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
CDC: children under 10 in child care facilities shown to
transmit COVID to their household members
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in Senate Ed Committee Member James Brewster’s school
districts paid over $16.1 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter
tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Baldwin-Whitehall SD
|
$176,513.64
|
|
Brentwood Borough SD
|
$731,477.77
|
|
Burrell SD
|
$371,439.14
|
|
Clairton City SD
|
$121,688.00
|
|
Duquesne City SD
|
NA
|
|
East Allegheny SD
|
$996,024.36
|
|
Elizabeth Forward SD
|
$331,035.43
|
|
Gateway SD
|
$1,350,051.18
|
|
Kiski Area SD
|
$1,507,105.28
|
|
Leechburg Area SD
|
$440,848.67
|
|
McKeesport Area SD
|
$1,451,088.00
|
|
New Kensington-Arnold SD
|
$1,101,542.44
|
|
Norwin SD
|
$1,000,241.84
|
|
Penn-Trafford SD
|
$1,377,164.88
|
|
Plum Borough SD
|
$670,904.90
|
|
South Allegheny SD
|
$464,655.37
|
|
West Jefferson Hills SD
|
$537,378.81
|
|
West Mifflin Area SD
|
$556,514.46
|
|
Woodland Hills SD
|
$2,924,198.53
|
|
|
$16,109,872.70
|
Source: PDE via
PSBA
“The Wolf administration will file an appeal and seek a stay to
temporarily block the decision, the Democratic governor’s spokesperson, Lyndsay
Kensinger, said. The ruling “is limited to the business closure order and the
stay-at-home orders issued in March ... as well as the indoor and outdoor gathering
limitations.” The decision does not apply to other mitigation orders currently
in place, including the mandate to wear masks in public, Kensinger added.”
Wolf’s COVID-19 business closures, limit on gatherings
unconstitutional, federal court rules
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA, Jeremy
Roebuck of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA and Justine
McDaniel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Updated: September 14, 2020-
11:02 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
up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — Delivering a blow to Gov. Tom
Wolf’s strategy for responding to the coronavirus pandemic, a federal judge on
Monday ruled that key components of the governor’s mitigation strategy are
unconstitutional, including decisions to temporarily shut down businesses and
limit how many Pennsylvanians can gather in one place. “The court believes that
defendants undertook their actions in a well-intentioned effort to protect
Pennsylvanians from the virus,” U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV
wrote in the 66-page ruling. “But even in an emergency, the authority of
government is not unfettered. The liberties protected by the Constitution are
not fair-weather freedoms — in place when times are good but able to be cast
aside in times of trouble.”
Stickman found that the Wolf
administration’s policy limiting
indoor and outdoor gatherings and events to 25 and 250 people, respectively,
violates “the right of assembly enshrined in the First Amendment.” The
Pittsburgh-based judge also found Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel
Levine’s stay-at-home and business closure orders
to be unconstitutional. The ruling came two weeks after a federal
judge in Philadelphia took the opposite stance in a case focused solely on
business closure orders, setting the stage for the battle to continue at the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Judge: Pennsylvania’s pandemic restrictions
unconstitutional
AP News By MICHAEL RUBINKAM September 14,
2020
Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic restrictions that required
people to stay at home, placed size limits on gatherings and ordered
“non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down are unconstitutional, a federal
judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, who was appointed
by President Donald Trump, sided with plaintiffs that included hair salons,
drive-in movie theaters, a farmer’s market vendor, a horse trainer and several
Republican officeholders in their lawsuit against Wolf, a Democrat, and his
health secretary. The Wolf administration’s pandemic policies have been
overreaching, arbitrary and violated citizens’ constitutional rights, Stickman
wrote in his ruling. The governor’s efforts to slow the spread of the
coronavirus “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public
health emergency,” Stickman wrote. “But even in an emergency, the authority of
government is not unfettered.” Courts had consistently rejected challenges to
Wolf’s power to order businesses to close during the pandemic, and many other
governors, Republican and Democrat, undertook similar measures as the virus
spread across the country. Wolf has since lifted many of the restrictions,
allowing businesses to reopen and canceling a statewide stay-at-home order. But
over the summer, his administration imposed a new round of statewide pandemic
restrictions on bars, restaurants and larger indoor gatherings in response to rising
infection rates in some virus hot spots. The state has also imposed a gathering
limit of more than 25 people for events held indoors and more than 250 people
for those held outside. A spokesperson for Wolf said the administration was
reviewing the decision.
