“Only public schools, operated by school
districts with elected school boards are open to all children and fully
accountable to all taxpayers.”
Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy,
Education Law Center, in testimony before the PA House Democratic Policy
Committee, July
17, 2012
Daily postings
from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1600
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
How many years away from this privatization scenario
is your school district?
Poking around on the
internet, this right-to-know request surfaced.
In a series of emails, it details efforts to privatize the Pottstown School District
Mr. Gureghian’s
company is under contract to operate Pennsylvania ’s
largest brick and mortar charter school in Chester
Keep in mind that in the 54 page charter school
reform amendment to SB1115 (page 75, section 1732-A, paragraph (8)) introduced by
Rep, Tom Killion (R-168, Chester and Delaware) on the last day of the
legislative session there was language that would have specifically exempted a
vendor (like Charter School Management, Inc.) from the state’s right-to-know laws. SB1115 passed in the House by
a vote of 120-77, but was not considered by the Senate. You might want to
consider asking your legislator why they voted for it.
There has been a
right-to-know request pending for Charter School Management’s financial records
for several years. Although it was recently upheld by
Commonwealth Court, it is anticipated that it will be appealed to the state
Supreme Court.
It is anticipated that charter school reform will be on the
short list for consideration by the legislature during their short session this
fall.
Press Release July 25, 2012
PA Department of Education Releases List of Low-Achieving Schools
Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Department of Education today published the list of low-achieving schools in which students, who live within the schools’ boundaries, may be eligible to apply for a scholarship through the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program.
PA Department of Education Releases List of Low-Achieving Schools
Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Department of Education today published the list of low-achieving schools in which students, who live within the schools’ boundaries, may be eligible to apply for a scholarship through the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program.
Earlier this month,
Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program
to give low- and moderate-income students in low-achieving schools the option to
obtain a scholarship to attend a participating public or nonpublic school.
The list of schools
contains the lowest-achieving 15 percent of elementary schools and
lowest-achieving 15 percent of secondary schools, based on combined math and
reading Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores from the 2010-11 school
year.
Career and technology
centers, as well as brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools, are not on the
list, since parents already have the choice to send their children to these
educational entities.
The list of
low-achieving schools contains 414 school buildings in 74 school districts
across Pennsylvania
“Under the program, districts lose their state
subsidy after students are gone for two years, Eller said. Eller said how districts deal with the exodus
of students who qualify for scholarships is not the intent of the program. “My response to naysayers who think this will
hurt public schools is that we are not in the business of schools, we are in
the business of students,” he said.”
242,000 in Pa.
For a list of schools
where low-to-moderate income students can apply for scholarships to attend
another public or private school, visit www.education.state.pa.us and click on
the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program icon.
TribLive By Tony LaRussa Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012 ,
12:01 a.m.
Students from families
with low-to-moderate incomes in 79 of Western Pennsylvania ’s
worst-performing public schools are eligible to apply for a state scholarship
to attend another public or private school, education officials said Wednesday.
Across Pennsylvania
“Students aren’t going
to learn in low-achieving schools,” said Tim Eller, spokesman for the
Department of Education. “These scholarships are a way to help parents make the
decision to remove their children from poor-performing schools.”
“…….Gov.
Corbett and Republican leaders in the Senate intend to make a strong push this
September to get charter reform legislation passed.
“The
Governor has supported and will continue to support and advocate for the
creation of a statewide authorizer,” wrote Department of Education spokesperson
Timothy Eller.
And
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi “supports the idea and would like to see
it happen,” said his spokesperson, Erik Arneson.”
Amid rapid charter school growth, and stunning fraud charges, city
leaders consider overhaul of District charter office
By Benjamin Herold for
the Notebook and WHYY/NewsWorks July 25, 2012
Even as federal investigators
were finalizing a massive fraud
indictment against one of Philadelphia
It’s a massive gamble,
made riskier by the meager staffing in the School District ’sOffice
of Charter Schools. Currently, 80 independently managed Philadelphia
Posted: Thu, Jul. 26, 2012 , 3:00 AM
Dubious math on charter schools
Inquirer Opinion By Lawrence
During a recent School
Reform Commission meeting, Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky decried the cost of
independent charter school expansion under the Philadelphia School District's
reform plan, saying district Renaissance Schools have been less costly. We at
the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools disagree with the
commissioner's math as well as his philosophy on education reform.
Pittsburgh Public Schools board OKs furloughs for 280 workers
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh July 25, 2012 9:05 pm
The board of Pittsburgh
Public Schools tonight voted to furlough 280 school-based employees, including
176 K-12 teachers, 14 pre-K teachers, 59 paraprofessionals, 12 adjuncts, 10
other pre-K professionals and nine technical-clerical workers.
