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 22, 2020
This Philly charter school is trying to grow the ranks of
Black male teachers
Congrats to district #295 @PENARGYLAREAHS for passing the charter funding reform
resolution! @TomSeidenberger @senatorscavello We need charter funding reform!
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Rosemary Brown’s school districts
paid over $18.2 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter
tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Delaware Valley SD |
$1,029,838.61 |
|
East Stroudsburg Area SD |
$4,765,876.50 |
|
Pleasant Valley SD |
$3,040,808.86 |
|
Pocono Mountain SD |
$6,774,544.22 |
|
Stroudsburg Area SD |
$2,636,803.37 |
|
|
$18,247,871.56 |
Source: PDE via
PSBA
This Philly charter
school is trying to grow the ranks of Black male teachers
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: September 22,
2020- 5:00 AM
As a student at Boys’ Latin, a charter school
in West Philadelphia attended almost entirely by Black students, Robert
Fletcher had just one teacher who was a Black man. “I wasn’t able to identify
with any authority figures in the room,” said Fletcher, who graduated from its
high school in 2012. Fletcher is now back at Boys’ Latin — this time as a
teacher in a new program that aims to provide students with what has been a
rare asset in classrooms both in Philadelphia and nationally. Launched this
fall, the program establishes teaching positions for Black men
interested in careers in education. Three residents, including Fletcher, are
teaching at Boys’ Latin while also taking classes at Drexel University — with
costs covered by the charter — to gain certification. (Unlike in traditional
public schools in Pennsylvania, up to 25% of a charter school’s teachers do not
need to be certified.) The program also includes eight apprentices, who are
assisting teachers and other staff to gain exposure to the profession. Like
most Philadelphia schools, Boys’ Latin began the school year with remote-only
learning. “From practical reasons we realized we’re going to need a lot of
hands reaching out to kids now,” said David Hardy, the school’s founder and
interim CEO.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/black-male-teachers-philadelphia-boys-latin-charter-20200922.html
Frances Wolf urges USDA and Congress to extend child food
services
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Monday,
September 21, 2020 12:52 p.m.
Pennsylvania’s First Lady Frances Wolf joined
17 other first spouses and partners to urge federal leaders to continue child
nutrition programs for the rest of the school school year. In letters to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and to congressional leadership sent Friday,
Wolf and her counterparts asked the entities to work together to extend and
fully fund the services. In March, the USDA began offering waivers to some
requirements to school lunch programs and other services. The agency had
extended some waivers in late August, allowing schools and community partners
to serve meals to children at no charge until funding runs out, or as late as
Dec. 31. But some advocates worry the services will end too soon, as the
covid-19 pandemic continues with no end in sight. Without congressional action,
the USDA’s authority to extend the programs again will end Sept. 30.
What We Know About Coronavirus Cases in K-12 Schools So
Far
New York Times By Yuriria Avila, Weiyi
Cai, Barbara Harvey, Juliette
Love, Eleanor Lutz, Alex Leeds Matthews and Kate
Taylor Sept. 21, 2020
Schools are not islands, and so it was
inevitable that when students and teachers returned this fall to classrooms,
coronavirus cases would follow them. But more than a month after the first
school districts welcomed students back for in-person instruction, it is nearly
impossible to tally a precise figure of how many cases have been identified in
schools. There is no federal effort to monitor coronavirus cases in schools,
and reporting by school districts is uneven. One
independent effort has counted more than 21,000 cases this
school year. While some districts regularly disclose their active cases, others
have cited privacy concerns to withhold information, a move that has frustrated
parents, educators and public health experts trying to assess the risk of
exposure in schools and the potential impact on the larger community. Eleven
states do not publish information on school cases, leaving many of the nation’s
students and parents in the dark.
Wolf vetoes bill on crowd sizes at school sporting
events; N.J. surpasses 200,000 virus cases
Inquirer by Justine McDaniel, Erin McCarthy and Allison Steele, Updated: September 21,
2020- 7:10 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would
have let Pennsylvania school districts alone determine how many spectators can
attend school sporting events, setting up his latest clash with the
Republican-controlled legislature over acceptable crowd limits during the
pandemic. In rejecting the legislation, Wolf said lawmakers were ignoring the
reality that the coronavirus “really likes it when you bring a lot of people
together. “As much as I hate that fact, [and] … everybody hates that fact, it’s
a fact,” he said Monday morning. “And instead of ignoring it, we ought to try
to figure out what we can do to keep that virus from infecting too many
people.” But Republican legislative leaders pledged to override what House
Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R., Centre/Mifflin) called a “ridiculous”
veto. In both the Senate and the House, the bill passed by more than the
two-thirds majority that would be needed to overcome a veto. In a statement,
Benninghoff said the governor was “directly opposed to children and families
looking for some semblance of normalcy.”Under the state’s current guidelines, school
districts are allowed to approve team activities, but sporting events remain
subject to the state’s limits of 25 people for an indoor gathering and 250
people for an outdoor gathering. The bill would have given schools exclusive
authority to control crowd size, as well as to make decisions about
sports, other extracurricular activities, and competitions.
