Monday, September 21, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 21, 2020 Remember charter school reform? It's more important than ever. Positive COVID in 9 Lancaster County districts, Curwensville, State College Area, Crawford Central, Lehigh CT, Berks CT, Upper Bucks CT, Conrad Weiser, Line Mountain, Canton, Carlisle, DuBois, Lackawanna Trail, Hollidaysburg, Clearfield, Pottsgrove

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.

 

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Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 21, 2020

Remember charter school reform? It's more important than ever.

Positive COVID in 9 Lancaster County districts, Curwensville, State College Area, Crawford Central, Lehigh CT, Berks CT, Upper Bucks CT, Conrad Weiser, Line Mountain, Canton, Carlisle, DuBois, Lackawanna Trail, Hollidaysburg, Clearfield, Pottsgrove

 

Why are cyber charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?

Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Majority Secretary Barbara Gleim’s school districts paid over $7 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.

 

Big Spring SD

$1,747,186.95

Carlisle Area SD

$2,028,755.64

Cumberland Valley SD

$2,504,164.00

South Middleton SD

$779,826.19

 

$7,059,932.78

Source: PDE via PSBA

 

Editorial: Remember charter school reform? It's more important than ever

Delco Times Editorial Sep 19, 2020

Remember charter school reform?

Before March and the public education turmoil caused by the coronavirus, the call for charter school funding reform was being echoed loudly in local school board meetings throughout the region at the start of 2020. Several local boards considered and adopted a resolution circulated by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association supporting a charter reform proposal put forth by Gov. Tom Wolf. In January, more than 30 superintendents from districts in five counties formed a coalition, the Leaders for Educational Accountability and Reform Network, targeting legislative action on reform. LEARN is comprised of “school leaders who are standing up for public education and fighting for charter school reform,” said Frank Gallagher, superintendent of Souderton Area School District, during a January press conference  in Montgomery County. The superintendents’ initiative included visits to Harrisburg to lobby for the reform package. Even in early spring at the same time boards were grappling with closing schools as the pandemic took hold, charter funding reform was being discussed and supported at board meetings. The Pottstown School Board adopted the resolution in April. "We want to remind the legislators that this is still very much on our minds," said Pottstown Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez, at the time.

https://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/edtorial-remember-charter-school-reform-its-more-important-than-ever/article_f1865a72-f8c0-5ee5-9b00-6fd60bc44e75.html

 

Your View: Should taxpayers finance cyber charter schools if districts can offer distance learning at a lower cost?

Opinion By ROBERT L. LEIGHT THE MORNING CALL |SEP 19, 2020 AT 8:00 AM

Robert L. Leight is a retired professor of education at Lehigh University and a former member of the school board of Quakertown Community School District.

The majority of educators and student seem to agree that in-person instruction is superior to cyber schooling. Yet for more than two decades Pennsylvania taxpayers have paid the same tuition rate for cyber charter schools as for brick and mortar cyber schools. But local school districts have costs such as tax collection and building maintenance that are not factored in the funding formula. The result is cyber charter schools can use the surplus for noninstructional expenses such as television advertisements. When charter schools were approved in Pennsylvania, it was on the crest of a “school choice” movement that was based on the unproven theory that educational outcomes would be better if parents had the opportunity to select the schools in which their children were enrolled. But the responsibilities for parents go beyond the original decision to choose a school. As millions of parents will be learning during the next few months, the education of students by distance education requires continued communication with teachers and oversight of the children while they study. Cyber charter schools have not lived up to expectations, in my opinion. On state assessments in the 2018-19 school year, cyber school students scored consistently lower academically than students from conventional public schools.

https://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-opi-cybercharter-schools-leight-20200919-ewngqzquqbgctgfilf2psz2fre-story.html

 

“Virtual charters cannot replace traditional brick-and-mortar public schools, not just because of the hands-on education public schools provide, but also because they offer meals, health screenings, after-school programs, and other vital services to children. Public schools are the heart of their communities and the foundation of our democracy.”

Online Charter Schools No Solution in a Pandemic

LA Progressive by Florina Rodov Posted September 17, 2020

“Instead of going to school every morning, what if school could come to you?” an ad asks enticingly, promising students “online personalized learning” tailored to their specific needs. It’s one of hundreds of active Facebook ads run by K12 Inc., the largest for-profit virtual charter school provider in the United States. As public schools rose to the challenge of educating students online during the pandemic, corporations like K12 Inc., whose stock price has been climbing since mid-March, were licking their chops at the prospect of moving kids online permanently. Though virtual charter schools perform dismally academically and are plagued by scandal, the goal is for them to replace traditional brick-and-mortar public schools in an effort to privatize education. While this would harm students, it would most egregiously damage Black and Latino children, who’ve already been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus, due to structural inequities such as lack of access to computers and internet service, as well as inconsistent health care and crowded housing.

