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, Wolf education transition team members, 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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Just a heads-up that the Roundup will be offline for a couple days, attending the NSBA Advocacy Institute in DC and visiting members of Congress. Planning to be back online Wednesday morning.
@PASchoolsWork: We'd love for you to join us
on your lunch hour this Friday for our 1st webinar of 2019!
Learn how
you can join in our fight for better schools through equitable & adequate
education funding! Register here:
Blogger commentary: The legislature could put up to a half billion dollars per year back into school districts without raising any new revenue. The underlined paragraph below my comments is from Senator Schwank’s bill, SB34. The new House Education Committee Chairman, Curtis Sonney has also introduced similar legislation in previous sessions.
Unlike brick and mortar charters which must be authorized and periodically reauthorized by a school board (the same boards that are responsible for funding the schools via their neighbors’ taxes), cyber charters were authorized by PDE and all 500 school districts are required to send them tax dollars without any exceptions. Total cyber charter tuition paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014 and 2015 was over $1.2 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million and $436.1 million respectively.
Not one PA cyber charter was able to achieve a passing School Performance Profile score of 70 in any of the five years that the SPP was in effect. In 2017 it was reported that 7 of 14 cyber charters were operating with expired charters. These seems to be little if any oversight by PDE for either student performance or our tax dollars.
The consistently poor results by PA cybers are reflected in national studies. In 2015, Stanford University reported that online schools have an “overwhelming negative impact,” showing severe shortfalls in reading and math achievement. The shortfall for most cyber students, they said, was equal to losing 72 days of learning in reading and 180 days in math during the typical 180-day school year. In math it is as if they did not go to school at all. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter advocacy group based in Washington, said the findings were so troubling that the report should be “a call to action for authorizers and policymakers.”
It is my understanding that all 500 PA school districts either have in-house cyber education programs or can provide cyber education via their intermediate units.
You can check the SB34 link below to see whether your state senator is cosponsoring Senator Schwank’s bill.
“If a public school district offers a cyber-based program equal in scope and content to an existing publicly chartered cyber charter school and a student in that district attends a cyber charter school instead of the district's cyber-based program, the school district shall not be required to provide funding to pay for the student's attendance at a cyber charter school.”
Pennsylvania General Assembly Bill Information SB34 (Schwank) Referred to Senate Education Jan.11, 2019
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/BillInfo.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
Tweet from Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils @PASCtweets
Attention all students in the Class of 2021: Applications to be the next student rep on the @PADeptofEd State Board of Education are available through March 1! Apply today for this amazing opportunity! https://www.pasc.net/government-relations …
Wolf, legislators must work together for fairer school funding | Letter
Express-Times Letters to the Editor by Sandra Miller, Saucon Valley School Board member, Northeast Coordinator, Field Advocacy, PA Schools Work Updated Jan 24, 9:30 AM; Posted Jan 24, 9:30 AM
It should be no surprise that one of the loudest cheers at Gov. Tom Wolf’s second inaugural address came when he spoke about education, specifically about restoring past funding cuts and enacting a new formula to distribute state money to public schools more fairly. We all know how important investments in education are to our children and communities, but that work is just beginning. The state share of funding for public schools — one of the lowest in the country — is still leaving many students in classes too large for teachers to do their jobs effectively. Too many students are trying to learn with outdated textbooks and outmoded technology, or in crumbling buildings. Too many do not have access to the courses they need to be prepared for 21st century jobs. Wolf made another important point in his address, that progress can be made when both parties work together. That is why it is so vital that the governor and the Legislature come together to prioritize Pennsylvania’s future by making significant increases in funding for public schools this year. If they do, the people will respond, just as they did on inauguration day.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/2019/01/wolf-legislators-must-work-together-for-fairer-school-funding-letter.html
PA Schools Work Southwestern PA Advocates Meeting Saturday, January 26 at 10:00AM
Allegheny Intermediate Unit - 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120
Please join us on January 26 at 10:00AM to continue the conversation on how we can be the most effective in getting the much needed resources to our schools. During this meeting, we will strategize about next steps and to share information on the campaign.
Please register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southwestern-pa-schools-work-advocates-tickets-54976256463
This PA Schools Work campaign is focusing on the following items for FY2019-2020 budget cycle:
increasing Basic Education Funding by $400 million
increasing Special Education funding by $100 million
increasing Career and Technical Education by $10 million.
