Friday, November 30, 2012

Over the past 40 years, the per-student cost has doubled but achievement has remained flat….right?


Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1700 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, 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


This is a favorite quote of Pennsylvania’s own Commonwealth Foundation….

Over the past 40 years, the per-student cost has doubled but achievement has remained flat….right?

You’ve heard it so often you almost believe it.  Here’s Bill Gates saying in the Washington Post:
Over the past four decades, the per-student cost of running our K-12 schools has more than doubled, while our student achievement has remained virtually flat. Meanwhile, other countries have raced ahead. The same pattern holds for higher education. Spending has climbed, but our percentage of college graduates has dropped compared with other countries.
But it’s wrong.



What Works: Philadelphia Education Fund
Getting kids to and through college

The College Story: An Ed Fund Infographic

We have an important story to tell.
It's about our city's children. It's about giving them what they deserve.
And that's a high-quality education.
It's about how we can all work together to change the status quo and not settle for just barely doing the work. 
Feel free to share this with your friends and networks so we can work together to educate our communities and show that we can IMPACT our children's futures

Pennsylvania pension cuts would apply to all, Gov. Tom Corbett says

By The Associated Press 
on November 30, 2012 at 12:00 AM, updated November 30, 2012 at 12:08 AM
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Corbett acknowledged Thursday that his administration is considering reducing future pension benefits for current Pennsylvania state employees and teachers, and said any such cuts should be distributed evenly to include lawmakers and judges.

PSBA STATEMENT 11/29/2012
Steve Robinson, Dir. of Publications and PR
PSBA PLEASED WITH DECISION BY U.S. DOE TO DENY PDE APPROVAL TO USE MORE LIENIENT METHOD TO DETERMINE AYP FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS
Federal education officials have agreed with PSBA's objection to the Pennsylvania Department of Education using more lenient criteria to evaluate charter school achievement for Adequate Yearly Progress purposes and has recently denied PDE's request to do so.
…..In the objection letter from PSBA to U.S. DOE, the association argued this change for Pennsylvania is a violation of two key principles at the heart of the federal NCLB requirements. First, NCLB requires that every public school is to be evaluated in the same way and in accordance with the same criteria and methodology. Second, NCLB requires that schools be held accountable for the achievement of all students in the school, not just some of them.

Duquesne school board agrees to cooperate with recovery officer

November 30, 2012 12:18 am
By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Duquesne school board voted unanimously Tuesday to cooperate with chief recovery officer Paul B. Long, who was named by the state to develop a financial recovery plan for the district.
The elected board resumed power for the first time in Duquesne since October 2000 under the authority of the new Financial Recovery Act, approved by the state Legislature in June. For the previous dozen years the district was managed by a three-member state board of control.

Chester Upland officials explain vote on recovery
Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012
By JOHN KOPP jkopp@delcotimes.com @DT_JohnKopp
Three Republican members of the Chester Upland School District board clarified the reasons they voted against adopting the financial and academic recovery plan developed by Chief Recovery Officer Joseph Watkins, saying voting in favor of the plan would have meant implementing it exactly as written.
The board voted against adopting the plan Monday in a 5-4 decision that split down party lines and allows the Pennsylvania Department of Education to seek a receivership for the district.

William Penn Foundation ousts outspoken president Jeremy Nowak

WILL BUNCH, Daily News Staff Writer bunchw@phillynews.com, 215-854-2957
POSTED: Thursday, November 29, 2012, 6:09 AM
IT WAS JUST 17 months ago that Jeremy Nowak strolled into the once-staid offices of Philadelphia's biggest locally oriented philanthropy, the William Penn Foundation, as its new president - a big man with big, radical ideas for change.
In a short time, the former community-development guru thrust the $2 billion foundation into the center of the fight over school reform in Philadelphia - gaining both powerful allies and a few harsh critics, and putting the William Penn Foundation in the headlines.
And now, abruptly, he's gone.

