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Public school advocates called for greater accountability
for cyber charters. Then things got heated
Busy day
yesterday; highlights in this morning’s Roundup:
·
Wolf to veto $100
million private & religious schools bill
·
Rally called for
cyber charter funding reform
·
Package of 4
charter bills passes in the House
·
1000 rally in
Capitol for fair funding
·
That ‘free’
charter school? It’s not free
HB800: Gov. Wolf to veto $100M private and religious
schools bill in Pennsylvania
Post Gazette by ASSOCIATED
PRESS JUN 12, 2019 3:38 PM
HARRISBURG —
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to veto legislation passed by the
Republican-controlled Legislature to substantially expand taxpayer support by
$100 million for private and religious schools in Pennsylvania. Wednesday’s
statement from Wolf’s office comes a day after the Senate approved the bill on
a party-line basis. The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai and
just four Democrats voted for it in the House. Wolf ran for office pledging to
boost aid for public schools. He has said that public schools remain
underfunded and that the tax-credit bill is at odds with the need for
accessible public education. It would nearly double the Educational Improvement
Tax Credit to $210 million annually. The program lets corporations direct tens
of millions in tax dollars to favored private and religious schools.
HB800: Wolf says he will veto bill to expand tax credits
for private, religious school scholarships
PA Capital Star By
Sarah Anne Hughes| John L. Micek June 12, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf will
veto a bill to expand a tax credit program that funds private and religious
school scholarships, he told the Capital-Star on Wednesday. “I’ve seen enough
to know that this is not something I think is good for Pennsylvania,” Wolf said
after an event in Philadelphia. The legislation, sponsored by House Speaker
Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, would increase the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
(EITC) Program budget from $110 million to $210 million immediately after
passage — the largest single-year increase since the program was created in
2001. Under the bill, the program cap would also increase by 10 percent in
years where 90 percent of the credits are claimed. “It distracts from what we
ought to be focusing on, which is educating every child through our public
school system,” Wolf said Wednesday. The House passed the legislation 111-85 in
May, while the Senate voted 28-21 to approve the bill on Tuesday. Currently,
there is not enough support in either chamber to override a veto from Wolf. “As the governor
knows, we are preparing to increase our funding for public education in the
forthcoming budget, and the increase in EITC funding is an appropriate
complement to that investment in our public schools,” Turzai said in
a statement after the bill’s passage in the upper chamber.
Public school advocates called for greater accountability
for cyber charters. Then things got heated
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison June 12, 2019
A small rally in
favor of cyber charter school funding reform led to a heated debate between
education advocates in the state Capitol on Tuesday, the same day the House
considered a slate of bills that would impose new regulations on the state’s
charter sector. At issue was the performance of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter
schools, which are privately managed but funded by tuition payments from public
school districts. A group of public education advocates had gathered in the
Capitol’s East Rotunda to call on lawmakers to rein in public spending on cyber
charter schools, saying they say deliver pitiful outcomes for students at a
great cost to school districts and their taxpayers. Fifteen cyber charter
schools across Pennsylvania enroll one-quarter of the state’s 140,000 charter
school students. But a recent study from Stanford University suggests those students learn far less
than their peers in brick-and-mortar charter schools and traditional public
schools. Using standardized testing data from the Department of Education,
researchers found that cyber charter students experienced an average of 106
fewer days of reading instruction and 118 fewer days of math instruction a year
than their counterparts in traditional public schools. That finding has
galvanized charter school critics across Pennsylvania, who say that public
school districts can deliver a superior cyber education at a lower cost. “This
report is why we are here today,” said Susan Spicka, executive director of
Education Voters of PA, an organization critical of charter schools. “We are
allowing students to enroll in schools where we know students are not going to
graduate from high school and not going to be successful.” Spicka was joined on
Tuesday by locally elected school board directors, who sign off on their
districts’ tuition payments to brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools.
Package of Four Charter school bills win Pa. House
passage but don’t touch the controversial funding issue
Penn Live By Jan Murphy
| jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jun 12, 6:23 PM; Posted Jun 12
A package of four
bills that addresses issues arising out of the state’s 22-year-old charter
school law won passage in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday. The
bills cover a variety of areas ranging from imposing ethical and transparency
requirements on charter schools to allowing charter schools to enter into dual
enrollment agreements with post-secondary institutions to addressing charter
school facilities and giving them the right of first refusal to purchase a school
building that is put up for sale. Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, said his
bill, which was one of the more controversial ones in the package, seeks to
standardize the charter application and approval process across school
districts and make other changes that school districts believe wrests control
away from them. All four bills drew at least opposition but Topper’s as well as
the one dealing with charter school facilities passed relying most only
Republican votes and drawing less than a handful of support from Democrats. Absent
from all four bills is any mention of the elephant-in-the-room issue when it
comes to charter schools, namely how they are funded. School districts complain
that the bills to educate resident students who choose to attend a charter
school are one of the largest expenditures in their budgets. According to the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, 37 cents of every new dollar
that districts raised from property taxes in 2017-18 went to charter schools.
