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
In Texas , a revolt brews
against standardized testing
More than 100 school districts in Texas have passed a
resolution saying that high-stakes standardized tests are “strangling” public
schools, the latest in a series of events that are part of a brewing revolt in
the state where the test-centric No Child Left Behind was born.
Read
the full sample resolution here: http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2012/03/texas-school-boards-sample-anti-testing.html
Texas resolution goes nationwide
The total confirmed
number of Texas districts that have adopted
the board resolution concerning high stakes, standardized testing of Texas public school
students is now 123. But the effort is spreading beyond Texas . The Community District Education
Council 30 in Queens , New York
unanimously passed a nearly identical resolution at a board meeting last night
– essentially substituting New York for Texas . The council said
they hope other New York City
area districts will adopt similar resolutions.
FOLLOW THE VOUCHER MONEY:
Students First PAC from 1/2/12 - 3/5/12
A total of $1 Million in
out-of-state money was received during the reporting period from Betsy Devos’ American Federation for
Children in two payments of $500K
each on 2/21/12 and 3/2/12.
Contributions totaling just over $590K were recorded during the period.
It is notable that
Students First is supporting voucher proponent Fatimah Muhammad who is
challenging Jim Roebuck in the Democratic Primary for the 188th District. Roebuck is a 24 year
incumbent who is House Education Committee Minority Chairman and has been a
strong opponent of taxpayer-funded school vouchers.
Letter
from the Editor: Clippers outshine district’s imperfections
Delco Times By PHIL
HERON editor@delcotimes.com
Perfection.
That’s not a word often associated with theChester Upland
School District .
It is today.
That’s not a word often associated with the
It is today.
Stand Up for Public Education!
Wed., April 11, 2012 7:00 pm Town Hall Meeting on Education at Bucknell University
Meeting with legislators from Columbia , Northumberland,
Montour, Snyder & Union counties
Where:
The Forum, Room 272, Elaine
Langone Center
Bucknell University
701 Moore Avenue Lewisburg , PA 17837
7
p.m. – School directors and administrators meet with legislators (PSBA
Legislative Meeting)
7:30
p.m. – Town Hall Meeting on Education – Please invite your PTO/PTA and other
parent/ community groups to join us!
The
purpose of the 7 p.m. meeting is for school directors and administrators to
discuss the impact of the governor’s 2011-12 budget proposal on their school
districts. At 7:30 p.m., the meeting will be open to all interested parents and
other members of the community who would like to come out in support of their
public schools and ask their legislators to take their message back to Harrisburg .
Please
RSVP By April 4, to Kathy Swope, PSBA Region 6 director, at (570) 523-3336 or email swope@ptd.net
Stand Up for Public Education!
Thursday April 12th,
7:00 pm Allegheny County
Legislative Forum
WHERE: North Hills Senior High School 53 Rochester
Road Pittsburgh, PA 15229
WHEN: Thursday, April
12, 2012 @ 7:00pm
REGISTER for this event: NorthernAreaLegislativeForum.eventbrite.com
All public
education stakeholders are invited to this special event, which will be
moderated by the League of Women Voters.
Join us on Thursday, April 12th at North
Hills Senior
High School at 7PM
for an evening with several key state legislators from Allegheny County
and other education experts who will help explain local impacts. State
Representatives and Senators representing surrounding school districts have
been invited to attend and discuss their positions on public education as they
head into negotiations over next year’s budget.
Please
join EPLC this Wednesday, March 28, 8:00
am at the Harrisburg
Hilton for breakfast and discussion about the Arts and Education Initiative's
(AEI's) new policy report: Creating PA's Future through the Arts and
Education.
Hear from AEI staff and
Study Group members and share about plans for advocacy in 2012. Breakfast
begins at 8 am and the
program starts at 8:30 am .
This EPLC program is free of charge, but online registration is required:
To learn more about the Arts
and Education Initiative (AEI) and to read the new policy report, please visit www.aei-pa.org.
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.
Luzerne County :
Wyoming Area
considers school closings
Citizens VOice BY BILL
WELLOCK (STAFF WRITER) Published: March 23, 2012
At Thursday's public
hearing on the possibility of closing Sarah
J. Dymond
Elementary School or John F. Kennedy Elementary School ,
the school board listened first to a contracted accountant on the district
financial situation and the superintendent before giving the floor to parent
after parent who urged the board to keep all the district's schools open.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/wyoming-area-considers-school-closings-1.1289500#ixzz1pwel3pp6
fotto@journalregister.com
Posted: 03/22/12
05:47 pm
PHOENIXVILLE
— The Phoenixville Area School District’s proposed budget for the 2012-13
school year continues to fall as items are trimmed and re-evaluated.
The
original proposed tax increase of 5.08 percent has been reduced to roughly 2.34
percent as of this month. Last month, the proposed tax increase had been
reduced to 3.89 percent. Stan Johnson, the district’s executive director of
operations, and members of the business office presented the board with an
update on their findings Tuesday that included a look into the district’s past
and future five-year trends.
http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120322/NEWS01/120329818/phoenixville-school-board-shaves-tax-hike-in-half&pager=full_story
Posted:
Friday, March 23,
2012 5:00 am
PhillyBurbs.com
By DANNY ADLER Staff writer
Kampf’s
Proposed Prevailing Wage Reform Legislation (HB709) Brings Union Pickets to
Paoli
Community Matters Blog Posted on March 22nd, 2012
8:20 AM by Pattye Benson
Anyone
that follows Community Matters knows that I am a Wegmans fan but after my
experience yesterday, I may find myself shopping at the Acme in Paoli more
often.
Around 3 PM on Wednesday, as I left Acme
there was a large organized group of men in the parking lot changing into
identical white t-shirts, many with signs and American flags.
The week in blogs:
Alleviating poverty, improving schools
NSBA’s School Board News
by Lawrence Hardy March
26, 2012
Does “family income
itself” determine whether or not a child learns? That’s what progressive
educators believe, charges Harvard Professor Paul Peterson in a recent piece
for Education Next.
Of course, Peterson is distorting the views of those in the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education coalition, who say that out-of-school
factors such a child’s health, nutrition, safety, and housing – all of which
are influenced by alack of adequate income — can have a big
impact on that child’s ability to achieve in school. Therefore, they say,
we as a society need to address these out-of-school concerns.
Teachers and Parents Prepare to Occupy the Department of
Education
Education
Week Living in Dialogue Blog by Anthony Cody March 22, 2012
Last summer many of us marched to protest the US
Department of Education's policies at the Save Our Schools march in Washington, DC. While there, I met two activists, Pennsylvania parent Tim Slekar and Florida teacher Ceresta Smith. They are now
working to organize an "occupation"
of the Department of Education, beginning next Friday, March 30.
Here is what they have to say.
Has your board considered this draft resolution yet?
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
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 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:
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