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 Feb. 3, 2021
Wolf Budget Addresses
Fair Funding Formula, Basic Ed and Special Ed Funding, Hold Harmless, Charter
Reform, EITC/OSTC
Watch Live Stream
Here: https://www.governor.pa.gov/live/
PSBA’s Budget Webinar
rescheduled to February 4th,12:00-1:00 p.m.
Due to
inclement weather, Governor Tom Wolf's budget presentation has been postponed
to Wednesday, February 3. Subsequently, PSBA's Budget Webinar has been
rescheduled to February 4. Learn more or register: http://ow.ly/mF6550Dp0OB
Blogger note: Senator Mensch serves as
Majority Caucus Chair
“Hold Harmless”: Sen.
Bob Mensch: Pennsylvania's antiquated school funding formula needs reform
Delco Times Opinion
By Sen. Bob Mensch Guest columnist February 3, 2021
State Sen.
Bob Mensch is a Republican who represents the 24th Senatorial District in
portions of Montgomery, Berks and Bucks counties.
Rising
property taxes seems to be the story in all too many communities across our
region. And yet so many of our schools still indicate they don’t have the
resources required to deliver a top-notch education. These problems are largely
rooted in the “hold harmless” seed planted by the state three decades ago,
before I was a member of the Legislature. The hold harmless policy states that
school districts cannot receive less state funding than they did the year
prior. The policy was enacted in 1992 and hasn’t been changed since. In fact,
since then the state has guaranteed districts small annual increases, even when
they have decreasing enrollment. In a reasonable world where public funds are
spent only where there is need, a system that gives more money to educate fewer
students each year would make no sense. Case in point: Across Pennsylvania,
districts that have lost students since 1992 now have $3,200 more per student,
while districts that are growing have just $1,000 more per student, according
to a new report from Public Citizens for Children and Youth. The vast majority
of school districts in southeastern Pennsylvania are growing, including in my
legislative district, and the state’s funding system puts taxpayers in a bind,
causing property taxes to rise year after year just so schools can stay afloat.
Working families, seniors and businesses in these communities are footing the
bill for the state’s irrational funding approach.
Governor Wolf
Proposes Plan to Cut Taxes for Working Class Families, Invest Billions in
Education and Workforce Development
Governor
Wolf’s Website February 02, 2021
Historic Tax
Cut Proposal Will Reduce or Eliminate Taxes for Thousands of Working Class
Families; Governor Will Deliver His Annual Budget Address Via Video Wednesday
Governor Tom
Wolf outlined his budget plan to remove barriers and cut taxes for working
class families in Pennsylvania while investing billions of dollars into
Pennsylvania schools and workforce development initiatives. The governor’s
plan would make Pennsylvania’s tax structure more fair and equitable, cutting
taxes for working class families while still making historic investments in public
education through the fair funding formula. “We will defeat COVID, but we can’t
yet say when it will be safe for life to return to normal – and it’s hard to
know what ‘normal’ will even look like. But I refuse to tell any young family
in Pennsylvania that they just happen to be starting out at the wrong time –
that, with everything going on, 2021 just isn’t going to be the year we get
around to lifting the barriers that stand between them and the future they hope
to provide for their children,” Gov. Wolf said. “I think it’s more important
than ever that we act boldly and courageously to remove those barriers once and
for all. So, today, I’m proposing a budget designed to do exactly that.” The
governor, who will deliver his annual budget address via video on Wednesday, is
asking Pennsylvanians to join him in urging the General Assembly to focus
on these priorities as the 2021-22 state budget negotiations begin.
Blogger note: I have selected some proposed
ed policy items from the Governors press release:
Put all Basic
Education Funding through the Fair Funding Formula
The governor
is proposing a more than $1.3 billion investment in basic education funding.
This investment directs all existing state-level basic education funding
through the Fair Funding Formula and includes an $1.15 billion adjustment so
that no school district is negatively affected.