K12 Inc. was founded in 2000 by investment banker Ron Packard, “junk bond king” Michael Milken, and Bill Bennett, the U.S. secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan, who was also the company’s first board chairman. Betsy DeVos was an early investor in K12 who held shares in the company until she became education secretary in 2017. The idea behind virtual charter schools was promising: to serve a varied group of students who might benefit from the flexibility of learning online, from those who struggled academically, to others with health challenges, to athletes and performers, as Mary Gifford, a senior vice president for K12, explained in a 2016 article in Education Week. But the venture quickly fell into corruption by putting profits over performance and using taxpayer dollars as its personal piggy bank, as a 2017 report by the American Federation of Teachers detailed.

https://www.laprogressive.com/online-charter-schools/

 

Blogger note: Pennsylvania’s Students First PAC school privatization advocate and GOP megadoner Jeff Yass noted in this NYT article…..

“In addition to Mr. Uihlein, the Club for Growth received another $10 million from Jeff Yass, the founder of a Pennsylvania-based investment company”

Richard Uihlein, a top G.O.P. megadonor, gave another $10 million in August.

New York Times By Rachel ShoreyShane Goldmacher and Rebecca R. Ruiz Sept. 17, 2020

Richard Uihlein, a conservative packaging supplies magnate, plunged another $10 million into the 2020 election in August, donating to the Club for Growth just as the group began spending on the presidential campaign. The Club for Growth, a conservative political group, has spent more than $10 million since Mr. Uihlein’s donation in August on independent expenditures opposing Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee, and supporting President Trump. The group announced two television ads last month, buying airtime in the pivotal states of Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In addition to Mr. Uihlein, the Club for Growth received another $10 million from Jeff Yass, the founder of a Pennsylvania-based investment company, and $1 million from Richard Gaby, whose wife, Barbara Van Andel-Gaby, serves as chair of the board of trustees of the Heritage Foundation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us/elections/richard-uihlein-a-top-gop-megadonor-gave-another-10-million-in-august.html

 

CCIU selected to provide services to Chester Upland School District

West Chester Daily Local MediaNews Group September 18, 2020

DOWNINGTOWN—The Chester County Intermediate Unit has been selected to provide business operations, human resources, special education, technology support and pupil services support to the Chester Upland School District in Delaware County. The request for proposals to oversee and staff critical operations is a part of the court-ordered recovery plan for the Chester Upland School District, which requires the Chester Upland School District to consider outsourcing operations in order to alleviate the District’s financial crisis and aid in the District’s financial recovery. The Chester Upland School District has been designated as in financial recovery since 2012. Dr. Juan R. Baughn is the court-appointed Receiver, as such Dr. Baughn reports to the court. Dr. Baughn’s term began in May 2020. He served as the superintendent of the district for the three years immediately preceding his appointment.

https://www.dailylocal.com/news/local/cciu-selected-to-provide-services-to-chester-upland-school-district/article_a8e7328a-f9ae-11ea-a7a3-77f0e2635c5f.html

 

Health experts say Philly-area schools could consider reopening this month based on coronavirus transmission rates

Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Jason Laughlin, Posted: September 18, 2020- 12:43 PM

With the school year underway virtually in many Philadelphia-area districts, some health experts are saying the time may be right to bring some children back to classrooms. After advising schools last month to delay reopening, in part to account for possible spread of the coronavirus after Labor Day gatherings, Dr. David Rubin of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab said this week that “we haven’t seen a huge resurgence” in the wake of the holiday weekend, and after college reopenings. “We might see a second window opening up here in mid- to late September” for schools to bring back students, said Rubin, who, along with CHOP colleagues and a University of Pennsylvania physician, has been providing guidance to superintendents in the Philadelphia region, including in Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery Counties and a few in Bucks County. In Montgomery County, Val Arkoosh, a physician and county commissioner, agrees that schools have a window to reopen toward the end of the month. She noted the county had opened camps and child-care facilities over the summer with “minimal to no transmission.”

“With our current burden of disease here in the county, we had a successful summer, so I do think it’s possible,” she said.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-schools-reopening-coronavirus-health-experts-20200918.html

 

COVID-19 Outlook: The Window is Opening For More Safely Resuming In-school Instruction

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Policylab DATE POSTED:  Sep 16, 2020

Helping to get kids safely back in school has been our goal since the outset of this project. So when our team made a difficult decision early in August to advise schools to exercise patience with reopening for in-school instruction until we saw what Labor Day weekend could bring, it came with much disappointment. But, we knew that those communities that waited the extra couple of weeks in the spring before reopening were rewarded with much quieter and safer summers. And we were also mindful of the likelihood that—following the third holiday weekend of summer and young adults returning to college—there was considerable risk that resurgence in late August could scuttle the safe reopening of schools after Labor Day. As it turns out, our assumptions have proven accurate—while we hit a bumpy road at the end of summer, particularly when it comes to college campus outbreaks and vacationers returning home, this week we finally see evidence that transmission rates in many regions have stabilized or declined. The patience to reopen K-12 schools helped with this stabilization and we now have a window of opportunity to return many children and adolescents to the classroom for in-person instruction.

https://policylab.chop.edu/blog/covid-19-outlook-window-opening-more-safely-resuming-school-instruction

 

A Conversation with CHOP PolicyLab for School Districts Staffs of Delaware County

