Daily postings
from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1500
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy
organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Report by Harrisburg-based nonprofit calls for more focus on the arts
Published:
Wednesday, March
14, 2012 , 10:59
Arts education in Pennsylvania
The 44-page analysis, titled “Creating Pennsylvania’s Future Through the
Arts and Education,” was issued Wednesday by the Education Policy and Leadership Center
The full EPLC
Arts and Education Report can be found online at www.aei-pa.org.
Early Reading
More than 100 cities, towns, and counties have pledged to improve literacy among their youngest citizens as part
of a national campaign called the Campaign
for Grade-Level Reading.
To be part of the network, communities had to
submit detailed plans for how they will get children on track to be grade-level
readers by the end of the 3rd grade, the crucial point at which students shift
from learning to read to reading to learn.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2012/03/early_reading_skills_are_focus_in_more_than_100_cities.html
“Now, a mounting chorus of school administrators, educators
and parents is speaking out against a system in which they say testing has
eclipsed teaching.
At least 40 school boards across the state, including those
in Friendswood, Clear Creek, Alvin and Dickinson, have taken a public stand by
passing a resolution decrying the "over reliance on standardized, high-stakes
testing" that is "strangling our public schools." Many others,
including Humble and Crosby , plan to consider
the resolution at their next school board meeting.
The Texas Parents Opt Out movement is encouraging
parents to keep their children home from school on testing days, and the State Board of Education has scheduled an April 18 public hearing on testing.”
Texas School
Houston
Updated
07:11 a.m., Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The backlash began
brewing long before Texas
For years, murmurs
of discontent have stirred among teachers tired of devoting class time to test
preparation, school administrators saddled by legislative mandates, parents
anxious about an increasing focus on high-stakes assessments.
Now, a mounting
chorus of school administrators, educators and parents is speaking out against
a system in which they say testing has eclipsed teaching.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/School-officials-High-stakes-tests-failing-3398501.php#src=fb
Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed changes
to Keystone Exams gets mostly thumbs down at hearing
Published:
Wednesday, March
14, 2012 , 2:26 pm
Gov.
Tom Corbett's proposal to
make passage of three course-specific Keystone Exams a state requirement for
high school graduation, starting with the Class of 2017, is drawing opposition
from a variety of corners. Educators
fear it will lead to further narrowing of the curriculum to focus predominantly
on the subjects to be tested: language arts, Algebra I and Biology.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH
14, 2012
Commonwealth Common Sense Blog by Rep. Mike Sturla
Does your local school district make the list....
Is your local school district among those cut at least 10x more per
student than two of the wealthiest districts in Pennsylvania
School
resources shrinking statewide in Pa.
By Pocono Record Writer March 09, 2012
Staff cuts in the hundreds, the
closure of school buildings, the elimination of elective courses and field
trips — it's the new reality for Pocono schools, parents and students.
Extreme? Yes.
Unusual? No, not considering recent,
unprecedented cuts to education funding, say Pennsylvania
WE'RE NOT ALONE
The Pennsylvania
Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School
Business Officials conducted a survey in August of how the state's 500 school
districts were affected by budget cuts. Of the 500 districts, 59 percent
responded:
- 70 percent of school districts
increased class sizes above what they were in the 2010-11 school year.
- 58 percent delayed purchases of
technology, such as computers.
- 55 percent indicated they
reduced or eliminated student field trips.
- 44 percent reduced elective
courses not required for graduation, such as foreign languages, arts,
music, physical education and even some core subjects, such as math,
English, sciences and social studies.
- Nearly 35 percent reduced or
eliminated programs providing tutoring for struggling students.
- Nearly 33 percent indicated
they had reduced or eliminated extracurricular activities, including
sports programs.
- Almost 20 percent eliminated
their summer school programs, in which students can make up the necessary
credits to allow them to graduate on time.
- Four school districts
eliminated full-day kindergarten, and nine reduced their full-day
kindergarten programs.
The Old Divide and Conquer
Tactic
Yinzercation Blog — MARCH 14, 2012
“We are reducing the funding in education
because we do not have the money — it’s that simple,” Governor Corbett said
Monday. He was speaking about the cuts to public higher education, but he could
have just as easily been speaking about the draconian cuts to pre-K and K-12.
We’ve heard precious
little about the state education budget crisis from Governor Corbett himself.
Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis and others have been quoted frequently of
late trying to explain how, in their view, the $1 BILLION reduction to public
schools has actually been an increase. (To which we say, “Enough with the Spreadsheet Debates.”) But now Gov. Corbett
appears to be trying a new (very old) tactic: divide and conquer.
Shell games
Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster Mar 13, 2012 04:31
Shell games
If you've ever been to a carnival or fair, you've undoubtedly seen the shell-game sideshow. You know, the one in which the peanut is placed beneath a shell and the handler moves it quicker than the eye can follow.
