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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Is this a great country
or what?
'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
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 Camden
Feds Say No to Different Rating System for Pa.
The U.S. Department of Education has rejected a
change to the way that Pennsylvania
New Graduation Rate Data Show Large Achievement
Gaps
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
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
NSBA School Board News
by Joetta Sack-Min|November 27th, 2012
A lawsuit filed by
school boards will determine the fate of Louisiana
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
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
Our recent national election has highlighted many unresolved challenges facing our families and communities, including the economy, unemployment and national security.
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
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
3729 Chichester Avenue, Boothwyn PA 19061
Thursday, November 29th from 6:00 –
$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
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
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
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
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
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
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