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 24, 2020
Follow the Money:
Jeff Yass’s School Privatization Students First PAC Contributed $500,000 to PA
House Minority Whip Jordan Harris
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Mike Tobash’s school districts
paid over $5 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter
tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Blue Mountain SD |
$971,270.94 |
|
Pine Grove Area SD |
$368,600.16 |
|
Pottsville Area SD |
$1,600,479.61 |
|
Schuylkill Haven Area SD |
$473,973.93 |
|
Tri-Valley SD |
$162,121.27 |
|
Upper Dauphin Area SD |
$716,141.01 |
|
Williams Valley SD |
$760,948.39 |
|
|
$5,053,535.31 |
Source: PDE via
PSBA
Follow the Money: On August 6th, Jeff Yass’s School
Privatization Students First PAC Contributed $500,000 to PA House Minority Whip
Jordan Harris (D-186 Philadelphia)…
Rep. Harris represents parts of Point Breeze,
Grays Ferry and SW Philly and is running uncontested in the general election
this fall.
…He also recently sent Club for Growth $10 million in
support of President Trump
“Provide School Choice to Every Child in America” and “Teach
American Exceptionalism.”
Trump’s Second Term Agenda For Education
Forbes by Wesley
Whistle Senior Contributor Aug 27, 2020,04:20pm
EDT
I write about education, including policy,
student debt, and more.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump’s
campaign released his second-term agenda. Up until
this point, the campaign only had a “Promises Kept” website with few details;
the Republican Party didn’t even adopt a platform. But this agenda is also
scant with details. The website just has a bulleted list of priorities. In
fact, for education, it only includes two bullets: “Provide School Choice to
Every Child in America” and “Teach American Exceptionalism.” Trump doesn’t
address anything to do with teachers, improving the quality of education, or
early childhood education. He fails to address anything to do with higher
education or student loans. But
what he did include should come as no surprise. Trump and Education Secretary
Betsy DeVos have made “school choice” a primary priority throughout their time
in office, consistently pushing charter schools and vouchers for private
schools. They have campaigned and fought for money From Congress for private
schools and charter schools. In fact, DeVos even diverted coronavirus relief
money to private schools, a practice causing judges to rebuke her. Earlier this
summer, Trump even made a speech calling school choice the
“civil rights statement of the year.”
Blogger note: to the best of my knowledge, the two bullet point
below comprise the complete education agenda….
TRUMP CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S 2ND TERM
AGENDA: FIGHTING FOR YOU!
Trump Campaign Website August 23, 2020
EDUCATION
- Provide
School Choice to Every Child in America
- Teach
American Exceptionalism
New F&M Poll: Biden leads Trump, 49-40 percent in
Pa.; Biden gets edge on managing pandemic | Thursday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star By John L. Micek September
24, 2020
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
With just just 40 days to go before Election
Day, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads President
Donald Trump 49-40 percent among registered voters, and by a narrower
48-42 percent advantage, among likely voters, according to a new
Franklin & Marshall College poll out
this morning. The poll, conducted from Sept. 14-20, has a margin of error of
6.5 percentage points, rendering Biden’s lead among likely
voters, the most predictive sample, an effective dead heat. The poll includes
the opinions of 296 Democrats, 250 Republicans, and 79 independents.
Biden’s lead among
registered voters is effectively unchanged from the last Franklin &
Marshall poll in August, where the former vice president held a 49-42
percent lead. As of Wednesday, Biden held an average 3.8 percentage
point lead over Trump in the Keystone State, according to the RealClear Politics polling
average. And as was the case in August, Trump gets
the edge on managing the economy, but respondents still find Biden better
suited to manage the myriad of problems afflicting the country, most notably,
the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than 200,000
Americans.
September 2020 Franklin & Marshall College Poll
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Prepared by: Center for Opinion Research
Floyd Institute for Public Policy Franklin & Marshall College Released
September 24, 2020
https://www.fandm.edu/uploads/files/74868762207802954-f-m-poll-release-september-2020.pdf
Tweet
by Sasha Pudelski @SPudelski Advocacy Director, AASA
It’s
rare when Congress does more than they have to, but that’s exactly what
happened yesterday in the House when lawmakers agreed to add language to the CR
forcing USDA’s hand and extending all school nutrition waivers through June
2021.
