Tuesday, January 15, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan. 15: In PA, most cyber charters operate with expired state agreements


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

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In PA, most cyber charters operate with expired state agreements



Save the date: PA Schools Work Delaware County Work Group Conference
Saturday, February 2, 2019 8:45 am – 12:00 pm at DCIU



In Pa., most cyber charter schools operate with expired state agreements
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: January 14, 2019- 5:07 AM
The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School enrolled nearly 2,600 students last year, several hundred more than it did in 2012. That’s the year the cyber school’s charter expired. Cyber charter schools nationally have struggled to meet academic benchmarks and have faced controversy over their finances and management. Yet in Pennsylvania, operating with an expired charter has become a standard practice. Of the state’s 15 cyber charters, only five have current state charters that officially sanction their operations. “That’s terrible,” Susan DeJarnatt, a Temple University law professor who has researched Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools, Given that charter schools are privately operated but publicly funded, the state has a “fiduciary duty to all of us ... to make sure these millions and millions of dollars are being used for the education of our children," she said. Pennsylvania Leadership’s CEO, James Hanak, says it’s a “total puzzle” why the state Department of Education hasn’t acted on a renewal application the school submitted six years ago. “For six years, they sent us money,” Hanak said of the state. “They obviously didn’t find something draconian they could have hammered us with.” DeJarnatt and others said the delays in processing renewal requests raises questions about how adequately the state has been monitoring cyber charter schools. She noted that the founder of one of Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charters pleaded guilty in 2016 to tax conspiracy after prosecutors accused him of steering millions of dollars from the school to entities he controlled. “Oversight shouldn’t be limited to criminality,” DeJarnatt said.
http://www.philly.com/news/cyber-charter-schools-pennsylvania-20190114.html?fbclid=IwAR1xtdPV6rnK6jZAKcyIjrVL_IGsnUVtszJtgJfhXJiJW7jZCbGAqQqoriQ&__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

Letter: Step up state funding for education
The Sentinel Letter by Julie Lesman, Carlisle Jan 10, 2019
Dear Editor: Your recent story about possible staffing cuts in the Carlisle School District, (“Proposed study could result in staffing cuts at Carlisle schools”, Jan. 3, The Sentinel), correctly noted state funding for public schools is not keeping up with the cost of educating students. Your readers also should know that Pennsylvania currently ranks 46th in share of public education funding and, in fact, if the state fully funded the fair school funding formula it passed two years ago, Carlisle schools would see an additional $12 million annually. If the state funded public schools adequately, not only would staff reductions be unnecessary, but the district would be able to make additional investments in school infrastructure and curriculum, and hopefully slow the rate of property tax increases passed on to local taxpayers. It’s time for Harrisburg to do something for the local schools and communities its policies have shortchanged for so long.
https://cumberlink.com/opinion/letters/letter-step-up-state-funding-for-education/article_f42a4a20-38b1-5600-8e55-c633e32f1f85.html

“What is NGSS? Teachers like the Next Generation Science Standards because they incorporate the major advances that have occurred in the world of science in recent years. This new set of science, technology, engineering and math standards was introduced in 2013 and has since been adopted by 19 states with 21 others approving something similar. Pennsylvania began developing its current set of science standards in the mid-1990s and adopted them in 2002 – five years before the first iPhone was invented. In 2010, a revised version of the science standards was posted on the education department’s website but was offered only as a voluntary resource for schools.”
Pa. educators want science standards to do more than teach students to win on Jeopardy!
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jan 13, 8:10 PM; Posted 5:24 AM
Soon after students settled into their seats, Jeff Remington directed them to begin downloading an application on their school-issued iPads that would teach them about the language - called coding - that tells computers what to do. Then he flipped on an 8-minute video explaining why coding is something the Palmyra Middle School students should know: Tech companies anticipate the need for a million more coders over the next decade. Remington interrupted the video to make sure students took note of the playground-like atmosphere that tech companies, like the one in the video, offer in hopes that playing video games and riding scooters down hallways will entice prospective employees. “You don’t even need a college degree for some of these jobs. You saw the life that you lead by working for these companies,” Remington told the class. “This is where we got to be moving.” Remington and other educators want students across Pennsylvania to see science as a way to fulfill their dreams. Educators said the state needs to adopt a new set of science standards that helps public school students recognize that science is part of everyday life. Specifically, educators like Remington are calling on the state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or a state-developed set of learning expectations adapted to them.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/01/pa-educators-want-science-standards-to-do-more-than-teach-students-to-win-on-jeopardy.html