5 takeaways on federal ruling finding Wolf’s coronavirus
shutdown orders unconstitutional
By MORNING CALL STAFF SEP 15,
2020 AT 6:00 AM
A federal court in Pittsburgh has ruled that
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus shutdown orders that required people
to stay at home, closed non-essential businesses and placed limits on public
gatherings were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV
said in a ruling that Wolf’s actions violated constitutional due process and
equal protection. He found that an “arbitrary, ad hoc process” was used to deem
businesses “life-sustaining” or not. “Good intentions toward a laudable end are
not enough to uphold governmental action against a constitutional challenge,”
Stickman wrote. Here are five takeaways on the ruling:
PIAA to address judge’s ruling Wednesday
Beaver County Times by Times-News staff
September 14, 2020
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
Association did not have an immediate reaction to a federal judge’s ruling that
could loosen the limits Gov. Tom Wolf has placed on sporting events, including
high school sports. “We haven’t had a chance to have a legal review of the
opinion and will discuss this with the Board at their next meeting,” PIAA
Executive Director Robert Lombardi said in an email to the Times-News on Monday
afternoon. The PIAA Board of Directors are set conduct a virtual meeting
Wednesday. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV ruled as unconstitutional
several of Wolf’s orders pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the
state guidance that placed size limits on gatherings. Wolf’s order limited
indoor events to 25 people, and limited outdoor events to 250 people. The
judge’s ruling comes three days after the opening day for many Pennsylvania
high school sports teams, including most of the football teams in western
Pennsylvania. High schools throughout the state developed safety plans during
the summer, as mandated by the governor’s guidance, and schools put those plans
into effect during the weekend, including limits on people at sporting events. Schools
were limited to 250 total people at games for sports such as football and
soccer. That limit included athletes, coaches, game officials and fans. As a
result, crowd sizes were limited at football games Friday and Saturday. The
indoor limit of 25 almost rules out fans attending and girls volleyball or
water polo matches this fall.
Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19 Outbreaks Associated
with Child Care Facilities — Salt Lake City, Utah, April–July 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Early Release / September 11, 2020 / 69
Adriana S. Lopez, MHS1; Mary Hill,
MPH2; Jessica Antezano, MPA2; Dede Vilven, MPH2;
Tyler Rutner2; Linda Bogdanow2; Carlene Claflin2;
Ian T. Kracalik, PhD1; Victoria L. Fields, DVM1; Angela
Dunn, MD3; Jacqueline E. Tate, PhD1; Hannah L. Kirking,
MD1; Tair Kiphibane2; Ilene Risk, MPA2; Cuc H.
Tran, PhD1 (View author affiliations) View suggested citation
Summary
What is already known about this topic?
Children aged ≥10 years have been shown to
transmit SARS-CoV-2 in school settings.
What is added by this report?
Twelve children acquired COVID-19 in child
care facilities. Transmission was documented from these children to at least 12
(26%) of 46 nonfacility contacts (confirmed or probable cases). One parent was
hospitalized. Transmission was observed from two of three children with
confirmed, asymptomatic COVID-19.
What are the implications for public health
practice?
SARS-CoV-2 Infections among young children
acquired in child care settings were transmitted to their household members.
Testing of contacts of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in child care settings,
including children who might not have symptoms, could improve control of
transmission from child care attendees to family members.
Pa. hasn’t updated science education standards since
2002. New plan would be first to acknowledge climate change
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent September 15, 2020
A proposed update to Pennsylvania’s standards
for science education could transform how public school students learn science
— and expose them to more information on climate change. The new standards —
which are still subject to regulatory review and approval by the state
legislature — were advanced by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education last
week. For years, a coalition of Pennsylvania science teachers pushed state
leaders to update Pennsylvania’s Science and Technology Standards and its
Environment and Ecology Standards, documents
that broadly govern what students are expected to know at each grade level.
