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Editorial: Make cyber ed school district core function
Blogger note: I am compiling a list of
school districts that have announced 100% virtual openings. It appears towards
the end of today’s postings. Please drop me a note if your district has done
so. Thanks!
Please note that the ED Policy Roundup will
be offline next week, resuming on August 17th. Don’t let anything
newsworthy happen in the meantime.
Taxpayers in Senate Minority
Appropriations Vice Chair Judith Schwank’s school districts paid over $16.5 million
in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA
taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Antietam SD
|
$420,462.81
|
|
Brandywine Heights Area SD
|
$215,769.99
|
|
Daniel Boone Area SD
|
$1,226,052.92
|
|
Exeter Township SD
|
$1,166,954.44
|
|
Fleetwood Area SD
|
$792,772.05
|
|
Governor Mifflin SD
|
$836,787.40
|
|
Kutztown Area SD
|
$616,343.17
|
|
Muhlenberg SD
|
$1,375,538.32
|
|
Oley Valley SD
|
$581,370.91
|
|
Reading SD
|
$6,699,373.04
|
|
Schuylkill Valley SD
|
$830,507.78
|
|
Twin Valley SD
|
$822,432.39
|
|
Wilson SD
|
$474,630.10
|
|
Wyomissing Area SD
|
$519,767.71
|
|
|
$16,578,763.03
|
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?
Editorial: Make cyber ed school district core function
Times Tribune BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD August
7, 2020
Given the uncertainty over reopening school
amid the resurgent COVID-19 crisis, it makes sense that many more parents than
usual in Pennsylvania have at least inquired about enrolling their children in
cyber charter schools. That poses peril and opportunity for Pennsylvania’s
beleaguered public school districts, which do not yet know whether other
elements of the government will make them whole. Given the uncertainty over
reopening schools amid the resurgent COVID-19 crisis, it makes sense that
online charter schools have recorded major increases in parental inquiries
about enrollment. The state’s 500 school districts have suffered massive
revenue losses resulting from the pandemic’s economic fallout. Increased cyberschool enrollment only worsens
the districts’ uncertainty, all the more so because the Legislature has refused
to reform a funding formula that produces a substantial windfall for online
operations, which do not have the same costs as districts with physical
facilities. Charter schools, including those that operate
online, are public schools and are funded by tax money. Local districts pay
tuition for each child in their jurisdiction who attends a cyberschool, based
on each district’s cost-per-student rather than the charter school’s actual
costs. Reduced local and state tax revenue, coupled
with the need to pay more charter school tuition, severely could hamper the
ability of public schools to deliver services to children who attend the
regular district schools. Democratic state Rep. Steve McCarter of
Montgomery County plans to introduce a bill freezing online charter school
enrollment at July 1 levels to prevent a further cost shock to school
districts.
There is a better solution. Charter schools
are problematic because they consume hundreds of millions of dollars in tax
money but do not have the same level of accountability as local school
districts. Their boards are appointed rather than elected.
Meanwhile, the pandemic forced many
conventional public schools to switch to online instruction. Rather than
funneling more district money to online charters, the Legislature should make online
instruction a core function of public school districts, thus providing the
choice now offered by online charter schools but stopping the transfer of
public tax dollars and creating the same level of accountability for physical
and online instruction.