House passes charter school package, but funding
conundrum remains
WITF Written
by Katie Meyer,
Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun
12, 2019 9:28 PM
(Harrisburg) -- State House lawmakers have
passed a slate of bills aimed at reforming the commonwealth's 22-year-old
charter school laws. Two sparked impassioned debate--but a larger discussion
about funding is still brewing. One of the bills creates new ethics requirements for charter school
administrators, and another would let charter students enroll in college classes. Those weren't
controversial. But the other pair prompted extended floor debate. The first would make it easier for charters to buy or lease unused school
buildings, and require districts to let charters use their facilities
for tests. The second looks to standardize the process for establishing charters. Democrats
say the bills take control away from districts. And many, like Luzerne County
Representative Mike Carroll, argue they can't be considered without addressing
an overarching issue. "You can't have the charter schools without the
funding that comes from our 500 school districts," he said. "As we
contemplate any charter school bill...our school districts and our students and
our teachers--at least for me--will insist on a conversation about how we fund
charter school education." Public school advocates argue overall, charter
schools route too much money from traditional districts. Lawmakers
may consider the funding issue in the coming weeks.
Southeast Pa. ralliers flood Capitol, push for a shift in
education funding
WITF Written
by Katie Meyer,
Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun
12, 2019 9:21 PM
(Harrisburg) -- The
money Pennsylvania schools receive per pupil varies
widely, and on
average, students of color get fewer resources. The state has a formula
designed to address the inequity, but it's only used for some funding. On Wednesday, around a thousand activists
took a trip to the Capitol to call for change. Most ralliers with the faith
group POWER came from southeastern Pennsylvania. They are pushing a bill that
would apply the fair funding formula to all education money. It's sponsored by
Philadelphia Democratic Representative Chris Rabb. "This is a justice
issue," Rabb told the crowd, which filled the rotunda and the balconies
that ring it. "We will keep on fighting." Enacted in 2016, the
funding formula accounts for actual enrollment, poverty, and the money
districts get from local taxes. But it only applies to new funding each
year--a small part of the total. Applied everywhere, it would give more money
to poorer, urban districts in the southeast. But it would reduce funding for
many rural and western districts--including Pittsburgh.
Representative Tom
Murt--who represents parts of Montgomery County and Philadelphia and was the
only Republican who spoke at the rally--said that's why much of his caucus
doesn't want to commit to it.
HB961: House bill regarding education gets support in
Harrisburg
PA Homepage By: Matt Heckel Posted: Jun 12, 2019 10:11 PM EDT Updated: Jun 12, 2019 10:11
PM EDT
HARRISBURG, DAUPHIN
COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) -- A thousand people packed the State Capitol
Wednesday, rallying for fair education funding. They say public schools are
currently funded in a racially biased way in Pennsylvania. Those at the Capitol
Wednesday were pushing lawmakers to pass House Bill 961, a bill they say would
provide a better education for all Pennsylvania students. A thousand people
filled the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday, singing and chanting in favor of House
Bill 961, requiring 100 percent of state funds for public schools to be distributed
through the fair funding formula. "Now we've got to get all the money
going through the formula," Senator Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia and
Montgomery counties said. The formula requires educational funding to be
distributed to districts based on enrollment as well as other factors,
diversity and median household income. But, there's a catch, only new funding
can be distributed through the formula. "There is only one solution for
this problem. Justice!" bill sponsor Representative Chris Rabb said.
https://www.pahomepage.com/news/house-bill-regarding-education-gets-support-in-harrisburg/2072707702
Digital Notebook
Blog by Evan Brandt Thursday, June 13, 2019
One might be
forgiven if, while strolling the halls of the Pennsylvania State Capitol
Wednesday, you mistook it for downtown Pottstown. After all, there were so many
Pottstown people there, three buses worth in fact, that it may well have been
the single largest contingent from any school district to show up to fight for
fair educating funding. I mean Philadelphia is a bigger school district, but as
I understand it, they only filled one bus. Not that we're bragging, but it's
safe to say that while Pottstown may be one of the smallest of Pennsylvania's
500 school districts, it's voice could be heard from one end of the capitol to
the other Wednesday. That may well be because Pottstown is the sixth
most-underfunded school districts in Pennsylvania. Were the "fair funding
formula" adopted in 2016 to be applied to all state education funding,
Pottstown would have $13 million more every single year to pay teachers,
implement programs and (gasp!) LOWER its ridiculously high property taxes.
