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 Jan. 8, 2021
Tweet from Michael Smith Supt @principalspage
Dear Congress: You should never have to feel unsafe or need to hide under
your desk. Sincerely, Every PreK-12 Student and Educator in America
‘A terrible thing
happened’: How teachers are explaining the Capitol insurrection to students
“We are
watching history,” said Cherry Hill teacher Megan Langman. “We are studying
history.”
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham, Maddie Hanna, and Melanie Burney Updated Jan 7, 2021
Teacher
Katie Burrows-Stone started simply. “On Jan. 6, 2021, a terrible thing
happened,” began a prompt she wrote for her students at Science Leadership
Academy-Beeber in West Philadelphia. “Today, we are the people that lived
through history that will be remembered, and because of that, our voices
matter.” On the day after rioters stormed the Capitol, teachers across the
country grappled with how best to help students make sense of what happened,
often shelving previously written lesson plans to lead young people through
content about American history happening in real time. As Philadelphia
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. watched the events unfold Wednesday, he
thought about how tough it could be for his teachers to lead lessons on the
interruption of the peaceful transfer of power: Many adults felt scared by what
unfolded at the Capitol.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Schuylkill County School District
Business Managers Speak Out on Charter School Funding
Local school
district business managers including those in Schuylkill County are speaking
out on charter schools.
SKOOK NEWS Letter
to the editor: Thursday, January 7, 2021
Schuylkill County’s
Online News Service
Recently the
United States Department of Education awarded a five-year $30 million grant to
Pennsylvania Brick and Mortar Charter Schools to increase their academic
success. All the while, many Pennsylvania Public Schools are cutting programs
in order to continue to pay for charter school costs, some even becoming
financially distressed due to this burden.
Our local state legislators have failed by not providing a fair funding for
charter schools while draining public schools and increasing the burden of further
expenditures on the local taxpayers. Contrary to the general public belief,
charter schools are not free. Schuylkill County Public Schools pay tuition per
student ranging from $10,000 to almost $30,000 per student.
During the 2018-2019 school year, Schuylkill County Public Schools paid nearly
$11 million to charter schools that contributed to over $2 billion paid to
charter schools during that year. While it is true some state money is
allocated per student, state funding only provides for approximately half of
the county schools’ budgets, with the remaining paid by their local taxpayers.
While most Schuylkill County Public Schools have struggled financially, in part
to sky rocketing charter school costs, Commonwealth Charter Academy reported a
$1,241,314 profit in 2018-2019.Additionally, their accumulated profits as of
June 30, 2018 were nearly $38 million. To add insult to injury, during that
year they spent nearly $8 million of local tax payer money on advertising, not
education.
The financial rewards of these charter schools have increased dramatically
during this pandemic with the average cyber charter school enrollment
increasing by over 60%. Despite this fact, Commonwealth Charter Academy is
scheduled to receive over $12.8 million in additional federal stimulus money
allocated by our state legislators.
Public schools are the pillars of their local communities and are going
bankrupt while politically driven charter schools have become very profitable
big business. It is hard to fathom that as our local public schools begin
looking at their budget cuts for next year, that our local state legislatures
believe what they are doing is in the best interest of their constituents. The
funding of these charter schools are not equitable and needs to be fixed this
year.
https://www.skooknews.com/2021/01/letter-to-editor-schuylkill-county.html
Pa. encourages school
districts to return younger students to the classroom
PA Capital
Star By John
L. Micek January 7, 2021
(*This story
was updated at 2:51 p.m. on 1/7/21 to include comment from Pennsylvania State
Education Association President Rich Askey)
After months
of strictly online or blended learning, officials at the state Department of
Education are encouraging school districts in counties with a substantial level
of community spread to return elementary school students, along with other
“targeted populations” to the classroom for hybrid instruction. The new
guidelines, which take effect Jan. 25, are recommendations, not a
mandate, and it’ll still be up to local school boards to make the final call,
acting Education Secretary Noe Orgeta said Thursday during a joint conference
call with state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. “We know students —
particularly younger students — benefit from being in the classroom,” Ortega
said. The state is continuing to recommend fully remote learning for middle and
high school students in substantial spread counties. Through the end of
December, officials said they had documented 52,917 cases of the virus among
young people aged five to 18.