Increase Special
Education, Head Start and PreK Funding
In addition
to the increase in Basic Education Funding, there is a $200 million increase in
the Special Education Funding Formula. The increase in special education
funding ensures school districts have the basic resources they need to provide
high-quality special education services to students with disabilities and
special needs.
Comprehensive Charter
School Law Reform
Pennsylvania’s
Charter School Law, passed in 1997, established public charter schools with
greater flexibility to support innovation in partnership with the public
education system. Since then, some charters have strayed from this original
purpose and engaged in questionable operational practices and poor academic
performance. Additionally, charters are a major uncontrolled cost-driver for
local school districts, resulting in higher property taxes across the state. The
governor’s plan proposes comprehensive Charter School Law reform that will save
school districts across the commonwealth an estimated $229 million per year.
These resources can be reinvested into students and educators. This package of
policy and budget initiatives promotes innovation and choice in the charter
sector while ensuring charter schools are providing a high-quality education,
accountable for their academic performance and financial management, and
meeting the same standards Pennsylvanians expect from traditional public
schools.
- Applying the Special Education Formula to All
Charter Schools: Currently,
school districts receive funding for special education students through a
four-tiered Special Education Funding formula, with funding increasing as
the student’s need for special education services increases. Special
education tuition payments to charters, however, are calculated based on
the outdated assumption that all school districts have a special education
population of 16 percent, regardless of the level of services a student’s
Individualized Education Plan outlines. The governor’s plan applies the
four-tiered Special Education Funding formula to all charters to better
align Special Education Funding with actual costs of providing services to
special education students. This was a recommendation from the bipartisan
Special Education Funding Commission and will save school districts an
estimated $99 million annually.
- Establishing a Statewide Cyber Charter Tuition
Rate: Currently,
cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania charge school districts between $9,170
and $22,300 per student per year. For comparison, the typical tuition
rates an Intermediate Unit charges to provide a comparable online
education is around $5,400 per student per year. The governor’s plan
establishes a statewide cyber tuition rate of $9,500 per student per year
and will better align tuition with the actual costs of providing an online
education. This reform will save school districts an estimated $130
million annually.
- Improving the Redirection Process: Currently,
if a school district does not pay the tuition for the students in its
district who attend a charter school or there is a dispute between a
school district and a charter on tuition payments, the charter school may
petition the Department of Education to reconcile the dispute through the
redirection process. This plan provides clarification on the redirection
process, including the basis for reported expenditures and the deductions
included in the tuition rate calculation, to increase fairness,
accountability, and transparency.
Introduce
Accountability into the EITC and OSTC
The
Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit
(OSTC) are popular programs. The governor’s plan lowers the maximum
administrative set-aside for scholarship organizations participating in these
programs from 20 percent to 5, which will increase the amount of money
available for scholarships by up to $36 million without increasing costs for
taxpayers. Scholarship organizations will be required to report more
information on the students and families who receive scholarships and their
educational outcomes, so that scholarships can be directed to students with the
greatest need and all students choosing to take advantage of these programs
receive a high-quality education.
Attract and Retain
the Best Teachers for Our Children
The governor
is proposing to increase the minimum salary to $45,000 per year. This will
better align with the current cost of living and will ensure that Pennsylvania
schools are offering competitive salaries so they can attract the most
qualified and talented teachers to educate our children.