200 Lancaster interfaith leaders demand fair education
funding in Harrisburg
Lancaster Online by
GILLIAN McGOLDRICK
| Staff Writer June 13,
2019
Nearly 200
interfaith leaders and congregants from Lancaster County traveled to Harrisburg
yesterday to advocate for more money for public schools. Lancaster faith
leaders from synagogues, churches and meeting houses were among the estimated
1,000 people who gathered in the Capitol rotunda to rally for fair funding in
Pennsylvania schools. Although Gov. Tom Wolf in 2016 signed into law a new
school funding formula, recommended by a bipartisan commission, advocates say
school funding still isn’t distributed equally. Fair funding advocates in
Pennsylvania are tired of students missing out on educational opportunities
simply because of their geographical location, their skin color or their
economic status. But a solution won’t come overnight. During the rally and pray-in Wednesday
Philadelphia Democrat Rep Chris Rabb said the fair funding formula is currently
used to divvy funds for less than 10% of the basic education fund. Rabb is the
sponsor of House Bill 961, legislation that seeks to immediately distribute
100% of state funds through the formula. Lancaster representatives David
Zimmerman and Mike Sturla are both co-sponsors of Rabb’s bill. Zimmerman is a
Republican, Sturla is a Democrat. POWER, a Philadelphia-based interfaith social
justice organization, organized the rally in support of House Bill 961.
“The mechanism of an educational tax credit
allows the state to pretend that it is not spending tax dollars, but of course
it is. If you owe me a hundred dollars, but you give $100 to a bookie because I
say it's okay, then I'm out $100 just as surely as if I'd handed it to the
bookie myself. The Pennsylvania legislature proposes to spend another $100
million, not on infrastructure or fixing PA's pension mess or trying to
equalize PA's screwed-up funding system, but instead to spend that money on
private schools that operate without oversight or accountability, and which
remain free to reject students for virtually any reason."
Curmuducation Blog
by Peter Greene Wednesday, June 12, 2019
The Pennsylvania
GOP-controlled legislature is continuing its assault on public education, this
time taking a page from the Betsy DeVos Big Book of Voucher Love. HB 800 worked
its way through the House a while back, and it has just cleared the Senate. The bill is a big wet kiss to the business community and to private
schools, particularly religious ones. The Catholic Church
loves this
bill, as does ACSIPA, a network of Christian schools advocating for school choice. Meanwhile,
the Pennsylvania Council of Churches is opposed. The bill expands the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), a
version of the same tax credit scholarship that is behind DeVos's $5 billion
scheme. Tax credit
scholarships exist in order to circumvent the law which says that thou shalt
not give public tax dollars to private religious institutions. Here's how it
works.
1) Mr. and Mrs.
McGotbux gives a pile of money to Pat's Very Legit Scholarship Organization.
2) The state lets
the McGotbux family count their contribution, in whole or in part (depending on
the law) as payment on their taxes.
3) Pat's Very Legit
Scholarship Organization gives some student at So Much Jesus School a
scholarship (in some states, the McGotbux get to decide which school gets the
money).
4) Meanwhile, the
state now has a tax revenue shortfall equal to the tax credit that the McGotbux
received.
Put another way--
let's say I'm the state. If I collect tax money from the McGotbux and hand that
money to So Much Jesus School, I'm in trouble with the law. But if I tell the
McGotbux, "Look, instead of handing that money to me, hand it to this guy,
and this guy can hand it to the So Much Jesus School, and I will consider your
debt to me square." It should be noted that "this guy" will take
a cut for his middle manning.
“Schlossberg says
the House rolled his proposal, House Bill 894, into House Bill 355, which passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of
189-7. It now goes to the Senate for consideration before it would make it to
Gov. Tom Wolf to be signed into law.”
That ‘free’ charter school? It’s not free, and Lehigh
Valley lawmaker wants that spelled out.
