Thursday, June 2, 2011

Follow-up on Chester Upland, Privatizing PA Public Education and Vahan Gureghian

The Corbett transition team member who provided the most to Mr. Corbett -- $334,286 over the past three years -- was Vahan Gureghian, a Gladwyne lawyer who operates the state's largest charter school (Chester Community Charter School) and owns a billboard company.

How does the PSSA performance of the Chester Community Charter School compare with the six elementary schools in the Chester Upland School District?


Here's the link to yesterday's posting: "Want to know what privatizing public education might look like in Pennsylvania?"

Posted on Thu, Jun. 2, 2011
Chester Upland looking to community partnerships as it grapples with drastic budget cuts
By Dan Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer
In a spring when school districts across the region are digging deeper for spending cuts, the Chester Upland School District is considering a downright daunting move - shedding 40 percent of its teachers next school year.
Facing a budget reduction of almost 20 percent, the Delaware County district might also cut support staff 50 percent. The average class size would go from 21 to 35.

Posted on Fri, Apr. 8, 2011

Corbett suggests district mergers

The governor was defending his proposed cuts in state school aid.

By Timothy McNulty and Dan Hardy
PITTSBURGH - Gov. Corbett, defending his proposed cuts in education aid during a tour of a Clairton factory Thursday, said some of Pennsylvania's school districts should consider merging.

City teacher academy eliminated
Groundbreaking program would have groomed 38 for classroom
Thursday, June 02, 2011
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They touted it as a ground-breaking program designed to attract new and enthusiastic teachers to work in the city schools.
But now, just five weeks before it was to start, the Pittsburgh Teacher Academy -- which would pair the district's best teachers with competitive recruits to mentor them and prepare them for an urban classroom -- has been eliminated.

265 Allentown teachers get layoff notices

Job cuts, some of which could be restored, are part of Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak's Pathways to Success program.

By Steve Esack, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:05 p.m. EDT, June 1, 201
Allentown's layoffs are part of Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak's program of studies, which is based on his Pathways to Success vision. It focuses on raising test scores, reducing the number of dropouts and getting more high school students ready for college and the workforce.
To start his Pathways program, Zahorchak in February announced high school electives would be cut and honors programs converted into more Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes, the latter taught by college professors.

Missed Live from the Newsroom discussing school budgets?

Here is the replay

This week's edition of Live from the Newsroom again touched on something very close to our wallets, school budgets and property taxes.
Danielle Lynch and Phil Heron of the Daily Times were joined by Linda Cook, president of the Southeastern Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and Larry Feinberg, chairman of the Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council and member of the Haverford School Board.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/06/02/opinion/doc4de5189b51141976274633.txt


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