School Nutrition Association Lauds House Vote to Extend Waivers
School Nutrition Association Press Release Contact:
Diane Pratt-Heavner 703-576-7526 media@schoolnutrition.org 9/23/2020
ARLINGTON, VA – The non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) is praising the
House of Representatives’ vote to extend critical school meal program waivers
through the end of the 2020/2021 school year and urging speedy Senate approval
and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) action to implement the waiver
extensions. The House version of the Continuing Resolution, passed late on
September 22, included language allowing USDA to extend all Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) waivers through the end of the
school year. The waiver extensions will permit schools to continue offering
meals to all children at no charge, minimizing the challenges of meal service
and ensuring hungry students have access to healthy school meals during the
pandemic. “With these waiver extensions, no family will have to worry about
their child going without a healthy school meal, whether they're learning in
school or at home,” said SNA President Reggie Ross, SNS. "Schools and
families will not be unnecessarily burdened with paperwork and nutrition staff
can focus on safely preparing and serving meals through the pandemic. It is
critical that the Senate and USDA act quickly to pass and implement the waiver
extensions so school meal programs can effectively plan for the entire school
year assured that all hungry students can be fed.”
Pa. House falls short in effort to override Gov. Tom
Wolf’s veto of high schools sports bill
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated
3:09 PM; Today 3:00 PM
The ongoing tug of war between Pennsylvania’s
executive and legislative branches over policies to control the spread of
COVID-19 continues but once again, Gov. Tom Wolf came out ahead. The House of
Representatives on Wednesday voted 130-71 on an
attempt to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 2787 that
seeks to give local public and private school officials the final say as to
whether to hold K-12 sports and extracurricular activities this school year.
The bill also would allow schools to decide how many people could be in
attendance. While a strong majority of House members voted for the bill, it
needed 135 votes to achieve the two-thirds' majority required for a veto
override. The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland County,
initially passed the House on Sept. 2 by a 155-47 vote, giving
some GOP leaders confidence they had enough support to complete a rare override
of a governor’s veto. In urging members to vote to override the bill, Reese
said, “Consider the moms, the dads, the grandmas, the grandpaps, the brothers
and sisters who just want to watch their loved one compete on that field of
play or any other extracurricular activity. Let’s take this vote now and let’s
empower our locally elected officials to return families to the stands safely.”
The last time the General Assembly succeeded in overriding a governor’s veto
was in November 2010.
House Roll Call Vote on Override of Governor’s Veto of
HB2787
Override Failed 130-71
Who flipped on the veto override? 24 Democratic votes
sustained Gov. Wolf’s veto on high school sports bill
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated
Sep 23, 2020; Posted Sep 23, 2020
After Wednesday’s failed House
attempt to override Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a
bipartisan-backed bill designed to give local school officials the final say on
holding sports and setting crowd limits, some were left scratching their heads.
How could a bill that passed the House by a 155-47 fall short of the 135 votes
needed to override the governor’s veto? The answer: 24 of the Democratic
legislators who voted “yes” on the bill originally apparently had a change of
heart. One of the bill’s original supporters, Rep Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County,
was absent on Wednesday.
“It’s a lose-lose situation for school board members, who don’t
get paid like state leaders but still face all the problems associated with
elected office.”
Editorial: House blew chance to overturn Wolf veto
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Wednesday,
September 23, 2020 7:01 p.m.
This time, no one gets to say Gov. Tom Wolf
is a dictator.