The campaign's core beliefs focus on equity, adequacy and excellence. Specifics include advocating for increasing K-12 school funding by at least $3 billion, delivering targeted property tax relief to those who need it, and increasing state revenues to offset investments in public schools.
Contact Jamie Baxter at jamie.baxter@alliesforchildren.org with any questions.
PA Schools Work Northeastern PA Meeting Wednesday, January 30th at 6:00 pm
Luzerne County Intermediate Unit 368 Tioga Ave, Kingston, PA 18704
Join PA Schools Work and be part of a movement support public schools in NEPA
Classrooms are underfunded and overcrowded and public education is suffering. We can't afford to stand by while students miss out on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to gain the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed after graduation. Join parents, community members, teachers, school board members, and others as we discuss our regional strategy and plans to secure significant increases in state funding for public schools in the 2019-2020 state budget.
Sign up HERE to attend.
Please email Susan Spicka from Education Voters of PA with questions. Sspicka@educationvoterspa.org
PA Schools Work Delaware County Work Group Conference
Saturday, February 2, 2019 8:45 am – 12:00 pm at DCIU
Join the DCIU and the PA Schools Work coalition to work together to advocate for PA public schools, their students and the communities they serve.
At the event, you will:
Hear stories about how funding affects students and educators across Delaware County
Learn how to speak with your local legislators to advocate for the needs of our students
Connect on social media and grow your network to influence stakeholders in your community
https://www.facebook.com/events/1997562453659915/
“The National School Lunch Program provides lunches to more than 29 million children nationwide every school day.”
What could an ongoing government shutdown mean for school lunches?
Post Gazette by JACQUELINE HOWARD CNN JAN 25, 2019 5:30 AM
Concern is mounting across the country over whether the government shutdown might have an effect on school lunches. The US Department of Agriculture's child nutrition programs -- which provide low-cost or free school meals to children in need -- are fully funded through the end of March, according to a tweet from USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue last Friday. Yet with the shutdown at 34 days and counting, some schools and families are worried about what could happen to school meal programs if it continues. "If the shutdown goes past March, what I think will happen is total chaos," said James Weill, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center in Washington. "Certainly, some schools and some school districts are likely to stop serving meals to hungry kids or make the meals worse or smaller or less nutritious. And other school districts will try and pick up the costs locally and hope that they'll get paid back from the federal government," he said. "It's likely that the poorer schools and the poorer districts, which need the federal school meals and child nutrition money the most, will be impacted the worst."
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2019/01/24/school-lunch-government-shutdown-child-nutrition-programs-funding-meals-families/stories/201901240219
Impact fee collected from gas drillers expected to reach new record
WITF Written by Amy Sisk/StateImpact Pennsylvania | Jan 24, 2019 6:33 PM
The fee Pennsylvania collects from natural gas drillers is expected to reach a record $247 million this year, according to figures released Thursday by the state's Independent Fiscal Office. Each year, Pennsylvania drillers are required to pay what's known as an "impact fee" for every well they drill. The cost hinges on the type of well and number of years it's been in operation. The funds get distributed to state agencies and local governments, with those in heavily drilled regions receiving the most money. The IFO cites two reasons for the projected uptick in revenue, which is expected to come in $37 milion above the previous year. For one, the 779 new wells drilled in 2018 will offset a drop in revenue from older wells, because the fee declines as wells age. Furthermore, some low-producing "stripper" wells have historically not paid the fee. But a recent state Supreme Court decision means potentially hundreds more will now have to comply. Pennsylvania has an impact fee in lieu of a severance tax, which is common in other energy-rich states. Such a tax would collect revenue based on the amount of natural gas a well produces. Pennsylvania lawmakers have debated enacting a severance tax for a decade. It's supported by Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, and a tax could result in higher revenue for the state. But the natural gas industry and Republican leaders have pushed against a severance tax, saying it could harm investment and job growth.
