Thursday, October 29, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for October 29: Follow the Money: How much of the $3.8 million in Students First PAC money have candidates received leading into this election?

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 29, 2020

Follow the Money: How much of the $3.8 million in Students First PAC money have candidates received leading into this election?

 

Blogger note: in an October 27th Spotlight PA article Matt Brouillette, treasurer for the Commonwealth Leaders Fund – funded primarily by donations from the Students First PAC (Yass, Dantchik, Greenburg) said that the group decides to get involved in races where there’s the greatest opportunity to elect someone who will support expanded charter schools and more tax credits that fund tuition at private schools. Here’ s list of candidates that have received significant contributions from the group and/or its other related PAC, the Commonwealth Children’s Choice Fund:

Heidelbaugh for Attorney General              $1,182,646

John DiSanto            $440,027

Chris Dush                $378,596

Scott Martín               $271,560

Andrew Lewis           $269,927

Carrie Lewis Delrosso          $259,129

Devlin Robinson       $212,067

Rob Mercuri               $203,964

Milou Mackenzie       $155,000

Jason Silvis               $132,180

Larry Yost                  $94,661

Valerie Gaydos          $66,224

Nicole Ziccarelli        $50,000

Craig Williams           $47,000

Andrew Holter           $26,682

Howard Terndrup     $23,897

Doug Mastriano         $10,000

Source: https://www.campaignfinanceonline.pa.gov/Pages/CampaignFinanceHome.aspx

 

New Franklin & Marshall poll says Biden leads Trump by 6 points in Pa.

Post Gazette by RON SOUTHWICK pennlive.com (TNS) OCT 29, 2020 5:04 AM

Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 6 percentage points in Pennsylvania, according to a new Franklin & Marshall College poll released Thursday morning. The F&M poll finds Biden leading Mr. Trump, 50% to 44%, among likely voters in Pennsylvania. The survey has a margin of error of 5 percentage points, raising the possibility that the race could be much closer. Still, the F&M poll comes after a host of other polls have found Mr. Biden leading in Pennsylvania. G. Terry Madonna, the political analyst at F&M, notes Mr. Biden has held a consistent lead in the Keystone State. “Do I think you can rule out completely Trump can win the state? The answer is no. But the odds are not in his favor,” Mr. Madonna said.

https://www.post-gazette.com/frontpage/2020/10/29/Biden-leads-Trump-by-6-points-in-Pa-New-poll/stories/202010290123

 

Read the Latest F&M Poll Results

October 19 - 25, 2020 Franklin & Marshall College Poll 

F&M College Poll Survey Indicator Dashboard

The October 2020 Franklin & Marshall College Poll finds that only two in five (43%) of the state’s voters believe the state is “headed in the right direction,” which is consistent with recent surveys that have shown less optimism about the state’s direction compared to last year. Voters list coronavirus (COVID-19) (27%) as the most important problem facing the state, with concerns about the economy being the second most common concern (21%). About two in five (42%) voters in Pennsylvania believe President Trump is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president, which is consistent with his ratings in recent polls. The President’s approval rating for his management of the coronavirus outbreak is lower (33%) than his overall job approval rating.

https://www.fandm.edu/fandmpoll

 

Connect the kids with the free meals

THE EDITORIAL BOARD Pittsburgh Post-Gazette OCT 29, 2020 5:45 AM

Some schools are educating students remotely. Others have adopted a hybrid model. Still others are fully face to face — until they’re not, because of a COVID-19 case popping up in a classroom or on a school bus. The particulars of teaching in America today are varying from place to place and from day to day. One constant, though, is the need to fill the belly if there’s to be any hope of filling the mind. That’s why it was a wise move by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to again extend by six months looser guidelines for the federally funded free-meal program for kids. The first extension came in the spring when school was canceled during the pandemic and the adjustments in the program flowed into the annual Summer Meal Program. Then, that extension was extended until year’s end. Now, it’s been extended through June 30, 2021.

 

NEIU fears early intervention cuts due to lack of state funding

Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Oct 27, 2020 Updated 43 min ago

Children worked on language skills, received physical therapy and improved social skills this week at the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit’s early intervention center. Leaders from the NEIU worry that a lack of state funding could mean drastic changes to the program for children ages 3 to 5 with multiple disabilities and other developmental delays. “It would be devastating,” said Colleen Penzone, director of early intervention at the NEIU. “We’re just holding our breath.” The NEIU provides services to about 1,000 children in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, at no cost to families. Students aided by early intervention often require less special education support when they start kindergarten. Sometimes, the student requires no additional support. Most of the local program’s $5 million budget comes from the state. While the five-month interim budget passed by the Legislature in May provided a full year of funding for school districts, the NEIU could run out of money by the end of 2020, said Bob McTiernan, executive director. Early intervention funding is within the state’s Department of Human Services budget, not the education budget.

https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/education/neiu-fears-early-intervention-cuts-due-to-lack-of-state-funding/article_b9f3dbc4-a82b-578d-8a07-00dfe3d4bec6.html

 

Analysis: Just one third of elementary classrooms in Philadelphia meet minimum ventilation standards

