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 Dec. 17, 2020
Teacher
Shortage Compounds Covid Crisis in Schools
Congratulations to #336 Chartiers-Houston School District
for passing the charter funding reform resolution. Thank you Representative Tim
O’Neal, @senbartolotta and PSBA Advocacy Ambassador @LenaHannah4. https://t.co/bpsoGEhKZl
As teachers
quarantine, Philly-area schools hunt for substitutes
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: 19 minutes ago December
17, 2020
As schools
across the region try to maintain in-person schooling amid the pandemic, some
face a challenge: They don’t have enough teachers. School leaders in recent
weeks have been reporting gaps in staffing — in part, they say, because more
teachers have been exposed to the virus. In some cases, districts have shifted
to virtual learning, because they don’t have staff to provide face-to-face
instruction. And even substitute teachers are in short supply — spurring some
school districts to recruit community members and parents to fill in. “We need
you!” the West Chester Area School District said in a flier, advertising “an urgent need”
for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals. In Cherry Hill, the school
district seeks to hire substitute teachers directly, instead of relying solely
on a staffing company to provide them — and is offering contracts that run
through June and include benefits. The scramble for substitutes isn’t a new problem. But the pandemic
has added new pressures for schools across the country as teachers have been exposed to the
spreading virus or taken leave due to health concerns or child-care challenges.
Teacher Shortage Compounds Covid Crisis in Schools
Early retirements
and quarantines force some administrators to recruit parents, bus drivers to
baby-sit classrooms; ‘it’s all hands on deck’
Wall Street Journal
By Valerie Bauerlein and Yoree Koh Dec. 15, 2020 11:36 am ET
PHOENIX—As
if the pandemic weren’t disruptive enough, many American schools are facing a
growing shortage of teachers. School districts are recruiting parents as
substitute teachers, online class sizes are soaring to 50 children or more and
bus drivers are baby-sitting classrooms. Some are considering allowing
asymptomatic teachers who were exposed to Covid-19 to continue to show up. Public-school
employment in November was down 8.7% from February, and at its lowest level
since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That includes teachers
who quit, retired early or took leaves of absence due to the pandemic, and
layoffs of support staff such as teachers’ aides and clerical workers. The
staffing crunch leaves teachers educating children in person and online
simultaneously, deep-cleaning their own classrooms and taking turns as crossing
guards. The consequences are burnout for teachers, frustration for parents and
scant progress for students. The shortage isn’t uniform nationwide, but rather
concentrated in some regions and specialties. More than 40 states reported
shortfalls in math, science and special education in 2018, but fewer states
reported shortages in elementary grades, according to the latest federal data.
There are shortages in particular places, from cities with a high cost of
living to rural areas with low teacher pay.
Pa Senate Democrats
Congratulate Senator Brewster on his Victory and Welcome his Return to the
Caucus
PA Senate
Democrats Website December 16, 2020
Harrisburg,
Pa. − December 16, 2020 − Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa
announced that Senator Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny) has officially won reelection
to the 45th Senatorial District, according to the official
certification from the Pennsylvania Department of State. “While we have been
confident for some time that Senator Jim Brewster would be returning to the
Pennsylvania Senate, the official certification comes as a relief and we
congratulate him on the win,” said Senator Costa. “He has admirably served his
constituents in the legislature and in the district, and we are certain that
level of service will continue in this coming term.” The official certification
from the Department of State shows that Senator Brewster won with 66,261 votes,
over his opponent’s 66,192 votes.
Who’s on the mayor’s
short list for Philly school board? Panel releases names
Inquirer by
Kristen A. Graham, Updated: December 16, 2020- 5:16
PM
Mayor Jim
Kenney has his top nine. Philadelphia’s school board nominating panel arrived
at candidates for three open board seats Wednesday, forwarding to Kenney a
short list to consider to help run the 120,000-student school system. The
candidates range from educators to businesspeople. Wendell Pritchett, chair of
the nominating panel, called them “a very strong group of people.” They were
chosen from more than 80 applicants for the positions. Kenney will choose three
next week. City Council must approve the choices before the new board members
are seated early next year. The nine are:
https://www.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-board-district-nominating-panel-20201216.html
Nine candidates
recommended for three Philadelphia school board
Chalkbeat
Philly By Johann Calhoun Dec 16, 2020, 8:28pm EST
A committee
recommended nine candidates for three vacancies on the Philadelphia Board of
Education during a sometimes tense public meeting Wednesday in which Mayor Jim
Kenney was criticized for the selection process. Speakers accused Kenney of
holding private meetings and violating the state’s Sunshine Act. Kenney didn’t
address the accusations during the public meeting. Kenney had no response for
the accusations. The city’s home-rule charter, however, requires the mayor to
convene a 13-member panel to put forward candidates to fill board vacancies.
The mayor then appoints board members with the advice and consent of the City
Council. More than 80 people applied to fill the three current vacancies. Kenney
will select three names from among the candidates. He has until Dec. 26 to
request additional names from the committee, if needed. In recent weeks,
student leaders from UrbEd and the Black Student Alliance have pushed for
student representatives on the school board to have full
voting rights. They held a press conference Tuesday about
the issue, where they also demanded an open process in choosing members of the
board.
