|
Cornell SD
|
$196,303.00
|
|
Fox Chapel Area SD
|
$953,625.65
|
|
Keystone Oaks SD
|
$713,439.83
|
|
Montour SD
|
$567,028.18
|
|
Northgate SD
|
$1,265,906.34
|
|
Pittsburgh SD
|
$12,976,083.08
|
|
Shaler Area SD
|
$1,318,511.10
|
|
Sto-Rox SD
|
NA
|
|
|
$20,248,881.23
|
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?
Census, Cut Short A Month, Rushes To Finish All Counting
Efforts By Sept. 30
NPR by HANSI LO WANG August 3,
20209:07 PM ET
The Census Bureau is ending all counting
efforts for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month shorter than previously
announced, the bureau's director confirmed Monday in a statement. That
includes critical door-knocking efforts and collecting responses online, over
the phone and by mail. The latest updates to the bureau's plans are part of
efforts to "accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment
counts by our statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, as required by law and
directed by the Secretary of Commerce," who oversees the bureau, Director
Steven Dillingham said in the written statement posted on the bureau's
website. These last-minute changes to the
constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the U.S. threaten the
accuracy of population numbers used to determine the distribution of political
representation and federal funding for the next decade. With roughly 4 out of 10 households nationwide yet to be
counted and already delayed by the
coronavirus pandemic, the bureau now has less than two months left to try to
reach people of color, immigrants, renters, rural residents and other members
of historically undercounted groups who are not likely to fill out a census
form on their own.
As the Coronavirus Comes to School, a Tough Choice: When
to Close
As schools in the South and the Midwest
reopen this week, officials must decide what steps to take as staff members and
students test positive.
New York Times By Sarah
Mervosh and Shawn
Hubler Aug. 3, 2020
More than 200 employees have been barred from
work in Georgia’s largest school district. A high school in Indiana had to
shift to online learning after just two days. And students in Mississippi were
forced to quarantine after classmates tested positive for the coronavirus
during the first week of classes. The new academic year is off to a chaotic
start as schools open in some parts of the country while infections continue to
rage. Already in the South and the Midwest, students and teachers have brought
the virus to school with them, triggering quarantines, delayed openings and
temporary shutdowns as positive tests roll in. With the
first schools open barely a week, one question is quickly arising: How many
positive cases should it take to close down again? It is a question to
which education leaders have received vague, sometimes conflicting answers from
state and local officials, with widely varying standards in different parts of
the country. In New York City, two cases in unrelated classrooms would be
enough to trigger a temporary closure of an entire school, which could be
extended for two weeks. But California’s rules say its schools should shut down
if 5 percent of the staff and students test positive, which in large schools
could mean scores of cases. Mississippi guidelines say that schools “may
consider dismissal” if at least three classrooms have
simultaneous outbreaks. Federal recommendations also leave the decisions
largely up to schools, saying that “a single case of Covid-19 in a school would
not likely warrant closing the entire school.”
“The mistake in Israel,” he said, “is that you can open the
education system, but you have to do it gradually, with certain limits, and you
have to do it in a very careful way.” The United States is facing similar
pressures to fully reopen schools, and President Trump has threatened to
withhold funding for districts that don’t reopen. But the U.S. is in a far
worse position than Israel was in May: Israel had fewer than 100 new infections
a day then. The U.S. is now averaging more than 60,000 new cases a day, and
some states continue to set alarming records.”
When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools. It
Didn’t Go Well.
As countries consider back-to-school
strategies for the fall, a coronavirus outbreak at a Jerusalem high school
offers a cautionary tale.
New York Times By Isabel Kershner and Pam
Belluck Aug. 4, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ET
JERUSALEM — As the United States and other
countries anxiously consider how to reopen schools, Israel, one of the first
countries to do so, illustrates the dangers of moving too precipitously. Confident
it had beaten the coronavirus and desperate to reboot a devastated economy, the
Israeli government invited the entire student body back in late May. Within
days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly
mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the
world. The virus rippled out to the students’ homes and then to other schools
and neighborhoods, ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and
relatives. Other outbreaks forced hundreds of schools to close. Across the
country, tens of thousands of students and teachers were quarantined. Israel’s
advice for other countries? “They definitely should not do what we have
done,” said Eli Waxman, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and
chairman of the team advising Israel’s National Security Council on the
pandemic. “It was a major failure.” The lesson, experts say, is that even
communities that have gotten the spread of the virus under control need to take
strict precautions when reopening schools. Smaller classes, mask wearing,
keeping desks six feet apart and providing adequate ventilation, they say, are
likely to be crucial until a vaccine is available.
