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
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Legislative leaders meet with Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett to discuss
2012-13 budget and related issues
By JAN MURPHY, The
Patriot-News Published: Thursday, June 07, 2012 , 1:46 PM
Legislative leaders
emerged from a two-hour meeting with Gov. Tom Corbett today reporting progress
on the budget front but saying an agreement on a spending level for next year
remains an area of discussion.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman,
R-Centre County….said the discussion focused on "the world of issues" that
the governor and leaders would like to get done in connection with the
budget…..He and House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, said among the items on
the table for discussion are education reform ideas including possibly school
vouchers and cyberschool funding reform among others, and a tax credit for the
proposed Shell Oil petrochemical refinery plant in western Pennsylvania.
Corbett, GOP lawmakers press school-related bills
By MARC LEVY
Associated Press Updated: 06/07/2012
01:57:01 PM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa.—Gov.
Tom Corbett and his fellow Republicans who lead the state Legislature are
working to develop a package of public school and education-related legislation
that they can complete this month.
Corbett and top
lawmakers discussed the subject Thursday in a closed-door meeting as part of
broader talks on a $27 billion-plus budget plan.
Senate Majority Leader
Dominic Pileggi says there's broad agreement to pursue legislation that
overhauls the charter school law, reconfigures the special education funding
formula and boosts a tax credit on contributions for private school
scholarships and other education groups.
A spokesman says
Corbett also wants a private school voucher bill. But House Speaker Sam Smith
says there isn't support in his chamber for a Senate-passed voucher bill and
that there's no agreement to pursue an alternative.
As Pa.
HARRISBURG -- They
don't have a state budget deal yet, but Gov. Corbett and top Republican
legislators appear to be in agreement on one matter: that a number of so-called
education reform bills will finally come up for a vote before the legislature
breaks for the summer.
Senate Majority Leader
Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said Thursday that "there is broad
agreement" on moving several pieces of legislation to Corbett's desk
before the budget's July 1 deadline, including a bill that would change the way
charter schools are regulated; one that would expand a state program that gives
tax breaks to companies for underwriting scholarship programs; and yet another
that would establish a legislative commission to develop a new distribution
formula for some special-education funding.
PLEASE NOTE! Introducing CORE: Lehigh Valley
A group of Lehigh Valley Lehigh
Valley School
District
We are proud to introduce CORE. We
believe that education is the foundation upon which the promise of the future
rests. Made available to all, education enriches and civilizes our
society and helps secure the path to opportunity and mobility, which are the
hallmarks of our nation's genius. As parents and citizens committed to
our children, communities, and future, we champion efforts that ensure all
children receive a high-quality, well-rounded public education. We are
raising the leaders, doctors, educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, parents and
citizens of tomorrow. Our country depends on their success. As a
coalition of committed citizens, we will give voice to the cause of education
so that our nation will continue to prosper, lead, innovate, create, and
achieve for generations to come. Education: A Core Value!
Let your friends and neighbors know about
CORE, Lehigh Valley Coalition for Public Education! Email us at lvcorecoalition@ptd.net to
join our email list and help spread the word and unite in our cause: Value
tomorrow, educate today!
PoliticsPA June 6, 2012
Conservative PAC
FreedomWorks is launching an intensive ad campaign costing between $500,000 and
$1 million and aimed to “pressure state lawmakers…to pass a school choice bill”
this June
Study
Reviews Academic Benchmarks Of Cyber
School
KDKA Reporting Andy Sheehan June 6, 2012 9:52 PM
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) —
Cyber school is a way of learning that seems foreign to those of a certain age,
but proponents says it’s right for certain students of a new generation.
“Is that the right
environment for everybody? No,” Robert Fayfich with the PA Coalition of Charter
Schools said. “Do certain students learn differently now than when you and I
were in aschool?
Absolutely.”
