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 Dec. 7, 2020
COVID-19
Update: Pa. has one-day high in cases, more schools go remote
Congratulations to #333 @ShalerArea for passing the charter funding reform
resolution. Thank you @RepInnamorato Representative Lori Mitzgorski, @SenWilliamsPA Senator @WayneDFontana and PSBA Ambassador @LenaHannah4. https://t.co/Y1wONUfibE
Rodriguez, Panel To
Discuss Schools’ CARES Act Funding
Sanatoga Post
By Joe Zlomek December 5, 2020
POTTSTOWN PA
– Pottstown School District Superintendent
Stephen Rodriguez is one of three panelists scheduled to
speak Monday (Dec. 7, 2020) during a 1 p.m. Keystone Research Center web broadcast on how Pennsylvania’s
neediest schools have been shorted in distribution of federal Coronavirus Aid,
Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, the center announced. Also
scheduled to participate are center Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg, and
Susan Spicka of Education Voters of PA. The webinar is free to attend and open
to the public. Registration
is available here. Keystone recently published a report
claiming the state Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf failed to take variables like
poverty into account earlier this year as they distributed a fixed amount of
CARES money to each Pennsylvania school district, and distributed remaining funds
based on the districts’ average daily numbers of students. Poorer districts had
greater needs and should have received more money, it contends, because
research indicates their students are “more expensive to educate.” The report
looks ahead, in part, to the possibility that local K-12 schools are government
entities most likely to receive additional federal relief if Congress acts
within the coming weeks to approve more pandemic stimulus funding.
https://sanatogapost.com/2020/12/05/schools-shorted-cares-act-funding/
“EdPAC is the political action committee
for PSBA whose membership is comprised of school directors, school
administrators and public education advocates. EdPAC supports state-level
incumbent candidates that will do what’s right for our students and schools.
EdPAC support helps open doors on the Hill and ensure that education remains a
top priority in the capitol.”
EdPAC election
breakdown and recap
POSTED
ON DECEMBER 7, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS
The 2020
elections have brought changes to the General Assembly. See the breakdown of
overall House and Senate results and of key races statewide, including freshman
legislators in this report by EdPAC. As we embark on another new year and another
new legislative session, PSBA will be working harder than ever to advocate for
our legislative priorities and platform goals.
https://www.psba.org/2020/12/edpac-election-breakdown-and-recap/
“In the past two days, several school
districts, citing the number of cases in their buildings or in their
communities, announced they would stay or go completely remote through
December. Shaler Area, Gateway and Big Beaver Falls will not try to
return until Jan. 4. North Hills will stay remote through Jan. 8. And Mount
Pleasant will be remote until Jan. 21. They joined at least 10 other districts
in the region that will teach remotely until Jan. 4. Some others that have gone
totally virtual hope to return to classrooms or at least a hybrid model later
this month, while others have not announced a return date.”
COVID-19 Update: Pa.
has one-day high in cases, more schools go remote
PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE DEC 4, 2020
Pennsylvania
again saw new COVID-19 cases reach a one-day high on Friday, and the prevalence
of the disease continues to force school districts to switch to or stay with
remote learning well into the new year. Statewide, new cases of COVID-19
grew by 11,763, which brings the state’s total up to 398,600, according to the
latest Health Department figures. Deaths climbed by 169 for a total of 11,113
people dead after contracting the virus. Allegheny County on Friday reported
911 new COVID-19 cases, its second highest one-day total, and 26 additional
deaths, its highest one-day total since the pandemic began.
“At that time, that seemed indicative
that PIAA and independent schools winter sports seasons in basketball,
wrestling, swimming and indoor track would start on time, but with restrictions
on the number of fans in attendance, which was the case for the fall sports
season. However, with cases and deaths rapidly on the rise in their
jurisdiction, Delaware County Council asked for and was granted additional
COVID mitigation strategies that prohibit indoor events in which more than 10
people would gather. The mitigation order, which can be viewed at www.delcopa.gov/publicrelations/releases/2020/covid_additionalmitigation, does not apply to religious gatherings or classroom settings,
but does pertain to activities outside of the classroom not related to
education. That includes school, youth and adult recreational sports.”
