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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October 14, 2020
Good Things
Happen in Philadelphia
October 19, 2020, is the last day to register before
the November 3, 2020, general election.
To vote in Pennsylvania, you must first register to vote at least
15 days before the election.
https://www.votespa.com/Register-to-Vote/Pages/default.aspx
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Minority Chair James Roebuck’s school
district paid over $106 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter
tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Philadelphia City SD |
$106,152,521.20 |
Source: PDE via
PSBA
Students First PAC: As
Democrats aim to flip the House, a top lawmaker took $600K from school choice
donor trying to stop them
PA Capital Star By
Stephen Caruso October 14, 2020
The No. 2
Democrat in the Pennsylvania House has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars
in political donations from a group that’s funded at least $3.5 million in ads
targeting vulnerable Democratic colleagues in an election in which control of
the chamber is seen as up for grabs. House Minority Whip Jordan Harris,
D-Philadelphia, raked in $600,000 over the past two years from Students First,
a political action committee that supports candidates for office who back
school choice. Those donations are an anomaly this cycle, as Students First,
which has backed Democrats in the past, has instead given more than 90 percent
of its dollars to conservative groups to protect Republican incumbents and
attack Democrats in red-tinged districts. Harris, an ally of charter schools
with the votes to match, has made no apologies for accepting the donations,
which he says he’ll use to help his colleagues. “You’re damn right I’ll take
the money,” Harris told the Capital-Star. “I took the money so I could level
the playing field for Democrats.” Democrats, who are at a nine-seat
disadvantage, are hopeful they can flip the Republican-controlled chamber for
the first time in a decade this year.
“People started
noticing what was going on at the school, and how Gordon, now 48, led it.
Robeson came off the state’s list of low-performing schools. Nearly all of its
students live in poverty. Ninety-five percent go on to attend college.”
A Philadelphia high school
principal is honored as the nation’s best
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: October
13, 2020- 7:08 PM
Ask any of his
students: Richard Gordon, principal of Paul Robeson High School in West
Philadelphia, is the best in the nation. The title became official Tuesday.
Gordon was named Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary
School Principals. It’s quite a feat for Gordon, who grew up in Camden, the son
of a father who was in and out of prison and a single mother who believed so
fiercely in education that she rose early every day to drive Gordon to school
in Pennsauken. Gordon took over Robeson,
a small high school that takes students from across the city, in 2013, shortly
after it narrowly escaped closure. It was losing students and staff, and no one
was sure what the path forward was. Gordon was a relatively new principal, but
he believed strongly in building a collaborative professional climate, in the
school’s potential, and in the kids it educated. “I am the students that I
serve,” Gordon said Tuesday.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/principal-of-the-year-robeson-richard-gordon-naasp-20201013.html
West Philadelphia principal
gets ‘National Principal of the Year’ honor
Chalkbeat Philly
By Dale Mezzacappa and Johann Calhoun Oct 13, 2020, 1:45pm EDT
Richard Gordon,
the principal of Paul Robeson High School for Human Services in West Philadelphia,
was named Tuesday as the 2021 National Principal of the Year. Tuesday’s
announcement of the award from the National Association of Secondary School
Principals was part of the 2020 celebration of National Principals Month. The
announcement took place during a virtual meeting of Philadelphia principals.
NASSP had previously cited Gordon as the best principal in Pennsylvania. Last
year, Gordon led Robeson off the state’s list of low-performing schools and
onto the list of “high progress schools,” with a graduation rate of 95%. The
school motto is “build your own brand.” In accepting the award, he gave credit
to his teachers, students, and families for creating a successful, caring
community. “One thing I’ve made clear to my leadership team is that this may be
my name, but this is us, this is all of us,” he said at a press conference
announcing the award. Gordon took over Robeson when it was a small school of
250 students shedding enrollment and staff. In his wildest dreams back then, he
said, he never imagined the depth of the school’s turnaround that has occurred.
It is now on the state’s “high progress” list. “I didn’t think this was
remotely possible,” he said.