State changes COVID
safety recommendation on in-person learning for elementary students
Delco Times By
David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter Jan 7, 2021
Pennsylvania
officials have changed their recommendation on whether schools should hold
in-person classes in counties with a substantial risk of community spread of
COVID-19. Since the beginning of the school year, the state Department of
Education and Department of Health have said school districts in counties with
a substantial risk of community spread of COVID-19 — the highest of three
risk categories — should not hold in-person classes. At a press conference
Thursday, Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega announced that guidance has
been changed for the state's youngest learners. Starting Jan. 25, which Ortega
said represents the typical start of schools' second semester, districts are encouraged to provide in-person classes for elementary school students — at
least partially. The department is not calling for a return to full in-person
learning, but for the use of a hybrid system with students learning partially
in-person and partially virtually. The guidance also applies to target groups
that benefit greatly from in-person instruction such as disabled students or
English language learners, Ortega said.
Wolf Administration
Updates Recommendations To Help Schools Safely Navigate COVID-19 During Second
Semester
PA Dept. of
Health/Dept. of Education Media Advisory 01/07/2021
Counties in
the substantial level recommended to consider blended/hybrid learning for
elementary school students
Harrisburg,
PA - The
Pennsylvania departments of Health (DOH) and Education (PDE) today provided
school administrators and school boards with updated recommendations as to which instructional models they
should consider using based on the changing levels of community transmission of
COVID-19 in their counties. Until now, the county designations aligned to three
recommended instructional models: fully in-person, blended/hybrid, and fully
remote. Starting January 25, the departments are providing a second
recommendation for elementary schools in substantial level counties. In
addition to remote learning, now there is an option for blended/hybrid learning
for elementary students. Fully remote learning remains recommended for middle and
high schools in the substantial level counties. K-12 schools may also consider
bringing back targeted student populations for in-person instruction,
regardless of what general instructional model they are utilizing. “The
research on offering in-person instruction during COVID-19 continues to
emerge,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “While it is impossible to
eliminate the risk of disease transmission entirely within a school setting
where community spread is present, recent studies have shown that when
mitigation efforts, such as universal masking, physical distancing, and hand
hygiene are followed, it may be safer for younger children, particularly
elementary grade students, to return to in-person instruction.”
https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/Education-details.aspx?newsid=1024
Pa. teachers union
criticizes guidance calling for elementary students to go back to classrooms
Penn Live By Ron Southwick | rsouthwick@pennlive.com Updated 5:30 AM; Today 5:30 AM
Pennsylvania’s
largest teachers union is criticizing new guidance from Gov. Tom Wolf’s
administration encouraging school districts to return elementary students to
classrooms wherever possible. Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State
Education Association, outlined a number of concerns about the new guidance for
schools issued Thursday. He cited the high number of coronavirus cases around
the commonwealth and a lack of state direction to ensuring the safety of
students and staff. “There is nothing Pennsylvania educators want more than to
be back in the classroom with their students,” Askey said in a statement. “But
rushing students back at the height of a pandemic with no clear plan to enforce
health and safety guidelines will set back our efforts to achieve that goal.”
'If they were Black'
Philadelphia
Black Lives Matter activists say police brutalized them, while a white Capitol
mob was ‘met with grace.’
Inquirer by Anna Orso, Chris Palmer, Oona
Goodin-Smith and Ellie Rushing, Updated: January 7, 2021- 10:22
PM
It’s been
more than six months since the clouds of tear gas dissipated from her West
Philadelphia block, but the terror of running from police as they shot her
neighbors with rubber bullets is still fresh in Amelia Carter’s mind. And so,
as she watched from a livestream as hundreds of mostly white, pro-Trump
insurrectionists stormed the Capitol building in Washington on Wednesday, the
contrast hit Carter cold. The police were running from them. Over the summer in
Philadelphia and across the country, record crowds protested and raged against
police killings of Black people and for an end to systemic racism,
and in many cases were met with tear gas, armored vehicles, baton-wielding riot
cops, and mass arrests.
