Friday, September 25, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 25, 2020: Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Jesse Topper’s school districts paid over $4.4 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition.

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 25, 2020

Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Jesse Topper’s school districts paid over $4.4 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition.

 

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

Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Jesse Topper’s school districts paid over $4.4 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.

 

Bedford Area SD

$525,500.90

Central Fulton SD

$608,715.65

Chestnut Ridge SD

$458,063.51

Claysburg-Kimmel SD

$85,189.10

Everett Area SD

$409,729.24

Fannett-Metal SD

$349,149.70

Forbes Road SD

$146,309.81

Northern Bedford County SD

$162,967.33

Southern Fulton SD

$368,404.99

Tuscarora SD

$1,100,520.70

Tussey Mountain SD

$278,031.29

 

$4,492,582.22

Source: PDE via PSBA

 

Editorial: Let schools decide sports crowd limits

Delco Times Editorial September 25, 2020

There’s no doubt that policies concerning high school sports aren't as important as other health and economic issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the fact remains that it’s a subject that matters a great deal to many people. That’s why it’s been a frequent topic of passionate discussion around Pennsylvania for the past month or so. It looks as though we may have reached the point where the issue is settled, at least for the time being. Now that Gov. Tom Wolf’s restrictions on gathering sizes are on hold due to a federal court ruling, the issue of how many people may attend school sporting events is being left in the hands of local school boards and administrators. We believe that this is a positive development. If local education officials can be trusted to come up with plans for how to deliver education for this pandemic, they should be able to make decisions on how to safely put on athletic contests and other events and allow people to watch them. They know their facilities and their communities well enough to make sensible decisions

https://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/editorial-let-schools-decide-sports-crowd-limits/article_6ce39492-aa94-5a24-a832-9b49ac83b670.html

 

Gov. Wolf says coronavirus-driven Pennsylvania budget deficit of billions of dollars will have state ‘scrambling’

By FORD TURNER THE MORNING CALL | SEP 24, 2020 AT 5:44 PM

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday that the state will be “scrambling” to find ways to fill a coronavirus-driven budget deficit that has been estimated at $5 billion over two years. His comments came during a news conference where tensions between the Democratic Wolf administration and the Republican-led Legislature over the pandemic were discussed. Afterward, Republican spokespersons for the House and Senate both said Wolf’s approach to the pandemic has exacerbated fiscal problems. Wolf said the ideal thing to help state finances would be for federal lawmakers and President Donald Trump to approve another stimulus package. But it is unclear whether that will happen, especially with an increasing focus on the election and the filling of a vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat. Wolf did not give a figure for the estimated state deficit. But previously issued estimates were around $5 billion, excluding $1.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds the state has not yet earmarked for use.

https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-pa-wolf-deficit-thursday-20200924-el6gmlebvrdh7nbayvbyffwjs4-story.html

 

Erie’s Lincoln Elementary honored as Blue Ribbon School

GoErie By Times-News staff Posted Sep 24, 2020 at 2:52 PM

School wins U.S. Department of Education award for closing achievement gaps among its 440 students.

One of the Erie School District’s elementary schools has received a top national honor for its work on improving student performance. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Thursday named Lincoln Elementary School a National Blue Ribbon School for 2020. Lincoln is one of only 367 schools nationwide to receive the award, which recognizes a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps, according to the Erie School District. Lincoln is one of 14 schools in Pennsylvania named a Blue Ribbon School for 2020, and the only school in northwestern Pennsylvania to receive the honor in 2020.

https://www.goerie.com/news/20200924/eriersquos-lincoln-elementary-honored-as-blue-ribbon-school

 

Pennsylvania has 14 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools

https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/awardwinners/index.php

 

Greater Latrobe reports 3 students with coronavirus; full-time return to classrooms still on

Trib Live by JEFF HIMLER   | Thursday, September 24, 2020 4:45 p.m.