EDITORIAL: School districts need help to find a new
normal
York Dispatch Editorial Board August 7, 2020
In a normal year, families would be doing
their back-to-school shopping right now. Kids would be finishing one last camp
or trying to fit in a last day at the pool. Teachers would be decorating their
classrooms. But this is 2020, and nothing is normal now. Instead, here we
are, two to three weeks away from the start of classes in York County's 16
school districts, and each district is tasked with finding its own path to how
it will continue the job of educating students this fall. As with so many
situations during this coronavirus pandemic, it didn't have to be like this. As Pennsylvania
State Education Association President Rich Askey testified Wednesday before
state lawmakers, the state took the lead in March, with Gov. Tom Wolf closing
all of the schools in the state initially and then extending that order to the
end of the academic year. And while that shutdown undoubtedly slowed the spread
of the coronavirus and helped keep COVID-19 from overwhelming our health care
systems, the lack of quick testing along with a rush to reopen and a resistance
to wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines has kept the
virus in play. By Thursday, 92 people in
York County had died from COVID-19 and 2,444 had tested positive for the
coronavirus. Across the state, 7,282 have died, and nationally more than
158,000 people have died. Granted, only 5% of the 116,521 people in
Pennsylvania who have tested positive are 18 or younger. But we are well past
the point of community spread of this disease and far removed from universal
testing.
Mark DiRocco: Decisions should not fall to educators
Pa.'s should not take the blame for reopening
challenges
Post Gazette Opinion by MARK DIROCCO AUG 6,
2020 5:00 AM
Mark DiRocco is the executive director for
the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
With just weeks until the start of a new
school year, Pennsylvania’s public school districts find themselves under
siege, facing extreme public pressure and scrutiny, as they furiously plan for
how to safely reopen schools. It’s a fight they shouldn’t have to wage alone.
They’re calling on the state’s leaders to support them and the 1.7 million
students they educate as we move into the next phase of the pandemic.
Amid a backdrop of rapidly changing guidance
and direction, school superintendents have spent the summer leading their
districts through an emotionally charged public discernment process — one many
of them feel was unfairly put upon their districts. While the state has
emphasized a need for local decision-making, school leaders have questioned
time and again why decisions about public health have been placed in the hands
of educators.
Perhaps the most frustrating decision point
has been the conflicting and nebulous guidance schools have been given about
social distancing. Numerous reports suggest 6 feet as the gold standard, but
schools have been told to use this guidance “when feasible,” forcing many to
consider whether 4 or 5 feet is “good enough” to bring schools back at full
capacity. As school districts have debated whether to use “hybrid models” that
would allow distancing by reducing capacity (meaning students would not be able
to attend school every day), their communities have anxiously voiced serious
concerns about child care and the practicality of these plans
'We are not medical professionals': When it comes to
testing for COVID-19, Lancaster County schools say it's beyond their control
Lancaster Online by ALEX
GELI | Staff Writer; HEATHER STAUFFER | Staff Writer August 7,
2020
After watching Penn Manor’s school board
meeting from her Los Angeles apartment Monday night, Chelsea Shover was
concerned, to say the least. Shover, 31, is an epidemiologist and post-doctoral
research fellow at Stanford University, though she took a temporary leave to
supervise other epidemiologists studying COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. She watched as Penn
Manor, her alma mater, approved a hybrid
reopening plan that calls for most students to attend school twice a week, with
the remainder of the week online, with health protocols, such as mask-wearing,
routine cleaning and social distancing, in place. But, for Shover, one key
effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools was missing: Testing. “This
will happen. If you bring people back, you will have cases and outbreaks, and
having a system to deal with that ahead of time is really important,” Shover
told LNP | LancasterOnline Wednesday. That means conducting routine testing and
having a comprehensive process in place so schools know what to do when a
student or employee tests positive. Lancaster County schools, though, don’t
plan to test students, according to school officials. And what happens after a
case is confirmed, they say, is largely out of their hands.
Lori Falce: The math of school safety and coronavirus
Trib Live Opinion by LORI
FALCE | Thursday, August 6,
2020 6:55 p.m.
A year ago, I was writing a column about
school safety.
I had just attended orientation for my son,
learning the ropes and checking out the rooms at the middle school he was
excited to start. The safety issues were guns and active shooter situations,
with a side note of bullying. What a difference a year makes. The coronavirus
pandemic has changed the definition. Today the words “school safety” mean
something very different. We aren’t worrying as much about the people who come
into the schools as what they bring in their lungs. We don’t fear the small
bullets that could be fired as much as the small particles of disease they
could breathe out. I have answered surveys from my school district about what I
wanted to see happen as my sixth-grader becomes a seventh-grader. What would
make me comfortable? What do I need out of this school year? But last week I
had to check a box to declare my intentions.