“If there is a low number of cases, there is
an illusion that the disease is over,” said Dr. Hagai Levine, a professor of
epidemiology and chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health
Physicians. “But it’s a complete illusion.”
Teachers, education officials ask Senate Democrats for
state guidance on school reopening
Penn Live By Nolan
Simmons | nsimmons@pennlive.com Posted
Aug 03, 2020
Several teachers and education officials
asked for stronger state guidance for the reopening of Pennsylvania schools
during a Monday policy hearing held by state Senate Democrats. Attendees asked
lawmakers to make reopening procedures more standard across the state and to
support school districts financially so schools can afford the resources
necessary to provide both online and in-person education safe and effectively. Parents,
teachers and students want to be back in the classroom, said Arthur Steinberg,
president of the American Federation of Teachers in Pennsylvania. But reopening
must be done safely, with regard to the danger of COVID-19, he said. “We only
have one chance to get school reopening right. There is no margin for error.
And make no mistake about it, this virus is deadly. It kills people,” Steinberg
said. “However, before we can even consider reopening schools, there are
dangers to mitigate and public health benchmarks to hit in order to protect the
educators and workers who occupy these buildings every single day.”
Staying at home: Pittsburgh students to learn remotely
for first 9 weeks, board decides unanimously
In two unanimous votes, the board of
directors for Pittsburgh Public quelled coronavirus anxieties for many
families, teachers and staff
Public Source by TyLisa
C. Johnson | July 31, 2020
More than 1,200 people tuned into the meeting
as all Pittsburgh Public Schools board members chimed in on the resolution.
Heeding the calls from dozens of families and
teachers, the Pittsburgh Public Schools nine-member board voted unanimously
Friday to both postpone in-person instruction for the first nine weeks of the
fall semester and approve the district’s health and safety plan, putting to
rest some anxieties for many teachers, staff and families. The resolution to
kick-off the school year remotely for the district’s nearly 23,000 students was
first introduced by Board Member Kevin Carter at a July 22 meeting. At the
meeting, Carter said he knows the stress a nine-week delay will cause families,
however, “we must be mindful that this virus" is impacting the education
community worldwide, not just Pittsburgh. “Are you willing to gamble the lives
of the students and staff? Because that’s what this vote means today,” said
Carter, who listed the multiple school districts nationwide, including Los
Angeles and Philadelphia, which have
opted to begin the school year with remote learning for all.
“This meeting tonight is being held remotely because it was not
safe to gather a large number of people in person,” he said. “So if adults
cannot have a meeting in person, why would we subject our students and staff to
the unnecessary health risk of gathering in person?”
Camp Hill school superintendent abruptly retires as
district settles on reopening plan
By Hannah
Kanik | hkanik@pennlive.com Updated Aug 04, 2020; Posted Aug
03, 2020
After presenting the latest draft of the Camp
Hill School District reopening plan, Superintendent
Patricia Craig announced her retirement at the school board’s virtual work
session Aug. 3. The board will outline its next steps in finding a replacement
for Craig, who has been the
superintendent for the past three years, at its
next meeting Aug. 10. Craig did not immediately respond to requests for comment
on her decision to retire this year. “We will miss working with such a
hardworking, conscientious, and dedicated leader like [Craig],” board member
Stephen Karl said. The board discussed the district plan for reopening school,
which has classes slated to start in a hybrid model that brings students
in-person for instruction Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while conducting remote
learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students and staff will be required to wear
masks throughout the school day, according to the plan.
Board rules no classroom instruction for Avon Grove
students this fall
West Chester Daily Local By Jen Samuel jsamuel@dailylocal.com
@jenpoetess on Twitter August 4, 2020
LONDON BRITAIN — Students enrolled in the
Avon Grove School District won’t have the opportunity to return to their public
classrooms for the fall academic term. On Thursday, the Avon Grove School Board
unanimously voted 9-0 in favor of keeping public classrooms closed when
instruction resumes on Aug. 31. Instead of returning to elementary, middle and
high schools, the district is mandating that students continue to learn online,
a process that first began on March 16 after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf shut down
all schools statewide following President Donald Trump issuing a national
emergency on March 13 in an attempt to mitigate COVID-19 exposure across
America. As of July, nationwide there is a 99 percent recovery rate from novel
coronavirus, according to the White House. The CDC reports that of the people
hospitalized for COVID-19 since March, more than 90 percent of people had at
least one reported underlying medical condition.