Philly educator receives
‘Teacher as Hero’ Award
Delco Times by Peg DeGrassa pdegrassa@21st-centurymedia.com @PeggyDe5 on Twitter October 14, 2020
PHILADELPHIA—
The National Liberty Museum announced the ten winners of the 14th annual
Teacher as Hero Award, sponsored by State Farm. Jennifer Morris, a Springfield
resident, is among this year's winners. The ten outstanding Delaware Valley
educators, who come from four different states, will be honored at a virtual
award ceremony at the National Liberty Museum, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 24. The Teacher as Hero Award recognizes outstanding educators who
represent best practices in teaching and serve as role models to their
colleagues and students. Morris is an English as a Second Language teacher for
students in grades K-8 at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in Kensington.
Concerned that the Hispanic population lacked a specific cultural connection to
the school, Morris decided to incorporate the Hispanic culture into the daily
school activities by conducting part of the daily announcements in Spanish. She
expanded this first step of inclusion into a month-long Hispanic Heritage
Month, incorporating cultural awareness with educationally relevant lessons and
a Hispanic Heritage Career Expo and culminating in Carnival De Bethune, where
students were immersed in the Hispanic culture with food, games, crafts and a
student-made Heritage Museum.
“Critics of
cyber charter schools, however, have long opposed any expansion of the cyber
charter sector. They point to studies showing that cyber charter students learn
at a slower rate than students in traditional public schools, and to data
showing that per-pupil education costs in cyber charter schools are higher than
in district-run cyber programs. “Parents are being forced to choose between
really poor options right now,” David Lapp, director of policy research at the
Philadelphia-based organization Research for Action, said Tuesday. The boom in
cyber charter enrollment “doesn’t mean that cyber charters are an effective
approach,” Lapp said. “It’s more a reflection of the desperation of the times.”
State to consider two new
cyber charter schools amidst enrollment boom
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison October
14, 2020
As thousands of
new students flock to online education during a historically difficult academic
year, state officials are being asked to grant charters to two new cyber
charter schools. The Allentown-based Executive Action Charter School and
Harrisburg-based Virtual Preparatory Academy aim to open their doors next year
and enroll a combined 3,100 students by 2025, according to charter applications
they submitted to the Department of Education last month. The
schools first must receive approval from the Pennsylvania Department of
Education, which is the sole authorizer of charters for cyber schools in the
state. Pennsylvania hasn’t granted a new cyber charter since 2012. And while it
accepts cyber charter applications annually until Oct. 1, this is the first
time since 2015 that it’s been asked to consider more than one in a single
year. The Department of Education also will review the schools’ proposals in an
unprecedented climate.
PDE Hearing
on two 2020 Cyber Charter Applications Nov. 4, 5, 10, 11. Written comments due
by October 30th.
“Individuals who wish to provide comments on an application
during the hearings must provide a copy of their written comments to the
Department and the applicant on or before October 30, 2020”
Cyber Charter School Application; Virtual Hearing Nov. 4,
5, 10,11
Pennsylvania Bulletin [50 Pa.B. 5489] [Saturday,
October 3, 2020]
The Department of Education (Department)
will conduct virtual public hearings regarding cyber charter school
applications received on or before October 1, 2020. The hearings will be held
on November 4, 2020, November 5, 2020, November 10, 2020, and November 12,
2020.
The hearings will take place virtually,
beginning at 9 a.m.
Login information to access the hearings
will be posted to the Department's Division of Charter School's Applications
webpage at https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Charter%20Schools/Pages/Charter-Applications.aspx.
The hearings pertain to applicants seeking
to operate a new cyber charter school beginning in the 2021-2022 school year.
The purpose of the hearings is to gather information from applicants about the
proposed cyber charter schools as well as receive comments from interested
individuals regarding any applications. The names of the applicants, copies of
the applications and a listing of the dates and times scheduled for the
hearings on each applications can be viewed on the Department's web site on or
before October 16, 2020, at www.education.pa.gov.
Individuals who wish to provide comments on
an application during the hearings must provide a copy of their written
comments to the Department and the applicant on or before October 30, 2020.