Delaware County Intermediate Unit YouTube Runtime 1:03

A Conversation with Dr. David Rubin and Dr. Susan Coffin from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) PolicyLab for School Districts Staffs of Delaware County

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RjchjzZjRc&feature=youtu.be

 

Like running a country: What it meant to be a schools superintendent this summer

Washington Post By  Hannah Natanson September 20, 2020 at 5:03 p.m. EDT

Superintendents across the United States faced the toughest summer of their professional lives: forced to remotely plan for an unprecedented return to school, amid teacher and parent outcry, a political battle over school reopening — made more potent by President Trump’s repeated interference — and as the nation erupted in protest over racial injustice and violence. The Washington Post followed one superintendent in Northern Virginia through a long, chaotic June, July and August.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/like-running-a-country-what-it-was-like-to-be-a-schools-superintendent-this-summer/2020/09/20/608f13a8-f8f1-11ea-89e3-4b9efa36dc64_story.html

 

More than 2 dozen COVID-19 cases have been reported at Lancaster County schools. Here's where they are

Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer September 21, 2020

More than two dozen cases of COVID-19 have been reported at Lancaster County schools less than a month into the 2020-21 school year. The cases come from nine school districts, plus a brick-and-mortar charter school in Lancaster city. And that might not be all. With the Pennsylvania Department of Health not tracking COVID-19 cases in schools, it's up to each district to notify the community of a positive test from someone inside its schools. Reporting methods differ wildly from district to district. Conestoga Valley, for example, has posted a letter on its website after each of its six cases were discovered. Hempfield, meanwhile, is publishing daily a simple "yes" or "no" as to whether it conducted contact tracing that day. Some districts haven't published anything. Among the districts reporting publicly, none have specified whether the positive tests came from a student or a staff member. With each case comes contact tracing, cleaning and sanitizing buildings and, in some cases, school closures. Two schools — Conestoga Valley High School and Donegal Intermediate School — temporarily closed to students because of a spread inside the buildings. Below is a list of school districts, plus a charter school, that have reported at least one case of COVID-19.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/more-than-2-dozen-covid-19-cases-have-been-reported-at-lancaster-county-schools-heres/article_3df9f520-f90e-11ea-a2d4-cb2cf761df4e.html

 

Curwensville School District employee tests positive for COVID-19

The Progress News By Dianne Byers dbyers@theprogressnews.com Sep 18, 2020

CURWENSVILLE — An employee in the Curwensville Area School District has tested positive for COVID-19. At Thursday’s combined business meeting and work session, Superintendent Ron Matchock disclosed a contracted staff member received affirmative test results this week. No buildings in the school district were required to close due to the diagnosis and there are currently no additional cases among students, staff or administrators. Matchock told directors, “The staff member had not been in the building for a number of days and the building had been deep cleaned several times (since they were here).” He said the announcement of the employee testing positive created some confusion among parents and frustration for the district’s administrators as they were waiting for word about action related to the diagnosis from the state Department of Health.

http://www.theprogressnews.com/news/curwensville-school-district-employee-tests-positive-for-covid-19/article_8b2764b6-88cb-530b-8c3f-c1f3cd39167b.html

 

4 students, 2 employees test positive at SCASD, district officials confirm

by WJAC staff Friday, September 18th 2020

STATE COLLEGE, Pa (WJAC) — Four students and two employees have tested positive within the State College Area School District, school officials announced in a Facebook post. As a result, the district will continue with remote learning next week, Sept. 21-25. School officials say they are working closely with the Department of Health to conduct contact tracing and other mitigation efforts.

https://wjactv.com/news/local/4-students-2-employees-test-positive-at-scasd-district-officials-confirm

 

Two Crawford Central students test positive for COVID-19

Meadville Tribune September 18, 2020

Crawford Central School District reported its first student-positive coronavirus tests of the school year late Friday afternoon. On its Facebook page, the district said two students have tested positive and another is a probable positive case. The district said, "two students, who are siblings, that attend Meadville Area Senior High School and Meadville Area Middle School tested positive for COVID-19. The District was also informed that one student that attends West End Elementary School is a probable positive case." The post said the district is working to establish "all close contacts according to the established protocols." Superintendent Tom Washington said in an email to the Tribune Friday night that "due to the surrounding circumstances of these cases, at this point there will be no school closure. The district is working with the DOH in contact tracing efforts."

https://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/two-crawford-central-students-test-positive-for-covid-19/article_eb938aec-fa04-11ea-83a9-a3855c811462.html

 

LCTI student tests positive for COVID-19

69 News  Sep 18, 2020 Updated 9 hrs ago

NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. - A student at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute in Lehigh County has tested positive for coronavirus. The school found out about the confirmed case on Thursday, and notified parents in a letter the same day, administrators said in the notice. The student last attended LCTI back on Sept. 3, according to the letter. Families of students who may have had significant contact with the student will be notified by the state health department with guidance of what to do next, the school said. The classrooms and spaces used by the student have since been cleaned multiple times.

