Wednesday, December 23, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 23: Biden Picks Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona for Ed Secretary

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.

 

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

If any of your colleagues would like to be added to the email list please have them send their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com

 

 

Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 23, 2020

Biden Picks Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona for Ed Secretary

 

 

The PA Ed Policy Roundup may be intermittent through New Years. Wishing you all safe and happy holidays. Thanks for your commitment to educating our kids, especially during this challenging year.

 

 

Educators, Students and Schools Come Up Short in Coronavirus Relief Package

Funding to help some 12 million children with little to no internet access vanished from the $54 billion in aid to K-12 schools, despite wide support from both sides of the aisle.

US News By Lauren Camera, Senior Education Writer Dec. 21, 2020, at 5:53 p.m.

AS CONGRESS TIES THE bow on a long-awaited and contentious coronavirus relief package, superintendents, principals and educators are disappointed – though not surprised – by how little aid it includes for their efforts to reopen the country's public school system for millions of children who have been learning remotely since the pandemic shuttered schools in March. What stunned many of them, though, was that dedicated funding to help the estimated 12 million children with little to no internet access had vanished – funding that, during a months-long negotiating process rife with partisan bickering, garnered wide support from both sides of the aisle. "There was relatively broad, bipartisan support from Capitol Hill to recognize the critical need to support learners remotely," says Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of advocacy and governance at AASA, The School Superintendents Association, about a plan to fund the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program, which provides discounted internet to schools and libraries. "This was a huge missed opportunity," she says. "This was like our unicorn that had bipartisan support, and this is what went away in negotiations? What happened?" The $900 billion relief package, which Congress was poised to pass Monday night, includes $54 billion for K-12 education to help states reopen their schools for in-person learning and another $2.75 billion for governors to spend on K-12 education at their discretion.

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-12-21/educators-students-and-schools-come-up-short-in-coronavirus-relief-package

 

PSBA: Education sees boost in government spending, with $82B in COVID-19 relief

POSTED ON DECEMBER 22, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS

The House and Senate passed a massive omnibus bill that included all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, the COVID relief package and other measures. For a full section-by-section breakdown of all the COVID relief measures, including the education, unemployment, and health provisions, view this document.

https://www.psba.org/2020/12/education-sees-boost-in-government-spending-with-82b-in-covid-19-relief/

 

10 questions about the new stimulus money for schools, answered

Chalkbeat By Matt Barnum  Dec 22, 2020, 3:42pm EST

After months of waiting and watching, public schools are set to receive billions to help respond to and recover from the pandemic. Congress has passed — and President Trump is expected to sign — a package designed to boost the economy, help families, and support K-12 and higher education. What does it all mean for school reopening, learning loss, and your school district? Let’s dig in.

https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/22/22195843/stimulus-schools-education-explainer

 

Biden Picks Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona for Education Secretary

Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa & Evie Blad  December 22, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday he will nominate Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education commissioner and a former teacher and public school principal, to be the next secretary of education. Cardona would replace U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has led the department for nearly four years and did not have a background as an educator when she took over the Department of Education in 2017. Cardona was appointed Connecticut’s top K-12 official in August of last year by Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat. Cardona worked as an elementary school teacher in Connecticut and served as a principal for 10 years in the Meriden, Conn., school district, according to his biography on the state education department’s website. In announcing his selection of Cardona, Biden said in a statement, “He will help us address systemic inequities, tackle the mental health crisis in our education system, give educators a well-deserved raise, ease the burden of education debt, and secure high-quality, universal pre-K for every three- and four year-old in the country.”

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/biden-moving-to-nominate-connecticut-schools-chief-miguel-cardona-for-education-secretary/2020/12

 

Where Biden’s Choice for Education Secretary Stands on Key K-12 Issues

Education Week By Evie Blad — December 22, 2020  8 min read

Connecticut Education Commission Miguel Cardona, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for U.S. secretary of education, would have to navigate myriad contentious education debates if the Senate confirms him for the role. Among them: addressing student segregation, winning public trust and reopening school buildings during the COVID-19 crisis, and setting policies related to accountability and charter schools. Here is where Cardona stands on some of these key K-12 issues.