Comments provided by this deadline and presented at the hearings will become
part of the certified record concerning the applications. Failure to comply
with this deadline will preclude the individual from providing comments at the
hearings. Verbal comments may be limited based on the number of individuals
requesting time to provide comments.
https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol50/50-40/1348.html
PA Dept. of Education Cyber Charter School Applications
2020
- Executive Education Cyber Charter
School (PDF)
- Executive Education Cyber Charter
School Exhibits for Application (PDF)
- Virtual Prep Academy of PA
Resubmission of Application (PDF)
https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Charter%20Schools/Pages/Charter-Applications.aspx
Philly School District to
begin in-person learning Nov. 30 - for some students
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: October
13, 2020- 4:03 PM
The Philadelphia
School District will begin returning children to classrooms Nov. 30, with children
in grades PreK-2, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said in a letter sent to
staff Tuesday. The district plans a phased-in approach that “prioritizes the health
and safety of our students and staff as well as the needs of our families while
offering a mix of in-person and digital remote learning for students.”Families
can choose an all virtual option if they desire. In the first phase of the
plan, the district’s youngest learners will come back to their physical
classrooms two days a week, learning remotely other days. Students will be in
classrooms either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. All children will
be remote on Wednesdays. The district’s goal “as much as possible,” Hite said
in the letter, “is for students to continue with their current teachers whether
they choose hybrid or 100% digital learning.”
Reopening date: Pre-K to
second grade students can return to Philly schools Nov. 30
Chalkbeat Philly
By Johann Calhoun and Dale Mezzacappa Oct
13, 2020, 5:08pm EDT
The School
District of Philadelphia plans to reopen its school buildings for hybrid
learning for pre-kindergarten through second grade on Nov. 30, according to
a letter sent
to staff from Superintendent William Hite. The letter said all staff associated
with pre-kindergarten to second grade will return on Nov. 9 “to allow adequate
time for classroom set up and learning the technology.” Students in grades
third to 12th “with complex needs” will phase in starting in early January,
with ninth graders and students in career and technical education, or CTE,
returning later that month. Hite is expected to discuss details of the plan for
the district’s transition to hybrid learning on Wednesday. The letter
emphasizes that plans could change depending on the prevalence of the
coronavirus in Philadelphia and recommendations from health officials. It also indicated
that parents can still choose remote learning, and said the “goal” is for those
students to learn from their regular classroom teachers “as much as possible.”
The district has invested $6 million in new technology to make this happen, according
to the letter.
Youngest Philly students could
return to buildings after Thanksgiving, sources say
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent October 13, 2020
The School
District of Philadelphia plans to offer face-to-face classes for students in
pre-K through second grade starting on Nov. 30, sources told WHYY on Tuesday. The
first phase of the reopening plan is not set in stone, sources said, and could
change if COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the city. But right now, the plan
is to offer a hybrid option for students in the lower grades after the
Thanksgiving break. This hybrid option would allow students to attend classes
in-person twice a week. Families would not, however, be compelled to send their
students to school. A virtual option will remain, sources said. If the first
phase of the reopening plan goes well, the district would welcome back students
with complex special needs on Jan. 9, according to sources familiar with the
district’s plans.
Fox Chapel Area to bring
elementary students back to school full time
PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE localnews@post-gazette.com OCT 13, 2020 8:10 AM
The Fox Chapel
Area School Board Monday night voted to send elementary school students back
for in-person classes starting next month. The school board voted 7-2 to bring
kindergartners through fifth-graders back for face-to-face instruction with
teachers starting on Nov. 5. Elementary students had been learning remotely
since the start of the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Older
students — in grades 6 through 12 — will continue learning using the district’s
hybrid model, school officials said.
Southern Lehigh parents are
passionate but split on whether kids should return full time to school
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE
MORNING CALL | OCT 13, 2020 AT 3:06 PM
Southern Lehigh
School District is considering two options that would allow elementary students
to return to school four days a week, but parents on both sides passionately
say these options are either not enough or put children at risk during the
coronavirus pandemic. At a meeting Monday night, district administrators
presented the board with two options. One would be to form pandemic pods in
elementary school buildings that would allow students doing a hybrid schedule
to come to a school on their “at home day” and be under the supervision of
district staff. The staff members would not be the students' teacher but rather
an instructional assistant or substitute teacher. The other option would bring
all kindergarten through sixth-grade students back to school for in-person
instruction, but because of spacing issues, third-grade students and staff at
Hopewell and Liberty Bell would be moved to the intermediate building.
Phoenixville schools to reopen
classes starting Oct. 19
Pottstown
Mercury By Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter October 14, 2020
PHOENIXVILLE —
The Phoenixville Area School Board voted 6-3 Monday night to begin a phased
reopening of partial, in-person instruction starting Oct. 19. arents previously
answered a survey indicating their students would either continue with the
all-virtual online learning model, or return to class two days a week for
in-person instruction. About 1,000 families have chosen to keep their students
learning online.
