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
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If any of your colleagues would
like to be added to the email list please have them send their name, title and
affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
PA Ed Policy Roundup for April 3, 2020
Pennsylvania schools move online amid indefinite closure;
Thousands of Philly students stuck at home without internet after coronavirus
closed schools
New to #Zoom for school board meetings? PSBA has a
few tips to ensure a secure and effective digital school board meeting.
Tweet from PSBA: https://twitter.com/PSBA/status/1245780625262555136
Blogger note: Ms. Skopov is a candidate for the 28th
District seat being vacated by House Speaker Turzai.
Emily Skopov: In public vs. charter school debate,
honesty is essential
Trib Live Letter by Emily Skopov Thursday,
April 2, 2020 | 11:01 PM
Emily Skopov is a Candidate for the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 28th District
Executive Director, No Crayon Left Behind
To the editor, Ana Meyers’ letter of February
25 contains misleading information concerning the impact of charter schools on
the public schools of the Pine-Richland School District. She goes one step
further in offering inaccurate assessments about how Pennsylvania finances
education.
On one major point, Ms. Meyers is correct:
When it comes to charter schools, many residents do not hold them in high
regard. The reasons are simple and well-documented. Many of these schools have
lax and questionable standards and practices on a number of critical fronts,
including transparency, accountability and student performance.
Their financial methods are also highly
suspect, as they regularly draw off more money per pupil from the local public
school than is actually required to cover their costs. Ms. Meyers’ article
states, “…(Pine-Richland School District officials) don’t seem to care why
these students left their district schools or why their families sent them to a
charter school.” In reality, people who support public education and question
the integrity of our current charter school industry (and an industry it is),
are highly sympathetic to families who feel their child is not in the most
optimal learning environment and understand why they would search for better
options.
However, far too often these same children
and their families are misled by an industry motivated more by profit than by
doing the best job possible for these students.
Alicia Santi: Charter schools under attack
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Letter by Alicia Santi | Thursday,
April 2, 2020 11:00 a.m.
Alicia Santi, Ph.D. resides in Nazareth, Northampton
County.
My son, like many children in Pennsylvania,
is a student with special needs — specifically, developmental disorders
requiring him to receive individual tutoring. Like the experiences of many
others who have found that the public cyber school option works best for their
child, my son would easily get distracted by other children in the traditional
classroom setting, and frankly, the teacher would seem to lose track of him.
Now he is showing progress and gaining confidence in his work by attending PA
Cyber. Even during this coronavirus pandemic with Pennsylvania under a stay-at-home order from
Gov. Tom Wolf, we’ve been
able to maintain a normal routine because his school is built to provide
instruction remotely. While some school districts have been unable to teach
their students, my son is attending virtual classes, working on assignments and
viewing regular lectures online. We support the governor’s efforts to keep us
safe, but when this pandemic ends, we hope he’ll take a fresh look at the
benefits our schools provide. Cyber parents need support from our government —
not continued opposition. Not only
do special interests with deep pockets want to eliminate cybers and slash
funding, but now they’ve made it impossible for families to send their children
to the only 14 public schools that are instructing children during this
pandemic. Slipped into legislation
recently is shocking language: If parents
decide to send their children to a cyber school during this pandemic, districts
won’t have to send a parent’s tax dollars to that school.
Thousands of Philly students are stuck at home without
internet after coronavirus closed schools
Inquirer by Christian Hetrick and Dylan Purcell, Updated: April 3, 2020-
4:28 AM
As the coronavirus crisis shuts
down city schools, thousands of students in Philadelphia, the hometown of the
country’s largest internet service provider, are without access to the
internet. About 14,700 kids in Philadelphia didn’t own a computer in 2018,
according to the latest census estimates. And thousands more lack the internet
connection they need to learn from home, as more than 21,500 kids did not have
an internet subscription. Those children being effectively off the grid
presents a significant challenge to officials in a city that has lagged behind
the country in households with home internet. That digital divide, which
disproportionately affects poor and predominantly black and Hispanic
neighborhoods, has become an urgent issue as the pandemic forces many to study
or work from their homes.
Blogger note: Jeff and Janine Yass have been major campaign contributors
to Pennsylvania Republican legislators for several years, primarily through
their Students First PAC, in support of school privatization.
