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.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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on Twitter at @lfeinberg
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Your Calendars…
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 are hearing from us about why we
NEED them to support public education. Please share this with your friends,
family, neighbors, colleagues and networks!
Full details HERE: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/statewide-call...
More tax income may soften Pa.
budget cuts
By Karen Langley / Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
Diverse groups converge
on Harrisburg
to protest Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget cuts
Published:
Tuesday, May 01,
2012 , 9:57 PM
Updated: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 , 10:17
PM
In a year when the proposed state budget makes cuts in so many places, there’s a lot of unhappiness to go around.
Posted: Wed, May. 2,
2012, 3:01 AM
Philadelphia school official says that without more cash,
classrooms might not open in the fall
By Kristen A. Graham Inquirer
Staff Writer
The Philadelphia School
District 's financial situation is so dire that without
a $94 million cash infusion from a proposed city property-reassessment plan,
schools might not be able to open in the fall, leaders said Tuesday night. At a district budget hearing, chief recovery
officer Thomas Knudsen stressed that the district might fall off "the
cliff on which we now stand so precariously" if swift action is not taken.
“A typical 5-year-old who
entered the New York City
public school system when the lawsuit started in 1993 was, according to that
case, destined to receive a substandard education. And for that child's entire
public school career, New York
state fought to keep it that way.
Multiply that by the more
than 1 million children in that one public school system alone over the course
of 13 years, and you start to see how many losers this case truly had —
including a society that will pay the price for citizens unprepared to fully
participate in it.”
Editorial: Sorry, kids, can't afford you
Albany NY Times-Union, Published
08:23 p.m., Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sometimes the winners in a lawsuit are also the losers, and they
lose long before the judge renders a decision in their supposed favor.
So it was for millions of New
York City children in a lawsuit brought in 1993 by the
Campaign for Fiscal Equity. It took eight years for a court to find that,
indeed, New York state had been shortchanging city schools on education aid,
failing to meet its obligation under the state constitution: to provide all
children with "a sound, basic education."
Here’s an internet ad that
you paid for touting K12’s Agora
Cyber Charter
School , which has never
made AYP:
K12
Charter Schools
Your Child Deserves an Outstanding Education, Discover K12 Today.
www.K12.com/Pennsylvania
Your Child Deserves an Outstanding Education, Discover K12 Today.
www.K12.com/Pennsylvania
In 2006
Agora’s AYP status according to PDE was “warning”
In 2007,
“School Improvement 1”
In 2008,
“School Improvement 2”
In 2009,
“Corrective Action 1”
In 2010,
“Corrective Action 2 (First Year)”
In 2011,
“Corrective Action 2 (second Year)”
This is not
atypical for Pennsylvania ’s
cyber charters; 8 out of 12 have never made AYP.
In 2011 it
was reported that Agora provided $72 million in revenue for K12, more than 10%
of K12’s revenue.
In addition to
funding the advertising, your tax dollars also helped pay their CEO a $5
million bonus for 2011. K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN) said it paid $5 million in total compensation to CEO Ronald Packard for the
fiscal year 2011, compared with $2.67
million in the
previous year, according to an amended SEC filing.
BTW, since
they are so effective at generating revenue in spite of their questionable
academic performance, seven new cybercharters are expected to open in
Pennsylvania in September 2012.
Here are a few related
links:
Shareholder lawsuit accuses K12 Inc. of
misleading investors ...
www.washingtonpost.com/...k12.../gIQAGOXRfQ_blog.html
Education Week: K12 Inc.'s
Public Status and Growth Attract Scrutiny
www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/22/21k12.h31.html
K12 (company) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K12_(company)
Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in
Classrooms ...
PA Auditor General’s Office: Taxpayers and school districts could have
saved approximately $86 million in 2009-2010 if cybers received funding based
on what they spent per student.
PA Cyber Charter PSSA AYP Status 2007 - 2011 from PDE
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/11/pa-cyber-charter-pssa-ayp-2007-2011.html
Education Policy and
PA Senate Education Committee
Public
hearing on non-partisan school board elections
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 1:00 PM
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.
Email from Senator Andy Dinniman,April 25, 2012
Dear Friends,
A number of you have sent me letters and emails expressing your concerns regarding education fiunding and Governor Corbett’s proposed cuts to education in next year’s budget.
Email from Senator Andy Dinniman,
Dear Friends,
A number of you have sent me letters and emails expressing your concerns regarding education fiunding and Governor Corbett’s proposed cuts to education in next year’s budget.
First, let me emphasize that I
share your concerns and I stand strongly against such significant and
widespread cuts to education. Cutting support for early childhood and basic education
and slashing funds for higher education will be disastrous for students at all
levels and even more devastating in the years to come.
That is why I have worked with theChester
County Coalition for Public Education
to organize a 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.
We know that cuts to basic and early education mean increased local property taxes, larger class sizes, teacher layoffs and less individualized attention and specialized programs. We know that cuts to higher education mean significantly increased tuition and fees, greater student borrowing and debt and more people on the unemployment rolls. Altogether these cuts will setPennsylvania back
decades and undermine all of our efforts for long-term economic growth and
prosperity.
This is an issue that affects every Pennsylvanian – from current students and their families, to teachers and professors, to high school seniors and prospective college students. I urge you to come out on May 3 and make your voice heard! After all, this not just a rally for education, it’s a rally for our future.
In addition, please help me spread the word about the rally by circulating this e-mail to anyone who may be interested.
That is why I have worked with the
We know that cuts to basic and early education mean increased local property taxes, larger class sizes, teacher layoffs and less individualized attention and specialized programs. We know that cuts to higher education mean significantly increased tuition and fees, greater student borrowing and debt and more people on the unemployment rolls. Altogether these cuts will set
This is an issue that affects every Pennsylvanian – from current students and their families, to teachers and professors, to high school seniors and prospective college students. I urge you to come out on May 3 and make your voice heard! After all, this not just a rally for education, it’s a rally for our future.
In addition, please help me spread the word about the rally by circulating this e-mail to anyone who may be interested.
We must stand together to ensure
that our message is loud and clear!
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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