What is 'modified quarantine'?
It could allow students to stay in Bucks classrooms.
Chris Ullery Bucks
County Courier Times
A modified
quarantine offered to adults who may have been exposed to the coronavirus could
keep some Bucks County students in the classroom. Without it, students
could be forced to leave in-person instruction and quarantine at home and
attend 14-days of online classes. The Bucks County Health Department has
offered the quarantine option to adults during the pandemic to allow them to
continue to work under certain requirements, and department head Dr. David
Damsker says it could be a safe option for schools.
There are five
general rules a person under the modified quarantine must follow:
- Wear a face mask or
shield at all times when not at home
- Inform employers or
educational institutions that the county has placed them under the
modified quarantine
- Regularly check for
several symptoms like a fever or loss of tasted or smell before
leaving home
- Report any changes in
condition to the county and immediately leave work or school
- Report any potential
out-of-state travel to the county
Damsker told
parents during a town hall meeting on best practices for reopening schools last
Thursday that there are several hurdles to even qualify for the modified
quarantine, and it is up to individual school districts to decide whether to
adopt the policy.
Valley West students coming
back to classrooms, other schools shutting down for online learning
Citizens Voice By MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER Oct 12, 2020 Updated Oct 12, 2020
Wyoming Valley
West School District students are set to return to school for in-person classes
Tuesday for the first time since March, while other area schools are shutdown
this week due to COVID-19 cases. Greater Nanticoke Area High School is closed
this week because one student tested positive and 30 are in quarantine, school
district Superintendent Ronald Grevera said. Greater Nanticoke Area schools
were closed Monday because of Columbus Day, and all instruction will be online
this week for high school students. Greater Nanticoke Area began the school
year in late August with a hybrid schedule that mixes in-person days and online
days for two groups of students. Wyoming Valley West began the school year with
remote instruction and is beginning a hybrid schedule Tuesday. All Wyoming
Valley West students will have remote instruction Wednesday. The district plans
to clean its schools every Wednesday. Hanover Area students went back to school
last week for the first time since March with a hybrid schedule but will be
back to online learning this week. Superintendent Nathan Barrett announced the
change Friday because of the two confirmed cases, and after contact-tracing
efforts, authorities identified 44 students, teachers and staff members who had
contact with the infected persons. Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical
Center Administrative Director Anthony C. Guariglia said he learned Sunday that
a second employee tested positive, adding that employee didn’t have any
interactions with students or faculty. The school was already going to be
closed Monday because of Columbus Day, and Guariglia said “the smartest thing
to do” was the close the school for the remaining for days of the week.
Coronavirus outbreaks close three Philly-area schools
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: October
13, 2020- 3:23 PM
Three local high schools have temporarily
closed due to positive COVID-19 cases.
Delran High School, Saints John Neumann and
Maria Goretti High School in South Philadelphia, and Council Rock High School
North in Newtown Township have halted in-person instruction for the time being.
Delran High closed Monday after a case was reported over the weekend, making
“two or more cases at Delran High School that have been confirmed positive over
14 days without a clear connection between cases,” Superintendent Brian
Brotschul said in a letter to families.
W-B Area shuts down Solomon
Plains, Coughlin for rest of week due to COVID-19
Citizens Voice BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER Oct 13, 2020 Updated 8 hrs ago
Solomon Plains
Elementary/Jr. High School and Coughlin High School will be closed for the
remainder of this week due to COVID-19 cases, Wilkes-Barre Area School District
Superintendent Brian Costello announced Tuesday. Two staff members in multiple
buildings, Coughlin and Solomon Elementary, tested positive this week. Contact
tracing has determined the staff members did not have direct contact with any
students. The district is closing Solomon Plains and Coughlin, at the North
Washington Street and Mackin buildings, as a result of state Department of
Education recommendations and close collaboration with the department. Students
at those schools who attend in-person classes will transition to live virtual
sessions Wednesday through Friday. In-person classes will resume on Monday,
Costello said.
