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 Nov. 13, 2020
PA Legislature Says Bipartisan Goodbye to 244 Year Old Glass
Ceiling
Want some cliff notes on the school
funding lawsuit currently in the Commonwealth Court? Check this out: https://fundourschoolspa.org/faq
School Funding Lawsuit Webinar Nov 19, 2020 07:00 PM
Public Interest Law Center and Education Law
Center
Join attorneys from the Public Interest Law
Center and Education Law Center to learn about Pennsylvania's school funding
lawsuit. If you live in a plaintiff district--The School District of Lancaster,
Johnstown Area, Wilkes-Barre Area, William Penn, Panther Valley and Shenandoah
Valley--you will have an opportunity to hear directly from attorneys in the
case about opportunities to support the lawsuit in your community. This webinar
is open to anyone who would like to learn more about the lawsuit.
Register here: https://krc-pbpc-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0vf-qupzksG9aCbcMrzXxpN7nc2J68016m
Tapped for leadership, Ward, McClinton shatter
244-year-old glass ceiling in Pa. General Assembly
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso| Elizabeth Hardison November
12, 2020
Women made history in Pennsylvania’s House
and Senate Thursday, when lawmakers elected two female legislators as floor
leaders for the first time in the General Assembly’s 244-year history. State
Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, and Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, will
become the highest-ranking women in the General Assembly when they start their
new terms as Senate majority leader and House minority leader next session. McClinton
will be the the first Black woman to serve as floor leader in the General
Assembly, as well as the second Black lawmaker to lead a caucus – a height
not seen since 1977, when the late K. Leroy Irvis was elected
the first, and so far only, Black House speaker in the chamber’s
history. She will replace Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, as the
House’s top-ranking Democrat. Dermody lost his reelection bid to
Republican challenger Carrie DelRosso in an upset race last week. In the
Senate, Ward shattered precedent as the first woman in either chamber of the
General Assembly to be elected majority leader — a position that gives her
great influence over the Senate’s legislative agenda and floor
debates. Ward will succeed Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, whose
colleagues promoted him to president pro tempore to replace retiring Sen. Joe
Scarnati, R-Jefferson.
Pa. Senate GOP majority elect new president pro tempore
and first woman to serve as a majority leader
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Nov
12, 2020; Posted Nov 12, 2020
When the Senate convenes for the 2021-22
session, it will be led by a revamped leadership team that includes a new
president pro tempore and the state’s first female majority leader. Sen. Jake
Corman, R-Centre County, was elected on Thursday as interim president pro
tempore and will be nominated by the Republican majority to serve in that
position when the Senate convenes for the 2021-22 legislative session on Jan.
5. Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, was elected by her Senate colleagues
as majority leader, breaking new ground for women in the Pennsylvania General
Assembly. She fills the post Corman vacated after having served as the caucus
leader for the past six years. Corman replaces Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson
County, who is retiring at the end of this session after serving nearly 20
years in the Legislature and 13 years as president pro tempore.
Pa. House Democrats elect new leaders for 2021-22 session
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Nov
12, 2020; Posted Nov 12, 2020
Philadelphia’s Rep. Joanna McClinton was
elected on Thursday by her House Democratic colleagues to lead the caucus in
the 2021-22 session. McClinton, who is completing her third term in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is the first woman elected to serve as a
minority leader in the House or Senate. Also on Thursday, in the Senate, Rep.
