12 October 2011

Getting Better Results in Education

By Bill Hartman and Jane Conover


A wise but unnamed person once said “Vision is Seeing the Opportunity Inside the Challenge”. It is a good reminder that today’s challenges actually create an opportunity to act boldly to achieve significant results. Public education is one of those challenges that is debated in movies, news articles, in books and in the halls of government. The public discourse over school improvement is complex but also incredibly valuable because it keeps the education of young people front and center. More people than ever are willing to consider new ways to resolve problems, making collaboration among educators, parents and policy makers more viable.

With the recent release of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s System of School Assessment (PSSA) data from York County schools, we learned that in the 2010-2011 academic year, every school district had some students that failed to meet the goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act. While some progress is being made, student test scores in the School District of the City of York still lag behind their counterparts in other districts by almost 20 percentage points in math, reading and science.

There are signs of hope. First, PSSA test scores overall are improving slightly throughout the County, including in the School District of the City of York. Secondly, there are many committed and competent education professionals and community members who are eager to dramatically improve these results. Dr. Wortham, the new Superintendent of the School District of the City of York, is leading the charge for a transformation in culture that will create the environment where children and teachers thrive. The Community Foundation has met with Dr. Wortham and her leadership team several times and they are committed and eager to work hard for the children they serve every day. We endorse Dr. Wortham’s priorities to ensure adequate teacher/student ratios, create safe schools, and give educators the tools and skills they need to support the development of the whole child.

While it would be nice if there was one magic solution to fix all of the problems with public education, Elaine Weiss, National Coordinator for Broader, Bolder Approach to Education reminded us at the April YorkCounts Summit to give up that fantasy. The reality is that children, families and schools need many things to succeed. YorkCounts and York County Community Foundation seek to bring all the stakeholders together to identify, research, evaluate and advocate for solutions. Fortunately, the ingredients of success are here…public awareness, competent leadership and community commitment to do better for our students.

Bill Hartman is the President of York County Community Foundation.  Jane Conover is the Vice President of Community Investment at York County Community Foundation and is the lead staff for the YorkCounts Initiative. YorkCounts became an initiative of York County Community Foundation in May, 2011.  

14 September 2011

Business & Education Partner for a Strong Workforce

On October 7th, the York County Economic Development Corporation (YCEDC) will host the first annual Business & Education Partnership Roundtable. The event will bring together the business and education communities to discuss how to better work together to ensure student’s preparedness for the workforce. Positive business-education partnerships can provide students with relevant classroom and out of school experiences to help them step into the careers available within our community.

In 2009, YCEDC’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) kicked off their Career Pathways/STEM initiative with Superintendents and business leaders. A list of recommendations was created and a leadership team was established with representation from the business and education communities to prioritize and oversee the implementation of the recommendations. The Business & Education Partnership Roundtable addresses the following recommendation:

     “The OWD will create a Business and School Collaboration Committee with a broad
     stakeholder group of business and education leaders (secondary and
     post secondary) to exchange information, establish needs, define expectations,
     set goals, determine the measures of accountability, and support the 
     CareerPathways/STEM Model. The model will be flexible, respect local
     control and allow for all levels of participation.”

The committee will meet annually in the fall for the Business & Education Partnership Roundtable. The information exchanged during the session will be tabulated and acted upon by the OWD and other relevant community partners. A mid-year status report will be presented at the Annual York County Workforce Development summit in May.

The 2011 Industry Cluster Analysis Update for York County will also be presented at the event. The analysis, updated every 5 years by YCEDC staff, identifies growth industries and is used as a planning tool. Context will be gained by framing the conversation of the Business & Education Partnership Roundtable around the cluster analysis, increasing the value of the discussions and its inevitable outcomes.

A highly skilled workforce is imperative for companies to remain competitive in today’s economy. This event will provide an opportunity for employers to work with educational leaders to impact the development of a high quality relevant workforce. We will be looking for creative ways for the employer community to support the schools and ultimately the students to build the future workforce for York County.

Those interested in attending the Business & Education Partnership Roundtable, on October 7, 2011 from 8:00AM-2:00PM at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center – York, should RSVP to Caitlyn Meyer at cmeyer@ycedc.org or (717) 846-8879 by September 23, 2011.

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York City. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.



05 August 2011

Affiliation Strengthens Pipeline of Workers

By Caitlyn Meyer

July marked the one year anniversary of York County Alliance for Learning’s (YCAL) affiliation with the York County Economic Development Corporation Office of Workforce Development (OWD). YCAL works with businesses and schools to provide career education, relevant academic experiences and work-based experience for K-12 students in York County. The affiliation furthers the YorkCounts recommendation that the OWD sustain initiatives that would systematically build a pipeline of entry level workers and more directly affect the youth population.


While the mission of the OWD touches many populations/groups throughout York County, this recommendation directly affects the youth population. The affiliation connects YCAL’s strong relationships with the education community and YCEDC’s strong relationships in the business community together to improve the implementation of programs, ultimately improving the quality and quantity of opportunities for youth.

YCAL programs have had great success and touched many in York County over the past year. Since the affiliation, YCAL has impacted 8,272 students, 391 educators and 117 employers through its events and programming. 
One such YCAL event was the Career Opportunities Day held at HACC-York Campus. At the event, 195 high school juniors and seniors learned about the knowledge and skills needed for careers in the 16 National Career Clusters. Another important program offered by YCAL is the student mentoring program with local companies. This past school year, YCAL held nine mentoring programs, impacting over 130 students. YCAL also hosted events offering continuing education credits for educators, such as the Career Education and Work Standards Symposium with over 170 York County educators in attendance.

To learn more about other events and programs offered by the York County Alliance for Learning, visit www.ycal.us.

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York City. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.


22 June 2011

Learning Through Real World Experiences

By Dayna Lauer


In today’s system of education, we frequently hear the phrase, “Teaching to the test.” Unfortunately with the addition of the adoption of the Common Core Standards, many teachers around the county are tossing out any ideas of weaving together the standards, the test preparation, and solid classroom instruction. Many are, in fact, simply teaching to the test. It is a regrettable effect and one that can be reversed.

I propose that standardized test preparation and common standards can be combined in a classroom centered on authentic instruction. By this I mean, instruction that has a connection to the real world in which we all live, advocates for higher order thinking, encourages conversation, and promotes depth of knowledge for ALL students. These factors can also be enhanced by technology integration. Thus it is imperative for teachers to begin structuring lessons around authentic tasks.

Recently I spent time working with teachers who intended to structure a task for students that would integrate multiple classes, meet multiple standards, and give students the skills needed to perform well on the state standardized tests in the Spring. I was amazed at their product! While it would take me much longer than this blog to describe all of the elements that were involved, here is the summary: students will visit a local arboretum during which they will receive instruction on the flora and fauna of the arboretum. While there, students will be measuring slope and distances on their walk. They will also be calculating their heart rate as they walk at various speeds around the arboretum. The students will then be responsible for producing a local field guide to the arboretum that incorporates QR codes. Included in the field guide will be student produced digital pictures of the plants, as well as student created artwork of the species. Students will also work collaboratively to create a Google Map walking tour of the arboretum and create a website dedicated to the history of the arboretum.