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/where-bidens-choice-for-education-secretary-stands-on-key-k-12-issues/2020/12

 

Biden picks Miguel Cardona, Connecticut schools chief, as education secretary

Washington Post By Laura MecklerValerie Strauss and  Matt Viser Dec. 22, 2020 at 7:48 p.m.

President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will nominate Miguel Cardona, the commissioner of public schools in Connecticut, as his education secretary, settling on a low-profile candidate who has pushed to reopen ­pandemic-shuttered schools and is not aligned with either side in the education policy battles of recent years. Cardona, 45, did not enjoy the same level of enthusiastic support as some others who were considered for the post, but he also did not draw any significant opposition. Rather, he is seen as capable of working with people across the education spectrum. He was named Connecticut’s top schools official last year and, if confirmed for the national job, will have achieved a meteoric rise, moving from assistant superintendent in his hometown of Meriden, Conn., a district with 9,000 students, to secretary of education in less than two years. He was born in Meriden to Puerto Rican parents who lived in public housing and has a personal story the Biden team found compelling. He was the first in his family to attend college and was raised in a Spanish-speaking home. He began his career as a fourth-grade teacher and rocketed up the ranks, becoming the state’s youngest principal at age 28. He was named the state’s principal of the year in 2012.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/biden-education-secretary-cardona/2020/12/22/69e8b1f0-4484-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html

 

Biden Picks Latino Chief of Connecticut Schools as Education Secretary

Miguel A. Cardona will fulfill Joe Biden’s promise to appoint a diverse cabinet with an education secretary with public school experience.

New York Times By Erica L. Green and Eliza Shapiro Dec. 22, 2020

WASHINGTON — In August, Connecticut’s schools chief, Miguel A. Cardona, logged on to a virtual meeting of New Haven’s school board, ostensibly to hear why its members had decided not to open the state’s largest school district for in-person classes this fall. Most of the district’s students had not fully participated in remote learning, he said. Its most vulnerable populations had the most to lose by not returning to school buildings, and the district had met public health metrics for reopening. But although Dr. Cardona later suggested the board reconsider, he declined to overrule it. “All of you, whether you have a very strong position on one end or the other, are here because you care about the success of children and the community,” he concluded. That approach, leaning in to reopening while remaining respectful of local control, could soon go national, with President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. announcing the nomination of Dr. Cardona as his education secretary. If confirmed, Dr. Cardona would face the most urgent education crisis in decades, and whether he can press schools to reopen without turning the issue into a partisan matter, as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did, could have major repercussions for the young Biden administration.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/biden-education-secretary.html

 

NSBA and CABE Statement on U.S. Education Secretary Announcement

Alexandria, Va., December 22, 2020

In response to the nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) issued the following statements:
Anna Maria Chávez, Executive Director and CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA): “We are pleased that Dr. Miguel Cardona has been nominated as Secretary of Education for President-Elect Biden’s Administration. Dr. Cardona’s lifetime commitment to transforming public education is critical at a time like this, when our education system is reeling with the uncertainty of COVID-19, a lack of resources that strains our capacity for safe, in-person schooling, and the digital divide that hinders our students’ transition to remote or hybrid learning.
“NSBA has launched our Public School Transformation Now! Initiative this year to put our public students and their individual needs at the center of learning, as well as fight for a more just and equitable education system. With a longstanding relationship with CABE and his commitment to public education in Connecticut and around the nation, we know Dr. Cardona will be an ally in this fight. "We need greater investments in public education now. We look forward to working with Dr. Cardona to ensure our country’s public schools and the students they serve are provided with the resources and support that are so badly needed to transform the future of public education. By working in partnership with the federal government, we can equip, empower, and educate the next generation of American leaders so that one day, they too can take up our nation’s fight for a better tomorrow.”

https://nsba.org/News/2020/NSBA-CABE-Statement-on-US-Education-Secretary-Announcement

 