Kim Ward of Westmoreland County was elected as majority caucus leader, another
first for the General Assembly, during that caucus' leadership
election. McClinton, who has been serving as
caucus chairwoman, replaces Rep. Frank Dermody of Allegheny County, who has
served as caucus leader for the past decade. Dermody lost his re-election bid
to a 16th two-year term in last week’s election. With 32 women serving in the
upcoming session, more than one-third of the incoming 90-member House
Democratic Caucus are women.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/11/pa-house-democrats-elect-new-leaders-for-2021-22-session.html
Joe Biden flips Arizona, further cementing his
presidential victory
Post Gazette by LUIS FERRÉ-SADURNÍ, JENNIFER
MEDINA AND EILEEN SULLIVAN The New York Times NOV 13, 2020 3:41 AM
President-elect Joe Biden has narrowly won
Arizona, capturing the state’s 11 electoral votes and strengthening his
Electoral College margin as President Donald Trump continues to make baseless
attacks on the vote counts favoring Mr. Biden. Mr. Biden, whose margin in
Arizona is about 11,000 votes, or 0.3 percentage points, is the first
Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since President Bill
Clinton in 1996. Four years ago, Mr. Trump won the state by 3.5 percentage
points. That Arizona — the home of the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barry
Goldwater, a founder of the 20th century conservative political movement and
the 1964 Republican presidential nominee — was in play for Democrats at all is
remarkable. Before the state voted for Mr. Clinton, the last Democrat it had
supported for president was Harry S. Truman in 1948.
Lancaster County schools must be guided by health experts
in this difficult moment [editorial]
THE LNP | LANCASTERONLINE EDITORIAL BOARD November
13, 2020
THE ISSUE: “Lancaster County has reached the
‘substantial’ level of community transmission of COVID-19, according to an
update to the state’s weekly early monitoring dashboard,” LNP | LancasterOnline
education reporter Alex Geli reported in Tuesday’s edition. But what
that means for county schools remains unclear. “State education officials said
schools can wait to see if Lancaster County remains at the ‘substantial’ level
next week to decide whether they should shift to remote instruction,” Geli
reported. But, even then, any shifts in instructional models would be up to
local school boards.
In this year of unending stress and sorrow,
one of the most challenging questions we have collectively faced is how to
handle K-12 public schooling amid a deadly pandemic.
And here’s the horrible truth: There is no
good answer. None.
With every potential decision made by school
boards and administrators regarding instructional models, there are risks,
drawbacks and potential long-term negative outcomes. This is true for
in-person, hybrid or fully remote learning. All come with potential negative
effects, whether they concern personal health risks or the possibility of
at-risk learners falling far behind. And so, before going further, we’d like to
express our gratitude to those who are doing their very best — and surely
losing sleep — over these impossible decisions that must nevertheless be made. Their
jobs aren’t getting easier.
“It has gone better than we expected,” Schools Superintendent
Joseph J. Roy said as he eyed the latest trend data in October. “Now we know
we’re not superspreaders. We have 22 schools. We’re this far into it. We have
no evidence that a case spread and created another case in a school.”
Back in school buildings: One school district’s
experience in 10 weeks
Washington Post By Donna St. George November
12, 2020 at 8:58 p.m. EST
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — While much of the country
grapples with getting kids back in school buildings, this small city and
onetime steel giant snug in the Lehigh Valley has had buses running and
classrooms open for more than 10 weeks. It has not so far had a coronavirus outbreak
in its schools. But it’s been daunting. Teachers carry a big load. Even with
safeguards in place, individual coronavirus cases are nearly inevitable.
Contact tracing and quarantining have been critical — as have posting
information about schools affected and keeping the trust of anxious parents. With
one marking period complete, school has become a pandemic-minded world where
caution is melded with the comfort of the familiar. There is the Pledge of
Allegiance in the morning, math and reading, lunch in the cafeteria, breaks
outside for recess. But fewer than 40 percent of students are on campus at
once. They keep to new rules.
“Based on an Inquirer analysis of the most recent reliable data,
Philadelphia was averaging 529 cases a day in the seven-day period that ended
Saturday, 5½ times higher than the average of two months prior, similar to the
state’s trend. And not one of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties has shown a decline in
infections during the last two weeks, according to an analysis of Department of
Health data by The Inquirer.”