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lcti-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19/article_83c1149c-f9c9-11ea-bbad-27802b476e25.html

 

Positive COVID case temporarily closes BCTC west campus

Students will be learning virtually through Sept. 25

69 News Sep 18, 2020 Updated Sep 18, 2020

BERN TWP., Pa. - A positive case of COVID-19 has forced a change of plans for one of the Berks Career and Technology Center's two campuses. The school announced on its website Friday that a student at its west campus in Bern Township has tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result, the school said the campus will be closed for in-person instruction next week, with plans to reopen on Monday, Sept. 28. During the closure, the BCTC said its students will participate in virtual learning during their regular sessions and on their regularly assigned days. The east campus in Oley Township will remain open for in-person learning.

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/positive-covid-case-temporarily-closes-bctc-west-campus/article_2a02bb30-f9f7-11ea-8df3-87ad8049ff1c.html

 

Upper Bucks County Technical School student positive for COVID-19

Chris English Bucks County Courier Times September 20, 2020

A student at Upper Bucks County Technical School in Bedminster has tested positive for COVID-19, the school's Executive Director Jeff Sweda announced in a letter emailed to parents. The student had no symptoms while attending the school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but started having mild symptoms Wednesday night and was tested Friday, Sweda wrote. He added the student is "now feeling fine and under a doctor's care." The letter does not state what home high school the student attends. Upper Bucks Technical, one of three public technical schools in the county, draws students from the Palisades, Pennridge and Quakertown Community school districts. 

https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/news/2020/09/20/upper-bucks-county-technical-school-student-has-covid-19/5844191002/

 

Second positive coronavirus test shuts down Conrad Weiser East Elementary School

Reading Eagle By David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter Sep 18, 2020 Updated 9 hrs ago

An elementary school in the Conrad Weiser School District that was expected to see students return to its classrooms Monday has been shut down due to a second positive COVID-19 test of an employee. Students in the district have been learning virtually since the start of the school year Sept. 8. But the school board voted Wednesday to have students at the two elementary schools return to in-person classes Monday. A day after the school board vote, families were notified that a second staff member at Conrad Weiser East Elementary School had tested positive for COVID-19. A report of a first positive test had been sent to families Wednesday morning. While the district has been fully virtual, some staff and students have been using school buildings. The second positive at East Elementary means the school has to be shut down per state guidelines.

https://www.readingeagle.com/coronavirus/second-positive-coronavirus-test-shuts-down-conrad-weiser-east-elementary-school/article_9097ef14-f9b1-11ea-b065-83bf0cd69069.html

 

Line Mountain student tests positive for COVID-19

Sunbury Daily Item By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com Sep 17, 2020

MANDATA — One student at Line Mountain Middle School tested positive for COVID-19, according to school district officials. The school will remain open as per the state Department of Health (DOH) and state guidance, the district said in a news release. The first Alert Now phone call to district parents went out at 3 p.m. and the next will go out at 8 p.m. "The student was last in school on Tuesday, Sept. 8," said Superintendent Dave Campbell. "The student is not involved in extracurricular activities or any school district-sponsored athletics right now. Our health professionals and administration are working with the Department of Health through the process." The district will have to quarantine the confirmed student and students that came within six feet of the student for more than 15 consecutive minutes. The quarantine will run through Sept. 22. Quarantined students, as directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, may return to school on Sept. 23.

https://www.dailyitem.com/news/line-mountain-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19/article_65285320-f851-11ea-9279-a74faf4fddf1.html

 

Canton Suspends All Football Activities for 14 Days After Positive COVID-19 Test Within the Program

WENY Sunday, September 20th 2020, 12:56 AM EDT by Ryan Campbell

CANTON, PA (WENY) - Canton Area School District announced on Saturday that all football activities have been suspended for 14 days after receiving word that one of their football players received a positive COVID-19 test.  Canton Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Eric Briggs released a letter on the school district's Facebook Saturday after Canton's game against Athens on Friday was cancelled. The letter says that the school district received information of a potential COVID-19 case with an Athens football player, however Athens did not have a confirmed case. Canton later received info that a player within their own football program, as well as parent(s) of football players have tested positive for COVID-19.  Along with the suspension of all football activities for 14 days, Canton's football team, players and coaches, will quarantine for 14 days and will not be allowed to return to school on campus until October 1st. In the letter, Dr. Briggs says a "deep cleaning" has been done in the schools as they plan to move forward with having school on Monday.  The Warriors were scheduled to play Wellsboro and North Penn-Mansfield the next 2 weeks.

https://www.weny.com/story/42654376/canton-suspends-all-football-activities-for-14-days-after-positive-covid-19-test-within-the-program

 

Wilson Middle School (Carlisle Area SD) student tests positive for COVID-19

Sentinel/Cumberlink by Tammie Gitt September 18, 2020

A Wilson Middle School student is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, district superintendent Christina Spielbauer said in a letter to parents Friday. Spielbauer said the student is in the "A" student group which meets on Mondays and Tuesdays for in-person learning and was sent home to isolate. That report comes a day after Carlisle reported Thursday that a high school student was in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. Friday's letter said the district has been in close communication with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and will follow their recommended guidance in terms of quarantining of the student and disinfecting the building.