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Check out this great new public education advocacy site from New Hampshire…
ADVOCATING FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC EDUCATION

A New Campaign to Close Sub-Par Charter Schools

By Sean Cavanagh on November 28, 2012 7:41 PM
As enrollment in charters schools continues to climb, a national organization is urging state legislators to draw a harder line on setting standards for opening those schools and ensuring that weak ones get shut down.  The National Association of Charter School Authorizers, a Chicago organization that seeks to improve charters' quality by working with the entities that create and oversee them, announced Wednesday that it is launching what it calls a "One Million Lives" campaign to press for changes in state law that hold charter schools and their authorizers more accountable for performance.

Published Online: November 29, 2012

Standardized Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Says

Education Week By Andrew Ujifusa
Standardized-testing regimens cost states some $1.7 billion a year overall, or a quarter of 1 percent of total K-12 spending in the United States, according to a new report on assessment finances.
The report released Nov. 29 by the Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy, at the Brookings Institution, calculates that the test spending by 44 states and the District of Columbia amounted to $65 per student on average in grades 3-9 based on the most recent test-cost data the researchers could gather. (The Brown Center report was not able to gather that data from Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming.)

Taxpayer-Enriched Companies Back Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, its Buddy ALEC, and Their "Reforms"

Center for Media and Democracy PRWatch by Lisa Graves — November 28, 2012 - 4:04pm
This week in Washington, DC, Jeb Bush's "Foundation for Excellence in Education" (FEE) is meeting just five blocks away from the post-election conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial corporate bill mill working on profitizing public education among other legislative changes, but the ties between the two groups are even closer.
Aptly named FEE, Bush's group is backed by many of the same for-profit school corporations that have funded ALEC and vote as equals with its legislators on templates to change laws governing America's public schools. FEE is also bankrolled by many of the same hard-right foundations bent on privatizing public schools that have funded ALEC. And, they have pushed many of the same changes to the law, which benefit their corporate benefactors and satisfy the free market fundamentalism of the billionaires whose tax-deductible charities underwrite the agenda of these two groups.


Education Law Center invites you to a special evening December 5th
Honoring Len Rieser
Welcoming Rhonda Brownstein
And celebrating public education champions
Mary Gay Scanlon, Harold Jordan, Arc of PA, The Bridges Collaborative and School Discipline Advocacy Services
Food, Drink and Silent Auction
December 5, 2012 , 5:30 PM
Crystal Tea Room The Wanamaker Building
100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia
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Thursday, November 29, 2012

The new “philanthropy”: private agendas vs. public interest


Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1700 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, 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

The Secrets to Charter School Success in Newark:

Comments on the NJ CREDO Report

School Finance 101 Blog November 27, 2012
Today, with much fanfare, we finally got our New Jersey Charter School Report. The unsurprising findings of that report are that charter schools in Newark in particular seem to be providing students with greater average annual achievement gains than those of similar (matched) students attending district schools. Elsewhere around the state charter schools are pretty much average.
So then, the big question is, what exactly is behind the apparent success of Newark Charter schools – or at least some of them enough to influence the analysis as a whole – that makes them successful? Further, and perhaps more importantly, is there something about these schools that makes them successful that can be replicated?

“….Kevin Welner, a University of Colorado professor who tracks virtual schools, estimated that K12 is on pace this year to spend about $340 per student on advertising, or about 5.2% of its per-pupil public expenditures.  Welner, who directs the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado, which has been critical of virtual schools, said that "will put immense pressure on other schools to compete by diverting similar amounts of money to advertising." He estimated that if every public school spent just $250 per student, taxpayers would pay more than $12 billion annually. "That's a lot of tax money spent on something so far removed from actually helping children learn," he said.”

Online schools spend millions to attract students

By Greg Toppo, USA Today

Virtual, for-profit K-12 schools have spent millions in taxpayer dollars on advertising, an analysis shows.

5:17PM EST November 28. 2012 - If your local public high school has empty seats, the district might lay off teachers. If it's operated by K12 Inc., the company will take out an ad on CNN, The Cartoon Network or VampireFreaks.com and fill those seats.
An analysis by USA TODAY finds that online charter schools have spent millions in taxpayer dollars on advertising over the past five years, a trend that shows few signs of abating. The primary and high schools -- operated online by for-profit companies but with local taxpayer support -- are buying TV, radio, newspaper and Internet ads to attract students, even as brick-and-mortar public schools in the districts they serve face budget crunches.

