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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup Oct. 2, 2017:
Philly’s
focus on early literacy appears to be paying off
Our Schools at Risk: How to Stop Funding
Cuts, Bensalem HS, October 3 at 7 PM - 9 PM
Public Meeting Hosted by Education
Voters PA Tuesday, October 3 at 7 PM - 9 PM
Bensalem HS, North Wing Audion, 4319 Hulmeville Rd., Bensalem
19020
Learn about the threats to our public schools and how YOUR
advocacy efforts can make a difference. Join Education Voters of PA to learn
about how state policies and school funding are impacting your local schools
and how you can come together in your communities to stand up for public school
students. Additional guests include Dan
Urevick-Acklesberg from the Public Interest Law Center who will give an update
on the Supreme Court ruling, and representatives from Public Citizens for
Children and Youth.
Pennsylvania lawmakers return amid effort to end 3-month budget stalemate
Delco Times By Marc Levy, The Associated Press POSTED: 10/02/17, 5:27 AM EDT
HARRISBURG >> Lawmakers are to return to the Pennsylvania Capitol amid a three-month-old budget stalemate and expect to be briefed on the details of an evolving proposal to fill a $2.2 billion revenue gap. The House and Senate scheduled sessions to begin Monday afternoon. Rank-and-file members expect to get closed-door briefings about a proposed package that leans heavily on borrowing, one-time fund transfers and an expansion of casino-style gambling. Tax increases will be involved too, including on business-to-business storage and online sales. But it does not include a tax on Marcellus Shale production after House supporters couldn’t raise enough support to overcome the opposition of House GOP leaders. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a $32 billion budget bill June 30, about a 3 percent increase, but haven’t agreed on how to fully fund it.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20171002/pennsylvania-lawmakers-return-amid-effort-to-end-3-month-budget-stalemate
It's time for Pa. to embrace real redistricting reform | Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board penned@pennlive.com Updated on September 29, 2017 at 1:29 PM Posted on September 29, 2017 at 1:25 PM
It's a biannual rite. In even-numbered years, Pennsylvania voters shake their fists at the heavens over the size and expense of the 253-member General Assembly. They rage at the partisan gridlock that allows debate over the state budget and other key issues to drag on for months without resolution. They fume at the history of corruption that has seen dozens of state lawmakers and elected officials sent to state and federal prison over the last decade alone. And then, in November of that even-numbered year, thanks to a paucity of choices, poor candidate recruitment and legislative districts that have been drawn with scientific precision to overwhelmingly favor incumbents, they send nearly 9 in 10 of those same lawmakers back to Harrisburg. And the dance, without changing so much as a single step, begins anew.
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2017/09/its_time_for_pa_to_embrace_rea.html#incart_river_index
“Two years ago, lawmakers agreed on a formula that allots more money to districts such as Reading’s, taking into account such factors as the number of students in poverty or learning English, in addition to local wealth and the rates at which districts taxed property. But the state’s past approach to funding still factors heavily into what districts receive: The new formula didn’t apply to what the state was already spending on schools, which actually would have resulted in cuts for some districts. Last year, the formula applied to only 6 percent of the $5.9 billion in the main form of school subsidies.”
In Pa. school-funding maze, formula for equity elusive
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Staff Writer @maddiehanna | mhanna@phillynews.com Updated: SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 — 6:16 AM EDT
READING – Near a laundromat and a grocery store in a commercial strip of downtown Reading, the 10th and Penn Elementary School’s aging hallways are getting a needed paint job. As with most of the schools in the Reading School District, the state Department of Education classifies it as “historically underachieving,” its pupils ranking in the bottom 15 percent for math and reading proficiency. When Gov. Wolf made a special pitch last year for additional school funding, he chose a Reading school as his venue. In a city with nearly a 40 percent poverty rate, Reading schools confront unusual challenges, perhaps “unique to any district in the state,” Superintendent Khalid Mumin said during a visit this month to the 10th and Penn school. Reading’s student population is more than 80 percent Latino, and, among other special needs, the district has to hire teachers certified in English as a second language. Yet Reading remains a prime example of the paradoxes of educational funding in Pennsylvania, the subject of longstanding complaints and a case now before the state Supreme Court: The neediest often are the most-wanting.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/in-pa-school-funding-maze-formula-for-equity-elusive-20170925.html
Did you catch our weekend special edition on the PA supreme court funding decision?