https://cumberlink.com/news/local/education/wilson-middle-school-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19/article_dea38225-6f38-59c6-83ee-a19cbc803389.html

 

DuBois Area High School student tests positive for COVID-19

Reylowe News  September 18, 2020  reynlownews_yz750s  0 Comments

Rumors of a DuBois Area High School student testing positive for COVID-19 were confirmed to Reynlow Community News tonight. What follows is a statement from District Superintendent Wendy Benton:

  • Today, we were notified by the PA Department of Health that an individual in our school has recently tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Through the PA Department of Health contact tracing protocol, we have identified and the PA Department of Health has notified all families whose students have had close contact with the individual who tested positive, as well as all staff members who had close contact. 
  • The person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and anyone who had close contact with the individual will not return to the building for at least 14 days, unless they provide evidence of negative test results. School will resume on Monday for all other students and staff.
  • We have identified all areas of the building the student used over the past several days so that we can thoroughly clean and disinfect the spaces. We are also in contact with the PA Department of Health and will take any additional steps necessary to protect the health of our students and staff. 
  • We are prepared to address any positive cases in our school community using a clear protocol we developed before the school year began. 
  • We cannot share further details due to our need to protect confidentiality and comply with HIPAA requirements.

https://www.reynlownews.com/dahs-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

 

Lackawanna Trail class quarantined

Wyoming County Press Examiner By SARAH HOFIUS HALL Times-Shamrock Writer Sep 16, 2020 Updated Sep 18, 2020

Fifteen Lackawanna Trail Elementary Center students must quarantine after their teacher tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday. The district, which had its first day Thursday, was one of the only in the region to reopen fully. The teacher, whom Superintendent Matthew Rakauskas did not identify, had a rapid COVID19 test done on Sunday and within hours, the district began notifying the students in the classroom. Rakauskas was unsure of the teacher’s symptoms or when they developed. The 15 students must self-isolate for two weeks, and the teacher will be able to instruct the students virtually from home, Rakauskas said. Maintenance staff recleaned the Factoryville school on Sunday afternoon, including the affected classroom and any common areas the teacher could have visited. School will remain open Monday but would close for three to five days, or longer, if more people within the building test positive.

https://www.wcexaminer.com/news/trail-class-quarantined/article_229960e2-ae25-5ca3-b7ca-09820cf8e3d5.html

 

Baldwin assistant tests positive for COVID-19

Altoona Mirror SEP 18, 2020

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A letter was sent out to parents of students in the Hollidaysburg Area School District Thursday from HASD Superintendent Robert Gildea and Homer DeLattre, the athletic director and football coach, that the school had been contacted by Baldwin about a positive COVID-19 test within its football program. Baldwin traveled to Hollidaysburg last Friday and defeated the Golden Tigers, 27-7, in the season opener for both teams.

“We were contacted earlier today by administrators of the Baldwin School District, informing us that an adult traveling with the Baldwin football team last Friday evening has tested positive for COVID-19,” the letter to parents stated. “As none of our players or coaching staff were in close contact with this individual, there is no need to take action at this time.”

According to Chris Harlan, a writer for the TribLIVE High School Sports Network that covers the WPIAL, the adult was a member of the Baldwin coaching staff. Baldwin has canceled its next two games against North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan.

https://www.altoonamirror.com/sports/scholastic-sports/football/2020/09/baldwin-assistant-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

 

Clearfield Area School District student tests positive for COVID-19

WTAJ by: Kelsey Rogers Posted: Sep 17, 2020 / 08:03 PM EDT / Updated: Sep 17, 2020 / 11:11 PM EDT

CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A student at Clearfield Area School District has tested positive for COVID-19. Superintendent Terry W. Struble said the student attends the secondary school in the district and has not been in school since Sept. 11. Struble said the family and the school are working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to gather information about potential contacts and steps to follow. “If any school wide action is required, we will be notifying you as soon as possible,” Struble said.

https://www.wearecentralpa.com/news/clearfield-area-school-district-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

 

Virus Test Positive For ‘Grove Girls Volleyball Team Member

Sanatoga Post By Joe Zlomek  September 20, 2020

LOWER POTTSGROVE PA – The Pottsgrove School District girls volleyball team’s activities have been suspended, and contact tracing calls have begun from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, after the district was notified Saturday (Sept. 19, 2020) that a team member tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, district Superintendent Dr. William Shirk wrote in a widely distributed letter. The district also is following the protocols set out two months ago in its health and safety plan for athletics and marching band, and is consulting with the health department “for appropriate next steps,” Shirk added. The department reportedly assured Pottsgrove that its actions “should mitigate transmission.” The circumstances under which or where the team member became infected, if known, were not mentioned in the letter. The player’s name, age, and grade also were not reported. “We understand the concern this news may cause,” Shirk acknowledged. The health department “is closely monitoring school re-openings across the county, and has told us … some positive cases are expected as students and staff return to buildings.”

https://sanatogapost.com/2020/09/20/coronavirus-pottsgrove-girls-volleyball/

 