http://www.witf.org/news/2019/01/impact-fee-collected-from-gas-drillers-expected-to-reach-new-record.php
New Pa. House bill would give voters the choice to get rid of prevailing wage | Wednesday Morning Coffee
John Micek’s Blog January 23, 2019 by jlmicek
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Want to make a fiscal conservative bonkers? Wander up behind them and whisper the words “prevailing wage” in their ear and then watch as the hilarity ensues. Apart from excessive regulation; high taxes and mandatory unionization, there are few things that drive fiscal hawks into paroxysms of rage faster than Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage law, which requires school districts (and other municipal bodies) to pay more expensive union-scale wages on public construction projects. GOP lawmakers in the state House have been trying for years to repeal the wage on school building projects, which they say needlessly drives up construction costs. Supporters have countered the law ensures that workers get paid a livable wage for the work they do. Now, state Rep. Frank Ryan, a Lebanon County Republican, wants to give individual counties the right to ask voters to decide whether school construction projects should be subject to the law. He’s reintroducing language from last year’s session, sponsored by ex-Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin, that would put the question on the ballot in time for the 2020 general election.
https://johnlmicekjournalist.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/new-pa-house-bill-would-give-voters-the-choice-to-get-rid-of-prevailing-wage-wednesday-morning-coffee/
Pennsylvania Breakfast Hero Nomination
March 4 – 8th is National School Breakfast Week. In addition to celebrating school breakfast, No Kid Hungry Pennsylvania wants to show some love to the everyday heroes who make school breakfast possible for kids. It takes a village – teachers, principals, superintendents, custodians, coaches, cafeteria staff, advocates, elected officials – the list goes on. Is there someone in your school, district or community who has worked tirelessly to ensure students start each and every day with a healthy meal? Complete this nomination form to enter your PA School Breakfast Hero to be recognized across the state and win a prize package!
Timeline:
• January 14, 2019 – Contest opens
• February 8, 2019 – Contest closes
• March 4 - 8, 2019 – Celebrate Breakfast Heroes during National School Breakfast Week
If you have any questions, please contact the No Kid Hungry Pennsylvania team at NKHPennsylvania@strength.org .
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-bjPZ9G2BO2TsGJs9HjuHbvuL6CkKBs99HQtaTYb-jpLE-w/viewform
Safe2Say: New statewide tip line catches Hazleton student's gun threat, police say
Jacqueline Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call January 25, 2019
A new statewide system designed to stop school threats has caught at least one student who police say threatened gun violence at his Luzerne County school. The unspecified threat was made at 2:30 a.m. Thursday over SnapChat, the social media site, police said. Authorities were notified about it by a tip over a new app — Safe2Say Something app. Within two hours police responded to a 14-year-old’s home and found a fully loaded Glock .45-caliber handgun. The boy was taken into custody and the investigation is ongoing, authorities say. The Safe2Say app allows students, teachers and administrators to anonymously report potential threats through an app, website or 24-hour tip-line. Pennsylvania rolled out Safe2Say last week, and already more than 600 reports of threats have been collected, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Thursday in a news release. His office is behind the new reporting system. After a tip is submitted, it is sent to a 24-hour call center in Harrisburg and assessed there for viability and legitimacy. It then is referred to the appropriate school district and police departments for action.
https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-pennsylvania-safe-to-say-20190124-story.html
Philadelphia’s deteriorating school building conditions are a human rights issue | Opinion
Commentary by Jerry Jordan, For the Inquirer January 24, 2019
Jerry Jordan is president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
In an address to the Philadelphia House Delegation, Governor Wolf said, "We’ve gone from a Commonwealth at a crossroads to a Commonwealth on a comeback.” The governor is correct, but as I recently read the delegation’s plan for Philadelphia, I was struck by how much is at stake and by how much is possible. The work ahead of us is monumental — but as Philadelphia Delegation Chair Jason Dawkins stated, it is about our priorities. It’s encouraging to know the delegation is committed to putting everyday people at the forefront of our path. The current state of our school facilities is untenable. Every day, the PFT seeks input from our members about what they’re experiencing. We’re sounding the alarm, providing scientific analysis of hazards, and working with our environmental scientist to develop protocols to identify and remediate them. Through the Philadelphia Healthy Schools Initiative, we are building a broad-based coalition of partners who share our commitment to this pivotal work. But it is not nearly enough. Addressing the basic human rights of our schoolchildren and educators who teach them is a collective societal responsibility. Make no mistake: More investment in school facilities is not something that would be “nice to have.” It is a human rights issue. As the chair of the American Federation of Teachers’ Human Rights Committee, I can’t help but think about how much our society still neglects the basic human rights of the most vulnerable among us. From flaking lead paint, asbestos exposure, persistent rodent issues, the presence of mold, and even the lack of heat on bitterly cold days, educators and children in Philadelphia are learning and working in environmentally toxic facilities every day.