“It’s a sign of the times that just
being loyal to facts qualifies as an act of political courage, but
Yaw’s December 28 open letter—“Let’s Get Things Straight”—is just that. I reached out to him
because so few Republicans anywhere had, before Wednesday’s insurrection,
risked the wrath of the president and his cult-like followers.”
CHARLOTTESVILLE COMES
TO THE CAPITOL
A day after
thugs waving confederate flags and wearing “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirts
breached the Capitol, a talk with a Trump-supporting Republican state senator
offers some hope
Philadelphia
Citizen BY LARRY
PLATT JAN. 08, 2021
Could it be
a coincidence that the domestic terrorism visited upon the U.S. Capitol on
Wednesday took place literally the day after the state of
Georgia—Georgia!—elected a Black man and a Jew, respectively, to the
United States Senate, making Chuck Schumer that body’s first-ever Jewish
majority leader? Yes, as so much of the coverage has made clear, Wednesday’s
riot was nothing less than a coup attempt fueled by the President and his
enablers, an all-out assault on Democracy. We ignore threats to Democracy at
our peril, as Philadelphia Congressman Brendan Boyle expressed so eloquently on
the floor of the House around midnight on Wednesday:
I must
concede, Madam Speaker, I have been naïve about one subject. I always just
assumed our democracy would naturally endure. I never even questioned it until
the last several years.
Two
centuries ago, one of our Founding Fathers, cautioned against this. John Adams
wrote, “Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and
murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
I now
realize the wisdom of his words. Never again, will I take for granted our
democracy.
Boyle’s
right, history proves there is nothing inevitable about self-government. But
too few have seen the Capitol assault also as the explicit offspring of that
horrid 2017 day in Charlottesville, proof that there is something long brewing
in the American body politic, a toxic stew of racism and anti-semitism, a type
of anti-Americanism cloaked in patriotic language, stoked by those who should
know better.
https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/charlottesville-comes-to-the-capitol/
Patty Murray Set to
Lead Senate Education Committee After Democratic Wins in Georgia
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa — January 07, 2021 3 min
read
Sen. Patty
Murray, D-Wash., who helped write the Every Student Succeeds Act, is set to
become the chairwoman of the Senate education committee following Democrats’
victory in two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday. Murray, a
former preschool teacher, has served as the ranking Democrat on the committee
since 2015. She will replace Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who retired at the
end of the last Congress and worked with Murray on writing ESSA as the
committee chair. As the leader of the committee, Murray will have oversight
over a variety of education issues, although her top priority will be
addressing policy issues related to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on schools.
Congress Could Go Big
on COVID-19 Aid for Schools After Democrats Take Control
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa — January 07, 2021 2 min
read
With
Democrats set to take control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the
U.S. Senate following the results of Georgia’s runoff elections, one major
consequence for schools could be a big new relief package to help them deal
with the coronavirus pandemic. In the COVID-19
aid package signed by President Donald Trump last
month, public schools received $54.3 billion in dedicated aid. Yet even as they
were negotiating that legislation, Democrats made it clear that they wanted to
get another relief deal in motion after Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden
will take office. And top Democrats for education policy said schools still
need a lot more emergency funding from Congress to handle the pandemic. Getting
a big relief deal through Congress won’t be straightforward, since Democrats
will only control the Senate due to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ ability
to break any tie in a 50-50 Senate. Unless the filibuster is abolished,
Republicans senators will be able to block major legislation. But there’s at
least one avenue open to enact more COVID-19 relief, including aid to schools.
Betsy DeVos resigns
as Trump’s education secretary, says ’there is no mistaking the impact’ of his
words
In a
resignation letter Thursday, DeVos blamed President Donald Trump for inflaming
tensions in the violent assault on the seat of the nation’s democracy.
Inquirer by Laura
Meckler, Washington Post Updated Jan 7, 2021
WASHINGTON —
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos submitted her resignation Thursday, citing the
president’s role in the riot on Capitol Hill. “There is no mistaking the impact
your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” she
wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump. The behavior of the “violent
protesters overrunning the U.S. Capitol was “unconscionable,” she wrote. “Impressionable
children are watching all of this, and they are learning from us. I believe we
each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior
we hope they would emulate,” she wrote. “They must know from us that America is
greater than what transpired yesterday.” She said her resignation is effective
Friday. The resignation, she said was “in support of the oath I took to our
Constitution, our people, and our freedoms.”