Shake-up at top of prestigious Philadelphia foundation

Philadelphia Business Journal by Peter Van Allen, Reporter

Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 10:57am EST
The William Penn Foundation said Wednesday its president has stepped down after less than a year and half on the job.  Jeremy Nowak said the “time is right” to part ways.
David Haas, the foundation’s chair, cited “differences in approach” and said the two parties mutually agreed it was time for a change.

Nowak out at William Penn Foundation
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa on Nov 28 2012 UPDATED: 7:08 p.m.
The William Penn Foundation, citing "differences in approach," has announced that it is searching for a new president and that Jeremy Nowak is leaving.
The foundation's press release says that its board and Nowak, who became president in June 2011, "mutually decided that the time is right for Nowak to transition out of his current role."
Nowak guided the foundation through a strategic planning process, but had also become a lightning rod for controversy -- especially regarding William Penn's role in paying for the Boston Consulting Group to develop a transformation and austerity plan for the School District.

“…what we’re seeing across the country is an unprecedented level of private money shaping public policy under the guise of philanthropy. Too often that agenda has centered around a radical dismantling of public education, increased privatization, and disruptive reform that has sent many districts spiraling into chaos and sustained turmoil.”

The new “philanthropy”: private agendas vs. public interest

Posted on November 28, 2012 by PARENTSUNITEDPHILA
Jeremy Nowak is out as president of the William Penn Foundation. In light of his abrupt departure, deeper questions emerge about the role the foundation played under his tenure.
Most notably, Parents United for Public Education has raised serious questions about the Foundation’s role in funding and directing the work of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  The Boston Consulting Group, a multinational corporation with an educational strategies division, arrived with the stated purpose of creating a District blueprint and a five year financial plan. Instead they parachuted into Philadelphia with a polarizing agenda that called for mass charter expansion, closing dozens of schools, and forcing schools into education management networks.

Editorial: Like it or not, C.U. recovery plan coming

Delco Times Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012
Here we go again.
The Chester Upland School District is distressed, reaching for one more lifeline in a seemingly never-ending infatuation with state control.
Monday night the elected Chester Upland School Board faced a stark choice. Members could suck it up, swallow hard and try to digest the bitter pill that had been prepared by state-appointed Chief Recovery Officer Joe Watkins. Or they could decide to once again tilt at windmills, reject the plan and face the inevitable - a move by the state to place the troubled district in receivership.

Missed Live from the Newsroom talking Chester Upland School District? Here is the replay

Delco Times Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012
Joining us was the man who put together the recovery plan, Chief Recovery Officer Joe Watkins. We also had on hand Democratic school board member Anthony Johnson.
Here is the replay:

Budget cuts stretch schools’ support staff thin

Trib Live By Tory N. Parrish  Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 8:51 p.m.
….Cutting teaching positions has become commonplace as districts reduce budgets. The job losses that often go unnoticed, however, are those of employees who serve in supportive roles, such as teachers aides, librarians, secretaries, custodians and cafeteria workers, experts say.
Rising costs of state-mandated pension contributions, increasing health care expenses, declines in property tax revenue and cuts in government funding have forced districts to make tough personnel decisions, particularly since the average school district spends two-thirds of its budget on personnel, said Jay D. Himes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials in Harrisburg.
“I think, especially because of the spiraling cost of pensions, that positions that are not instructional in nature tend to be very large targets for those kinds of reductions,” he said.
Experts say the losses, especially of teachers’ aides and librarians, can impact student instruction just as much as the loss of teachers.
Libraries Tell Our Story
Yinzercation Blog November 27, 2012
Libraries are back in the news. Or to be more precise: old news about school libraries is getting some new attention. And it’s evidence of the power of our grassroots movement as we literally change the conversation here in Southwest Pennsylvania, keeping the focus on equity in learning resources for our students.