Parents Scramble to Keep Up With Changing Plans From
School Districts
NBC10 Video Runtime 2:06
School districts across the region are
constantly changing their plans for reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic and
parents are struggling to keep up. NBC10’s StephanÃa Jiménez has the details.
Gov. Wolf: $10.5 Million to Help Career and Technical
Education Centers Resume Operations
Governor Wolf Press Release August 06, 2020
Governor Tom Wolf is dedicating approximately
$10.5 million to Career and Technical Education Centers (CTC) to assist them in
implementing public health and safety plans and help them to resume operations.
CTC Equity grants provide funding to support effective continuity of education
programs such as summer and other expanded programming, and industry credential
assessments for students enrolled in CTCs negatively impacted by COVID-19
mitigation efforts. “CTCs across Pennsylvania are preparing students to enter
the commonwealth’s work force, and our communities depend on having these
highly-skilled students complete their education and earn their
certifications,” Gov. Wolf said. “This funding will help these institutions
resume instruction safely.” The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security
(CARES) Act authorizes governors to determine the educational use of Governor’s
Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Funds. Grants were calculated based on the
allocation formula for federal Perkins CTC grants, which takes into account the
population of students ages 5-17 and the percent of poverty within the same age
group. In addition, the formula includes a factor to account for a local
education agency’s overall student enrollment in career and technical education
programs.
Pa. recommends no school sports until 2021: Gov. Wolf
Penn Live By Edward
Sutelan | esutelan@pennlive.com Updated
11:11 AM; Today 10:48 AM
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday he
believes there should be no sports in Pennsylvania for the remainder of the
year. During a his press conference, Wolf was asked about the PIAA giving
sports the green light to resume athletics in the state, to which he responded
that “the recommendation is that we don’t do any sports until January 1st.” “The
guidance is that we ought to avoid any congregate settings,” Wolf said. “And
that means anything that brings people together is going to help that virus get
us and we ought to do everything we can to defeat that virus. So any time we
get together for any reason, that’s a problem because it makes it easier for
that virus to spread.” The statement from the governor comes just over a week
after the PIAA released guidelines for how to
return to competition at the high school level in the
state. The guidelines issued by the governing body also gave schools three
different options for when they could begin the season, with one being on time,
which would be Aug. 28 for football and Sept. 4 for other sports; adopt an
alternate schedule, which would have fall sports start on Sept. 14 and football
start on Sept. 18; or go with a hybrid schedule, which allows athletics to
begin no later than Oct. 5 unless approved by the respective district chairman.
Wolf Administration Provides Recommendation for School
and Recreational Youth Sports
Governor Wolf’s Website Press Release August
06, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and
Department of Education today jointly recommended that Pre-K–12 school and
recreational youth sports be postponed until at least Jan. 1, 2021, to protect
children and teens from COVID-19. The administration is providing this strong
recommendation and not an order or mandate. As with deciding whether students
should return to in-person classes, remote learning or a blend of the two this
fall, school administrators and locally elected school boards should make
decisions on sports.
Highlights of the recommendation to pause
youth sports until Jan. 1, 2021:
- Applies
to team and individual, school and non-school recreational youth sports;
- Includes
competitions, intramural play and scrimmages;
- Continue
conditioning, drills and other training activities on an individual basis;
- Does
not apply to collegiate and professional sports;
- Gathering
limits remain unchanged – no more than 25 persons may gather indoors and
250 outdoors.
The administration is updating existing sports guidance to
reflect this recommendation.
