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, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October 20, 2020
Cyber
charter enrollments are surging. School districts are picking up the tab.
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in House Ed Committee Member Dan Miller’s school districts
paid over $15.4 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid over $600 million for cyber charter
tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Baldwin-Whitehall SD |
$176,513.64 |
|
Bethel Park SD |
$533,060.80 |
|
Chartiers Valley SD |
$546,152.59 |
|
Keystone Oaks SD |
$713,439.83 |
|
Mt Lebanon SD |
$518,364.90 |
|
Pittsburgh SD |
$12,976,083.08 |
|
|
$15,463,614.84 |
Source: PDE via
PSBA
Cyber charter enrollments are surging. School districts
are picking up the tab.
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: October 19, 2020-
3:41 PM
As the school year approached, Jaime Bassman
wasn’t ready to send her children back into classrooms. But she also wasn’t
comfortable with the virtual program offered by her school district, which she
felt would deprive her children of valuable live instruction. “We all needed
some real consistency this year,” said Bassman, a Lower Merion parent whose
children are 15 and 12 and have special education plans. She enrolled them
instead in a cyber charter — an option she previously never considered. Virtual
schools that draw students from across Pennsylvania, cyber charters have seen
interest spike amid the pandemic. The state’s 14 schools reported 62,000
students — or 3.5% of total public school enrollment — as of Oct. 1, up from
38,000 the year prior, according to state education officials. Some charter
leaders say they’ve been turning families away because they can’t accommodate
more students. The growth casts new light on what has long rankled traditional
public school backers: School districts pay charters, which are independently
run, to fund the education of each student enrolled. In Pennsylvania, cyber
charters receive the same amount of
taxpayer money per child as brick-and-mortar
charters, which districts say is unnecessary.
305 PA school boards have adopted charter reform resolutions
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. This
list will be updated regularly.
https://www.psba.org/2020/03/adopted-charter-reform-resolutions/
Supreme Court allows 3-day extension to count
Pennsylvania ballots
Post Gazette by ROBERT BARNES The Washington Post
OCT 19, 2020 7:28 PM
The Supreme Court on Monday night allowed
Pennsylvania election officials to count mail-in ballots received up to three
days after Election Day, refusing a Republican request to stop a
pandemic-related procedure approved by the state’s supreme court. The court’s
action involved a seemingly arcane voting practice and carried outsize
importance because of the state’s pivotal role in the upcoming presidential
election. It prompted a fierce battle between the state’s Democrats and
Republicans. It also showed a precariously balanced Supreme Court, which has
eight members after the death last month of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and
the potential importance of President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace her,
Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
The court was tied on the Republican request,
which means the effort failed. The court’s four most conservative justices -
Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - said they
would have granted the stay. But that takes five votes, which means Chief
Justice John Roberts sided with liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia
Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Neither side explained its reasoning, which often is
the case in emergency requests. But the outcome underscored the decisive role
Barrett could play if she is confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate -
with a vote there expected as soon as next week. Trump has said he wants his
new nominee on the court in case the court is split on litigation arising from
the election.
‘It’s extremely disappointing’: Elections officials brace
for long vote count as talks on reform crater in Harrisburg
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison October 19,
2020
Pennsylvania voters likely will have to wait
days to learn the outcome of races in the Nov. 3 general election, as
Republicans who control the state House said Monday that they have no intention
of changing state law to give counties a head start in processing mail-in
ballots. The announcement from House Republicans follows months of
negotiations with the Democratic Wolf administration, which has urged the
Legislature since the spring to tweak the state election code to help counties
promptly count a crush of mail-in ballots. Pennsylvania is one of just
four states nationwide that begins processing – or “pre-canvassing” – those
ballots on Election Day. County election officials hoped lawmakers would change
that with an 11th-hour vote this week, their last scheduled session week in
Harrisburg before Nov. 3. But a House Republican spokesman Monday said
that his caucus reached an impasse with Gov. Tom Wolf.
“The fall resurgence is here,” Wolf said in a press conference
Monday. As of Friday’s data, the health department said 11 counties are now in
the substantial level of community transmission: Berks, Blair, Bradford,
Centre, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Montour, Schuylkill, Union and
Westmoreland. The state health and education departments plan to speak with
school district leaders in those counties to discuss the implications of this
level of transmission.”
Pa. names 21 counties that bear watching for coronavirus;
statewide, positive rate is rising
Penn Live By Ron
Southwick | rsouthwick@pennlive.com Updated Oct
19, 2020; Posted Oct 19, 2020
More counties bear watching for the
coronavirus and the state’s percentage of positive cases is on the rise, Gov.