PA Ed Policy Roundup Special Edition Oct. 1: PA schoolchildren will have their day in court!
The Ed Policy Roundup was offline last week for vacation. This special edition focuses solely on last Thursday’s PA Supreme Court decision regarding school funding.
Pennsylvania has the dubious distinction of having the most inequitable school funding between wealthy and poor school districts in the country.
https://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2017/10/pa-ed-policy-roundup-oct-1-pa.html
Ideological debate over low-performing schools underlies Pa. plan to comply with new federal education law
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY SEPTEMBER 25, 2017
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/education/item/107403-ideological-debate-over-low-performing-schools-underlies-pa-plan-to-comply-with-new-federal-education-law
State alters emphasis on standardized tests
BY MOLLY BORN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mborn@post-gazette.com 9:11 PM OCT 1, 2017
State standardized test scores have long been considered a key metric in measuring how school students are doing. But with plans to shorten testing times across Pennsylvania and to put less emphasis on such exams overall, what weight should districts and families place on the new scores? Educators and officials alike say families should review the results of their child’s Pennsylvania System of School Assessment or Keystone exam. But the scores released last week came, perhaps for the first time, with an emphatic message: “High-stakes testing does not tell the full story.” Students, added Matthew Stem, the state’s deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education, “also need to have skills like persistence and grit, and they need to collaborate and think critically and exhibit lots of skills that can’t be measured on a standardized assessment.” If the caveat seems to diminish the importance of the scores, think of this as a “transition period,” said Ron Cowell, president of the Education Policy and Leadership Center and a former state representative. “They’re obligated to report these scores, but I think everybody needs to acknowledge they’re one piece of information — and there’s broad consensus it’s an incomplete set of information. It’s not dismiss the scores, but it’s to accept them in that context.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2017/10/01/State-educators/stories/201710010206
Improving struggling Pa. schools is education department's 'highest priority' — but it will take time
BY MOLLY BORN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mborn@post-gazette.com 12:37 PM SEP 27, 2017
Pennsylvania's accountability plan under the new federal education law has earned praise for a range of initiatives from shortening standardized tests and to creating an educator leadership “pipeline” to help create a diverse teaching force statewide. But it lacks details on how to fix its longtime lowest-performing schools, which some critics have called a failing. PennCAN's Jonathan Cetel last week found the final plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act “at best, subpar,” pointing out “an overall lack of detail ... and no clear plan to turnaround chronically low-achieving schools.” State education leaders stress it'll take this school year and next to develop a way to do it that's “thoughtful, rigorous and attainable.” Improving struggling schools is the state Department of Education's “highest priority” and ESSA captures only “a snapshot of our thinking and planning,” said Matthew Stem, deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education. “The state is aware that school improvement is a multifaceted process, and we're 100 percent committed to ensuring our improvement work in schools is based on exactly on what schools need.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2017/09/27/Pennsylvania-education-plan-ESSA-no-child-left-behind-federal-state-diveristy-standardized-tests/stories/201709270076
“Philadelphia saw notable gains in early literacy — where it has focused considerable time and resources over the last several years.”