http://www.philly.com/opinion/commentary/philadelphia-school-conditions-pft-20190124.html
Teachers’ union creates smartphone app to report hazards in school buildings
“We’re not doing it to horrify people — we’re doing it to demand justice," said Councilwoman Helen Gym.
The notebook by Greg Windle January 24 — 9:15 pm, 2019
Philadelphia parents and teachers can now use a smartphone app to report deteriorating conditions and environmental hazards in their school directly to the teachers’ union. The data, including location and a picture, is then shared with the School District and reviewed by the union’s environmental scientist so the union can track the progress of repairs. To announce the new app, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) was joined by Penn Environment, which helped organize the Philly Healthy Schools Initiative, along with City Councilwoman Helen Gym. “The PFT is one of the loudest voices when it comes to calling attention to the unacceptable school building conditions that our children and educators deal with every day,” said PFT president Jerry Jordan. “It’s why we spend our own money investigating, documenting, and reporting issues that jeopardize the health and safety of students and staff.” The PFT Healthy Schools Tracker is available for the iPhone and coming soon for Androids – next week, they hope.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2019/01/24/pft-creates-smartphone-app-to-report-hazards-in-school-buildings/
To ‘crowdsource injustice,’ new app encourages Philly teachers to photograph, report school building woes
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent January 25, 2019
Drawing further attention to conditions inside city schools, Philadelphia’s teachers’ union formally introduced an app Thursday that will allow members to alert union leadership when they see a problem. Using the Healthy Schools Tracker app, staff can send descriptions or photos to officials from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) if they spot mold, rodents, or other physical maladies that can sicken children or impede learning. The district already has a complaint process for employees, but this new tool allows teachers to report problems digitally and directly to the union. Though the official announcement came Thursday, the app has been available since early December and so far, the PFT says it has received complaints from 18 schools, according to its website. The district concedes — and has indeed drawn attention to the fact — that its aging buildings need billions of dollars in repairs. But public campaigns by the union, a push from city lawmakers, and an exposé by The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News has recast the spotlight on school building conditions.
https://whyy.org/articles/to-crowdsource-injustice-new-app-encourages-philly-teachers-to-photograph-report-school-building-woes/
“But in the five years since the program started, he’s seen that a traditional path through higher education doesn’t always result in a diploma and a good-paying career-track job for students working to get out of poverty. That’s why he partnered with restaurateur Judy Ni, owner of Taiwanese street food spot Baology in Philadelphia, to develop Hospitality Together, a new program that places ambitious college-age youth in paying jobs at some of the city’s top restaurants.”
Oscar Wang '14 Has a New Take on Higher Ed
Haverford College Alumni Magazine January 22, 2019
Wang is the CEO of CollegeTogether, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Philadelphia’s underserved students through the college admissions process, and recently started Hospitality Together, a program that places ambitious college-age youth in paying jobs at some of the city’s top restaurants and prepares them for careers in the industry. Every year during college admissions season,we see news reports and articles about a few high-performing students who get into every one of the dozens of colleges they applied to, or who score full rides to Ivy League schools. But what about their classmates—the students who might not be star scholars but also deserve to fulfill their potential and have a chance at better lives? That’s the problem Oscar Wang ’14 is working to solve as the CEO of College Together, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Philadelphia’s underserved students through the college admissions process. But in the five years since the program started, he’s seen that a traditional path through higher education doesn’t always result in a diploma and a good-paying career-track job for students working to get out of poverty. That’s why he partnered with restaurateur Judy Ni, owner of Taiwanese street food spot Baology in Philadelphia, to develop Hospitality Together, a new program that places ambitious college-age youth in paying jobs at some of the city’s top restaurants. They earn while learning the ropes of an in-demand business and receive training that can lead to a lifelong career while building their professional networks, completing flexible online coursework, and receiving mentorship from star chefs.