Parents express concern as district’s youngest students are set to return to their schools in a month

Chalkbeat Philly By Dale MezzacappaNeena Hagen, and Emily Rizzo WHYY  Oct 29, 2020, 5:56am EDT

15 elementary schools do not have a single classroom that is safe for at least 15 students

As thousands of Philadelphia parents weigh whether to send their children back to school buildings, a Chalkbeat analysis of school air quality evaluations has found that two-thirds of elementary classrooms with completed reports lack even the minimum industry-recommended ventilation standards to safely hold 15 or more people. And one-fifth of elementary schools have no classrooms that can accommodate that many people while meeting the air circulation standards. Under the district’s hybrid plan, about 32,000 students in kindergarten through second grade would have the option of returning to school two days a week, with half the group attending on Mondays and Tuesdays and the other half on Thursdays and Fridays, starting on Nov. 30. Staff members are expected to start preparing their classrooms on Nov. 9, less than two weeks away. Parents must decide by Friday whether to send their children back.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/10/29/21538436/analysis-just-one-third-of-elementary-classrooms-in-philadelphia-meet-minimum-ventilation-standards

 

Teaching Black Lives Matter virtually? Some Philadelphia teachers say it can be done.

Concerns follow police shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr. and unrest across city

Chalkbeat Philly By Johann Calhoun  Oct 28, 2020, 7:52am EDT

After weeks of juggling between stalled contract talks and the district’s reopening plans, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) President Jerry Jordan made an unexpected and emotional declaration to the public late Monday night: “Black Lives Matter. Yesterday, today, and always.”As most students in Philadelphia’s public schools could see their virtual classes extended to the spring, some educators and community activists argue Black Lives Matter, or BLM, curriculum should be a part of remote learning for the mostly Black and Latino school district. Their call was reinforced after two days of protests in West Philadelphia, which followed the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in Cobbs Creek.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/10/28/21537817/teaching-black-lives-matter-virtually-some-philadelphia-teachers-say-it-can-be-done

 

Pittsburgh Public Schools students to stay mostly virtual until at least January

ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com OCT 28, 2020 7:55 PM

Most Pittsburgh Public Schools students will continue online instruction into 2021. The school board Wednesday approved a plan that keeps a majority of students in a remote instruction model until at least Jan. 4. The district has held all classes virtually so far this academic year and has not had any in-person instruction since March when COVID-19 cases first started appearing in the region. “I don’t think that with the cases today higher than they were seven months ago when we started this journey that it would make any logical sense to anybody listening as to why we would reopen schools,” board member Kevin Carter said. COVID-19 case numbers have sharply increased in Pennsylvania in recent weeks. However, the percent positivity rate the state told schools to use to determine reopening plans remains low enough for the Pittsburgh Public Schools to implement hybrid instruction. While the plan approved by the board stops the district’s hybrid model for now, it allows special-needs students, those who are medically fragile, English language learners and some others as determined by district administration to attend in-person instruction in November.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2020/10/28/Pittsburgh-Public-Schools-coronavirus-COVID-students-mostly-virtual-learning/stories/202010280170

 

11 Chester County public schools get millions in relief funding

West Chester Daily Local by MediaNews Group October 29, 2020

WEST CHESTER — Eleven school districts in Chester County will receive more than $2.1 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief. The funds, part of a $49.8 million statewide program, will help school districts with costs related to the COVID pandemic. They were approved this week by the Pennsylvania School Safety and Security Committee. “These funds will help better equip local schools in addressing the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and protecting students, teachers, and staff,” said Sen. Andrew Dinniman, who serves as Minority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, said. “I will also continue to advocate for funding and resources for our nonpublic and the brick-and-mortar charter schools as they continue to respond to the same issues and challenges as a result of the virus.”

The school districts in Chester County receiving funds are as follows:

  • Avon Grove: $169,077
  • Coatesville: $267,717
  • Downingtown: $406,587
  • Great Valley: $139,105
  • Kennett Consolidated: $120,996
  • Octorara Area: $66,851
  • Oxford Area: $112,488
  • Phoenixville: $133,548
  • Tredyffrin-Easttown: $223,652
  • Unionville Chadds-Ford: $115,554
  • West Chester: $377,181

In May 2020, the General Assembly approved $200 million in funding for school entities. $150 million, which came from the CARES distribution, has already been distributed to schools. The remaining $49.8 million from ESSER was on hold, awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Education.

https://www.dailylocal.com/news/coronavirus/11-chester-county-public-schools-get-millions-in-relief-funding/article_ef4070e4-19dd-11eb-8253-d33524303ce3.html

 

 

With 120 Elanco students quarantining in recent weeks, school closure may be imminent

Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer October 28, 2020

About 120 students across three schools in the Eastern Lancaster County School District had to quarantine recently, and the closure of one or more school buildings may be imminent, according to letters sent from the district superintendent to parents. While the district has only two confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the school year, Superintendent Bob Hollister said the growing number of probable cases could lead to a temporary shift to online learning “in the coming days or weeks.” Because of a positive case reported Friday, approximately 85 Garden Spot High School students are in quarantine. Initially, it was about 25 students, but an additional 60 were quarantined after some of the quarantined students started showing symptoms. Another 20 students at Blue Ball Elementary School are quarantined as two individuals at the school are considered probable cases. 