Education Policy and Leadership Center

“restore the $1 billion in the cuts to public education… oppose school vouchers”
Democrat John Hanger offers himself as the anti-Tom Corbett in announcing his candidacy for governor in 2014
By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News  on November 28, 2012 at 4:35 PM
In announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2014 governor's race, Harrisburg lawyer John Hanger distinguished himself in many ways from Gov. Tom Corbett who he hopes to make a one-term governor.
Hanger would restore the $1 billion in the cuts to public education Gov. Tom Corbett made last year.  He would favor imposing a "reasonable" natural gas drilling tax that Corbett wouldn't. He said he would devote that money to local communities, schools and the environment and called the failure to do "a blooper. It's a disaster."
He would oppose school vouchers that Corbett supports but has been unable to get the Legislature to go along with him. 

‘Finnish Lessons’ author wins $100,000 education prize

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog by Valerie Strauss on November 28, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Finland’s Pasi Sahlberg, an international leader in education reform, has won a $100,000 education prize from the University of Louisville for his worldwide best-selling book that explains how Finnish schools were reformed to become among the best in the world.
Sahlberg, who directs Finaldn’s Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation,  won the 2013 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education  for the book “Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?” The award is given annually to the person who has the most outstanding idea in education.
How did Finland do it?


CELEBRATE Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center’s 5th Anniversary!
Friday November 30th 12 pm – 1:30 pm
Join us in celebrating 5 years of providing a strong, independent voice for working Pennsylvanians and their families in the halls of the state Capitol and beyond.
Friday~November 30th, 12 pm - 1:30 pm
Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel
201 N. 17th Street | Philadelphia PA 19103
www.pennbpc.org/5thanniversary
Registration begins at 11:30
LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD
Hon. Gene DiGirolamo & Hon. Thomas Murt
BE THE CHANGE AWARD
Voter ID Plaintiff Legal Team
The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP)
The ACLU of Pennsylvania
The Advancement Project
Arnold and Porter
HOST COMMITTEE
Hon. Edward G. Rendell | Hon. Vincent Hughes
Hon. Blondell Reynolds Brown | Hon. Maria Quiñones Sánchez | Hon. W. Wilson Goode II
Hon. Diane Ellis-Marseglia | Willig, Williams, & Davidson | Dianne & Ted Reed | Donna Cooper
Public Citizens for Children and Youth | Women Against Abuse
Education Policy and Leadership Center | Education Voters of Pennsylvania
Project H.O.M.E | Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Education Law Center invites you to a special evening December 5th
Honoring Len Rieser
Welcoming Rhonda Brownstein
And celebrating public education champions
Mary Gay Scanlon, Harold Jordan, Arc of PA, The Bridges Collaborative and School Discipline Advocacy Services
Food, Drink and Silent Auction
December 5, 2012 , 5:30 PM
Crystal Tea Room The Wanamaker Building
100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

No Child Left Behind waiver to be sought by Pennsylvania


Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1700 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, 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

 

No Child Left Behind waiver to be sought by Pennsylvania

By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 28, 2012 12:11 am
Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said his department will seek a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, which in its current form calls for all students to test proficient in reading and math on annual state achievement exams by 2014.
Mr. Tomalis previously had resisted applying for a waiver -- an option made available by the Obama administration in September 2011 when it became apparent that Congress would not be able to agree on a reauthorization of NCLB before the 2014 deadline.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/no-child-left-behind-waiver-to-be-sought-by-pennsylvania-663943/#ixzz2DVhogDkj

 

Pa. students to take 1st Keystone Exams soon

Education Week by Kathy Matheson (AP) November 27, 2012
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — School districts statewide will begin administering new standardized tests next week in math, English and science, exams that eventually all students will have to pass to earn a high school diploma.
The first wave of Keystone Exams starts Monday. Districts will begin testing all juniors in algebra 1, literature and biology; students in lower grades who have finished courses in those subjects will take the exams as well.
For 11th-graders, the Keystones replace the longstanding tests known as the PSSAs, or Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. Scores will have no bearing on students' academic records.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/27/566369pgraduationexams_ap.html