This authentic, interdisciplinary unit took these teachers three solid days of planning to create and they are excited to implement it in the fall. I am sure the results will be equally exciting. It is important to note, that the summer is the perfect time for authentic planning to begin, because while teachers may not be in the classroom during the summer months, they certainly spend countless hours preparing for the students they will meet in the fall!

Dayna Laur is a 13-year veteran social studies teacher at Central York High School and is a National Faculty Member for the Buck Institute for Education. She has her National Board Certification, a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia Tech, a Master of Arts degree in education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Science degree in 21st-century teaching and learning from Wilkes University. Over the past four years, she has worked closely with the Classrooms for the Future initiative in Pennsylvania, presenting to teachers, instructional technology coaches, administrators, and higher education faculty members on ways in integrate project-based learning in a technology-rich classroom environment. She has been featured as the model teacher for Authentic Based Classroom Instruction as produced by the National Institute for Professional Practice and as a model teacher for the Schools that Work Series as produced by Edutopia.

20 June 2011

No Question About It...Early Childhood Education Prepares Children for School

By Christy Renjilian


The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released the outcomes for children attending Pre-K Counts, Keystone STAR 3 & 4 early childhood education programs, and state funded Head Start programs. The findings are very impressive.

For Pre-K Counts, a program for at-risk three and four year olds, 99%, of the children showed age-appropriate or emerging age appropriate language, math and social skills on a standardized assessment tool. These children are entering kindergarten with appropriate academic and social skills and ready to learn. Less than 25% of these same children entered the Pre-K Counts program with age-appropriate skills. Currently, 254 York County children, or 1%, attend Pre-K Counts programs. The programs are administered by Crispus Attucks, KinderCare, York Day Nursery, York JCC, York YWCA, and the York City School District/CPC.

Keystone STARS promotes quality improvement among child care programs through quality standards and increased requirements for ongoing professional development for teachers. Nearly all children enrolled in Keystone STAR 3 & 4 programs showed age-appropriate or emerging age-appropriate language, math and social skills. Less than one third of the preschoolers began the school year with age appropriate skills. In a 2010 survey of more than 7,000 parents whose children attend a Keystone STAR 3 or 4 site, approximately 96% reported that the program and teachers’ experience met their expectations. OCDEL monitors compliance with Keystone STAR program requirements through a system of reporting, site monitoring and classroom environmental ratings. Independent assessors evaluate individual classrooms using the nationally recognized Environmental Rating Scales. In York County, 31 programs are either a STAR 3 or STAR 4. From 2006 to 2011, the number of York County STAR 3 programs has increased from zero to fifteen. A listing of STAR 3 and STAR 4 programs can be found at http://www.pakeys.org/

Less than one in five preschoolers enrolled in state funded Head Start began the year with age-appropriate skills. By the end of the school year, nearly all showed age appropriate or emerging skills. Head Start is a comprehensive program serving low income children and their families. On average, these children are at a high risk of entering kindergarten developmentally behind and of failing in school. Approximately 0.4% of York County children are enrolled in state funded Head Start. The Community Progress Council (CPC) operates Head Start.

Area kindergarten teachers report that children who attend high quality early childhood education programs make a smoother transition to kindergarten and have the necessary language, math and social skills to be successful. In fact, one elementary principal noted that the curriculum has been revised to address the fact that children are entering with more skills.

The United Way of York County, through Focus On Our Future, provides training and technical assistance to help programs improve their quality, offers scholarships for early childhood educators pursuing higher education, and works with families to support their efforts to ensure that their children enter kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. Over the past 16 years, the United Way of York County has invested over $6 million dollars in high quality early childhood education. This investment is clearly paying off.

For more information go to:

Christy Renjilian is the Director of Focus On Our Future for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years.  She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.

13 June 2011

Parenting in a Digital Age

By Ben Smith and Jared Mader

Not too many weeks ago, following a weekend hiking and camping trip, my daughter was excitably searching the web for a Camelbak hydration pack -- just like the one that her friend had been drinking from over the last few days. At age seven, she is quite savvy with her devices, so, of course, I told her to Google “Dick’s” (Sporting Goods) as a good starting point...at that very moment, I realized that her literal interpretation of my instructions were filtered neither by experience or by digital awareness. Her innocence was not to blame, but rather the uncensored content that is just one click away. So, what could I have done differently -- that brings us to the scope of this post.

First, we as parents need to make sure that we’re having the conversations about the dangers of online activities at home. This cannot just be a message that is heard in school, but it must be a cultural understanding. Don’t know where to start, that’s okay, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ has done a great job of posting the top ten things parents need to know when talking with their kids about Internet usage and safety. We cannot talk about cybersafety without addressing Facebook. Children can officially sign up for an account beginning at 13. Once the account is created students post information to their wall with any web enabled device. Parents can find guidance for their children at http://www.facebookforparents.org/.

Second, it’s time to arm yourself with all of the information that you need to know, from cell phone safety to web filtering and everything in between. CyberSmartParent is a Google Site committed to providing current information about how to keep your family safe in an increasingly more connected world. Simple things, although challenging to enforce, like requiring your kids to share all of their online passwords with you, checking their cell phone usage, and using web filters to monitor or regulate the times of day that they are online are all ways that you can show your kids that your are active and interested in their web presence. In our house, all of the computing devices remain in the common area. No web surfing gets done behind closed doors. We also talk about who you can tell your password to and how to handle emails soliciting information.

Third, it’s never too late, but preferably before your children ever begin to engage socially in the web, you need to become more aware of the dangers of cyberbullying, online predators, and the acronyms and language that they use to mask their real message. The Better Business Bureau has done a nice job of describing Cyberbullying, as well as has provided some of the most commonly used acronyms when translating these digital conversations.

Finally, and most importantly, you need to be vigilant. Our digital footprints are extending far beyond the walls of our homes -- protect them. Have regular conversations with your kids about the lasting effects of what they post and how they act, when working online. If they are using Facebook, create your own account and become friends with them so you can see their posts. Adding a filter to your computers is not enough, as we know that the filter will one day not be there, and the choices that your kids make will be the result of your vigilance along the way.

The web is an exciting place, filled with opportunity and new ideas. We just want to be sure that we are protecting our families from those elements that exist to do them harm. Hopefully, some of these tools will guide you and your children in this new journey that you will be embarking on with them.

Ben Smith is a physics teacher and science chairman at Red Lion Area High School, where he has worked for the past 22 years. He is also a partner in an educational technology consulting practice called EdTechInnovators (http://www.edtechinnovators.com/). His work with schools has taken him across the U.S. and overseas to work with the Singapore Ministry of Education. Ben serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Technology in Education, a nonprofit international organization. Ben lives with his wife Lottie in York Township with their two children – Caitlin, 14, and Ian, 10.