Here is a survey of budget coverage from
around the state:
AP sources: Wolf to
seek more school funding, tax increase
AP News By
MARC LEVY February 2, 2021
HARRISBURG,
Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf will propose a sweeping new plan to dramatically boost
funding for public schools, to be supported by an increase in the state’s personal
income tax rate, people briefed on the plan told The Associated Press. Wolf’s
administration has not publicly released details of the plan ahead of Wednesday’s
planned budget address, and three people briefed on it spoke on condition of
anonymity because they said Wolf administration officials asked them not to
reveal what they were told. Under the plan for the fiscal year beginning July
1, Wolf, a Democrat, will ask the Republican-controlled Legislature for what
could approach $2 billion extra for public schools. The biggest part of that,
$1.35 billion, would be distributed to schools to their primary operations,
like teacher salaries and supplies, on top of the $6.8 billion they currently
receive. It’s not yet known if any of that extra funding would go directly to
pandemic-related costs. All of that money would go out through a five-year-old
school funding formula designed to iron out inequities in how Pennsylvania
funds the poorest public schools. Schools also would receive another $200
million for special education aid, on top of the $1.2 billion they currently
receive, in addition to other sums of money, the people said. The personal
income tax increase would take the rate to 4.49% from 3.07%, but increase the
exemption for the lowest earners, the people said. Under that scenario, the
lowest earners would pay less in income tax, while approximately the top
one-third of taxpayers would pay more, the people said.
https://apnews.com/article/personal-taxes-tom-wolf-01fc4c2b95596727635c6bbbb3d17544
“Lawmakers haven’t increased Pennsylvania’s income tax since 2003. The commonwealth currently has one of the lowest rates in the country and is one of nine states that assesses a
flat rate on all taxpayers — which means all earners have their income assessed
at the same percentage.”
Wolf pitches massive
attempt to fix Pa. school funding inequities with income tax hike
The proposal
would increase the state’s personal income tax from 3.07% to 4.49% in the next
fiscal year.
WITF by Katie
Meyer/WHYY Miles Bryan/Keystone Crossroads FEBRUARY 3, 2021 | 5:11
AM
(Harrisburg)
— Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing a major overhaul of public school finance, aimed
at addressing resource inequities, that would be backed by a significant
increase to Pennsylvania’s personal income tax. A day before his scheduled
annual budget address, Wolf’s outline of the fiscal plan is winning him
plaudits from many education advocates, but few friends in the GOP-controlled
legislature. The proposal would increase the state’s personal income tax from
3.07% to 4.49% in the next fiscal year. About half of the new revenue would go
to schools, and the rest would help fill in big, largely pandemic-induced
budget gaps. “We can have a great public school for every child in every
neighborhood in Pennsylvania, good job opportunities for everyone who wants
them, and an economy strong enough to provide for everyone,” Wolf said in a
statement. “It is possible to pursue a legislative agenda for this commonwealth
that is good for families, good for businesses, and good for the economy.”
Gov. Tom Wolf wants
to raise Pa. income taxes and give $1.5 billion more to schools
The proposal
was cheered by education advocates but appeared likely to face opposition in
the Republican-led Legislature.
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna Published Feb 2, 2021
As he looks
to Pennsylvania’s post-pandemic future, Gov. Tom Wolf is returning to familiar
ideas: more money for schools, paid for with more tax dollars. On Tuesday,
Wolf’s administration unveiled highlights of the budget proposal he’s expected
to deliver to legislators Wednesday. It features an extra $1.5 billion for
public education — in what would be the biggest financial boost for schools
since he took office in 2015 — accompanied by a roughly 50% increase in the
personal income tax rate. While sweeping proposals from earlier in his tenure
fell short amid stalemates with the Republican-led legislature, the Democratic
governor appears to be renewing his push for broader changes to Pennsylvania’s
taxation system as the pandemic continues to upend the state’s public schools. The
plan — which also includes tax credits that officials said would exempt
two-thirds of Pennsylvanians from the increase — was cheered by public
education advocates, who said it would steer needed resources to underfunded
schools and marked a step toward addressing stark funding gaps between
districts.
Wolf to seek personal
income tax hike to boost school funding
PA Capital
Star By Capital-Star
Staff February 2, 2021
(*This story
was updated at 3 p.m. on 2/2/21 with new information about the administration’s
tax plan, further details on its education funding plan, and comment from
education advocate Donna Cooper.)