Delco council
decision puts local sports games on hold until January
Delco Times By
Terry Toohey ttoohey@delcotimes.com @TerryToohey on Twitter Dec 6, 2020
Normally,
the wrestling room at Garnet Valley would be buzzing at this time of year. Head
coach Rocco Fantazzi would have about 30 wrestlers working out with the
scheduled start of the season less than a week away. However, with restrictions
imposed by Delaware County Council on indoor gatherings limiting them to 10
people, Fantazzi can only have nine wrestlers and one coach in the room at any
one time. Like their counterparts in the fall, then, coaches and athletes of
winter sports teams in this county are playing a waiting game due to the
coronavirus pandemic. “Wrestling is going,” Fantazzi said. “I think us and
Penncrest are the only teams going, practicing in groups of nine, having some
sort of practice. If you want to call it practice. It’s not a traditional
practice.”
Brave new world:
Students from immigrant families in Philadelphia give inside view on adjustment
to remote learning
Language
barriers, cultural differences and technological hurdles abound for student
population
Chalkbeat
Philly By Samaria Bailey Dec 4, 2020, 6:07pm EST
This article
was produced with support from Resolve Philly, the organization that leads Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on
economic mobility. In mid-March, some 200,000 Philadelphia students were sent
home from their public schools due to the coronavirus, with hopes they would
return two weeks later. That didn’t happen, and the buildings have been
shuttered ever since. From Northeast to Overbrook to Furness, students had to
adapt to learning online, largely from their homes. For thousands of students
from immigrant families in Philadelphia public schools, including 13% who are
English Language Learners, the shutdown has posed unique challenges. There can
be language barriers or confusion about the new technology. There is concern
about juggling jobs with children’s course loads. There is fear about the
virus, which disproportionately strikes communities of color.
3 people, 200 square
feet: Managing homelessness, remote school, and life in a pandemic
Inquirer by
Kristen A. Graham, Posted: 54 minutes ago December
7, 2020
The hardest
part about fifth grade for B.J. Todd isn’t math or reading. It’s WiFi. B.J.,
11, lives with his father and sister at Jane Addams Place, a homeless shelter
in North Philadelphia, and a spotty-at-times internet connection interrupts
lessons regularly. “I get kicked off, and then I have to shut down my laptop,
and the next thing you know, when I go back on, I missed the assignment,” said
B.J., an aspiring artist with a megawatt smile. “It’s hard to not be at school
with my teacher, and it’s harder to keep track of stuff on the computer.” Philadelphia
family navigates homelessness, virtual schooling and life in a pandemic COVID-19
has upended education for millions, shifting classes online, making traditional
classroom experiences impossible for most kids, and forcing working parents to
wrestle with child-care issues. For the city’s most vulnerable, including
an estimated 8,000 children experiencing homelessness, such as B.J. and his
family, it has erected more barriers, in education and in life.
Failing grades on the
rise in schools using remote learning
School
districts from coast to coast have reported the number of students failing
classes has risen by as many as two or three times — with English language
learners and disabled and disadvantaged students suffering the most.
Penn Live By The Associated Press Updated 6:17 AM; Today 6:17 AM
The first
report cards of the school year are arriving with many more Fs than usual in a
dismal sign of the struggles students are experiencing with distance learning. School
districts from coast to coast have reported the number of students failing
classes has risen by as many as two or three times — with English language
learners and disabled and disadvantaged students suffering the most. “It was
completely off the rails from what is normal for us, and that was obviously
very alarming,” said Erik Jespersen, principal of Oregon’s McNary High School,
where 38% of grades in late October were failing, compared with 8% in normal
times. Educators see a number of factors at play: Students learning from home
skip assignments — or school altogether. Internet access is limited or
inconsistent, making it difficult to complete and upload assignments. And
teachers who don’t see their students in person have fewer ways to pick up on
who is falling behind, especially with many keeping their cameras off during
Zoom sessions. The increase in failing grades has been seen in districts of all
sizes around the country.