‘Good riddance’ and
other reactions to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s resignation
Washington Post
By Valerie
Strauss Jan. 8, 2021 at 3:24 a.m. EST
Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos has turned in her resignation, effective Friday, and after four years of
her highly controversial tenure, the reaction is coming in thick and fast. DeVos,
a Michigan billionaire who called public schools a “dead end” before she became
education secretary in 2017, was a hero to conservatives who wanted to expand
charter schools, school vouchers and other alternatives to traditional school
districts. Critics saw her as a longtime leader of the movement to privatize
education who got the job despite having no experience as a teacher or even a
public school student — and her departure is delighting them. For example,
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, the
second-largest teachers union in the country, had two words for her: “Good
riddance.” DeVos and Weingarten had a mutually critical relationship:
Weingarten accused DeVos of undermining public education and DeVos accused the
teachers unions of wanting to maintain “the status quo” and caring only about
their members.
Betsy DeVos Resigns a
Day After Pro-Trump Mob Storms U.S. Capitol
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa & Evie Blad — January 07, 2021 4 min
read
U.S.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos submitted her resignation Thursday, just a
day after a violent insurrection in Washington that attempted to stop Congress’
certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Her departure from
President Donald Trump’s administration followed a string of resignations from
the upper ranks of the executive branch following the violence at the U.S.
Capitol, including another Cabinet official, Secretary of Transportation Elaine
Chao. In a letter to Trump announcing
her resignation, effective Jan. 8, DeVos told the president that he was
culpable for the violence at the Capitol, telling him that “there is no
mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation” and called his actions
“the inflection point for me.” “We should be highlighting and celebrating your
Administration’s many accomplishments on behalf of the American people,” DeVos
told Trump in the letter. “Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by
violent protestors overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the
people’s business.”
Blogger note: Blackwater’s founder, Erik
Prince is the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Shock And Dismay
After Trump Pardons Blackwater Guards Who Killed 14 Iraqi Civilians
NPR by LAUREL
WAMSLEY December 23, 20205:44 PM ET
On Tuesday,
President Trump pardoned 15 people, including Dustin Heard (from left), Evan
Liberty, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough, the four former government
contractors convicted for a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a
dozen Iraqi civilians dead. Among the pardons made by President Trump this week, the
pardon of four former guards for Blackwater has been regarded by some as
particularly galling. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin
Heard were convicted
six years ago in the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians
and the wounding of 17 others. Witnesses described how the American men
ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy
gunfire and grenade launchers. The massacre took place in 2007, when the four
were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an
assignment in Baghdad. They claimed they were fired on, but prosecutors said
the Blackwater guards opened fire first. Slatten, whom prosecutors
said started the shooting, was
sentenced to life in prison.
Do you know any of
these people from the US Capitol riot? Police release photos
Penn Live By Becky Metrick | bmetrick@pennlive.com Updated Jan 07, 2021; Posted Jan 07,
2021
In the wake
of a riot during the certification of electoral votes at the U.S.
Capitol, D.C. Metro police are asking for help with identifying those who
invaded the grounds, causing damage, injury and death. Earlier Thursday, police
released a document showing all of the people who have been arrested for
“unrest” violations since last spring, when protests and rallies first began in
the wake of the death of George Floyd. The document included several dozen
names of people who have been arrested in yesterday’s riot, including Pennsylvania residents. A Schuylkill County man is one of the four people who died during the riot. One woman was
shot by law enforcement while she was entering the Capitol, and the other three
died from “medical emergencies” according to police. The department is offering
up to a $1000 reward for anyone who provides information that can lead to an
indictment. Police ask that anyone who can identify any of the people in the
photos or who has knowledge of the riot is asked to contact police at
202-727-9099. Tips can also be texted to the department’s tip line, at 50411.