Gov. Tom
Wolf will ask state lawmakers to approve an increase to Pennsylvania’s personal
income tax to pay for new funding for public schools. He is expected to unveil
the plan when he makes his annual budget address to state lawmakers on Wednesday, the
Associated Press was first to report. In a statement, the Democratic governor
said he will ask the Republican-controlled General Assembly for as much as $2
billion in new funding, with the biggest share, $1.35 billion, used to
underwrite such core costs as teacher salaries and supplies, on top of the $6.8
billion they currently receive from the state. The money would be driven out
through the state’s five-year-old school funding formula, which is supposed to
level the playing field between the state’s richest and poorest school
districts, the administration said in its statement.
Gov. Wolf proposes
Pa.’s biggest tax increase ever, but it would be a tax cut for many
Penn Live By Charles
Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com and Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Feb 02, 2021; Posted Feb 02,
2021
Gov. Tom
Wolf's 2021-22 budget proposal includes the largest personal income tax rate
increase in state history while also providing some tax forgiveness or relief
to lower-income Pennsylvanians. Gov. Tom Wolf, in proposing what may be the
largest increase in the state personal income tax ever, is effectively trying
to reverse engineer the state’s existing flat tax rate into a graduated tax
system. The governor is proposing to raise the state’s personal income tax from
3.07 percent today to 4.49 percent, starting in July, netting the state close
to $3 billion annually. For some individuals, it would represent a 46.3 percent
increase in the state’s personal income tax rate. But it’s all structured in a
way that only the top-third of state wage-earners would actually pay more, and
most would pay less or see no change in their tax rate, according to the Wolf
administration. “It’s a big step forward in making our very unfair tax system a
little bit more fair,” said Marc Stier, director of the liberal-leaning
Pennsylvania Budget & Policy Center. “Only about the top third of
Pennsylvania families will see an increase.
Gov. Tom Wolf to
propose tax increase to benefit public schools, give tax breaks to some
families
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com and Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Updated Feb
02, 2021; Posted Feb 02, 2021
Gov. Tom
Wolf’s 2021-22 budget proposal contains the largest increase in education
spending Pennsylvania has ever seen along with a sizable increase in the
state’s personal income tax rate. While the governor is proposing to raise the
income tax for the first time in nearly two decades, some of the new money
would be directed to provide tax relief for lower income families and some
tax-shifting at the local level. According to sources, the
governor will be proposing hiking the 3.07% personal income tax rate
rise to 4.49%, starting July 1. That would be the first time it has increased
since 2003. An increase of that size in the personal income tax would raise
more than $3 billion annually. There are nine states with flat tax rates like
Pennsylvania currently range from 3.07% in Pennsylvania to 5.25% in North
Carolina. With this proposed increase, it would push Pennsylvania into the seventh
spot out of nine with only Indiana at 3.23% and Michigan at 4.25% being lower.
Wolf wants to add
$1.3B in basic-ed funding, distribute with fair formula
Wilkes Barre
Citizens Voice BY
MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER February 3, 2021
Gov. Tom
Wolf is proposing to add more than $1.3 billion in basic-education funding and
wants to use the state’s fair-funding formula to distribute all basic-education
funds to school districts. Wolf said Tuesday his proposal would “ensure
students in every community have the funding to succeed” and would be funded by
a personal income tax increase to 4.49%, up from 3.07%. The administration
claims expanding exemptions would allow two-thirds of income taxpayers would
pay less or the same. The Republican-controlled Legislature would have to
approve Wolf’s education proposal, and opposition is already mounting. Rep.
Tarah Toohil, R-116, Butler Twp., noted the Legislature last year “kept our
commitment to funding education without raising taxes” in the middle of the
COVID-19 pandemic. “We plan on keeping that commitment again this year,” she
said in a released statement. “There is no reason why, now, as a vaccine is
being deployed, we should be looking to raise taxes on middle class
Pennsylvanians and small businesses who have been crushed by the economic
devastation of COVID-19.”
