Monday, August 20, 2018

PA Ed Policy Roundup August 20: Reading School District praised for 'miraculous' turnaround


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 emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Reading School District praised for 'miraculous' turnaround



"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength" -- George Orwell, 1984
"Truth isn't truth" -- Rudy Giuliani, 2018



‘He’s a liar’: Hot debate over education in Pa. governor’s race
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Andrew Seidman, Posted: August 17, 2018- 12:51 PM
Three weeks into taking over as Pennsylvania's governor in 2015, Tom Wolf began his push to send money into public schools across the state. The plan he announced that day in the Coatesville School District — for a new tax on natural gas drilling — hasn't been enacted. Nor has his call in his first budget to dramatically ramp up the state's share of education funding. More dollars have flowed from the state to school districts during Wolf's tenure. But the increase is less than what he aimed to achieve. And it hasn't covered growing costs to districts, including in Coatesville, where the district has raised property taxes 15 percent in four years. "Even with the additional funding, there's still a bigger shift back to the local taxpayers," said Jeff Ammerman, the business manager in Coatesville. The district closed an elementary school last year and eliminated 30 jobs through attrition. Wolf, a Democrat, made history four years ago, knocking off incumbent Republican Tom Corbett in no small part because voters were angry with how Corbett handled education cuts. Now up for reelection against Republican Scott Wagner, Wolf is making his education record a big selling point, boasting that he's reversed the cuts and made other gains. Wagner, too, is trying to position himself as the true champion of education, following a popular campaign playbook here and elsewhere. Everyone wants good schools, and education is the top state general fund expenditure in Pennsylvania; it also consumes a huge chunk of local property taxes.
http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/tom-wolf-scott-wagner-pennsylvania-governor-race-education-schools-spending-20180817.html

Wagner unveils $1B education plan that'll avoid raising taxes
WJAC by Matthew Stevens Thursday, August 16th 2018
DUNCANSVILLE, Pa. - Gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner unveiled his education plan in Duncansville Thursday, a proposal to increase funding for schools by $1 billion without raising taxes. “In my administration your ZIP code won’t determine your success,” Wagner said of the plan. “I’m committed to record investments in education so that every child has access to opportunity, every parent has peace of mind knowing their child has a chance to learn, every teacher has the tools they need and every taxpayer knows we are doing it at a price they can afford.” Wagner's plan has seven main features for improving education across the state, including: adding $1 billion in funding in the classroom, investing in great educators, increasing school safety, expanding early childhood education, broadband service for the entire state, ensuring students are college- and career-ready, and holding all schools accountable.
https://wjactv.com/news/local/wagner-unveils-1b-education-plan-thatll-avoid-raising-taxes

Wagner, Wolf each seek to lay claim to mantle of responsible governance, support for education
Pennsylvania Watchdog By Dave Lemery | Watchdog.org Aug 13, 2018
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and his Republican challenger, former state Sen. Scott Wagner, might not agree on much when it comes to policy. But one thing they agreed upon recently was the necessity of appearing before the annual conference of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. They spoke on different days of the conference, each looking to impart to the gathered leaders why they would be the best choice to lead the state after the November election. Wolf flattered his audience by noting that county governments can have an outsized impact on the citizens they serve, even compared to high-profile nonprofit organizations. “Back when I was chairman of the United Way, we had a record campaign and in York County, we raised $7 million,” he said. “That same year, and this was in the 1980s, … the county human services budget was $45 million. … I spent a lot of time and a lot of effort on that United Way campaign … but that same year, what the county commissioners did was so much more impactful on the lives of the people of York County.” Wagner revisited his commitment to introducing zero-based budgeting if he becomes governor, vowing that it could save as much as $4 billion in his first year in office. And he asked the commissioners to think about ways to revise and simplify the state’s tax laws.
https://www.watchdog.org/pennsylvania/wagner-wolf-each-seek-to-lay-claim-to-mantle-of/article_f089d582-9f12-11e8-9eeb-df1dacb42c1a.html

