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.
These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
“Online charter schools, which are run
mostly by for-profit companies, have long struggled with poor academic
outcomes—from test scores, to academic growth, to graduation rates, to
attendance rates. The most high-profile study, done by economists at Stanford
University in 2015, found that students
attending an online charter school made so little progress in
math over the course of a year that it was as if they hadn't attended school at
all. Findings such as that, as well as numerous
media and government investigations
into gross mismanagement of schools, has led some prominent charter school
advocacy groups to start pushing for increased regulation of virtual schools.”
Education Week By Arianna Prothero and Alex Harwin April 18, 2019
If you're attending
a full-time online charter high school, the chances are pretty high that the
majority of your classmates are not going to earn a diploma on time. Nearly
three-quarters of students enrolled in virtual charters are attending a high
school where fewer than half graduated in four years, according to an analysis
of the most recent federal data by the Education Week Research Center. Nationally,
half of all virtual charter high schools had graduation rates below 50 percent
in the 2016-17 school year. Thirty-seven percent of schools had graduation
rates at or above 50 percent. Graduation data for the remaining 13 percent of
schools was masked for various reasons, such as to protect student privacy.
There are about 163 virtual charter schools educating over 30,000 seniors
nationally as determined by the adjusted cohort graduation rate, according to
federal numbers. Out of the 163 schools, in some states, such as Indiana, not a
single virtual charter school operating in 2016-17 had a graduation rate over
50 percent in the past four years. In others, such as Wisconsin, the outlook
for the graduating cohort in online charters was better. Only two Wisconsin
virtual charters, out of 17 that had available graduation rate data, graduated
less than half of their students for the 2016-17 school year.
Blogger note: Total cyber charter tuition
paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016
was over $1.6 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million, $436.1 million and
$454.7 million respectively. We
will continue rolling out cyber charter tuition expenses for taxpayers in
education committee members, legislative leadership and various other
districts.
In 2016-17, taxpayers
in House Majority Appropriations Chair .@RepStanSaylor’s school districts in York
County had to send over $4.8 million to chronically underperforming cybers that
they never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could change that. Data source: PDE via .@PSBA
Links to additional bill information and several resources have been
moved to the end of today’s postings
|
Central
York SD
|
$778,976.93
|
|
Eastern
York SD
|
$899,970.21
|
|
Red
Lion Area SD
|
$1,451,502.00
|
|
South
Eastern SD
|
$864,892.24
|
|
York
Suburban SD
|
$856,433.95
|
|
|
$4,851,775.33
|
Has your state
senator cosponsored SB34?
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
Has your state representative
cosponsored HB526?
Tamaqua School Board president says controversial gun
policy reinstated
By SARAH M. WOJCIK | THE MORNING CALL | APR 18, 2019 | 6:19 PM
Although the
Tamaqua Area School District is still fighting two lawsuits challenging the
legality of a policy to arm its staff, board President Larry Wittig said this
week that the gun policy is back in motion. Wittig’s comments came during a
back-and-forth with parents at a board meeting Tuesday. The discussion started
with a questioner’s inaccurate premise: That a judge had dismissed the two
lawsuits. That is not the case. Oral arguments are being scheduled for a lawsuit filed
by the Tamaqua Education Association, and there are talks to extend the deadline for an amended complaint in
separate litigation filed by
district parents. Reached by
phone Thursday, Wittig said he believes the policy went back into place, for
now, when a judge dismissed the parents’ original complaint to allow time for
it to be amended and refiled. Until refiling, he said, he believes supporters
of the policy can prepare it for implementation until the legal challenges are
resolved. That doesn’t mean, he said, staffers will be armed anytime soon. He promised
transparency as the board tweaks the policy and explores how to move forward.
Easton school district looks to close Easton Area Academy
By MICHELLE MERLIN | THE MORNING CALL | APR 18, 2019 | 7:36 PM
The Easton Area
School District plans to close Easton Area Academy, its alternative school for
disruptive students that features counseling and smaller class sizes, at year’s
end. District officials said increasingly restrictive state rules and
guidelines led to fewer students meeting eligibility requirements. The district
envisioned a therapeutic program, but felt it was becoming punitive. The
decision comes as the Pennsylvania Department of Education reached a settlement
with the U.S. Department of Justice over a complaint that such programs, known
as Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth (AEDY), served a disproportionate
number of black students and students with disabilities. The Education Law
Center, which filed the complaint, said that students in the programs were
generally denied equal opportunities to access quality educational experiences.
