Thursday, November 19, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Nov. 19, 2020: Here’s 4 good reasons for Pa. to reject any new cyber-charter school applications | Opinion

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 Nov. 19, 2020

Here’s 4 good reasons for Pa. to reject any new cyber-charter school applications | Opinion

 

PCCY Working to Block Cyber Charter Viruses

Public Citizens for Children and Youth Website November 18, 2020

“This application fails to describe how teachers will deliver instruction, assess academic progress and communicate with students to provide assistance.” This tough critique concluded PCCY’s testimony last week at the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) hearing to consider permitting yet another cyber school to operate in the commonwealth.

Tomea Sippio-Smith, PCCY’s Education Policy Director, urged the Department to act cautiously because “all 14 of Pennsylvania’s cyber charters scored below the statewide average in English and math assessments and all 14 have been identified as needing support under the state’s ESSA School Improvement and Accountability plan.” Over the last two weeks, as most Pennsylvanians focused on the election, Tomea testified before the PDE to urge the state to reject two new cyber school applications. As more parents experience the considerable pitfalls of online learning for their children, PCCY is doing the work of challenging the state to do a much better job protecting students from failed cyber education.

https://www.pccy.org/news/pccy-working-to-block-cyber-charter-viruses/

 

Here’s 4 good reasons for Pa. to reject any new cyber-charter school applications | Opinion

PA Capital Star By Lawrence A. Feinberg  Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor November 19, 2020

The Pennsylvania Department of Education held public hearings this month regarding the proposed authorization of two new cyber charter schools. I had the opportunity to present comments at both hearings. I am a school director serving in my 21st year as a member of the Haverford Township school board. For the past dozen years or so, I have also served as chair of the Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council with school board representatives from each of the fifteen districts in Delaware County. In 2007, I presented “Testimony on Cyber-Charter School Funding, Oversight and Accountability’ to the Pennsylvania House Education Committee. And I have been following cyber charter issues closely ever since. Cyber-charters may be a great fit for some highly motivated, self-disciplined students or those with very involved parents or guardians. But generally speaking, cyber students are not learning, and taxpayers are paying twice what they reasonably should, with the excess funds being taken away from all the other students remaining in a school district when a parent chooses to send their child to a cyber charter.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/heres-4-good-reasons-for-pa-to-reject-any-new-cyber-charter-school-applications-opinion/

 

As record number of students seek cyber charter school options, school districts struggle with costs

Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Nov 15, 2020 Updated Nov 16, 2020

School districts in Northeast Pennsylvania expect to pay an additional $36.2 million in charter school costs this academic year. The rising costs for the 37 school districts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties put more pressure on already-strained budgets, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.  The bills come as the coronavirus pandemic creates uncertainty and families seek safety, stability — and a cyber charter school education for their children. In Lackawanna County alone, districts expect to spend an additional $6 million for cyber charter school tuition this academic year. Since the pandemic began in March, an additional 469 students left their traditional public schools to learn online through charter schools, according to a Sunday Times analysis. Last year, the 10 school districts paid cyber charter schools about $14 million to educate 1,002 students. Two months into this academic year, school leaders project to pay a combined $20 million in tuition bills this year for the 1,471 students enrolled. For districts struggling with pandemic-related revenue shortfalls, the added expenses strengthen the calls for charter school funding reforms. In Scranton, the additional $2.6 million in cyber bills makes up more than half the district’s $4 million budget deficit for 2021.

https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/education/as-record-number-of-students-seek-cyber-charter-school-options-school-districts-struggle-with-costs/article_be74d6d6-58de-5e04-815c-5efdfcfb0501.html

 

Reprise Oct 15: State to consider two new cyber charter schools amidst enrollment boom

PA Capital Star By  Elizabeth Hardison October 14, 2020

*This story was updated on Thursday, Oct. 15 with additional comment from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 

As thousands of new students flock to online education during a historically difficult academic year, state officials are being asked to grant charters to two new cyber charter schools.  The Allentown-based Executive Action Charter School and Harrisburg-based Virtual Preparatory Academy aim to open their doors next year and enroll a combined 3,100 students by 2025, according to charter applications they submitted to the Department of Education last month.  