Blogger opinion: here is all you need to know about former state senator Wagner’s “support” for public education:
Sponsors for Voucher Bill Senate Bill 2 (Education Savings Accounts)
PA General Assembly Website Bill Information
DiSANTOSCARNATIEICHELBERGERARGALLALLOWAYAUMENTBAKERBARTOLOTTAFOLMERMARTINRAFFERTYREGANRESCHENTHALERSTEFANOWAGNERWHITE and KILLION
Short Title: An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for education savings account; and conferring powers and imposing duties on the Department of Education and the State Treasury.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2017&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=2


“Don't live in Florida? Then you just have to remember one thing-- Betsy DeVos thinks Florida is a great example of how education should be managed.”
FL: Taking the Next Step To End Public Ed
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Sunday, August 19, 2018
There are times when I think I could write about Florida all the time. The state's legislators lead the nation in outright hostility to public education and indifference to children. And this time they're really outdoing them with some Franken-bill known as Amendment 8. Amendment 8 was produced by the Florida Constitution  Revision Commission, which voted to put it on the ballot as an amalgam of three amendments to the state constitution. One amendment would mandate "civic literacy" as a subject in public schools. One would weaken school boards by imposing term limits of eight years. And one would render elected public school boards obsolete while giving the charter industry the power to inflict taxation without representation on communities. Some authorizer could establish a charter school in your community, and then all oversight and operation of the charter would be by the state. The only part of the charter than the community would be involved in is paying the bills; the amendment completely circumvents the elected school board.  Guess how the legislators have been publicizing the bill.
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2018/08/fl-taking-next-step-to-end-public-ed.html?spref=tw

Reading School District praised for 'miraculous' turnaround
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale credits new leadership with righting the ship.
Reading Eagle WRITTEN BY JEREMY LONG THURSDAY AUGUST 16, 2018 11:57 PM
When Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale came to Reading five years ago, he labeled the school district a failure. But on Thursday, he touted Reading as a model for how school districts in trouble can be turned around. Flanked by Reading administrators, school board members and other elected officials, DePasquale stepped to the podium in the shade of Riverside Elementary School to announce the findings of his latest audit. “Today the situation is dramatically different and shows with the right leadership, the right people and the right cooperation, no matter how tough it is, school districts can be turned around,” he said. “What the superintendent and his team have done in cooperation with the teachers needs to be a model for these same districts across Pennsylvania.” The auditor general's new report, a 22-page document, looked at the span from July 2012 through June 2016. The audit examined transportation operations, financial position, administrator contract buyout, bus driver requirements and school safety. It contains just one finding and only four recommendations.
http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/reading-school-district-praised-for-unprecedented-turnaround

Forbes: Lancaster County CTC, Thaddeus Stevens ranked among nation's 10 best 2-year trade schools
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Aug 18, 2018
Lancaster County is home to two of the finest trade schools in the nation, according to new rankings released this week by Forbes. Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (fifth) and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (ninth) ranked among the top 10 in the magazine’s second annual list of the 25 best two-year trade schools in the United States. Forbes ranked institutions using data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, College Scorecard and Payscale. Important factors included post-graduate success, affordability, graduation and retention rates and student experience. Administrative Director Stuart Savin said the rankings show how the CTC does “amazing things to help Lancaster County prosper and grow and build pathways beyond high school.” “We’re hitting on all cylinders, which is wonderful,” Savin said, adding that many of the programs the CTC offers lead to sustainable, well-paying jobs. In addition to serving juniors and seniors who opt to take vocational courses in high school, the institution provides adult programs such as veterinary technology, welding and manufacturing, heavy equipment operations and practical nursing.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/forbes-lancaster-county-ctc-thaddeus-stevens-ranked-among-nation-s/article_53ae4774-a265-11e8-9c09-8fa1f2f5941f.html