“Of the 12 school districts in Chester County, so far
Downingtown is the only one that has officially moved to virtual instruction,
Fiore said. Several school districts will be seeking board approvals for their
plans this week and next.”
Chester County teachers, students brace for start of
school year unlike any other
Pottstown Mercury by Fran Maye fmaye@21st-centurymedia.com Aug 4, 2020
WEST CHESTER — The upcoming start of the
school year in Chester County will be anything than normal. Some schools will
start with remote instruction and some will start with a hybrid approach that
includes both remote and in-school education. Those students who do go to
school will be required to wear masks. Some teachers will be wearing face
shields while ensuring social distance for students. Custodial staff will deep-clean
classes regularly. George Fiore, executive director of the Chester County
Intermediate Unit, which provides services to nearly 86,000 public and
non-public school students and more than 6,000 educators, said that each of the
12 school districts in Chester County made school reopening decisions based on
input from the state Department of Education, the Centers for Disease Control,
the local community and staff. “There is understandably a lot of pressure from
the community for students to return to the classroom in-person, however, while
a parent may be focusing on what is best for their child or children, a
district has to do what is best for thousands of students and staff,” Fiore
said. “Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits all model and none of us have
navigated a pandemic before. I can assure you that each district is doing their
best to safeguard the well being of all students and staff.”
COVID what’s next: Lessons learned as Pennsylvania
schools set to reopen
Bucks County Courier Times By Ed
Palattella @etnpalattella Posted
Aug 3, 2020 at 12:00 PM
Quick pivot to online learning seen as high
point from spring, though COVID-19 highlighted unresolved disparities.
Next in a series. COVID-19 killed tens of
thousands in the Northeast, caused massive unemployment and wrecked the
economy. In an ongoing series of stories, the USA TODAY Network Atlantic Group
examines what the government got wrong in its response to the virus, what
policies eventually worked — and why we remain vulnerable if the coronavirus strikes
harder in the fall.
The chaos that the coronavirus pandemic
created for Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts became clear on March 13, one
of the most significant dates in the crisis. With COVID-19 cases rising, Gov.
Tom Wolf by the end of the day declared all schools closed for at least 10 days
— an edict that ended up staying in place for the remainder of the school year.
But just hours before Wolf made his sweeping announcement, state Education
Secretary Pedro Rivera told superintendents and other education officials that
local school districts, and not the state, would decide whether to close public
schools, affecting 1.7 million students, including charter school students,
statewide. Speaking during a webinar, Rivera said the department would provide
support to school districts “whether you choose to close your school or remain
open.” Harrisburg’s delivery of mixed messages regarding education trailed off
during the pandemic. But the issue persists as an example of what could have
gone better as school districts and other educational institutions, including
private schools, which can also use the state guidance, tried to navigate a
public health crisis they could have little imagined. “It seems like educators
at all levels are using local control as an excuse not to offer definitive
guidance to school districts,” said Brian Polito, the superintendent of the
11,000-student Erie School District, the largest school district in
northwestern Pennsylvania.
Back-to-school: In person, virtual or a hybrid? Here's
what York local districts plan to do
Teresa Boeckel Mariana Veloso York Daily
Record August 4, 2020
School isn't going to be the same
this year whether classes are all in-person, virtual or a combination of
the two, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some school districts intend to
resume in-person classes but will offer virtual instruction as well. In some
cases, students will go to school two days a week and learn remotely on the
other days. Each district has developed lengthy health and safety plans for
starting the school year, and administrators have noted that these will
likely change. Some also have revised their calendars, pushing the start dates
until after Labor Day. The different plans offer consistency when it comes to
social distancing in the classrooms, buses, hallways and lunchtime: ….Many
parents will have to decide in the next few weeks which option for learning
they want to choose for their students. Some virtual plans include
synchronous — in real time — learning as well
as asynchronous — not in real time — learning.