Three students at Greater Latrobe School District tested positive for coronavirus and another is presumed positive, according to Superintendent Georgia Teppert. Teppert reported on the cases in a Wednesday letter to parents posted on the district website. Teppert told the Tribune-Review she could not provide any details about the students. She said the district is required to protect the privacy of those affected by the virus, in accordance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. She said those identified as close contacts with the affected students were notified and quarantined. Unless a family was contacted by a Greater Latrobe school nurse, the district’s pandemic coordinator or the Westmoreland County Department of Health, Teppert wrote, “we can reasonably assure you that your child has not been identified as a ‘close contact’ of a positive case.” Citing guidance from state health officials, she noted anyone who has spent more than 15 consecutive minutes within 6 feet of a person who is positive for coronavirus is considered a close contact. Teppert said the student cases won’t affect the district’s plan to have secondary students return to the classroom five days per week beginning Monday. Those students started the school year in a hybrid program featuring two days per week of in-class instruction and three days of virtual learning at home.

https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/greater-latrobe-reports-3-students-with-coronavirus-full-time-return-to-classrooms-still-on/

 

Two Washington County Public Schools students test positive for COVID-19

Herald Mail Media By Sherry Greenfield sgreenfield@herald-mail.com September 24, 2020

Washington County Public Schools confirmed Thursday that two students have tested positive for COVID-19. One child from Bester Elementary School tested positive, and one student from South Hagerstown High School also tested positive, Communications Officer Erin Anderson said. The school district was informed Monday.  "WCPS staff followed established protocols and coordinated with the Washington County Health Department in their contact tracing efforts," according to a statement from the school district. "As part of WCPS’ communications process, nearly 400 email notifications were sent to staff at both schools and to families of all students who are attending in-person instruction at Bester and South High."

https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/special/coronavirus/two-washington-county-public-schools-students-test-positive-for-covid-19/article_42f973ee-d24e-5253-ad34-48ea22f9493c.html

 

Third Colonial League football program shuts down after a positive COVID-19 test

MSN By Tom Housenick, The Morning Call September 24, 2020

Northwestern became the third Colonial League football program this year to shut down due to a positive COVID-19 case.

The school district announced Wednesday that a person associated with the varsity program was infected, so the team’s game Friday at Bangor and the Oct. 2 contest against visiting Wilson were postponed. Coach Josh Snyder’s Tigers are 1-1 this season: a 36-28 win over Palisades and a 56-35 loss to Berks Catholic, both at home. Southern Lehigh had an assistant coach test positive earlier this month, which postponed its season opener Saturday at Wilson. Saucon Valley had a player test positive last week, so it canceled last Friday’s scrimmage with Bethlehem Catholic and postponed Saturday’s game at Pen Argyl. There are four games in the opening weekend of the Colonial League’s regular season: (FRIDAY) Salisbury (0-0) at Notre Dame-GP (2-0); Palisades (1-1) at Northern Lehigh (0-0), Catasauqua (0-0) at Palmerton (0-0); (SATURDAY) Wilson (0-1) at Pen Argyl (0-0).

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/third-colonial-league-football-program-shuts-down-after-a-positive-covid-19-test/ar-BB19o0NR

 

LIST: Here are the football crowd size plans at Lehigh Valley high schools

By MORNING CALL STAFF SEP 24, 2020 AT 4:28 PM

High school football stadiums beneath the Friday night lights won’t see the same bustle as years' past, but they won’t be empty, either. Lehigh Valley area superintendents are rethinking how many people they want to let into high school football stadiums this fall, now that Gov. Tom Wolf’s gathering limits of 250 people outdoors and 25 indoors were ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and his request to stay that ruling was denied. Here’s a roundup of crowd-size plans at Lehigh Valley school districts we know of so far:

https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-lehigh-valley-football-crowd-sizes-20200924-sks5ijud7rhw3kny2r74ymsa64-story.html

 

HS Sports: Spectator policies for each Cumberland County school this fall

Cumberlink by Jake Adams September 25, 2020

Due to PIAA and state government policies, school districts have the freedom to implement their own policies for spectators at fall sports this year during the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to provide information for home and away fans looking to attend games where possible, or to watch livestreams, The Sentinel is running spectator policies for each of our area schools throughout the year for home and away fans.  Below is a school-by-school look at fan policies for districts within Cumberland County.