Delco teachers' lesson: barricades, active shooters and classroom hiding places
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Staff Writer  @Kathy_Boccella |  kboccella@phillynews.com Updated: AUGUST 17, 2018 — 10:54 AM EDT
When Noelle Newton started her career as a counselor a decade ago, back-to-school preparations meant decorating classrooms and reviewing procedures for the after-school pickup line. But on Wednesday afternoon, she prepped for the start of the new school year by learning how to barricade a classroom door while an “active shooter” — actually another teacher with a nerf gun — tried to force her way in. In the next drill, Newton and the other teachers threw tennis balls, symbolizing staplers or books, to try and stun the mock killer. “It’s sad, really sad,” said Newton, who works at Marple Newtown’s Loomis Elementary School in Delaware County. But she said she’s glad she’s prepared because the threat of violence is “something that scares me every day.” From breaking a choke hold to stanching the blood from a gunshot wound, the two-day Teacher Safety Workshop offered up a realistic if unrelentingly grim glimpse into threats increasingly faced by America’s teachers in the post-Parkland era. The workshop drew about 75 educators and was sponsored by Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland and state Sen. Tom McGarrigle. Schools throughout the country recognize that ID badges are no longer enough to protect students and teachers from the once-unthinkable. With 23 school shootings already recorded in 2018, students returning in September will encounter more armed guards and surveillance cameras, wire fences and metal detectors.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/teachers-safety-workshop-delaware-county-20180817.html

D.A.’s seminar teaches educators how to stay safe
By Kathleen E. Carey, Delaware County Daily Times POSTED: 08/18/18, 8:56 PM
MIDDLETOWN >> In a second-floor classroom at Penn State Brandywine Wednesday, Ian Stoddart held a truncated mannequin thigh and squeezed it with his fingers.  “I think what’s the most amazing thing about the fact that we are doing this is the fact that I’m here at all,” Stoddart said. “Teaching this to teachers, I don’t know, there is something morally wrong about it but we have to do it ... This is possible, this is plausible, this is something we have to address and regrettably the people that have the burden of this is (teachers) because (they’re) the ones stuck in that building and (they) can make a difference.” Sponsored by Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland and state Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26, of Springfield, the “Teacher Safety Workshop: Protecting Those Who Protect Our Children” was a two-day workshop geared for about 70 teachers and educators to train them in conflict management, self defense, how to secure classrooms and how to stop bleeding.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20180818/das-seminar-teaches-educators-how-to-stay-safe

Scranton School District Receives $6 Million from State
WNEP POSTED 6:03 PM, AUGUST 14, 2018, BY BILL MICHLOWSKI
SCRANTON, Pa. -- The Scranton School District will receive an additional $6 million in state funding for 2019. That announcement was made Tuesday at Senator John Blake's office in downtown Scranton. The extra money is a result of meetings with Governor Tom Wolf and because the Scranton School District is under "financial watch" with the Department of Education. The money comes from a fund that is to be spent on classroom instruction, so there are some restrictions on how the district can use the extra money. The Scranton School Board hopes the money will be able to fill some of the $11.5 million budget gap the district faces next year.
https://wnep.com/2018/08/14/scranton-school-district-receives-6-million-from-state/

In a foreign land, these youngsters spend their Pittsburgh summer piecing together a new language and confidence
ELIZABETH BEHRMAN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lbehrman@post-gazette.com AUG 19, 2018 12:08 AM
Unlike in Tanzania, Pittsburgh has a hockey team.  Unlike in Congo, it snows.  A small group of students sat at a table in a third-floor classroom in the Pittsburgh Musical Theater this week, discussing Venn diagrams they had drawn and taped to the wall. They were comparing their home countries — Benin, Sierra Leone, Yemen and Iraq — to their new city and giving presentations to their classmates, with gentle encouragement from a camp counselor.  Even the most hesitant among them joined an enthusiastic conversation about whether Pittsburgh or Africa has better food. (Each of them had a different opinion about that.) We focus, I think, a lot on building confidence,” said Isabelle Ouyang, a University of Pittsburgh student and one of the directors of the Pittsburgh Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment — or PRYSE — Academy. “So students feel good practicing and expressing themselves.” PRYSE, a summer camp for middle- and high-school-age immigrant or refugee children from across Allegheny County, aims to help them learn English and keep up with academic work during the summer break, but also to help them celebrate their cultural identities and express themselves in a new city.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2018/08/19/Pittsburgh-Public-Schools-immigrant-refugee-students-PRYSE-summer-ARYSE-English-program/stories/201808150121