Jared Mader is the Director of Technology for the Red Lion Area School District. He has served in this position for four years, after teaching Chemistry for nine years. In that time, he has led technology integration professional development initiatives. He is a member of the Discovery Educator Network and has been identified as a PDE State Keystone Technology Integrator. He also serves as a partner in an educational technology consultancy, EdTechInnovators, providing professional development to districts across the United States and abroad. Jared lives in York with his wife Janell and 7-year-old daughter Emma. You can contact him at maderj@rlasd.k12.pa.us or jared@edtechinnovators.com.

Walking Into the Future of York County

By Shanna Weist

There have been major changes in the economy and the housing market over the past few years. In some parts of the United States property values have dropped significantly, foreclosures are at record highs, and fluctuating gas prices have made long commutes more costly.

As a result of these economic forces, the preferences of what type of homes and communities people want to live in has changed as well. The National Association of REALTORS conducted the 2011 Community Preference Survey to explore how American’s preferences regarding communities and housing have changed over the last seven years.

The survey reveals that, ideally, most Americans would like to live in walkable communities where shops, restaurants, and local businesses are within an easy stroll from their homes and their jobs are a short commute away. According to the survey, when considering a home purchase, 77% of respondents said they would look for neighborhoods with abundant sidewalks and other pedestrian-friendly features.

However, 80% would prefer to live in single-family, detached houses over other types of housing such as townhouses, condominiums, or apartments. Ideally, Americans want both walkability and single-family homes. When asked if they can’t have their ideal situation, the majority of Americans would choose living in single-family homes over a walkable community.

The survey also revealed that while space is important to home buyers, many are willing to sacrifice square footage for less driving.

How can York County use this information?

York has not been immune to national economic trends. New Construction growth has slowed dramatically but our population continues to rise. What municipalities in York should do now while there is pause in new construction is to take the time to plan for the future. Directing growth into areas where the infrastructure exists with the creation or revitalization of walkable communities.

Currently York County has very few municipalities who have enacted ordinances for smart growth communities such as Traditional Neighborhood Developments or TNDs. Traditional Neighborhood Development is a type of land use that permits a compatible mixture of residential, commercial and civic uses integrated with open space to create a balanced community. TNDs typically have higher density in exchange for open space preservation. The concept of TND is not new. There are hundreds of TND communities across the United States - some as close as Lancaster County. The Community Preference Survey revealed that 56% of Americans want to live in smart growth communities such as TNDs.

The York/Adams Regional Smart Growth Coalition developed a TND Handbook for municipalities. Now seems to be a ripe time for municipalities to study the idea of adopting a TND ordinance.

The Survey is good news for York City and our boroughs because it shows that people want to live in walkable communities convenient to businesses. However, when it comes time to consider redevelopment projects in our urban areas it may be wise to place greater emphasis on detached single-family home development. The results have shown that while Americans want walkability they are not willing to give up single family homes for it. Can we have them both? Yes, with the proper ordinances. Now is the time to enact them.

Shanna Wiest is the government affairs director for the Realtors Association of York & Adams Counties and has been with the association since 2005. In her position, she advocates for homeownership, economic development and smart growth planning. Shanna also serves as the secretary/treasurer for the York/Adams Regional Smart Growth Coalition and the president of the Economics Club for the York County Chamber of Commerce. Shanna earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dickinson College and her Master’s of Public Administration from Penn State University. Shanna lives in Springettsbury Township with her fiancé Joe

23 May 2011

Unleashing Creativity in Downtown York

By Caitlyn Meyer



The York County Industrial Development Authority (YCIDA) is unleashing creativity in downtown York. In 2009, the YCIDA purchased the former Fraternal Order of Eagles building, located at 37 West Philadelphia Street, with plans to transform it into a downtown arts center. The building’s proximity to Central Market places it within the strategic downtown area targeted for development as a result of recommendations by Roger Brooks in response to the City’s desire to become a vibrant,
thriving downtown.

The building, known as the Eagles Art Center, will house gallery space, multipurpose assembly space, two residential apartments, an Arts Orientation Center, a commercial kitchen for caterer use for events and functions as well as multi-use artist space. York College of Pennsylvania recently signed a four year lease for space as the anchor tenant in the Eagles Art Center. One floor of the building is being specifically designed for York College’s senior painting students which will give them ample studio space, gallery space and the ability to interact and gain exposure to the business aspects of being a full-time artist.

The YCIDA is proud to work with the City of York to attract and retain creative businesses in downtown York, as it recognizes a robust and creative downtown is crucial to economic development, not only in the City of York but also throughout the entire County. The Authority also believes enhancing the quality of place will also aid in attracting a young, creative workforce to the area.

The Eagles Art Center is scheduled for completion in Fall 2011. Visit http://www.ycida.org/ for additional information on projects of the York County Industrial Development Authority.

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York City. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.

17 May 2011

Creating the “Village” Every Child Needs

By Christy Renjilian



Can you imagine a community where every child grows up healthy and safe, one in which every child succeeds in school, graduates high school and has a career? What would attaining this goal mean for the social and economic health of York City? What would it take to make this vision a reality?

Approximately 35 people met at the United Way of York County to discuss a potential new initiative for York City to create this kind of community. The Promise Neighborhoods’ vision is that all children have access to effective schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and career. The purpose is to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes for children in distressed communities and to transform those communities. The initiative addresses academic, health, family support and community needs. Those at the meeting have agreed to work collaboratively to plan such a transformative project. The planning process will require early childhood educators, public, private and charter schools personnel to work together to meet the educational needs of the children. This federal grant draws from the work of Geoffrey Canada with the Harlem Children’s Zone. Many of you might have attended his April lecture in York.

“Beyond the Bell” is another new collaborative coalition that is addressing the needs of children and families in the York City school district. The purpose is to share limited resources and ensure that a variety of afterschool programs are available. This is especially critical due to the budget cuts in the York City School District. The YMCA of York and York County, Martin Library, 4-H, York City Health Bureau, the United Way of York County, and several other organizations are working together to provide programs. York City school teachers and administrators are working with community-based organizations to ensure that the programs align with school curriculum and address gaps created by the elimination of classes such as gym.

Families are already embracing the programs offered by these organizations. For example, approximately 45 families are participating in the United Way of York County’s Ready Freddy kindergarten readiness program at Goode Elementary School. The six week program is designed to prepare children and families for school. One father who is attending the sessions with his daughter said, “I am not here to prepare my child for kindergarten, I am here to prepare her to graduate high school”. This is exactly the commitment families need to make to help their child succeed in school and life.

Some may say the goal of every child succeeding is too lofty, unrealistic and unattainable. The people involved in these projects know all to well the roadblocks children and families face on the road to success. We also know that no one school district, community-based organization or program can meet the needs of all children and families. Only by working together, to stretch resources, eliminate duplication of services, and address gaps, will we succeed. The future health of our community demands no less than our collective best effort.