Pointing to the governor as an iron-fisted
authoritarian has been common over the six months since schools shuttered and
coronavirus lockdowns were instituted. We have seen the Wolf administration’s
response as being more of a pinball game that rocketed between the bumpers of
scientific assessment, public opinion, rollback, rethink and special
exceptions, and have called him out accordingly. But on Wednesday, the state
House of Representatives got its opportunity to put the governor in his place. And it didn’t. House Bill
2787 was introduced in August. It would have allowed school districts to set
their own limits for sporting events during the pandemic rather than the
Wolf-set 250 people for outdoor gatherings and 25 for indoor events. Those
limits have created a tough situation for districts that need to protect their
staff and students on one side and deal with the conflicting feelings and
beliefs of the parents and taxpayers on the other. Doing the right thing isn’t
always the right thing for everyone. For some, it’s hurting a kid’s future. For
others, it’s making a political statement.
https://triblive.com/opinion/editorial-house-blew-chance-to-overturn-wolf-veto/
More than 2 dozen COVID-19 cases have been reported at
Lancaster County schools. Here's where they are [update]
Lancaster Online by ALEX
GELI | Staff Writer Updated September 23, 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. Last updated Sept. 23.
Erie County schools not seeing much COVID-19
GoErie By David
Bruce @etnbruce Posted
Sep 23, 2020 at 3:10 PM
Erie County reported 13 cases and two deaths
on Wednesday.
Erie County school officials were deeply
concerned about the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks when in-person classes
resumed in late August and early September. A surge has yet to happen. So far,
only five cases of COVID-19 among county school students and employees have
been reported to the Erie County Department of Health — two students and three
staff members. The department did not provide a breakdown for the cases, except
to say none of the cases is from the same school or district. The department’s
figures, released Wednesday, differ slightly from the numbers from local school
districts. At least four cases are known to have been self-reported by school
districts: two employees from the Harbor Creek
School District and one each from the Millcreek Township School District and
the Erie School District, at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. The
relatively low number of cases is the result of a summer’s worth of planning,
said Charlotte Berringer, R.N., director of community health for the county
health department.
https://www.goerie.com/news/20200923/erie-county-schools-not-seeing-much-covid-19
Canton Area School District moving to virtual learning
after staff member tests positive for COVID-19
WETM by: George
Stockburger Posted: Sep 23, 2020 / 01:32 PM
EDT / Updated: Sep
23, 2020 / 01:43 PM EDT
CANTON, Pa. (WETM) – The Canton Area School
District will be moving to virtual learning starting on Sept. 24 and until Oct.
13 after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, according to
Superintendent Eric Briggs.
A letter was sent out to parents on Wednesday
announcing the decision.
This morning our administrative team met to
discuss the current situation around COVID-19 cases with students and staff in
the district. Last evening, we had a staff member who received a positive
result on a COVID-19 test. Through contract tracing, we determined that
additional students in our district were impacted through close contract
tracing with the DOH.
Because of the continued uptick in testing by
our students and staff, and our inability to ensure we have enough drivers to
transport students and teachers to educate children, we have made the decision
to move to 100% remote starting tomorrow, September 24, 2020, and we will
return to full in-person instruction on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
Student tests positive for Covid-19 at Northern York
County School District high school
ABC27 by: WHTM Staff Posted: Sep 23,
2020 / 07:27 PM EDT / Updated: Sep
23, 2020 / 07:32 PM EDT
DILLSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Northern York County
School District announced on Wednesday that a student at the high school has
tested positive for coronavirus. In a letter addressed to families,
superintendent Steve Kirkpatrick said the student has been absent from the
school since last week when they were sent home sick. Kirkpatrick says that
administrators have been in contact with the state Department of Health to
coordinate actions inline with safety protocols and procedures.
Staff member of Gateway’s Mosside Middle School tests
positive for covid-19
Trib Live by DILLON
CARR | Wednesday,
September 23, 2020 3:56 p.m.
A staff member at Gateway School District has
tested positive for covid-19. A letter addressed to parents Wednesday said the
staff member is part of Mosside Middle School. Dennis Chakey, assistant
superintendent and the district’s pandemic coordinator, said in the letter the
district was notified of the positive test result Wednesday. The individual,
whom the district identified only as a “staff member,” has been quarantined and
has not worked in the building since Sept. 18. Through contact tracing, the
district found that the person came in contact with one other individual. The
district’s letter did not specify whether the person was a district employee or
student. That person is now required to quarantine for 14 days.