CUSD receiver could be in cards
Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Delco Times By JOHN KOPP jkopp@delcotimes.com @DT_JohnKopp
The Chester Upland School District could soon be placed under the authority of a receiver, the result of the school board voting against adopting the financial and academic recovery plan developed by Chief Recovery Officer Joseph Watkins.
State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis is required by law to petition the Court of Common Pleas to place Chester Upland under a receiver, according to Tim Eller, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“In the interest of putting the district back on a financial footing, I’m sure the secretary will do so at short order,” Eller said Monday night.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2012/11/27/news/doc50b596b62a5b6802419731.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Shocker: Republicans vote to likely kill off what's left of public education in Chester

Philly Daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch Tuesday, November 27, 2012
This summer I wrote about the Corbett administration's fox-guarding-the-henhouse plan of placing a leading advocate for charter schools in charge of drafting a blueprint to "save" public education in the beleaguered Chester-Upland school district. Interestingly, the plan announced by that pick, Joe Watkins, called for radical change and steep cuts but would have kept the district intact until 2015. Except that the, ahem, Republicans on the board rejected this plan, so now it's not clear what happens but you have to think the privatization of schools in the poverty-stricken Delco community will come sooner rather than later. If you didn't know better, you'd almost think the fix was in from Day One.
Of course, there already is the privatized operator of a large charter school in Chester -- his name is Vahan Gureghian, and he just happens to be Gov. Corbett's largest campaign donor. Since Gureghian entered the charter school business, he began building a home in Palm Beach -- rendering at top.
Is this a great country or what?
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Shocker-Republicans-vote-to-kill-off-whats-left-of-public-education-in-Chester.html

'Live From the Newsroom' tonight will tackle latest Chester Upland crisis

Delco Times Heron’s Nest Editor’s Blog by Phil Heron Tuesday, November 27, 2012
You’ve probably heard about this ‘fiscal cliff’ thing. Last night the Chester Upland School Board peered into an abyss of their own - and then decided to jump in.  The board rejected the recovery plan crafted by Chief Recovery Officer Joe Watkins. The result is that the district likely will be placed in a state receivership.
You can read all the details - including why several board members decided to vote against the plan, in John Kopp’s story here.  Then tomorrow (Wednesday) night make sure you tune in for a very special ‘Live From the Newsroom.’
We’ll have Watkins here in our offices to talk about the plan and where Chester Upland goes from here. We also hope to be joined a some members of the school board to talk about their decision.
Do you have a question for Watkins? Or for school board members who obviously were torn by 
http://delcoheronsnest.blogspot.com/2012/11/live-from-newsroom-will-tackle-latest.html

Stanford Study Upbeat on N.J. Charter Schools
Dan Hardy, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER  Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 7:55 PM
Students in New Jersey charter schools show greater learning gains, on average, than those in comparable traditional public schools, a study released Tuesday by a Stanford University research center shows.  While the report by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) was positive for charters statewide, Camden's charter schools overall did not share in the good news.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20121127_Stanford_study_upbeat_on_N_J__charter_schools.html

Feds Say No to Different Rating System for Pa. Charters

Education Week State Ed Watch Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on November 26, 2012 2:53 PM
The U.S. Department of Education has rejected a change to the way that Pennsylvania evaluates charter schools, saying that they have to be evaluated in the same way as traditional public schools, the Associated Press reported Nov. 26.

New Graduation Rate Data Show Large Achievement Gaps

Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Michele McNeil on November 26, 2012 2:22 PM
The U.S. Department of Education today released four-year high school graduation rates for the 2010-11 school year that, for the first time, reflect a common method of calculation for all states.
The state-by-state data show graduation rates that range from 59 percent in the District of Columbia to 88 percent in Iowa. The new method requires states to track individual students and report how many first-time 9th graders graduate with a standard diploma within four years.

American students deserve better than Arne Duncan

MSNBC by Nikhil Goyal 9:58 am on 11/22/2012
Nikhil Goyal is the author of “One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School,”and was a panelist during our Education Nation town hall on September 23 (above). Goyal, 17, is also a student at Syosset High School in New York.
As a 17-year-old high school student, I’m both a No Child Left Behind and a Race to the Top baby. I’ve lived through both pieces of failed legislation under former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and now current Secretary Arne Duncan that have seriously derailed the status of education in this country. But I’m optimistic. Along with millions of frustrated students, educators, and parents, I’m committed to a radical reinvention of the system from scratch.
And while it isn’t official yet, Secretary Duncan has hinted that he will return to President Obama’s cabinet for a second term. I can tell you that isn’t good news.