Test scores inch up in Philly, Pa. schools
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham & Dylan Purcell - Staff Writers Updated: SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 — 6:16 PM EDT
Statewide, 61 percent of students taking the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams this past spring passed the reading tests, and 43 percent passed the math tests. Students in third through eighth grade take the PSSAs. In Philadelphia, 33 percent passed the test in reading, and 19 percent passed in math. Both scores were up one percentage point from last year’s scores. Philadelphia saw notable gains in early literacy — where it has focused considerable time and resources over the last several years. District third graders’ scores jumped by five percentage points, to 35 percent. Students at every grade level but fifth showed reading gains; fifth graders’ scores were flat. Fewer students are scoring at the lowest reading level, below basic. “The results are clear; we are making progress as a school district, and our strategies and initiatives are building a strong foundation for academic success,” Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said in a statement. The district has strengthened early literacy teacher training, added early literacy coaches, required a 120-minute literacy block in all elementary schools, and set up classroom libraries in every elementary school.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/philly-schools-standardized-test-scores-pssa-20170927.html
Impressive or not, Lancaster County educators say latest standardized test scores are a 'small piece of the puzzle' [data]
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Oct 1, 2017
Education is a lot like a puzzle. Successfully match all the pieces together, and students get a robust, high-quality education. Standardized tests, while providing a snapshot of a student’s progress, are just one small piece of the puzzle, Lancaster County educators say. “To suggest that these assessments could possibly yield an accurate measure of the vast scope of important learning that occurs in schools across the state on a daily basis,” Hempfield School District Superintendent Chris Adams said, “would be inaccurate and foolish.” The Pennsylvania Department of Education on Wednesday released the latest results for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and Keystone Exams.
http://lancasteronline.com/insider/impressive-or-not-lancaster-county-educators-say-latest-standardized-test/article_4018e57c-a561-11e7-9604-4387f0aad003.html
Natural gas drillers spend more than $60 million to woo Pa. legislature
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis & Liz Navratil, HARRISBURG BUREAUS Updated: OCTOBER 1, 2017 — 7:14 AM EDT
HARRISBURG — Over the last seven years, Pennsylvania lawmakers have introduced no fewer than 67 bills to tax natural-gas drilling companies. In nearly every instance, those measures have died. Supporters of a tax say few other interests have managed to thwart legislation in the Capitol so successfully and for so long, earning Pennsylvania the distinction of being the only major gas-producing state without a severance tax. They point to one reason: the industry’s ability to spend tens of millions of dollars on influence. An Inquirer and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette analysis of lobbying disclosure and campaign finance records since 2010 shows that natural gas drilling companies and their industry groups have spent at least $46.6 million on lobbying and another $14.5 million on political donations — many of the latter going to legislative leaders who control the flow of bills in the Capitol and the heads of committees that regulate their business.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/natural-gas-cash-lobbying-20171001.html
Will Pennsylvania pay for charter school choices for all children? | Opinion
Penn Live Guest Editorial By David Lapp & Kate Shaw Updated on September 22, 2017 at 12:27 PM Posted on September 22, 2017 at 9:00 AM
David Lapp is Director of Policy Research and Kate Shaw is Executive Director of Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit education research organization. Visit RFA's website atwww.researchforaction.org.
Last week, Research for Action (RFA) released a report detailing the cost of charter school expansion in Pennsylvania. Six school districts of diverse size and existing charter penetration participated in the study; we consulted with independent school finance experts, as well as both district and charter representatives, in calculating these costs. The tool that we used is available for download on our website. What did we find? First, there is indeed a "stranded cost" when students depart a district to enroll in a charter school. The per-pupil amount varies across districts, but the impact declines significantly from year 1 to year 5. Yet the annual total impact on districts grows significantly by year five, because as more students enroll in charter schools overall costs rise, even at a lower per pupil rate. We also found that the negative fiscal impacts tend to be greater in small school districts. Why is it that when students leave for charter schools, districts are unable to economize at the same rate as charter tuition costs increase? There are a number of contributing factors.
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2017/09/will_pennsylvania_pay_for_char.html
Thackston Charter School headed to revocation hearings without 3 years of audits
When asked why the audits haven't been completed, Thackston's solicitor said, "I don't know."