Parents Call for Sports' Return to Pottstown Schools

Digital Notebook by Evan Brandt Friday, September 18, 2020

Although it appeared nowhere on last night's agenda, people interested in reinstating athletics in Pottstown Schools managed to make it the top subject of discussion during the school board meeting. "Please allow Pottstown Student Athletes to play their sport like all the other schools are doing. They need an outlet," Jessie Cushman posted during the school board meeting. "Sports are a major part of a curriculum in the school year. I would not be where I am today without the sports I interacted in," wrote 2017 graduate Olivia Lopez. "Please let the kids play they need the interaction that they’ve been missing since March!" "Please reconsider the decision to cancel the fall and winter sports season. All the surrounding districts students will be competing in athletics this week, while our children watch," wrote former school board member Kurt Heidel. "I have not seen one program from the district to keep our students healthy and exercised. Why is the board intentionally hurting our kids?" This last sentence raised a few eyebrows among the school board members. "You think we are intentionally hurting kids? That's honestly what you believe?" board member Laura Johnson asked Heidel.

http://evan-brandt.blogspot.com/2020/09/parents-call-for-sports-return-to.html

 

Pa. releases guidance to K-12 schools on sports and activities' attendance limits, urging them to stay the course

Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Sep 18, 2020; Posted Sep 18, 2020

Just when parents and fans of school sports thought they had been given an all-clear to allow as many of people who wanted to attend a game to go, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has issued new guidance that recommends school districts stick with the current limits. A memo that went out to school districts on Friday from the education department asks schools to voluntarily follow the state’s earlier guidance: attendance limits of 250 for outdoor games and 25 for indoor games. The education department’s message states the federal court ruling issued this week that found Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration’s limits on gatherings to be unconstitutional is not “a blanket end to the mitigation orders put in place to protect residents of the commonwealth from the deadly COVID-19.” The department urges districts to “stay the course to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities” while awaiting the court to rule on the stay request to put the judge’s ruling on hold while an appeal makes its way through the court system.

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2020/09/pa-releases-guidance-to-k-12-school-sports-and-activities-attendance-limits-urging-them-to-stay-the-course.html

 

“It was routine to hear those calls for our students to learn remotely, or go virtual, or log in to school from their homes. That was great for the student in cities such as Pittsburgh or Philadelphia or even in my hometown of Johnstown, but what were we to tell the kid in northern Bedford County or rural Clearfield or parts of rural Cambria, where high-speed broadband was simply not available?”

SB835: Wayne Langerholc Jr. | Time for broadband access in rural Pa.

Post Gazette by WAYNE LANGERHOLC JR. SEP 21, 2020 4:15 AM

State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr. represents the 35th Senatorial District comprising Cambria, Bedford and Clearfield counties.

August 2017 saw a major train derailment in Hyndman, Bedford County. This town is quintessential rural America — one main road, few stop lights and hardworking salt of the earth Americans. As several thousand tons of fuel and combustible material ignited the skies amid the crisp mountain air, emergency responders scrambled to effectuate an evacuation of the town’s residents. But on this day, they faced a foe that could have been cataclysmic to this region. They could not effectively communicate with the residents or each other to warn of the impending explosion as no high-speed broadband existed, with little or no cellular phone service to compound the matter. I thank God for the swift action of those brave men and women as they went door-to-door putting their own lives in jeopardy to save others. We dodged a bullet that day, but what about the next time? In today’s age of technology and instant communication, why had this area been left behind? And more important, what could we do to remedy the problem?

That event served as the impetus to the research, development and ultimate drafting of Senate Bill 835, which will create a pilot program for the deployment of high-speed broadband to unserved areas of rural Pennsylvania.

https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2020/09/21/Wayne-Langerholc-Jr-Time-for-broadband-access-in-rural-Pa/stories/202009190015

 

“That box is a mobile hotspot that the school distributed through PHLConnectED, a citywide program that aims to make sure all Philadelphia families have reliable internet access, especially at a time when those without it cannot take advantage of free public education. City officials told the board of education on Thursday that PHLConnectED is getting off to a slow start. But they expect it to ramp up quickly and officials forecast that 7,400 households will be up and running by the end of September.”

Program to connect Philly residents to the internet will ramp up in the next few weeks, officials say

Chalkbeat Philly By Dale Mezzacappa  Sep 18, 2020, 4:44pm EDT

Sometimes when Ashley Chalmers Young’s second grader, Zion, tried to do his homework last spring, his mother would get an important phone call, and he’d have to stop. “All we had was mobile internet,” through her cellular service, Young explained. And in the era of at-home pandemic schooling, this wasn’t sufficient to keep Zion engaged. Young, who used to drive for Uber and Lyft but hasn’t worked since the onset of COVID-19, has high hopes for Zion, who she calls her “little professor.” She tried to sign up for the low-cost Internet Essentials program through Comcast, but said she could never make it happen, either by going to a Comcast store or calling a phone number she was given. “They were giving me the runaround,” she said. “It was difficult to do what they were asking.” Young, her husband Antoine and two sons live with her mother Mary, who likes to volunteer at Zion’s school, Philadelphia Hebrew Public Charter in East Falls. One day while there, her mother “mentioned what we were doing to get online and the school was nice enough to loan us an internet box,” Young said.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/9/18/21444298/program-to-connect-philly-resident-to-the-internet-will-ramp-up-in-the-next-few-weeks-officials-say