5 Things We've
Learned About Virtual School In 2020
NPR by ANYA
KAMENETZ December 4, 20205:00 AM ET
Deborah
Rosenthal starts her virtual kindergarten class on Zoom every morning with a
song — today, it's the Spanish version of "If You're Happy and You Know
It." Her students clap along. There's a greeting from the class mascot (a
dragon), yoga, meditation and then some practice with letter sounds: "Oso,
oso, O, O, O." Rosenthal teaches Spanish immersion in a public school in San
Francisco's Mission District. Most of the families are low-income, and many are
now affected by job losses related to COVID-19. She has taught kindergarten for
15 years, and she loves how "hands-on," "tactile" and
"cozy" it is to work with 5-year-olds. But this year, she's spending
10 or 12 hours a day on, basically, her own home production of Mister
Rogers' Neighborhood en Español. "It's a very two-dimensional
experience," she says. Few people would tell you that online kindergarten
was a good idea, or frankly even possible. That was before 2020. The number has
fluctuated as cases rise across the country, but throughout this fall pandemic
semester, between 40% and 60% of students have been enrolled in districts that
offer only remote learning, according to a tracker maintained by the company
Burbio. And even in hybrid districts, some students have been learning
remotely, either part or full time. In short, online learning is the reality
for a majority of students this fall.
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/04/938050723/5-things-weve-learned-about-virtual-school-in-2020
Finding a way:
Scranton educators make house calls, try to remove obstacles in virtual
learning
Times
Tribune BY
SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Dec 6, 2020 Updated 1 hr ago
With a
folder of lessons in his hand, the principal of Northeast Intermediate School
stepped around the potholes on the narrow street in Scranton’s Pine Brook
neighborhood. Each week, Joseph Hanni and other Scranton School District
employees deliver packets of work to students lacking technology or internet
access. Nearly nine months into virtual learning, the educators must find a way
to reach all of the city’s 9,200 students. Many days, that means knocking on
doors. The porch roof provided cover from the mist that fell on the cool
December afternoon. Hanni tapped on the door, and a child’s face appeared from
behind a curtain. He waited for an answer.
Distance learning not
working? Here are strategies to try
Post Gazette
by CARRIE GOLDMAN The Washington Post DEC 7, 2020 6:04 AM
When virtual
school began in August, Brandi McPherson initially followed the remote-learning
guidelines from her 13-year-old daughter’s school. “They told the kids to sit
at a desk or table and leave the cameras on all day,” she said. “Classes are
taught from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in 45-minute blocks with five-minute breaks.” It
was too much for Tanner, a seventh grader in the Northridge area of Los
Angeles, who is twice exceptional — She is gifted and struggles with ADHD and
generalized anxiety disorder. “She couldn’t take it. We had to make changes,”
Ms. McPherson said. Now Tanner sits in a sensory swing in her room and bounces
on an exercise ball for breaks. When she grows overwhelmed by the noise of the
whole class, her teachers move her into a Zoom breakout room by herself. “She
can push a button to ask for help. This works well to block out the sensory
overload,” her mother said. Families across the country are grappling with how
to respond when in-person learning doesn’t translate smoothly into virtual
learning. With more than 74% of the largest school districts in the country
fully remote — representing more than 9 million children — parents either need
to find a way to make schooling work or drop out of the workforce, a problem
that is largely affecting women. Ms. McPherson, an elementary school teacher,
needed Tanner to be more independent so she could teach her own remote classes.
Watching for signs of
child abuse and neglect, but from a distance
WHYY By Zoë Read December 7, 2020
Reports of
child abuse and neglect have declined significantly since the beginning of the
coronavirus pandemic. That’s not an indicator of fewer incidents, child and
family services professionals say. Rather, it’s a sign that abuse and neglect
could be flying under the radar in distanced schooling environments. When
hybrid learning began in some schools in the fall, the number of calls to
hotlines to report child abuse and neglect increased slightly. But
professionals are concerned those numbers will dip again during a COVID-19
surge that has forced many schools to return to virtual learning. So now, child
and family services agencies hope to educate anyone who works with children and
members of the community about how to prevent abuse and neglect — and how to
spot the red flags even given the current unusual circumstances.
https://whyy.org/articles/watching-for-signs-of-child-abuse-and-neglect-but-from-a-distance/
Parents laud cyber
schools because they help their children | PennLive letters
Penn Live
Opinion By Colleen Cook Updated Dec 06, 2020; Posted Dec 06, 2020
Colleen
Cook, president, National Coalition for Public School Options, Newcastle, Okla.