David Argall: Road map to safer schools
Trib Live Opinion by DAVID ARGALL | Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, 7:03 p.m.
Republican State Sen. David Argall represents Schuylkill and Berks counties.
Citizens throughout the country watched in horror last year as a gunman claimed the lives of 17 students in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. People were heartbroken to see yet another school shooting taking the lives of the innocent. In the midst of this tragedy, our Senate Majority Policy Committee set out to find solutions to provide a safer environment for our students. We held 10 public roundtable sessions across the state. Discussions held during hearings were centered on two goals: reviewing recently enacted laws, and soliciting input and feedback for existing and new proposals to make our schools safer in Pennsylvania. Each event we held was broken into three main parts: discussion of recently passed laws, discussion of pending proposals before the state Legislature, and new ideas for the General Assembly to consider. Participants varied for each roundtable discussion and were based on the local needs and issues of the host community. Events featured officials from the state, local and school levels, safety experts, law professionals and students. Key findings and points of discussion from the sessions were compiled into a 16-page report, which is available at www.senator argall.com (video of each roundtable discussion is also available). Two main recommendations grew out of these hearings: a focus on mental health, and the ability to harden targets.
https://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/14497627-74/david-argall-road-map-to-safer-schools

Gun policy on hold? Tamaqua votes on whether to suspend tonight
Tamaqua Area School Board President Larry Wittig said last week he believed suspending the gun policy for now made sense while the district fights two lawsuits on the issue
Sarah M. Wojcik Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call January 15, 2019
The Tamaqua Area School Board could vote tonight to put the controversial gun policy that would arm staff on hold – for the time being. Hit with two lawsuits since November – one from the teachers union and other from a group of district families – school board President Larry Wittig believes it prudent to suspend the policy. He was careful last week to emphasize that this move would not be a capitulation to those opposed to the policy, which is the first of its kind in the state. “We’re still 100 percent committed to Policy 705 and the substance of it,” Wittig said in an email last week. “We felt that incurring expense for training and other employee investment would be a waste of money now, if we have to go through an appeal process. Tamaqua School District will not be bullied by these outside groups.” Nick Boyle, a school board member who helped craft Policy 705, opposed putting a suspension up to vote when the measure was discussed by the board’s security committee last week. The policy would allow district staff to volunteer for specialized training so they could carry a weapon on school grounds to potentially stop a shooter.
https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-tamaqua-suspending-gun-policy-preview-20190114-story.html

Boyertown schools to allow armed guards, 'deadly force'
Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter Jan 11, 2019
The Boyertown Area School District has adopted new policies for school security, including armed guards.
BOYERTOWN — Retired and off-duty police officers will be armed and authorized to use "deadly force" in the Boyertown Area School District's 10 buildings as a result of recent school board votes. As school districts continue to grapple with the policy ramifications of an increase in school shootings over the past year, Boyertown has moved forward with some security measures it has shielded from public view in order to increase their effectiveness. These votes were not among them. The most recent vote, to adopt a policy for the "use of force," including deadly force, came without comment from the board at its Jan. 8 board meeting at the Education Center in Colebrookdale. The policy was first discussed at the Dec. 11 policy committee meeting and given its "first read" at the Dec. 18 school board meeting.   It comes on the heels of a decision to authorize "the current district police officer to be armed," Superintendent Dana Bedden wrote in a letter to the community posted on the district's website. "The armed police officer(s) will either be an off-duty and/or retired law enforcement officer(s). All such safety and security personnel must meet all of the educational and training requirements including all continuing education and continuing required training that would permit them to serve as a police officer in a local jurisdiction," Bedden wrote.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/boyertown-schools-to-allow-armed-guards-deadly-force/article_9d4d79c6-15d9-11e9-84ec-53ff6de1355b.html?fbclid=IwAR29Kc4HRbrNI37wP3mDBNGS_4BUIcQTwGB7YdK-a59ej6MYaUlmpvLHYo8

