Send a Letter to the
President on October 17
Diane Ravitch’s Blog October 3, 2012 /
I got some excellent
suggestions.
To begin with, this is
not an online petition, but an invitation to join together to write your own
individual heartfelt letter to the President and to email the White House on
the same day.
Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1650
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, teacher
leaders, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 education advocacy
organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Doonesbury Considers Life Without the Press
Slate – thanks Amy Worden @inkyamy for
the tweet
“As a
result, 44 of the 77 charter schools that PDE has recently classified as having
made AYP for 2011-12 in fact fell short of the targets for academic performance
that other public schools had to meet, some even declining in proficiency
percentages rather than making gains.”
PDE using unapproved formula to artificially
inflate charter school AYP numbers
PSBA 10/5/2012
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)
has implemented a new way of determining whether charter schools have met
student achievement milestones for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the
federal No Child Left Behind law.
The new method is less stringent than the
standards that must be met by traditional public schools, and which until this
year were also applied to charter schools. As a result, 44 of the 77 charter
schools that PDE has recently classified as having made AYP for 2011-12 in fact
fell short of the targets for academic performance that other public schools
had to meet, some even declining in proficiency percentages rather than making
gains.
OUTRAGEOUS
October 7th Email to Chairmen of the
PA Senate and PA House Education Committees
My spies tell me that guests for this discussion
may include Matthew J.
Brouillette, President and CEO of the Commonwealth
Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives and Helen Gym, former Notebook
editor and a co-founder of Parents United for Public Education
WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane
Radio Times discusses
parent trigger Monday October 8th at 10 am
Are you familiar with the 'parent trigger' laws?
And how do you feel about parents taking schools into their own hands to ensure
the outcome of the children's education and safety? Some states have enacted
such laws, and there's a bill in the Pa legislature to move this along in the
commonwealth. Join us Monday morning at 10 to hear a debate on the
controversial issue.
You can listen live on Monday at this link: http://www.whyy.org/91FM/live.php
Want to call in with questions/comments during
the show?
Spin test: More than cheating was at work on student scores
The percentage of Pennsylvania
His conclusion, however,
may have been premature and undervalued the influence of a reduction in dollars
available to school districts.
Survey:
Budgets cut opportunities for Pa.
Pottstown Mercury By Evan Brandt ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
Posted: 10/07/12 12:01 am
Chances are growing that aPennsylvania
Chances are growing that a
Those are among the
findings of an August statewide survey of public schools which was released
Oct. 1 and showed districts responding to financial stress by cutting
electives, cutting tutoring and cutting teachers. With headlines declaring a dip in this year’s
test scores, the logjam over the property tax school funding puzzle continuing
and a debate over charter school reform on the horizon, discussions about
public education in Pennsylvania
But the release of
results from a survey sent out jointly by the Pennsylvania Association of
School Business Officials and the Pennsylvania Association of School
Administrators paints a statistical picture of the impact some of those policy
debates have on the ground in public schools across the Commonwealth.
Public school
cuts threaten the future
……“Public education is
the foundation of our democracy,” said William LaCoff, Owen J. Roberts School
Board member. “You need an educated populace to make good decisions about the
nation’s future and education is expensive. If we have no public schools, or if they are
the school of last resort, not everyone is going to get an education and then
we have a permanent under-class? That’s
the last thing we want.”
Put that way, it’s clear
we’re talking about more than art class.
Public schools represent
the future of our nation; we must find a means of adequately funding public
schools or that future is threatened.
Published: Monday, October 08, 2012
Delco Times By TINA DiSERAFINO Times Correspondent
……Since 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act signed by former
President George W. Bush was designed to cater to students who struggle with
academics and provide extra help they need to succeed. Tied into this law is a
measurement called Adequate Yearly Progress. AYP is constructed of three
measures: attendance, performance and participation. The goal of reaching AYP
is increased by 10 percent each year. By 2014, the goal is to have each student
reach 100 percent in reading and math, which to some may seem impossible.
“We are losing funding from the government because of budget cuts. In the last two years, we have cut $6 million from our financial plan,” saidSherman Chichester
schools are forced to do more with less, which has included decreasing the
number of teachers, increasing class sizes and cutting valued programs.