Meghan’s Buchle’s Dec. 1 opinion piece shows the pending college graduate has
a lot to learn about cyber charter schools and the families who choose them to
educate their children. On one hand, she says cybers are lauded by parents but
then says there isn’t evidence they’re better teaching students. Huh? Parents
wouldn’t laud these schools if they weren’t helping our children. She is also
completely inaccurate when she says cybers aren’t accountable for attendance or
attrition but ignores that cybers are more accountable than traditional public
schools. Not only must they track these statistics but cybers can have their
charters revoked by the state. Too bad all public schools don’t have that same
level of accountability – I’d bet traditional public schools would perform a
lot better if they did.
Blogger note: As part of the PA House
Fellowship Program, the author Meghan Buchle interned with the Republican
Education Committee in the Spring 2020 semester with Chairman PA State Rep.
Curt Sonney.
How cyber schools are
failing PA children | Opinion
Penn Live
Opinion By Meghan Buchle Updated Dec 01, 2020; Posted Dec 01, 2020
In
their Nov. 19 commentary, members
of the Board of Trustees for Reach Cyber Charter School discussed the benefits
of cyber charter schools and suggested they are a viable alternative to
traditional public schools. However, while the authors make fair points about
some benefits of remote learning - particularly for high-risk demographic
groups - it is important to have the full picture. What the authors of the Nov.
19th commentary leave out is that Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools are
hindered by a severe lack of accountability and have abysmal academic
achievement records. Cyber schools are typically lauded by families with
extenuating circumstances, including those affected by frequent moving,
long-term illness, or severe bullying. Many turn to cybers as a possible escape
from the upheaval and turmoil traditional schooling causes for some students.
However, there is no evidence that cyber schools are any better at reaching
these students than traditional schools are.
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2020/12/how-cyber-schools-are-failing-pa-children-opinion.html
“But there’s a fairly straightforward
partnership that could tackle the problem. What if colleges with advanced
cybersecurity expertise were to step up to help stop the epidemic of cyberattacks?”
Baltimore County
schools shut down after a cyberattack. The same could happen in Philly. |
Opinion
By Heidi
Boghosian, For the Inquirer December 7, 2020 Posted: 59 minutes ago
The day
before Thanksgiving, the Baltimore County School District learned the hard way
to prioritize cybersecurity. Attackers inserted malicious software in their
systems—ransomware, in cyberspeak—then threatened to block access or publish
data unless the district paid a ransom. It closed County schools (surrounding the
city of Baltimore, which has its own school system) for two days on Nov. 30 and
Dec. 1. The K-12 Cyber Security
Resource Center reports more than 1,000
cybersecurity-related incidents in U.S. schools since 2016. That includes an
attack this June, when the University of California San Francisco paid about $1.14 million to release
data from its medical school that the hackers were holding hostage, and one
that stalled the network in
Montgomery County’s Souderton Area School District last fall.
A Marshall Plan for
Black America is the only way to repay this country’s moral debt | Opinion
By Sharif
El-Mekki, For The Inquirer Posted: December 4, 2020 - 10:00 AM
America is
turning a corner. Or so it hopes; so it claims. We have elected a rational
adult to the presidency, thanks in no small part to the turnout of Black
Americans in places like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Detroit. There
is now budding hope for a return to some semblance of norms, normalcy, and
decency. Much of the public is hopeful that two of the most pressing threats to
our nation — racism and the COVID-19 pandemic — may be dealt with in good faith
by competent people newly
returned to positions of power. While the public
health challenge, by no means easy or uncomplicated, seems a comparatively
clear matter of following medical and scientific guidance, the response to our
long-overdue national reckoning with systemic racism is rife with disagreement
even between those on the same side of the partisan divide. Yet, given the
essential role that Black Americans, including Philadelphia voters, played in
returning competence to the White House, President-elect Joe Biden has a duty
and a mandate to make meaningful progress toward extinguishing the scourge of
systemic racism.
Public hearing set
for Monday on Pittsburgh schools budget
PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE DEC 5, 2020
An online
public hearing is set for noon Monday on the 2021 budget for Pittsburgh Public
Schools. The preliminary general fund budget of $686.6 million is an increase
of $3.7 million over this year’s budget and does not call for a tax increase,
although it does include a deficit of $32 million, according to the district’s
website. “While this budget does not include a tax increase, we recognize the
need to take steps to increase our revenue to the extent possible, while also
reducing expenditures,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a statement on
the website. The preliminary budget is available for review on the
website, www.pghschools.org, as is information on accessing the
hearing. The school board is expected to vote on the budget Dec. 16.