“The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, today and throughout this year, will explore the data tying childhood deprivation to a host of other problems, and delve into a dozen communities in which half of the kids live in poverty. Reporters and photographers will visit with families doing their best in difficult surroundings, explore the causes and effects, and search for solutions.”
When half the kids are in poverty, our fractured towns can offer no future
Post Gazette REPORTING Rich Lord WITH Kate Giammarise & Christopher Huffaker January 14, 2019
Narrowed futures. Often, shortened lives. That's what children face when surrounded by poverty. And in southwestern Pennsylvania's fragmented patchwork of cities, boroughs and townships, they're also likely to live in places without the resources to keep them safe, active and healthy. Nowhere is the inequity clearer than along Route 30, where North Braddock and Forest Hills meet. On the Forest Hills side of that border, the average lifetime is a decade longer than on the other side. That’s the ultimate effect of concentrated poverty, but by no means the only one. "Poverty is a sledgehammer,” said Jamie L. Hanson, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Psychology who studies the effects of poverty on the brain. “It hits at so many different places in people’s lives, from disrupting and challenging family situations, to kind of these larger-scale stressful experiences in your community, to maybe not having all of the economic resources, and these things then interact.” The unhealthy habits, chronic diseases and violence spawned by concentrated poverty create what he calls “a toxic context for kids and families.” Combine that with ineffective government, and the toxic cycle becomes difficult to break. The U.S. child poverty rate is 20 percent, and Allegheny County’s is 17 percent. But there are seven Allegheny County municipalities in which half of the kids live in poverty: North Braddock, Mount Oliver, Rankin, Duquesne, McKeesport, Clairton and Wilmerding. They’ve got more than their fair share of kids and human needs. They’re short on stable, educated residents and starved for the funds needed to keep kids safe and healthy. Neighboring counties have very different communities with the same root problem: A majority of those under 18 are poor.
https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/childhood-poverty-allegheny-county-mapping-inequality/growing-up-through-the-cracks/

“Meanwhile, as the Wall Street Journal reported in its Dec. 29-30 edition, based on federal government data, teachers are leaving their jobs at record rates. In the first 10 months of 2018, public educators quit at an average rate of 83 per 10,000 a month. The federal Department of Labor reported that the rate in question was the highest for public educators since such data began being collected in 2001.”
Teacher retention should become very real concern
Altoona Mirror EDITORIALS JAN 13, 2019
If people of area counties want a respite from thinking about the partial federal government shutdown, they have the option of focusing on two growing trends in education — four-day weeks and bans on homework — that, who knows, might someday take hold here, for better or worse. It’s safe to say even now that, whether or not they’re enacted statewide or in individual districts sometime in the future, they no doubt will have spawned much discussion, pro and con, by the time final decisions have been rendered about them. And, that is as it should be. The important thing now is that Pennsylvania not bury its proverbial head in the sand regarding what’s happening elsewhere. There are reasonable arguments backing up the two changes for which some school systems across America already have gotten aboard. The day seems destined to come when Pennsylvania education officials, as well as administrators and boards of education in many local school districts, will be evaluating the shifts in thinking to determine how they might work for Pennsylvania in general, its 500 individual school systems and, most importantly, its students.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/opinion/editorials/2019/01/teacher-retention-should-become-very-real-concern/

Contract, tax talks intersect in Upper Darby schools
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com January 15, 2019
UPPER DARBY — Contract talks between the Upper Darby School District and the 1,000-member Upper Darby Education Association have continued at the start of the new year, but with no new agreement ready to be presented to the union. The school board and union President Melanie Masciantonio made individual statements at the board’s Jan. 8 meeting to address where each side stands, their goals and what has happened between the two parties since 80 percent of voting union members rejected a contract offer in early December. “After the overwhelming rejection of a tentative agreement the negotiation team sent out a survey to its members to identify the weaknesses and guide the next round of negotiations moving forward,” said Masciantonio. “Before winter break we did have two informal meetings with the district and a formal meeting between both sides occurred on Dec. 27.” According to the district’s labor attorney, Mark Fitzgerald, in a Jan. 7 email, there was detailed discussion at the last session on a district’s limitation to increase (local) revenue under the state’s Act 1 of 2006 – a law that sets the maximum tax increase each district can raise property taxes for the upcoming school year – and how to balance the needs of the taxpayers and the teachers. “What was clear from our discussions was the general lack of understanding of school finances on UDEA’s end and the restraints placed on school budgets,” said Fitzgerald. Upper Darby School Board President Rachel Mitchell noted in the board’s statement the balance of being fair to their tax base and the professional staff of the union.
https://www.delcotimes.com/news/contract-tax-talks-intersect-in-upper-darby-schools/article_80cbdc34-183b-11e9-8428-4f5bb9e3e495.html