They also determine the content of state tests that measure students’
scientific acuity. The standards were last updated in 2002, and advocates say
they no longer reflect the best methods of teaching science education.
Scranton School Board approves 218 furloughs
Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Sep 14,
2020 Updated 5 min ago
As students learn online and most district
buildings remain closed, the Scranton School Board reluctantly approved the
furloughs of 218 employees Monday night. The 6-2 vote came after speakers
stressed the role those employees play, especially the 140 paraprofessionals
who work directly with students. “It’s not something that anyone takes
lightly,” Director Ro Hume said before the vote. “It’s awful.” School directors
said they valued those employees but must make a fiscally responsible choice
for the struggling district. The district expects to save about $280,000 per
month. “We have to make hard decisions,” Director Michelle Dempsey said. “My
head and my heart are not aligned.” The employees, furloughed effective Sept.
30, are: all 140 paraprofessionals, six intervention specialists, two level 2
intervention specialists, four part-time maintenance, one licensed practical
nurse (Prescott/Willard), one clerk at South Scranton Intermediate and 64
crossing guards. Superintendent Melissa McTiernan may call back those employees
when necessary. School directors said they hope to recall those employees once
students return to school buildings. Students will learn remotely though at
least mid-November. The furloughed workers will lose their health insurance on
Sept. 30. An agreement from 2010 provides a 30-day grace period for
prescription coverage.
School schedules are all over the place. More families
are opting for homeschooling.
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September
14, 2020
Katy Rene knew she didn’t want to send her
6-year-old into a classroom this year, given that she and her husband rely on
their parents — who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus — to
help care for their children while they work. But Rene wasn’t excited by the
prospect of her daughter spending hours in front of a screen for virtual
learning, having watched her disengage during Zoom kindergarten classes this
spring. So she decided to homeschool. “It really is very flexible,” said Rene,
who un-enrolled her child from the Pennridge School District in Bucks County. The
pandemic has driven an increasing number of parents around the region and the
country to give new consideration to homeschooling, spurred by uncertainty
about school schedules and aversion to virtual learning programs. Tracking
the growth of homeschooling is difficult. In Pennsylvania, officials say they
don’t have data for the current school year, while in New Jersey, the state
doesn’t track it at all.
Coronavirus positivity rate increases in Montgomery and
Chester counties
Pottstown Mercury By Carl Hessler Jr.
chessler@21st-centurymedia.com @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter September
15, 2020
HARRISBURG — Montgomery County continues to
experience upticks in its coronavirus positivity rate and Chester County’s rate
surged to a “concerning” rate, according to the latest data from the
Pennsylvania Department of Health. For the seven-day period Sept. 4 to Sept.
10, the percent-positivity rate for Montgomery County was 3.3 percent,
according to the state’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
That reflected an increase from the 3.1 percent-positivity rate the county
recorded for the previous seven-day period Aug. 28 to Sept. 3.
Meanwhile, Chester County saw its
percent-positivity rate increase to 6.5 percent for the period ending Sept. 10,
up from 3.5 percent the previous week, according to state data. Gov. Tom Wolf
routinely identifies those counties with positivity rates above 5 percent as
counties with “concerning percent-positivity.” Health officials believe having
a positivity rate less than 5 percent indicates a county is controlling the
spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed. According to state data, for the
most recent seven-day period ending Sept. 10, other neighboring counties
recorded the following percent-positivity rates: Berks (4.9%); Delaware (4.4%);
Bucks (4.0%); Lehigh (3.2%), and Philadelphia (3.2%). Like Montgomery and
Chester counties, Delaware, Lehigh and Bucks also experienced increases in
their percent-positivity rates during the most recent seven-day period.
Student or staff member at Elizabethtown Area High School
tests positive for COVID-19
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer September
14, 2020
A student or staff member at Elizabethtown
Area High School has tested positive for COVID-19. according to a post on the
school district's website. This marks the sixth Lancaster County public school
to report a confirmed case of the virus. Cases have been also been reported at
Manheim Central Middle School, La Academia Partnership Charter School,
Brownstown Elementary School, Conestoga Valley High School and Donegal
Intermediate School. The latter two are closed to students this week because of
the virus. Elizabethtown High School isn't closing; however, individuals who
were in close contact with the person who tested positive have been directed to
quarantine for 14 days, and locations in the school where the person visited
have been blocked off for cleaning and sanitizing. "Our highest priority
is the safety of our students, staff, and community members," the online
statement reads. "Rest assured, we will remain vigilant in following the
health protocols we have in place to keep our schools open for in-person
instruction." The district has contacted the Pennsylvania Department of
Health for further guidance.
