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Education
Voters PA Call-to-Action for Public Education - May 23rd
Posted by Ian
Moran on May 1, 2012 at 12:36pm
Education Voters will be
coordinating another statewide Call to Action for Public Education on May 23rd.
This will really be crunch time for state budget negotiations and it's more
important than ever that our policymakers in Harrisburg
Full details HERE: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/statewide-call...
Email from Senator Andy Dinniman, April 25, 2012
Rally in Support of Public Education on Thursday, May 3 at 7 p.m.
Rally in Support of Public Education on Thursday, May 3 at 7 p.m.
on
the steps of the Chester County Courthouse (corner of High and Market Streets)
in West Chester . The rally is rain or
shine.
1,000 gather to protest proposed school cuts in Upper Darby School District
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Delco Times By LINDA REILLY Times Correspondent, llreilly1@gmail.com
UPPER DARBY — A crowd of
almost 1,000 people filled the courtyard outside the Upper Darby Performing
Arts Center as a show of solidarity in their quest to restore special courses
in elementary schools and foreign language and technology in middle schools.
Guest Column: The Upper Darby School District
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Delco Times Opinion By Joseph Batory Times Guest Columnist
Joe Batory is a former
Upper Darby Superintendent
The drastic reduction of instructional subsidy funding
initiated by Governor Corbett for this current year and as proposed for next
year are without any sense of vision or leadership. Corbett’s budgets will
ultimately create long term negative impacts for hundreds of Pennsylvania Harrisburg
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012
The
$40 billion+ Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System has cut
its investment-profits target to 7.5%, from its previous 8%, in an admission
that the bull markets of the 1980s and 1990s aren't likely to come back anytime
soon.
Press Release May 2, 2012 State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne
Browne, Mundy lead call to adequately
fund early childhood education programs
HARRISBURG, May 2 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy and state Sen.
Pat Browne today co-hosted a news conference where legislators, a business
leader, a law enforcement official and advocates discussed the importance of
early childhood education and the need for the state to adequately fund those
programs. Mundy, who serves as co-chair
of the 102-member bi-partisan, bi-cameral Early Childhood Education Caucus
along with Browne, said programs that ensure children get a good start on life
are too important to be cut.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 02, 2012
The Triadvocate
Business Tax Cuts vs. Spending Cuts
The Department of
Revenue had barely gotten the words “improving revenue collections” out to the
masses when talk at the State Capitol immediately turned to what kind of budget
cut restorations lawmakers could make in the coming two months. The budget proposed by Governor Tom Corbett
was based upon an assumed fiscal year shortfall of $700 million.
That number now looks
to be a little closer to $350 million, which is a much more manageable figure
for budget analysts to handle when cobbling together the fiscal year 2012-2013
state budget. We know where the proposed
cuts are, and we know how much they are worth.
And very soon, we’ll know how much money the state will have to spend.
“In its 2011 report, the National Academy
of Sciences committee that Congress commissioned to review the nature and
implications of America
A testing culture out of control
A testing culture out of control
The joy of learning is gone from our kids'
schools
OPINION BY LISA COWAN AND COLEEN MINGO / NEW YORK
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 , 4:51 AM
After months of
studying, stressing and — yes — some crying, our kids are finally done with this
year’s state English Language Arts and math exams. This happens every year, and
each year seems more intense than the last.
But after all the fuss
and agony to rate our kids, their teachers and their schools, what have our
children really learned? If your kids
are anything like our kids, they’ve learned more about pressure and bureaucracy
than math and English.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/a-testing-culture-control-article-1.1070865#ixzz1tkUeqFno
“The fact that many state charter laws and federal regulatory
references to charter schools refer to them as “public” is a hollow
proclamation that has little legal or practical bearing on the more nuanced
distinctions I address here. Those who
casually (belligerently & ignorantly) toss around the rhetoric that
“charters are public schools” need to stop. This rhetoric misinforms parents,
teachers and taxpayers regarding their rights, assumptions and expectations.”
Charter Schools Are… [Public? Private? Neither? Both?]
School Finance 101
Blog by Bruce D. Baker Posted on May 2, 2012
…Directly Publicly Subsidized, Limited Public
Access, Publicly or Privately Authorized, Publicly or Privately Governed,
Managed and Operated Schools
Betsy
Devos’ American Federation for Children contributed $1.2 million to the
Students First PA PAC for Pennsylvania 2012 primary races. Students First, in turn, contributed $350,000
of that to the Citizens Alliance for Pennsylvania
Knowles Seeks to Rally GOP Against CAP
PoliticsPA Written by
Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor
The reports are still
out, but the Citizens Alliance for Pennsylvania
Rahm Emanuel Considers Closing 100 Chicago Public Schools
[This article was
syndicated via RSS from . The views represented do not necessarily represent
those of the Chicago Daily Observer.]
A source with close
ties to Chicago 's public education establishment
has confirmed that Rahm Emanuel may close 100 Chicago
“Wherever
you see states expanding vouchers, charters, and other forms of privatization, wherever you see
states lowering standards for entry into the teaching profession, wherever you
see states opening up new opportunities for profit-making entities, wherever
you see the expansion of for-profit online charter schools, you are likely to
find legislation that echoes the ALEC model.”
Ravitch: A primer on the
group driving school reform
By
This was written
by education historian Diane
Ravitch for her Bridging
Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education
Week website. The item was first published on May 1. In their blog, Ravitch and
Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a
research professor at New York University, is author of “The Death and Life of
the Great American School
Dear Deborah,
Since the 2010 elections, when Republicans took
control of many states, there has been an explosion of legislation advancing
privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job protections and
collective bargaining rights. Even some Democratic governors, seeing the strong
rightward drift of our politics, have jumped on the right-wing bandwagon,
seeking to remove any protection for academic freedom from public school
teachers.
Published on Sunday, April 29, 2012
by Common Dreams
How to Destroy Education While Making a Trillion Dollars
by Robert Freeman
The Vietnam War
produced more than its share of iconic idiocies. Perhaps the most revelatory
was the psychotic assertion of an army major explaining the U.S.
PA
Senate Education Committee to Hold Hearing on Non-Partisan School
See agenda at: http://piccola.org/press/2012/0512/050312.htm
Education Talk Radio: At the Chalkface
Listen
online; One hour talk show dedicated to education.
SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 9am
Hosts
Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson cover the biggest issues in education, from standardized
testing to No Child Left Behind.
If
you want a text reminder
send "CHALK" TO THE NUMBER 60193."
Audio
clips of prior shows are available too.
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETS
Here are more than 400 articles since
January 23rd detailing budget cuts, program cuts, staffing cuts and
tax increases being discussed by local school districts
The PA House Democratic Caucus has been tracking daily press coverage on
school district budgets statewide:
http://www.pahouse.com/school_funding_2011cuts.asp?utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pahouse.com%2fschool_funding_2011cuts.asp&utm_campaign=Crisis+in+Public+Education
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
PA Partnerships for
Children – Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The governor’s budget plan cuts funding for proven
programs like Child Care Works, Keystone STARS and the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship
program, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance
Program. These are among the most cost-effective
investments we can make in education. Gov. Corbett’s budget plan also runs counter
to a pledge he made when he ran for governor in 2010. He acknowledged the
benefits of early childhood education and promised to increase funding to
double the number of children who would benefit from early learning
opportunities.
We need your help to tell lawmakers: if you cut
these programs – you close the door to early learning! Click here to tell your state legislators to fund early childhood education programs
at the same level they approved for this year’s budget.
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?
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