By Kurt Bresswein |
For lehighvalleylive.com Updated
12:08 AM; Posted Jun 12, 8:12 PM
Pennsylvania is one
step closer to requiring what one Lehigh Valley lawmaker calls truth in public
school advertising. The state House on Wednesday passed legislation that
includes a proposal from state Rep. Mike Schlossberg targeting public schools
that advertise free tuition or transportation. Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, wants parents to know that instruction and other programs and services
at all public schools in Pennsylvania, including brick-and-mortar charter and
cyber-charter schools, are taxpayer-funded -- just like at traditional public
schools. “No charter or cyber-charter school is free; taxpayers pay for these
schools like any other," he said in a news release Wednesday.
"Taxpayers deserve to be given credit for footing the bill. “The
advertising deception to attract students reveals that it’s less about
educating our children and more about attracting the most pupils to attend
because each student comes with a high payout that ultimately falls on the
shoulders of taxpayers.”
“Public schools
that advertise "free" tuition or transportation would be required to
state that taxpayer dollars are paying the cost under a bill that passed the
state House of Representatives Wednesday, according to state Rep. Mike
Schlossberg. "No charter or cyber-charter school is free. Taxpayers
pay for these schools like any other.”
Truth in public school advertising bill passes House
By: 69 News Posted: Jun 12, 2019 03:49 PM EDT Updated: Jun 12, 2019
04:44 PM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. -
Public schools that advertise "free" tuition or transportation would
be required to state that taxpayer dollars are paying the cost under a bill
that passed the state House of Representatives Wednesday, according to state
Rep. Mike Schlossberg. "No charter or cyber-charter school is free.
Taxpayers pay for these schools like any other. Taxpayers deserve to be given
credit for footing the bill," said Schlossberg. Instruction and other
programs and services at all public schools in Pennsylvania, including
brick-and-mortar charter and cyber-charter schools, are taxpayer-funded, just
like at traditional public schools. To ensure a level playing field for all
public schools competing for student enrollment in Pennsylvania, Schlossberg
said the state should make sure all public schools tell the truth in their
advertising about who is paying the bills. He said the requirement would
be consistent with the Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act of 2015
that says paid advertising by state agencies must include the phrase "Paid
for with Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars." The bill incorporates
language from Schlossberg’s stand-alone legislation introduced in March. The
bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
“We targeted
districts that we determined were likely to have some indication of financial
need, but also tried to avoid districts where there was already strong evidence
of fiscal distress,” said Research for Action Director of Policy David Lapp.
“We were also aiming for geographic diversity among participants. We reached
out to over 10 districts and ultimately Upper Darby, Butler Area, and
Chambersburg Area agreed to participate.”
Report: More supports needed for Upper Darby schools
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin
ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com June 13, 2019
UPPER DARBY — An
evidence-based education funding model shows a $21.3 million gap in needed
academic supports for Upper Darby students, according to a new study. Education
finance researchers Picus Odden & Associates’ report, “Investing So School
Work: The Evidence-Based Model in Three Pennsylvania School Districts,”
indicates this is the level of funding needed for personnel in the district. "If
such funds were provided and used as the EB model indicates, the state could
reasonably expect significant overall improvements in student achievement and
reductions in the achievement gaps linked to student demographics," a
closing statement of the report reads. Breaking down the district’s staffing
levels against what the researchers say are evidence-based funding levels would
enhance core instruction staffing levels by approximately 100 positions,
increase extended day and summer school from zero to 73, three-and-one-third
additional principals, boost the number of district secretaries from 38 to 57
and increase from 10 to 23 the number of computer technicians. “In sum, the EB
model would allow the district to enhance all key elements of core instruction
as the prime way to boost student achievement and reduce demographic
achievement gaps,” read a portion of the report highlighting Upper Darby.
Bellefonte school board approves budget with tax increase
and 8 new positions
Centre Daily Times BY MARLEY PARISH JUNE 12, 2019 06:06 PM, UPDATED JUNE 12, 2019 06:37 PM
The Bellefonte Area
school board of directors unanimously approved the 2019-20 final budget on Tuesday night. The plan includes a 1.5% tax
increase and the addition of positions. Director of Fiscal
Affairs Ken Bean said that’s a higher increase on real estate tax for the
district but not a drastic rise. “I’m pleased with that for the taxpayers of
the district,” Bean said. “I believe we are still providing very excellent educational
opportunities for our students.” The 1.5% increase will bring the millage rate
to 50.21, according to Bean’s presentation. With that, the average taxpayer in
Bellefonte will see a $39.10 increase. The 1.5% increase resulted from an
increase in enrollment, charter school tuition, retirement costs set by the
state and a lack of state funding. The $53.3 million budget includes the
addition of a Chinese teacher, two kindergarten teachers, a learning support
teacher, an emotional support aide, one autistic classroom aide, a public
relations specialist and a clerical position that will be split between
athletics, buildings and grounds. The
district will also be contracting a social worker at a cost of $65,000. Charter
school tuition is set at $2.75 million. Federal
funding reduced
by $46,000, so the budget includes an increase in basic education and special
education funding.