While Easton didn’t have the highest disparities, it did fall within a group of
districts where the proportion of black students enrolled in AEDY programs exceeded
the proportion of black students enrolled in the district by 20% to 25%,
according to the ELC, which looked at data from both the 2010-2011 and
2013-2014 school years. The school opened in 2007 with a capacity of 225
students in grades five through 12. Enrollment now is about 40 in grades seven
through 12.
Your View by 12 superintendents: Why Pennsylvania needs
to spend more on public schools
THE MORNING CALL |
APR 18, 2019 | 7:00 AM
There is a lot of
talk in Harrisburg, from Republicans and Democrats, about growing
Pennsylvania’s economy. They agree on some approaches such as infrastructure
investment and workforce development and diverge on others such as college affordability
and higher wages. The end game is largely the same — bringing jobs and
investments to the commonwealth and building wealth for Pennsylvania citizens. Whether
you’re a Democrat or a Republican, one thing is clear: For Pennsylvania to
prosper, its largest cities must thrive. As school superintendents from the
commonwealth’s largest urban areas, our 12 school districts are responsible for
educating one in every seven children in Pennsylvania’s public schools. That
means one of every seven future workers, business owners and entrepreneurs who
graduate from Pennsylvania’s public schools is in one of our classrooms today. The
success of Pennsylvania’s pro-growth strategy and its future will be determined
by the quality of education we provide, and the quality of education that
Harrisburg is willing to invest in. Our school funding system is badly in need
of repair. The commonwealth’s share of education funding is just over a
third, with local
taxpayers providing the vast majority. This has resulted in deep inequities in
resources. How can Pennsylvania hope to compete with states such as New York or
New Jersey, North Carolina or Washington, California or Indiana when they
invest in their future workforce at higher rates than our commonwealth?
Pa. Department of Education says it will help cover AP
exam costs for low-income students
MATT MCKINNEY Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette mmckinney@post-gazette.com APR 18, 2019 1:47 PM
Advanced Placement
exams can cost students as much as $94 each, a sometimes restrictive price tag
for teens from low-income households. But extra help is now available, the
state Department of Education said Thursday. The department will cover $33 for
economically disadvantaged students taking the exams, which will be
administered during the first two weeks of May. The College Board, which
owns the AP program, offers a $32 fee waiver for eligible students. Coupled
with the department's fee waiver, students from low-income households would pay
$65 less to take each exam. The College Board will bill the department for the
number of eligible students who take the AP exams. The department has
budgeted $700,000 for the initiative, spokesman Eric Levis said. James
Fogarty, executive director of the education advocacy and watchdog group A+
Schools, said he was pleased with the initiative because it’s a small step
toward what he said is a much-needed push to “ameliorate the vast disparities”
in education.
Harrisburg School District has enough issues without
challenging the state to a fight it can’t win | Column
By Nancy Eshelman |
Special to PennLive Updated
6:03 AM; Today 5:40 AM
A 14-year-old lives
in my house. He has for most of his life. When he was a baby, I’d carry him on
the deck in the evening and sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” When he began
to learn numbers, he would tell me he loved me “a million billion.” Now that
he’s a teen, I’m mainly appreciated for keeping the kitchen stocked with
mini-pizzas and cereal. I feed him, I clothe him, I drive him and I help with
homework. I also love him as if he were my own. Still, every year I receive a
letter from the school district instructing me to deliver to the administration
office proof that he lives with me. I understand why: People sometimes say kids
live with them when they don’t because they want the kid in a particular school
district – or don’t want him in another. So I dutifully trek to the office,
income tax record in hand, and prove he lives under my roof. If I don’t, there
will be consequences. I learned early on that when “The Man” tells you to do
something, you do it.
I use this as an
example of why I cannot understand how
the Harrisburg School District’s School Board thinks it can just tell the state
to take a hike.
I’m a schoolteacher: I shouldn’t have to work two jobs to
make ends meet. Raise Pa.’s teacher minimum wage
Opinion By Capital-Star Op-Ed
Contributor Dottie
Schaffer April 19, 2019
Dottie
Schaffer is an elementary academic and behavioral intervention specialist in
the Steelton-Highspire School District in Dauphin County.
Teaching is one of
the hardest and most rewarding jobs that anybody can do. That’s why I chose a
career in this profession. I love being in the classroom working with my
students. I live for those moments when a student finally gets something, and
it all just clicks. That look on a student’s face in that moment reminds me why
I do what I do. What I didn’t expect was how difficult it would be to make ends
meet. No one goes into teaching to make a lot of money. We do it because we
want to make a difference in the lives of our students. But when the school day
is done, my day isn’t. I work a second job as a server at a Harrisburg area
restaurant. It’s the only way I can pay my bills and provide for my two children
and me.