Tom Wolf’s office said Monday. The statewide percentage of positive cases rose
to 4.3%, up from 3.9% last week. That’s the highest since early August, Health
Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday. The Wolf administration also said 21
counties bear monitoring for COVID-19 cases, a report the state issues each
week. The state tracks counties where more than 5% of those being tested are
positive. Two weeks ago, only 11 counties hit that mark. Now, it’s nearly
one-third of the state’s 67 counties. These 21 counties now bear watching,
according to the Wolf administration: Huntingdon (9.9%), Westmoreland (8.9%),
Bradford (8.3%), Lackawanna (8.2%), Lebanon (8.2%), Perry (8.2%), Elk (7.9%),
Susquehanna (7.1%), Bedford (6.8%), Berks (6.5%), Lawrence (6.4%), Luzerne
(6.0%), Schuylkill (5.9%), Dauphin (5.7%), Armstrong (5.6%), Centre (5.6%),
Tioga (5.5%), Carbon (5.1%), Indiana (5.1%), Montour (5.0%) and Blair (5.0%).
Coronavirus spread in Lackawanna County is 'substantial,'
state says
Move to highest tier of community
transmission likely to impact local school district instruction.
BY JOSEPH KOHUT, SARAH HOFIUS HALL AND
KATHLEEN BOLUS STAFF WRITERS Oct 19, 2020 Updated 21 min ago
Surging levels of COVID-19 pushed Lackawanna
County into the state’s highest tier of community spread Monday, a
classification that could curtail in-person learning in schools. Monday’s
classification came as the number of new cases reported in the county dipped
from the highs it experienced last week. However, it also came as the region
again saw more than 100 new cases in one day and as officials warned the state
might be in the grips of an autumn resurgence of the virus. “We suspected pretty
heavily there would be an upsurge in the coronavirus in the fall,” Gov. Tom
Wolf said at a news conference Monday. “We’re starting to see that.” State
officials moved Lackawanna County to the “substantial” tier of community spread
after its seven-day incidence rate, as of Friday, doubled to 154.2 cases per
100,000 people. Counties with substantial spread have either a seven-day
incidence rate of 100 cases or more per 100,000 people or a testing positivity
rate which exceeds 10%. The county’s most recent test positivity rate reported
by state health officials is 8.2%, the fourth highest rate in Pennsylvania.
Lackawanna County’s incidence rate is also the fifth highest in the state.
There are 10 other counties in Pennsylvania in the “substantial” tier. While a
county is in the highest tier of community spread, the state recommends local
school districts move fully to online learning. School district leaders
discussed the change with officials from the state departments of education and
health Monday morning. The state recommends waiting to take action until the
county receives a “substantial” rating for a second straight week. That means
the school districts could send students and staff home by early next week.
Districts could also decide to remain open, since the recommendations from the
state are not mandates or law.
Back to class: Which school districts in York and Adams
counties have reported COVID-19 cases?
Teresa Boeckel York Daily
Record Updated October 19, 2020
Several districts have reported coronavirus
cases now that the new school year is underway.
Trimmer Elementary in West
York Area School District has been closed since Sept. 8 because of coronavirus
cases, and the closure has been extended as
more individuals have been affected by the virus. South Western School
District in the Hanover area
had reported three cases of the virus. It closed buildings for a
week, and students learned through virtual instruction. School districts with
positive COVID-19 cases have been in touch with the state Department of
Health and have notified anyone who had known contact. For privacy reasons,
school districts are not releasing names of individuals who have the virus. Here
is a list of which districts have reported cases:
More than 100 COVID-19 cases have been reported at
Lancaster County schools. Here's where they are [update]
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Updated
October 19, 2020
More than 100 cases of COVID-19 have been
reported at Lancaster County schools so far into the 2020-21 school year. The
cases come from 16 school districts, plus a brick-and-mortar charter school in
Lancaster city and the county's career and technology center. And that might
not be all.
Multiple SW PA local schools shutting down as COVID-19
cases rise around the region
WPXI By: Amy
Hudak, WPXI-TV and Greg Deffenbaugh, WPXI.com Updated:
October 20, 2020 - 12:11 AM
PITTSBURGH — Multiple school districts
around southwestern Pennsylvania are
closing school campuses as more students and staff are becoming infected with
the novel coronavirus. “Over the last two weeks, we’ve reported 2,000 news
cases of COVID-19 among school-age children,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, Pa.
Department of Health secretary. Monday night, the Baldwin-Whitehall school district announced three
elementary schools will be closed for the rest of the week after a substitute
teacher who had worked at each campus tested positive for the virus. “The fall resurgence is here and
now is really the time to double down,” Gov. Wolf said. In the Quaker Valley School
District, 129 students and staff are in quarantine; 14 current
COVID-19 cases in the middle and high school forced the district to close both
schools for the next two weeks. The McKeesport School District reported six new
cases in the past 24 hours among students, teachers and staff. Officials said
they believe the cases are “fully contained” and that custodians are using
“spray-striker machines” to disinfect all surfaces.