State College School District says three students have
COVID-19
An email to parents said “contact tracing
showed there were no close contacts by these students connected to district
schools.”
WITF by Anne Danahy/StateImpact
Pennsylvania SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 | 4:56 AM
(State College) — Three students in the State
College Area School District — one high school student and two elementary
students — have tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email from the
district superintendent to families Monday evening. The email said the high
school student has not been in any district building this school year. The
other two are Mount Nittany Elementary students. The email said “contact
tracing showed there were no close contacts by these students connected to
district schools.” “Looking ahead, we presume that it’s likely we’ll have more
positive tests in our district among our students, faculty and staff,” the
email from Superintendent Bob O’Donnell said. “We wish the best for the
affected families and hope for swift recoveries,” O’Donnell said. The news
comes as Centre County has the highest incidence rate of COVID-19 cases per
100,000 residents in Pennsylvania in the past seven days, according to the
state Department of Health.
Hempfield is testing its luck with students' health
[column]
Lancaster Online Opinion by DARRYL STEPHENS |
Special to LNP | LancasterOnline September 15, 2020
Statistically, 15 Hempfield students attending
the first day of school likely would have tested positive for COVID-19. Perhaps
as many as 60. None of them were identified, because no one, so far as we know,
actually was tested. Hempfield is not the only school district adopting a
wait-and-see approach to public health. Without testing, how will our public
schools prevent an outbreak? In the Hempfield School District, most students
have opted to attend in person, five days a week. This successful effort would
seem to adhere to the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics to do
everything possible to enable in-person learning for our children. There are
many good reasons to support our students returning to school in person. The
New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof presented some of these rationales in an op-ed
that appeared in the Sept. 6 Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline (“Kids with few
resources need to be in school”). There also need to be appropriate safeguards.
First among them, according to Kristof, is “aggressive testing.” However,
Hempfield students are not being tested for COVID-19.
Parents deserve to watch their kids play ball
Bucks County Courier Times Opinion By Mike
Reese September 15, 2020
State Rep. Mike Reese, R-59, represents parts
of Westmoreland and Somerset counties.
At some point in life, you, the readers, have
walked through a school gymnasium, walked by a high school football stadium, or
competed yourself in these venues. You understand the size and capacity of
these very large areas. I suspect the governor has been inside these venues as
well more than a few times in his life, which is why his “very strong guidance”
limiting these venues — regardless of size — to what amounts to an unrealistic
number of participants and attendees is so disturbing. Further, the
acknowledgment from the Department of Health and the Department of Education
that they used zero data to draft their “guidance,” only after a right-to-know
request was filed, shows the administration takes the trust of the people for
granted. Stopping adults from doing activities is one thing but taking away the
dreams of our kids is something else entirely. The governor’s recommendation to
shut down high school sports and extracurricular activities only makes sense if
you totally remove reason from the equation. The Wolf Administration’s
cookie-cutter limits of no more than 25 people for indoor events and no more
than 250 people for outdoor events just does not work for school sports and
other school-related activities.
Senator Killion to health department officials: 'Let our
kids play'
Pottstown Mercury by MediaNews Group Sep 14,
2020 Updated 17 hrs ago
CHADDS FORD — Senator Tom Killion, R-9th, of
Middletown, on Monday requested the Chester County Health Department, which
also is overseeing the pandemic response in Delaware County, rescind its
recommendation that school and youth sports not be played until 2021. “Now six
months into challenges posed by COVID-19, it is clear we are well past a
point-of-crisis,” wrote Killion in his letter to Chester County Health Director
Jeanne Casner. “By all metrics, our Commonwealth and Chester and Delaware
counties have the virus in check.” Citing
available statistics, Killion noted a decline from the peak of the pandemic in
new cases and hospitalization as a prime rationale for proceeding with school
and youth sports. “472 people are hospitalized across Pennsylvania, including
13 in Chester County and 14 in Delaware County, with COVID-19. The 472
hospitalizations statewide represent a more-than 80 percent decrease in
hospitalizations from the peak of the pandemic in the spring,” wrote Killion. Killion
noted he has received hundreds of calls, emails and social media messages from
parents frustrated with the cancellation of sports and the physical, emotional
and social benefits children are missing.