Some Western Pa. schools move to later starts for students
Trib Live by JAMIE MARTINES  | Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, 11:09 p.m.
Some local districts have followed through on efforts to evaluate and implement later school start times heading into the new school year. Burrell High School, which serves about 570 students, shifted start times from 7:45 a.m. to 8:10 to give students an extra 25 minutes in the morning. “The research indicates adolescents need more rest,” said Principal John Boylan. Coupled with the fact that teachers need more time for lesson planning and collaborating with each other, he expects the change in start times to pay off. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to ensure students get enough sleep — 8½ to 9½ hours each night, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tribune-Review survey last fall of 34 high schools in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties found that many started classes before 8:30 a.m., some as early as 7 a.m. Districts cited transportation needs at the lower grades and conflicts with extracurricular activities, such as athletics and clubs, as the reason for starting early. Over the previous school year, several school districts considered shifting start times this fall but grappled with logistical challenges — the cost of rerouting or adding buses, for example — to make it happen.
https://triblive.com/news/adminpage/13988069-74/some-western-pa-schools-move-to-later-starts-for-students

“It's bad enough that cars are provided to state lawmakers; those deals also include fuel and maintenance. But the car perk is just the tip of the iceberg.  State lawmakers are paid an average of more than $87,000 –way more than any other state except California. Leaders get even more. Lawmakers also get per diems – up to $183 per day, no receipts required. They get gold-plated health care, and after serving in office for 10 years — eight, if you're a senator — they can retire (at 55, with a pension) and keep it for a low cost, for life.  And they get to draw their own district lines, ensuring them long stints in office.”
Cars, fat salaries, big perks: Why are we spoiling Pennsylvania lawmakers? | Editorial
by The Inquirer Editorial Board, Posted: August 20, 2018
Criticize state lawmakers all you want, but they are consistent on one point: They always reliably provide poster children for their own embarrassing excesses. Such as Vincent Fumo, poster child for public corruption. And LeAnna Washington, poster child for using her own staff to plan campaign fundraisers And John Perzel,  poster child for constructing elaborate taxpayer funded systems to help him and cronies get reelected. All of these offenses have a key point in common: They are connected to the sense of spoiled entitlement that often comes with state elected office. Today, we  present Representative Margo "Crash" Davidson, poster child for "why are we pampering and spoiling state legislators?" According to a recent Inquirer report, Davidson apparently has a hard time handling her state-government-issued car;  in the past three years, she's had three accidents in two different state-supplied vehicles, one of which happened when she was driving with a suspended license.  In another, separate episode,  she left her state-owned car in her driveway unlocked with the keys in it; it was stolen and damaged. Taxpayers have been on the hook not only for her cars, but for $30,000 in repairs.
http://www2.philly.com/philly/opinion/editorials/margo-davidson-harrisburg-perks-car-crash-bonusgate-20180820.html

“Pennsylvania's state lawmakers already earn a base salary of $87,180. Only one state - California - pays its lawmakers more. That's on top of a pension, bottomless expenses and healthcare for life.”
Pull over, Pa. lawmakers. It's time to give up your taxpayer-funded cars | Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board penned@pennlive.com Updated Aug 17; Posted Aug 17
If there was ever an argument for reining in the generous salary and suite of perks that Pennsylvania's 253 state lawmakers receive, it's state Rep. Margo Davidson. The Delaware County Democrat has stuck taxpayers with $30,000 in auto repair bills to her state-provided vehicles over the past three years, Philly.com reported this week, citing information it obtained from Right-To-Know requests. Davidson has been in three accidents over the past three years and she's been cited for driving with a suspended license. A rundown of the crashes, according to Philly.com.
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2018/08/pull_over_pa_lawmakers_its_tim.html#incart_2box_politics