The administration recognizes the importance
of getting children back to school, while also protecting the safety and
well-being of students and educators. Guidance for schools is
available. The guidance represents endorsed
best public health practices related to social distancing, face coverings, hand
hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting in school settings. It also outlines how
to accommodate individuals with disabilities or chronic conditions, procedures
for monitoring symptoms, and responding to confirmed or probable cases of
COVID-19 in the school community.
PIAA reacts to Governor Wolf’s statement about shutting
down sports until Jan. 1
Willkes Barre Times Leader By John
Erzar jerzar@timesleader.com August
6, 2020
The PIAA Board of Directors held an emergency
meeting Thursday afternoon after Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement he
strongly recommended shutting down scholastic and recreational youth sports
until Jan. 1. Here is the PIAA statement:
“Today, Governor Wolf issued a statement of
strongly recommending no interscholastic and recreational sports until January
1st. We are tremendously disappointed in this decision. Our member schools have
worked diligently to develop health and safety plans to allow students the safe
return to interscholastic athletics. The PIAA Board of Directors will meet
tomorrow afternoon, Friday, August 7, 2020, to review this action. PIAA will
have an official statement tomorrow afternoon.”
PA House Leader Implores Gov. Wolf To Use Untouched CARES
Money
HARRISBURG (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) –
The Wolf administration has yet to use $104
million in federal funds that Pennsylvania received through the CARES Act,
according to a story from the
Pennsylvania Capital-Star. On Thursday, House Majority Leader
Kerry Benninghoff urged Governor Wolf to use the untapped reservoir of CARES
funding on internet connectivity improvements for rural students. As online
learning is set to spike because of COVID-19, Benninghoff is suggesting that
the funding be used for internet enhancement to better serve rural students
across the state and give them better educational opportunities. "With the
first day of school just weeks away, it is well past time for the governor to
deploy this remaining funding to do things like improve rural broadband access
for the benefit of students across Pennsylvania. "For the past two days,
the House Education Committee has heard from school leaders about the lack of
guidance and remaining questions from the administration as they start the
process of reopening their schools.
Free internet coming for 35,000 Philly families: city,
schools, Comcast to spend $17M on digital equity plan
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted:
August 6, 2020
With the start of a school year just weeks
away, city officials Thursday announced a plan to provide free internet access
for 35,000 low-income families that currently lack it. Under the plan — which
will cost $17 million over two years, paid for with a mixture of philanthropic,
school and local CARES Act funding — some households will be wired for free
broadband access via Comcast’s Internet Essentials program and other families
will receive at no charge wireless hot spots purchased by the city from T-Mobile.
The offer will apply to city families with children in the Philadelphia School
District and charter schools; both district and charters have provided or will
provide laptops or tablets for each student. Under the plan, families will also
have access to “digital navigators” charged with providing technology support. Families
will be guaranteed free access for two years, but city officials said they mean
to continue the program, given adequate financial support. The city has been
working with the district, Comcast and others on the project since COVID-19
forced school online in March, officials said, but Thursday’s announcement
comes amid growing public concerns and pressure - including two rallies outside
Comcast this week - after the district recently announced plans to begin the
year online only starting Sept. 2..
Gov. Wolf: $10.5 million to help career and tech
educational centers reopen
WTAJ by: Kelsey
Rogers Posted: Aug 6, 2020 / 02:35 PM
EDT / Updated: Aug 6, 2020 / 02:36 PM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) —Governor Tom Wolf is
dedicating $10.5 million to Career and Technical Education Centers (CTC) to
help with implementation of public health and safety plans to resume operations.
The CTC equity grants are under the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief
(GEER) Funds, which is authorized by the CARES Act. The CARES Act authorizes
governors to determine the educational use of the funds. “CTCs across
Pennsylvania are preparing students to enter the commonwealth’s work force, and
our communities depend on having these highly-skilled students complete their
education and earn their certifications,” Gov. Wolf said. “This funding will
help these institutions resume instruction safely.” Grants were calculated
based on an allocation formula for federal Perkins CTC grants. This takes the
population of students ages 5-17 and the rate of poverty within the same age
group into account, along with a local education agency’s overall student enrollment
in career and technical education programs. The GEER funds can be used toward
the safe reopening of schools due to COVID-19.