 

Talk of closing schools, tax breaks top Philadelphia school board meeting

Chalkbeat Philly By Bill Hangley Jr.  Sep 18, 2020, 7:39pm EDT

During a contentious six-hour meeting the Philadelphia Board of Education unanimously passed a controversial corporate tax break, while one member proposed closing schools and another said she was “disgusted” by newly restrictive speakers’ policies. “If you really believe that Black lives matter, having that conversation about closing schools right now was utterly ridiculous,” said teacher Keziah Ridgeway, a member of the Melanated Educators Collective, or MEC,. “Y’all have money, in the words of Tupac, to fund everything else, but you don’t have money for our schools.” Fellow educator and MEC member Dana Carter told the board it needed to stop planning service cuts and start holding Superintendent William Hite accountable for documented missteps. “The miseducation of Black children leads to Black deaths,” Carter said. “How are we discussing school closures without talking about the $51 million we fumbled at Ben Franklin?” During the meeting on Thursday, Hite updated the board on plans for reopening and online access, and vowed to reexamine controversial online policies that require hours of screen time for young students. “We’ve heard a great deal [from] teachers and families about the struggles,” he said. The board also formally swore in two new non-voting student representatives, Keylisha Diaz of the Philadelphia Military Academy and Toluwanimi Olaleye of Carver High School for Engineering and Science. Member Leticia Egea-Hinton urged the pair to ask “tough questions” about district policy and practice.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/9/18/21446178/closing-schools-tax-breaks-top-philadelphia-school-board-meeting

 

Coronavirus leads to furloughs of hundreds of school employees

Chris English Bucks County Courier Times September 20, 2020

Blame the coronavirus ripple effect. Schools don't reopen. Jobs get lost. Employees get furloughed.  For more than 500 school district employees in Bucks County, the normal busy back-to-school rush was replaced this year with unemployment as most districts continued online learning, temporarily eliminating the work of many school jobs dependent of students in classrooms.  The Bensalem, Bristol Township, Centennial and Pennsbury school districts have enacted a combined total of 504 furloughs, with 188 in Pennsbury, 133 in Bristol Township, 108 in Bensalem and 75 in Centennial. Furloughed employees in the four districts include bus drivers, cafeteria workers, school aides, hall monitors, lunch monitors, security officers, nurses, clerks, secretaries and several other positions. Support staff positions are the most impacted. Centennial, Bristol Township and Bensalem are scheduled to offer only virtual instruction through Nov. 10, and Pennsbury through Jan. 29. Every effort is being made to bring as many employees as possible back under alternate work assignments and some have already been recalled, officials in those districts said.

https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/news/2020/09/20/extended-online-learning-results-hundreds-furloughs/3491572001/

 

Feds say state can't distribute additional aid to families losing out on school meals

Program is set to end at the end of the month

KATE GIAMMARISE Pittsburgh Post-Gazette kgiammarise@post-gazette.com SEP 18, 2020

Federal officials have rejected a plan from the state to continue a program that gave millions of dollars to Pennsylvania families to make up for missed school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. State human service officials had planned to distribute funds to the families of about 300,000 school children later this month, but federal officials have said that plan can't go forward. When schools closed suddenly in the spring, state officials were able to get funds to the families of about 1 million Pennsylvania school children to make up for missed free and reduced-price school meals. The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program gave families $5.70 per child per day — about $370.50 in a one-time payment — via electronic debit cards.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/covid-19/2020/09/18/Feds-say-state-can-t-distribute-additional-aid-to-families-losing-out-on-school-meals/stories/202009170155

 

Substitute teachers are in high demand for school districts trying to fill vacancies in a pandemic

Inquirer by Melanie Burney and Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September 19, 2020

Dawn Pittman retired from teaching in 2013 after more than three decades. But Pittman has no plans to give up her passion — even in a pandemic. When Camden resumes in-person learning, possibly in January, she hopes to answer the call as a substitute. “I absolutely love teaching,” said Pittman, 58, of Merchantville. Retired Philadelphia teacher Janice Richardson has already been getting those calls. She says she has turned down lucrative offers from parents and districts — as much as $2,000 a week to substitute-teach, something she hasn’t done since 2016. “I get calls every day to come back,” said Richardson, 65, of North Wales, who spends her days caring for her grandson, Amari, 3. “It’s not always about money.” Across the region, substitute teachers are in high demand that could increase as school districts scramble to find replacements to fill in for regular teachers who are reluctant to return to the classroom because of COVID-19 health concerns.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/nj-schools-education-substitute-teachers-coronavirus-demand-pay-20200919.html

 

“Holtzman then asked forgiveness for the ways society has failed Philadelphia children; “for letting school funding depend on property taxes, so that those with more get more and those with less will always get less,” for one. Then Holtzman and the group scattered the seed on the steps. “Al chet she’chatanu lifatecha,” she repeated. “For allowing the whitest school districts to receive $2,200 more per student than the state’s own funding formula says they deserve — which means the districts serving the highest proportion of Black and brown students receive $2,200 less per student than the formula says they deserve.”