Dyslexia group hosts symposium at Temple to highlight
science of reading
The group is
bringing attention to a need for systematic teaching of phonics and language.
The notebook by Maya
Wernick April 18 — 4:15 pm, 2019
The International
Dyslexia Association (IDA) hosted the Knowledge and Practice Standards
Symposium at Temple University, encouraging colleges and universities to adopt
better reading-science practices into their curriculums for future elementary
school teachers. The event, on April 15, featured speakers from varying
backgrounds who shared their thoughts on teaching students to read. The
presenters included Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite; education
journalist Emily Hanford; Russell Washington of the School District’s
Department of Special Education, and Brent Johnstone of FathersLead365, who grew up with dyslexia. IDA representatives attended, as did those
from Arcadia University, Drexel University, and St. Joseph’s University, all of
which have adopted the IDA’s standards for teaching the science of reading to
prospective teachers. This effort stems from a districtwide initiative to get
all children reading on grade level by the time they enter 4th grade. The
coalition of city organizations and agencies known as Read by 4th, which also had representatives at the symposium, is devoted to
hitting this goal, and the IDA has developed standards that they say will put
the District on track to meet that expectation. Reading achievement has
improved in Philadelphia for the youngest students, but more than 60
percent are still not reading on grade level.
Philly School Board Student Achievement Committee Report:
April 11, 2019
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by Lynda Rubin April 2019
The Board of
Education denied three new charter applications in February. The question now
is whether they will continue the SRC’s practice of allowing back-door charter
expansion through yearly amendment requests from charters and whether they will
make this an open process for full public engagement. Present: Committee
members Chris McGinley, Angela McIver, Leticia Egea-Hinton, Maria McColgan and
student representative Alfredo Praticò; Committee member Mallory Fix Lopez was
absent. Board President Joyce Wilkerson sat in the audience. Dr. McIver
announced that Kindergarten registration begins May 31, 2019. The Board Budget
Hearing will be held on April 25, 2019, 4:00 PM in the 2nd floor auditorium
prior to the regularly scheduled Action Meeting at 5:00 pm. The minutes for the
March 14, 2019 Student Achievement Committee Meeting were approved.
Diane Ravitch Speaking at Penn State Harrisburg April 25th
at 7:00 p.m.
777 West Harrisburg Pike, Harrisburg, PA
Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre, Student
Enrichment Center
Join Diane Ravitch
as she presents "The End of the Faux Reform Movement." Ravitch is the
author of the national bestseller "Reign of Error The Hoax of the
Privatization Movement" and the "Danger to America’s Public
Schools." There will be a book signing opportunity after the event.
For more
information, contact Dr. Hannah Spector at hms22@psu.edu.
“When the CAB overrules these local
school board decisions, it is de facto, deciding the expenditure of local
school taxes and directing the payment of locally collected taxes to an entity
other than the school district over which the school board has very limited
control. Further the board is overriding decisions made by duly elected local
officials who are charged with ensuring the infrastructure of the public
education system and the welfare of Pennsylvania’s students.”
PCCY Calls for Moratorium on PA Charter School Advisory
Board Proceedings
PCCY calls for a
moratorium on proceedings of the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board (CAB)
until all board members are duly appointed and serving in four-year unexpired
terms. (sign the petition below) Pennsylvania’s constitution
gives school boards the power and obligation to impose taxes and oversee the
expenditure of those taxes for the purpose of providing a free and appropriate
education. State law circumscribed that constitutionally defined power in
1997 when the legislature created the CAB and empowered it to decide if a local
school board’s rejection of a charter application or renewal was appropriately
decided within the confines of the 1997 new Charter School Law. As such,
when the CAB decides that a school board has not appropriately rejected a
charter school applicant, it can override the local school board’s decision and
give the charter school a green light to open or continue to operate unless and
until the school district challenges the CAB decision in Commonwealth Court.
Support REAL cyber charter school funding reform to
protect Pennsylvania taxpayers & save at least $250 million
Education Voters PA Petition
TO GOVERNOR WOLF AND MEMBERS OF THE PA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Because of
Pennsylvania's broken funding system for cyber charter schools, home and
business owners in every corner of the commonwealth are paying higher school
property taxes in order to fund expensive advertising campaigns for cyber
charter schools, including billboards, radio and TV ads, mailers, and more.