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/with-120-elanco-students-quarantining-in-recent-weeks-school-closure-may-be-imminent/article_a8171218-1924-11eb-b7d8-fbf537d5f767.html

 

COVID cases send New Horizon students to virtual learning

Daveen Rae Kurutz Beaver County Times October 29, 2020

BRIGHTON TWP. — A Beaver County school has closed for two weeks after two students tested positive for COVID-19.  New Horizon School students will receive virtual instruction until Nov. 13, according to a letter sent to parents by Melissa Niedbala, director of special education and pandemic coordinator. On Tuesday, parents were informed that two students had tested positive for COVID-19, and the school was closed Wednesday for deep cleaning. The Pennsylvania Department of Health advised school officials that the building should be closed for five to seven days. However, students will receive virtual instruction for two weeks and not return to classes in the building until Nov. 16.

https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/2020/10/28/new-horizon-school-brighton-township-go-virtual-after-covid-cases/3754678001/

 

Highlands High School to close immediately due to covid-19 case with ‘significant’ quarantines

Trib Live by PATRICK VARINE   | Wednesday, October 28, 2020 8:39 p.m.

Due to a covid-19 case at Highlands High School that school officials said resulted in a “significant” number of required quarantines, all high school students will participate in full remote learning beginning Thursday, Oct. 29, through Nov. 6. “The high school building will be closed and all after-school activities that are scheduled at the high school will also be cancelled during this time,” school officials said in a message posted to the Highlands website. All other buildings will operate as normal.

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/highlands-high-school-to-close-immediately-due-to-covid-19-case-with-significant-quarantines/

 

Coronavirus surge forces Westmoreland schools to decide on in-person, fully remote learning

TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Thursday, October 29, 2020 12:01 a.m.

Under guidelines from the state departments of education and health, school districts in counties with a “substantial” rate of community coronavirus spread are advised to revert to fully remote classes. The decision, however, rests with school districts. The county on Friday marked a second week of “substantial” coronavirus transmission levels — with at least 100 cases per 100,000 residents — triggering a state recommendation for all schools in the county to switch to full remote learning. The county’s positivity rate among those who have been tested for infection with the virus has increased to about 7.5%, up from 5% at the beginning of October. Here is what Westmoreland County school districts are doing:

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/coronavirus-surge-forces-westmoreland-schools-to-decide-on-in-person-fully-remote-learning/

 

Two COVID-19 cases prompt closure of Lehigh Valley elementary school

By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | OCT 28, 2020 AT 5:05 PM

Wilson Borough Elementary School is closed for the rest of the week after two cases of the coronavirus were confirmed. The school is expected to open Monday, according to an alert on the district’s website. The school will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before then. Elementary students should follow their online schedule until school opens, according to the note. The Wilson Area School District’s COVID dashboard shows there have been single cases in various schools throughout the month. Like most Lehigh Valley districts, Wilson Area offers students an entirely remote learning option or a hybrid option. Hybrid students are in school either Mondays and Tuesdays or Thursdays and Fridays, with everyone learning remotely on Wednesdays.

https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-wilson-elementary-closure-covid-20201028-j4vyesn42veitlvcpnsdtc6r3u-story.html

 

PIAA: Executive director Bob Lombardi still ‘cautiously optimistic’ about winter sports starting on time

By KEITH GROLLER THE MORNING CALL | OCT 28, 2020 AT 9:46 PM

PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi smiled when asked about the likelihood of Pennsylvania scholastic winter sports starting on time. “I’m going to tell you what I told you in August, and you’re gonna smile, I am cautiously optimistic,” Lombardi said during a Zoom media Q-and-A after Wednesday’s regularly scheduled board of control meeting. Of course, the PIAA fall sports season didn’t start on time after Gov. Tom Wolf made a strong recommendation that sports put be on hold until Jan. 1. After further discussion, the PIAA started its fall season a few weeks late and now most of the sports are nearly through the regular season and into the district and state tournaments.

https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-spt-piaa-meeting-oct28-20201028-lsa76a5oxnh2zblw4kazlbuct4-story.html

 

 

Our Kids need you! PA Parents Demand Action Virtual Rally - 10/29 at 4 pm

PCCY - With just days before the big election, it has never been more important to VOTE  for lawmakers that support children’s issues than right now. At the PA Parents Demand Action virtual rally, parents, students and community members will be demanding that Washington pass a funding package and Harrisburg uses it to fund K-12 education, child care, pre-k and children’s issues first! We are putting lawmakers on notice that a failure to invest in our children at all levels this year and next, will harm our children, our families and Pennsylvania’s economy. We are watching, speaking out and holding them accountable.

Join us for the Virtual Rally on 10/29 at 4pm and invite all of your friends!  Register here via zoom now: http://bit.ly/MomsRally 

 

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.

https://philaedfund.org/event/education-first-compact-from-pre-k-to-fifth-grade-early-literacy-as-dropout-prevention/

 

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

 

310 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.

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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