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 January 26, 2021
“The Yass family has
a long history of donating to Republican politicians and conservative causes.
They also are among the largest donors to Pennsylvania’s school choice
movement.”
As the Trump era
ends, the school choice movement reckons with its conservative ties
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent January 26, 2021
When
Philadelphia-area mega-donors Jeff and Janine Yass made
headlines recently for their contributions to Republican
politicians — some of whom tried to overturn the presidential election — it
stirred up a familiar debate in local education circles. The Yass family has a
long history of donating to Republican politicians and conservative causes.
They also are among the largest donors to Pennsylvania’s school choice
movement. Therein lies a dilemma that, for some Democrats who support school
choice, has caused increasing bouts of self-reflection. On the ground, many
charter school employees and school choice advocates are left-of-center,
motivated by a desire to shake up an educational system that they see as not
acting urgently enough to help low-income students of color. But the movement’s
growth — and success — has long relied on the political and financial capital
of conservatives, who see school choice as a way to inject free-market thinking
into the educational bureaucracy. None of this is new.
What’s new
is the reckoning forced by the Trump era, culminating in a violent insurrection
that was fomented by Republican lawmakers — carried out with symbols of the
Confederacy — who, on other days, could be a charter advocate’s best ally. “For
a period of time, this coalition was able to exist without some of the tensions
we’re talking about threatening to rip it apart,” said Mike Wang, a veteran of
the Philadelphia education scene who once headed a leading school choice
advocacy group that lobbied in Harrisburg. Will this unusual alliance survive?
Can it find new political strength under an administration promising
reconciliation and unity? Or will it disintegrate in an era of increasing
political polarity? Those questions loom large now, and the attention now
trained on the Yass family shows why.
No pomp, zero
circumstance: Wolf will deliver virtual budget address
PA Capital
Star By Stephen
Caruso January 25, 2021
Chalk it up
as another tradition disrupted by COVID-19. Gov. Tom Wolf told legislative
leaders in a letter last Friday that “in an effort to protect the health and
safety of everyone in the Capitol,” he did not plan to appear in person before
all 253 lawmakers for the annual budget address this year. Instead, he
requested time on Feb. 2, when both the House and Senate are in session, to
show a pre-recorded video address to the General Assembly. A spokesperson for
Wolf confirmed the plan, and said more details would be released later this
week. Mike Straub, spokesperson for House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster,
said the House is preparing a plan for the day to allow lawmakers to view the
address from their offices or their districts. Under state
law, the governor must submit to the General
Assembly his annual budget request by the end of the first full week of
February each year. While an in-person address isn’t required by law, it has
become the tradition. Flanked by the state House speaker and lieutenant
governor, the governor normally speaks before the combined House and Senate, as
well as an assortment of dignitaries, officials and guests. The speech, which
usually lists gubernatorial priorities, but is weak on details, kicks off a
five-month sprint to finish the state’s budget by June 30. The address is then
followed by hearings in the House and Senate appropriations
committees. These hearings give lawmakers a rare chance to directly ask
administration officials and department secretaries questions about anything
from big picture concerns to pet projects.
Meet Pa. Senate GOP
leader Kim Ward, the first woman to hold that post: ‘I have to do a good job’
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated 5:15 AM; Today 5:15 AM
Kim Ward
didn’t set out to be a politician. She chose to be a respiratory therapist.
But when she
crossed paths with a young intern-turned AIDS activist, it sparked an interest
in government and how she could play a role in it. That was a lesson along with
a few others, including ones instilled in her by her 82-year-old mother Joanna
Renko, that helped Ward secure her place in Pennsylvania history. The
southwestern Pennsylvania native has become the first woman in the state to serve
as a majority leader in the General Assembly. Ward, 64, of Westmoreland County,
said breaking glass ceilings was not what drove her to seek that post. It was
more about her being from the western part of the state that was her selling
point. That’s where the state’s Republican base has migrated and where most of
the House and Senate Republicans reside. Last year’s departures of top
Republicans – Mike Turzai of Allegheny County as House speaker and Joe Scarnati
of Jefferson County as Senate president pro tempore – created a void in the
region’s representation in leadership.
Special elections to
fill vacant House, Senate seats to take place May 18
PA Capital
Star By Elizabeth
Hardison January 25, 2021
Two state
lawmakers who succumbed to illnesses this month will be replaced in special
elections on May 18, the same day as Pennsylvania’s spring primary. Lt.