To get to college, it helps black students to have a black teacher early on
WHYY/NPR By Mayowa Aina January 12, 2019
Public education has a persistent and well-documented issue: the achievement gap between white students and students of color. Researchers have studied disparities in areas such as test scores and discipline rates to identify ways to close the gap. But what if matching the race of a student and their teacher could contribute to a solution? A recent study — part of a series of working papers published by the National Bureau of Economic Research — shows that having just one black teacher not only lowers black students’ high school dropout rates and increases their desire to go to college, but also can make them more likely to enroll in college. According to the results, black students who have just one black teacher in elementary school are 13 percent more likely to enroll in college than their peers who didn’t have any black teachers. Students who have two black teachers are 32 percent more likely to go to college. It’s an update to a study NPR reported on in 2017 that found that black students who had just one black teacher could help them stay in school. With the addition of college enrollment data, the analysis shows that the impact of black teachers on black students reaches even further than researchers initially thought.
https://whyy.org/npr_story_post/to-get-to-college-it-helps-black-students-to-have-a-black-teacher-early-on/

“The reports also show that the number of students denied admission to school because they hadn’t met the requirement or gotten an exemption rose from zero in 2016-17 to 11 in 2017-18 in Lancaster County, and from 96 to 193 statewide. That said, the 2016-17 school year had the lowest number of students turned away in the past decade both locally and statewide.”
9.5 percent of Lancaster County students are exempted from school immunization requirements
Lancaster Online by HEATHER STAUFFER | Staff Writer January 15, 2019
In the first year of a tougher school immunization requirement in Pennsylvania, state records show two increases — one in students getting fully vaccinated before starting classes, and one in students being exempted from the requirement. Starting at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, regulators shortened a grace period for students who were not fully immunized from eight months to five days. Statewide, the reports show the number of students using the grace period dropping from 24,724 the previous year to 6,531, or from almost 11 percent to 2.5 percent. In Lancaster County, the drop was from 2,023 to 359, or from almost 17 percent to 3 percent. Pennsylvania’s annual immunization reports cover only kindergarten and seventh-grade students, so the actual number of students affected is much higher. Meanwhile exemptions rose, from 2.3 percent to 3.6 percent of students statewide, and from 8.6 percent to 9.5 percent in Lancaster County. Exemptions may overlap — meaning a parent can claim a student exemption on more than one ground — but because there’s no way to tell if they do, LNP is assuming they don’t.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/percent-of-lancaster-county-students-are-exempted-from-school-immunization/article_0813fbf0-143a-11e9-87a0-6ba0583f1df0.html

“It does seem like an innovative solution to an issue of a city filled with big beautiful buildings that don’t generate tax dollars. Between world-class universities and groundbreaking medical facilities, not to mention churches and property owned by city, county, state and federal governments, 40 percent of Pittsburgh real estate doesn’t get a tax bill. That’s a lot of money that isn’t paid into coffers which would then fund necessary projects. Many of those organizations make “payments in lieu of taxes,” but the mayor says OnePGH will generate more revenue. But Highmark, UPMC and others are still waiting for those details and have not made commitments to the new endeavor.”
Editorial: Mayor's PILOT plan needs more details
TRIBUNE-REVIEW  Editorial Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, 3:36 p.m.
 “We welcome more details on the mayor’s full plan.” That’s what Highmark spokesman Aaron Billger said about Mayor Bill Peduto’s OnePGH idea. We second that. It’s not that we are critical of the plan or the goal. We don’t really have enough information to be critical. The initiative wants to raise $3.5 billion over 12 years, and it wants to pump that money back into laudable areas like housing, education, art and the environment. That sounds fantastic. Let’s make sure everyone can have a safe home. Let’s see every kid have a chance at preschool. Let’s beautify the city of Pittsburgh. Let’s clean the air and water. Let’s do it. But…how?
https://triblive.com/opinion/editorials/14503669-74/editorial-mayors-plan-needs-more-details

L.A. teachers on strike; what does it mean for Philly?
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: January 14, 2019- 12:41 PM
Teachers in the nation’s second-largest school system went on strike Monday, drawing a linein the sand over not just pay but over issues that resonate in Philadelphia, including class sizes, school staffing, the role of charter schools. Thirty-thousand educators walked off the job in the first Los Angeles Unified School District strike in 30 years. The educators had been working without a contract for more than a year. School buildings will be open for the nearly 500,000 students in traditional public schools, and district officials have said that there will be some form of instruction, but there will be far fewer adults than usual to provide it, and no teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses, all of whom are members of the United Teachers Los Angeles. Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan is watching the proceedings closely, and urged all Philadelphia teachers to wear red today in solidarity with the striking L.A. educators. His union, which worked without a contract for nearly five years before reaching a deal in 2017, has a pact that lasts through August 2020, and will likely be back at the negotiating table sometime this year. “I said to my members, ‘What’s happening to Los Angeles teachers is what will happen here; don’t think that it won’t,'” Jordan said.
http://www.philly.com/education/la-teachers-strike-philly-20190114.html