Gov. Tom Wolf calls
for personal income tax increase, cut for PA lower wage workers. What would
change
Bucks County
Courier Times by J.D.
Prose Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau February
2, 2021
Gov. Tom
Wolf on Tuesday outlined an education-focused budget proposal that also calls
for investments in workforce development and infrastructure, but also
includes tax cuts for low-wage households and a $3 billion increase in the
personal income tax. The announcement comes in advance of Wolf's full budget
proposal to be released Wednesday and sets up a fight with the
Republican-controlled state Legislature over his plan. “It is possible to
pursue a legislative agenda for this commonwealth that is good for families,
good for businesses and good for the economy,” Wolf, a Democrat, said in a
statement. “Most of all, I think your family’s future is important enough that
we ought to just have this argument right now instead of putting it off until
next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.”
Scranton School
District could see $33M with fair funding proposal in Wolf's budget
Times
Tribune BY
SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Feb 2, 2021 Updated 7 hrs ago
The Scranton
School District would see an additional $33 million in state funding next year
with the budget Gov. Tom Wolf will propose today. The governor wants to
allocate all $6 billion in basic education funding through the state’s fair
funding formula, which would distribute money in a more equitable way across
the state, accounting for student enrollment and needs and the ability for a
community to fund its local schools. The state would support the plan for the
2021-22 budget with an increase in the personal income tax rate. Public school
advocates have pushed for better distribution of state funding for years,
arguing the current process leaves districts such as Scranton severely
underfunded. Putting all funding through the formula means some of the state’s
neediest districts, including Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Area and Hazleton Area,
could gain the most. “If this proposal survives the budget process it will go a
long way towards solving the problems caused by inequitable state education
funding,” Scranton Superintendent Melissa McTiernan said. “The problems
include, but are not limited to, student programs, facilities and teacher
contracts. Scranton is thrilled to have a governor and local legislators that
support public education.”
The funding
would not be a one-time cash infusion. The formula would provide greater
stability and predictability for school districts, leaders said.
In other news…..
School district
defends use of fans to improve ventilation in Philadelphia classrooms
Chalkbeat
Philly By Dale
Mezzacappa Feb 2, 2021, 6:45pm EST
Philadelphia
school officials defended the use of window fans to improve air circulation in
classrooms Tuesday, but stressed the measure is just one of several being taken
to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The fans are meant to supplement the “core
preventive measures” recommended by the CDC, namely masks and social
distancing, said district chief operating officer Reginald McNeil at a briefing
for reporters. “We put all these things in place. We added an additional layer
of protection with ventilation to help further prevent the spread of COVID,” he
said. Officials’ defense of the fans comes as a growing chorus of parents and
teachers questioned the district’s installation of window fans to improve air
circulation ahead of staff returning to schools on Monday, Feb. 8. About 9,000
students from pre-kindergarten through second grade who have elected to attend
in-person school two days a week in the hybrid learning plan are scheduled back
on Feb. 22.
Philly Union
president: Teachers and families deserve safe ventilation if they’re going to
school during a pandemic | Opinion
Right now,
there are two key areas that the district and city need to address in advance
of reentry into school buildings: ventilation and vaccines.
by Jerry
T. Jordan, For The Inquirer Published Feb 2, 2021
Educators
and students should be working and learning in school buildings because we know
it’s where the true magic of education happens. And the health and safety of
educators and students are every bit as important as the classes that take
place. As things stand, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers cannot
definitely say that buildings are safe to reopen. In addition to evaluating
ongoing critical issues like infection rates, and availability of ventilation
and PPE, we must also contend with new obstacles such as the emergence of new,
more virulent strains of the virus. Since late October, Philadelphia has been
far beyond “substantial,” and the risk
of community transmission remains high. Before we can reopen our school buildings,
we need to take every precaution to ensure that all safeguards are in place. Students
in Philadelphia have historically navigated education cuts and conditions that
would never be tolerated in a wealthier, whiter school district. In a school
system that educates primarily children of color experiencing poverty, it
should be lost on no one that once again, too-often marginalized students are
facing a return to potentially hazardous schools. School buildings in
Philadelphia average more than 70 years old, eclipsing the national average by
decades. Our union’s work to ensure the safety of students and staff is rooted
in our commitment to changing these deeply inequitable systems.