The schools first must receive approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which is the sole authorizer of charters for cyber schools in the state. Pennsylvania hasn’t granted a new cyber charter since 2012. And while it accepts cyber charter applications annually until Oct. 1, this is the first time since 2015 that it’s been asked to consider more than one in a single year.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/education/state-to-consider-two-new-cyber-charter-schools-amidst-enrollment-boom/

 

STATEMENT: PA Schools Work Urges Immediate Action on School Funding

Calls for Continued Bipartisan Federal and State Action to Keep Students on Track and Address Dire Needs of PA School Districts 

HARRISBURG, PA (November 17, 2020) – The statewide education advocacy campaign PA Schools Work issued the following statement on funding for public schools in Pennsylvania in the midst of an ongoing pandemic:

“As Coronavirus cases spike across the commonwealth, school districts are again facing difficult decisions about creating learning environments that are both conducive to educating students and are safe for students, teachers, support staff and administrators.

“Many districts are returning to distance learning to mitigate the community spread of the virus, but this comes with increased costs for districts, even as they continue to deal with shortfalls in local revenue. Earlier estimates showed Pennsylvania school districts could expect to lose upwards of $1 billion as a result of the COVID-driven economic downturn. A second spike in cases could result in even greater losses.

“It has been more than seven months since Congress responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by passing the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Pennsylvania still has $1.3 billion of its CARES funding left. PA Schools Work is calling on the Pennsylvania legislature and Governor Wolf to work together to prioritize public school students, teachers, and administrators in immediately distributing the state’s unspent CARES Act pandemic-response money. And PA Schools Work urges leaders in Harrisburg to equitably distribute remaining CARES Act money and any future federal stimulus to the state’s 500 public school districts, either based on districts’ actual costs or through the state’s fair funding formula.

https://paschoolswork.org/pa-schools-work-urges-immediate-action-on-school-funding/?fbclid=IwAR1vDYSJ3mZDnuw0OcBwS3ZsKjMHKgk9_Mizqccfzdm8vsXF2Ujidcg2cG4

 

With $1.3 billion in COVID-19 cash left to spend, the Pa. government might be the big winner

Penn Live By Ed Mahon of Spotlight PA Updated 5:00 AM; Today 5:00 AM

HARRISBURG — For months, Mark Davis has urged lawmakers to spend $270 million in coronavirus relief dollars to support groups that serve people with autism and intellectual disabilities. Without more aid, he said, providers will be at risk of shutting down for good. But as lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf face a looming deadline to pass a budget for the back half of the fiscal year, Davis and other interest groups are growing worried the remaining $1.3 billion in federal money will instead be spent on propping up the state government.

https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/11/with-13-billion-in-covid-19-cash-left-to-spend-the-pa-government-might-be-the-big-winner.html

 

President Lincoln was asked for ‘a few appropriate remarks;’ he delivered the Gettysburg Address

Penn Live By Deb Kiner | dkiner@pennlive.com Updated 6:00 AM; Today 6:00 AM

Today is the 157th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln delivering what became known as the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863. More than 3,500 Union soldiers are buried there. The 272-word speech became one of the best known in American history.

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/11/president-lincoln-was-asked-for-a-few-appropriate-remarks-he-delivered-the-gettysburg-address.html

 

Smart Talk: School districts face tough coronavirus decisions

COVID-19 resurgence forcing many to go fully virtual

WITF by Scott LaMar NOVEMBER 18, 2020 | 3:00 PM

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 6,339 positives cases of COVID in the 24 hours ending at midnight Wednesday. Daily statewide records have been recorded often over the past two weeks. These increasing number of positive cases is having a substantial impact in many areas of our daily lives, including at schools. With more people testing positive and getting sick, schools and their administrators have had to make tough decisions on whether to hold in-person classes for their students, have a hybrid combination of in-person and virtual or go all on line. On Thursday’s Smart Talk, we’ll study how those decisions are made with guests Chambersburg Area School District Superintendent Dion Betts and Chris Lilienthal, Assistant Director of Communications, Pennsylvania State Education Association.

https://www.witf.org/2020/11/18/smart-talk-schools-districts-face-tough-decisions/

 

As COVID-19 cases surge, should schools stay open? Around the Philly region, approaches vary wildly.

Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Kristen A. Graham, Posted: November 18, 2020- 1:43 PM

Jennifer Ross was stunned when her school district announced it was ending its option for younger students, like her first and sixth graders, to attend school in person part-time during the pandemic. A fully virtual option was still open, but if Central Bucks parents wanted their kids back in classrooms, the only choice was five-days-a-week instruction, the district said — a shift that officials said would accommodate the most families but that worried Ross, a nurse and educator who has been tracking the rising rate of positive coronavirus tests in her community. Then she saw that Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab had recommended that all schools in the area, at least for older grades, revert to virtual programs. “Are you kidding me?” Ross said. “How did we go from ‘Let’s send everyone back full-time,’ to CHOP saying everyone should be closing in the Philadelphia area?” As coronavirus cases surge, schools across the region — and the elected officials, health departments, and outside experts guiding them — are taking, in some cases, vastly different approaches, and in the process leaving parents and staff confused if not confounded about the best strategy.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/school-closings-coronavirus-montgomery-county-philadelphia-pa-nj-20201118.html

 

Blogger note: status of 26 districts listed here….

More Pittsburgh-area school districts switch back to remote learning as COVID-19 cases surge

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE NOV 18, 2020 1:24 PM

An increasing number of schools and districts in southwestern Pennsylvania are transitioning to remote instruction as the region continues to experience a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Here are the districts that have announced changes:

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2020/11/18/Pittsburgh-area-schools-close-virtual-remote-learning-covid-19-cases/stories/202011180121

 

Parents sue to block Montgomery County's two-week virtual school order

Pottstown Mercury By Carl Hessler Jr. chessler@21st-centurymedia.com @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter November 19, 2020

NORRISTOWN — A group of parents has gone to court to prevent a Montgomery County Board of Health order that would require all public and private schools to move to an all-virtual learning model for a two-week period around the Thanksgiving holiday from taking effect next week. “We can no longer sit by while our children are used as guinea pigs in this virtual learning experiment. Virtual learning isn’t working,” the parents wrote in an email in which they announced the filing of the court action on Wednesday. “Schools across the county have been opened, some 5 days a week, with no real outbreaks. Our schools have done the hard work of preparing and have been doing an amazing job for our kids. School exists for kids. Schools are doing their jobs. The kids have suffered enough. It’s time for them to go back,” the parents added.

https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/parents-sue-to-block-montgomery-countys-two-week-virtual-school-order/article_1f6b9834-29fb-11eb-9d55-87de690f726d.html

 

Residents file suit, seek to overturn Montco schools closure decision

Bucks County Courier Times From staff reports November 18, 2020

Three Montgomery County residents have filed a lawsuit claiming various violations of the state's Open Meetings Law, also called the Sunshine Act, in connection with two meetings of the county Board of Health last week that resulted in an order closing all schools for two weeks. The suit filed in county court by John Niehls of Barto, Elizabeth Weir of Lower Gwynedd and Kaitlin Derstine of Telford names the county boards of commissioners and health, commissioners Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh and various other officials. Among its many claims is that the public was not properly notified of the continuation of a virtual meeting that started Thursday and concluded Friday with the approval of an order that closed all county private and public schools for two weeks starting Monday because of spiking COVID-19 case counts in the county and state.

https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/news/2020/11/18/montgomery-county-schools-closure-meetings-violated-sunshine-act-lawsuit/3771832001/

 

Teaching music over Zoom is hard, but Drexel app makes it easier for Philly high school students

Inquirer by Tom Avril, Posted: November 19, 2020

Jay Fluellen moved his hands in a graceful, downward sweep as Breyanna Hernandez, a senior in the Northeast High School choir, began to sing:

What a goodly thing/if the people of the world

all lived to-ge-eth-er/iii-in peace

She sounded great, as far as Fluellen could tell. But as with so many interactions during the pandemic, teacher and student were miles apart, connected through Zoom. The audio quality was limited by the speaker in Fluellen’s laptop. And because of the time lag on the connection, Hernandez was seeing his hand movements a split-second after each beat, as were her classmates watching from their homes. Not ideal for conducting music. As Fluellen and other music teachers realized from the start of the first shutdown in March, remote learning is a particular challenge for their field — perhaps as much as in science classes deprived of lab equipment. It is hard enough to guide one musician using video conferencing software. When multiple people try to perform in unison, with delay upon slight delay across every broadband connection, it is worthless.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-choir-remote-teaching-springside-chestnut-hill-northeast-high-drexel-20201119.html

 

Reporting on a pandemic while living through it? Student journalists and Chalkbeat Philly weigh in.