School Director Recognition Month
January 2019 is School Director Recognition Month!
PSBA Website
In January, we pause to salute a group of nine people who spend dozens of hours each month voluntarily leading our schools and making difficult decisions – they are the school directors.
As the successes of our students are being highlighted in a statewide campaign called “PA Public Schools: Success Starts Here,” let’s not forget our elected school directors who play a significant role in creating the environment where those successes can happen.
Materials to help you celebrate your education leadership:
https://www.psba.org/advocacy-and-news/resources/school-director-recognition-month/

“Unlike solar eclipses, which require special glasses to view and can be seen only for a few short minutes in a very limited area, a total lunar eclipse can be seen for about an hour by anyone on the nighttime side of Earth – as long as skies are clear.”
How to Watch the Only Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019; JANUARY 20th, Plus a Supermoon
Jet Propulsion Laboratory By Lyle Tavernier JANUARY 11, 2019
In the News: Looking up at the Moon can create a sense of awe at any time, but those who do so on the evening of January 20 will be treated to the only total lunar eclipse of 2019. Visible for its entirety in North and South America, this eclipse is being referred to by some as a super blood moon – “super” because the Moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit during the full moon (more on supermoons here) and “blood" because the total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon a reddish hue (more on that below). This is a great opportunity for students to observe the Moon – and for teachers to make connections to in-class science content.
How It Works: Eclipses can occur when the Sun, the Moon and Earth align. Lunar eclipses can happen only during a full moon, when the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides of Earth. At that point, the Moon can move into the shadow cast by Earth, resulting in a lunar eclipse. However, most of the time, the Moon’s slightly tilted orbit brings it above or below Earth’s shadow.
The time period when the Moon, Earth and the Sun are lined up and on the same plane – allowing for the Moon to pass through Earth’s shadow – is called an eclipse season. Eclipse seasons last about 34 days and occur just shy of every six months. When a full moon occurs during an eclipse season, the Moon travels through Earth’s shadow, creating a lunar eclipse.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2019/1/11/how-to-watch-the-only-total-lunar-eclipse-of-2019-plus-a-supermoon/

Blogger note: if you are up and outside before dawn look to the east; you can’t miss this…
VENUS AND JUPITER IN CONJUNCTION JANUARY 22nd:
Spaceweather.com January 10, 2018
In case you haven't noticed, the day is beginning with bright lights rising in the east. The sun? No. It's Venus and Jupiter, converging for a beautiful conjunction in the pre-dawn sky. …In the mornings ahead, Venus and Jupiter will draw closer and closer together, putting on a better show with each successive sunrise. At closest approach on Jan. 22nd, they will be only 2.5 degrees apart--a double beacon in the dawn sky visible even from brightly-lit cities. 
http://spaceweather.com/


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.

Pennsylvania schools work – for students, communities and the economy when adequate resources are available to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed.
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/

Build on finance, policy, board culture skills at PSBA’s Applied School Director Training
Four convenient locations in December and January
Take the next step in your professional development with Applied School Director Training. Building upon topics broadly covered in New School Director Training, this new, interactive evening event asks district leaders to dive deeper into three areas of school governance: school finance, board policy and working collaboratively as a governance team. Prepare for future leadership positions and committee work in this workshop-style training led by experts and practitioners. Learn how to:
·         Evaluate key finance documents such as budget and audit materials
·         Review and analyze board policies and administrative regulations
·         Build positive board culture by developing strong collaboration skills
Locations and Dates:
Dec.11, 2018 — Seneca Valley SD
Dec. 12, 2018 — Selinsgrove, Selinsgrove Area Middle School
Jan. 10, 2019 — Bethlehem, Nitschmann Middle School
Jan. 17, 2019 — State College

Cost: This event is complimentary for All-Access members or $75 per person with standard membership and $150 per person for nonmembers. Register online by logging in to myPSBA.
https://www.psba.org/2018/11/applied-school-director-training-state-college/

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

Save the date: PSBA Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg has been scheduled for Monday April 29, 2019

Save the Date:  PARSS Annual Conference May 1-3, 2019
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.

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