The list of grant recipients can be
found here. They
will receive direct communication with the Pennsylvania Department of
Education.
North Hills OKs plan to begin classes online only for
first 5 weeks
TRIBUNE-REVIEW by TONY
LARUSSA | Friday,
August 7, 2020 5:10 a.m.
Students in the North Hills School District
will begin the school year with online only classes for at least five weeks
before switching to a mix of virtual and in-person instruction. The school board
voted 6-3 on Thursday evening to follow the return-to-school plan recommended
by Superintendent Pat Mannarino. “I never expected to be in this situation for
the start of the school year,” Mannarino told the board. “But this virus is
alive and active in Allegheny County and in our communities. “the best place
for children to receive their education is in person from our amazing teachers.
But we are a large district, and even at a reduced capacity in our most
restrictive in-person model, we have large numbers of people congregating our
buildings for seven hours a day,” he said. The superintendent said in-person
classes could create a situation where coronavirus can quickly spread “before
we know it’s upon us.”
Reading School Board votes to go full virtual learning
and suspends sports
Reading Eagle By Jeremy Long jlong@readingeagle.com
@jeremymlong on Twitter August 6, 2020
The Reading School Board voted Wednesday
night for a full virtual reopening of classes for students and staff and
voted to suspend all extracurricular activities, including sports.
“We take our stand in this very, very
seriously,” said board President Robin Constenbader-Jacobson. “We are concerned
about your lives, your welfare, your children’s lives and the education of your
children.” The board voted 8-1 to move to virtual learning through Nov. 4. The
board also voted 8-1 to end all extracurricular activities, including sports.
Board member Patrica Wright voted against both measures. The first day of
school is Aug. 31. The district is the fourth largest school district in the
state. Superintendent Dr. Khalid N. Mumin presented a plan that would have had
students learning virtually and teachers coming to the school buildings on a
regular basis.
West Jefferson Hills students to start first week of
school online, gradually return to buildings
Trib Live by MICHAEL
DIVITTORIO | Thursday,
August 6, 2020 10:23 p.m.
West Jefferson Hills School
District students will start their first week of the upcoming school year
online and slowly transition back into buildings as time progresses. The first
day of classes in the 2020-21 school year for the estimated 3,100 students in
kindergarten through 12th grade is Monday, Aug. 24. The district intends to
move to a school week that is partly in the classroom and partly online
starting Monday, Aug. 31. And it is planning for students to return to regular
full weeks of in-school instruction on Monday, Sept. 28. The reopening plan was
unanimously approved by the school board Thursday night. Superintendent Michael
Ghilani said teachers and staff will take the first week to get acclimated with
the new health and safety procedures as well as their classrooms. “Going online
that first week’s a good way of getting them back, get them feeling safe,” he
said. “Get them used to the mitigation strategies. We have a new learning
management system called Canvas. Our teachers have been in training all summer,
but our kids and parents haven’t had the training yet. So we’re going to that
that week as well.”
Upper Merion Schools going virtual for new school year
Times Herald By Gary Puleo
gpuleo@21st-centurymedia.com @MustangMan48 on Twitter Aug 5, 2020
UPPER MERION — As the school board
considered the best approach for the opening of schools this fall, Monday’s
online meeting marked an historic occasion in many ways, noted board member
Gary Ledebur. “We anticipate up to 1,000 people watching,” he said, adding that
the board and the administration had been struggling with the decision, “trying
to balance the needs of kids to attend a school, versus the needs of kids to be
safe and healthy. It is not an easy thing to do. This is probably the most
important vote, or significant vote, that all of our board members have ever
had to make. I ask that the community of Upper Merion School District give us
the patience and help us as we go forward in these uncharted areas. No school
district has ever had to do this before. These are difficult times. We have a
talented staff, we have a talented administration, we have a talented faculty.