Central League approves a plan for a return of fall
sports
Delco Times By Matt Smith mattsmith@21st-centurymedia.com
@DTMattSmith on Twitter September 22, 2020
Pending approval from individual school
boards, the Central League has a plan to play fall sports in 2020.After
postponing sports on the basis of health and safety recommendations from
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and the Chester and Montgomery County Health
Departments, the Central League announced Monday its intentions to play
truncated fall sports campaign. The return of fall sports was influenced by the
Chester County Health Department's revised language for interscholastic
athletics, The health department no longer recommends the cancellation of
sports until Jan. 1, 2021; instead, the guidelines were changed to reflect the
guidance of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) which
allowed the start of fall sports in August. The Central League had been one of
several leagues from the area to postpone sports, along with the Ches-Mont, Del
Val, Philadelphia Catholic and Inter-Academic. The Ches-Mont and Del Val are
exploring options to return to fall sports. "Last week, the Central League
Athletic Directors and Administration worked collaboratively to create a
systematic and phased approach that allows for a staggered return to
competitive sports for the Fall 2020 season. Pre-season practices will begin
September 29th," the league said in a statement.
In Northwestern Lehigh SD, Weisenberg Elementary closed
after five COVID cases
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING
CALL | SEP 21, 2020 AT 7:21 PM
An elementary school in Northwestern Lehigh
School District will be closed at least through Wednesday after five people
tested positive for the coronavirus. The district initially planned to close
Weisenberg Elementary School only Monday, but after learning of a fifth case,
it decided to close at least through Wednesday while the district awaits
guidance from the state Health Department, Superintendent Jennifer Holman said.
She said parents, students and staff need to work together to follow screening
and hand-washing guidelines. “We’re trying to keep our schools as healthy and
safe as we can,” she said. At least one Weisenberg classroom had multiple
cases, she said. She didn’t say whether students or staff were infected, or
whether all five cases were in the same classroom or spread out over multiple
classes.
Saucon Valley latest Colonial League football program to
shut down over positive COVID-19 test
By TOM HOUSENICK THE MORNING
CALL | SEP 21, 2020 AT 5:35 PM
Saucon Valley is the second Colonial League
football team to shut down this season due to a positive COVID-19 test. District
Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler confirmed that a high school student tested
positive for COVID-19, but would not say it was a football player. But he did
say that because of the positive test, Saucon Valley canceled its football
scrimmage last Friday against Bethlehem Catholic and will not play this
Saturday’s league and season opener at Pen Argyl. Butler added that no other
athletic activities were affected and the district has quarantined the students
who needed to be quarantined. He also said a letter was emailed to school
district parents, but did not divulge the contents of the letter. The PIAA stated
last month that an entire team should be quarantined for 10 days to two weeks
when a positive test has been confirmed on a sports team.
Towanda Area School District to resume school Tuesday
following Monday closure over positive COVID-19 test
WENY Monday, September 21st 2020, 6:42 PM EDT by Olivia
Jaquith
UPDATE: (6:38 p.m.) In a letter sent out
to district families, Superintendent Dennis Peachey says following advice from
the Department of Health, school will resume as scheduled on Tuesday, September
22. However, officials say the DOH advised all JV and varsity volleyball
activities will be suspended until members of the team finish their 14 day
quarantine. All other sports will continue as planned.
TOWANDA, Pa. (WENY) -- Towanda Area
School District has confirmed a positive coronavirus case, closing school
Monday to work through the situation. According to a a release, district
officials learned of the infection late Sunday evening. The district is
reportedly working with the Department of Health. Officials say Monday's
closure will allow the district's custodial staff to put in place additional
cleaning protocols. All extracurricular activities and practices are canceled
Monday, as well. Twelve-month employees have been instructed to report to work
at their normal time. District officials say they will continue to communicate
information as it becomes available.
Neshaminy Staff Member Tests Positive For COVID-19 After
Being With Students
Levittown Now by Tom Sofield September 21, 2020
A Neshaminy School District employee who
works at Pearl Buck Elementary School in Middletown Township’s Levittown
section tested positive for COVID-19, according to a letter sent to parents
Monday. The letter from Principal Brian Kern said the staff member was
asymptomatic while in the school last week. The staff member began feeling ill
on Sunday evening and received confirmation of their illness on Monday.