Jersey COVID-19 positive tests up 8-fold; Delco hospitals
at capacity. Officials warn of ‘long, hard winter’
Inquirer by Anthony R. Wood, Allison Steele, Rob Tornoe and Erin McCarthy, Posted: November 12, 2020-
8:44 PM
On a bleak and chilly Thursday when COVID-19
numbers continued their alarming surges throughout the region and hospitals
scrambled to accommodate a crush of patients, officials warned of a potentially
“long, dark winter” with the specter of the coronavirus persisting well beyond
the holidays. All five of Delaware County’s hospitals were at capacity earlier
this week and had to divert patients, and Camden County was experiencing a
“tremendous spike” with infections at their highest point in the pandemic, according
to officials in the two counties. “Everything is going in the wrong direction,”
said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. "Unless we all recommit to the
commonsense measures that got us past the first horrendous months of this
pandemic, we are in for a long, dark winter.” Pennsylvania reported that it had
received 5,488 new positive-test results and that for the first time in the
pandemic it averaged more than 4,000 cases a day in the seven-day period that
ended Wednesday. That’s 5½ times the level of two months ago.
COVID-19 spikes have Bucks schools officials on alert
Anthony DiMattia Bucks
County Courier Times November 12, 2020
As coronavirus cases rise, some school
districts are grappling with the decision to move forward with in-person
learning. On Tuesday, the Neshaminy School District approved plans for
students in grades kindergarten through four to have four days of
in-person learning starting Nov. 30. However, the board can revisit the issue
when it meets again Nov. 24. In Quakertown, Superintendent Bill Harner wrote in
a message to parents that the district would move forward with plans for middle
and high school students to return to classrooms full time starting next
week. Yet, in Pennsbury, officials are warning that a return to
school may be put on pause if coronavirus cases continue to spike in Bucks
County. And in Montgomery County, the Office of Public Health has called an
emergency meeting Thursday to consider whether to order schools to go to 100%
virtual instruction for a two-week period beginning Nov. 23, a county
spokeswoman said. Bucks officials have not recommended that any
district discontinue in-person instruction, but are allowing
districts to make their own decisions, county spokesman Larry King said
Wednesday. While students and staff are among COVID cases, there has
been no spread documented in schools and most have been infected at
outside activities, King said. Of students who have tested positive, nearly 40%
are attending classes virtually, he said.
Montgomery County delays vote on closing schools in
response to coronavirus surge after uproar from angry parents
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: November 12,
2020- 6:21 PM
After more than two hours of public comments
— largely from angry parents adamant that schools should not be closed — the
Montgomery County Board of Health on Thursday pushed back a vote on whether to
shut down schools for two weeks. The board will reconvene at noon Friday to
consider the proposed shutdown order, which would close all K-12 schools in the
county for two weeks starting Nov. 23, and halt school sports and other
extracurriculars. “I think it would behoove us to recess and really think about
everything that’s been said,” said Michael Laign, the board chair, after a Zoom
meeting that drew 500 people, the maximum that could participate. The proposed
order — which county health officials recommended as an effort to help mitigate
the current surge in coronavirus cases — met with fierce backlash from parents,
who flooded the Zoom chat with comments opposed to a shutdown. Dozens spoke out
against the order, saying their local schools had been operating so far this
fall without outbreaks, and expressed bafflement that schools would be closed
before businesses like bars and restaurants.
Montco punts decision on virtual school after backlash
from angry parents
WHYY By Miles
Bryan November 12, 2020
Montgomery County’s Board of Health punted on
a vote to shut down schools in the county for two weeks due to rising
coronavirus cases in the area, after dozens of angry parents spoke out against
the decision in a tumultuous meeting that ran nearly three hours. The board had
been scheduled to vote Thursday on an order that would require all K-12
students in the county to learn virtually from Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, with a
potential extension past that date. However, at the conclusion of 2 ½ hours of
public testimony — virtually all of it against the proposed shutdown — Board
Chair Michael Laign abruptly postponed the vote until noon Friday.
https://whyy.org/articles/montco-punts-decision-on-virtual-school-after-backlash-from-angry-parents/
Arkoosh: Montgomery County at 'fork in the road' in fight
against coronavirus pandemic
Pottstown Mercury By Carl Hessler Jr.
chessler@21st-centurymedia.com @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter November
12, 2020
NORRISTOWN — As positive coronavirus cases
and hospitalizations continue to rise at an alarming rate in Montgomery County,
health officials warned residents they are at “a fork in the road” in the fight
against the pandemic. “The fall surge in COVID-19 cases continues here in
Montgomery County and across southeast Pennsylvania. We are at a fork in the
road of this pandemic. The path that each of us chooses will make all the
difference in the next weeks to months,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr.