Is your State Rep. on the cosponsor list for HB 2364? Charter
school funding, accountability and transparency
The bill is now posted
on the General Assembly’s website:
Here’s more info on HB
2364 from PSBA:
Education Voters PA @EdVotersPA
Please take 2 minutes to send an email to
your state reps, ask them to restore public ed funding:
Parents and
Students Say 'Enough' to More Testing
New York Times By HITEN SAMTANI
It resembled a street carnival. Excited children
in bright colors, holding up scarecrows and blowing bubbles, were being
serenaded by the raucous sounds of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra. But the scarecrows were christened
“Bloomberg,” “Tisch” and “Cuomo.” The children held up placards that said
things like “No More Testing. My Brain Is for Learning!” And sprinkled
throughout the crowd were posters and cutouts of pineapples.
This was no celebration. These children and
their parents, several hundred in all, were gathered in Midtown to protest the
“field tests,” which are experimental tests that Pearson, the state-contracted
test-maker, uses to develop future tests.
The rally was organized by a coalition of
groups, including ParentVoicesNY, Time Out From
Testing and Change the Stakes. Since children had the day
off, the organizers had urged their parents to bring them to what they called a
“field trip against field tests.
THU JUN 07, 2012 AT 12:48 AM PDT
Today at 11 AM - Thursday June 7 - hundreds
of New York
* High-stakes testing
which crowds out meaningful learning, e.g., critical thinking, complex writing,
reading actual books, exploring ideas, research, experiments.
* The excessive power
and influence billion dollar for-profit company Pearson has over our NYS
Education Department - the tests are eating up resources and taking up
children's time. Meanwhile, NY SED and Pearson have no accountability as they
refuse to ever release the tests, which had nearly 30 questions invalidated
this spring due to errors and poor quality.
Come join us today if
you're in midtown Manhattan 6th avenue
Diane Ravitch on PBS Newshour June 5th,
2012
NSBA asks for flexibility
for local Race to the Top grants
NSBA’s School Board News
Today Blog by Joetta Sack-Min|June 7th, 2012
The National School
Boards Association (NSBA) is concerned that the federal government’s proposed
criteria for a new, $400 million Race to the Top (RTTT) district competition
could stifle innovation and local control.
“Several of the draft
requirements threaten to diminish the program as an [local education agency]
grant in name only, including first time requirements that represent alarming
precedents for the future,” NSBA wrote in a June 8 letter to the U.S. Department of Education.
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUDGETS
Here are more than 700 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:
June 29 is deadline to submit proposals for PSBA’s 2013
Legislative Platform
Your school board is invited to submit proposals for consideration for PSBA’s 2013 Legislative Platform. The association is accepting proposals now until Friday,June 29, 2012 . Guidelines for platform submissions are posted on
PSBA’s Web site. The PSBA Platform Committee will review proposals
and rationale submitted for the platform on Aug. 11. The
recommendations of the committee will be brought before the Legislative Policy
Council for a final vote on Oct. 18.
Your school board is invited to submit proposals for consideration for PSBA’s 2013 Legislative Platform. The association is accepting proposals now until Friday,
PSBA accepting nominations for the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy
Award
Last year, PSBA created a new award to honor the memory of its long-term chief lobbyist, who died unexpectedly. The Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA's Legislative Platform. The nomination process is now open and applications will be accepted untilJune 22, 2012 .
The award will be presented during the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference
in October. For more information and criteria details, see the Allwein Advocacy Award page. To obtain an application
form, see the Allwein Advocacy Award Nomination Form. Completed
forms should be returned no later than June 22 to: Pennsylvania School Boards
Association, Advocacy Award Selection Committee, PO Box 2042 , Mechanicsburg ,
PA 17055-0790
Last year, PSBA created a new award to honor the memory of its long-term chief lobbyist, who died unexpectedly. The Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA's Legislative Platform. The nomination process is now open and applications will be accepted until
Absentee ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
PSBA website 6/1/2012
All school directors
and school board secretaries who are eligible to vote and who do not plan to
attend the association's annual business meeting during the 2012 PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference in Hershey, Oct. 16-19, may request an absentee
ballot for election purposes.
The absentee ballot
must be requested from the PSBA executive director in accordance with the PSBA
Bylaws provisions (see PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, J-Q.). Specify the
name and mailing address of each individual for whom a ballot is requested.
Requests must be in
writing, e-mailed or mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at
PSBA Headquarters no later than Aug. 15. Mail to Executive Director, P.O. Box 2042 , Mechanicsburg ,
PA 17055
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