Chalkbeat Philly By Caroline Bauman  Nov 18, 2020, 4:36pm EST

Ace Orion and Jordyn Williams, two high schoolers, are chronicling how fellow classmates are navigating the virtual learning world. As student journalists, they have spent their free time in Discord chats and Zoom calls to listen and tell the stories of how students are navigating going to school with teachers and peers they have never met in person. And while it’s been a very difficult year, they want the public to know it hasn’t been all bad. “I recently did a story about a freshman and asked her: ‘In a virtual space, how are you finding friends?’” said Williams, a senior at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science. “She was open and honest that she is making some friends – and she is even talking to people online she normally wouldn’t think to walk up to. There is a brighter side of things.” Orion, a sophomore at the Franklin Learning Center High School, agreed and said students are also using social media to keep each other current on assignments and to keep “morale up between everyone.” Orion and Williams joined two veteran education journalists on Tuesday for a panel discussion hosted by Chalkbeat about reporting and learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s Johann Calhoun and Dale Mezzacappa also weighed in on the big questions surrounding school reopening in Philadelphia, which was recently postponed again, and talked about their big stories.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/18/21574028/student-journalists-and-chalkbeat-journalism-covid19-coronavirus-philadelphia

 

“American Education Week is Nov. 16-20. Please take time to say thank you to the education professionals in your community’s schools.”

Pennsylvania’s educators deserve a round of applause | PennLive letters

Penn Live Opinion By Rich Askey Updated Nov 18, 2020; Posted Nov 18, 2020

Rich Askey, President of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Harrisburg, Pa.

Every November, the nation marks American Education Week as a time to celebrate our great public schools and the dedicated professionals who work with our students. This year, Pennsylvania’s educators and support professionals deserve a special round of applause. The pandemic has put a tremendous amount of stress on them and their students. The school day looks and feels a lot different. Health and safety measures have disrupted the daily routine, but through it all, our educators and support staff are holding our schools together, helping students succeed.

https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2020/11/pa-educators-deserve-a-round-of-applause-pennlive-letters.html

 

Individual schools must decide if athletes wear masks for competition, PIAA says

Trib Live By: Chris Harlan Wednesday, November 18, 2020 | 11:28 AM

Could wearing a mask during a football game or soccer match be considered an unsafe condition? How about for a wrestler or swimmer? The PIAA strongly opposes a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration ordering athletes across Pennsylvania to wear masks during competitions indoors and out, but will leave the decision to individual districts. The PIAA board met Wednesday and urged school solicitors to consider the exceptions written into the mandate implemented Tuesday by state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine. The universal mask mandate was ordered as a mitigation effort for coronavirus spread. Athletes won’t require masks if their school decides they fit an exception, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said. If they don’t fit, then athletes must wear them immediately, according to the mandate, starting with teams taking part in various state playoffs and championships this week.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/athletes-must-wear-masks-during-competition-under-states-new-guidelines/

 

Two more Catholic high schools closing: Hallahan, McDevitt to shut in June

Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: November 18, 2020- 5:09 PM

Two more Catholic high schools will close at the end of the school year. John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in Center City and Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote will shut at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Hallahan was the first all-girls’ Catholic diocesan high school in the United States. The decision was made after a sustainability study examined enrollment, demographic trends, finances, and more, officials said. Hallahan is currently operating at 36% capacity and McDevitt at 40% capacity. Enrollment at both is under 360 students.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/catholic-school-closing-hallahan-mcdevitt-20201118.html

 

East Penn, Saucon Valley announce plans to temporarily close schools after Thanksgiving

By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | NOV 18, 2020 AT 4:00 PM

Two Lehigh Valley school districts will temporarily switch to all-remote learning after Thanksgiving in an attempt to keep COVID-19 cases to a minimum amid an explosion of infections across the state and region. District officials in the Saucon Valley and East Penn school districts announced their planned closures this week. Saucon Valley schools will reopen Dec. 7, and East Penn schools will reopen Dec. 14. “The reason for the closure is strictly precautionary relative to preventing any potential spread of the virus in schools following the Thanksgiving holiday,” Saucon Valley Superintendent Craig Butler wrote in an email to the school community. “Providing this hiatus of in-person instruction will hopefully curtail any potentially heightened spread of the virus.”

https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-school-thanksgiving-covid-closures-20201118-vzctuxoqufao5n4hwdhgywqqu4-story.html

 

Midland schools go virtual amid county COVID-19 rise

Midland Borough School District will transition to all-virtual instruction Nov. 19 through at least Dec. 4, officials announced Tuesday.

