Monday, September 28, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 28, 2020 When I ran for school board, I never expected to make life-or-death decisions.

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Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 28, 2020

When I ran for school board, I never expected to make life-or-death decisions.

 

Why are cyber charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?

Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Valerie Gaydos’s school districts paid over $2.7 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.

 

Avonworth SD

$302,648.84

Moon Area SD

$1,811,247.58

Quaker Valley SD

$197,644.00

West Allegheny SD

$436,627.98

 

$2,748,168.40

Source: PDE via PSBA

 

 

 

Trump/DeVos Education Platform:

Provide School Choice to Every Child in America

Teach American Exceptionalism

 

 

I was a Republican governor of Pa. I’m voting for Joe Biden. | Opinion

Tom Ridge, For The Inquirer Posted: September 27, 2020 - 5:00 AM

I will cast my vote for Joe Biden on Nov. 3. It will be my first vote for a Democratic candidate for president of the United States. But it is not the first time I have said “no” to Donald Trump. I urge my fellow Pennsylvanians to join me. I actually consider it a point of personal pride that I’m recognized for being among the first Republicans to reject Donald Trump. It was way back in December 2015. I told NBC’s Chuck Todd that day that I could never support Trump. I said then that he was an embarrassment to the Republican Party and our country. I said he belittles, demeans, and ridicules people who disagree with him, and that I’ve never thought that loud, obnoxious, and simpleminded solutions to complex problems are the kind of qualities we want in a president. I believe that earned me my first of several Trump tweets of indignation. So here we are in 2020. And do we ever have complex problems that demand thoughtful, intelligent leadership. We are getting none of it. I cannot help but compare our current situation dealing with a global health pandemic to my time leading the Department of Homeland Security following the 9/11 terror attacks. There are many similarities to our national response. Those similarities, however, do not include presidential leadership.

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/tom-ridge-trump-biden-election-2020-vote-20200927.html

 

Florina Rodov: Virtual Charter Schools Are an Educational Disaster

Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianeravitch September 25, 2020 //

I have posted many times about the corruption embedded in the for-profit virtual charter industry. The founder of Pennsylvania’s largest virtual charter school was sentenced to prison for misappropriating $8 million. The single biggest scam in U.S. history involved an online charter chain in California called A3, whose owners managed to make $50 million in state funding disappear. The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) in Ohio collected $1 billion over its nearly two decades, its owner paid his companies for supplying services, he made generous gifts to elected officials, but ECOT declared bankruptcy in 2018 to avoid repaying the state for phantom students. The stories of corruption, embezzlement, and scamming go on and on. Therefore I was delighted to find this excellent summary by journalist Florina Rodov, who gathers many of the scandals and research reports in one place to demonstrate the woeful failure of virtual charters. As she points out, the virtual charter industry has beefed up its already massive marketing budget to take advantage of the pandemic and try to gather market share. One detail that I found fascinating was the link to executive compensation for K12 Inc., the for-profit virtual chain that has the largest enrollment in the nation. The top five executives receive a total of $28 million in compensation. Beats teaching!

https://dianeravitch.net/2020/09/25/florina-rodov-virtual-charter-schools-are-an-educational-disaster/

 

“I had received more emails, texts, and calls the previous week than my entire time on the board, and they were still coming in. I answered questions in the grocery store, at the downtown coffee shop while waiting outside six feet apart, on the phone or via email, and on social media. The polite ones had questions or concerns, but not everyone was polite. A teacher asked me why I wanted her to die. A parent asked me why the board would consider making children sacrificial lambs. These comments upset me; I didn’t want anyone to die. Another resident said we were not prepared to make this decision and should start remote in order to safely consider all options.”

When I ran for school board, I never expected to make life-or-death decisions. Then came COVID-19.

Should we reopen our school buildings — or keep learning fully remote? The choice was ours. 

Chalkbeat First Person By Erika Cohen  Sep 23, 2020, 6:20pm EDT

First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others trying to improve public education.