Philadelphia
superintendent confident some in-person school will resume this year
Chalkbeat
Philly By Dale
Mezzacappa Dec 16, 2020, 2:34pm EST
Superintendent
William Hite said Wednesday that he was confident some in-person schooling
would resume in Philadelphia before the end of this academic year, but he could
not say where, when, or for which students. “I do predict schools will be in
some form of in-person this school year,” Hite said at his weekly press
briefing. “I can’t say with certainty what grades will be included, but I can
say with a great deal of confidence that there will be some schools that will
be serving children.”Hite said his confidence is based on the district and
city’s ability to test staff and students for the coronavirus. It is not
contingent on teachers getting vaccinated. While Mayor Jim Kenney and city
health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said Tuesday that teachers
would be in the second tier of
workers in line for vaccination, they gave no timetable.
Pittsburgh Public
passes 2021 budget without a tax increase. Here are 3 key takeaways.
Public
Source by TyLisa C. Johnson December 16, 2020
With the
weight of an unprecedented year on their shoulders amid the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, members of the Pittsburgh Public Schools board decided against a
proposed property tax increase and adopted
a $673.84 million school
budget for 2021 on Wednesday. The district will keep its millage rate at 9.95
in the upcoming year. However, with that vote, the budget deficit is expected
to grow by about $4 million, Chief Financial Officer Ronald Joseph said at the
meeting. In remarks to the board at the top of the budget discussion,
Superintendent Anthony Hamlet asked the group to consider the tax increase to
10.21 mills and said that it was just one strategy of a multi-pronged approach
by the administration to address a $34.8 million deficit — now increased by $4
million without the tax increase. The plan includes reducing expenditures.
Much was at stake in the 2021 budget. Hamlet released the district’s
preliminary budget to the board on Nov. 12. The $673.84 million budget
represents an increase of about $9 million from the 2020 adopted budget of
$664.80 million.
PPS board declines to
raise taxes, increasing district deficit
ANDREW
GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com DEC 16, 2020 9:38 PM
The
Pittsburgh Public Schools board Wednesday declined a proposal to increase
property taxes and held the millage rate steady for 2021. The move will cause
the operating deficit for the district’s 2021 budget to expand by $4.6 million.
District administration proposed a 2.6% property tax increase to help alleviate
the longstanding operating deficit of the school system. The district said it
needed additional money because major cost drivers including salaries, benefits
and charter school payments continue to outpace revenue.
As the gap between
students and teachers of color widens in Pa., Black families demand change
WHYY By Sojourner Ahebee December 17, 2020
When Ashley
Dawson was in first grade, she was one of only a few Black students at Walnut
Street Elementary in Darby. But in fifth grade, her teacher, principal and
assistant principal at the Delaware County school were all Black women. It’s
what inspired Dawson, who now works as a family involvement coordinator at a
cyber charter, to pursue a career in education. She was sitting in assembly
when she first saw Principal Renee Mustgrove and Assistant Principal Ivy Brown.
“There was something about them … I wanted to do what they did,” said Dawson.
“Because they showed me what happens when you take the time and you really go
outside the curriculum — you work with the student and meet them where they’re
at. Those women, they did that.” As Dawson moved through her middle and high
school years in the William Penn School District, she continued to develop
strong relationships with educators of color, who she largely credits for
mentoring her and helping to prepare her for college. Half a decade later,
student demographics in the suburban Philadelphia district have completely
transformed. It is now predominantly Black.
East Penn Black
students feel unwanted, invisible, says group calling for anti-racist training
By MICHELLE
MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | DEC 16, 2020 AT 4:41
PM
Black
students at Emmaus High School made their voices heard at a School Board meeting
Monday night. One said they felt “unwanted, excluded and different from my
white peers.” Another was “unable to express myself without being judged for
being an angry, aggressive Black girl.” Another reported: “I am not rare,
confused or just feeling emotions. I don’t feel safe as a person of color
knowing I’m in an environment full of allies and enemies I might not know of.” Those
statements and others were read by white students, a 2020 graduate and a
parent, who said the Black students didn’t feel comfortable speaking for fear
of backlash. Together, they form a group called East Penn School District
Equality. They called on district officials to provide ongoing, annual,
anti-racist training to staff. They said the district wasn’t living up to
its own
statements of belief to address the educational needs of all
students in a safe and supportive environment. The demand is the first of
several from the group, which was formed after George Floyd’s death in May at
the hands of Minneapolis police, said Mariska van Aalst, a parent involved with
the organization, which includes current and former students, parents and
educators.
Two outsiders emerge
as top contenders for Biden’s education secretary
Washington Post
By Laura
Meckler and Valerie
Strauss Dec. 16, 2020 at 5:26 p.m. EST
Two
lesser-known educators have emerged as top candidates for education secretary —
a former dean at Howard University and the commissioner of schools in
Connecticut, people familiar with the process said. The first is Leslie T.