The shell game is a good analogy for Gov. Tom Corbett's education budget although, as you will read, it's not all his fault.
The governor hiked state funding by $338.1 million, or 3.7 percent. Given the state ofPennsylvania
But a closer look reveals that most of the money — $319 million of the $338.1 million — is designated to cover mandated increases in teacher retirement costs. That leaves a paltry $19 million increase for instructional purposes to be split among 500 school districts.
If you've ever been to a carnival or fair, you've undoubtedly seen the shell-game sideshow. You know, the one in which the peanut is placed beneath a shell and the handler moves it quicker than the eye can follow.
The shell game is a good analogy for Gov. Tom Corbett's education budget although, as you will read, it's not all his fault.
The governor hiked state funding by $338.1 million, or 3.7 percent. Given the state of
But a closer look reveals that most of the money — $319 million of the $338.1 million — is designated to cover mandated increases in teacher retirement costs. That leaves a paltry $19 million increase for instructional purposes to be split among 500 school districts.
Cyber-school kids truant, failing, and teachers have
been dumped
BY DAVID GAMBACORTA Daily News Staff Writer Posted: Wed, Mar. 14, 2012 , 3:01 AM
IT ALL SOUNDED so good on paper: a "global high school of the 21st
century," a cyber school that would teach about 300 students two languages
and keep them constantly engaged in learning.
That was how John Craig pitched the Frontier Virtual
Charter High
School
Frontier opened in the fall. It fell apart before the spring.
No Funds Left Behind
As states slash education
budgets, private foundations have picked up the slack—and pushed some
controversial reforms. It’s a story
being repeated across the country. With most states cutting school funding,
Gates and other private foundations are wielding outsize influence over public
education, using their much-sought-after millions to fund and shape a top-down
reform agenda. Like the other major (but smaller) players, the Eli and Edythe
Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, Gates uses its funds to
encourage public schools to adopt a more corporate approach. The three
foundations, which in 2009 gave around $560 million in education-related
grants, support creating charters to foster competition between local schools,
rewarding or punishing teachers for their students’ performance on standardized
tests, and replacing local curricula with national standards.
Listen! Youth Produced Radio about Public Education
On
Blast is the youth-produced radio show of the Philadelphia Student
Union. This show is created by high school students
who are actively organizing to improve public education. Subscribe to the
On Blast podcast to have the latest shows sent to your iTunes.
On this month's
30-minute show:
Students from across PA unite against education
budget cuts.
Experts share insights on how to create
nonviolent schools.
Philly teachers banned from administering PSSA
test to their own students.
Young people are growing the Food Justice
movement in Philly.
Plus music and other news.
The
Education Committee of the League of Women Voters of Chester County
March 19th LWV Chester
County
PA Auditor
General Jack Wagner
Monday
March 19th 6:30 pm
at Stetson Middle
School , West Chester
Location: Stetson Middle School Auditorium
The Auditor General will speak to the public followed by Q & A Session.
The Auditor General will speak to the public followed by Q & A Session.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Panel: Unpacking the PA School Budget: What
Does This Mean for Me?
March 29, 2012 from 5:30pm
to 8pm at Arcadia University
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Join us for a panel discussion that
will delve into details of the Commonwealth's School Budget as announced by the
Governor in February 2012. This event
will tell you how the budget will affect your schools, community, and children.
Host: Dr. Bruce Campbell,
Coordinator, Educational Leadership Master's Program, Arcadia University
Moderator: Baruch Kintisch, Director
of Policy Advocacy and Senior Staff Attorney, Education Law
Center
Panelists:
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent,Lower Merion
School District
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent,
Art Haywood, President, Board of
Commissioners, Cheltenham Township
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu
March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the
April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the direction of
education policy in Pennsylvania
The
last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012. Make sure that you, your family, friends,
neighbors and co-workers are all registered to vote in the April 24th
Pennsylvania Primary. Ask your incumbent
state representative and state senator for their positions on public
education. Let them know how important
these issues are to you. Forward this
reminder to any and all public education stakeholders.
Education Voters PA –
Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process,
but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in standing
up for our priorities. Last year, public outcry helped prevent nearly
$300 million in additional cuts. We heard from the Governor, and we know
where he stands. Now, we
need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our schools?
PSBA Sample Board
Resolution regarding the budget
Please consider bringing this sample resolution to
the members of your board.
http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/state-budget/Budget_resolution-02212012.doc
PSBA officer applications due by March 31
PSBA Website 3/12/2012
Candidates seeking election to PSBA officer posts in 2013 must file an
expression of interest for the office desired to be interviewed by the PSBA
Nominating Committee. Deadline for filing is March 31. For more info and forms:
PA House Democratic
Caucus Website
UPDATED DAILY –
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUDGETS
The PA House Democratic Caucus has begun daily tracking of press coverage
on school district budgets statewide:
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