Erika Cohen is in her fifth year on the Derry School Board (New Hampshire) and currently serves as secretary. She has two children, a fifth grader and an eighth grader, in the Derry schools.

Five years ago I ran for my local school board for the first time. My campaign workers— i.e., my husband and two children — helped me make double-sided signs at our dining room table. I outlined the letters, my children colored them in, and my husband attached them to wood posts with duct tape. We then placed them strategically around our New Hampshire town of about 30,000 people. I also told local friends and acquaintances I was running, and they told their friends. Six signs and a huge game of telephone later, I won a seat on my local school board. I ran to help kids get the best public education possible. But over the summer I was tasked with deciding whether or not it is safe for children to return to school buildings amid the coronavirus pandemic. It should be a decision about physical and emotional health and well being, but it became political. The president encouraged all schools to open with no enforceable directive. In New Hampshire, our governor left the decision to local districts explaining that all towns faced different issues. That left the decision to me and the six other members of the Derry School Board. It was the end of July during a heat wave. The middle school gym, which has no air conditioning or ceiling fans, was hot. Nearby towns were simultaneously holding similar meetings and overloading the internet in the area, so our connection was temporarily down. This meant the 50 or so people seated like chess pieces six feet apart along with a few dozen more spread out in the bleachers could hear our meeting, but hundreds more trying to watch online could not. So we paused. People talked amongst themselves or looked on their phones and eyed us with annoyance. We looked nervously at the IT guy. The IT guy typed furiously while talking on his phone.

https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/9/23/21453106/school-board-covid

 

DREXEL SCHOOL OF EDUCATION HELPS TO CREATE PIPELINE OF BLACK MALE TEACHERS IN PHILADELPHIA

Drexel University School of Education September 21, 2020

In Pennsylvania, only four percent of educators are Black. A new partnership between Drexel University’s School of Education, Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, and the Center for Black Educator Development aims to train and prepare Black men for careers as teachers in Philadelphia. The new “Boys’ Latin Teacher Residency” will create a pipeline of Black make teaching candidates to teach at Boys Latin and other schools across the city. The program is broken down into two areas- a Teaching Apprenticeship program that identifies Boys Latin students who are interested in becoming teachers, and a Teaching Fellowship program that provides the formal education and practice that will result in teacher certification.

The School of Education is training the first three students in the Teaching Fellowship program. They are spending the 2020-2021 academic year working and learning side-by-side with an experienced mentor teacher in their class (currently held online) while taking required teacher certification courses online at Drexel. The students’ tuition is covered by a grant provided by Boys’ Latin. "We started this program because we know about the dearth of Black male teachers across the country," said David Hardy, co-founder and acting CEO of Boys' Latin Charter School. In urban school districts with large populations of minority students, the need for teachers of color are critical. Recent studies have shown that Black students who have at least one Black teacher showed improvement in reading and math and are less likely to drop out compared to students who did not have a Black teacher.

https://drexel.edu/soe/about/News/2020/September/boys-latin-teacher-residency/

 

Pittsburgh Public Schools extends remote teaching 5 more weeks for teachers

LAUREN LEE Pittsburgh Post-Gazette SEP 25, 2020 11:08 PM

Teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools will continue remote teaching for another five weeks.  The district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers issued a joint statement Friday night. The announcement states the projected first day of in-person teaching and learning for both students and teachers will start on Nov. 9.  There had been some debate prior to this announcement on whether teachers could work from home if they chose. In early August, Pittsburgh Public School administrators said they expected all district members to return to their buildings by Oct. 5, however the district states the date was pushed back to “align with the Memorandum of Understanding between the District and the PFT.” In response to the extension announcement, District Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said the district took into consideration all sides of the issue. 