NSBA supports Louisiana school boards in voucher case

NSBA School Board News by Joetta Sack-Min|November 27th, 2012
A lawsuit filed by school boards will determine the fate of Louisiana’s school voucher plan, which may already be jeopardized after a federal court ruling this week.
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is supporting alawsuit filed in state court by the Louisiana School Boards Association (LSBA), the state’s main teachers’ organizations, and 43 school districts that challenges the constitutionality of a plan to provide vouchers to Louisiana students in low-performing schools. The first hearing on this lawsuit is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, La. LSBA’s Legal Counsel Robert Hammonds will be arguing the case on behalf of LSBA’s members.

Sequestration: A red mark for education

Politico Opinion By C. ED MASSEY | 11/27/12 9:34 PM EST
C. Ed Massey is president of the National School Boards Association and a member of Kentucky’s Boone County Schools Board of Education.
Our recent national election has highlighted many unresolved challenges facing our families and communities, including the economy, unemployment and national security.
Another challenge could devastate our public schools: the budget cuts that are slated to occur on Jan. 2, 2013, because of the sequestration provisions of the 2011 Budget Control Act. As a local school board member, I see firsthand the impact of the planned reductions in federal funding for education. The end result for many of our nation’s public schools would be larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, four-day school weeks, fewer extracurricular activities, less access to intervention programs and teacher/staff layoffs.
In fiscal 2013, these budget cuts would total more than $4 billion


Building One Pennsylvania – Fundraiser November 29th
Join us at our first fundraiser and awards ceremony to celebrate our progress in promoting inclusive, sustainable and economically prosperous communities.
Austin Room at IBEW Electrical Union 654
3729 Chichester Avenue, Boothwyn PA 19061
Thursday, November 29th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
$100 per person • $75 for Building One Pennsylvania Member
HONOREES:
U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
U.S. Congressman Patrick Meehan
Estelle Richman, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Isaac Dotson, Yeadon Economic Development Corporation
Tom Gemmill, St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster
Rev. Marlon Millner, Norristown Municipal Council and McKinley Memorial Baptist Church

PLEASE RSVP TO ATTEND


CELEBRATE Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center’s 5th Anniversary!
Friday November 30th 12 pm – 1:30 pm
Join us in celebrating 5 years of providing a strong, independent voice for working Pennsylvanians and their families in the halls of the state Capitol and beyond.
Friday~November 30th, 12 pm - 1:30 pm
Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel
201 N. 17th Street | Philadelphia PA 19103
www.pennbpc.org/5thanniversary
Registration begins at 11:30
LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD
Hon. Gene DiGirolamo & Hon. Thomas Murt
BE THE CHANGE AWARD
Voter ID Plaintiff Legal Team
The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP)
The ACLU of Pennsylvania
The Advancement Project
Arnold and Porter
HOST COMMITTEE
Hon. Edward G. Rendell | Hon. Vincent Hughes
Hon. Blondell Reynolds Brown | Hon. Maria Quiñones Sánchez | Hon. W. Wilson Goode II
Hon. Diane Ellis-Marseglia | Willig, Williams, & Davidson | Dianne & Ted Reed | Donna Cooper
Public Citizens for Children and Youth | Women Against Abuse
Education Policy and Leadership Center | Education Voters of Pennsylvania
Project H.O.M.E | Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Education Law Center invites you to a special evening December 5th
Honoring Len Rieser
Welcoming Rhonda Brownstein
And celebrating public education champions
Mary Gay Scanlon, Harold Jordan, Arc of PA, The Bridges Collaborative and School Discipline Advocacy Services
Food, Drink and Silent Auction
December 5, 2012 , 5:30 PM
Crystal Tea Room The Wanamaker Building
100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia
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