Pittsburgh teachers
union calls for improved equity programs, revenue to fund them
PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE DEC 7, 2020 5:07 AM
The
Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers is calling for the implementation of numerous
proposals designed to create more equitable schools — and asking for
increased revenue through tax increases or other measures to fund them. The PFT
released a report last week with eight different
recommendations, including implementing a school police diversion program,
expanding restorative justice programs, increasing mental health support, and
investing in programs that increase teacher diversity. The school police
diversion program is modeled after a pre-arrest program in the Philadelphia
schools that offers students the option of involving a social worker to offer
support and provide non-punitive options. After the first year of the
Philadelphia program, student arrests fell 54% and behavioral incidents as a
whole dropped by 1,051 from more than 7000. On a Facebook Live panel
discussion of the report, Pittsburgh Public Schools police officers described
issues faced by students that they interact with, including homelessness,
hunger, drug addiction and domestic violence.
Spring-Ford,
Pottsgrove postpone return to in-person classes
Pottstown
Mercury by Evan
Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter December 7, 2020
Two area
school districts that where supposed to start in-person classes Monday have
postponed that start, but for different reasons. A spike in new COVID-19 cases
in the towns of the Spring-Ford Area School District has convinced school
officials to delay the planned Monday return to in-person learning. Schools
Superintendent David Goodin issued the notice Sunday. In the Pottsgrove School
District, a large number of teachers calling off resulted in inadequate
staffing for in-person instruction, Superintendent William Shirk announced
Sunday evening. "I recognize that changing our instructional model this
late is challenging, upsetting, and stressful," Shirk wrote. "There
are no easy or 'right' decisions in this current environment." This is not
the first time large numbers of teachers calling in has delayed the start of
in-person education.
Council Rock pushes
back full in-person option at elementary schools
Chris
English Bucks County Courier Times December 4, 2020
Council Rock
has become the latest local school district to alter its in-person
instructional plan amid surging COVID-19 cases in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
and the country. During a meeting that started Thursday night and didn't end
until more than five hours later at 12:30 a.m. Friday morning, the school board
voted 5-4 to push back a close to full in-person instruction choice at the
elementary schools from Dec. 14 to Jan. 11. The board is scheduled to discuss
setting a target date for a full in-person choice at the secondary schools,
grades 7-12, during a special meeting called for Thursday night.
Only two Lackawanna
County school districts to remain open for hybrid learning
Times
Tribune BY
SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Dec 4, 2020 Updated Dec 6,
2020
As
coronavirus cases surge and cause staffing shortages in some schools, students
in only two Lackawanna County school districts will continue in-person
instruction. Mid Valley announced Friday the district will move to fully remote
learning on Wednesday. North Pocono will start virtual learning on Monday. That
leaves only Abington Heights and Lakeland open in hybrid models, meaning
students learn at school two days and home the remaining days each week. Dunmore,
Old Forge and Riverside plan to be virtual until after the holiday break.
Carbondale Area, Scranton and Valley View have offered only remote instruction
since March. Districts hope to resume in-person instruction in January. The
Pennsylvania Department of Education recommends that all schools in Lackawanna
County, which is in the “substantial” phase of COVID-19 transmission, offer
fully remote learning only.
Which Centre County
schools are operating remotely due to COVID-19? Here’s a running list
Centre Daily
Times BY
MARLEY PARISH DECEMBER 01, 2020 10:32 AM, UPDATED DECEMBER
4, 2020
Since
reopening in August, Centre County school districts have been forced to make
adjustments to instructional plans as community COVID-19 cases continue to rise
and statewide mitigation efforts aim to slow virus transmission. The
Centre Daily Times is keeping a running list of school closures and planned
reopenings. Because area schools are not required to publicly announce
confirmed cases or building closures, this list may not be comprehensive but
will be updated weekly with any changes or updates to instructional plans. If a
school closure is not listed, or to provide more information, please email cdtnewstips@centredaily.com.
https://www.centredaily.com/news/rebuild/article247509800.html#storylink=mainstage_card3
At least 715 COVID-19
cases have been reported at Lancaster County schools. Here's where they are
[update]
Lancaster
Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Dec 4, 2020
At least 715
cases of COVID-19 have been reported at Lancaster County schools so far into
the 2020-21 school year. The cases come from 16 school districts, plus a
brick-and-mortar charter school in Lancaster city and the county's career and
technology center. And that might not be all.