Cumberland Valley reports three students have tested
positive for COVID
The Sentinel by Joseph Cress September
23, 2020
Three Cumberland
Valley School District students have tested positive for COVID-19 since the
school year started on Aug. 31, Superintendent David Christopher said in a
video posted Friday on the district website. While there have been positive
cases in student homes, none of those cases have resulted in exposure to the
virus in a district building, Christopher said. “We are happy to report at this
time [that] we do not believe anyone has been exposed to a known case in a
school this year.” In the video, he said a case has potential for “school
exposure” if, within 48 hours of being in a school, a person has experiences
symptoms that lead to a positive test or is asymptomatic and tests positive.
None of the three students who have tested positive fit that description.
Wilson School District reports positive coronavirus test
of high school faculty member
Reading Eagle By David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com
@dmekeel on Twitter September 23, 2020
The Wilson School District informed families
last week that a staff member at Wilson High School tested positive for
COVID-19. In a message from Dr. Andrew Hoffert, director of student supports
and services, sent to families and staff members, Hoffert wrote that the
district was informed of the positive test result on Sept. 14. The faculty
member had last attended work on Sept. 9 after determining they may have been
exposed to the virus. The employee did not develop symptoms until Sept. 11. "The
faculty member and their family have been quarantining at home since the ninth,
and continue to monitor symptoms," the message reads. A copy of the
message was shared with the Reading Eagle by a parent with
students in the school district. Wilson officials said the message was sent out
on Sept. 14.
Canton Area School District moves to remote learning as
positive COVID-19 tests spike
NorthCentralPA.com by Brett Crossley September
23, 2020
Canton, Pa. — This morning Canton’s
Superintendent Dr. Eric Briggs announced that the district would be switching
to remote learning, starting tomorrow, Thursday Sept. 24. The announcement was shared
to the District's facebook page early this afternoon. In the message, Briggs
confirmed a teacher tested positive for COVID-19, with whom multiple students
had been in close contact. The message also cited continued testing and a
shortage of drivers for transportation as reasons for the switch to remote
learning. As of now, the school district stated they plan to return to
in-person instruction on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. All extra-curricular
activities and sports will continue as planned. Students, teachers, and
staff were informed of the decision at 1 p.m. today. They were directed to
collect personal belonging and anything needed for remote instruction before
leaving school at the end of the day.
Northwestern Lehigh extends Weisenberg Elementary
closure, suspends football program because of COVID cases
MSN News By
Michelle Merlin, The Morning Call September 23, 2020
Northwestern Lehigh School District is
extending the closure of an elementary school and suspending its football
program after several COVID cases were found. © Kristen Harrison/The Morning
Call/The Morning Call/TNS Weisenberg Elementary School is closed after
five COVID cases were discovered there. The school district on Monday learned
of a fifth coronavirus case at
Weisenberg Elementary, prompting the school to close at least through
Wednesday. After consulting with the state Health Department, district
officials are now closing Weisenberg to students through Oct. 2, according to a
note on the district’s website. They expect to resume in-person classes Oct. 5.
All Weisenberg students will learn remotely until then. District officials also
learned of a case at the high school, where someone associated with the junior
varsity and varsity football programs was infected. They decided not to close
the high school, but suspended all practices and games for the football
programs through Oct. 2, according to the note on the district’s website.
FULL STORY: Meadville Area Middle School temporarily
moves to online instruction
By Mike Crowley Meadville Tribune Sep 23,
2020
Meadville Area Middle School (MAMS) will be
switching to online instruction for two weeks. Crawford Central School District
made the announcement Tuesday afternoon after the Pennsylvania Department of
Health informed the district that two more MAMS students are considered
probable cases of COVID-19. "We are emphasizing that these are probable
cases, not positive cases," the school district wrote on its Facebook page
in making the announcement. In an interview with the Tribune, Superintendent
Tom Washington said the Department of Health determined the probable cases
through contact tracing. On Friday, the district announced that two siblings,
one a student at Meadville Area Senior High and the other a student at MAMS,
had tested positive for COVID-19. A third unrelated student at West End
Elementary School was identified by the department as a probable case.