Some Philadelphia
teachers may get vaccine before return to buildings Monday, health commissioner
says
Chalkbeat
Philly By Johann Calhoun Feb 2, 2021, 5:33pm EST
Some
prekindergarten to second grade teachers may be eligible for the coronavirus
vaccine before they return to their schools next week, Philadelphia’s health
commissioner said Tuesday. “We will certainly not have all of those teachers
vaccinated by then, but I don’t think reopening the schools should depend on
that,” the commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, said. “We are going to see how soon
we can get teachers started. So it’s quite possible we could have some to start
by then.” The school district confirmed to Chalkbeat that it would advocate for
early-grade teachers to get vaccine priority. Prekindergarten to second grade
teachers are slated to return to school buildings on Monday. Students in those
grades whose families opted for in-person learning are slated to return to school
buildings as of Feb. 22.
After pressure from
advocates, Comcast boosts internet speed for low-income users
WHYY By Emily
Rizzo February 3, 2021
As students
in Philadelphia near a full year of virtual learning, Comcast is doubling the
speed of its “Internet Essentials” program, which connects low-income families
to the web at a discounted rate. For households nationally that subscribe to
the program, internet speed will double from 25 megabits per second (mbps) to
50. Costs will remain the same at $10 a month. Comcast said the update builds
on its “longstanding commitment to advancing digital equity, closing the
digital divide, and addressing both digital literacy and the homework gap.” Since
the pandemic began, the Philadelphia-based company has established 33 spaces in
community centers across the city where students can receive free Wi-Fi for
virtual learning. It also said it has invested $40 million dollars in digital
literacy programs, with new digital equity grants announced Tuesday.
Black Women For A
Better Education Forms PAC To Endorse Pittsburgh School Board Candidates
WESA NPR By SARAH SCHNEIDER • 22 HOURS AGO
A group of
Pittsburgh Public Schools parents, alumni, former employees and concerned
community members will endorse a slate of candidates for the five open school
board seats this May. Members of Black
Women For A Better Education say
they want candidates who are laser-focused on ensuring Black children get the
education that they need and deserve. School board President Sylvia Wilson is
the first incumbent to announce she will run again to represent district
1 which covers East End neighborhoods
including Homewood, East Hills and Larimer. Districts 3, 5, 7 and 9 are currently represented by Sala Udin,
Terry Kennedy, Cindy Falls and Veronica Edwards, respectively. Black Women For
A Better Education announced last week that it has formed a Political Action
Committee to endorse candidates for those five districts. Financial
contributors will vote on endorsements.
Nazareth teachers
union threatens online learning only if school board won’t bargain
By MICHELLE
MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | FEB 02, 2021 AT 7:02
PM
The Nazareth
Area teachers union is telling the school district that members will only teach
via remote instruction unless the district agrees to bargain an agreement with
them. In a blistering letter sent Jan. 29, Paul Blunt, an attorney hired by the
Nazareth Area Education Association, alleged the district ignored state and
federal safety recommendations without bargaining a decision or its impact on
workplace safety. He wrote that a failure to initiate bargaining and
implementing a decision constituted an unfair labor practice and entitled the
Nazareth Area Education Association to declare a lockout. He wrote that members
would instead only offer remote instruction in seven days unless the district
bargains a change. It wasn’t clear what decision prompted the letter. Blunt
declined to comment and other representatives for the teachers union could not
be reached for comment. Superintendent Dennis Riker said in an email the letter
was filled with numerous inaccuracies and the matter was referred to district
counsel.