Philadelphia schools due for more than $400 million from COVID-19 relief

Chalkbeat Philly By Dale Mezzacappa  Dec 22, 2020, 7:08pm EST

The Philadelphia school district is in line to get more than $400 million from the coronavirus relief legislation passed by Congress — but that doesn’t mean the system’s fiscal woes are over, Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson said Tuesday. The money “buys us 18 months for the local economy to recover and for things to normalize,” he said. It will also let the board of education focus on its goals for improving student achievement rather than worrying about plugging budget holes. “It’s not a moment we suddenly sit back and say, ‘Great, now we have nothing to worry about’” regarding funding, he said. “This is one-time money, so we can’t paper over structural issues.” The $900 billion federal relief package allocates about $57 billion to K-12 education. Most of that, $54.3 billion, is for public schools, including charters. The money is expected to be allocated based on the formula for the Title I program. Title I is the federal government’s primary program to aid low-income students and districts. Pennsylvania would be due nearly $2 billion of the education money, and Philadelphia would receive nearly a quarter of that. In the last COVID-19 relief bill, Pennsylvania received about $473 million, of which Philadelphia’s share was more than $100 million. Monson said he doesn’t have an exact figure yet for the latest round of stimulus funding. The legislation, which runs to more than 5,500 pages, gives districts wide latitude for spending, but homes in on addressing student learning loss, investing in improvements to school facilities to mitigate the spread of the virus, and upgrading technology.

https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/22/22196353/philadelphia-schools-due-for-more-than-400-million-from-covid-19-relief

 

Guest column: Pennsylvanians need liability protections

Pottstown Mercury Opinion By Ryan Costello Guest columnist December 23, 2020

Ryan Costello represented Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District from 2015 to 2019.

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is calling on lawmakers to enact liability protections for schools. As one board member notes, it is unfair for schools to follow all available public health guidance and “end up being sued because someone got sick from the coronavirus.” I wholeheartedly agree. But it’s not just schools that need protecting. Pennsylvania manufacturers, small businesses, and nonprofits are also grappling with similar concerns; they are shuttering their doors at an already dire economic time. This cannot continue. I had the privilege of serving Pennsylvanians in Congress for four years — working with anyone to advance fair and thoughtful solutions. I am calling on our state’s current Congressional delegation to push for commonsense liability protections so our small businesses and schools can safely reopen.

https://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/guest-column-pennsylvanians-need-liability-protections/article_ed4dd21c-44c2-11eb-b5b3-4b4d7036df03.html

 

OPEN BOARD POSITIONS FOR THE PA PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION 2021 ELECTION

PA Principles Association Press Release Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:27 AM

Dr. Melanie Susi, Principal, Shamona Creek Elementary in the Downingtown Area School District, has been appointed by President Jonathan Ross to serve as the chairperson of the 2021 PA Principals Association Nominations Committee to oversee the 2021 election. Her committee is made up of Dr. David Wiedlich, Principal, Radnor Middle School in the Radnor Township School District; and Matthew Dziunycz, Principal, Brandywine Heights High School in the Brandywine Heights Area School District. If you are interested in running for one of the open board positions (shown below) in the 2021 election, please contact Stephanie Kinner at kinner@paprincipals.org for an application. Applications must be received in the state office by Friday, February 19, 2021.

Click here for the Duties and Responsibilities of the President.

Click here for the Duties and Responsibilities of the Regional Representative.

https://www.paprincipals.org/publications/press-releases

 

Philly school board nominating process has lacked transparency | Opinion

Deanna Burney, For the Inquirer Posted: December 23, 2020

Mayor Jim Kenney convened a panel Dec. 16 to nominate nine candidates, from 82 applicants, to fill three vacant Board of Education seats. These nominees now go to the mayor for his picks, which City Council will need to approve. Those selected will assume a wide range of BOE responsibilities including to oversee all major policy, budgetary, and financial decisions for the district, appoint and evaluate the superintendent of schools, adopt annual operating and capital budgets, and authorize charter schools. Some important elements went missing from this selection process thus far, as has been the case since the board was re-established in 2018. Panel deliberations took place behind closed doors, without public involvement or transparency. There was no opportunity for the community to ask questions and receive responses about the full list of applicants, which was not made public, or any disclosure as to how the panel reached their decision. The first time applicant names were released was via the list of chosen nominees. Only a handful of public statements took place during the meeting when the panel made the announcement.