Riverside, Delaware Valley report COVID-19 cases, Blue
Ridge remains closed
Times Tribune by SARAH HOFIUS HALL Oct 13,
2020 Updated 6 hrs ago
Blue Ridge students continue to learn
virtually this week after a fourth coronavirus case was reported at the
Susquehanna County school district. Meanwhile, the Delaware Valley School
District reported its eighth case Tuesday. A non-instructional employee at
Riverside School District also tested positive for the coronavirus, although
they did not have any close contact with teachers or students and has not been
on campus since Oct. 9. Riverside referred this matter to the Pennsylvania
Department of Health, according to a statement Tuesday night from Riverside
Superintendent Paul Brennan. The district is continuing to follow all safety
protocols. The Blue Ridge School District, which began the year with a hybrid
model, plans to reopen Monday, according to a notice on the district's website.
Delaware Valley, which reopened fully, reported a case at Shohola Elementary
School. All quarantined individuals from the first six cases have already
returned to school, according to an update from Superintendent John Bell, Ed.D.
People who were exposed to the seventh individual remain in quarantine. The
district remains open.
Greater Latrobe reports new coronavirus cases, continues
full-time classroom instruction
Trib Live by JEFF
HIMLER | Tuesday,
October 13, 2020 10:59 p.m.
Greater Latrobe School District buildings are
remaining open for full-time, in-person instruction despite new positive
coronavirus cases reported at the senior high and at Latrobe Elementary School.
Nine students have tested positive for the coronavirus since the school year
began on Aug. 30, Superintendent Georgia Teppert told the school board Tuesday
evening. That includes three students at the senior high who district officials
learned about late Monday and Tuesday afternoon, and one student at Latrobe Elementary
School reported to the district on Monday afternoon. According to Teppert,
those cases fall well under 5% of the student and staff population at each school
— one of the state benchmarks for deciding during a 14-day period whether to
close a school to help control coronavirus case numbers.
Penn-Trafford High School to reopen despite increase in
coronavirus cases
Trib Live by JEFF
HIMLER | Tuesday,
October 13, 2020 5:59 p.m.
Penn-Trafford High School is set to reopen as
planned on Wednesday despite an increase in coronavirus cases at the school
from two to five. District Superintendent Matthew Harris reported Tuesday that
three students at the high school had tested positive for the coronavirus, in
addition to two other positive cases that were announced on Friday. Though the
five cases occurred within 14 days, Harris told parents and staff in a letter posted online that
the number of cases fall well short of 5% of the total number of staff and
students at the building — allowing district administrators, under state
Department of Education guidelines, to reopen the school instead of undergoing
an additional 14-day closure.
Council Rock High School North closes after 5 students
test positive for COVID-19
Classes will be all virtual for the remainder
of the week at Council Rock High School North.
6ABC October 13, 2020
NEWTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Council Rock
High School North in Bucks County, Pennsylvania is shutting down for the rest
of the week after five students have tested positive for COVID-19. In a letter
sent to the school community Monday, Superintendent Robert Fraser said the
cases occurred over the past week. He said school officials learned of three of
them on Monday. "Accordingly, and consistent with (Pennsylvania Department
of Education/Department of Health) guidelines, we are closing the school for
in-person instruction for the remainder of this week," Fraser said. The
remaining four days of the school this week will be virtual for all CRN
students. Fraser said the four-day in-person closure will allow for contract
tracing to occur and to see if the school community experiences any additional
positive cases over the remainder of the week.
https://6abc.com/council-rock-high-school-north-covid-19-bucks-county-coronavirus/6993138/
Pa. coronavirus recovery: Two high schools move to
virtual classes after students test positive
WHYY By Alan
Yu October 13, 2020
Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti High
School in Philadelphia are moving to all-virtual classes through Oct. 26 after
three students in two different grades tested positive for COVID-19. The
students were exposed to family members who tested positive, according to a
letter from the school president and principal. The school
is closed so the Philadelphia Health Department can do contact tracing, and the
school president and principal say they expect anyone in their community to
cooperate. Council Rock High School North in Bucks County is also closed for
the rest of the week and moving classes online because five students tested positive for
COVID-19.
Five Hopewell Area students test positive for COVID-19
Five Hopewell Area School District students have
tested positive for COVID-19.