Philadelphia Futures celebrates 30 years of helping
students get to and through college
Another
milestone: the first group from the six-year-old College Connection program
graduated college this year.
The notebook by Makoto
Manheim June 12 — 11:37 am, 2019
Demaro Ricketts put
it simply.
“Before
Philadelphia Futures, I wasn’t sure if I was going to college. After
Philadelphia Futures, I realized going to college is a must. From then on,
Philadelphia Futures helped me every step of the way.” Cassidy Arrington had a
similar story. “I would say that the biggest thing Philadelphia Futures did was
help motivate me,” she said. “They were very patient and on your case in the
way they need to be and the way you need them to be. … I appreciate them
pushing me to be where I am.” Ricketts and Arrington were two of the 89 high
school graduates in attendance at the event last week where Philadelphia
Futures celebrated the students it had helped get through high school and
college. This year, 100 percent of high school students in their
Sponsor-A-Scholar and College Connection programs have graduated and have been
accepted into college.
“However, from an
educational standpoint, the most important aspect of eliminating class rank is
that students will not feel compelled to take classes and arrange their
schedules for the sole purpose of chasing class rank. In an age when course
offerings have radically expanded from what they were just a generation ago,
students should be selecting courses based on their educational and future
needs and their own interests. Chasing grade point averages should not be the
end goal of any student.”
LETTER: Eliminating class rank the smart thing to do
Observer-Reporter
Letter by Joseph M. Zupancic, Canonsburg June 12, 2019
This time of year,
I always get nostalgic when the Observer-Reporter{/em} publishes graduation
announcements from our local high schools. A mainstay of those stories is
always an insert with a picture of the fine young men and women who are
graduating as valedictorians, salutatorians and honor graduates. These pictures
and the accompanying stories of their families and their future plans serve to
uplift all of us and allow us to celebrate the successes of our public schools. A recent trend in
education will cause these stories to transform themselves in order to keep up
with the times. For those who don’t know (most don’t), the current trend in
secondary education is to eliminate class rank for graduating seniors. Two
years ago, Canon-McMillan joined the likes of Upper St. Clair and Mount Lebanon
in eliminating class rank. Thus, next year will be the last year that the
district will be naming a valedictorian and salutatorian. The reasons for
eliminating class rank are varied. Class rank has diminished in importance in
college admissions nationwide for a variety of reasons. College admissions
currently stress grades in college preparatory courses, strength of course
schedule and admission test scores like the ACT and the SAT more than class
rank.
Gov. Wolf Signs Bill to Develop CPR Curriculum
Governor Wolf’s
Website PRESS RELEASE, PUBLIC HEALTH June 12, 2019
Harrisburg, PA – Today, Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Act 7 of 2019, formerly
Senate Bill 115, which will require the Pennsylvania Department of Education
(PDE) to create potentially life-saving curriculum for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR). “I’m proud to sign into law this important life-saving
measure. Each additional set of hands trained to do CPR increases the
likelihood that a cardiac arrest will be reversed,” said Gov. Wolf. “Teaching
our young Pennsylvanians to save a life not only promotes the health of all of
Pennsylvania, it builds a sense of community and neighborliness.” More than
350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year, and nearly 45
percent of those patients who received CPR survived. Act 7 requires PDE to
provide a curriculum to schools to teach “hands-only” CPR, a no-breath,
compression-only technique recommended by the American Heart Association for
sudden cardiac arrests. The curriculum must also include the use of automatic
external defibrillators. “This new law will help provide generations of
Pennsylvanians with an important lifesaving skill. Knowing how to properly use
the hands-only CPR technique and AED equipment is critical when an individual
suffers a cardiac arrest,” said Sen. Tom Killion, who sponsored the bill. “I deeply
appreciate Gov. Wolf signing this legislation. It will save many lives.”