15,000 Philly charter and parochial school students are
getting Chromebooks to learn during coronavirus closures
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: April 2, 2020-
5:04 PM
The Philadelphia School Partnership announced
plans Thursday to buy 15,000 Chromebooks for students in city charter and
parochial schools as learning moves online during the coronavirus outbreak. The
Jump-Start Philly Schools Fund, backed by $3.8 million in donations, will pay
for laptops for students in more than 100 charter and Catholic schools,
according to the partnership. “Regardless of where they live in the city or
what type of school they attend, students must have the opportunity to continue
their learning,” Janine Yass, a cofounder of Boys Latin Charter School and
board member of Philadelphia School Partnership, said in a news release. Yass
and her husband, Jeff, founder of the Bala Cynwyd investment firm Susquehanna
International Group, donated $2.8 million to the new fund. The announcement by
the nonprofit partnership, which donates millions of dollars to city schools,
comes as schools across the region have been distributing laptops for students
to use at home during the coronavirus closures — though some districts with
higher concentrations of economically disadvantaged students have been slower
to get technology into their hands.
“Cyber charter schools will continue with their educational
programs, but avoid in-person meetings with students, said Ana Meyers,
executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools. Gov.
Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 751 last month, an emergency school code bill that
waived education mandates districts would be unable to meet given the
coronavirus pandemic. It also froze cyber charter school funding at the March
13 enrollment level – meaning cybers can continue admitting students, but
will not see any additional dollars passed through school districts to cover
them. Meyers said cyber charters also chose to limit or suspend advertising
altogether during the pandemic. “The cyber charter school community is not
looking in any way to benefit from this global health crisis,” she said. “They
don’t want to be seen as profiteering from a pandemic.”
Pennsylvania schools move online amid indefinite closure
Tioga Publishing By Christen Smith | The
Center Square Apr 2, 2020 Updated 12 hrs
ago
(The
Center Square) – Pennsylvania extended public school closures indefinitely this
week, forcing many districts to move instruction online for its students. Gov.
Tom Wolf made the call Monday as cases of novel coronavirus surge statewide. As
of Thursday, more than 7,000 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 90
have died. Education Secretary Pedro Rivera advised districts to subscribe,
free of charge, to online learning platforms Odysseyware and Edgenuity. The
department will also offer “equity grants” to schools struggling to provide
enough laptops, tablets or other school supplies to their students. The
one-week application process begins April 6. “We are pleased to be able to
leverage these resources to assist our schools during this unprecedented
situation,” Rivera said Monday. "Recognize that these resources are
optional; use them to the extent that they provide value to your existing
continuity of education plans. PDE will continue to provide schools and
communities with updated guidance as we work through the school closure
challenges together.”
Pa. state reps sponsor bill to extend deadlines for
property taxes due to COVID-19
ABC27 Posted: Apr 2, 2020 / 08:47 AM
EDT / Updated: Apr 2, 2020 / 08:47 AM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – State Rep. Joe
Ciresi and Rep. Liz Hanbidge, announced that they will introduce a
bill that would require counties, municipalities, and school districts to give
their taxpayers an additional 60 days to pay their property taxes. “During
these uncertain times, it’s best to put our taxpayers at ease in any way we
can,” Ciresi said. “This ensures that they are protected and given additional
leeway to pay their property taxes before penalties can be imposed. They have
enough to worry about already. Let’s not add an unnecessary burden to our
working families.” “The legislature is working hard to craft proposals to help
Pennsylvanians navigate the issues caused by COVID-19 and help them stay safe,
healthy, and solvent,” Hanbidge said. “Given the level of financial uncertainty
facing many Pennsylvanians during this pandemic, we hope to alleviate some of
the financial stress on them by offering temporary property tax relief.”
Hometown Heroes: Fountain Hill teachers connect with
students through nightly bedtime stories
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING
CALL | APR 03, 2020 | 6:00 AM
Every night before they go to sleep, Fountain
Hill Elementary students can snuggle in bed with a tablet or smartphone and
listen to the soothing sounds of their teachers reading them a bedtime story. In
the comfort and safety of their own homes, teachers and administrators sit on
their couches and read children’s books such as “Where the Wild Things Are,”
“Snoopy: Flying Ace to the Rescue” and “How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?”
Sometimes their own children join them in reading. The coronavirus pandemic has
disrupted the routines of Fountain Hill students and millions of others across
the nation. The online bedtime stories don’t exactly replace the story time
they’re used to in school, where children gather on the carpet, sitting
cross-legged and listening intently as their teacher reads about the adventures
of characters like Madeline or Curious George. But during the coronavirus
crisis, which has closed all Pennsylvania schools until further notice, the
virtual story session does allow educators to connect with young children who
were used to seeing them daily.
Read by 4th prepares littlest learners for a life of
reading
Citywide program works with families at home
and in neighborhood libraries.
The notebook by Connie
Langland April 2 — 8:15 am, 2020
The Notebook prepared this report on early
childhood education in Philadelphia for our spring print edition before the
full force of the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We are posting the stories from the
print edition online this week along with updates from the providers and
advocates we featured. The Read by 4th team has continued to focus on
helping families support learning at home. They have created a new Family
Resources page on our website, where they’ve
pulled together some of their favorite online activities.
