Category: State Government Actions

PA Ed. Secretary Highlights Safe Return to Schools During U.S. Education Secretary Tour; Students and School Communities Encouraged to Get COVID-19 Vaccine (August 10, 2021)

State Education Secretary Highlights Safe Return to Schools During U.S. Education Secretary Tour; Students and School Communities Encouraged to Get COVID-19 Vaccine (August 10, 2021)

On August 10, 2021, PA Secretary of Education Dr. Noe Ortega joined U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona at Donegan Elementary School and Northampton Community College, both in Bethlehem, PA, to highlight plans in place and resources available to support a safe return to classrooms. The secretaries toured the schools and met with staff and educators as Pennsylvania prepares for the upcoming school year.

“I cannot be more appreciative of the hard work educators and school communities have done to support our students across the commonwealth,” said Secretary Noe Ortega. “We remain committed to doing everything we can to help schools create healthy and safe conditions for the upcoming academic year. We are so pleased that Secretary Cardona visited Pennsylvania schools today to see how we are making these efforts possible.”

While at Donegan Elementary School, Secretary Ortega also highlighted the $416 million increase in state education funding in the state budget, including the new Level Up initiative that provides $100 million for some of the most underfunded school districts in Pennsylvania. The Bethlehem School District will receive a $3.46 million increase in state funding this school year, including $1.6 million in Level Up support. Donegan Elementary School is a part of the Bethlehem Area School District.

In April, Secretary Cardona visited Philadelphia area schools and commended the Pennsylvania Department of Education on the Wolf administration’s special initiative that vaccinated more than 112,500 teachers and staff in three weeks. The administration supports efforts to vaccinate eligible students age 12 and up across the commonwealth.

The secretaries’ visit comes after the approval of Pennsylvania’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan to use the remaining $1.6 billion in one-time, emergency federal relief to support the long-term work of education recovery. At the end of March, the Wolf Administration announced nearly $5 billion in ARP ESSER federal COVID-19 relief for Pre-K-12 schools. These funds will bolster schools and districts to return to in-person instruction. Each entity will receive an amount proportional to the federal Title I-A funds received in 2020 under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Schools must use at least 20 percent of this money to address learning loss and the social, emotional, and academic needs of underrepresented students, including students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. Additional information on the allocation of funds can be found on PDE’s website. Last week, the USDE released its Return to School Roadmap to support school communities in preparing for the 2021-22 school year. Throughout the 2020-21 school year, PDE regularly provided technical assistance and guidance to LEAs to support instruction while navigating the pandemic. This included through the PDE online resource, the Roadmap for Educational Leaders. PDE will continue to support LEAs as they prepare for and navigate the upcoming school year. This includes through the latest chapter of PDE’s Roadmap for Education Leaders; Accelerated Learning through an Integrated System of Support. This toolkit includes a professional learning series for school leaders and educators to help address students’ learning loss and other issues caused by the pandemic.

PDE Announces RTL Grants Now Open (August 7, 2021)

On August, 6, 2021, the PA Department of Education (PDE) released a PennLink to school district superintendents and charter school chief school administrators titled 2021-22 PA Ready to Learn Block Grant (RTL) Application Open in eGrants stating that PDE has released the 2021-22 Ready to Learn (RTL) application in eGrants and all eligible school entities (school districts, eligible charter schools, and eligible cyber charter schools) may apply. The submission deadline is November 30, 2021. 
 
The 2021-22 RTL Block Grant appropriation is $268 million, equivalent to the amount appropriated for the 2020-21 school year. RTL grants are to assist students enrolled in the commonwealth’s school districts and charter schools with attaining or maintaining academic performance targets. The purpose of this email is to inform eligible school entities how to apply for RTL funding.
 
School entities should file an application on PDE’s eGrants system for RTL funding. The application is accessible under the heading Ready to Learn. If a school entity RTL contact does not have an eGrants user ID and password, the school entity’s federal programs coordinator or person who has completed federal grants on the PDE site has the ability as a user/administrator to add the RTL contact as a user.
 
The 2021-22 RTL Grant Guidelines are posted online: http://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Finances/Pages/Ready-to-Learn%20Block%20Grant.aspx
 
To confirm the amount of your school entity’s RTL allocation for the 2021-22 school year, visit PDE’s website: https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Finances/Education%20Budget/Pages/default.aspx. Click on 2021-2022 Ready to Learn Block Grant to open a spreadsheet containing the list of allocations for all eligible districts and charter schools. Eligible school entities will receive 50 percent of funding upon submitting their application in eGrants and the balance following PDE’s approval of their application.