Allentown School
District removes teacher who took part in Washington, D.C., protest from duties
By ANDREW
SCOTT THE MORNING CALL | JAN 07, 2021 AT 10:51
PM
Allentown
School District on Thursday temporarily relieved a teacher who took part
in the Electoral College protest that erupted into deadly violence Wednesday in Washington, D.C., pending
a formal investigation, the district said in a Thursday letter. The letter from
Superintendent Thomas Parker does not identify the teacher by name, or where
they work. “We understand that many members of our community are upset by the
image,” the letter states. “At the same time, the district has an obligation to
respect the First Amendment rights of our staff and students. “Because of the
emotion and controversy stirred by the events of January 6, 2021, the teacher
has been temporarily relieved of his teaching duties until the School District
can complete a formal investigation of his involvement,” the letter states.
Hempfield School
District social worker dies of COVID-19
Lancaster
Online by HURUBIE MEKO | Staff
Writer Jan 7, 2021 Updated 15 hrs ago
A Hempfield
School District social worker has died of COVID-19 complications, the district
announced Thursday afternoon. Candice Highfield, who worked at the district for
13 years, was a social worker and a home and school visitor. Superintendent
Michael J. Bromirski announced Highfield’s death in a
letter posted on the district’s website. “Dr. Highfield always looked for
opportunities to support and advocate for students and families, and her
passion and impact extended far beyond Hempfield. Many staff, students, and
families interacted with her, and we know that the grief from her passing will
be widespread,” Bromirski said. As of now, the district is not closing or
canceling classes, a district spokesperson said Thursday.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov.
John Fetterman is eyeing a run for Senate in 2022
Pennsylvania’s
open-seat Senate race is already considered one of the most competitive in the
country and will help determine which party controls the chamber after the
midterm elections.
Inquirer by Chris Brennan January 8, 2021
Pennsylvania
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman says he is taking “a serious look” at another run for
the U.S. Senate in 2022, an ambition he plans to share with supporters on
Friday. “The 2022 cycle in Pennsylvania is going to be one of the most, if not
the most, important races,” Fetterman told The Inquirer in a brief interview
Thursday. Pennsylvania’s open-seat Senate race is already considered one of the
most competitive in the country and will help determine which party controls
the chamber after the midterm elections. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Lehigh Valley
Republican, announced in October that he won’t seek a third term or run for governor in 2022.
PDE issues guidelines
for pupil transportation subsidy changes for 2020-21
POSTED
ON JANUARY 8, 2021 IN PSBA NEWS
The PA
Department of Education (PDE) has issued guidelines pursuant to Act 136 of 2020, which
creates a modified calculation of the Pupil Transportation Subsidy for school
year 2020-21, payable in the 2021-22 fiscal year. The guidelines were developed
in consultation with PSBA, the PA Association of School Business Officials and
the PA School Bus Association. As called for under Act 136, the guidelines
include the following information:
- Clarification of statutory requirements
and options regarding school district-owned transportation services and
contracted transportation services
- Definition of the term “variable costs”
- List of variable costs eligible to be
included in the process outlined in School Code (Section 1501.8(m.1))
PSBA Spring Virtual
Advocacy Day - MAR 22, 2021
PSBA Website
January 2021
All public
school leaders are invited to join us for our spring Virtual Advocacy Day on
Monday, March 22, 2021, via Zoom. We need all of you to help strengthen our
advocacy impact. The day will center around contacting legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education. Registrants will receive the
meeting invitation with a link to our spring Virtual Advocacy Day website that
contains talking points, a link to locate contact information for your
legislator and additional information to help you have a successful day.
Cost: Complimentary for members
Registration: Registration is available under Event
Registration on myPSBA.org.
https://www.psba.org/event/psba-spring-virtual-advocacy-day/
PSBA Webinar: New
Congress, New Dynamics
JAN 14, 2021
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
The 2020
election brings significant changes to the 117th U.S. Congress. How will the
newly sworn-in senators and representatives impact public education? What
issues will need to be addressed this session? To become an effective
legislative advocate you’ll need to understand the new players and dynamics.
Our experts will profile key new members, discuss what big trends you can
expect and highlight the issues that will be debated over the next two years.
Presenters: Jared Solomon, senior public advisor,
BOSE Public Affairs Group
John Callahan, chief advocacy officer, PSBA
Cost: Complimentary for members.
Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CQkk1Sd0QmOhdJ3VmlSzGg
https://www.psba.org/event/new-congress-new-dynamics/
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
337 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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