But I still ask that the community give them the benefit of the doubt and try
as best we can to make this positive and go forward for the students of Upper
Merion School District.” The board voted 9-0 in favor of going fully virtual
when school begins on Aug. 31.`
Springfield (DELCO) School District Continues to Follow
the Medical Experts; Will Reopen Virtually Starting September 8, 2020. Press
Release 08/06/20
Tweet from me August 6, 2020 10:00 pm
At tonight's board meeting the board of school directors of the
School District of Haverford Township voted unanimously to open virtually until
October 2nd. .@haverfordsd We also unanimously adopted a Resolution Supporting
the Development of an Antiracist School Climate.
Digital Notebook by Evan Brandt Thursday,
August 6, 2020
Families in the Pottsgrove School District
went from having two choices for how their children would return to school this
fall, to no choice. For the past several months, the administration and school
board have proceeded along parallel lines, with a "hybrid choice" to
physically attend school two days a week," and online schooling the other
three days; or a complete on-line program. Families were given a deadline to
choose which option their child or children would be using when school opens. But
that all changed Tuesday night. That's when a special meeting of the school
board resulted in a 5-3 vote to offer only virtual online classes when school
begins.
State teachers union president urges Bucks County to
change social distancing guidelines
Bucks County Courier Times By Chris
English @CourierEnglish Posted
at 6:00 AM August 7, 2020
County Commissioners Chairwoman Diane
Ellis-Marseglia said the state teachers union head is mischaracterizing the
county’s guidance, and called his letter “frustrating and provocative.” The three-feet versus six-feet social
distancing debate for schools goes on, this time in the form of a letter from
state teachers union President Rich Askey to Bucks County officials urging them
to recommend six feet. County Commissioners Chairwoman Diane Ellis-Marseglia
responded Thursday that Pennsylvania State Education Associaton head Askey is
mischaracterizing the county’s guidance, called his letter “frustrating and
provocative” and indicated there would be no change in the advice. “Bucks
County’s current guidelines, recommending three feet of social distance, are at
odds with virtually every generally understood health guidance,” Askey wrote.
“Six feet of social distance is now the norm in Pennsylvania. “To recommend
anything less in school buildings will put students, teachers, support
professionals and their families at unnecessary risk of contracting COVID-19
and increase the likelihood that they will spread the virus to others.” Several
Bucks County school districts, including Centennial, Council Rock and
Pennsbury, have adopted reopening plans that feature all-virtual starts and
then the addition of a hybrid instructional model that mixes in-person and
remote learning.
Ephrata Area delays start of school by a week to better
prepare for reopening
Lancaster Online by ALEX
GELI | Staff Writer August 6, 2020
Ephrata Area School District has delayed the
first day of school by one week as it prepares to reopen, Superintendent Brian
Troop said in an email to families Thursday afternoon. The school district, which
plans to bring back students full-time for in-person instruction, with the
exception of students whose families opt into the district's online program or
a blended model, was slated to start classes Aug. 24. "We are
continuing to work to prepare for the variety of instructional modes created to
keep students and staff safe, reengage all students in structural learning, and
be responsive to the need for choice," Troop said in the email. Moving the first day to Aug. 31 allows the
district to ensure every classroom is setup for social distancing, test new
technologies, train faculty and staff, among other objectives, Troop
said. "We recognize that this may cause some hardship with family schedules,"
Troop said, "but (we) felt the critical nature of the work needed to
provide a safe and successful opening in these unprecedented times deserves an
additional week of consideration and care." Ephrata Area's last day of
school remains June 4, as the Pennsylvania Department of Education allowed the
district to make a change without extending the school year, Troop said.