Chrissy Suttles Beaver County Times November 18, 2020

MIDLAND — Another local school district is moving to remote learning as COVID-19 cases spike regionally.  Midland Borough School District will transition to all-virtual instruction Nov. 19 through at least Dec. 4, officials said Tuesday, just a day after Ambridge Area School District staff said their schools would go remote, too.  Beaver County reached a “substantial” level of COVID-19 transmission last week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, alongside 59 other counties statewide. Beaver County had 162 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12 — an 8.3% positivity rate, according to the health department’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System. 

https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/2020/11/18/midland-schools-go-virtual/6339596002/

 

UPDATE Milton middle, high schools shift to remote learning until Dec. 1

Daily Item By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com November 18, 2020

MILTON — The Milton Area School District will move its high school and middle school to virtual learning only starting Thursday after two more confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Superintendent Cathy Keegan. Two confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported at the Milton High School and Milton Middle School today. Because two positive cases were reported in the high school and middle school within 14 days, instruction will move to 100 percent virtual starting Thursday with both buildings to re-open for instruction on Tuesday, Dec. 1, Keegan said in a prepared statement.

https://www.dailyitem.com/coronavirus/update-milton-middle-high-schools-shift-to-remote-learning-until-dec-1/article_850a33cc-29e1-11eb-b676-afc74d8eb97c.html

 

Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley schools returning to remote learning

Post Gazette by DEANA CARPENTER NOV 18, 2020 2:50 PM

At the recommendation of school administrators, the Bethel Park and Chartiers Valley school district are moving to fully remote learning for several days around the Thanksgiving holiday. “As you well know, conditions have changed significantly involving COVID since we first began making plans at the end of the last school term,” Joseph Dimperio, interim superintendent at Bethel Park, said at a Tuesday school board meeting. The same evening, Chartiers Valley Superintendent Johanna Vanatta recommended going remote for all district students for Nov. 23, 24 and 25 as well as Dec. 2 and 3.

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2020/11/18/Bethel-Park-Chartiers-Valley-schools-returning-to-remote-learning/stories/202011180144

 

Gateway school buildings to shut down Monday

Post Gazette by ABBY NICKOLS NOV 18, 2020 4:05 PM

The Gateway School District will close its buildings and move to an online learning plan beginning Monday after three students at Gateway High School tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. The shutdown is expected to last until at least Dec. 4. Assistant Superintendent Dennis Chakey said that the students had not been in the school since Nov 4. Following Allegheny County Health Department guidelines, the students were subject to an isolation period. The school remained closed for five days and was scheduled to reopen Nov. 16.

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2020/11/18/Gateway-school-buildings-to-shut-down-Monday/stories/202011180149

 

Plum High School closed until Dec. 1 as 3 more students test positive for covid-19

Trib Live by MICHAEL DIVITTORIO   | Wednesday, November 18, 2020 10:22 p.m.

Plum High School will be closed and students will learn online until the start of December after three more students tested positive for covid-19. All sports and activities at the school are also canceled through Tuesday, Dec. 1, according to a letter to district families Wednesday. The district spoke with Allegheny County Health Department officials about the new cases, and made the call to shutdown the school to be extra cautions, school board President Mike Devine said Wednesday night. The district letter said two of the three students recently attended a parent-sponsored event.

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/plum-high-school-closed-until-dec-1-after-3-more-students-test-positive-for-covid-19/

 

New covid-19 cases reported at Hempfield Area High School

Trib Live by MEGAN TOMASIC   | Wednesday, November 18, 2020 7:51 p.m.

New covid-19 cases were reported at Hempfield Area High School Wednesday afternoon. The additional cases brings the school’s total to eight among students for the period between Nov. 4 and Wednesday, according to a covid-19 tracker posted on the district’s website. That’s an increase from five students at the high school during the period of Nov. 2 and Monday.

https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/new-covid-19-cases-reported-at-hempfield-area-high-school/

 

Leechburg Area goes to all remote learning for next two weeks in response to covid-19 surge

Trib Live by MADASYN LEE   | Wednesday, November 18, 2020 6:56 p.m.

Leechburg Area School District will reinstate fully remote learning over the next two weeks in response to rising covid-19 cases, Superintendent Tiffany Nix said Wednesday in an email to district parents. Students have been attending school in person and online on Wednesdays. Leechburg Area students live in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties — both of which are deemed by the state Department of Health to have a “substantial” risk of covid-19 transmission. A county with a “substantial” risk level has an average incidence rate of more than 100 cases per 100,000 for a span of seven days.