Gov. John Fetterman signed the writ of elections on Monday to convene a special
election that day in the state’s 48th Senate District, PennLive
reported. That seat has been empty since former
Sen. Dave Arnold, R-Lebanon, died
of brain cancer on Jan. 17. He was 49 years old. The
winner will serve the remainder of Arnold’s term, which expires in 2022. Leaders
in the state House already
have scheduled a special election on May 18 to replace
former state Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland, who
died of a brain aneurysm on
Jan. 2 at age 42. The May 18 election date will give local party
delegates four months to choose nominees for each race.
Rift appears between
parents, staff before Pittsburgh Public Schools reopening vote
ANDREW
GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JAN 25, 2021 10:15 PM
Parents say
their children need to be in school for the sake of their education and mental
health. Teachers say it’s too great a risk to bring back students before staff
members can access the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, the Pittsburgh Public Schools
board must decide what to do. Board members Monday evening heard dozens of
testimonials from teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens who
displayed deep disagreements on how the district should handle instruction as
the pandemic continues. This comes as the board is set to vote Wednesday on a
measure that would move the district’s in-person reopening from February to
April. The vast majority of city students have been in a remote instruction
model since mid-March when schools closed in an effort to slow the spread of
the virus. Meanwhile, most other school districts in Allegheny County have had
at least some in-person instruction for their students this school year.
‘You’re already
political’: Post Trump, Philly kids talk civics, school reopening and what’s
next
In many
ways, we are “living in a very dangerous time,” City Commissioner Al Schmidt
said, but “I don’t think I’ve ever been more hopeful about our democracy and
the future of our republic.”
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham January 26, 2021
In a
post-Trump America, just after an insurrection and an inauguration, young
people have questions: Why bother with politics? When will my school reopen?
Was there election fraud?
City
Councilperson Helen Gym and City Commissioner Al Schmidt are answering some of
them. In a virtual, traveling road show, the pair are meeting with some
Philadelphia students in real time, talking democracy and life. In recent stops
in classes at Masterman and Kensington Health Sciences Academy, high school
students were a little awed by the somewhat unlikely duo of the progressive
Democratic lawmaker — a former public school teacher and community organizer —
and the Republican elections official whose postelection profile was so high he
had spurious election fraud claims personally leveled at him by President
Donald Trump.
Philly’s beloved
Catholic schools are slowly dying. It doesn’t have to be this way. | Opinion
Minimal
financial aid from the state would help.
by Brian
McElwee, For the Inquirer Published Jan 25, 2021
In the midst
of the pandemic, we are reminded of the difficulties of providing quality
education, as schools across the country struggle with adequate funding to
remain afloat and give students the resources they need. I know this pain
firsthand. As chairman of the board of Independence Mission Schools (IMS), last week we announced that St.
Gabriel, one of our 15 grade schools in Philadelphia, would consolidate its
students into St. Thomas Aquinas at the beginning of the next academic year. It
doesn’t have to be this way — yet recently that’s been the trend. In November,
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia shared it will be shutting
the doors of two high schools at the end of the school
year. St. Basil Academy in Jenkintown is also closing
in 2021. The slow but steady decline of enrollment
at private schools is not a new trend, but it has been dramatically accelerated
by the pandemic. Since 1970, there has been a nearly 40% reduction in private
school enrollment. Nobody ever wants to make the difficult decision to close a
school, but there comes a point when it is no longer financially feasible.
Liberty team faces
suspension as BASD cracks down on athletes violating COVID rules
By Sara K. Satullo | For
lehighvalleylive.com Updated Jan 26, 2021; Posted Jan 25,
2021
Bethlehem Area School Board members have a message to their
district athletes: mask up or don’t play. Three board members Monday night said
they were upset to see Bethlehem Area School District athletes on television and on social
media over the weekend wearing masks under their chin or not covering their
nose, flouting COVID-19 safety rules they all agreed to follow to have a winter
sports season. Their message was clear: playing high school sports in a
pandemic is a privilege, not a guaranteed right. Superintendent Joseph Roy said
after the meeting that the Liberty High School boys basketball team is facing a
three-day suspension of activities for its failure to comply. “I’m trying to
keep this district both safe and open,” Roy said. “I don’t have patience for
anyone not doing their part.”
Dear Pen Pal:
Erie-area students reach out to older residents with cards, letters
Valerie
Myers Erie Times-News January 25, 20201
Pat Koloskee
lives alone in Edinboro and isn't going out much these days. Now cards,
drawings and letters from Edinboro Elementary School students brighten her long
days at home. About 70 General McLane School District students in grades K-12
have become pen pals with older residents in the community. Other schools are
also reaching out. "It's a little bright spot in the day to get these
letters in the mail, and something I look forward to. You never know when a
letter is coming, and when it does, it brightens your day," Koloskee, 80,
said.