Students at MASH, which is connected to MAMS, and West End continue to attend
school in person.
Brownsville Area School District reports one COVID-19
case
Herald Standard By
Alyssa Choiniere achoiniere@heraldstandard.com Sep 22,
2020 Updated Sep 22,
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.
Activists call for Comcast and other providers to
guarantee faster, free internet for students
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September
23, 2020- 7:31 PM
Genesis Mejia-Noyer takes her studies
seriously. But, she said, her internet connection is too slow and unreliable.
When she and her two siblings try to access Zoom or Google Classroom
simultaneously, one or all is invariably kicked offline, or coping with frozen
screens and unable to effectively ask teachers questions. Mejia-Noyer said she
often has to wait minutes to get reconnected or must use her phone’s data plan
to complete schoolwork. “It happens multiple times during the school day, which
is the main reason I feel distracted,” said Mejia-Noyer, a junior at Kensington
Health Sciences Academy in Philadelphia. “I worry that if I don’t have access
to stable internet soon, this situation will affect my future.” Mejia-Noyer
joined students, teachers, politicians, and activists from Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Detroit, Denver, and Louisiana in a virtual news conference
Wednesday to highlight the need for faster, free internet for all students,
especially as the coronavirus keeps many school buildings — including
Philadelphia’s — closed to full-time in-person learning. They called on Comcast
and other internet and cable providers to do more to bridge the digital divide,
and for changes at the federal level to help.
PPS board approves resolution geared toward school police
transparency
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com SEP 23,
2020 8:50 PM
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on
Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution aimed at increasing the
transparency and accountability of the district’s safety department. The
Reimagine School Safety resolution requires the district to create a public
database that combines school police data with student demographic information,
providing better insight on safety department actions. “The most egregious
thing that can happen to a student in our care is that they get arrested and
they get put into the juvenile justice system,” board member Pam Harbin said.
“We look at the numbers of students that are expelled from our school district
every month, and to me this is worse than that.”Ms. Harbin and board member
Devon Taliaferro in June introduced the resolution as school districts in
cities across the nation cut or suspended ties with law enforcement as social
justice movements spread after the police killing of George Floyd in
Minneapolis.
Pittsburgh schools will join districts suing JUUL, other
e-cigarrette makers
Trib Live by TEGHAN
SIMONTON | Wednesday,
September 23, 2020 7:08 p.m.
Pittsburgh Public Schools will soon join the
ranks of districts suing JUUL, the e-cigarettes manufacturer. The school board
voted to retain legal counsel at a meeting Wednesday. “I think that this is a
wise decision to join in and file and participate,” said board member Terry
Kennedy. “It costs us nothing to do this…there’s a lot of benefit to our
students if they understand what’s going on related to JUUL and the others.” The
district will be part of a nationwide litigation program, said Solicitor Ira
Weiss, becoming one of around 70 school districts suing the company in the
Northern District of California. The case is being handled by Frantz Law Group,
in California, and Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham, locally. Weiss
compared the suit to the tobacco litigation of more than two decades ago.
PIAA approves slimmed down postseason schedules
Andrew Chiappazzi Beaver
County Times September 23, 2020
With the fall high school sports season
largely underway throughout the state, the PIAA approved slimmed down
postseason formats for all sports on Wednesday in the hopes that it will still
be able to crown state champions. The PIAA waited to reveal the playoff formats
until it received feedback from districts on schools that chose to play fall
sports amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The state playoffs will be limited to
district champions in the majority of sports. The state football
championships will be Thanksgiving weekend, with three games on Friday, Nov. 27
and three more on Saturday, Nov. 28. The tournament will begin with the first
round on the weekend of Nov. 6 and 7. The WPIAL champion will enter the state
playoffs in the semifinal round on Nov. 20 and 21 in Class 1A thru 5A, and in
the quarterfinal round on Nov. 13 and 14 in Class 6A.