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2020/09/25/Pittsburgh-Public-Schools-teachers-extend-remote-learning/stories/202009250183

 

Gateway HS, Moss Side Middle School move to remote learning after COVID-19 cases

LAUREN LEE Pittsburgh Post-Gazette SEP 27, 2020 10:42 PM

Students at Gateway High School and Moss Side Middle School in the Gateway School District will attend classes online for the week of Sept. 28 after the district was notified of positive COVID-19 cases at both schools. On Friday morning, the district was notified that a student at Gateway High School tested positive for COVID-19 — the second case within a 14-day time period. A high school football game was also canceled Friday night between Gateway and Pine-Richland after news that the student, who plays for Gateway, tested positive.  In a letter sent to Gateway High School parents on Friday, the district’s assistant superintendent Dr. Dennis Chakey said the student has been quarantined and has not been in the building since Sept. 22. On Sunday, the district sent out another letter notifying Moss Side parents that a staff member at the middle school tested positive for COVID-19. Because this case marks the second staff member who tested positive at the middle school within a 14-day time period, the district is moving classes online for five days. 

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2020/09/27/Gateway-High-School-students-test-positive-COVID-19-football-game-canceled/stories/202009270227

 

Saucon Valley High School closed until Thursday following two coronavirus cases

By JON HARRIS THE MORNING CALL | SEP 26, 2020 AT 6:07 PM

Saucon Valley High School will be closed through Wednesday after two COVID-19 cases within a week, District Superintendent Craig Butler said Saturday. After a high school student tested positive Sept. 18, Butler said a faculty member tested positive Friday. The district is observing Pennsylvania Department of Education guidelines and plans to resume in-person classes Thursday, Butler added. The school already was to be closed Monday for a professional development day. Butler said remote instruction will still occur Tuesday and Wednesday for students. While 79% of high school students have opted for in-person instruction at the Lower Saucon Township school building, 21% have been learning remotely since school started Aug. 24. “We have completed several weeks in person and remote,” Butler said. “I think the faculty members are working very hard, and students seem to be glad to be back in school.” The news Saturday comes after Saucon Valley on Monday temporarily shut down its football season following the positive student test. Saucon Valley had canceled a football scrimmage earlier this month against Bethlehem Catholic and did not play Pen Argyl on Saturday, which was supposed to be the season-opener.

https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-saucon-valley-high-school-temporarily-closed-covid-cases-20200926-6mkv4u2fizax7nwcwfzg5vijpy-story.html

 

Penn Manor High School reports two COVID-19 cases, becomes one of nearly a dozen

Lancaster Online by HURUBIE MEKO | Staff Writer September 27, 2020

Another Lancaster County school has reported COVID-19 cases. Penn Manor High School Superintended Mike Leichliter broke the news that two members of the school’s community tested positive for the virus in a letter to families Sunday. The individuals will not be in school until they recover and persons who had close contact with them have been notified, Leichliter said. The names of those who tested positive are being kept confidential to protect their privacy, he added. The high school will not be closing. However, the school has contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Health, disinfected locations visited by those who tested positive and has been in communication with those who had close contact with the two individuals, Leichliter said.

The superintendent also asked families to keep children at home if they are feeling sick.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/penn-manor-high-school-reports-two-covid-19-cases-becomes-one-of-nearly-a-dozen/article_30b89994-00ec-11eb-b3ae-63e71d3d8057.html

 

Lansdowne grandparents struggle with virtual schooling: ‘It’s rough on us’ | Maria Panaritis

Inquirer Maria Panaritis @panaritism | mpanaritis@inquirer.com Posted: September 27, 2020 - 5:00 AM

Jim and Joan Gardner’s son died from an addiction at age 33, so they adopted their grandchildren. Now, because of the pandemic, the 70 and 71-year-old retired Lansdowne couple also are teaching the children fully from home. It’s tough, yes. But if their local public schools ever do reopen physically, as many families are hoping will happen sooner than later after six months in suspension, the Gardners could be facing an even more crushing, life-and-death situation. Their underfunded William Penn School District, facing a version of the same teacher shortages that have helped jettison a return to public school for children across the region, even in far more affluent communities, canceled its all-year virtual-schooling option for elementary-age kids. It ran out of enough teachers. If schools do reopen, that means people like the Gardners will have no choice but to send their kids to classrooms where, they fear, they may pick up the potentially life-threatening virus.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/columnists/william-penn-school-district-virtual-reopening-pandemic-pennsylvania-20200927.html