Here's a look at what school districts are
offering. Check back as plans are updated:
Find out how your Lehigh Valley school plans to reopen
and keep students safe
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO and KAYLA DWYER THE MORNING
CALL | AUG 01, 2020 AT 4:56 PM
The state Education Department requires all
districts to submit a Health and Safety Plan approved by local school boards.
In the plans, districts and charter schools outlined what safeguards they will
put in place to protect students and staff from the coronavirus and what steps
they will take if a student or staff member contracts the virus. The plans all
include such state requirements as mask wearing for students, staff and
visitors; daily temperature checks and screening for symptoms of COVID-19;
disinfecting of buildings and classrooms; and social distancing, even during
gym classes and recess. Schools have cut out field trips, limited the number of
visitors and volunteers, and have braced parents for a pivot to online-only
classes if cases spike. The Education Department is posting plans as schools
submit them, at education.pa.gov. Schools
also are required to post their health and safety plans on their websites. Here
are highlights from plans that Lehigh Valley schools so far have either
publicly announced or submitted to the state.
Scranton teachers urge district to implement fully
virtual plan
Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Aug 3,
2020 Updated 5 hrs ago
Scranton teachers want to be back in their
classrooms with their students, but only when it’s safe.
As the Scranton School Board considers either
a hybrid or virtual model for this fall, school directors heard from dozens of
teachers and some parents during a more than six-hour virtual meeting Monday
night than went into early this morning. Shortly after midnight, directors
considered approving the virtual plan, but opted to wait for the results of a
parent survey this week. Directors approved the administration’s request to
delay the start of the school year until Sept. 8. Ann Blasko, a first grade
teacher at Isaac Tripp Elementary School, addressed the board during the
virtual meeting wearing a mask and face shield. “I want you to do the right
thing,” she said. “My students are not expendable. The staff is not expendable.
No one is. We are not guinea pigs. You are gambling with our lives... the
safety of everyone is in your hands.” From concerns about classroom ventilation
to the availability of cleaning supplies, speakers said they did not trust the
district could implement a hybrid plan — with most students attending school
two days and learning from home three days — without leading to coronavirus
outbreaks. Rosemary Boland, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers,
urged the district to approve a virtual learning plan for at least the first
semester, until more research on the virus can be done and a vaccine can be
developed.
Activists call on Comcast to expand free internet as Philly
virtual school continues
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent August 4, 2020
With Philadelphia public school students
slated to start the school year online, advocates renewed their calls for
expanded internet access with a rally outside Comcast’s corporate headquarters
Monday. Protestors urged the Philadelphia-based cable giant to open up more
hotspots, increase internet speeds, and extend a deal that provides free access
to low-income residents. “Comcast is the digital divide,” said Devren
Washington, organizer with the Media Mobilizing Project. “We are demanding that
Comcast get our students online so that they can receive their education.” Comcast
did not provide an official comment for this story. But in the past, the
company has pointed to several steps it’s taken to expand internet access
during the coronavirus pandemic and challenged the feasibility of some of the
demands. The conflict is playing out at a time when internet access has become
the passport to school attendance for the roughly 200,000 Philadelphia children
in district and charter schools. Last week, the School District of Philadelphia
announced it would begin the 2020-21 school year online — and would remain 100%
virtual through at least mid-November. The district estimates that about 5% of
its 125,000 students lacked reliable internet access during virtual school in
the spring.
Protesters demand that Comcast provide internet access to
all Philly kids
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: August 3, 2020-
7:18 PM
When schools went remote this spring,
Katherine Riley heard from her students — not about their coursework, but their
fears that their internet service was too slow to support video, or that they
were using too much data on their phone plans. Internet is now among the “basic
necessities,” said Riley, a history teacher at Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter
School. She said the pandemic had made inequities around online access “more
apparent than ever.” She was among the teachers, parents, and advocates on Monday
who faulted Comcast Corp. for problems city students have faced participating
in virtual learning during the coronavirus outbreak — and protested outside the
internet and cable giant’s Center City headquarters, demanding it do more to
ensure that all children can get online when school resumes. Holding signs
reading “Internet is essential” and chanting, “Comcast has a tower but the
people have the power,” about 200 people attended the rally, organized by
groups including the Movement Alliance Project, the Party for Socialism and
Liberation, and the Caucus of Working Educators. Organizers attempted to
deliver letters to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts but were blocked by police from
entering the building.