Newest version of Pennsylvania's school rating system is
out, but lacks much in the way of new information
Pottstown Mercury By David Mekeel
dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter October 19, 2020
The state Department of Education has
released the newest version of its Future Ready PA Index, the system used to
rate schools across the commonwealth, but thanks to the coronavirus pandemic it
lacks much new information. The index was launched in 2018 as
a tool to provide families, educators, employers and communities with a
more comprehensive look at how Pennsylvania schools are preparing students. It
progressed from previous ratings systems in that it relies less on students'
standardized test scores. "Success is measured by more than standardized
tests," Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said in announcing the index
update. "The index shows how all
students, including historically underserved groups, are progressing in their
education and learning the skills to be productive citizens of the
commonwealth." The index, like the ratings systems before it, is updated
each fall. The latest update was announced Friday by the Department of
Education.
Upper Darby School District faces resistance on building
plans
Delco Times by Pete Bannan Pbannan@21st-Centurymedia.com October 20,
2020
UPPER DARBY — At the October Upper Darby School
Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Daniel McGarry told elected officials that
the challenges of re-opening schools in person has been made more difficult by
the limits of the district’s outdated school buildings and that some members of
the community are making it worse with their resistance to school improvements.
Elementary students in Upper Darby are scheduled to return for in-person
classes beginning Nov. 5 and grades 6-12 the following week. “This pandemic has
highlighted our needs in a major way. Unfortunately, we are not able to bring
our students back for more in-person instruction because we lack appropriate
space in our schools,” McGarry said. “What I mean is, some other school
districts, because they have newer facilities or improved facilities or larger
facilities, are able to return students in flexible cohorts more frequently
than we can because we are limited by the space, size and condition of some of
our schools.”
Philadelphia teachers facing first strike vote in decades
after contract talks with district fall short
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: October
19, 2020- 5:57 PM
Philadelphia teachers could consider their
first strike vote in decades as talks with the Philadelphia School District on
a one-year contract extension drag on with no end in sight, officials said. Philadelphia
Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan gave members the news in a
meeting Monday night. “The district has decided that they are unwilling, at
this time, to resolve our one year contract extension,” Jordan wrote in an
email to 13,000 teachers, nurses, counselors, secretaries, and other school
workers. “And as I shared with you, it is necessary for me to ask you to
consider authorizing me to call for a strike if (and only if) we reach a point
that negotiations have entirely stalled.” If a strike is called, it would be
the first such action in years. The teachers’ union was forbidden by state law
from striking during the 17-year state takeover that ended in 2018.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/pft-contract-extension-strike-philadelphia-teachers-20201019.html
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers preparing a possible
strike vote Wednesday
WHYY By Miles
Bryan October 19, 2020
Philadelphia’s teachers union is planning a
possible strike vote this week, as negotiations have stalled nearly two months
after the union’s contract expired. Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
President Jerry Jordan sent out an email to the union’s 13,000 teachers,
nurses, and other workers Monday night, requesting they fill out a ‘Strike
Authorization Poll.’ “The poll, and subsequent votes, will NOT trigger an
immediate strike” the email reads. “It will authorize me to call a strike on
behalf of the membership if, and only if, we are no longer able to move
forward.” Jordan asked members to fill out the survey ahead of a union meeting
tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, when workers will discuss either a
tentative agreement or the authorization of a strike. The union is seeking a
one-year extension of its previous contract, which expired August 31, with a
2.5% raise.
Philly school board member resigns abruptly
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: October
19, 2020- 8:08 PM
Philadelphia’s newest school board member
resigned abruptly Monday. Ameen Akbar said
he was leaving to care for his father, who is in ill health, a school board
spokesperson said. His resignation leaves seven people on a nine-member board
that must lead the Philadelphia School District through a pandemic, settle a
teachers contract that now faces a possible strike vote, and figure
out a way to bring children back to school
safely. Akbar, a district graduate,
education consultant and former charter school employee, sat on the board for
less than six months.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-board-ameen-akbar-resignation-20201019.html
Eyes on the Philly Board of Education: October
22, 2020
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by
Karel Kilimnik October 18, 2020 appsphilly.net
With rage over the devaluing of Black lives
still simmering in the city and across the country, we should look at the
continued underfunding of the city’s schools, whose students are primarily
Black and Brown. The pandemic has laid bare the inequities our students have
experienced when they walked into crumbling, dirty buildings often with mold
and sometimes asbestos; no toilet paper or hand soap; teachers having to purchase
basic supplies; limited after-school activities. Now those students experience
inequalities in technology and internet access; availability of school supplies
and food; evictions amid housing uncertainty; loss of jobs ; cutting off of
healthcare at a time when covid-19 remains active in our communities; and a
general escalation of trauma and anxiety on every level. The Hite
administration has created an Equity Coalition, yet when an opportunity arises
to actually pay participants the District overlooks those who have worked on
these issues in favor of awarding contracts to consultants (Item 29) such as
Steppingstone or creating an Equity Partners Fellowship (Item 2). Dr
Hite, a 2005 Broad Fellow, has instituted a welfare system for private entities
seeking business opportunities in public education.
https://appsphilly.net/2020/10/18/eyes-on-the-board-of-education-october-22-2020/
In-person teaching puts my family at risk, but the Philly
school district leaves me few options | Opinion
Hannah Patrick, For The Inquirer Posted: October
19, 2020 - 1:44 PM
Hannah Patrick is a second grade teacher for
the School District of Philadelphia.