Trump Won Pennsylvania. Democrats Want the State (and His Voters) Back.
New York Times By Matt Flegenheimer and Thomas Kaplan Aug. 19, 2018
CONWAY, Pa. — The rules are workable enough in the right hands, in the right corner of a right-leaning region of a state like this one. Avoid the jacket-and-tie look, so voters — wary enough of Democrats — do not think they are looking at a Jehovah’s Witness. “That happened,” recalled Representative Conor Lamb, now in a polo shirt. Pivot to safe subjects. After a local here loudly mocked the idea of “Russian collusion” with President Trump to a peer, Mr. Lamb, 34, moved in to introduce himself, telling the man (who said he was Russian) about falling in love with Russian cuisine when he was in the Marines. And if all else fails — and it will, often — there is always prayer. “I was reading a little Isaiah this morning,” Mr. Lamb said at a town festival recently, approaching Paul Strano, 69, whose hat read, “F.B.I.: Firm Believer In Jesus.” The two bowed their heads. “A man of faith, backing the party of abortion, homosexual promotion,” Mr. Strano, a Trump supporter, said afterward. “But the man sold himself.” Mr. Lamb had his vote. In his 2016 victory, Mr. Trump swiped several states that Democrats had assumed were theirs: Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida. But perhaps no outcome matched the psychic toll of losing Pennsylvania, where the past Democratic coalition of city-dwelling liberals, racial minorities and white working-class voters in union towns had long defined the party’s identity as a big-tent enterprise.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/politics/pennsylvania-democrats-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Educator upsets longtime Wisconsin state lawmaker
AP by Ivan Moreno August 16, 2018
MILWAUKEE (AP) — An educator who pulled off a major upset when she defeated a longtime incumbent lawmaker in the Democratic primaries will become one of only two black women in Wisconsin’s state Assembly — a feat she attributes to long days knocking on voters’ doors. LaKeshia Myers, 34, beat state Rep. Fred Kessler by 23 percentage points in the 12th Assembly District, and since she’ll be unopposed in November the seat is hers. Kessler, 78, had held the seat for 14 years after prior stints in the Legislature in the 1960s. Before Myers, no one had posed a serious challenge to Kessler, a white lawmaker who had been representing a majority black district on Milwaukee’s northwest side. But the district’s demographics — and the way the seat was drawn nearly a decade ago — presented a perfect opportunity for a minority candidate to beat Kessler. African-Americans are 55 percent of the district’s population “I think the district made their voices clear with, it’s time for us to cash in on that seat by having someone, a person of color, represent us in this district,” Myers said in an interview with The Associated Press. But Myers said it wasn’t all about race and she worked tirelessly to get people’s votes by walking and knocking on their doors — something she good-humoredly calls “putting sweat equity in.”
“I know that there were quite a few white folks who voted for me yesterday,” she said. “So I think they looked at my candidacy based on what I brought to the table.”
https://apnews.com/78e9b00a1cb844a98d950d0881c752c7

STEM Education Severs the Arts from the Sciences
Gadfly on the Wall Blog by Steven Singer August 14, 2018 
What’s the most effective way to dumb down a nation?
Focus on How without Why.
That’s really the biggest problem with the pedagogical fad of STEM education.
There’s nothing objectively wrong with teaching science, technology, engineering and math – the disciplines that make up STEM.
In many cases, doing so is essential to a well-rounded education.
But therein lies the problem – you can’t have a well-rounded education if you purposely leave out some of the most vital aspects of knowledge.
 Where’s the art? Where’s the literature? Where’s the social studies, government, citizenship, drawing, painting, music – heck! Where’s the philosophical understanding of life, itself?
STEM initiatives often involve creating two tiers of school subjects. You have the serious disciplines that will earn you respect and a job. And you have the soft, mamby pamby humanities that are no good to anyone.
https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2018/08/14/stem-education-severs-the-arts-from-the-sciences/

Edged out of the middle class, teachers are walking out
WHYY By APM Reports, The Hechinger Report August 18, 2018
This story originally appeared on The Hechinger Report.
In 2015, Jennifer Vetter decided to change careers and become a teacher. The 46-year old quit her well-paying management job at an orthodontic clinic in Gilbert, Arizona, to go back to college full-time and become a special-education teacher. She received a scholarship to earn her master’s in education, refinanced her home to help with other expenses and went all in on her dream of teaching kids with special needs. Then she got her first couple of paychecks. “With everything taken out, it was an absolute shock to me,” she says. Vetter did the math. After health care costs, deductions for taxes and her pension, and the number of hours she was working – sometimes 10 or more hours per day – she was making about $6 an hour. Weekly, she made about $300. Low pay has led teachers across the country to organize and strike for better wages and greater investment in schools. In Arizona, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Colorado, the growing “Red for ed” movement is demanding legislatures in these red states invest more money in schools and school staff.
https://whyy.org/articles/edged-out-of-the-middle-class-teachers-are-walking-out/