How we can combat the COVID slide among Pa.’s most
vulnerable students? | Opinion
By Anna Shaw-Amoah August 4, 2020 Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor
Last month, Research for Action (RFA)
released a report detailing
the “continuity of education plans” that Allegheny County school districts
published last spring when they were forced to close due to COVID-19. Districts
whose plans reflected greater learning opportunities served fewer economically
disadvantaged students and fewer students of color. For example, those
districts generally offered an earlier start date for remote learning and were
more likely to provide adequate technology to students such as 1:1 devices or
free WIFI hotspots. We also found that just four out of the 56 district and
charter school education plans we examined made any mention of providing
services to students experiencing homelessness or students in foster care. Could
the same oversight of these students occur again as schools reopen in the fall?
Of the 30 district reopening plans released recently in Allegheny County, only
two mention any additional supports or service provision to students
experiencing homelessness or in foster care.
Online and Hybrid Learning: An Equity Checklist for
Schools
Education Law Center Website August 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of
the longstanding inequities in our educational system. Black and Brown
students, students living in poverty, and other historically underserved groups
have been disproportionately harmed by the shift to online learning. To ensure
that these students are not left behind, schools must focus on equity and
respond flexibly to the individual needs of diverse student populations.
Schools will need support for this work from every level of government. This
checklist is a guide to ensure that schools providing online instruction are
equitably serving students in the new school year.
Pa. suspends requirements for child immunizations, and
that has pediatricians worried
Post Gazette by KASRA ZAREI The Philadelphia
Inquirer AUG 3, 2020 7:09 PM
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Department of
Health quietly announced late last month that it was temporarily suspending
requirements for children's immunizations, a move that could send mixed signals
to parents about the importance of preventing disease, and could mark a return
for vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, doctors fear. The coronavirus
pandemic has made it difficult for families to make scheduled checkups. In
Philadelphia, routine immunizations have fallen substantially since March. As a
result, many children in Pennsylvania may not have the required immunizations
to enter and attend school this fall. Under Pennsylvania regulations, children
who do not meet the list of required immunizations for their grade — which
include but are not limited to measles, mumps, and whooping cough
(pertussis) — should be excluded from school activities, and schools are
required to verify that children obtain their vaccinations, except in cases of
medical exceptions. Furthermore, children enrolled in a child care program must
maintain updated immunizations. However, these regulations are now temporarily
suspended for a two-month period after the beginning of the school year or the
beginning of enrollment in an early childhood education program, according to a
health department press release.
Safety plan preparation guiding Beaver after
student-athlete contracts COVID-19
Beaver County Times By Andrew
Chiappazzi @BCT_AChiappazzi Posted August
3, 2020
Beaver Area School District superintendent
Dr. Carrie Rowe said the district’s safety plan preparation has been pivotal to
the district’s response after it was informed Sunday that a Beaver
student-athlete had tested positive for COVID-19. In order for traditional
off-season conditioning programs and workouts to resume throughout the state,
every school district was tasked to develop and implement a “Return to Sports”
safety plan. Beaver Area School District superintendent Dr. Carrie Rowe said
that preparation has been pivotal to the district’s response after it was
informed Sunday that a Beaver student-athlete had tested positive for COVID-19.
“I can’t imagine facing these types of situations where we have a positive
student – whether it’s a student or a student-athlete – and not having any of
that developed,” Rowe said. “It’s absolutely fortuitous that we have been able
to think through and plan through some of these things.
Need to know: Returning to school in Pennsylvania
Pocono Record Posted
Aug 3, 2020 at 12:01 AM
“We fully expect students to return to
classrooms in some capacity,” Pennsylvania Education Secretary Pedro Rivera has
said.
The coronavirus pandemic has added a flood of
questions to the start of the school year, already one of the busiest times of
any year for students and parents in Pennsylvania.
As families prepare for what is likely to be
an anxiety-filled return to instruction, several issues stand out in the state
Department of Education’s guidance for reopening schools.
How many students are affected?
Pennsylvania has 1.7 million public school
students, according to state figures for 2019-20. Most of those students attend
schools in the state’s 500 public school districts.
The state also has 178 charter and
cybercharter schools that enroll 147,000 students.
What about private schools?