 

More students ditch York County public schools for charters

Lindsay C VanAsdalan York Dispatch September 25, 2020

Charter school enrollment is rising in York County — putting financial strain on districts already strapped for cash thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. West York Area Superintendent Todd Davies this month called his district's increase in charter school enrollment "ridiculously high," despite there only being 17 more students than last year. That's because the cost of charter tuition has traditionally been higher than in-house programs — and is growing exponentially each year.  With 17 more students, there will be an additional $437,779 leaving the district on top of the nearly $1 million the district is paying for tuition now, Davies said. When outbreaks of COVID-19 forced schools online this spring, districts began preparing long-term virtual learning models — some opting to create or expand their cyber programs to better compete with charters.

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/education/2020/09/25/more-students-ditch-york-county-public-schools-charters/3510941001/

 

“Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia system have been teaching in-person from the beginning of the school year. In mid-September, the Chichester and Garnet Valley school districts transitioned to a hybrid in-person learning module. And, Springfield is scheduled to do the same with students in kindergarten through fifth grade returning Oct. 8 and 9; E.T. Richardson Middle School students returning Oct. 12 and 13; and Springfield High School students returning Oct. 15 and 16.”

Springfield and Haverford school districts to begin phasing in-person instruction

Delco Times By Kathleen E. Carey kcarey@21st-centurymedia.com @dtbusiness on Twitter Sep 25, 2020

SPRINGFIELD — The Haverford Township School District will be bringing students back into the classroom starting Oct. 5 and the Springfield School District plans to begin phasing in-person instruction using a hybrid model starting Oct. 8. On Thursday, the Haverford Township School Board voted in favor of a blended hybrid model that will place the students in two rotating cohorts in the classroom twice a week. "The decision was made based on evidence of stabilization in the region and the recommendations of the Chester County Health Department," Haverford Township Superintendent Dr. Maureen Reusche said a message to parents Friday. The schedule to return starts on Oct. 5 with kindergarten through third grade students; then, Oct. 12 with fourth- through eighth-graders; and closing with high school students on Oct. 19. Students will be placed into two groups and one group will attend on Mondays and Wednesdays and the other group will be Tuesdays and Thursdays.

https://www.delcotimes.com/news/coronavirus/springfield-and-haverford-school-districts-to-begin-phasing-in-person-instruction/article_9d472912-ff53-11ea-b300-ef8fd2e84a0f.html

 

“No doubt, though: In-person school looks different in the COVID-19 era. Preschoolers can’t share crayons. Lunch happens in the classroom. Children mostly stay in a single space, with art and music teachers hauling materials from room to room. Teachers can’t send children to the office to relay messages or drop off forms. Parents aren’t allowed inside at all, but a cleaner with a backpack full of sanitizer is a constant presence, wiping frequently touched surfaces and spraying rooms between uses.”

What does in-person school look like in the COVID-19 era? Here’s a look inside.

Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September 27, 2020

The first big yellow school buses rolled up at 8 a.m., and a handful of students stepped out into the September sunshine. The school doors swung open, and one by one, a line of kids entered Nativity of Our Lord School in Warminster, each child’s hands reaching out automatically for the first squeeze of hand sanitizer of the day. The students had been spread out on the bus, and were careful not to get too close to one another on the way in. They all wore masks. Kindergarten students work on art projects in their classroom at Nativity of Our Lord School in Warminster. The school is open five days a week for in-person instruction. Principal Kyle McDonough spent his summer drawing up plans, measuring rooms, and putting precautions in place to prepare to open the 461-student school. Most surrounding districts chose to open the year virtually, but Nativity parents overwhelmingly wanted in-person instruction, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia offered a playbook, and McDonough has luxuries unavailable to public schools, including the ability to limit admissions. Still, the principal was worried: With barriers separating desks, mandatory masks or face shields, no singing, no assemblies or field trips, would it feel like school?