For more information on the programs mentioned go to:

http://www.unitedway-york.org/index.html

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/promiseneighborhoods/index.html

http://www.hcz.org/about-us/about-geoffrey-canada

http://www.yorklibraries.org/

http://www.yorkcoymca.org/

http://www.ycs.k12.pa.us/

http://yorkcity.org/health

http://4hyorkpa.org/

Christy Renjilian is the Director of Focus On Our Future for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years.  She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.

10 May 2011

Work on second Pa. youth survey starting now

By Leigh Dalton

The Communities That Care system is a way for members of a community to work together to promote positive youth development.

About 15 years ago, many York County school districts implemented CTC at the school district level. In the smaller geographic areas, it was hard to sustain, so only four of these district-wide CTCs remain: Central York, Dallastown, Hanover Area (both Hanover Public and South Western School Districts), and York Suburban.

York County Human Services and other stakeholders in York County implemented the first York County CTC in February 2010 and wrote a 2011Community Action Plan. The approach detailed in the action plan emphasizes evidence-based practices deployed throughout the entire county, an approach organizers believe will be more effective and sustainable.

The most vital element of this process is receiving and analyzing the results from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), which is intended to discover risk factors and protective factors within communities. Data around behaviors of youth and programs that discourage those behaviors is gathered and used to create strategies for community improvement. With funding assistance from the York County District Attorney’s office, PAYS was administered in collaboration with 15 of York’s 16 school districts in fall 2009. Also participating in the survey were New Hope Academy Charter School and two of the Lincoln Intermediate Unit (LIU) Schools. All together, 11,923 students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 participated in the survey.

York County CTC is gearing up to administer the second round of PAYS in fall 2011. With new data from PAYS, CTC will take another look at our county’s risk and protective factors to better inform decision makers about investments to improve the quality of life for our youth. In order to make the best informed decisions, we need adequate representation from ALL the sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th graders in York County. School districts can use this data to better inform their own policies and practices, just as West York uses PAYS results.

2009 PAYS data was used to qualify for state funding to expand the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in York County.

Schools will receive the survey in late September and will have the month of October to administer it to their students. York County CTC prefers that schools offer the survey online, but paper versions will be available.

We are encouraging schools – public, private, parochial, alternative, charter and cyber – who did not participate, either because they were not contacted or because they were unsure of CTC’s purpose, to contact me at 717-854-8755 x209 or at leigh@yorkbar.com, to start the process to administer the PAYS this year.

Also: We’re looking for more mentors to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. If you’re interested, let me know that, too.

Leigh Dalton is the director of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative (www.yorktruancyprevention.org) and the community mobilizer for York County Communities That Care. After receiving her law degree from the University of Baltimore, School of Law, she managed a truancy intervention program called the Truancy Court Program. She is pursuing her doctorate in education policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She lives in Spring Garden Township with her husband, baby daughter and her two rescued dogs. She can be reached at leigh@yorkbar.com and 717-854-8755, ext. 209.

They would have the whole world in their hand...

by Jared Mader

Imagine it: You’re dining out with friends, and the question comes up, “Who played the leading role in....” or “Who scored the winning goal when...” We’ve all been there. It’s like a mad dash to the finish line as dining parties rush to their devices and gadgets, just to see who can be first to the answer.

Now, fade to a new setting. Imagine yourself entering a typical American classroom. This time, it is the teacher that asks, “What is the most interesting current event in today’s news?” What do we see this time? Is it a mad dash, like in the scenario above, as students grab their cell phones to pull the top news stories from CNN mobile, Reuters, The Daily, and more? Doubtful, as in most of our educational environments, these types of devices are contraband, at best. Now, just to air our own dirty laundry, we are in the same boat here at Red Lion. Our policies and rules have not caught up with the culture to which we are trying to prepare our students. We need to make this change, however, as student’s mobile devices offer budgetary opportunities for schools to stay current with technology at less cost.

We are not unlike many other schools in that we are aware that we need to make change -- change that will allow students to use the powerful tools that they own. We need to devise our strategy for implementation that wouldn’t simply offer students carte blanche unsupervised access at any time. This is where educators can help to teach students that there is more to be done with those mobile devices than text and update Facebook.

Before we begin to allow the power of mobile and personal devices into our classrooms we must identify the goals for their use. First, they should include teaching students to be effective digital farmers, cultivating the information that is already on the web and growing products that demonstrate their higher order thinking. Second, they should be held to a high expectation with regards to the digital citizenship they model and follow.

So, where do we start? We, first, need to redesign our policies to allow teachers to permit effective and monitored instructional use of these devices in their classrooms. There, that was easy.

Next, we need to begin training our teachers to recognize and identify the tools that are available for these devices and how they can change their classrooms. Such tools may include apps for recording audio, measuring scientific variables, responding to class prompts and researching information. Training staff to recognize and address the conversations about digital citizenship is a necessary component of this professional development.

Finally, implementation, take our most eager and comfortable teachers and set them loose with their students' devices. By allowing teachers the professional freedom to make the decision regarding the appropriate application of these tools, our students will now be able see the responsible and ethical expectations under which these devices should be used and districts may be able to save in their technology budgets.

Jared Mader is the Director of Technology for the Red Lion Area School District. He has served in this position for four years, after teaching Chemistry for nine years. In that time, he has led technology integration professional development initiatives. He is a member of the Discovery Educator Network and has been identified as a PDE State Keystone Technology Integrator. He also serves as a partner in an educational technology consultancy, EdTechInnovators, providing professional development to districts across the United States and abroad. Jared lives in York with his wife Janell and 7-year-old daughter Emma. You can contact him at maderj@rlasd.k12.pa.us or jared@edtechinnovators.com.

09 May 2011

Food sustainability means more money for the local economy

by Deron Schriver

We’re facing a huge challenge as a society that, thankfully, more and more people each day are starting to realize. How can we maintain a strong global economy that provides for the entire population, while still protecting the planet and maintaining our precious and increasingly limited natural resources? When the focus is on the economy and jobs, we tend to think of production and consumption at any cost. As I mentioned in my previous post, the concept of sustainability sheds light on the effects of this thinking.

But wait. Don’t stop reading because you think this is just another piece about the environment or global warming. According to the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education, 99.5 percent of the $900 million spent on food by York County residents leaves the County! If that 0.5 percent share was increased to just 5 percent, that would amount to an additional $40 million retained in the local economy. It’s not difficult to make a local economic development case out of this issue.

If that’s not enough, consider this from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather support the York economy than that of Iran.

Sustainability, including food sustainability, should be something we all think about. The younger generation will hopefully grow up with more awareness of the issue. York College has even created a Sustainability and Environmental Studies minor to, among other things, help students understand how our actions as humans can prevent or mitigate negative impacts on the environment. We can expect great things from a program like that.