Chrissy Suttles Beaver
County Times October 13, 2020
HOPEWELL TWP. — Five Hopewell Area School
District students have tested positive for COVID-19, district officials told
families this week. The district was first notified that one 11th-grade
student at Hopewell High School tested positive for the virus this weekend, but
further contact tracing revealed four additional students in the same family
also had tested positive. The 11th-grade student was last in the high school on
Oct. 6. The other students, grades 4, 6, 8 and 11, were last in Hopewell
Elementary, Hopewell Junior High and Hopewell High School, respectively, the
morning of Oct. 8. Hopewell Area faculty members have increased
efforts to clean and sanitize all of the buildings’ learning spaces, according
to Superintendent Michelle Miller, but will focus on the rooms and buses
visited by students confirmed positive for the virus.
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/2020/10/13/five-hopewell-students-covid-19/5977831002/
Westmoreland Co. School Districts Close Buildings,
Utilize Remote Learning Due To Positive Coronavirus Cases
Both Derry Area and Hempfield Area school
districts will remain closed to students this week.
CBS Pittsburgh By Lindsay Ward October 13,
2020 at 12:44 pm
GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Hundreds of students in
Westmoreland County will begin learning from home on Tuesday after students and
staff tested positive for COVID-19 at multiple school facilities. There will be
no in-person classes for students at the Derry Area School District and
Hempfield Area High School starting today. In fact, some buildings will not be
open in both districts for the rest of the week. The districts notified
students and their families about several positive Coronavirus cases over the
last few days.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/10/13/westmoreland-county-coronavirus-hempfield-derry/
School Street student tests positive for COVID-19
Bradford Era By RUTH BOGDAN r.bogdan@bradfordera.com October 13,
2020
A student at School Street Elementary School
has tested positive for COVID-19. On Monday, Superintendent Katy Pude released
a letter for families in the Bradford Area School District announcing the
finding. According to Pude, district administrators were notified just that day
of the positive test. The child and anyone who had close contact with the child
will not return to the building until after a period of quarantine, she said. At
the time of the letter, Pude did not announce any plans to change the current
structure of education for any other students. However, she asked parents to
check for updates.
At least 6 dozen COVID-19 cases have been reported at
Lancaster County schools. Here's where they are [update]
Lancaster Online by ALEX
GELI | Staff Writer October 13, 2020
At least six dozen cases of COVID-19 have
been reported at Lancaster County schools about a month into the 2020-21 school
year. The cases come from 14 school districts, plus a brick-and-mortar charter
school in Lancaster city. And that might not be all.
2 area school districts report COVID-19
cases.
The Derrick October 13, 2020
The Valley Grove and Titusville area school districts
each has reported two positive cases of COVID-19
Rocky Grove High School Going Remote Until Thursday Due
to COVID-19 Cases
Explore Venango by Aly Delp | October
13, 2020
VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) – Rocky Grove High
School is closed to in-person learning until Thursday due to two positive
COVID-19 cases. Valley Grove School District Superintendent Kevin Briggs
told exploreVenango.com the school was notified on
Sunday night that an adult who works at Rocky Grove High School tested positive
for COVID-19. Then late Monday afternoon, the school was informed that a
student from the high school also tested positive.
Greater Nanticoke High School closed due to positive
coronavirus case
PAHomepage Posted: Oct 13, 2020 / 10:09
AM EDT / Updated: Oct 13, 2020 / 10:09 AM EDT
NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) – The
Greater Nanticoke High School is closed due to a positive COVID-19 case. According
to the school’s website, the high school will be virtual from October 13 –
October 16. Click Here to
access the Greater Nanticoke Area School District’s website.
26 COVID cases at Milton Hershey School, school officials
respond to concerned staff and parents
ABC27 by: Michella
Drapac Posted: Oct 13, 2020 / 05:29 PM
EDT
HERSHEY, Pa. (WHTM) – ABC27 has received
several complaints from employees and parents of students at Milton Hershey
School about the number of COVID cases at the school. School officials say
there are 26 positive cases of coronavirus right now, and 80 percent of those
cases were amongst people already in quarantine. The school remains open for
in-person learning.
“We’ve actually had very few cases that are on
campus that have been out and about co-mingling in the community before they
were identified as positive,” said Beth Shaw, Executive Director of Student
Support Services at Milton Hershey School.