Making School Lunches Great Again: Toomey bill would
allow whole milk back in schools
By LAURA OLSON | THE MORNING CALL | JUN 12, 2019 | 4:35 PM | WASHINGTON
U.S. Sen. Pat
Toomey wants to bring fattier milk back to school lunch lines. The Republican
senator from Pennsylvania has introduced the the Milk in Lunches for Kids
(MILK) Act to allow schools to serve whole milk and 2% milk. Those types of
milk have been prohibited in school cafeterias since 2010, when Congress passed
the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. That law directed the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to rewrite the nutrition standards for school lunch menus,
directing schools to serve more whole grains, less sodium, and lower-fat milk.
The Trump administration has scaled back some of those changes, including once
again allowing low-fat chocolate milk to be served. “Every parent knows milk
does a body good,” Toomey said in a statement, borrowing the dairy industry’s
1980s advertising slogan. The 2010 law “led to a sharp decline in consumption
across the country, which means kids are not getting essential nutrients milk
provides,” Toomey added. “This measure fixes that error and permits schools to
sell whole and 2% milk once again.”
Justice Department sides with Maine families suing for
right to use public funds for religious school
Washington Post Answer
Sheet By Valerie Strauss June 12 at 7:00 AM
The Justice
Department is throwing its support to three families suing Maine’s education
commissioner, alleging he discriminated against them by not allowing public
funds to be used for their children’s tuition at religious schools. It was the
Trump administration’s latest move in an effort to overturn state laws that
prevent public money from being used for religious schooling, a stated goal of
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Most states have similar laws, which are
increasingly coming under legal attack in part because of President Trump’s
2017 executive order promoting “Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” The case in
Maine is Carson v. Makin, which was filed last year and takes
aim at a 1981 state law restricting the use of public funds. That law was
challenged more than a decade ago and was ruled constitutional by a federal
court. But the Supreme Court has made recent moves suggesting it might strike
down constitutional restraints on the use of public money for religious schools
when such a case comes before it.
EPLC is accepting
applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy
& community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program
schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org
PA Education Leaders to Hold Advocacy Day 2019 in
Harrisburg June 18th
PA Principals
Association Press Release June 5th, 2019
(Harrisburg, PA) —
A delegation of principals, education leaders and staff from the Pennsylvania
Principals Association, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
(PASA) and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS) will
participate in PA Education Leaders Advocacy Day 2019 (#paadvocacyday19) on
Tuesday, June 18 at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pa., to meet with
legislators to address several important issues that are at the forefront of
education in the commonwealth. These include: Increasing Basic Education
Funding/Special Education Funding/Early Childhood Funding; Revising Act 82:
Principal and Teacher Evaluations; Supporting Pre-K Education; Supporting
Changes to Pennsylvania’s Compulsory School Attendance Ages; and Supporting and
Funding Career and Technical Education.
PA League of Women Voters 2019 Convention Registration
Crowne Plaza in Reading June 21-23, 2019
DEADLINES
May 22, 2019 –
Deadline to get special room rates at Crowne
Plaza Hotel
Book Hotel
or call: 1 877 666 3243
May 31, 2019 –
Deadline to register as a delegate for the Convention
June 7, 2019 –
Deadline to register for the Convention
Registration: https://www.palwv.org/2019-convention-registration/
PA Schools Work Capitol Caravan Days Wed. June 5th
and Tues. June 18th
If you couldn’t
make it to Harrisburg last week, it’s not too late. We are getting down to the
wire. In a few short weeks, the budget will likely be passed. Collectively, our
voices have a larger impact to get more funding for Pennsylvania’s students.
Legislators need to hear from you!
Public Citizens for
Children and Youth (PCCY) will be at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 5th and
Tuesday, June 18th for our next PA Schools
Work caravan days. We’d love to have you join us on these
legislative visits. For more details about the caravans and to sign up, go
to: www.pccy.org/k12caravan . Please call Tomea Sippio-Smith at (O) 215-563-5848, ext. 36
or (C) 215-667-9421 or Shirlee Howe at (O) 215-563-5848, ext. 34 or (C)
215-888-8297 with any questions or specific requests for legislative meetings.
2019 PASA-PSBA School
Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and
Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October
16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact
created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the
drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging
role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the
challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education
and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest
product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference to grow!
NPE Action National
Conference - Save the Date - March 28-29, 2020 in Philadelphia, PA.
The window is now open for workshop proposals for the Network for Public
Education conference, March 28-29, 2020, in Philadelphia. I hope you all sign
on to present on a panel and certainly we want all to attend. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBCNDKK
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