A Rosh Hashanah ritual calls out alleged public school failings in Philly

Inquirer by Sam Wood, Posted: September 20, 2020- 9:41 PM

There is no lake, sea, or stream outside the headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia. That wasn’t going to stop the performance of a Jewish purification ritual that usually calls for handfuls of breadcrumbs, representing sins or failings, to be cast into a body of water that carries them away. A trio of rabbis led a Tashlich ceremony Sunday in front of the School District offices, marking the Jewish new year by calling out a litany of ways state and local government have failed city schoolchildren.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/taslich-repentance-rosh-hashanah-philadelphia-schools-justice-racism-20200920.html

 

How PSERS has invested $100m with a Pittsburgh billionaire and won’t say what it is for

Inquirer by Joseph N. DiStefano @PhillyJoeD | JoeD@inquirer.com Posted: September 18, 2020 - 6:34 PM

Is this any way to spend the people’s money?

At a hastily called “special board meeting" last Monday, trustees of the $57 billion pension fund for public school employees agreed to bet $100 million on a mysterious new investment with an I-Spy name — ”Project Newton" — run by a manager whom PSERS refused to name. Not a public word was said about how precisely Project Newton will make money for retirees. The approval wasn’t a slam-dunk. Among those voting no were Democratic state Treasurer Joe Torsella, acting banking secretary Richard Vague, and State Rep. Frank Ryan, a Republican from outside Harrisburg. Torsella is the elected bean-counter who has pushed for  investments. Vague is a venture capitalist and philanthropist who once ran the world’s largest credit-card bank. Ryan is a Marine officer turned CPA whose pension-management reform bill has been stalled by opposition from the teachers' union. Those three have challenged the massive fund’s penchant for private investments, which they associate with high fees and low returns. In short, the professional money people on the board did not see Project Newton as genius. But they were outnumbered by the teachers' union reps and retirees, led by a pair of high school history teachers and a pair of state senators — John P. Blake (D., Lackawanna) and Pat Browne (R., Lehigh) — who can usually be counted on to buy into the exotic investments the pension fund staff and consultants recommend. What is Project Newton? Even the “no” voters said they can’t talk about it, due to confidentiality rules of PSERS, the acronym for the pension plan. So I made calls around Harrisburg, and then Pittsburgh, and confirmed that Newton is another project of billionaire Thomas Tull, a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a former big-time Democratic Party contributor.

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/psers-secret-invest-tull-20200918.html

 

Murkowski becomes 2nd GOP senator to oppose filling Supreme Court seat before election

Post Gazette by LAURIE KELLMAN AND LISA MASCARO The Associated Press SEP 20, 2020 4:23 PM

WASHINGTON — A second Republican senator on Sunday came out in opposition to filling the vacant Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted without details that the Democratic-led House has “options” for stalling or preventing President Donald Trump from quickly installing a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a statement that “for weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up” a potential nomination as the presidential election neared. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.” Ms. Murkowski joins Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who said replacing Justice Ginsburg should be the decision of the election winner — Mr. Trump or Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to move forward with a nomination but hasn’t set a timetable.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2020/09/20/Supreme-Court-seat-nomination-Justice-Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg-RBG-Republican-senators-Lisa-Murkowski-Susan-Collins-Donald-Trump/stories/202009200180

 

Trump Calls for ‘Patriotic Education’ to Defend American History From the Left

New York Times By Michael Crowley Published Sept. 17, 2020 Updated Sept. 18, 2020, 10:17 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — President Trump escalated his attacks on “left-wing demonstrators” and “far-left mobs” on Thursday, portraying himself as a defender of American heritage against revolutionary fanatics and arguing for a new “pro-American” curriculum in the nation’s schools. Speaking at the National Archives Museum, Mr. Trump vowed to counter what he called an emerging classroom narrative that “America is a wicked and racist nation,” and he said he would create a new “1776 Commission” to help “restore patriotic education to our schools.” The president reiterated his condemnations of demonstrators who tear down monuments to historical American figures, and he even sought to link the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to the removal of a founding father’s statue in Mr. Biden’s home state, Delaware. “Our heroes will never be forgotten,” Mr. Trump said. “Our youth will be taught to love America.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us/politics/trump-patriotic-education.html?searchResultPosition=1

 

 

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.

https://www.psba.org/event/psba-fall-virtual-advocacy-day/

 

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.

https://www.psba.org/2020/08/what-to-expect-at-this-years-school-leadership-conference/

 

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.

Resolution for charter funding reform (pdf)

Link to submit your adopted resolution to PSBA

 

295 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.

The school boards from the following districts have adopted resolutions calling for charter funding reform. 

https://www.psba.org/2020/03/adopted-charter-reform-resolutions/

 

Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then Call for Charter Change!

PSBA Charter Change Website:

https://www.pacharterchange.org/

 

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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