“It should be pointed out that representatives of the schools
that had more than 250 people in attendance did not feel they were breaking any
orders from Gov. Tom Wolf or health departments. The Allegheny County Health
Department’s rules for sporting events are for outdoor facilities to have no
more than 250 people, with pods of a maximum of 100. Some schools were
considering the two sides of a stadium as different facilities.”
Some Pa. schools aren't waiting for state decision;
they're allowing fans at football games
York Dispatch by MIKE WHITE Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette (TNS) September 14, 2020
The legislative bill that gives Pennsylvania
high schools the power to decide the number of fans at sporting events is still
up in the air. Some Pennsylvania schools, however, are not waiting for a
decision on the bill. They’ve already made their own decisions on attendance. High
school football in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
League started Friday. While some schools did not allow spectators because
of COVID-19 concerns, some games had more people than the state’s gathering
limit of 250 for outdoor events. Upper St. Clair and West Mifflin were among
the schools that had more than 250 fans, not counting the players, coaches and
officials. Upper St. Clair played at home against Bethel Park and Upper St.
Clair athletic director Kevin Deitrick said about 390 fans attended. A total of
410 tickets were given to only Upper St. Clair players, cheerleaders and a
40-member pep band. West Mifflin played host to Thomas Jefferson and fans from
both schools attended and West Mifflin athletic director Scott Stephenson told
WTAE-TV that the crowd was about 500. McKeesport played a home game against
Belle Vernon and about 200 fans watched. Fans were on opposite sides of the
stadium, with about 130 on McKeesport’s side. Also, Montour’s district decided
late last week that it would give two tickets to every football player, band
member and cheerleader. Montour has 50 football players, 80 band members and 15
cheerleaders.
Another contract deadline passes for Philly public school
teachers; no deal, but ‘significant progress’
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: September
14, 2020- 5:39 PM
There’s no deal yet between the Philadelphia
School District and its teachers union, but the negotiators have made
“significant progress” and will stay at the table, union leaders said Monday
night. “Negotiations have been fruitful in securing critical COVID-related
protections for children and educators, and we are also making gains on the
topic of wages,” Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan
said in a statement. “Because of this progress and our desire to move
expeditiously toward settlement, I am continuing to negotiate.” The teachers'
contract expired Aug. 31. The union’s 13,000 members had authorized Jordan to
keep negotiating through Monday. Jordan said he would call teachers together
for a membership meeting shortly; at that meeting, “I will either bring my
members a tentative agreement to review, or alternatively I will present them
with options for next steps.” Asked about the tenor of PFT contract
negotiations late last week, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said he was
“optimistic that we will get to an agreement.” For the first time in decades,
the PFT has the option to strike. When the district was under state takeover,
teachers were forbidden from striking.
Philly school board already voted against a Hilco tax
break. It should do so again. | Opinion
Malcolm Miller, For The Inquirer Posted: September
14, 2020 - 11:30 AM
Malcolm Miller is a junior at J.R. Masterman
High School and is involved with climate and environmental justice groups in
Philadelphia.
On the night of Aug. 22, the Philadelphia
school board made the right choice when it decided to vote no on giving Hilco
Redevelopment Partners a tax break on the
land it now owns in Grays Ferry. This decision came after students, teachers,
and members of the community spoke about why granting this tax break would be a
disservice to Philadelphia. But now, Hilco is getting a second chance in
another board meeting Thursday. This second chance must meet the demands of our
community — the Philadelphia school board should vote no once again on Hilco’s
corporate tax break. The land in question has a sour history of once being home
to the PES oil refinery that exploded in
June of last year, and has recently been acquired by Hilco Redevelopment
Partners. Similarly, we have seen Hilco acquiring properties in the Little
Village section of Chicago and in Jersey City, N.J. Now residents in Chicago,
Jersey City, and Philadelphia can unite with the understanding that Hilco is
nothing more than a bad neighbor. While Chicagoans lack legal accountability for
Hilco’s promises and Jersey City recovers from an unwarned
explosion by Hilco just this July, Philadelphians struggle to secure proper
environmental remediation for the land as
well as tax payments.