Blogger note: Mr. Banks has served for
many years as Executive Director of the REACH Foundation, a major player in
advocating for diverting millions of tax dollars to unaccountable private and
religious schools via the EITC/OSTC programs.
Former City
Councilman Otto Banks reenters Harrisburg politics, announces bid for mayor
Penn Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Updated Feb
02, 2021; Posted Feb 02, 2021
The lively
field for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor of Harrisburg grew by one
more candidate Tuesday, with the entry of Otto V. Banks, a 50-year-old native
son of the city who presented himself as an experienced and accomplished public
servant, ready and eager to lead the place that gave him his start. Banks joins
a field that now includes David Schankweiler, founder and former CEO and owner
of Journal Multimedia, which is perhaps best-known locally for its Central Penn
Business Journal, and Lewis Butts Jr., a former state employee and community
activist.
$50K Grant Has PHS Culinary Students Cooking
Digital
Notebook Blog by Evan Brandt Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Blogger's
Note: The
following was provided by the Pottstown School District.
Thanks to
Pottstown High School Director Of Career Technical Education, Dave Livengood
the culinary arts students have a brand new line of equipment to help them
develop the skills they will need to enter the workplace. Livengood was
able to partner with equipment supplier Vulcan and 4 Star Reps to secure a
$50,000 grant which along with matching funds were used to replace old outdated
equipment in the kitchen that serves as a working classroom. Teacher and
Chef Steve Irick, a PHS graduate of the program himself, pointed out the
20-plys-year-old-year old equipment for both group instruction and multiple
catering events a month had seen better days. "I am pretty sure most
of this equipment was here when I was a student in the program," Livengood
said. "With the help of 4 Star and Vulcan, we now have a state-of-art
kitchen that will greatly improve the students' learning experience."
http://evan-brandt.blogspot.com/2021/02/50k-grant-has-phs-culinary-students.html
Six Things to Watch
for at Miguel Cardona’s Confirmation Hearing for Education Secretary
Education
Week By Evie Blad — February 01, 2021 7 min
read
Miguel
Cardona faces the Senate’s education committee Wednesday as it considers his
confirmation to become U.S. secretary of education, with members sure to ask
about a host of education issues front and center in the national policy
debate. After President Joe
Biden named Cardona, who is currently Connecticut’s education
commissioner, as his pick, education organizations across the ideological
spectrum praised
the choice. But that doesn’t mean Cardona won’t have to
confront some tough questions. The nation’s schools are in crisis as they
continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. And arguments over issues
like school choice, students’ rights, and how to teach American history
continue to punctuate the larger K-12 education discussion. Here are six areas
of questioning he is likely to face.
Teaching While Black:
An Open Letter to School Leaders
ASCD
Educational Leadership by Sharif El-Mekki December 2020/January 2021 |
Volume 78 | Number 4
To better support Black educators, schools need a better understanding of
their realities.
Dear
administrators, principals, teachers, and others who care about equity:
If you want
all children to receive the best education possible, try to understand what it
means to be a Black educator in a typical urban public school district, in a
pandemic, in the wake of nationwide racial uprisings. As research has confirmed
the benefits of teacher diversity, many district and school leaders have
increased efforts to recruit Black educators, while paying scant attention to
their retainment and demonstrating outright indifference to what it takes to
nurture their curiosity, mastery, and purpose. Leaders need to be mindful of
what Black educators need, not just to maintain their mental health and
well-being, but to become the high-caliber teacher-activists our students need
them to be. Take this to heart: The best recruitment strategy is also a strong
retention strategy. I'm a veteran Black educator, a former teacher and principal
of two urban schools. Here's how I see the realities Black educators face.