Sustainability is not a liberal or conservative issue. It’s about being more forward thinking and big picture-oriented, traits on which we already place a lot of value. We might not run out of food in our lifetimes, and we may or may not go bankrupt from skyrocketing healthcare costs in the next decade, but we are on an unsustainable path and we must set a new direction. In the next post, I will dive into the world of industrialized food and discuss ways we can all contribute to a more sustainable future.

Deron Schriver is the executive administrator for The Women's Healthcare Group and a member of the Guiding Committee for Healthy World Café. He has a particular interest in studying and participating in solutions to address health issues affecting our society. Deron earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration, both from York College. He lives in West Manchester Township with his wife, Lisa.

05 May 2011

Honoring efforts to improve early childhood education


High-quality early childhood education is crucial to student
achievement. That point was emphasized again at the recent
Week of the Young Child Recognition event in York.
By Christy Renjilian

April 14 was a big day for education in York County. Starting in the morning and lasting into the early afternoon, approximately 250 people attended the YorkCounts Education Summit. In the evening, 375 people attended the annual Week of the Young Child Recognition event for early childhood educators. The first event drew administrators, teachers, businesspeople and other community members interested in hearing about the current climate for public education. People attended the second event to celebrate the impact of high-quality early childhood on the children and families in York County.

This was the 40th annual Week of the Young Child, a national celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest early childhood education association, with nearly 100,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state and regional affiliates. Week of the Young Child focuses public attention on the needs of young children and their families and recognizes the early childhood education programs and services that meet those needs.

The annual recognition event is sponsored by Focus On Our Future, the early childhood education initiative of the United Way of York County, and the York Area Association for the Education of Young Children (YAAEYC). Nava Ghalili of Fox 43 News served as the master of ceremonies, and Kurt Kondrich was the keynote speaker. Mr. Kondrich is a retired police officer who now serves as the Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Early Intervention. He is a passionate advocate for the importance of high quality early childhood education and early intervention programs. He is also a father of a child with Downs Syndrome who is reading on grade level and an active participant in her second grade class. So he knows first hand how quality programs support children and families.

This year, parents nominated approximately 100 early childhood educators for the Outstanding Provider Award, recognizing the teachers’ hard work and dedication to their children.

The event also celebrated the home-based and center-based programs that voluntarily participate in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s quality-improvement program, Keystone STARS. Approximately 130 York County providers are participating in this program. In the past five years the number of STAR 3 has increased from none to 13, and STAR 4, the highest level, has increased from 13 to 22. We also recognized York County’s Pre-K Counts, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs and those programs that have achieved national accreditation, the highest level of quality. York County has 13 accredited centers and 12 accredited home-based providers.

A Children’s Champion Award is presented to an individual in the community who does not work in the early childhood education field but is a strong advocate and partner in supporting families and young children. This year’s award was presented to George Eckenrode, chief executive officer of Family-Child Resources, for his efforts to support the mental health needs of young children and their families.

The event does more than celebrate accomplishments of early childhood educators and the programs they serve. It recognizes the importance of their work on the future educational success of the children, which, in turn, will improve the economic viability of York County. It also affirms the connections and the commitments the early childhood education community has with each other. Home-based and center-based programs and Head Start, EvenStart, Early Head Start, preschool and Pre-K Counts all work together to provide a variety of services to meet the needs of children and families. They share their knowledge and skills with each other working collaboratively on curriculum, professional development and classroom management issues. The early childhood education community, along with its partners Martin Library, public schools, early intervention, Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 and community-based organizations, learned a long time ago that by working together, in partnership with families, they can improve quality and keep costs down.

Speakers at the YorkCounts education summit talked about the importance of school districts and the community working together, to provide joint professional development opportunities, share community resources and engage parents. One effective model of this is the early childhood education community in York County. Over the past 16 years, Focus On Our Future, YAAEYC and the early childhood education providers in York County have shown us that by working together collegially we can ensure a more successful future.

Christy Renjilian is the director of Focus on our Future for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years. She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.

27 April 2011

EDC’s Workforce Development Summit back for second year


 By Caitlyn Meyer

The second annual Workforce Development Summit will be May 4 at the White Rose Room of the York Fairgrounds. One new wrinkle this year: It’s happening at the same time as the York County Chamber Business & Technology Expo. The York County Economic Development Corp.’s Office of Workforce Development presents the summit to inform and engage employers in the county’s workforce development system, so it made sense to link it to the Chamber Expo. Also, such forums are one of the strategies identified in the county’s economic development plan.

The 2011 Keynote Speaker is Daniel Kuba, acting director of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership. The Summit will highlight state programs available to employers for their existing workforce and resources to assist in the hiring process. These presentations will provide businesses with information on how to increase their bottom line through their employees, get the most efficiency from their training processes, and improve the effectiveness of their training dollars.

There is no charge to attend the Summit, however registration is required. Participants should register at www.ycedc.org. Workforce Summit attendees are invited to visit the Chamber Expo free of charge.

YCEDC’s OWD arose from a YorkCounts call to develop a unified, countywide system of workforce development. The office was launched in 2008 with the mission to engage employers, educators and community partners to create a lifelong learning environment that will attract and retain strong businesses and a diverse and talented workforce critical for sustaining a vibrant community and a growing, innovative economy. The OWD affiliated with the York County Alliance for Learning (YCAL) in 2010 and implements YCAL youth programs with business community partners. Since 2008, OWD has become the facilitator for workforce development in York County by encouraging collaboration between businesses and training providers to better prepare our future workforce.

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IF YOU GO

What: Workforce Development Summit
When: Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Where: The White Rose Room of the York Fairgrounds, 334 Carlisle Avenue, York
To register: Go to www.ycedc.org.
For details: Contact Katie Knepp, Workforce Development Coordinator, at cknepp@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879.
The day’s sechedule:
7:30-8 a.m.Registration
8-10:15 a.m.Program
10:15-11 a.m. VIP Reception
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Chamber Expo

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.

20 April 2011

York County shows some gains in health care measures

The health care picture of York County is improving,
according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. A local initiative, Aligning Forces for Quality
in South Central Pennsylvania, is working to improve
the quality of health care in the region.
The 2011 County Health Rankings report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute puts York County in the top 20 of all Pennsylvania counties in the report's broad health ratings categories - health outcomes and health factors.

York County ranked 14th in health factors, mainly due to ranking fourth in the state in access to clinical care. The county ranked 19th in health outcomes. Both positions are higher than the rankings in the 2010 data.

An York Dispatch article about the report published April 18 took a closer look at the numbers and what they say about the strength and weaknesses of the local health care system.

Ranking fourth in the clinical care category is probably the best number in the report. From the article, which featured comments from Chris Amy, project director of Aligning Forces for Quality in South Central Pennsylvania, a local initiative organized to improve the quality of health care in the region.:
(The category) measured York County's percentage of uninsured adults, primary care providers, preventable hospital stays, diabetic screening and mammography screenings. The high ranking indicates that patients have access to high-quality health care in York County.
The data also showed fewer people are dying before age 75 and fewer people are experiencing poor physical or mental health. The report also found the ratio of patients to primary care providers is 981 to 1, which is among the best in the state.

