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.
These daily
emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
If any of your colleagues would like to be added to the
email list please have them send their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
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
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.
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.
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."
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).
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:
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.