Another factor that influences school performance are subgroups, these categories include, but are not limited to, students who are classified as economically disadvantaged, African-American, Hispanic, and special education. Some schools have more subgroups than others. Each subgroup must meet the goal in order to make AYP. If one subgroup fails, AYP is not met even if every other subgroup passes. Chichester schools have eight subgroups, where other schools inDelaware County
“We are losing funding from the government because of budget cuts. In the last two years, we have cut $6 million from our financial plan,” said
Another factor that influences school performance are subgroups, these categories include, but are not limited to, students who are classified as economically disadvantaged, African-American, Hispanic, and special education. Some schools have more subgroups than others. Each subgroup must meet the goal in order to make AYP. If one subgroup fails, AYP is not met even if every other subgroup passes. Chichester schools have eight subgroups, where other schools in
A new blend of public and private
Districts are looking to an array of providers to
create high-performing schools. The approach has raised concerns about the
future of public education.
The notebook by Connie Langland October 7, 2012
School closings. Private providers
running public schools. Downsizing the central office while giving principals
the reins to hire, budget, and set curriculum. Rapid expansion of charters.
Not too many years ago these might
have been radical ideas. Now, they are commonplace, with two dozen urban
districts – including New York City , Washington , New Orleans ,
and Los Angeles
Posted: Mon, Oct. 8, 2012 , 5:41 AM
Once afraid, parochial converts praise kids' new public schools
BY REGINA
MEDINA Philadelphia
WHEN the Archdiocese of
Philadelphia announced in January that it was closing St. Bridget's elementary
school in East Falls
But, with the prospect of higher
tuition at St. Blaise, a new regional school where Nancy and her husband,
Michael, would have sent their children, a teacher friend urged her to give
Mifflin a look.
Commentary: PA charter school reform
should protect taxpayers, not just K12, Inc. CEO Ron Packard and CSM
CEO Vahan Gureghian
The PA Legislature is in recess until October 15th
Please contact your state
senator and state rep regarding charter school reform during this break
You can bet that the charter school lobbyists are not taking a
break
Before a Test, a Poverty of Words
New York Times By GINIA
BELLAFANTE Published: October 5, 2012
…..Children of professionals were, on average, exposed to
approximately 1,500 more words hourly than children growing up in poverty. This
resulted in a gap of more than 32 million words by the time the children reached the age
of 4.
Chinese funding Florida
Miami Today October 4, 2012 By Meisha Perrin
Investment money is pouring into Florida from wealthy Chinese who find that Florida has exactly what they are looking for — and what they need to secure US green cards.
Chinese investors are taking advantage of the EB-5 investment visa program, the so-called "green card via red carpet," by putting millions intoFlorida 's
charter schools and an aquaculture farm in Central Florida .
Under the EB-5 program, through investments of at least $1 million — or $500,000 for "targeted employment areas" — foreign nationals are able to obtain legal residency in the US so long as the money they invest will help secure or create at least 10 full-time jobs.
A group of Chinese investors have put $30 million into the state's charter school program to date and are looking to invest three times that amount in the next year, Ilona Vega Jaramillo, director of international business development forEnterprise
Florida
Investment money is pouring into Florida from wealthy Chinese who find that Florida has exactly what they are looking for — and what they need to secure US green cards.
Chinese investors are taking advantage of the EB-5 investment visa program, the so-called "green card via red carpet," by putting millions into
Under the EB-5 program, through investments of at least $1 million — or $500,000 for "targeted employment areas" — foreign nationals are able to obtain legal residency in the US so long as the money they invest will help secure or create at least 10 full-time jobs.
A group of Chinese investors have put $30 million into the state's charter school program to date and are looking to invest three times that amount in the next year, Ilona Vega Jaramillo, director of international business development for
Promoting sustainable, inclusive
and economically prosperous communities
Saturday, October 13, 2012 10 am to 11:30 a.m. (doors open at 9:30
for registration)
Declining
local tax bases, aging infrastructure, unfair state and federal policies are
undermining our communities. It's time to stand together to support our
diverse, middle class communities.
Join
local elected, faith and civic leaders from across Pennsylvania
·
Reduce our local
property tax burdens
·
Invest in our schools
·
Redevelop our
infrastructure while creating local jobs
·
Promote more balanced
housing markets
The
event is free but you must register in advance to reserve your seat. Register
at www.buildingonepa.org or by emailing name, title, organizational
affiliation, address, phone and email to info@buildingonepa.org. To defray the cost of the event, we are
accepting donations. Suggested donation: $5-$10.
2012 PASA-PSBA
School
Registration is Now Open! Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/
Registration is Now Open! Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/
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