“Among other accomplishments, he turned Paul Robeson High School
for Human Services, a school with a 90-percent poverty rate and 100-percent
minority population and one that the District had been planning to close in
2013, into one with a 95-percent graduation rate.”
“BUILD YOUR OWN BRAND”
Could the key to turning around Philly
schools come down to human connection? Robeson High School Principal Richard
Gordon IV thinks so—and he has the outcomes to prove it
Philadelphia Citizen BY JESSICA BLATT PRESS AUG. 05,
2020
Most educators do not conclude their time
with students by saying “I love you.”
Richard Gordon IV is not most educators.
So on a recent summer morning Zoom check-in,
it surprised none of the five students he’d assembled when he ended the call by
saying: “I love you, I miss you, text me later!” But even if he hadn’t said it,
the kids feel Gordon’s devotion to them every day. “He always
tells me he’s proud of me,” says rising senior Jalen Paden. “I never had a good
relationship with my principal before, but Mr. Gordon checks up on me and keeps
me motivated. He’s open and honest and helpful.” “Mr. Gordon is like a father
figure to me,” says fellow rising senior Mujaheed Muhammed. “I could play around
a lot, but Mr. Gordon always keeps me on the right path.”
Father Figure - Gordon’s
name appears in local media coverage often. Most recently, this summer he was
named the 2020-21 State Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Principals
Association. He scored a perfect 100 percent on nearly every metric in the most
recent Philadelphia Academy of School Leader’s 2019 teacher survey, which is
compiled by the Neubauer Fellowship in Educational Leadership. But Gordon is
more than an award magnet: With nearly 25 years of urban education experience,
he’s got the depth and expertise to validate the attention he attracts.
Girls’ High grad to lead the National Education
Association, the country’s largest union
Inquirer by
Susan Snyder, Posted: August 6, 2020-
1:21 PM
When Becky Pringle was a young mother and
teacher in the Susquehanna Township School District near Harrisburg, she was
upset to learn there would be 33 students in her son’s kindergarten class, too
many for adequate learning to take place. So she went to the school board
meeting and, with a local television station filming, she took on the
superintendent. The local teachers’ union president noticed. “You need to be
involved in a union,” the president told her. “You have a big mouth, and we
need that.” Now, Pringle, a Philadelphia native and a former Philadelphia
public-school teacher, albeit briefly, will lead the country’s largest union,
the three-million-member National Education Association. With a career-long
passion for social justice and equity, she assumes the role at a time when the
country has been shaken by the pandemic that has disproportionately affected
communities of color and is facing a racial reckoning following the death of
George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Blogger note: just following news regarding Students First PAC
principal Jeff Yass. His PAC has been a major contributor to Pennsylvania
legislators in support of school privatization for several years……
“As the only candidates to receive outside support, Sethi and
Hagerty have been at the center of the race. Sethi’s support has come
from Protect Freedom PAC, which has spent $1.5 million backing
his Senate bid. Protect Freedom PAC has connections to one of Sethi’s major
endorsers — Paul — and is mainly financed by Jeff Yass. Yass is a stock trader
who sits on the board of the libertarian Cato Institute and was a major donor
to Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign.”
Big money pours into Republican primary for Senate in
Tennessee
OpenSecrets.org By Zamone Perez August
5, 2020 11:42 am
In the Tennessee Republican Senate primary, wealthy
donors — and the candidates themselves — are pouring millions into the crowded
contest that has largely turned into a two-person race. The winner of the
Aug. 6 primary will run to replace retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.),
and will most likely cruise to victory in the general election. The Cook
Political Report currently rates the
race as “solid R.” Bill Hagerty, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan in the
Trump administration, is the favorite of Republican establishment figures.
