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.
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.
“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
Shorey, Shane
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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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