https://www.inquirer.com/education/nativity-of-our-lord-coronavirus-school-reopening-20200927.html

 

Six local schools win National Blue Ribbon distinction

Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September 25, 2020- 12:03 PM

Six local schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. The schools that claimed the department’s top prize are: Loomis Elementary, Marple Newtown School District, Broomall; Rhawnhurst Elementary, Philadelphia School District; Mother of Providence Regional Catholic School, Wallingford; St. Katharine of Siena Catholic School, Wayne; St. Patrick Catholic School, Malvern; and Waldron Mercy Academy, Merion. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the winners Thursday. “It’s a privilege to recognize the extraordinary work you do to meet students' needs and prepare them for successful careers and meaningful lives," DeVos said in a statement. In total, 367 schools from across the country — less than 1% of all schools nationwide — were honored. Schools, which must complete an extensive application to be considered, win either based on standardized test performance or on efforts to close achievement gaps between students.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/national-blue-ribbon-schools-pa-devos-20200925.html

 

COLUMN: Endangered public schools need federal leadership more than ever

Instead of offering solutions, Education Secretary DeVos pushes a political agenda

Hechinger Report by LIZ WILLEN September 23, 2020

NEW YORK — Education and politics are often closely entangled, but in the midst of a pandemic that has claimed more than 200,000 U.S. lives, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has taken politicization to a new level. With coronavirus cases soaring and schools facing teacher and technology shortages, DeVos has spent the last few months urging public schools to open, under threat of losing federal money, while at the same time calling for immediate relief for private schools. It’s not that parents don’t want options. Living room learning gets old quickly, and not all families have internet access and adequate technology. But there’s a big problem with the secretary of education using the pandemic as a way to push her favored policy positions in a deeply partisan way, during a grueling time for the nation’s 51 million public schoolchildren.

https://hechingerreport.org/endangered-public-schools-need-federal-leadership-more-than-ever/

 

“DeVos’ ultimately quixotic campaign reflects her interest in supporting alternatives to public schools even during a pandemic and in the face of significant legal and political obstacles. She acknowledged during a radio interview in May that she was “absolutely” using the crisis to advance her agenda.”

Fight over private school aid ends in defeat for Betsy DeVos

Chalkbeat By Matt Barnum  Sep 25, 2020, 4:27pm EDT

Betsy DeVos’ controversial effort to route more coronavirus aid to private schools ended Friday. The U.S. Department of Education told state school chiefs that it will not appeal a decision by a federal judge that blocked its rule, dealing DeVos one of the most high-profile losses of her tenure as education secretary. “The Department strongly, but respectfully, disagrees with the ruling. However, we respect the rule of law and will enforce the law as the courts have opined,” DeVos wrote in a letter to state officials. DeVos’ decision not to appeal likely reflects the rule’s shaky legal standing. The department’s defense was decisively rejected by three federal judges, including one appointed by President Trump, and the rule had little political support in Congress. The court fights have kept schools from being able to access the full pot of federal relief money. Now, it’s clear how more than $13 billion in CARES education dollars will be divvied up between public and private schools.

https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/9/25/21456591/devos-private-school-aid-cares

 

LONG-CONCEALED RECORDS SHOW TRUMP’S CHRONIC LOSSES AND YEARS OF TAX AVOIDANCE

The Times obtained Donald Trump’s tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.