Brownsville Area School District reports one COVID-19
case
Herald Standard By Alyssa Choiniere achoiniere@heraldstandard.com Sep 21,
2020
An individual who works with students at
Brownsville Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19. In a letter
posted on Brownsville Area School District’s Facebook page Monday,
Superintendent Dr. Keith Hartbauer said the individual’s last date on campus
was Thursday, Sept. 17. “Those who were in close contact with the individual
have been notified directly and should be self-quarantined through Sept. 27,”
Hartbauer wrote. Anyone who develops symptoms should quarantine for an
additional two weeks from the date the symptoms began, according to the letter.
Contractor for Bellwood-Antis School District tests
positive for COVID-19
WTAJ by: Colleen
Knudsen Posted: Sep 21, 2020 / 05:38 PM
EDT / Updated: Sep 21, 2020 / 05:38 PM EDT
BELLWOOD, BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Fourth
graders at the Bellwood-Antis School District returned to the classroom on
Monday after someone tested positive for the Coronavirus last week. Superintendent
Thomas McInroy said the district was notified on Thursday afternoon that a
third party contractor, who helps the district with educational services, had
the virus. The fourth grade students stayed home on Friday, out of an abundance
of caution, so their classrooms could be deep cleaned.
Peters Township School District confirms positive
COVID-19 test at high school
wtae.com | 26d
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Someone at Peters
Township High School has tested positive for COVID-19, the Peters Township
School District said Wednesday. A statement issued by the district said the
person will not return to school until they have completed isolation
procedures. It did not say whether the patient is a student or an employee.
State College Area cancels SATs scheduled over next 2
weeks. Here’s why — and what comes next
Centre Daily Times BY
JOSH MOYER SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 05:05 PM
A week before students were set to take the
SATs, the State College Area School District announced it was canceling two
testing days due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. According to the
district, which made the announcement
Monday on Facebook and sent letters home Friday, the SATs
set to be held both this Saturday and next Saturday — Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 — at
the high school have been canceled. The district intimated it tried to hold the
tests with only State College students but the College Board, which oversees
registration and testing procedures, would not allow that. “Due to the volume
of students from outside of our area who registered to take the SAT at State
High, we are not comfortable administering the exam in our school while our
district remains in full-remote status due to COVID-19,” a statement from the
district read on Facebook.
‘No more Zoom’: Chester County families rally against
virtual school
WHYY By Miles
Bryan September 22, 2020
About 60 parents and children rallied in
suburban Chester County Monday evening to protest pandemic restrictions on
in-person school and sports — a reflection of the simmering frustrations many
families have been grappling with since school went virtual in March. The rally
took place in front of Downingtown S.T.E.M Academy, a highly-rated public high
school. Holding signs reading “no child left behind a screen” and “no more
Zoom, just in-person classroom,” the mostly mask-clad protesters demanded their
schools allow for the immediate return of five-day-a-week in-person
instruction. “The fact is we pay for this school district,” said Felix Zvarick,
a 51-year-old technical analyst who has two sons in Downingtown schools. “We
aren’t getting our money’s worth … I am doing 50% of the teacher’s job in my
household.”
https://whyy.org/articles/no-more-zoom-chester-county-families-rally-against-virtual-school/
Court rules Scranton School District could lay off
teachers for financial reasons
Times Tribune BY TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER STAFF WRITER Sep 21,
2020
In a major victory for the Scranton School
District, a federal appeals court upheld Monday a judge’s dismissal of a
lawsuit that challenged the school board’s 2018 decision to lay off three
teachers for economic reasons. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling also
has significant implications for districts statewide because it upholds the
constitutionality of Act 55, a law enacted in 2017, that allows a school district
to lay off teachers if it can show a financial need. The lawsuit, filed by
Joshua Watters, Molly Popish and Laurie Burdett, argued Act 55 is unlawful
because it infringes on the teachers’ contractual rights to their tenured
positions. That violates a provision in the U.S. Constitution that says the
government cannot pass a law that interferes with a private contract. U.S.
District Judge Robert D. Mariani dismissed the lawsuit last year. The 3rd Circuit
Court upheld his ruling Monday. Larry Moran Jr., attorney for the district,
said the ruling is important because the case was the first in the state to
challenge Act 55, which amended the school code to allow for financial-based
layoffs. Previously teachers could only be laid off if there was a decrease in enrollment,
education programs were eliminated or if schools were consolidated.