HS Sports: Levine says guidelines for fans at games
expected Wednesday; Maryland postpones all sports through 2020
Cumberlink by Jake Adams August 3,
2020
Whether or not high school sports fans get
the news they're hoping for is yet to be seen, but an update on guidelines for
spectators is expected Wednesday. That's according to Pennsylvania Secretary of
Health Dr. Rachel Levine, who said during Monday's Department of Health press conference with
Gov. Tom Wolf: "We'll have more information for you in two days." Wolf
fielded a question near the end of a 32-minute press conference about circling
petitions to allow spectators at high school sporting events this fall, despite
large crowds being an obvious threat to potentially spread COVID-19, asking if
the state was looking to revisit allowing them. Under current guidelines
released June 10 by the Department of Education, no "visitors or
spectators" are allowed in either the green or yellow phase of the state's
reopening plan. All counties are currently in green.
Lincoln High students deliver love, nourishment to the
community
Summer marketing interns launch service
projects to bring comfort to local seniors and families in need.
Shayleah Jenkins August 3 — 8:26 am, 2020
From the feastforchangepa Instagram page
As social distancing practices continue into
the summer, students at Lincoln High School have come up with creative ways to
serve their community – all from home. The students, participating in the
School District of Philadelphia’s Business Marketing Summer Internship program,
have worked together to design internships that advance their professional
skills while making a difference. The six-week internships aim to
challenge students’ leadership skills, improve their communication and
organizational skills, and hone soft skills like resume writing. They focus on
giving students experience in marketing, accounting, and business administration,
among other areas. But with the city still in the midst of the COVID-19
pandemic, the students had to reimagine their internships to comply with social
distancing measures. They had to adapt to remote work, and the widespread
effects of the pandemic brought the most vulnerable communities to the
students’ attention. One group of students mobilized to gather letters for
the elderly in geriatric care, who, due to concerns about the spread of the
virus, have had strict visitation restrictions since March. Realizing the
effects that those restrictions might have on seniors’ morale, the group
formed Quills in Quarantine, a program
that invites the community to write letters of encouragement to retirement home
residents.
Tax collections in Pa. rebound on pent-up shopper demand,
but state still faces huge budget deficit
Inquirer by Charlotte Keith, Posted: August 3, 2020-
5:20 PM
Spotlight
PA is an independent, nonpartisan
newsroom powered by The Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/the Patriot-News
and other news organizations across Pennsylvania. Sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s finances received
a welcomed — but probably temporary — boost in July, with tax collections up
6.6% compared with the same time last year, according to figures released
Monday by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office. Pent-up demand from shoppers
after months of business closures buoyed sales taxes, the fiscal office said,
while federal relief programs — including enhanced unemployment benefits that
have since expired — helped cushion the blow of furloughs and layoffs. Income
tax withheld from employees’ paychecks was down 4.3% compared with last year,
reflecting the high unemployment rate. The coronavirus outbreak has already
upended the tax revenues that the state relies on to balance its budget and
fund crucial services. Between April and June, Pennsylvania’s tax revenues were
down by more than 30% compared with last year, according to an analysis by the
Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.
Map: Where Are Schools Open?
State-by-state map of where school buildings
are open or closed
Education Week Updated: Aug. 3, 2020
This page will be updated when new information becomes available.
This page will be updated when new information becomes available.
The COVID-19 pandemic is poised to make the
2020-21 school year as challenging—if not more so—than the last. The virus
shuttered nearly every school building last spring in a historic disruption of
education. Schools were forced to shift to distance learning nearly overnight. As
the coronavirus continues to ravage different regions, K-12 leaders may be
forced to close and reopen in waves as infection rates ebb and flow. This
national map will track each state’s mandates or recommendations on K-12 school
closures and openings. As of July 30, 2020, 5 states have ordered that some
in-person instruction be made available to students. Some states may not
weigh in at all on school operations, leaving the decisions entirely to local
education and public health leaders. As states’ statuses change over the course
of the academic year, we will provide updates. Right now, just a handful of
schools have opened, with the vast majority slated to start between mid-August
and early September. Search the table for more nuanced descriptions of what’s
happening in each state.
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.
TRAUMA INFORMED EDUCATION COALITION (TIEC) AUGUST SUMMIT
August 5th, 12th, 19th
ACT 48 credits available PA NASW CEU’s
This TIEC Summit is designed to provide
in-depth, trauma-informed training for educators and other practitioners whose
agencies or organizations service children and their families. Those who participate
in the Summit sessions will be exposed to information and practices that enable
them to approach their work through a trauma-informed lens.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.