“track record of online charter schools
has been uniformly negative for every demographic subgroup of students”
Report: California
‘wasting’ millions of dollars funding online charter schools
Washington Post
By Valerie
Strauss Feb. 2, 2021 at 11:04 a.m. EST
A new report
on California’s online charter schools says that the state is “wasting hundreds
of millions of dollars a year by funding these schools at a level far above
their costs.” The report, published Tuesday by a California-based nonprofit
research and policy organization called In the Public Interest, also says that
the “track record of online charter schools has been uniformly negative for
every demographic subgroup of students” despite the promise of online
education. “In a time when school districts everywhere face the heartbreak of
knowing they cannot provide all the services their students need and deserve,
it is critical that lawmakers act as conservative stewards of the state’s tax
collars by focusing funding on the schools where it can do the greatest good
for the greatest number of the state’s students,” the report says. Charter
schools are publicly funded but privately operated. About 10 percent of public
school students in California attend charter schools — both brick-and-mortar
and online. According to the report, nearly 175,000 California students in
2018-19 were enrolled in online charter schools, representing 27 percent of all
charter school students in the state. The charter sector in California — which
has more charter schools and more charter students than any other state — has
long been troubled. Though charter schools are designed to operate outside the
rules of school district bureaucracies, the state allowed them to expand for
years with very little oversight despite continuing controversy over financial
scandals and other problems.
PA State Board of
Education Student Representative Application Now Available
POSTED
ON FEBRUARY 3, 2021 IN PSBA NEWS
On May 22,
2008 the Pennsylvania State Board of Education (SBE) amended their bylaws to
add one nonvoting senior student member and one nonvoting junior student
member. Since September 2009 two high school students have served on the SBE.
For the past year those students have been senior Anne Griffith from Radnor
High School and Junior Eva Rankin from Upper St. Clair High School. These SBE
positions have provided public school students with an unprecedented
opportunity in Pennsylvania to interact with the 22 adult board members and
have helped shape long-term education policy for the 1.8 million K-12 students
in our state and the 680,000 students impacted by our state system of higher
education. The Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC) was first
charged with the responsibility of recommending two students to hold these
positions for the 2008-2009 school year. PASC is currently accepting
applications for our new junior student representative.
Current 10th grade
students (Class of 2023) enrolled in public high schools in Pennsylvania are
eligible to apply for this position. The introductory letter, commitment forms and
application can be found here. Applications are due back on March 8th,
2021. Interviews will be conducted virtually. One student will be selected for
a two-year term at that time.
More
information can be found at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GZdrMuzBfYw009nbeUC3JGqxwCipCpsnx1ZlCGPipTw/edit?usp=sharing . Questions may be directed to the two
current student representatives at sbe2021@pasc.net and sbe2022@pasc.net.
NPE/NPE Action Conference
In Philly was rescheduled to October 23/24 due to concerns w/ COVID19.
Network for
Public Education
NPE will be
sending information to registrants very soon!
Join PFPS and NPE for
“Fighting Voucher Legislation in 2021: An Update on State Voucher Bills and
Tools to Oppose Them” Webinar Feb. 4th 4 p.m.
Author: PFPS
Posted: Jan 28, 2021
Public Funds
Public Schools resumes our engaging and well attended webinar series begun in
2020 with the first installment of 2021. Join PFPS and the Network for Public
Education on Thursday, February 4, at 4 p.m. EST for an important and topical
webinar, “Fighting Voucher Legislation in 2021: An Update on State Voucher
Bills and Tools to Oppose Them.”
Panelists
will discuss the significant private school voucher bills that have already
been introduced in State Legislatures around the country, additional legislative
action to watch for during 2021 legislative sessions, and tools and resources
made available to advocates by PFPS and others. The webinar will feature
representatives from the SPLC Action Fund and Education Law Center, which
support the PFPS campaign, and from the National Coalition for Public
Education, as well as Carol Burris, Executive Director of the Network for
Public Education.
Use
this link to register for Fighting Voucher Legislation: An Update
on State Voucher Bills and Tools to Oppose Them on February 4 at 4 p.m.
EST.
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
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/
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
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/
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.