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
What Works: an informal collection of
strategies and programs to inform the public discussion of how to improve
student learning for high poverty populations of students.
by thenotebook on
Dec 05 2012
Posted in Latest news
by Benjamin Herold
for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
Amid concerns about quality, cost, and
corruption in Pennsylvania
The new cyber charters, which would receive
public funding that would otherwise benefit traditional school districts, aim
to serve almost 10,000 students by 2017.
If all the pending proposals are approved, the new cybers would
receive roughly $350 million in taxpayer money over the next five years,
according to a NewsWorks/Notebook analysis.
During hearings held in Harrisburg
"The beauty of the cyber charter is that
any child, anywhere in Pennsylvania
http://thenotebook.org/
WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER 5, 2012
WEDNESDAY,
Ethics complaint accuses
Boston Consulting Group, William Penn Foundation of violating lobbying code
Advocacy groups will
file a complaint with the Philadelphia Board of Ethics Wednesday charging the
Boston Consulting Group with violating city code by failing to register as a
lobbyist while proposing that the School District
close down traditional public schools, possibly accelerate privatization
through charter expansion and increased private management, and bust
blue-collar unions. The William Penn Foundation, it charges, also violated the
code by failing to register as the principal on whose behalf, along with the
undisclosed anonymous donors they solicited funds from, BCG was lobbying.
"This complaint is fundamentally about the public understanding that the controversial plan by the Boston Consulting Group was funded by narrow private interests with a specific agenda," said Parents United co-founder Gerald Wright in a press release. "They have been allowed unprecedented access to information and data denied to the public, and they have had unprecedented access to lobby top decisionmakers without ever identifying as lobbyists."
BCG and William Penn denied the allegations.
"This complaint is fundamentally about the public understanding that the controversial plan by the Boston Consulting Group was funded by narrow private interests with a specific agenda," said Parents United co-founder Gerald Wright in a press release. "They have been allowed unprecedented access to information and data denied to the public, and they have had unprecedented access to lobby top decisionmakers without ever identifying as lobbyists."
BCG and William Penn denied the allegations.
Editorial: Gov. Corbett
to the rescue? Not on pension reform
Published:
Wednesday, December
05, 2012 , 5:55
It's a bird. It’s a plane. It’s ... another government report telling Pennsylvanians what they already know: We have $41 billion in public pension obligations, and it’s scary.
If Gov. Tom Corbett is serious about tackling
this key issue, he should put out real solutions, not more reports detailing
the problem. By now, most
people understand how we got in this mess. They are aware that former Gov. Tom
Ridge approved higher benefits for public sector workers from the governor and
judges on down the line to teachers and janitors.
They are aware that the stock market has not been kind in the last decade and returns have been sub-par. And some also are aware that under Gov. Ed Rendell, school districts and the state were allowed to underfund or even skip their pension payments.
We all understand the mistakes, but the Keystone Pension Report that was released last week with much fanfare from Corbett’s budget office did nothing to further the debate on what to do about the crisis.
They are aware that the stock market has not been kind in the last decade and returns have been sub-par. And some also are aware that under Gov. Ed Rendell, school districts and the state were allowed to underfund or even skip their pension payments.
We all understand the mistakes, but the Keystone Pension Report that was released last week with much fanfare from Corbett’s budget office did nothing to further the debate on what to do about the crisis.
State begins
using Keystone Exams before securing federal approval
Posted: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 5:00 am
PhillyBurbs.com By
Joan Hellyer Staff Writer
…..The state education
department is making the move to the Keystone Exams for secondary students
before securing approval from the U.S. Department of Education, a spokesman
said. It initially sought federal permission early this year to use the
Keystone tests instead of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams
used previously to test high school juniors.
“Through verbal and
email discussions, the department has not received any indication that this
request will be denied, and since the Keystone Exams are more rigorous, the
department anticipates the U.S. Department of Education will approve the
request,” state education department spokesman Tim Eller said.
States are required to
let the U.S. Department of Education know if any "significant
changes" will be made to its assessments system, an official at the
federal agency said on Tuesday.
The testing changes can
be implemented before states receive full federal approval, said the U.S.
Department of Education official who asked not to be identified.
Federal authorities are
evaluating Pennsylvania
Gates Foundation gives
Philly $2.5 million for schools
Kristen A. Graham, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 ,
8:11 PM
The Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation awarded Philadelphia
The money, to be managed
by the nonprofit Philadelphia Schools Partnership, will fund three specific
projects:
Gates gives Philly schools $2.5 million to work together
by thenotebook on
Dec 05 2012
Posted in Latest news
by Benjamin Herold
for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
The money will be used to:
·
Create a yearlong residency program for training urban principals
·
Expand Mastery Charter Schools' existing program for training
teacher coaches
·
Develop new assessments aligned with the Common Core State
Standards in math and English.
Race to the Bottom
New
York Times Editorial Published: December 5, 2012
Competition among states
and cities to lure businesses in hopes of creating jobs is not new, but it has
become more fierce in recent years. An investigation by The Times found that state and local governments are
giving out $80 billion a year in tax breaks and other subsidies in a foolhardy,
shortsighted race to attract companies. That money could go a long way to
improving education, transportation and other public services that would have a
far better shot at promoting real economic growth.
Instead, with these
giveaways, politicians and officials are trying to pick winners and losers,
almost exclusively to the benefit of big corporations (aided by highly paid
lobbyists) at the expense of small businesses. Though they promise that the
subsidies are smart investments, far too often the jobs either don’t
materialize or are short-lived, leaving the communities no better off.
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