On a sunny Saturday morning children’s
librarian Christina Holmes took a seat and began reading to the moms, dads and
tots clustered around her in the infant/toddler corner of the Lucien E.
Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library. “Open them, shut them, give a
little clap, clap, clap,” said Holmes, as parents helped tiny hands open and
close. “Open them, shut them, give a little clap, clap, clap.” The youngest in
the crowd was about six months, the oldest about two. For 30 minutes, the
children absorbed rhymes, sounds and stories as well as the babbling and
chatter of the toddlers and grownups all around them. The weekly event, called
Read, Baby, Read, is among a wide variety of efforts – of both small and large
scale – that make up the initiative known as Read by 4th.
A morning at Comegys: Food, homework, and a cloud of
uncertainty
Parents say they’re ready for more change but
want clear and consistent communication.
The notebook by Bill
Hangley Jr. April 2 — 5:59 pm, 2020
For 4th grader Shanice Williams, the
coronavirus shutdown hasn’t been too stressful so far. “I’m worried, but not
too worried,” said Shanice as she stood in the chilly sunshine outside Comegys
Elementary in Southwest Philadelphia. “I’m just going to stay in my house all
day, so I’ve got nothing to worry about.” But when Shanice looks more than a
few weeks down the road, she starts to wonder and worry. “I feel like they’re
going to put us back a grade,” she said. “If I go to school in the summertime,
I’m going to be mad. It’s going to be hot, too hot in the classrooms.” Shanice
and her mother, Tish, came to Comegys to
pick up her latest academic packets. They were among about 20 people who
stopped by the school over the course of an hour on Thursday morning to collect
homework packets and boxes of food. Parents and grandparents, some with
children in tow, stood in a short line outside the school cafeteria, as
District workers helped them keep a healthy distance from each other. With the
coronavirus shutdown soon to enter its fourth week, the Williamses and other
families at Comegys say that they’re managing reasonably well, but that a cloud
of uncertainty hangs over everything. Students could very well be finished with
traditional schooling for the year, they say. What that means for them and
their households is unclear.
Essay: Homeschooling reminds me why I didn’t go into
teaching
WHYY By April Hall April 2, 2020
Since being ordered to stay home to slow the
spread of the coronavirus, my friends have been asking me, as we all ask each
other: “How are you doing?” I generally reply that it’s challenging for me to
be, all at once, a full-time magazine editor, wife, cook, scheduler and a
mother of two, which now requires me to be both a first and fifth grade
teacher. I also throw in that I’m the “butcher, baker and candlestick-maker,”
because I don’t want to seem whiney. But, we’re all in the same boat, sitting
six feet apart. And I have to say, I’m probably more fortunate than most. For
instance, I haven’t been furloughed or laid-off, and neither has my husband. I’m
also lucky to have coworkers and managers who are immensely patient with my
7-year-old daughter, who has been making daily appearances. Every. Single.
Videoconference. It’s probably a good thing she’s cute, but I feel like that BBC professor, who was on live television when his
kids barged into his office.
DeVos Weighs Waiving Special Education. Parents Are
Worried.
The $2 trillion coronavirus law grants the
education secretary the power to waive special education rules as school
districts struggle to teach all their students online.
New York Times By Erica
L. Green April 2, 2020
WASHINGTON — Tucked away in the $2 trillion coronavirus stabilization bill is a
provision that allows Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to seek congressional
approval to waive parts of the federal special education law while schools
combat the coronavirus pandemic. How she
might use that authority scares parents like Jennifer Gratzer, who lives in
Seattle. It took a 350-page complaint and hours of work for Ms. Gratzer to get
the proper special education services for her 10-year-old son, a nonverbal
third grader who has epilepsy and a condition called cortical visual impairment.
He has made progress with services like occupational therapy, speech therapy
and a one-on-one aid, afforded to special-needs students like him under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But Ms. Gratzer fears that Ms.
DeVos may relieve her son’s school district of such obligations for the
foreseeable future. “No one wants to do the hard thing unless they’re forced to
do it,” Ms. Gratzer said, “and our kids have always been the hard thing.” With
the closure of schools across the country, parents like Ms. Gratzer have found
themselves in an educational crisis like none seen since the disabilities law
passed in 1975. Today, it grants nearly seven million students individualized
instruction and a vast array of educational support and services.
Everybody seems to be using Zoom. But its security flaws
could leave users at risk.
Its billionaire chief said the
video-conferencing company never expected that “every person in the world would
suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home.”