Valerie Arkoosh said during a news briefing on Thursday. “Working together we
have the collective power to keep this virus suppressed, protect our hospitals,
allow our children to attend school and keep businesses open. If we do not work
together, the outcome is clear, the virus will win,” Arkoosh added.
Analysis Shows Failure of Philly Renaissance Schools
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools November 12, 2020 appsphilly.net by Coleman Poses
In his swan song to the Board of Education
last April, Dr. Chris McGinley requested that the Renaissance model be retired,
due to its lack of accountability as well as the fact that schools were being
coerced to adopt a model that was based upon school choice. Dr. Fix-Lopez
promised to bring a motion before the Board to end the Renaissance program by
October. Chairperson Wilkerson stated that the Renaissance evaluation that the
district had been performing needed to be made public before a vote could be taken.
Dr. Hite, however, prepared a way to continued existence for these schools by
stating that policy 141, “The Renaissance Schools Initiative” needed to be
“updated”. At the Policy Committee meeting on September 10, the committee voted
to update various charter policies. During this meeting, Committee Chair Maria
McColgan kept assuring the charter school advocates on the Zoom that these
policy changes had nothing to do with the existence of the renaissance program.
https://appsphilly.net/2020/11/12/analysis-of-two-renaissance-charter-schools/
Beaver Area, Hopewell Area, Ambridge Area, Moon Area, Blackhawk,
Riverside, Big Beaver Falls
Coronavirus cases found in several local school districts
At least half a dozen Beaver County school
districts reported new COVID-19 cases this week as Pennsylvania combats the
pandemic’s third wave.
Chrissy Suttles Beaver
County Times November 12, 2020
At least half a dozen Beaver County school
districts reported new COVID-19 cases this week as Pennsylvania combats the
pandemic’s third wave. Cases are surging in Pennsylvania and the region, with
Beaver County seeing two consecutive days of nearly record-breaking new case
counts.
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/2020/11/12/cases-reported-schools/6266483002/
Garden Spot secondary schools, Penn Manor and Columbia
elementary schools shift to remote learning until Monday
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer November
13, 2020
The two schools that make up Eastern
Lancaster County School District's Garden Spot secondary campus, as well an
elementary school in both Penn Manor and Columbia Borough school districts, are
the latest in a growing list of schools finishing the week online due to
COVID-19. Students at Garden Spot High School Garden Spot Middle School
learned remotely Thursday and will learn that way again Friday. Students are
expected to return to in-person classes Monday. The district learned of
three new cases — one each at the high school, middle school and
Brecknock Elementary School, according to a letter Superintendent
Bob Hollister sent to families Thursday. A probable case was also discovered at
the middle school.
That makes four out of five of the district's
schools with active COVID-19 cases.
Pittsburgh, Moon, Apollo Ridge, Gateway
SCHOOL CLOSURES: Schools, districts shut down, move
online as COVID-19 cases surge
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE NOV 12, 2020 12:24 PM
More school districts have announced closures
after new COVID-19 cases were identified in their buildings.
More covid-19 cases found at Norwin
Trib Live by JOE
NAPSHA | Thursday,
November 12, 2020 7:59 p.m.