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez, 505-5439/@JuniorG_YD Published 7:27 a.m. ET Sept. 29, 2017 | Updated 3:10 p.m. ET Oct. 1, 2017
Its operating charter on the line, Helen Thackston Charter School is heading into revocation hearings in two weeks without the approval of crucial financial audits it had indicated would be completed months ago. Board members met Thursday, Sept. 28, and approved several action items, including the resignation of board member Lisa Kennedy, but no discussions were held regarding the missing audits. The charter school stated in its most recent annual report that the audits for 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years were complete and were scheduled for board approval on July 27. After failing to meet the required number of board members to proceed with the July 27 meeting, the board met Aug. 9, but no audits were approved at that meeting either. Thackston solicitor Brian Leinhauser has said he expected completion and approval of the audits before the start of the revocation hearings, but no such measure appeared on the agenda for Thursday night's meeting.
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/education/2017/09/29/thackston-charter-school-headed-revocation-hearings-without-3-years-audits/715261001/
State considers monitor for Erie schools
GoErie By Ed Palattella Posted at 2:01 AM October 2, 2017
General Assembly reviewing bills in which oversight would be in exchange for $14 million in additional state aid.
Erie School District officials have always said they expected increased state oversight in exchange for the district getting $14 million in additional aid from Harrisburg. The potential scope of that oversight is starting to become clearer. Two bills pending in the General Assembly would require, with the release of the increased aid, the appointment of a state-paid financial administrator to monitor the Erie School District and develop a financial improvement plan for it. Either bill would place the district under the supervision of the financial administrator whether the district’s additional aid is a one-time infusion or recurring. The Erie School District will get an additional $14 million in state aid this fiscal year, according to the expense side of the state budget passed June 30. The school district is hoping the General Assembly makes the $14 million appropriation permanent year after year with the passage of a state budget revenue plan for 2017-18. The General Assembly has yet to come up with a revenue plan to pay for the $32 billion state budget. But the General Assembly has been proposing legislation that would affect the release of state funds once lawmakers also approve a revenue budget, perhaps as early as this week.
http://www.goerie.com/news/20171002/state-considers-monitor-for-erie-schools
“On Nov. 7 we’ll get to vote on this ballot question:
“Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to permit the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 100 percent of the assessed value of each homestead property within a local taxing jurisdiction, rather than limit the exclusion to one-half of the median assessed value of all homestead property, which is the existing law.”
Jodine Mayberry: Wading into the property tax wars
By Jodine Mayberry, Delaware County Daily Times POSTED: 09/28/17, 8:31 PM EDT
“Why do I have to keep paying school property taxes, I’m a senior citizen and I don’t have any children in school anymore?” The answer is, “Because when your kids were in school, senior citizens without children in school were paying taxes to support your children’s education and grousing about it, too.” “But I’m drowning in taxes and I’m going to lose my home that I worked all my life to pay off.” I wonder how many seniors actually lose their homes to the taxman? I suspect very few. However painful it may be, most of us seniors recognize when it’s time to sell the old homestead or second home down the shore and use the equity to buy or rent something smaller and cheaper (or move to Florida). If that’s what anybody means by “lose my home” you should know a heck of a lot of us have already “down-sized” and most of us are happier for it. It’s true that property taxation is the most regressive form of taxation in existence because our homes don’t generate income and their dormant value often doesn’t align with our ability to pay.
But take heart, seniors, the state Legislature is doing something about that — maybe ... possibly ... actually, no, probably not.
http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20170928/jodine-mayberry-wading-into-the-property-tax-wars
PSBA offers school officials one-pager on proposed Constitutional Amendment
PSBA Website September 27, 2017
On the Ballot: Proposed Constitutional Amendment on Property Taxes This November 7, voters across Pennsylvania will be asked to consider a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution regarding property tax reductions. It is important to understand what the question that will appear on the ballot means, and what the impact will be for taxpayers and taxing bodies, including school boards. What is the proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot? The question on the ballot will ask voters if the state constitution should be amended to permit the General Assembly to enact legislation allowing local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 100% of the assessed value of each homestead property within a taxing jurisdiction.
https://www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Handout-Constitutional-Amendment.pdf
Wish you didn't have to pay taxes on your home? Pa. ballot question could lead to change
Inquirer by Laura McCrystal, Staff Writer @LMcCrystal | lmccrystal@phillynews.com Updated: SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 — 11:06 AM EDT
Pennsylvania homeowners, lawmakers, and elected officials have long bemoaned the state’s reliance on property taxes. This fall, voters could take a step toward changing it. A November ballot question will ask voters whether local taxing authorities should be able to exempt residents from paying property taxes on their homes. What it leaves up in the air, however, is how municipalities, counties, and school districts would make up for the lost revenue.