Ears on the Philly Board of Education: September
17, 2020
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by
Diane Payne
The Board managed to hit many lows during
this September remote Action Meeting. Just hours before the meeting started,
registered public speakers on action items received an email message with their
zoom confirmation that stated “…the Board President will be
interrupting the testimony of those individuals not speaking on the topic under
which they registered and directing the host to mute their lines.” [Bold
added] The absolute control the Board has over the public process during the
quarantine took a chilling turn with this threat. Board members Mallory Fix
Lopez and Angela McIver spoke against the directive during the meeting, and
Wilkerson seemed to relent; but several speakers were cut off when they
attempted to speak on more than one topic. APPS members pointed out in their
testimonies that this comes on the heels of the Board’s allowing unlimited time
in several consecutive meetings to the Hilco, Inc. officials who lobbied the
Board–successfully, as it turns out–for a major tax break.
During Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson’s
presentation on projected budget shortfalls, Lee Huang dropped his own bomb:
suggesting the closure of public schools as a solution to a financial crisis.
Several Board members spoke in agreement, using familiar buzz phrases like
“tough decisions” and “difficult move”, forcing us to relive the trauma of 2013
when the SRC approved the Hite administration’s permanent closure of 23
neighborhood schools. This is disaster capitalism in action. Communities have
not recovered from losing those schools, and this Board wants to impose more?
If Black Lives really do matter in Philadelphia, the community needs to
organize now to stop this.
https://appsphilly.net/ears-on-the-board-of-education-september-17-2020/
North Hills School District sues Juul, contending
e-cigarette company targets young people
Trib Live by PAULA REED WARD | Monday,
September 21, 2020 7:28 p.m.
The North Hills School District on Monday
became the latest in the Pittsburgh area to file a federal lawsuit against
Juul, alleging the e-cigarette maker purposely targeted its products to young
people, forcing the district to reallocate resources to battle what the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control has called an “epidemic.” Nine other such
complaints were filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and they join
hundreds more across the country targeting the company that now claims 70% of
the e-cigarette market. The nine suits filed in Pittsburgh recently were
transferred to the federal court in the Northern District of California. The
North Hills School District complaint includes claims for public nuisance,
negligence and racketeering. In addition to Juul Labs, it names as defendants
Altria Group, which owns a 35% stake in Juul; and Philip Morris USA, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Altria, and the largest cigarette company in the
United States. The lawsuit contends that Juul had been in 90,000 U.S. retail outlets
but, after Altria invested nearly $13 billion in Juul in December 2018, it
allowed Juul to reach 230,000 outlets. The lawsuit accuses Juul of specifically
marketed its e-cigarette products to school-age minors, including the student
body at North Hills, which has 4,500 students from kindergarten through 12th
grade in seven schools.
New PSBA Closer Look details liability concerns of public
schools
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 21,
2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
PSBA recently sent to all members of the
General Assembly a new Closer Look publication
that fully explains public schools' need for temporary safe harbor protections
from opportunistic lawsuits that seek to take advantage of the COVID-19
emergency. Time is running out to pass this legislation this year and it is
urgently needed! The Closer Look explains why schools may not be fully covered
from immunity protections under current law, even as they are working hard to
resume in-person instruction and implement the guidance from federal, state and
local health authorities. However, there are two key exceptions to this
immunity, the scope of which have been expanded by recent Pennsylvania Supreme
Court decisions, that have public schools concerned as in-person instruction
resumes while the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. Your continued advocacy on
this issue is needed. Click here to
send this new, updated letter to your members of the Senate and House of
Representatives. Tell your legislators that schools need enhanced
protections during this time from frivolous or opportunistic lawsuits alleging
exposure to the virus. This is not the same letter that PSBA made available
earlier, so we ask that you please take action again.
https://www.psba.org/2020/09/new-psba-closer-look-details-liability-concerns-of-public-schools/
Trump's 'Patriotic Education' Push Clashes With His Past
Calls for Local Control
Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa on September
21, 2020 4:29 PM
President Donald Trump stamped his imprint on
the contentious debate over American history and how it's taught last week by deriding the
"left-wing indoctrination" in
schools and announcing the creation of a national commission to promote
"patrotic education." It was part of Trump's ongoing rhetorical
focus on what schools teach as he campaigns for reelection.
But his criticism of the 1619 Project—a series of essays in the New York
Times magazine that place slavery and its legacy at the center of American
history—and its place in classrooms clashes with his 2016 campaign
platform for education, or an executive order from his own
administration. As our colleague Sarah Schwartz wrote recently, the federal government is
barred from rewarding or punishing schools for
using a specific curriculum, and it can't mandate that schools teach history or
any other subject in any particular way. That limitation on Washington's role
in the classroom has enjoyed bipartisan support for years. A Trump administration
executive order issued in April 2017 explicitly
endorses this view. "It shall be the policy of the executive branch to
protect and preserve State and local control over the curriculum, program of
instruction, administration, and personnel of educational institutions,
schools, and school systems," the order states. It goes on to cite the
Every Student Succeeds Act—the main federal law governing K-12 schools—and
other statutes.
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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