https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/tell-us-more-oscar-wang-14-has-new-take-higher-ed
West Chester School District opts for gender neutral graduation gowns in 2020
6abc By Bob Brooks Wednesday, January 23, 2019 06:01PM
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- This will be the last year you'll see the blue and gold caps and gowns during a Rustin High School graduation. In 2020 the school is opting for a single, gender-neutral color design. In fact, all three West Chester School District high schools will make the switch. Superintendent Jim Scanlon says the switch should have happened years ago. "I think we should have done this 25 years ago," said Scanlon. "We have a gown for boys and gown for girls but we only have one diploma." Scanlon says parents were notified last week of the details and he hopes everyone is on board. "I think it's the right thing to do and I think it's symbolic of how school districts will be operating today," he said. However, there are quite a few people who say the decision not only breaks years of tradition but caves to the pressure of a more politically correct culture.
https://6abc.com/education/west-chester-school-district-opts-for-gender-neutral-graduation-gowns-/5103193/?fbclid=IwAR3ZkS76oCCDWeeScP_rzI-zfKBNNH_-zDjkiiueAl_X_rP5lSCeysvpe8U
Shutdown Day 32: School Districts Step Up to Help Students and Families
Education Week By Denisa R. Superville on January 23, 2019 5:03 PM
With federal workers feeling squeezed from not receiving a paycheck during the longest shutdown of the federal government in history, school districts are stepping up to help families make ends meet. Across the country—from Tulsa, Okla., to Atlanta—districts are offering jobs to idled federal employees, raising money to help struggling families, and expanding school meal programs so students with furloughed parents can have free breakfast and lunch at school. Districts are doing so amid concerns that the National School Lunch Program, which feeds more than 30 million students annually, could run out of money in March if the United States Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, is not funded or if the shutdown does not end soon. On Wednesday, several national education organizations wrote to President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to ask them to take up and pass a House bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The letter was signed by the AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Elementary Schools Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Education Association, the National PTA and the National School Boards Association, and the Association of Educational Service Agencies.
Here's what some districts are doing:
https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2019/01/government_shutdown_school_districts_help_children_families.html
U.S. High School Grad Rate Reaches Another All-Time High. But What Does It Mean?
Education Week By Catherine Gewertz on January 24, 2019 1:02 PM
The U.S. high school graduation rate has risen for yet another year, to a new all-time high of 84.6 percent. But even as some celebrated the steady gains in high school completion, others worried that the pace of improvement is slowing, and that the numbers tell a false story. New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics show that 84.6 percent of the students in the class of 2016-17 earned diplomas in four years. That's a half-point better than in 2015-16, when the graduation rate was 84.1 percent. Leaders of GradNation, a campaign to raise high school completion rates, rang an alarm bell as soon as the new data came out, warning that it's the first time since 2011 that the graduation rate hasn't shown year-to-year improvements of almost a full percentage point. The half-point rise is "a sobering reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent in our efforts to place more young people on the path to high school graduation and postsecondary success," Bob Balfanz, who works with GradNation and leads the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, says in a statement. "Given that most jobs today and in the future require postsecondary education or training, a high school diploma is an essential first step to adult success after high school."
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high_school_and_beyond/2019/01/2017_high_school_graduation_rate.html?cmp=soc-twitter-shr
CDC: Nearly 2 percent of high school students identify as transgender — and more than one-third of them attempt suicide
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss January 24 at 6:10 PM
Nearly 2 percent of high school students in the United States identify as transgender, according to data published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other data show:
·
27 percent feel
unsafe at school or traveling to or from campus.
·
35 percent are
bullied at school.
·
35 percent attempt
suicide.
Amit Paley, chief executive and executive director
of the Trevor
Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis
intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, called the report’s findings
“groundbreaking.” “This is the first time we’ve had a federal government report
of this magnitude showing that transgender youth exist in this country and in
larger numbers than researchers had previously estimated,” he said in an
interview. The report, he said, shows “the very real health risks” transgender
youth face in school. Paley said the Trump administration has moved to “erase the
identity of transgender youth.” The administration has rolled back or frozen
Obama-era anti-discrimination rules aimed at protecting the LGBTQ community in
health, education and other areas.https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/01/24/cdc-nearly-percent-high-school-students-identify-transgender-more-than-one-third-them-attempt-suicide/?utm_term=.6b2d38396ba4
Carol Burris: The Rightwing Billionaire Money Behind School Choice Week
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianeravitch January 24, 2019 //
Carol Burris writes here about “National School Choice Week” and who pays for it.