What would the ballot question do?
Nothing would change immediately if the ballot question passed in November. But school districts, counties, and municipalities would have the option to exempt taxpayers’ primary residences from property taxes. Commercial and industrial properties would still be taxed if a local government or school district enacted the exemption. Although it’s unlikely that the exemption would be used anywhere until replacement revenue sources were found, advocates for property tax reform say the measure would be a significant step in implementing broader changes. Currently, taxing authorities can choose to exempt taxpayers from paying up to 50 percent of the median assessed value of all homes. The proposed change would expand that exemption, making it possible for local governments to exempt all taxpayers from paying any property taxes on their primary residence.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/pennsylvania-property-tax-reform-ballot-question-referendum-20170929.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/10/01/9-million-kids-get-health-insurance-under-chip-congress-just-let-it-expire/
The promise and peril of Cheltenham: Race and education in a changing suburban school district
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
Three years ago, Meleah Brame-Scott was browsing a Facebook page for Cheltenham residents when a post from a local parent caught her attention.
"I grew up in a little pocket of Philadelphia called Overbrook it was wonderful..."
Brame-Scott, 40, had also grown up in Overbrook, a neighborhood on Philadelphia's western edge. During her childhood, the area underwent a massive racial shift. White families moved out. Black families, like hers, moved in. From 1990 to 2010, the area lost a staggering 80 percent of its white population. The Facebook post continued:
"We had a great life! Over time the neighborhood changed and people panicked sold their houses. Now we can only have memories and reminisce through Facebook. Why? Because we allowed them to take over as a neighborhood we regret it."
Brame-Scott knew what the poster meant by "them," but she asked anyway. The woman dodged, explaining she wasn't racist because she had black friends. Three year years later, Brame-Scott still keeps screenshots of the conversation on her phone. Brame-Scott moved to Cheltenham seven years ago. She picked this border suburb of 36,000 just north of Philadelphia to escape the kind of bigotry detected in that Facebook post.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/items/item/107476-the-promise-and-peril-of-cheltenham-race-and-education-in-a-changing-suburban-school-district
An evening of frank talk about race, inequity in Philly and area schools
by Avi Wolfman-Arent Newsworks September 29, 2017 — 12:40pm
When Otis Hackney, Philadelphia's chief education officer, was in Amsterdam in the spring, he happened upon an exhibit detailing the history of apartheid. And in that exhibit, he saw a quote from one of its architects. It read: "The Blacks should never see the greener pastures of education," Hackney recalled at a forum Thursday night. As a black man who has dedicated his professional life to education — as a teacher, principal, and now city official — Hackney has thought a lot about the intersection of race and education. But rarely has the connection between the two seemed clearer to Hackney than it was in that quote. "I said, 'I just saw the scariest thing I've seen in my life,'" Hackney said. His comments came amid an evening of frank talk on the plight and potential of black students in U.S. public schools. Hackney was among six panelists who gathered at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, on the border of Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township, for a talk titled "Courageous Conversations: Reimagining Race and Education." The event was one in a series of public discussions hosted by WHYY, WURD-AM, and Philadelphia Media Network (parent company of the Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com).
