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Teacher evaluation changes could consider student performance
HARRISBURG — A new rating system for public school teachers is necessary to help students better achieve academically and financially, state Rep. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, says.
"We know there are many factors that influence academic success," Aument said during a Thursday hearing before the House Committee on Education, which is considering a bill that would overhaul the statewide evaluation system.
http://paindependent.com/2011/11/teacher-evaluation-changes-could-consider-student-performance/
Advocates promote importance of early education
Scranton Times-Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL (STAFF WRITER)
Published: November 4, 2011
Children who attend preschool come to kindergarten ready to learn - and less likely to be involved in crimes as they grow older. But cuts in federal funding threaten that progress, area educators and advocates from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Pennsylvania said Thursday at Scranton's John Adams Elementary School.
Officials from the crime-fighting group, a nonprofit organization composed of more than 220 law enforcement leaders who promote education as a public investment, are asking U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a member of the supercommittee created by the federal Budget Control Act, to avoid cuts to cost-effective programs such as preschool.
Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/advocates-promote-importance-of-early-education-1.1227736#ixzz1ckvfkpxh
The EDifier
NSBA's Center for Public Education November 4, 2011
The best early childhood education you can provide
What's the best early childhood combination communities can provide? Until now, research hasn't had an answer. Although there is a wealth of research on pre-k and on kindergarten, they have been examined mainly in isolation. The Center for Public Education's new report, "Starting Out Right," looks at the effect of various combinations of pre-k and kindergarten on third grade reading skills — a key predictor of future academic success. To read the report that's already making news, go here.
http://blog.centerforpubliceducation.org/2011/11/04/the-best-early-childhood-education-you-can-provide/
School Vouchers: No Clear Advantage in Academic Achievement
Posted: 7/27/11 01:10 PM ET
If vouchers don't lead to higher achievement for low-income students -- and test scores suggest they do not -- then that removes a major educational rationale for voucher programs.
In addition, the equity argument for vouchers is eroding in another respect. The new voucher programs are not focused on poor students. This year, the state of Indiana enacted a voucher program that is available to middle-income families. The state of Wisconsin has expanded eligibility for the Milwaukee voucher program to include higher-income families in suburban districts and Racine. Douglas County, Colorado, has outdone those two states and created a voucher program for students from families of any income level. Children of millionaires in Douglas County, as well as children of middle-income and poor families, will be able to use public tax dollars to pay for private school tuition in Colorado.
These actions show that the equity argument put forth in the late 1970s was successful in opening the doors for vouchers. The proponents of vouchers needed an appealing argument to overcome resistance to using public funds to send students to private schools. The focus was put on helping low-income children in inner cities to achieve at higher levels. Unfortunately this has not proven to be the case, but that argument did make vouchers more acceptable so that now they are expanding beyond inner-city, low-income students to children of middle class and upper income families.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-jennings/school-vouchers-no-academic-advantage_b_909735.html
Bill to boot some from Milwaukee voucher program approved by Assembly
By of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Madison -- The Assembly approved a bill Friday to kick bad actors out of the Milwaukee voucher school program. The measure passed 65-27 and now goes to Gov. Scott Walker. The Senate passed the bill last week.
The proposal would require the state schools superintendent to bar for seven years the leaders or owners who have been involved with a school that was kicked out of the program.
The measure also would allow the private schools receiving taxpayer money through the Milwaukee voucher program to charge certain fees to their students regardless of their family's income.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/133223148.html
Posted: Mon, Nov. 7, 2011, 3:00 AM
Now, for vouchers - Ackerman says school reform is new 'civil-rights movement'
BY MORGAN ZALOT, Philadelphia Daily News
THE CONTROVERSIAL reforms that Michelle Rhee pushed during her tumultuous tenure as public-schools leader in Washington, D.C., were hardly the last marks she'd make on U.S. public education. Since resigning last year, Rhee has pushed hard for school vouchers and merit pay for teachers, and has founded StudentsFirst, which pours money into lawmakers' coffers.
Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise then, that, after receiving a $905,000 buyout, Philadelphia's former schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman became a voucher proponent herself.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20111107_Now__for_vouchers_-_Ackerman_says_school_reform_is_new__civil-rights_movement_.html
Sound familiar? Pro-voucher Education-focused PAC with deep pockets backs N.J. candidates in both parties
November 03, 2011|By Joelle Farrell, Inquirer Staff Writer
This summer, it handed out 40,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in Camden and other low-income areas. This week, one of its founders promised to bail out an after-school program that was set to shutter after state funding cuts.
Now, Better Education for Kids (B4K), an organization bankrolled by two hedge-fund managers, is using its cash to help elect candidates who agree with its ideas on education, including tenure reform, voucher programs, and teacher merit pay.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-11-03/news/30355408_1_teacher-merit-largest-teachers-union-public-education
Use Education Voters PA website to contact your PA State Representatives asking them to oppose taxpayer funded vouchers:
For more info/background - PSBA's Tuition Voucher Issue Page
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