She writes:
Planning and managing National School Choice Week is a year-long endeavor. National School Choice Week is an organization, yet it has no donate button, nonprofit status statement, nor 990 income tax form that I can find. It does have a president who used to work for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at the American Federation for Children, a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy group founded by her billionaire family.
The week has an official dance and on its website is a “happiness blog” on which representatives of an online charter chain, connected to the for-profit K-12, encourage everyone to paint a rock to show their love for “choice.”
It also has lots of right-wing billionaire bucks behind it. In 2016, Media Matters, a progressive nonprofit that researches conservative groups, did a masterful job of exposing where the money comes from to fund National School Choice Week. The week was started by the right-wing Gleason Family Foundation that also funds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Uncommon Charter Schools, the libertarian Cato Institute and anti-union organizations that promote “right to work.”
The peculiar issue about school choice is how the right-wingers were clever enough to hoax Obama and Duncan, Cory Booker and Hakim Jeffries.
https://dianeravitch.net/2019/01/24/carol-burris-the-rightwing-billionaire-money-behind-school-choice-week/
Voucher Schools Championed By Betsy DeVos Can Teach Whatever They Want. Turns Out They Teach Lies.
These schools teach creationism, racism and sexism. They’re also taking your tax dollars.
Huffington Post by By Rebecca Klein December 7, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. ― It was late morning in an artsy cafe, the smell of coffee and baked goods sweetening the air, and Ashley Bishop sat at a table, recalling a time when she was taught that most of secular American society was worthy of contempt. Growing up in private evangelical Christian schools, Bishop saw the world in extremes, good and evil, heaven and hell. She was taught that to dance was to sin, that gay people were child molesters and that mental illness was a function of satanic influence. Teachers at her schools talked about slavery as black immigration, and instructors called environmentalists “hippie witches.” Bishop’s family moved around a lot when she was a child, but her family always enrolled her in evangelical schools. So when Bishop left school in 2003 and entered the real world at 17, she felt like she was an alien landing on Planet Earth for the first time. Having been cut off from mainstream society, she felt unequipped to handle the job market and develop secular friendships. Lacking shared cultural and historical references, she spent most of her 20s holed up in her bedroom, suffering from crippling social anxiety. Now, at 31, she has become everything that she was once taught to hate. She shares an apartment with her girlfriend of two years. She sees a therapist and takes medication for depression, a condition born, in part, of her stifling education. Years later, some of the schools Bishop attended are largely the same, but some have changed in a significant way: Unlike when Bishop was a student, parents are not the only ones paying tuition for these fundamentalist religious schools – so are taxpayers.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/school-voucher-evangelical-education-betsy-devos_us_5a021962e4b04e96f0c6093c?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004
DeVos: 'Teachers' Unions Are the Only Thing Standing in the Way' of School Choice
Education Week By Alyson Klein on January 23, 2019 4:00 PM
Washington - U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Wednesday that the public wants school choice and that teachers' unions are the only real impediment. But some school choice proposals have met with resistance even from congressional Republicans and conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, where she made her remarks. "We know that most recent polling data has shown conclusively that people want to have choices," DeVos said in a "fireside chat" with Heritage's president, Kay Cole James during National School Choice Week. "They want choices for their kids. Sixty-seven percent of the people in this country—two thirds—support school choice. The only thing standing in the way is the teachers' unions that have a personal financial vested interest." DeVos also called on Congress to renew the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which was first created back in 2004, and is currently serving about 1,650 students in the District of Columbia, according to Heritage. DeVos said she'd like to see that number increased. And she said she'd like lawmakers to bring "clear and concise" stability to the program, which gives scholarships to low-income students to attend private schools, has often been a political football on Capitol Hill. But voucher opponents were quick to cite studies that have shown students who receive vouchers through the program don't perform as well in math as their peers.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/01/DeVos-voucher-Heritage-D.C.-choice-conservative.html
Open Board Positions
for 2019 PA Principals Association Election
Thursday,
January 10, 2019 9:05 AM
Margaret S.