Eyes on the Philly Board of Education: September
17, 2020
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools Commentary
by Karel Kilimnik September 14, 2020
“I can’t believe what you say, because I see
what you do.” James Baldwin
As educators and students across the nation
begin a new year, many enduring issues of inequity and racism generate
discussion. We need to go beyond the clouds of words and promises of task
forces and advisory committees. Educators, parents, students, advocates and
school staff need a seat at the decision-making table. Better funded districts
with newer facilities are able to provide both in-school and virtual
instruction, while we in Philadelphia continue the fight to detoxify schools.
The District’s own Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report
on the Hite administration’s mishandling of the construction and the
ensuing environmental crisis at Ben Franklin High School. Dr. Hite and his
team, in hurrying the project so that Science Leadership Academy could
relocate, endangered the health and safety of students and staff. The Board expressed its disappointment, then moved
on with a shameful promise simply to include the years-long display of
incompetence and malfeasance in Dr. Hite’s annual performance
review.
The OIG Report not
only laid bare what happened during the eighteen months of construction at Ben
Franklin (although omitting all names of those responsible seems designed to
preclude accountability), it gave important insight into the policy and
practice of the Hite administration on outsourcing and the resulting erosion of
institutional memory at 440, an issue raised by APPS members for years:
How China Brought Almost 200 Million Students Back
New York Times By Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick Sept. 14,
2020
As countries struggle to safely reopen
schools, China is harnessing the power of its authoritarian
system to offer in-person learning for
its vast population of students — including 195 million students in
kindergarten through 12th grade at public schools. On the first day of school
in Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged, officials reviewed the students’
travel histories and coronavirus test results. Local
Communist Party cadres made sure teachers followed detailed instructions on
hygiene and showed an “anti-epidemic spirit.” The country has adopted many of
the same sanitation and distancing procedures used elsewhere, but it has rolled
them out with a forceful, command-and-control approach that brooks no dissent.
It has mobilized battalions of local officials to inspect classrooms as well as
to deploy apps and other technology to monitor students and staff members. “The
system is run like a military,” said Yong Zhao, a scholar at the University of
Kansas who has studied education in China. “It just goes for it, no matter what
anyone thinks.”
Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - September Fifteenth (Live)
YouTube 167,439 views •Nov 27, 2013
From the Album As Falls Wichita, So Falls
Wichita Falls February 29, 2000
PA SCHOOLS WORK WEBINAR : Public School Advocacy in the
New Normal of a COVID-19 World; Tue, Sep 15, 2020 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM EDT
For the foreseeable future, COVID-19 is a
part of our everyday lives. More parents and community members than ever before
have engaged at the school district level as schools wrestled with their options
for reopening this fall. This conversation will be about continuing our
advocacy for public schools, and how the challenges districts are facing in the
COVID-19 era are magnified by long-term inequities in our funding system and
years of lackluster financial support for public education from state
government. So, what can we do about it? Come find out
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.
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
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
What to expect at this year’s School Leadership
Conference
POSTED ON AUGUST 31, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
At the 2020 PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference on October 14-15, you'll encounter the same high-quality experience
you've come to expect, via new virtual platform. Hear world-class speakers and
relevant educational sessions, and network with exhibitors and attendees — from
the comfort of your home or office on any internet-enabled device.
The virtual conference platform is accessible
via a unique link provided to each registrant about a week before conference.
No additional app downloads are required. The intuitive 3D interface is easy to
use and immersive — you'll feel like you're on location. Registrants will be
able to explore the space a day before conference starts. Highlights
include:
- Virtual
exhibit hall
- Interactive
lobby area and information desk
- Virtual
auditorium
- Digital
swag bag
- Scavenger
hunt
This year, conference is completely free
to attend! Be among the first 125 to register, and receive a special
pre-conference swag bag, sent to your home. Click here for
more information about how to register.
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
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.
293 PA school boards have adopted charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 290 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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