Iroquois
Junior-Senior High School to be closed to students next week
GoErie by Times-News
staff December 4, 2020
Iroquois
Junior-Senior High School will be closed to students next week due to COVID-19.
The district
received confirmation of three positive cases of the virus related to the
school Thursday evening, according to an announcement on the district website Friday. There currently are four
active cases of the virus involving the school. All secondary students will
work at home following their normal class schedules on Schoology and Zoom,
school Principal Douglas Wilson said in a posted message. All sports
activities, including practices, will be suspended from 4 p.m. Friday until
Dec. 14. In-person classes are expected to resume Dec. 14.
Mt. Pleasant Area
School District will keep remote learning through end of semester
Trib Live by
MEGAN
TOMASIC | Friday, December 4,
2020 2:20 p.m.
Students in
the Mt. Pleasant Area School District will continue with remote learning until
the end of the semester. According to a letter posted on the district’s website
by Superintendent Timothy Gabauer, it will last until Jan. 21. The decision
came as covid-19 cases continue to rise across Westmoreland County. Another high for covid-19 cases was set Friday, the second straight day
a record was set. On Friday, 412 new cases were reported, following Thursday’s
400 case count. That brings the total number of cases in the county to 10,455.
Freeport Area School
District to remain fully remote until January
Trib Live by
JULIA
FELTON | Friday, December 4,
2020 4:12 p.m.
Students at
Freeport Area School District won’t return to in-person instruction until at
least Monday, Jan. 11, the school board said Thursday. The district had
previously decided to limit the amount of time students spent in the classroom around the
holidays after a surge of covid-19 cases left
more than 100 students quarantined in November.
New York City
elementary schools are reopening while other cities are moving in the other
direction.
New York
Times Updated December 7, 2020 by J. David Goodman and Melina Delkic
New York
City is reopening some of its public schools Monday in the teeth of a worsening
coronavirus outbreak. The decision to do so reflects changing
public health thinking around
the importance of keeping schools operating, particularly for young students,
and the real-world experience of over two months of in-person classes in the
city’s school system, the nation’s largest. Schools around the country have had
to make the difficult decision of when to close and what metrics to follow,
with some staying open amid local positivity rates in the teens and others
using low single-digit thresholds. Of the nation’s 75 largest public school
districts, 18 have gone back to remote learning in the past month, according to
data compiled by the Council of the Great City Schools and reported
in The Wall Street Journal.
“Hennessy said the best time to view the
conjunction on Dec. 21 is at twilight, between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., looking
southwest.”
Jupiter and Saturn to
form ‘Christmas Star’ in sky this month
Trib Live by
PAUL GUGGENHEIMER | Friday, December 4, 2020
4:36 p.m.
Two giant
worlds are about to collide. Sort of. Jupiter and Saturn are meeting up this
month. It’s something they do every 20 years, only this year the neighboring
planets will appear closer to each other on the dome of our sky than at any
point since the Middle Ages. Jupiter is already the brightest star-like object
an Earthling can see in the evening sky. But on Dec. 21, Jupiter and
Saturn are going to be so close together that they will show up as one
intensely bright point of light forming what some refer to as the “Christmas
Star” or “Star of Bethlehem.”
https://triblive.com/local/regional/jupiter-and-saturn-to-form-big-bright-light-in-sky-this-month/
Philly astronomers
are watching the great ‘planetary conjunction’ with childlike awe, and they
wish they could share their telescopes
Inquirer by Alfred Lubrano, Updated: December 6, 2020- 7:01
PM
Arcing high
in the heavens above a raging virus, searing-tweet politics, and whatever may
be going on with Carson Wentz, a cosmic tango is developing for all the Earth
to see. There in the southwestern sky at twilight, Jupiter and Saturn appear to
be quitting their orbits and speeding toward one another like lovers in the
starlight to form what almost looks like a super planet.
This
so-called planetary conjunction occurs every two decades. But, as with all
things 2020, this year is different: The planets appear to be separated by a
mere sliver of sky, displaying an apparent closeness not seen since the year 1226. “These are the kinds of things that re-connect
me to why I fell in love with astronomy in the first place,” said John
Bochanski, an astronomer with a poetic soul who lives in Holland, Bucks County,
and teaches at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. “It’s a great event
because it’s accessible to us all.”
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
333 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.
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