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/09/29/an-evening-of-frank-talk-about-race-inequity-in-philly-area-schools\
CHIP, other federal safety net programs went over a cliff this weekend
BY KATE GIAMMARISE AND SEAN D. HAMILL Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 6:30 AM SEP 30, 2017
Because Congress failed to act in time, multiple safety net funding programs will head over a fiscal cliff this weekend, including those that provide for children’s health care, rural hospitals, and Medicaid and uninsured patients. But efforts in the House are expected to begin next week that congressional staffers say they hope will be approved quickly enough to prevent any long-term financial problems for those who depend on the programs. The funding set to expire this weekend affects the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, which covers 176,000 children in Pennsylvania; a program that provides 70 percent of the federal funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers that care for more than 800,000 low-income Pennsylvanians; the National Health Service Corps; and the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2017/09/30/Federal-safety-net-programs-Congress-Children-s-Health-Insurance-Program/stories/201709300138
Advocates for children's health insurance program await action from Congress
Morning Call by Laura Olson Contact Reporter Call Washington Bureau October 1, 2017
As Congress debated another attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act last week, legislators failed to meet a deadline to pay for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, creating uncertainty for a program that draws bipartisan support nationally and in Pennsylvania. The 176,000 children enrolled in Pennsylvania — including nearly 11,000 in Lehigh and Northampton counties — won’t see any immediate effects from Congress’ failure to approve another round of funding by the Sept. 30 deadline. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services says Pennsylvania’s program has enough money to continue operating until February. That provides a grace period larger than some other states have: Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina and the District of Columbia are expected to exhaust their funds in December, according to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. “If we get to November and it’s not done, then we’ll get pretty concerned,” said Joan Benso, president and CEO of advocacy group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. “Insurers will be in the position in December of being pretty darn nervous.”
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-nws-chip-pa-health-insurance-congress-20171001-story.html
9 million kids get health insurance under CHIP. Congress just let it expire.
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss October 1 at 1:26 PM
Congress just allowed the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provided low-cost health insurance to 9 million children, to expire. If action is not taken soon to restore the funding, the effects will become obvious in schools across the country, with many of the children in the program unable to see a doctor for routine checkups, immunizations, visits when sick and other services. The program, created under a 1997 law passed with bipartisan support during the administration of President Bill Clinton, provided coverage for children in families with low and moderate incomes as well as to pregnant women. It was instrumental in lowering the percentage of children who were uninsured from nearly 14 percent when it started to 4.5 percent in 2015. It was last reauthorized in 2015 and was due to be renewed by Sept. 30, 2017. Amid unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the Republican-led Congress allowed the CHIP deadline to pass without action. he program was primarily funded by the federal government, with states paying a good deal less. States still have some CHIP money available, but if Congress does not act quickly to restore the program, they will start to run out. Several states and the District of Columbia are expected to drain CHIP funding by the end of this year and many more by March 2018, according to this government report.
US school districts prepare for influx of Puerto Ricans
AP State Wire By MICHAEL MELIA Published: Yesterday
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) - As Hurricane Maria churned toward Puerto Rico, Joseenid Martin Gregory put her sons Eliot Saez Martin, 9, and his brother, Elionet, 5, on a plane to be with their grandfather in Connecticut, fearing their lives could be in danger if they stayed on the island. As the scale of the devastation became clear, and the boys' grandfather, Jose Martin, found no way to communicate with his daughter, he made arrangements to keep the boys here indefinitely. He bought notebooks and markers and enrolled his grandchildren at the local elementary school in New Britain. "We didn't think the hurricane was going to be catastrophic. With the situation Puerto Rico is in now, it's difficult," said Martin, a landscaper. "I thank God that the children are here. They're in school. They have food." The two brothers are among the first of what are expected to be large numbers of Puerto Rican children enrolling in school districts on the U.S. mainland, particularly in urban areas from Florida to New York to Massachusetts where families are planning to open their homes to displaced relatives.