On the downside, the county has higher rates of obese people, smokers and teen mothers than the corresponding state rates. The challenge is to show adults and teens how to make better decisions about their bodies. Again from the article:
York could have the best health care system in the world, but if a person doesn't want to take his or her medicine or eat healthy and exercise, that will keep the county from achieving the best rankings across the board, said Amy.


Overall, the numbers are encouraging and show the local Aligning Forces for Quality group is on the right track in measuring to identify trends and using the data to develop appropriate responses.

- Dan Fink

Housing summit puts housing issues in spotlight

by Shanna Wiest

courtesy woodleywonderworks
The York County Housing Summit is April 27 at the Holiday
Inn Conference Center of York, 2000 Loucks Road, York.
A home, whether you own or rent, is not just a roof over your head. It's the place where you live your life, where you raise your children and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors as a community. It’s where your dreams come to fruition. Most people take housing for granted. For many others owning a home or having a safe and affordable place to live is a dream.

Just as a place to call home is the bedrock of the family, it is also a core ingredient in a strong and prosperous community. Neighborhoods with a range of quality housing options have lower crime rates, better performing schools, stronger local economies, and a better overall quality of life.

Most people would agree with the statement that everyone should have access to safe, decent, affordable homes. It’s a great goal for a community but how we get there is a challenge.

Let’s take a look at a few of the challenges we are facing in York County.

Homeless: York’s Helping Hands estimates upwards of 500 people a day are homeless in York County, meaning there are that many people or families each day who don’t have a home or space to call their own. The numbers have increased from last year, according to a York County survey conducted in January.

Senior Housing: About 60,000 York Countians are over the age of 65, and it is expected that the largest number of baby boomers will retire in 2015. How can we prepare for older adults to live comfortably throughout their golden years?

Planning for growth/infrastructure: Despite the downturn in the economy and the decrease in the number of new homes being constructed, York County is still one of the fastest-growing communities in the Northeast. All signs lead to continued growth in the future. As a community, we need to develop opportunities for creative land use planning and revitalization of urban communities today.

Financing Affordable Housing: Both federal and state funding programs have been cut for affordable housing rehab and housing services, but the number of people on waiting lists in York County for affordable housing programs has grown. How can we create partnerships with the private sector and use existing tools and programs to meet our current and future housing needs?

Foreclosures, Mortgages and Appraisal Issues: The recession started as a housing crisis and York continues to be affected. The Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties reports that in the first two months of this year more than 30 percent of the homes sold were distressed sales, such as bank-owned or government-owned properties and short sales.

These issues and other challenges will be discussed at the York County Housing Summit on Wednesday, April 27. I encourage you to attend this event and become actively engaged with housing issues in our community.

Shanna Wiest is the government affairs director for the Realtors Association of York & Adams Counties and has been with the association since 2005. In her position, she advocates for homeownership, economic development and smart growth planning. Shanna also serves as the secretary/treasurer for the York/Adams Regional Smart Growth Coalition and the president elect of the Economics Club for the York County Chamber of Commerce. Shanna earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dickinson College and her Master’s of Public Administration from Penn State University. Shanna lives in Springettsbury Township with her fiancé Joe.

18 April 2011

Tax reform key to saving cities, but where's the leadership?

By Eric Menzer

So here we are. Our city government is in the news regularly, faced with difficult decisions about facilities, overtime, taxes, infrastructure and goodness knows how many other vexing decisions on a daily basis. All local governments, including the city, continue to be beset by declining property values that are now being translated into assessment appeals and reductions. The economy is clearly brightening, but the state revenue picture is challenging, and it is pretty clear nobody in Harrisburg is in any mood to provide any new direct financial assistance to any local government. Even counting on past levels of economic development funding appears risky.

Courtesy Downtown Inc.
The first block of North Beaver Street in
York is one reason for optimisim about the
future of downtown York. But the state
needs tax reform that reduces the burden
of property taxes and allows cities
to thrive in today's climate of economic
development.
This grinding governmental fiscal crisis plays on like a weary symphony with different aspects coming periodically to the forefront against what is actually a pretty optimistic outlook for the city of York as a geographic place with a wonderful, authentic walkable urban environment. It is frustrating, to say the least, that 15 years (that’s right – 15 years!) after David Rusk presented some pretty obvious ideas about how to lift the oppressive financial burden that’s preventing the real estate market in the city from responding to this opportunity, we continue to ignore the elephant in the room. We continue to debate what amount to pennies when we need dollars, and the frustrating thing is that the dollars are there for the taking.

Many economists will tell you that over long distances, tax rates are a consideration but not a definitive factor in business location or investment decisions. But that’s not what the city faces. We all know that one can go less than a mile from Continental Square and enjoy most of the benefits of living or working downtown or in a city neighborhood at a lower cost. We all know that trying to draw increasing revenue from the city’s geographically-limited tax base is like trying to draw blood from the proverbial stone. And we all profess to agree that a healthy core city with amenities that can be enjoyed by all is good for the region as a whole.

So, why can’t we talk about tax reform – both in terms of how they tax burden is spread, and where we derive local government revenue? Why are none of our elected officials willing to say that we should have a regional sales tax add-on to fund public-safety services that truly transcend municipal boundaries? Why can’t we have a county-level local income tax redistributed to municipalities to fund the tax-exempt property they host (including all those wonderful county and state parks in suburban and rural areas)? Why won’t a single leader say that property taxes levied at the local municipal level should be replaced by a system that would remove the oppressive yoke of fiscal doom from around the city’s neck?

Until we can go back and re-read the Rusk Report and find some courageous leaders who will come up out of the fox holes and lead on this issue, I fear that we’ll continue with the Titanic deck-chair arranging exercise we’re currently in. It would be a damn shame.

Eric Menzer is president of the York Revolution professional baseball team and manages the Codo Development Group, a real estate development company working in downtown York. Eric is active in community affairs and civic leadership at both the local and state level. He chairs the York County Community Foundation and serves on the boards of Downtown Inc, Better York, YorkCounts and the Crispus Attucks Association. He just concluded several years as Chairman of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a statewide policy-research and advocacy organization that promotes smart growth and urban revitalization, and he remains active on that board. Eric was previously the senior vice president of Wagman Construction in York. Prior to that, he served for eight years as York’s director of economic development and previously as the executive director of the York County Transportation Authority. He is a passionate baseball fan and lives in York with his wife and daughter.

13 April 2011

Tomorrow is summit day

Our education summit is finally here. YorkCounts will be at the Pullo Center all day Thursday hearing four morning presentations and an afternoon panel discussion talk about the current state of public education. The panel discussion will focus on fiscal matters, with particular attention to the looming pension crisis.

