A recent letter to the editor in another publication cites “declining academic performance among SCASD students” as a reason to support particular candidates for the State College Area School Board. But is there evidence to support the claim of academic decline? In fact, there is very little.
Like all school districts, SCASD has experienced impacts on learning as a result of COVID. However, evidence presented at a school board committee meeting on 9/22/21 showed that, overall, SCASD students scored above the national norms during the pandemic, and there was no indication of significant learning loss. When equivalent testing data was subsequently evaluated in November of 2022, there was some evidence of delayed pandemic-related effects. However, in general, students continued to score in the upper percentiles nationally. This more recent study demonstrates the importance of addressing the needs of subgroups of students from different demographic cohorts, some of whom are struggling.
Which candidates support what these students need? The Slate for State candidates: Bader, Brandt, Demo, Kolbe and Miller. They make up the slate that supports SCASD’s Educational Strategic Plan, a plan that is designed to foster equity and to address the needs of every student in a proactive way. It is vital that the needs of all students—no matter their demographic fit —be addressed.
Painting SCASD as a poorly performing district is just plain wrong. Can SCASD do better for struggling students? Absolutely. The Slate for State candidates are the ones who will meet the challenge of making all students a priority.
Linda Barton,
State College
Rater Demonstrates Progressive Democratic Values
I am writing to clarify some apparent confusion about the party affiliations of the candidates for Centre County Judge. Both Julia Rater and Gopal Balachandran are Democrats. Both candidates appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots, as often happens with a bipartisan position.
I support Julia Rater because she has the perfect experience and qualifications to be Judge, and she will act in that role using the law, not politics.
Julia Rater supports and enacts Democratic values. She is pro-choice, and an advocate for inclusion and equity. Through 27 years practicing law in Centre County, Julia has worked tirelessly to support our community and represent her clients.
For example:
Julia won a same-sex custody case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Julia represented a father in proceedings under the Hague Convention, recovering his child following abduction by the mother.
Julia successfully defended clients in all three state appeals courts.
Julia does pro bono work for and through many nonprofit organizations, including Strawberry Fields, Tides, Special Olympics and Centre County Bar Association.
Julia is trained and experienced in mediation and collaborative law.
Julia has done all this while raising three successful daughters.
Julia’s experience and commitment make her the perfect judge for the cases coming before the court (40% family law, 32% civil law, 28% criminal law).
Please join other Democrats – vote for Julia Rater on May 16.
Lassie MacDonald,
State College
Jim Jordan’s ‘Sham’
Under color of law, and on the shabby pretext of fighting crime in New York City, Jim Jordan and his band of MAGA neo-McCarthyites took its Off-Broadway act to the Big Apple. They attacked the rule of law, the grand jury, and career prosecutor Al Bragg for indicting Donald Trump for felony crimes—as if, for a change, the former President was to be held to the same standards as the rest of us.
The stunt was quickly exposed when their claim that crime had increased in NYC because Bragg has his priorities screwed up was totally debunked (homicides dropped 15% since Bragg took office.) They pointed out that Chairman Jordan’s home state of Ohio, whose district borders Columbus, the state capital, has a per capita murder rate three times that of NYC.
Game. Set. match.
Jordan and his gang of legislative thugs were interfering in a pending state court prosecution—and bordering on obstruction of justice.
And while the MAGAs harass Bragg, investigate Hunter Biden’s laptop, and chase after the mythical Deep State, they’ve done nothing to tackle our nation’s real problems, including crime, or to improve the lives of Americans.
This should come as no surprise since Chairman Jordan, for all his sound and fury, hasn’t been the primary sponsor of a single bill that has passed since arriving in Washington 16 years ago.
Chairman Jordan, a loud-mouthed paper tiger, feverishly pounds the table, because he can’t pound the facts, with the pretext of appropriate congressional oversight exposed as a sham.
Dean Phillips,
Ambler
Former State College resident and borough council member