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=5VrVkdEv
Trump Taps School Choice Champion Jim Blew to Serve in Key Ed. Dept. Policy Post
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on September 29, 2017 7:30 AM
Jim Blew, the director of Student Success California, an education advocacy group, has gotten the official White House nod to lead the office of planning, evaluation, and policy analysis at the U.S. Department of Education. We wrote that his nomination was likely back in June. Blew's background could be a boon to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' push to expand school choice. He was the national president of StudentsFirst, an education redesign organization started by former District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. He took that job in late 2014, when Rhee stepped down from the organization, serving until mid-2016, when StudentsFirst merged with 50CAN, a network of state advocacy organizations. Student Success California is an affiliate of 50CAN. Before that, Blew spent nearly a decade as the Walton Family Foundation's director of K-12 reform, advising the foundation on how to broaden schooling options for low-income communities. And he worked in communications before devoting himself to K-12 policy. More in his bio. (Note: Walton provides support for Education Week coverage of parent-engagement and decisionmaking.) And Blew has worked with DeVos for years to champion school choice. The Walton Family Foundation donated to the Alliance for School Choice, which is affiliated with the American Federation for Children, the school choice advocacy organization that DeVos used to chair. AFC and the Alliance for School Choice put out a warm statement of congratulations when Blew was tapped to lead StudentsFirst back in 2014.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/09/trump_taps_school_choice_champion_jim_blew_education_post.html
Inside ESSA Plans: How Do States Want to Handle Testing Opt-Outs?
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on October 2, 2017 7:26 AM
Parents who opted their children out of state exams in recent years became the focal point of major education debates in the country about the proper roles of testing, the federal government, and achievement gaps. Now. under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states have a chance to rethink how they handle testing opt-outs. So how are states responding in their ESSA plans they submitted to the federal goernment.? In short, it's all over the place, an Education Week review of the ESSA plans shows. Keep this in mind: ESSA requires that students who opt out of those mandatory state tests must be marked as not proficient on those tests. Those not-proficient scores will in turn, obviously, impact accountability indicators. So while some states highlight this as their approach to handling testing opt-outs, it's really no more than what the law requires. But there's also this touchy issue: Whether states will lower a school's final rating directly because it missed the law's threshold of testing 95 percent of eligible students. (Remember, not all states are assigning final, summative scores to schools separate from ESSA's mandatory categories.)
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/10/inside_essa_plans_how_states_handle_testing_opt_out.html
Our Schools at Risk: How to Stop Funding Cuts, Bensalem HS, October 3 at 7 PM - 9 PM
Public Meeting Hosted by Education Voters PA Tuesday, October 3 at 7 PM - 9 PM
Bensalem HS, North Wing Audion, 4319 Hulmeville Rd., Bensalem 19020
Learn about the threats to our public schools and how YOUR advocacy efforts can make a difference. Join Education Voters of PA to learn about how state policies and school funding are impacting your local schools and how you can come together in your communities to stand up for public school students.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1735449410093965/
Seventh Annual Pennsylvania Arts and Education Symposium, November 2, 2017 Camp Hill
The 2017 Pennsylvania Arts and Education will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Convention Center in Camp Hill. See the agenda here.
Early Bird Registration ends September 30.
https://www.eplc.org/pennsylvania-arts-education-network/
STAY WOKE: THE INAUGURAL
NATIONAL BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENING; Philadelphia Fri, Oct 13, 2017 4:00 pm
Sun, Oct 15, 2017 7:00pm
TEACHER DIVERSITY WORKS. Increasing the number of Black
male educators in our nation’s teacher corps will improve education for all our
students, especially for African-American boys.
Today Black men represent only two percent of teachers nationwide. This
is a national problem that demands a national response. Come participate in the inaugural National
Black Male Educators Convening to advance policy solutions, learn from one
another, and fight for social justice. All are welcome.
Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference
October 14. 15, 16, 2017 Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township, PA
Save the Date: PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference October 18-20, Hershey PA
Registration now open for the
67th Annual PASCD Conference Nov. 12-13
Harrisburg: Sparking Innovation: Personalized Learning, STEM, 4C's
This year's conference will begin on Sunday, November 12th
and end on Monday, November 13th. There will also be a free pre-conference on
Saturday, November 11th. You can
register for this year's conference online with a credit card payment or have
an invoice sent to you. Click here to register for the
conference.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs
Registration Opens Tuesday, September 26, 2017
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