Here's What the Stalled COVID-19 Aid Plans Would Do for
Schools
Education Week October 12, 2020
Washington officials have insisted for months
that emergency aid for education is one of their top priorities during the
coronavirus pandemic. Yet political drama and fundamental disagreements between
the White House and Capitol Hill have made those negotiations volatile and
reaching a deal elusive. President Donald Trump’s Oct. 6 declaration that
he would not approve a new coronavirus relief package until after he wins the
election—and Trump's change in rhetoric just hours later—captures that
uncertainty. Amid the hot-and-cold Beltway talks, what are the actual
congressional proposals on the table that could form the basis of a relief
package to help schools? In the chart below, you see how the different relief
pitches – and in one case, a general framework that hasn’t turned into actual
legislation – stack up across more than a dozen indicators, including how much
spending they call for and how they cover everything from internet access to
school choice.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/heres-what-the-stalled-covid-19-aid-plans.html
From School Boards to the Senate, All Politics Is Virus
Politics in 2020
The pandemic has inspired new candidates to
run, and defined the debate in campaigns up and down the ballots.
New York Times By Sarah
Mervosh and Manny
Fernandez Oct. 14, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
The coronavirus pandemic upended Pamela
Walsh’s life. It shut down her office, leaving her working at home from a
folding table. It forced her to turn her dining room into a Zoom classroom for
her 7-year-old son. And the virus propelled a still more unlikely change: It
led Ms. Walsh to run for public office. “It wasn’t even on my radar screen,”
said Ms. Walsh, 47, a political adviser in Concord, N.H., who has long worked
for Democrats but never before considered seeking elective office herself.
Months of supervising elementary school lessons from home, with little idea of
when her son would return to school, convinced Ms. Walsh that she should vie
for a seat on her local school board. “I decided I needed a voice like mine on
the board,” Ms. Walsh said in a phone interview, which she muted periodically
as her son called out for her and at one point thumped a bat on a chair.
“Everyone is struggling right now a bit and needs to be represented by how
these policies impact real families.” By some measure, all politics is virus
politics in 2020, and the federal government’s handling of Covid-19 has become
an explosive issue in the presidential race, which has been further complicated
by President Trump’s own hospitalization for the virus. Yet around the nation,
there are local and state races in which the pandemic has also taken an outsize
role. In some cases, the virus has been the reason for running; in others,
handling of the pandemic has become the defining issue, eclipsing ordinary
matters of taxes and services. The virus — and the government’s response to it
— has inspired parents, hair salon owners and others to run for the first time,
turned sleepy races into competitive matches and injected a level of
unpredictability and rancor into normally tranquil down-ballot contests.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/us/coronavirus-elections.html
A PHILadelphia Education: An Evening with Bill Marimow
and Phil Goldsmith
Monday, October 19 -- 7:00 pm
Join us Monday, October 19 at 7:00pm for a
special interactive virtual interview presentation. Bill Marimow, two-time
Pulitzer Prize recipient, former Executive Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer
and former Haverford Township resident will interview Phil Goldsmith about his
new book, A PHILadelphia Education: Tales, Trials, and Tribulations of
a Serial Careerist.
Goldsmith, current Haverford Township Free
Library Board President, has held several prominent public positions including
deputy mayor of Philadelphia, chief executive of the School District of Philadelphia
and chief operating officer of the City of Philadelphia.
Goldsmith will also interview Marimow about
his lengthy career in journalism and the future of journalism, and both will
talk about the challenges facing Philadelphia. Attendees will have the
opportunity to ask questions to both Marimow and Goldsmith after the
interviews.
This program will take place live virtually
on the Zoom platform.
To register, click here or email
Amy Moskovitz at moskovitz@haverfordlibrary.com and
you will be sent the Zoom link for the event.
Tell your legislators that school districts need their
support
POSTED ON OCTOBER 12, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
If you missed Advocacy Day, it's not too late
to reach out to your legislators and ask for their support for public schools
during this challenging school year. Take Action to send
a letter to your members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The letter
addresses the need to support our schools and help to control our costs so that
districts may better serve their students. Among the most important areas of
concern are limited liability protections; broad mandate relief; delay in new
state graduation requirements delay; the need for broadband expansion; and
charter school funding reform. Now, more than ever, it is vital that
legislators hear from school districts.
https://www.psba.org/2020/10/tell-your-legislators-that-school-districts-need-their-support/
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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