PIAA votes to hold state championships in fall sports,
but District 11 might not participate in football
By KEITH GROLLER THE MORNING
CALL | SEP 23, 2020 AT 5:20 PM
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
Association voted to approve dates for fall sports championships at its monthly
board of control meeting on Wednesday. However, District 11 might not
participate in the state football tournament, which is set to conclude the
weekend after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27-28, with a pair of tripleheaders at
Hersheypark Stadium. The District 11 committee will meet on Thursday afternoon
to discuss the outcome of Wednesday’s PIAA meeting. The PIAA issued state
football brackets, with the tournament beginning in five of the six
classifications on the weekend of Nov. 6-7. But since the Eastern Pennsylvania
Conference and Colonial League schedules won’t conclude until the weekend of
Oct. 30-31, there will be no time to hold a District 11 tournament to crown a
champion for the state tournaments.
Lehigh Valley schools allowing more fans at football
games after court ruling
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING
CALL |SEP 23, 2020 AT 7:41 PM
As they await final word from Harrisburg,
Lehigh Valley superintendents are prepared to ignore Gov. Tom Wolf’s
recommendations for crowd sizes and allow more fans into stadiums to watch high
school sports — if certain protocols are followed. A week ago, the state’s
gathering limits of 250 people outdoors and 25 indoors were ruled
unconstitutional by a federal judge. On Tuesday, a request from the governor to
stay that ruling was denied, clearing the way for larger crowds statewide —
including in football stadiums. For school districts, it meant another decision
they had to make quickly. Earlier this month, local
superintendents said it would be hard to allow fans into games if
they followed Wolf’s guidelines of no more than 250 people in an outdoor space,
which included football players and coaches. And Friday, the state Education
Department encouraged schools “to voluntarily enforce the 25-person indoor and
250-person outdoor gathering limitations while all of us wait for the court to
rule on the stay request.”
This week’s news had some local districts
pivoting.
Feared coronavirus outbreaks in schools yet to arrive,
early data shows
Washington Post By Laura Meckler and Valerie Strauss September
23, 2020 at 9:26 p.m. EDT
Thousands of students and teachers have
become sick with the coronavirus since
schools began opening last month, but public health experts have found little
evidence that the virus is spreading inside buildings, and the rates of
infection are far below what is found in the surrounding communities. This
early evidence, experts say, suggests that opening schools may not be as risky
as many have feared and could guide administrators as they chart the rest of
what is already an unprecedented school year. “Everyone had a fear there would
be explosive outbreaks of transmission in the schools. In colleges, there have
been. We have to say that, to date, we have not seen those in the younger kids,
and that is a really important observation,” said Michael Osterholm, director
of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of
Minnesota. This does not mean the risk of contracting the coronavirus is zero.
Poor and inconsistent reporting in many parts of the country means that experts
do not yet have a full view of the situation, and most schools have been open
for only a few weeks. It’s also unclear how closely the incidence of the
coronavirus in schools is tied to policies in schools such as mandatory
mask-wearing.
100 N.Y.C. School Buildings Have Already Reported a
Positive Case
Nearly all the buildings remained open,
following city guidelines that say only those schools with two cases in
different classrooms will shut.
New York Times By Sharon Otterman Sept. 23, 2020
At least one coronavirus case had been
reported in more than 100 school buildings and early childhood centers in the
New York City school system by the first day of in-person instruction on
Monday, according to the Department of Education. Nearly all the buildings
remained open, though six were closed temporarily,
in accordance with city guidelines that only those schools that report at least
two cases in different classrooms will be shut. The cases occurred between
Sept. 8, when teachers and staff reported to schools, and Monday, when the
first students entered classrooms. In dozens of cases, the infected individuals
got the positive test results and did not report to work, the department said.
Others did report to school, and their close contacts in the buildings had to
quarantine for two weeks. Avery Cohen, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio,
said the cases included a “handful” of students, but that “the vast majority”
were among staff before schools reopened for students.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-schools.html
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
296 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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