I wanted to take a minute today to review some of the great education posts we've had on the blog over the past six weeks. We had a chance to talk to Elaine Weiss, who will be our keynote speaker. Elaine's big thing is we can't fix schools in isolation from the surrounding community. Where there's poverty and crime and drugs and family issues at home, the community and the school have to work together.

We heard from Brian Jensen of the Pennsylvania Economy League, who made it plain that the pension obligations that school districts are facing will overwhelm many districts and be a burden on taxpayers for decades unless we figure something out quickly.

We heard from Dayna Laur, who said that districts should be doing more to collaborate and share costs on professional development - and, presumably, in other areas - in ways that would improve training and student outcomes AND save money.

And we heard several people argue for the need to reduce our reliance on property taxes as part of a fix to the way we fund education.

If you didn't register, don't worry. You will still be welcome tomorrow. And if you can't make it, read these posts to get caught up on some of the issues. And if you did register, thank you, and we hope the conversations are the beginning of a process for making York County schools the best they can be.

- Dan Fink

Momentum builds around sustainability


Several different local organizations are working to expand
consumer access to locally grown produce, an effort
that should help central Pennsylvania farmers and put more
local fruit and vegetables on dinner tables.
 By Deron Schriver

There’s a movement across the country based on the concept of sustainability. It is in response to our overly-consumptive and wasteful ways as a society. Sustainability can be applied to many aspects of life, with one of the most common being food sustainability. The American Public Health Association defines a sustainable food system as “one that provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment. A sustainable food system also encourages local production and distribution infrastructures and makes nutritious food available, accessible, and affordable to all. Further, it is humane and just, protecting farmers and other workers, consumers, and communities."

Momentum around food sustainability is starting to build in York County. Several organizations and initiatives have come together to share ideas and resources to make a bigger impact on food practices in this area. The Food Availability Task Force includes a diverse group of people with a goal “to increase consumption of fresh local produce through innovative partnerships with growers and distribution points.”

The York County chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local formed to make it easier for county consumers to “find, choose, and appreciate great local foods while supporting the farmers and lands that produce them.” Area businesses with a Buy Fresh Buy Local label demonstrate their commitment to featuring local foods and supporting local producers.

Healthy World Café, a restaurant coming soon to downtown York, is based on the concept of sustainability and has plans to serve meals made from only locally-grown or raised foods. Members of the Café’s Guiding Committee have ties with the Food Availability Task Force and other sustainability initiatives. The Café has plans to utilize a database such as the one provided by Local Harvest to identify food sources as part of its procurement efforts.

The bottom line is this: We waste a lot of food in this country, while many go hungry, more and more become obese, and increasing stress is put on our planet’s limited resources. It makes sense to look for ways to localize our food distribution system. In addition to preserving our future, it will enhance our economic development efforts by keeping more money in the local economy. And on top of all that, wouldn’t it be nice to know where your food came from?

Deron Schriver is the executive administrator for The Women's Healthcare Group and a member of the Guiding Committee for Healthy World Café. He has a particular interest in studying and participating in solutions to address health issues affecting our society. Deron earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration, both from York College. He lives in West Manchester Township with his wife, Lisa.

11 April 2011

Education Summit preview: James Testerman

We asked participants in "State of the Schools: A Countywide Education Summit" to respond to three questions about our schools, and we've been sharing their responses on Mondays for the past six weeks. These are the questions we posed:
  • What’s the biggest challenge confronting public education in York County today?
  • What can the community in York County realistically expect to achieve to deal with that challenge?
  • What would your first priority for action be?

 Today, in the final installment, we hear from James Testerman, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

*

York County is a wonderful, diverse region with strong rural, suburban and urban communities. These communities support schools that are performing very well. For instance, in my school district, Central York, 87 percent of the students who took the PSSA in math in 2010 scored proficient or above on the test. Only 4.6 percent scored below basic. Students had similar results in reading—over 82 percent scored proficient or advanced.

Southern York, York Suburban and other York County districts had similar results. Students in these districts also successfully completed college credits while in high school; performed in music programs and competed in sports; learned world languages; earned certificates to pursue a technical career; and were admitted to college.

For the past decade, Pennsylvania has invested in programs that have proven to work for our students. The results are clear: No states have statistically significant higher 8th grade reading scores than Pennsylvania on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only six states have significantly higher 4th grade reading scores. On the NAEP math tests, only seven states have significantly higher 8th grade math scores than Pennsylvania and only four are significantly higher on 4th grade math scores.

The Center for Education Policy cited Pennsylvania in 2010 for recording gains in all academic categories from 2002-2008.

Pennsylvania’s performance ranks above the U.S. average and the averages of 36 of 48 countries in math. It ranked below only that of five Asian jurisdictions (Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan). More Pennsylvania students than ever (7 out of 10) are going on to higher education.

Translating this locally, even our most challenged schools have shown remarkable improvements in student achievement over the past seven years. In York City, the percent of students scoring advanced or proficient on state tests increased from 31.5 percent in 2003 to 51.1 percent in 2010 in math, and from 33.2 percent to 41.9 percent in reading. The number of students in York County schools that score below basic in math and reading has dropped significantly. This will make a remarkable difference in these young people’s lives, and in the life of this community.

However, Gov. Corbett recently unveiled his 2011-12 state budget, and it proposes an unprecedented $1.2 billion in funding cuts to public school classrooms. Public education funding cuts for York County school districts total $33.7 million in the governor’s budget proposal.

The proposed cuts would reverse years of significant academic gains, and local property taxpayers and students will be the ones who suffer the consequences. School boards will be forced to raise property taxes, eliminate programs that have contributed to our students’ outstanding academic achievements, and slash teaching jobs. That means that students will ultimately pay the price.

The challenge is whether we can hold the ground we have gained and to accelerate the pace of student progress in York City and throughout the county.

This requires concentrating what funding we have in those areas with the greatest education need. It requires a shared commitment from families and the public and private agencies that support young people’s growth, including parents and school professionals; school boards and state agencies; employers and taxpayers.

If we continue our funding commitment to public education and implement proven programs that work, like small class size, full-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten, students in York will continue to progress.

James P. Testerman is president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He taught science and biology in the Central York School District for 16 before taking leave to work for PSEA. He lives in York County.

07 April 2011

An obituary for public education

Robert Frick delivered the following remarks Jan. 12 at "Public Schools in Crisis," a community forum in Lancaster presented by the Hourglass Foundation.

*

I have been asked to share my perspective on the condition of public education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Frankly, I was asked by the Hourglass Foundation to share my views primarily because I am retiring as Superintendent of the Lampeter-Strasburg School District on June 30, 2011, and it was felt by some that I would be able to speak my mind without fear of reprisals from my Board, legislators, PSEA, PSBA, or any other interested parties. Little did they know that I would have been willing to speak my mind even if I had 10 more years in the profession of education. Over my 45 years in the field I have been blessed to work for and with persons who encouraged me to share my beliefs and opinions.