They are paying higher property taxes to fund shareholder profits for private
cyber charter school management organizations, exorbitant salaries for their
administrators, and, in the case of a high-profile fraud case, a personal
airplane and vacation homes for a cyber charter CEO. State lawmakers and
Governor Wolf can end this wasteful spending by supporting REAL cyber charter
school funding reform that, at a minimum, will match the tuition school
districts pay to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of educating
students at home on a computer. Please sign and share this petition calling on
Governor Wolf and your state lawmakers to support REAL cyber charter school
funding reform that will save at least $250 million in taxpayer money each
year. It is time for them to stand up to the special interests that are
profiting off of our children.
Electing PSBA Officers – Application Deadline is May 31st
Do you have strong
communication and leadership skills and a vision for PSBA? Members interested
in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to submit
an Application for Nomination no
later than May 31 to PSBA's Leadership Development Committee (LDC).
The nomination process:
All persons seeking nomination for elected positions of the Association shall
file with the Leadership Development Committee chairperson an Application
for Nomination (.PDF) on a form to be provided by the Association expressing interest in the
office sought. The Application for nomination shall be marked received at PSBA
Headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked no later than the application
deadline specified in the timeline established by the Governing Board to be
considered timely-filed.” (PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 6.E.). Application Deadline: May 31, 2019
Open positions are:
- 2020 President-Elect (one-year term)
- 2020 Vice President (one-year term)
- 2020-22 Central At-Large
Representative – includes Sections 2, 3, 6, and 7 (three-year
term)
- 2020-21 Sectional Advisors – includes Sections
1, 3, 5 and 7 (two-year term)
Success Starts Here is a multi-year public awareness campaign
sharing positive news in PA public education.
.@PSBA .@PasaSupts .@PAIU .@PenSPRA1 .@PSEA .@PAPRINCIPALS .@SuccessStartsPA Read more stories and share your own on http://www.SuccessStartsHere.org .
Together we can harness the power of all to make a difference in our schools and communities! Hear from the experts and learn how to advocate! Free breakfast & givewaways. Don't miss out!
Sponsored by Norristown Men of Excellence, The Urban League of Philadelphia & PA Schools Work.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/norristown-parents-students-for-education-tickets-59590097586
PSBA: Nominations for
the Allwein Society are welcome!
The Allwein Society is an award program recognizing school directors who are
outstanding leaders and advocates on behalf of public schools and students.
This prestigious honor was created in 2011 in memory of Timothy M. Allwein, a
former PSBA staff member who exemplified the integrity and commitment to
advance political action for the benefit of public education. Nominations are
accepted year-round and inductees will be recognized at the PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference, among other honors.
PSBA: 2019 State of Education
report now online
PSBA Website February 19, 2019
The 2019 State of Education report is
now available on PSBA.org in PDF format. The report is a barometer of not only
the key indicators of public school performance, but also the challenges
schools face and how they are coping with them. Data reported comes from
publicly available sources and from a survey to chief school administrators,
which had a 66% response rate. Print copies of the report will be mailed to
members soon.
All
PSBA-members are invited to attend Advocacy Day on Monday, April
29, 2019 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. In addition, this year PSBA
will be partnering with the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units
(PAIU) and Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) to
strengthen our advocacy impact. The focus for the day will be meetings with
legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. There is no
cost to attend, and PSBA will assist in scheduling appointments with
legislators once your registration is received. The day will begin with a
continental breakfast and issue briefings prior to the legislator visits.
Registrants will receive talking points, materials and leave-behinds to use
with their meetings. PSBA staff will be stationed at a table in the main
Rotunda during the day to answer questions and provide assistance. The
day’s agenda and other details will be available soon. If you have questions
about Advocacy Day, legislative appointments or need additional information,
contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org Register
for Advocacy Day now at http://www.mypsba.org/
PSBA members can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you
need assistance logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member
Data System Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org or call her at (717)
506-2450, ext. 3420
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/
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
PSBA Tweet March
12, 2019 Video Runtime: 6:40
In this installment of #VideoEDition, learn about legislation
introduced in the PA Senate & House of Representatives that would save
millions of dollars for school districts that make tuition payments for their
students to attend cyber charter schools.http://ow.ly/RyIM50n1uHi
PSBA Summaries of Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 526
PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Statewide
Cyber Charter School Funding Reform
PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Senate Bill 34
and House Bill 256
How much could your school district and taxpayers save if
there were statewide flat tuition rates of $5000 for regular ed students and
$8865 for special ed.? See the estimated savings by school district here.
Education Voters PA
Website February 14, 2019
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
Has your state representative cosponsored HB526?
Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization
that I may be affiliated with.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.