A final expenditure report for 2021-22 RTL grant funding will open Monday, June 28, 2022, and must be entered in eGrants by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2022.
 
For questions concerning RTL, contact Jim Towse: (717) 783-9542 or mailto:[email protected]

Educational Gratuity Program Offers Financial Assistance to Eligible Children of Veterans (August 6, 2021)

As the school year approaches, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) wants eligible children of veterans to know that the Educational Gratuity Program provides financial assistance for those attending post-high school education or training at an approved institution in the Commonwealth.

“We recognize that COVID-19 has posed financial challenges for many of us and that includes the military community,” said Brig. Gen. (PA) Maureen Weigl, deputy adjutant general of Veterans Affairs. “That is why we like to remind veterans and their family members of financial assistance they might be eligible to receive, such as Educational Gratuity. We encourage everyone who meets the criteria to apply for this benefit now.”

The program supports children of honorably discharged veterans who have 100% service-connected disabilities and served during a period of war or armed conflict, or children of veterans who die or died in service during a period of war or armed conflict. To be eligible, a child of a veteran must be between the ages of 16 and 23, living within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania five years prior to application and must attend a school within the commonwealth. All applicants must have a financial need.

Payments will not exceed $500 per term or semester per qualified child to each approved educational institution over a total of eight terms or semesters.

To apply, contact the County Veterans Affairs Director in the county you reside.

“Connecting veterans to the programs and services they have earned through their service is our goal,” Weigl added.

For more information about the program’s criteria, eligibility and needed documentation, go to Educational Gratuity Program

Wolf Administration Awards Over $7 Million to 288 Elementary Schools for Health Foods (August 4, 2021)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced today that 288 elementary schools will receive grants totaling more than $7 million to provide students with fresh fruit and vegetable snacks during the school day.

“Healthy, nutritious meals are essential to a child’s growth and success,” said Education Secretary Noe Ortega. “These fresh food grants will help ensure students have access to fresh produce that they may not be introduced to otherwise, while also supporting their physical and academic growth.

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). The program’s goals are to create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices, expand the variety of fruits and vegetables students experience, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and positively impact students’ present and future health. The FFVP was implemented in Pennsylvania in 2004 and is now available in all 50 states.

Funding priority is given to the schools with the highest rates of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Grantees are required to spend most of their grant on the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetables and must develop a plan to establish partnerships to reduce other costs. Schools are also required to provide nutrition education to students but cannot use FFVP funding to purchase nutrition education materials.

“The fresh fruit and vegetable program provides young students exposure to fresh fruits and vegetables that may otherwise not have the opportunity, and provides them a healthy snack at the same time,” said State Director of Child Nutrition Programs under the Division of Food and Nutrition, Vonda Ramp M.S., R.D. “We are delighted to provide this opportunity to the awarded schools.”

During his tenure, Governor Wolf has made combating hunger a priority. In 2015 he established the Food Security Partnership, a group comprised of the secretaries of the departments of Aging, Agriculture, Community and Economic Development, Education, Health, and Human Services; unveiled the commonwealth’s food security plan – Setting the Table: A Blueprint for a Hunger-free PA 2016; and introduced the Governor’s School Breakfast Initiative in 2017.   For a list of the 2021 grant recipients, visit PDE’s School Nutrition Programs website.

PA Schools Look to Opening Schools with an Eye on CDC Recommendations (August 4, 2021)

In light of the most recent recommendations for schools as the prepare to re-open, schools throughout the Commonwealth are considering how they will handle updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that advocate for face masks for all students, whether or not they have been vaccinated. The recommendations are in response to a surge in new cases spawned by the highly contagious delta variant.

In an interview with the PennLive/The Patriot-News editorial board on Wednesday, August 4th, PA Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the state is following the CDC’s lead and is recommending schools require face masks. The state is also weighing whether to make additional recommendations to help ensure student safety while keeping schools open.

Beam also stressed the importance of measures such as social distancing. And, although still being finalized, the state is looking to provide for quick testing of students and staff with the goal of heading off outbreaks that could close schools. School district participation will be optional, and the federal government will provide the funding.

For more from PennLive /The Patriot-News , click here.