The employees are
represented by the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and were among the 3,477
school-based employees the district had this past school year. The latest
layoffs represent about 8 percent of that group.
“Even if the new tests will not require more time
in administration and preparation than the tests we have now, we may soon have
more testing than ever seen on planet Earth.”
Stephen
Krashen: Common Core - How Much Testing?
Diane Ravitch’s Blog July 25, 2012
……Current
plans are to add a writing test, and to add interim testing to what is already
required under NCLB.
There is
every reason to suspect that we will soon have standardized testing in many
different subjects, not just language arts and math.
There is
every reason to suspect that standardized tests will be given to very young
children, before grade 3, and there may be assessments to cover all of “P-20.”
There is
every reason to suspect that there will be pre-tests in the fall.
Even if
the new tests will not require more time in administration and preparation than
the tests we have now, we may soon have more testing than ever seen on planet
Earth.
PA Partnerships for Children July 25, 2012
A new KIDS COUNT® report ranks Pennsylvania
The KIDS COUNT® DATA
BOOK, issued today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
shows about one-fifth of Pennsylvania
“While Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
A charter school founder has been charged with
defrauding a group of Philadelphia
Dorothy June Brown was accused Tuesday by federal authorities of using her private management
companies, Cynwyd and AcademicQuest, to defraud the Agora
Cyber Charter
School and the Planet Abacus
Charter School
….The case is the latest in a string
of allegations of financial waste or abuse brought against
charters across the country in recent months. One of those cases involved the
head of another Philadelphia New York , Missouri , California
The
Prince of Mansion Porn
Blogger Kenny Forder really wants
to occupy your big-ass home—from the 14 bathrooms to the indoor basketball court.
Mother Jones By Nick Baumann
March/April 2012 issue
Kenny Forder was 18 and still in
high school when he received his first takedown notice. He admits he freaked
out a little when the lawyer's letter arrived at his mother's home in suburban
Morris County, New Jersey, in June 2009. Vahan Gureghian, a wealthy executive active in Pennsylvania Republican politics, wanted Forder
to remove the photos of Gureghian's $13.5 million, 30,652-square-foot,
10-bedroom, French-chateau-style mansion from his blog, Homes of the Rich.
(The mansion also has a two-lane bowling alley, a 200-person great hall, and a
moat.) Gureghian's attorney threatened Forder with legal action if he didn't
delete the photos.
Related
prior postings….
Follow
the Money: Contributions by Vahan Gureghian 1/1/07 - 5/31/11
This post
was last updated on June
28, 2012
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/06/follow-money-contributions-by-vahan.html
Early Education Good for Economy, Fed Chairman
Says
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal
Reserve Board, highlighted the economic benefits of quality early childhood
programs for an audience of children's advocates gathered for a national
conference this week in Cincinnati
In a prerecorded video message played this morning at the annual conference of the
Children's Defense Fund, Bernanke talked mostly at a very high level about the
importance of an educated workforce and the research that shows how influential
a quality early education experience is in shaping success later in life.
For the love of learning blog by
Joe Bower July
25, 2012
Louisiana School
Huffington Post Reuters By Stephanie Simon Posted: 07/23/2012
* Louisiana has the most sweeping voucher program in U.S.
* Governor says it spurs competition, expands choice
* Critics say program diverts funds from public schools
July 23 (Reuters) - State money will continue to flow to scores of private and religious schools participating in Louisiana's new voucher program even if their students fail basic reading and math tests, according to new guidelines released by the state on Monday.
The voucher program, the most sweeping in the nation, is the linchpin ofLouisiana
Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and other voucher advocates see the plan as a way to spur competition among schools and to expand parental choice. Critics, including teachers' unions, argue that vouchers unfairly divert vital tax dollars from public schools.
* Governor says it spurs competition, expands choice
* Critics say program diverts funds from public schools
July 23 (Reuters) - State money will continue to flow to scores of private and religious schools participating in Louisiana's new voucher program even if their students fail basic reading and math tests, according to new guidelines released by the state on Monday.
The voucher program, the most sweeping in the nation, is the linchpin of
Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and other voucher advocates see the plan as a way to spur competition among schools and to expand parental choice. Critics, including teachers' unions, argue that vouchers unfairly divert vital tax dollars from public schools.
Absentee
ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
Absentee
ballot requests must be received no later than August 15
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 home 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
NSBA
Federal Relations Network seeking new members for 2013-14
School directors are invited to
advocate for public education at the federal level through the National School
Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. The National School Boards Association is
seeking school directors interested in serving on the Federal Relations Network
(FRN), its grass roots advocacy program that brings local board members on the
front line of pending issues before Congress. If you are a school director and
willing to carry the public education message to Washington , D.C.
Click here for more information.
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