Biden Signs Executive
Order to Boost Food Benefits for Children Missing School Meals
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa — January 22, 2021 2 min
read
An executive
order signed by President Joe Biden is intended to address food insecurity
caused by the pandemic by extending a benefit to a federal nutrition program
and focusing resources on children who have missed meals due to closed schools
over the last several months. The executive order, signed by Biden on Friday,
directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider issuing new guidance to
allow states to increase emergency benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (commonly called SNAP) that Congress has approved but have
not been made available to those in need due to the pandemic. In addition, the
executive order asks the USDA to issue guidance increasing Pandemic Electronic
Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments by 15 percent in order to “increase access to
nutritious food for millions of children missing meals due to school closures,”
according to a fact sheet about the executive order. The administration estimates that this
would provide an additional benefit of $100 to a family of three every two
months. Pandemic EBT was established by a coronavirus relief bill enacted last
March. In addition, Biden is calling on Congress to extend a 15 percent increase
to SNAP benefits.
Sonny Rollins recorded the iconic soundtrack for Alfie #onthisday in 1966.
YouTube Alfie’s
Theme Runtime 9:43
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=33JbaBpHic8&list=RDAMVM33JbaBpHic8
PASBO Data Dive 2.0:
Integrating within Budgeting and Advocacy
Webinar Tue, Jan 26,
2021 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM EST
This web
forum will now provide important information related to the federal
stimulus—both on the funding and policy fronts. We will also review and analyze
PDE published guidance describing variable costs as it relates to pupil
transportation subsidy calculation for school year 2020-2021, payable in fiscal
year 2021-2022. These topics are especially important as you budget and make
decisions both during the pandemic and into 2021-22.
Registration:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2621454935688010511
PA School Funding
Lawsuit Overview for the Lehigh Valley Community
Jan 27, 2021 07:00 PM
Join
attorneys from the Public Interest Law Center and Education Law Center for an
overview of Pennsylvania's historic school funding lawsuit and learn how you
can help support the school funding Pennsylvania's children need.
Registration:
https://krc-pbpc-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsdeqprzwoGtcpyrCS8bfh4Qet_qvthfjL
PSBA: Upcoming PA budget
recap webinar Feb. 3rd
POSTED
ON JANUARY 15, 2021 IN PSBA NEWS
On Tuesday,
February 2, Gov. Tom Wolf will present his 2021-22 state budget proposal before
a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives. Following the
governor’s budget address, the Senate and House appropriations committees will
convene hearings beginning March 15 on specific components of the proposal. The
PSBA Government Affairs team will be providing members with complete coverage
of the governor’s budget proposal, budget details and resources for school
boards on February 3 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Claim your spot for the budget
recap here.
https://www.psba.org/2021/01/gov-wolf-to-present-budget-address-february-2/
EDUCATION
CONVERSATION: An Introduction to the Philadelphia School Board’s “Goals and
Guardrails” Initiative
Philadelphia
Education Fund Free Virtual Event Thursday February 4, 2021 9:00
am - 10:15 am
Attend a
typical school board meeting anywhere in the country, and the agenda will
likely be largely made up of financial, contracting, and spending resolutions.
What if, instead of school operations, a school board were to focus its
attention on student achievement? Might that accelerate gains for students?
Could that improve the student experience? Would that deliver educational
equity? Two years ago, the Philadelphia
Board of Education began consulting with education leaders across the country
to explore this question. The answer, announced just last month, is Goals and
Guardrails. The initiative has been described by former board member, Lee
Huang, as both “obvious and revolutionary.” And, Superintendent Bill Hite
called it a “game changer.” To learn more about this approach and what it might
mean for Philadelphia’s schoolchildren, register for this free event here.
Panelists
- Leticia Egea-Hinton, Vice President,
Board of Education
- Mallory Fix Lopez, Member, Board of
Education
- Angela McIver, Member, Board of
Education
Attend the NSBA 2021
Online Experience April 8-10
NSBA is
pleased to announce the transformation of its in-person NSBA 2021 Annual
Conference & Exposition to the NSBA 2021 Online Experience. This experience
will bring world-class programming, inspirational keynotes, top education
solution providers, and plentiful networking opportunities. Join us on April
8-10, 2021, for a fully transformed and memorable event!
https://www.nsba.org/Events/NSBA-2021-Online-Experience
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/
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
342 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
https://npeaction.org/2021-conference/
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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