Editor's note: The Sentinel will update this information over the next few days as we collect the information from remaining school districts we don't have information for at this time and will continue to update it throughout the season if school policies change.

https://cumberlink.com/sports/high-school/hs-sports-spectator-policies-for-each-cumberland-county-school-this-fall/article_ce850c9f-59f0-564f-a3b2-31f55a6e1c70.html#utm_source=cumberlink.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fnews-alert&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=8f4b2832bb2dfb7d166580a63a303f99a66452a7

 

More Than 11,000 PA Cyber Families Hit With Robocalls Saying Their Student Was Unenrolled

Robocalls mistakenly went out to thousands of people on Wednesday.

KDKA CBS Pittsburgh By Nicole Ford September 24, 2020 at 5:50 pm

MIDLAND, PA (KDKA) – It was an evening filled with phone calls for students enrolled with PA Cyber after robocalls informed parents that their child was unenrolled in the program. “Technology, it can sometimes give you unexpected results,” said Brian Hayden, the CEO at PA Cyber. Hayden told KDKA that technology got the best of them on Wednesday. “It just sounded like something was wrong. It said they had the record that my child had withdrawn from the school and that they had not received the technology back — the laptop,” said Laura Doheny, whose child is enrolled in the second grade at PA Cyber. That robocall went out to over 11,000 families enrolled with the school and not just once. “As I was listening to that recording, another call was coming through from that same phone number. Honestly, we kept getting those calls about every five minutes for a half-hour,” Doheny said. Hayden said the call was only supposed to go to a handful of families who did unenroll a student. Now the school is working to find out what went wrong. “We are working with the vendor to try to determine how this happened because the Excel spreadsheet had just those families. And instead, it went to what we call ‘PA Cyber ALL,’ which it should not have,” Hayden told KDKA.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/09/24/pa-cyber-school-robocalls/

 

'Undermine our Republic': Perry, Smucker chastise Trump's election comments

Logan Hullinger York Dispatch September 24, 2020

Breaking with President Donald Trump, U.S. Reps. Scott Perry and Lloyd Smucker on Thursday said they'd accept presidential election results, despite the president refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose. When pressed Wednesday, Trump would only commit to a "continuation" of his presidency following the election and called for officials to "get rid of the (mail-in) ballots." Perry, R-Carroll Township, and Smucker, R-Lancaster, joined a growing number of Republicans who took issue with Trump's refusal to guarantee a peaceful transition of power should he lose Nov. 3, an unprecedented statement from a sitting president.

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/local/2020/09/24/undermine-our-republic-perry-smucker-chastise-trumps-election-comments/3519756001/

 

McConnell, Pelosi dispute Trump, vow peaceful power transfer

Post Gazette by AAMER MADHANI AND KEVIN FREKING Associated Press SEP 24, 2020 12:23 PM

WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders from both parties, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, swiftly pushed back Thursday after President Donald Trump declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump said during a Wednesday news conference, “We’re going to have to see what happens,” responding to a question about committing to the results. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.” McConnell and other leaders of Trump’s Republican Party had no hesitation in committing to an orderly transfer if Trump loses. “The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th,” McConnell said in a tweet. “There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.”

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2020/09/24/McConnell-Pelosi-dispute-Trump-vow-peaceful-power-transfer-election/stories/202009240140

 

COVID-19 Education Relief: Congress Dithers and Advocates Fume

Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa September 23, 2020

The education community’s optimism about a big pandemic relief package from Uncle Sam has curdled into dismay and frustration. And with a presidential election and furor over a Supreme Court nomination at the top of Washington’s agenda, it’s possible that it will go bad beyond all recognition. Ever since President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus relief bill in late March in the pandemic’s earliest phase, educators warned that looming state and local K-12 budget cuts amounting to billions of dollars, along with safety concerns from school communities caused by the coronavirus, required another response and more resources that only the federal government could provide. Leaders from both parties in Congress publicly and vigorously agreed. They pronounced repeatedly that something had to be done to help education beyond the roughly $13 billion for K-12 schools included in the CARES Act and an additional $3 billion it provided for governors to use for K-12 and higher education.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/09/23/covid-education-relief-congress-dithers-and-advocates.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.

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

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

 

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

PSBA Charter Change Website:

https://www.pacharterchange.org/

 

The Network for Public Education Action Conference has been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel

 

Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization that I may be affiliated with.

 


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