Washington Post By Drew Harwell April
2, 2020 at 2:26 p.m. EDT
When Georgetown University began advising its
faculty to use the video-call service Zoom to record classes during the
coronavirus lockdowns, professor James Millward couldn’t help worrying about
where all that video would end up. His course on modern China features
free-flowing and unsparing discussions about contentious issues such as
censorship and surveillance. How would students’ privacy be protected? And
could video of students’ faces, voices and questions someday be used against
them? “If we had a big camera on the wall recording everything happening in our
normal classrooms, we would be very alarmed by that,” he said in an interview.
“And yet we’re now eagerly setting that all up in our homes, creating these
recordings without having any idea what’s happening to them.”
In Chicago, schools closed during a 1937 polio epidemic
and kids learned from home -- over the radio
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss Reporter
April 3, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Schools across America have been closed for
weeks now amid a crisis over the spread of a deadly coronavirus, and nobody
knows yet when they will be allowed to reopen. At least one-fifth of states are
planning to stay closed for the rest of the 2019-20 school year, but nobody
knows how the virus will affect the population in the fall when the new
academic year is supposed to begin. Today’s crisis is unprecedented in its
effects on the country’s institutions, population and economic, with much of
public life stopped. But schools have closed before because of a viral pandemic
in different cities, and students were sent home to do distance learning. This
post tells the story of what happened in 1937 when the public schools in
Chicago closed for three weeks, delaying the start of the school year, because
of fears about the spread of polio, which caused a series of epidemics over a
several decades. Some 457,090 people got polio from 1937-1997, according to Post Polio Health International. Thousands
of people, including children, died and many more were paralyzed.
PSBA FAQ Sheet Regarding Closure of School Due to
Coronavirus
PSBA has compiled answers to your most
pressing questions surrounding school closures due to the #coronavirus outbreak.
View this resource here:
Request@PSBA.org: PSBA establishes
channel to answer COVID-19 questions
POSTED ON MARCH 19, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
In light of statewide school closings and as
the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, PSBA is here to provide support to
members and answer questions regarding how schools will operate, meet
instructional requirements and provide services both now and in the future.
Please send your questions to request@psba.org with
your name, district and contact information. A member of PSBA staff will respond
directly or will funnel your inquires to the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. PSBA will act as your voice and ensure you receive the answers and
information you need to make decisions at this crucial time.
PSBA: Coronavirus Preparedness Guidance
In the last few weeks, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2),
which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has become a topic of concern
nationwide. Although the virus is not widespread in Pennsylvania at this time,
that status could change. Being proactive is key to prevention and mitigation. Below,
you will find a list of resources on all aspects of preparedness, including
guidance on communication planning, policy, emergency management and disease
control. Use these resources to help you make decisions regarding the safety
and health of those in your school district.
Rescheduled: Join us for Advocacy Day in Harrisburg to support public
education Monday May 11, 2020! (subject to change)
All school
leaders are invited to attend Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in
Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators (PASA) are partnering together to strengthen our advocacy
impact. The day will center around meetings with legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education. Click here for more information or register
at http://www.mypsba.org/ School directors 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
PSBA Board Presidents Panel April 27, 28 and 29; Multiple
Locations
Offered at 10 locations across the state,
this annual event supports current and aspiring school board leaders through
roundtable conversations with colleagues as well as a facilitated panel of
experienced regional and statewide board presidents and superintendents. Board
Presidents Panel is designed to equip new and veteran board presidents and vice
presidents as well as superintendents and other school directors who may pursue
a leadership position in the future.
PARSS Annual Conference April 29 – May 1, 2020 in State
College
The 2020 PARSS Conference is April 29 through
May 1, 2020, at Wyndham Garden Hotel at Mountain View Country Club in State
College. Please register as a member or a vendor by accessing the links below.
Register today for the 2020 PASA/PA Principals
Association PA Educational Leadership Summit, August 2-4, at the Lancaster
Marriott at Penn Square
(hosted by the PA Principals Association and
the PA Association of School Administrators). Participants can earn up to 80
PIL hours (40 hours for the Summit and - for an additional cost of $50 -
40 hours for EdCamp) for
attending the conference and completing program requirements. Register
early to reserve your seat! The deadline to take advantage of the Early Bird
Discount is April 24, 2020.
Click here to
register today!
Network for Public Education 2020 Conference in Philly Rescheduled
to November 21-22
NPE Website March 10, 2020 7:10 pm
We so wanted to see you in March, but we need
to wait until November!
Our conference will now take place on November
21 and 22 at the same location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please
read the important information below.
Registration: We will be rolling over our
registration information, so there is no reason to register again. You will
be automatically registered for the November dates. If you cannot attend in
November, we ask that you consider donating your registration to absorb some of
the costs associated with rescheduling the conference. If you feel you cannot
make such a donation, please contact: dcimarusti@networkforpubliceducation.org.
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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