The number of covid-19 cases in Norwin
schools continues to increase, with another two cases reported on Thursday, the
school district said. A high school student and a Hahntown Elementary School
student have recently tested positive for covid-19, Norwin said in a statement.
https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/more-covid-19-cases-found-at-norwin/
Philadelphia’s superintendent hasn’t been contacted about
top education job
Chalkbeat Philly By Dale Mezzacappa Nov
12, 2020, 3:00pm EST
After his name appeared on a short list of
preferred candidates for education secretary, Philadelphia superintendent
William Hite said Thursday that he hasn’t been contacted about a cabinet post
in a Biden administration. “I haven’t had a lot of time to be thinking about
that,” he said at a briefing with reporters. “I’m happy to be named as one of
those individuals, but I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on it. And no, no
one has reached out.” Democrats for Education Reform, a group that was
influential in shaping the education agenda of the Obama administration, sent
an email to supporters last week with possible candidates for the country’s top
education job, including Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson, head of
Baltimore schools Sonja Brookins Santelises, and Hite. All three have teaching
experience, have led major public school districts, and are Black. Regardless
of who ultimately leads the federal education department, Hite said Thursday
that he believes Biden’s election means a welcome change in direction on
several key issues. He hopes to see public schools get more federal aid to deal
with the coronavirus pandemic.
A Highly Effective Vaccine Is Likely on the Way. What
Does That Mean for Schools and Kids?
Education Week By Catherine Gewertz and Arianna Prothero November
12, 2020
News this week that a COVID-19 vaccine on the
runway is far more effective than originally predicted has been hailed as a
potential game-changer in fighting the coronavirus. Pfizer Inc. announced that
early results from clinical trials show the vaccine it’s developing with German
company BioNTech is 90 percent effective—which would put it on par with the
childhood vaccine for measles. Many scientists had anticipated the level of
effectiveness would be only about 50 or 60 percent. Because supply will be
limited at first, vaccines will be rationed. As EdWeek has reported, it’s
possible that teachers and other school employees may get priority for
vaccinations over some other groups. But the vaccine has not yet been tested in
young children, and trials with older children have only just begun. So what
could Pfizer’s announcement mean for schools? Could they bring more students
into the classroom and ease other mitigation efforts as long as teachers are
inoculated? And when will a COVID-19 vaccine that’s safe for children be ready?
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/11/12/a-highly-effective-vaccine-is-likely-on.html
A big decision awaits Biden’s education pick: to test or
not to test
Chalkbeat By Matt Barnum Nov 12, 2020, 12:42pm EST
President-elect Joe Biden’s education
secretary will face an immediate high-stakes test: whether to allow states to
forgo their usual standardized testing again. State testing would bring a host
of practical challenges at a time when many students are still learning exclusively from
home. Critics, including many educators and their unions, also worry that it
would sap resources and morale from an already battered school system. But if states
don’t test, it would mean going two straight years without one solid source of
data on students’ English and math performance, making it more difficult to
measure the gaps in learning many expect to result from months of disrupted
schooling. Civil rights groups fear those gaps could then be ignored,
particularly for low-income students and students of color.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/12/21562628/testing-schools-biden-education-secretary
Biden’s Education Department Will Move Fast to Reverse
Betsy DeVos’s Policies
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has
presented an education agenda that is starkly different from the Trump era,
beginning with a far more cautious approach to school reopenings.
New York Times By Erica
L. Green Nov. 13, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Like most federal agencies, the
Education Department followed President Trump’s lead in seeking to undo the
legacy of his predecessor, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos diligently tore
into President Barack Obama’s policies. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr’s
administration is planning to return the favor. The contrasts in Trump-era
education policy and the incoming Biden administration’s agenda are stark. Ms.
DeVos, a lifelong booster of private schools and longtime opponent of the
teachers’ unions, set out to reduce the Education Department’s footprint by
proposing cuts to public school funding and narrowing the department’s
enforcement role of federal education laws and civil rights. The incoming first
lady, Jill Biden, is a community college professor and member of the National
Education Association. The Biden administration has promised to drastically
increase resources for public schools, expand its civil rights advocacy for
marginalized students and reassert the department’s leadership in policymaking.
And on the most pressing issue facing education, reopening schools during the
pandemic, the Biden administration has signaled an about-face.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/us/politics/biden-education-devos.html
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
323 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 300 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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