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/philadelphia-school-board-nominations-mayor-kenney-city-council-20201223.html

 

PSBA Governing Board votes to endorse Otto Voit for the PSERS Board of Trustees

POSTED ON DECEMBER 14, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS

Otto Voit, school board director for Muhlenberg School District has been selected by the PSBA Governing Board as their endorsed candidate to serve on the PSERS Board of Trustees. If elected, he will represent the interests of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association membership and all public school districts statewide. By unanimous vote, the board approved Voit for the endorsement based on his extensive financial and leadership expertise, along with his volunteer involvement in both PSBA leadership and the PA School District Liquid Asset Fund board. Voit is a former PSBA treasurer and former chairman and current trustee on the PA School District Liquid Asset Fund board, which oversees investments of more than $7 billion in public fund assets on behalf of local education agencies and municipal entities. He is currently the chief financial officer for Natural Food Group, an international packaging and food distribution company. His professional experiences and career roles have included CFO and president for an international manufacturing corporation, CFO for an Inc 500 company, as well as a software development company where he was also a partner. An interview with Voit will be hosted by PSBA CEO Nathan Mains on Video Edition on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

https://www.psba.org/2020/12/psba-governing-board-votes-to-endorse-otto-voit-for-the-psers-board-of-trustees/

 

Plum School District students to return to hybrid class schedule Jan. 11

Trib Live by MICHAEL DIVITTORIO   | Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:42 p.m.

Plum School District officials plan to welcome students back to school in a hybrid class schedule in a few weeks. Administrators had previously slated the first Monday in January as a return date for students and staff after being moved to all virtual learning due to rising covid cases both in the district and Allegheny County. The new return date is Monday, Jan. 11. The hybrid scheduling splits students into two groups each attending in-person classes two days a week and remote learning on off days. “This extension will permit an appropriate number of days for those who may have been exposed over the holiday period to come to school without fear of impacting others,” Superintendent Brendan Hyland said Tuesday night.

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/plum-school-district-students-to-return-to-hybrid-class-schedule-jan-11/

 

PIAA board votes to reduce number of required practices to resume winter sports

By KEITH GROLLER THE MORNING CALL | DEC 22, 2020 AT 7:07 PM

While waiting to hear whether high school sports will be allowed to resume Jan. 4, the PIAA board of control voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the number of required preseason practices from 15 to 10, giving teams a chance to get back on the basketball court, wrestling mat or swimming pool sooner. Teams that have already completed 15 preseason practices must complete four days of practice before being allowed to have games or scrimmages. Sports that often require the use of off-site facilities such as swimming, gymnastics, bowling and rifle would only be required to complete five practice days before returning to competition since there are often scheduling conflicts at nonschool sites.

https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-spt-piaa-board-votes-20201222-baggwjyztfaw7ocrpwxfvrufiy-story.html

 

Public Schools Face Funding ‘Death Spiral’ as Enrollment Drops

Congress is sending more relief money to schools, but coronavirus-related costs and declining state funding tied to student enrollment are driving districts toward a financial crisis.

New York Times By Shawn HublerKate Taylor and Amelia Nierenberg Dec. 22, 2020

SACRAMENTO — In Texas, the Austin public schools might lay off 200 people and still not fill the financial hole created by the coronavirus. Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington has proposed two new taxes to help pay for catching up students who fell behind during remote learning. And in Los Angeles, the costs of virus testing, laptops and free meals for families have mounted to more than $400 million. Even with a promised lifeline of billions of federal dollars, public schools in many parts of the country are headed for a financial cliff, as the coronavirus drives up the costs of education while tax revenue and student enrollment continue to fall. Schools can expect about $54 billion from the coronavirus stimulus plan approved by Congress late Monday night, or nearly four times what K-12 education received in a March relief package. The deal also includes $7 billion to expand broadband access for students who have trouble logging on, and continued funding for school meal programs. But school officials say that is not nearly enough to make up for the crushing losses state and local budgets have suffered during the pandemic, or the costs of both remote learning and attempts to bring students back to classrooms. Advocates for public education estimate that schools have lost close to $200 billion so far.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/public-schools-enrollment-stimulus.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

 

337 PA school boards have adopted charter reform resolutions

Charter school funding reform continues to be a concern as over 330 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.

 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.