Fenwick, dean emeritus of the Howard University School of Education and a
professor of educational policy and leadership. The second is Miguel Cardona, who
last year was named the top education official in Connecticut. Both have
positions that could draw fire, though in different ways. Fenwick is a fierce
critic of many attempts at education reform, including some touted by President
Barack Obama’s Education Department. Cardona has promoted a return to school
buildings during the pandemic, saying it is imperative to get children
back to face-to-face learning. The situation remains fluid, and no decisions
have been made. Three people familiar with the process said the transition
committee is focusing its attention on these two candidates at the moment.
Another person cautioned that others are in the mix. All four spoke on the
condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
Scarnati Joins
Newly-Formed Lobbying Firm
PoliticsPA Written
by John Cole, Managing Editor December 14th, 2020
From
“President Pro Tempore” to “Partner.” One of the most influential politicians
in Pennsylvania in the past two decades has announced his next career
move. Former state Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) announced Monday
that he will join Allegheny Strategy Partners (ASP), a newly formed public affairs and business
development firm. “I am excited at the prospect of joining two people I know
and trust at a time when they’re building something from the ground up,”
said Scarnati. “There is no question that the landscape in the advocacy space
is changing. This team’s approach, coupled with the talent being assembled will
make this firm a market leader.” Scarnati was first elected to the state
Senate in 2000 and served as the Senate President Pro Tempore from 2006 until
his recent retirement.
https://www.politicspa.com/scarnati-joins-newly-formed-lobbying-firm/96892/
Schools Work to Speed
Up Internet in Rural Homes for Remote Learning
Districts
are paying for Wi-Fi access, modems and routers—but locating families in need
takes detective work
Wall Street Journal
By Julie Jargon Dec. 15, 2020 8:00 am ET
Laura
Gomez’s two children were using her smartphone’s hotspot to log in to remote
school early this fall, but the video calls often dropped. The connection was
so weak the children couldn’t always see or hear their teachers. Ms. Gomez, who
lives in a small agricultural community in California’s Central Valley, often
had to drive 20 minutes east to her sister-in-law’s home in Modesto so her
children could connect to their first- and fifth-grade classes using their
aunt’s home broadband. Then, in late September Ms. Gomez received a Motorola router and modem from the Patterson
Joint Unified School District, and now her family has high-speed internet at
home. “I’m so happy we have this for the children. The children are happy, too,
because they can see everything more clearly now,” she said. School districts
and cities across the country are racing to bridge a digital divide that has
existed for decades. According to data collected before the pandemic, approximately 30% of U.S. K-12
public-school students lived in households without either an internet
connection or a device adequate for distance learning, according to Common
Sense Media. That is 16 million children.
The Incredible
Shrinking COVID-19 Relief Package for Schools?
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa — December 15, 2020 3 min
read
Schools have
been waiting for more coronavirus relief from Washington ever since late March.
Will it be significantly less than what they’ve heard about and hoped for? On
Monday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers released yet another relief proposal. The $748 billion legislation is intended to
break the months-long log jam on COVID-19 relief in Washington. It includes $54
billion for K-12 schools, and also has $7.5 billion for governors to spend on
K-12 and higher education (more on the governor’s fund below). The bill doesn’t
include state and local government aid, because that’s been a big snag in
negotiations; Republicans don’t like the idea, but Democrats do. However, aid
for state and local governments, which would also help schools survive a decline
in tax revenues, is part of sidecar legislation that’s technically separate
from the main $748 billion aid bill. Just because the proposal is bipartisan
and has been introduced with lots of fanfare doesn’t mean it will become the
law; negotiations have failed to bear fruit for months. But it could be a
strong signal that if lawmakers do reach a deal in the near future, schools
might get significantly less aid than what both Democrats and Republicans
proposed several months ago in different
relief proposals.
Education Secretary
Betsy DeVos heads for the exits, leaving a legacy of turmoil
PA Capital
Star By Daniel
C. Vock December 17, 2020
WASHINGTON — In
four years in office, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos failed to broaden
her appeal beyond the moment she won a wild Senate confirmation fight by the
closest of margins. She didn’t even try. Instead, the billionaire Michigan
native and Republican megadonor championed private and charter schools, often
trying to funnel federal funding toward them. Her full-throated support
outraged Democrats in Congress, riled the nation’s powerful teachers unions and
never registered as a major priority for the Trump administration. In higher
education, she resuscitated for-profit colleges and wrote sweeping regulations
on campus sexual assault to give more weight to the accused, generating an
onslaught of criticism. When COVID-19 upended education as never before, DeVos
pushed overwhelmed local leaders to physically reopen their schools and
attempted to use emergency funds to aid private education. Now DeVos will leave
office next month facing the prospect that many of her principles will be
spurned and rules overturned by her Democratic successor. Perhaps it’s not
surprising, then, that even her ideological allies are divided about her
legacy.
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
336 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 330 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.