Last Tuesday, the School District of
Philadelphia released a plan to
reopen schools starting on Nov. 30. As a second grade teacher in the District,
the news shook my family to the core and left me with an impossible dilemma:
leave the profession that I moved 1,000 miles for, or put my fiancé at risk of
catching a virus that could kill him. I moved from Florida to Philadelphia a
year ago for one reason: I wanted to advocate for students whose access to quality
education and resources are unjustly determined by their 5-digit zip code.
Joining me on my journey was my fiancé, Reuben. Life seemed perfect for us,
planning a wedding, both working our dream jobs, until COVID-19 hit.
Three Baldwin-Whitehall schools to temporarily close amid
COVID-19 woes
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE Got a news tip?
412-263-1601 localnews@post-gazette.com
OCT 19, 2020 7:57 PM
The Baldwin-Whitehall School District
announced on Monday that it will temporarily close three of its schools due to
COVID-19 concerns. J.E. Harrison Education Center, McAnnulty Elementary School
and Whitehall Elementary School will be closed until Friday, Oct. 23, according
to school officials. Baldwin High School, however, will not close and will
continue with its normal, hybrid schedule. School officials said that they
became aware of a substitute teacher at the district Monday afternoon who had
tested positive for COVID-19. The teacher had worked within Harrison, McAnnulty
and Whitehall schools. In all previous instances of conducting contact-tracing
protocols, officials said, the district has been able to clearly mark all areas
of potential exposure. Because of the substitute teacher’s extensive
assignments, however, the district said that it believes additional safety
measures must be implemented
2 staff members at Kiski Area High School test positive
for covid-19
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Monday,
October 19, 2020 5:28 p.m.
Two staff members at Kiski Area High School
have tested positive for covid-19, according to a letter sent to district
families Monday. The Department of Health has been contacted and quarantine and
isolation procedures are in place. The high school will remain open, the letter from
Superintendent Tim Scott said.
What's the connection between reading early and high
school dropout rates? Learn with us at the Education First Compact on 11/5.
Philadelphia Education Fund Free Virtual
Event Thursday November 5, 2020 9:00 am - 10:30 am
From Pre-K to Fifth Grade: Early Literacy as
Dropout Prevention
It’s long been understood that literacy is
the gateway to learning. No doubt you’ve heard the maxim: In grades
K-3, a student must learn to read, so that in grades 4-12 they can read to
learn.
In the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2014
report, “Double Jeopardy,” researchers also found a link between 4th
grade reading proficiency and high school completion rates. Astonishingly,
they discovered that students with low levels of proficiency were four times as
likely to drop out of high school. In Philadelphia, the struggle to improve
upon rates of early literacy is a collaborative one. At the center of
these local efforts are the School District of Philadelphia, the Children’s
Literacy Initiative, and various community partners engaged through
Philadelphia’s Read By 4th Campaign. Join us for the November Education First
Compact to probe such questions as: What lessons has been learned prior to and
during COVID? What adjustments are being made during this period of distance
learning? What challenges remain? And, most importantly, what role can the
larger Philadelphia community play in the effort?
Panelists:
- Caryn
Henning, Children’s Literacy Initiative
- Jenny
Bogoni, Read By 4th Campaign
- Nyshawana
Francis-Thompson, School District Office of Instruction and Curriculum
Host: Farah
Jimenez, President and CEO of Philadelphia Education Fund
Schedule: 9:00 –
9:45am Presentation
9:45 – 10:15am Q & A
Attendance is free, but registration is
required.
Tell your legislators that school districts need their
support
POSTED ON OCTOBER 12, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
If you missed Advocacy Day, it's not too late
to reach out to your legislators and ask for their support for public schools
during this challenging school year. Take Action to
send a letter to your members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The
letter addresses the need to support our schools and help to control our costs
so that districts may better serve their students. Among the most important
areas of concern are limited liability protections; broad mandate relief; delay
in new state graduation requirements delay; the need for broadband expansion;
and charter school funding reform. Now, more than ever, it is vital that
legislators hear from school districts.
https://www.psba.org/2020/10/tell-your-legislators-that-school-districts-need-their-support/
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
305 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 300 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.
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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