New York Times By Russ BuettnerSusanne Craig and Mike McIntire Sept. 27, 2020

Donald J. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750. He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made. As the president wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html

 

 

PSBA continues push for permanent mandate waiver program

POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS

With a short fall legislative session scheduled for the General Assembly, PSBA is continuing efforts to advocate for the major state-level issues identified by public school leaders as being of the most concern during this pandemic.  One of the key issues is the need for broad, permanent relief from mandates that consume much of districts' budgets and stifle innovation. PSBA worked with Senator Langerholc (R-Cambria) to introduce Senate Bill 1286, which would establish a mandate waiver program similar to the highly popular and successful one which operated in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2010. The proposal would allow public schools to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for a waiver of many state-imposed mandates if the school can show that its instructional program will improve or the school will operate in a more effective, efficient, or economical manner. Certain laws and regulations would not be waivable, such as those relating to student safety, academic standards and assessments, special education, protected handicapped students, gifted education, student attendance, professional educator conduct standards, among others. 
Click here for a detailed summary of Senate Bill 1286. 
PSBA is asking school boards to join this advocacy effort and adopt the resolution urging the General Assembly to provide critical support and costs savings to school districts through approval of a permanent mandate waiver program. The PSBA resolution can be 
downloaded and submitted to PSBA online

https://www.psba.org/2020/09/psba-continues-push-for-permanent-mandate-waiver-program/

 

PSBA Fall Virtual Advocacy Day: OCT 8, 2020 • 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sign up now for PSBA’s Virtual Advocacy Day this fall!

All public school leaders are invited to join us for our fall Virtual Advocacy Day on Thursday, October 8, 2020, via Zoom. We need all of you to help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center around contacting legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. Registrants will receive the meeting invitation with a link to our fall Virtual Advocacy Day website that contains talking points, a link to locate contact information for your legislator and additional information to help you have a successful day.

Cost: As a membership benefit, there is no cost to register.

Registration: School directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you have questions about Virtual Advocacy Day, or need additional information, contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org.

https://www.psba.org/event/psba-fall-virtual-advocacy-day/

 

Save The Date: The PSBA 2020 Equity Summit is happening virtually on October 13th.

Discover how to build a foundation for equity in practice and policy.

Learn more: https://t.co/KQviB4TTOj

 

PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference October 14-15 Virtual

Registration is now open for the first ever virtual School Leadership Conference! Join us for all-new educational sessions, dynamic speakers, exhibitors, and more! Visit the website for registration information: https://t.co/QfinpBL69u #PASLC20 https://t.co/JYeRhJLUmZ

 

What to expect at this year’s School Leadership Conference

POSTED ON AUGUST 31, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS

At the 2020 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference on October 14-15, you'll encounter the same high-quality experience you've come to expect, via new virtual platform. Hear world-class speakers and relevant educational sessions, and network with exhibitors and attendees — from the comfort of your home or office on any internet-enabled device.

The virtual conference platform is accessible via a unique link provided to each registrant about a week before conference. No additional app downloads are required. The intuitive 3D interface is easy to use and immersive — you'll feel like you're on location. Registrants will be able to explore the space a day before conference starts. Highlights include: 

  • Virtual exhibit hall 
  • Interactive lobby area and information desk 
  • Virtual auditorium 
  • Digital swag bag 
  • Scavenger hunt 

This year, conference is completely free to attend! Be among the first 125 to register, and receive a special pre-conference swag bag, sent to your home. Click here for more information about how to register.

https://www.psba.org/2020/08/what-to-expect-at-this-years-school-leadership-conference/

 

Adopt the resolution against racial inequity!

School boards are asked to adopt this resolution supporting the development of an anti-racist climate. Once adopted, share your resolution with your local community and submit a copy to PSBA. Learn more: http://ow.ly/yJWA50B2R72

 

Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding reform

In this legislative session, PSBA has been leading the charge with the Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor’s Administration to push for positive charter reform. We’re now asking you to join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re asking all school boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school funding reform at your next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and to PSBA.

Resolution for charter funding reform (pdf)

Link to submit your adopted resolution to PSBA

 

296 PA school boards have adopted charter reform resolutions

Charter school funding reform continues to be a concern as over 290 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform. Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions of dollars to charter schools.

The school boards from the following districts have adopted resolutions calling for charter funding reform. 

https://www.psba.org/2020/03/adopted-charter-reform-resolutions/

 

Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then Call for Charter Change!

PSBA Charter Change Website:

https://www.pacharterchange.org/

 

The Network for Public Education Action Conference has been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel

 

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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