It is my belief that, progressing the way that we are, public education as we know it will cease to exist in the near future; thus, today I present to you an obituary for public education.

*

OBITUARY

January 12, 2020

Dearly beloved, we gather today to celebrate the life of our dear departed friend, Public Education. Born in 1834 with the passage of the Free School Act of Pennsylvania, Public Education was created and sustained through the combined parenting efforts of Thomas Henry Burrowes and Thaddeus Stevens. Those who knew him in his early years were inspired by the opportunities that Public Education provided to all persons, regardless of their wealth or social class. Countless immigrants from many nations benefited from his egalitarian influences. At that time, of course, America was viewed as the “Great Melting Pot,” and Public Education was the vehicle that could enable the person of the most humble means to achieve the loftiest of dreams. In his later years, America was viewed more as a “salad bowl,” where each human ingredient wished to maintain its distinct and ethnically diverse identity.

Originally, Public Education drew its instructors from a similar pool as the clergy—people who saw themselves as being “called” to their respective professions. At that time even though wages were meager and accompanying fringe benefits were non-existent, those who delivered instruction were respected and looked up to by those in the community in which they served. Their dedication to the children that they served was beyond question.

First housed in basic brick structures, Public Education in rural America functioned in one-room buildings including all eight grades, while his citified cousin operated in multi-room, egg-crate style edifices, most often having one room per grade level. Whether in the rural or urban format, Public Education, as believed and touted by Thomas Jefferson, was a fundamental requirement for the establishment and the maintenance of a democracy. The mainstays of the curriculum were to be reading, writing, arithmetic, and history. Unfortunately for Public Education, reformers such as Horace Mann moved to use schools for a system of social control, an effort that is still in effect today. Schools changed from an organization to promote learning to one that was assigned to repair all social maladies.

Public Education’s demise is attributable to a number of causes, and in his later years would have been unrecognizable to his parents. He actually died in increments. The first affliction that he suffered was Change in Focus: Following World War II and the economic recovery that the United States experienced following the Great Depression of the previous decade, the states began to make major upgrades to their respective educational systems. Consolidations were required, and new buildings were built. Hot lunch programs, student transportation systems, and extracurricular programs were incorporated into almost all school systems. Moreover, schools became a place where physical examinations and dental examinations were given and polio and other vaccinations were administered. Like Horace Mann’s hopes, the main directive of school morphed from the educating of children to focusing on molding and improving society. Reformers viewed it as an excellent place to inculcate socially desirable practices like giving to the Red Cross, starting a savings account, buying/selling Christmas seals, or contributing to find a cure for tuberculosis. Since the young people of the American Society were a captive audience and since a very high percentage of our citizens of tomorrow attended public schools, it seemed a great plan. Public Education, however, was now unable to focus totally on his initial directive, the education of children.

The second affliction that he suffered was the Involvement of the Federal Government. In 1957, an event occurred which caused the federal government to get involved with Public Education for the first time in our nation’s history. According to the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1791, “all powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states or the people.” Historically, this meant that Public Education was the sole responsibility of the individual states, giving the federal government no role in the process.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit, and America panicked. The National Defense Education Act was passed less than a year later, and money was made available to the schools for the improvement of the teaching of mathematics and science. Just as form follows function in the world of art, control follows money in just about everything else. Seven years later in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed during President Lyndon Johnson’s Administration, and with it the federal government became fully involved in what was formerly a responsibility of the states. This was the equivalent of assigning Public Education’s power of attorney to the federal government.

The third affliction that he suffered was Turning Public Education into a Business. In 1969, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 195, which granted collective bargaining rights to educators in the Commonwealth, and over the next 10 to 15 years, the pendulum of control swung from Boards of Education to teachers’ unions. Strikes for higher salaries, better benefits, and the very control of school systems ensued. Under Act 195, Boards were and are required to sit down with representatives from teachers’ unions and negotiate salaries, fringe benefits, and working conditions, a process that is confrontational at best and hostile at its most aggressive degree.

As a result, teachers have become very well paid and have benefits that make many in the private sector envious. The pension program provided for public school educators in Pennsylvania is one of the best in the nation, but that benefit does not come without a significant cost, which has been mentioned as one of the problems we face today. With Act 195, the welfare of Public Education became dependent upon the degree of cooperation between PSEA and over 500 local school boards, and entering the teaching profession as “a calling” gradually disappeared.

The fourth affliction he suffered was the Rise of Special Education. In 1975, the 94th Congress passed its 142nd piece of legislation that became known as the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA). Originally passed with the stipulation that any district wishing to receive federal funding needed to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), the accompanying mandates made adherence to the requirements of IDEA far from voluntary.

The portion of a school district’s budget that goes toward meeting the requirements of IDEA continues to grow. At one time, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania reimbursed districts for all additional costs to serve special education students, but that has long since ceased. So in addition to being ill, Public Education was having difficulty meeting financial obligations for his own care.

The fifth affliction that he suffered was Pandering to the Vocal. In recent years, Public Education has been expected to be everything to everyone. If a small, vocal group of parents want a sport or an activity that their district does not provide, pressure, accompanied by the reminder that they are “taxpayers,” is placed on the Board to initiate it. Bowing to political pressure from their constituents or wishing to do what is politically correct, state legislators pass new laws that significantly hinder the abilities of districts to carry out their primary mission — the educating of their respective students. The federal government, in its attempt to fix the social problems in urban areas, pass laws that negatively affect even the most rural districts. Transporting private school students 10 miles beyond the district border, attempting to implement non-funded mandates, requiring prevailing wage regulations in school construction, and the recently launched provisions around Race to the Top are but four examples.

The sixth affliction that he suffered was the Politicizing of Public Education. How Public Education has been politicized is most demonstratively illustrated by the regulations surrounding cyber charter education. Since the passage of the Free School Act of 1834, parents in the Commonwealth have always had the right to choose to send their children to private school. Obviously, this was at the parents’ expense. Some parents choose to home school their children — also at their own expense. Public schools exist to educate the children whose parents choose that option.

Currently, school districts are responsible to pay the tuition for parents who choose to enroll their children in charter or cyber charter schools, costing even small districts a substantial piece of their budget for a private education. Charter schools and cyber charter schools are nothing more than a thinly veiled voucher plan or public choice plan that some legislators have attempted to initiate for the last 20years. Each time in the past, common sense won the day, and the effort was defeated. This time, the attempt was better choreographed, better cloaked, and more insidious.

In 2010, Public Education was put on life support. The only question that remained was whether he would pass away before his detractors, those responsible for his care, pulled the plug. Unfortunately, over the next few years with the Commonwealth’s paying a decreasing percentage of the cost of Public Education’s care, he was forced to slip away peacefully. Rest in peace, faithful friend. You will be missed by all, even by those whose actions—or lack of actions—have led to your demise.

Robert Frick is superintendent of schools for Lampeter-Strasburg School District.