Most European students are learning a foreign language in school while Americans lag
PEW Research BY KAT DEVLIN AUGUST 6, 2018
Students throughout the United States and Europe face many similar tasks throughout their education, from preparing for exams to writing papers. But there are glaring differences when it comes to foreign language education – or lack thereof – and the result is that far lower shares of American students study a foreign language. Learning a foreign language is a nearly ubiquitous experience for students throughout Europe, driven in part by the fact that most European countries have national-level mandates for formally studying languages in school. No such national standard exists in the U.S., where requirements are mostly set at the school district or state level. Across Europe, students typically begin studying their first foreign language as a required school subject between the ages of 6 and 9. Furthermore, studying a second foreign language for at least one year is compulsory in more than 20 European countries.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/06/most-european-students-are-learning-a-foreign-language-in-school-while-americans-lag/


PSBA Officer Elections: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later than June 1, 2018, to be considered. All candidates who properly completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 17 at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to each person's name with an asterisk (*). Voting procedure: Each school entity will have one vote for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during the open voting period (Aug. 24-Oct. 11, 2018). Voting will be accomplished through a secure third-party, web-based voting site that will require a password login. One person from each member school entity will be authorized as the official person to register the vote on behalf of his or her school entity. In the case of school districts, it will be the board secretary who will cast votes on behalf of the school board. A full packet of instructions and a printed slate will be sent to authorized vote registrars the week of August 7. Special note: Boards should be sure to add discussion and voting on candidates to their agenda during one of their meetings in August, September or October before the open voting period ends.
https://www.psba.org/2018/07/psba-officer-elections-slate-candidates/

Apply Now for EPLC's 2018-2019 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program!
Applications are available now for the 2018-2019 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).  The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). 
With more than 500 graduates in its first eighteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community leaders.  State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to certified public accountants.
Past participants include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals, school business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization. The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 13-14, 2018 and continues to graduation in June 2019.
Applications are being accepted now.
Click here to read more about the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
The application may be copied from the EPLC web site, but must be submitted by mail or scanned and e-mailed, with the necessary signatures of applicant and sponsor.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Fellowship Program and its requirements, please contact EPLC Executive Director Ron Cowell at 717-260-9900 or cowell@eplc.org.

2nd Annual National Black Male Educators Convening, Oct. 12-14, Philly
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 2nd National Black Male Educators Convening to advance policy solutions, learn from one another, and fight for social justice. All are welcome. Register to attend. Nominate a speaker. Propose a workshop. Sponsor the event.

Save the Dates PASA/PSBA School Leadership Conference – Hershey, Oct. 17-19, 2018 
Mark your calendar! The Delegate Assembly will take place Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.
Housing now open!

“Not only do we have a superstar lineup of keynote speakers including Diane Ravitch, Jesse Hagopian, Pasi Sahlberg, Derrick Johnson and Helen Gym, but there will be countless sessions to choose from on the issues you care about the most. We will cover all bases from testing, charters, vouchers and school funding, to issues of student privacy and social justice in schools.”
Our Public Schools Our Democracy: Our Fight for the Future
NPE / NPE Action 5th Annual National Conference
October 20th - 21st, 2018 Indianapolis, Indiana
We are delighted to let you know that you can purchase your discounted Early Bird ticket to register for our annual conference starting today. Purchase your ticket here.
Early Bird tickets will be on sale until May 30 or until all are sold out, so don't wait.  These tickets are a great price--$135. Not only do they offer conference admission, they also include breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. Please don't forget to register for your hotel room. We have secured discounted rates on a limited basis. You can find that link here. Finally, if you require additional financial support to attend, we do offer some scholarships based on need. Go here and fill in an application. We will get back to you as soon as we can. Please join us in Indianapolis as we fight for the public schools that our children and communities deserve. Don't forget to get your Early Bird ticket here. We can't wait to see you.


Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization that I may be affiliated with.


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