President Donald Trump endorsed
him a year before
the primaries, and both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)
also endorsed Hagerty. Meanwhile, Manny Sethi — a trauma surgeon and
university professor — is running as a conservative outsider, sporting
endorsements from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Despite his medical background, Sethi has rejected the
mask mandate at recent campaign events, drawing attention and some criticism
for going against the recommendations of the nation’s top doctors
New report finds high closure rates for charter schools
over time
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss August 6,
2020 at 10:18 a.m. EDT
A comprehensive examination released Thursday
of charter school failure rates between 1999 and 2017 found that more than
one-quarter of the schools closed after operating for five years, and about
half closed after 15 years, displacing a total of more than 867,000 students. The
report, using information available from the U.S. Education Department, also
found that in three of the poorest cities in the country — Detroit, Tucson and
Milwaukee — there were more charter closures in areas with higher rates of
poverty than in those with lower rates. The analysis (see in full below) is the
latest in a series of reports on charter schools by the Network for Public
Education, a nonprofit organization that advocates for traditional public
schools and was co-founded by historian and activist Diane Ravitch. Earlier
reports focused on waste and fraud in public charter school funding.
Broken Promises: An Analysis of Charter School Closures
From 1999 – 2017
Network for Public Education Report August
2020
This report provides the first comprehensive
examination of charter failure rates over time—beginning in 1999 and ending in
2017. By following all charter schools, from the year they opened, we were able
to determine how long they lasted before closing down. We also determined how
many students have been displaced by failing charter schools and where those
closures are most likely to occur. This digital version of the report
contains an animated map that shows charter closures distributed across 44 U.S.
states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, between 1999–2017. The
animated map is not available in the downloadable pdf, however you can download
and print the report and the executive summary as pdfs by clicking the buttons
below.
You could see 100 meteors an hour zoom by next week.
Here’s how to watch the Perseids
Centre Daily Times BY
MADDIE CAPRON AUGUST 06, 2020 06:04
PM , UPDATED AUGUST 06, 2020 06:15 PM
A shower of some of the brightest known
meteors will light up the skies worldwide next week.
The annual Perseids meteor shower will
peak in the early mornings Aug. 11, 12 and 13, according to EarthSky. The
Perseids are bright, and stargazers can typically see between 40 to 50 meteors
per hour, EarthSky reported. In some years, more than 100 meteors zoom through
the sky per hour, but that is not very likely this year, according to EarthSky.
“In a typical year, meteor numbers increase after midnight,” astronomers said
on EarthSky. “But – before dawn on all three peak mornings (August 11, 12 and
13) – fairly bright moonlight will flood the sky.” The Perseids are one of
the most popular meteor
showers of the year, Space.com reported.
People who caught the shower last year could be impressed by the number of
visible meteors this year. The moon could have a smaller impact on stargazers’
ability to spot the meteors this year, Space.com reported.
Blogger note: this is work in process. Please let me know if you
have additions or corrections to this list
School Districts Reportedly Opening Virtual Only as of August
7, 2020
Large Urban Districts
Allentown
Lancaster
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Reading
Allegheny and Westmoreland County and Western
PA
Carlynton
East Allegheny
Riverview
Moon
North Hills
West Jefferson Hills (First week of school
only)
Wilkinsburg
Woodland Hills
Northeastern PA
Carbondale
Lakeland
Berks County
Exeter
Central PA
West Shore
Bucks County
Centennial
Council Rock
Pennsbury
Delaware County
Chester Upland
Garnet Valley (voting 8/10)
Haverford
Marple Newtown
Penn Delco (voting 8/10)
Rose Tree Media (voting 8/16)
Springfield
Upper Darby
William Penn
Montgomery County
Cheltenham
Hatboro Horsham
Lower Merion
Methacton
North Penn
Norristown
Pottstown
Pottsgrove
Spring-Ford
Upper Dublin
Upper Merion
Upper Perkiomen
Chester County
Avon Grove
Coatesville
Downingtown
Octorara (K-6 face to face; 7-12 virtual)
West Chester
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.
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
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.
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