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/leechburg-area-to-have-4-days-of-remote-learning-in-response-to-covid-19-surge/

 

County’s covid surge prompts Shaler to switch to remote learning for 3 weeks

Trib Live by TONY LARUSSA   | Thursday, November 19, 2020 5:36 a.m.

The Shaler Area School District is switching to all-virtual instruction for three weeks because of the increase in the community transmission rate of covid-19. The change takes effect on Nov. 23. Students are scheduled to return to a blend of online and in-person instruction on Dec. 14. Schools are closed Nov. 26 to 30 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

https://triblive.com/local/countys-covid-surge-prompts-shaler-to-switch-to-remote-learning-for-3-weeks/

 

Sunnyside public school closes after 2nd staffer tests positive for covid

Trib Live  by NATASHA LINDSTROM   | Wednesday, November 18, 2020 8:02 p.m.

Pittsburgh Public School’s Sunnyside campus in the city’s Stanton Heights neighborhood will close for the next two weeks after a second staffer tested positive for covid-19, officials said Wednesday. The employee at the Stanton Avenue school — which enrolls pre-schoolers through eighth-graders — was last at the Sunnyside building on Friday and was wearing protective gear, according to officials with Pittsburgh Public Schools. Staff as well as students are prohibited from entering the campus until Thursday, Dec. 3, according to district spokeswoman Ebony Pugh.

https://triblive.com/local/sunnyside-public-school-closes-after-2nd-staffer-tests-positive-for-covid/

 

Fleetwood School District delays decision to increase in-person instruction for youngest students

Reading Eagle By David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter Nov 18, 2020

The Fleetwood School District has delayed a decision on increasing in-person instruction for its youngest students. The school board at its meeting Tuesday night tabled a motion to increase in-person instruction to four days a  week from two days a week for students in grades kindergarten through second. The motion will be revisited by the board at its January meeting. The shift to four in-person days would have taken effect Dec. 7 for kindergarten and first grade and Dec. 14 for second grade, if the motion had passed. Dr. Greg Miller, superintendent, said a decision on the motion was postponed because of recent increases in COVID-19 cases in Berks County.

https://www.readingeagle.com/coronavirus/fleetwood-school-district-delays-decision-to-increase-in-person-instruction-for-youngest-students/article_583606c4-29ae-11eb-9ba2-7b002f81f609.html?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-readingeagle&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

 

New York City schools closing because of rising coronavirus rates — and so are all schools in Kentucky

Washington Post By Valerie Strauss November 18, 2020 at 5:36 p.m. EST

New York City public schools are closing Thursday and returning to remote learning for all 1.1 million students because of rising coronavirus infection rates, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Wednesday. The city joins a rising wave of school closures around the country which are causing new disruptions to the tumultuous 2020-21 academic year. In a separate announcement, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) became the first governor to announce a statewide school closure, saying that all public and private schools must close Nov. 23 and that all public universities must do the same. Middle and high schools are staying shut until Jan. 4, and only elementary schools in areas without soaring infections will be allowed to reopen Dec. 7.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/11/18/new-york-city-schools-closing-because-rising-covid-19-rates/

 

Major Tensions Flare Over Education Secretary Before Joe Biden Even Picks One

Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa on November 18, 2020 2:47 PM

The pandemic is ravaging education, but speculation about President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for education secretary is competing for attention as well. And a recent social-media fracas over potential picks has made one big-city schools leader the latest lightning rod for arguments about leadership, race, and "education reform." It also serves as a reminder that such divisions predate—and will extend far beyond—U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her tenure. Biden has said his education secretary would be someone with experience as a public school educator, and we don't know a great deal beyond that. Among the names to surface recently as potentially a good fit for the role is Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises. Santelises has led that 79,000-student school system since 2016, has worked in Boston public schools, the Education Trust, and Teach For America, among other positions in education. She's also a member of Chiefs for Change and gotten support from Democrats for Education Reform. Those groups focus in different ways on issues ranging from test-based accountability systems and changes to traditional labor practices, to charter schools and equitable funding. But to their critics, the organizations Santelises is associated with have pushed in one way or another to undermine the idea of well-funded traditional public schools and teachers' autonomy. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/11/biden-education-secretary-tensions-flare.html

 

 

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

 

324 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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