(Peg) Foster, principal, academic affairs, in the Crestwood School District, has
been appointed by President Michael Allison to serve as the chairperson of
the 2019 PA Principals Association Nominations Committee to
oversee the 2019 election. Her committee consists of the following
members: Curtis Dimmick, principal in the Northampton Area School District;
Jacqueline Clark-Havrilla, principal in the Spring-Ford School District; and
Joseph Hanni, vice principal in the Scranton School District. If you are interested in running for one of
the open board positions (shown below) in the 2019 election,
please contact Stephanie Kinner at kinner@paprincipals.org or (717)
732-4999 for an application. Applications must be received in
the state office by Friday, February 22, 2019.
Join A Movement that Supports our Schools & Communities
PA Schools Work website
Our students are in classrooms that are underfunded and overcrowded. Teachers are paying out of pocket and picking up the slack. And public education is suffering. Each child in Pennsylvania has a right to an excellent public education. Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves access to a full curriculum, art and music classes, technical opportunities and a safe, clean, stable environment. All children must be provided a level chance to succeed. PA Schools Work is fighting for equitable, adequate funding necessary to support educational excellence. Investing in public education excellence is the path to thriving communities, a stable economy and successful students.
http://paschoolswork.org/
NSBA 2019 Advocacy Institute January 27-29 Washington Hilton, Washington D.C.
Register now
The upcoming midterm elections will usher in the 116th Congress at a critical time in public education. Join us at the 2019 NSBA Advocacy Institute for insight into what the new Congress will mean for your school district. And, of course, learn about techniques and tools to sharpen your advocacy skills, and prepare for effective meetings with your representatives. Save the date to join school board members from across the country on Capitol Hill to influence the new legislative agenda and shape the decisions made inside the Beltway that directly impact our students. For more information contact federaladvocacy@nsba.org.
PSBA Board Presidents’ Panel
Nine locations around the state running Jan 29, 30 and 31st.
Share your leadership experience and learn from others in your area at this event designed for board presidents, superintendents and board members with interest in pursuing leadership roles. Workshop real solutions to the specific challenges you face with a PSBA-moderated panel of school leaders. Discussion will address the most pressing challenges facing PA public schools.
https://www.psba.org/2018/11/board-presidents-panel-2/
Annual PenSPRA Symposium set for March 28-29, 2019
Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association Website
Once again, PenSPRA will hold its annual symposium with nationally-recognized speakers on hot topics for school communicators. The symposium, held at the Conference Center at Shippensburg University, promises to provide time for collegial sharing and networking opportunities. Mark you calendars now!
We hope you can join us. Plans are underway, so check back for more information.
http://www.penspra.org/
2019 NSBA Annual Conference Philadelphia March 30 - April 1, 2019
Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Registration Questions or Assistance: 1-800-950-6722
The NSBA Annual Conference & Exposition is the one national event that brings together education leaders at a time when domestic policies and global trends are combining to shape the future of the students. Join us in Philadelphia for a robust offering of over 250 educational programs, including three inspirational general sessions that will give you new ideas and tools to help drive your district forward.
https://www.nsba.org/conference
PSBA Members - Register for PSBA
Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg Monday April 29, 2019
All PSBA-members are invited to attend Advocacy Day on Monday, April
29, 2019 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. In addition, this year PSBA
will be partnering with the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units
(PAIU) and Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) to
strengthen our advocacy impact. The focus for the day will be meetings with
legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. There is no
cost to attend, and PSBA will assist in scheduling appointments with
legislators once your registration is received. The day will begin with a
continental breakfast and issue briefings prior to the legislator visits.
Registrants will receive talking points, materials and leave-behinds to use
with their meetings. PSBA staff will be stationed at a table in the main
Rotunda during the day to answer questions and provide assistance. The
day’s agenda and other details will be available soon. If you have questions
about Advocacy Day, legislative appointments or need additional information,
contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org Register for PSBA Advocacy Day now at http://www.mypsba.org/
School
directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need assistance
logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data System
Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org or call her at (717)
506-2450, ext. 3420
Wyndham Garden Hotel, Mountainview Country Club
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools
https://www.parss.org/Annual_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.
