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Decision anticipated today: If PA Cyber Charter Committee was elected
by the taxpayers funding cybers do you think they would authorize 8 more?
For January 28, 2013
Did you miss our weekend
postings?
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup For January 26, 2013:
PA House GOP unveils
charter/cyber funding reform package
“These numbers show that the great majority of
charter schools just don't measure up. While half of the traditional public
schools falling short of AYP is nothing to boast about, it is difficult to
argue that charter schools as a class perform better than their conventional
counterparts.
Certainly a successful charter school is a
choice well-made for its students. But it's galling to know that so many subpar
charters are diverting public dollars away from traditional education.”
Sub-par options: Charter schools as a
class don't measure up
Editorial - Pittsburgh January 27, 2013 12:18 am
Now that
the test scores for Pennsylvania
It's a shame Pa. chose to become a Wild
West of charter schools
WHYY Newsworks By Chris
Satullo January 27, 2013
The state of Pennsylvania
just got caught cooking the books.
Which books? Well, this
little scam didn't have to do with dollars or deficits.
It had to do with test
scores.
The scores emerging from the
state's charter schools, to be precise. As reported by Martha Woodall in The Inquirer,
the Corbett administration – a big charter backer – fiddled with how it
evaluated charters to make the picture look rosier.
The federal government
slapped the state's wrist and told it to go back to the old way. In the revised
picture, only 28 percent of charters met targets for annual yearly progress in
academic performance, compared to 50 percent statewide for traditional schools.
“The big key is
it’s a Republican-backed initiative, and with Republicans in control of both
the House and Senate, that always raises any prospects of success much higher,”
PA House Republican Caucus attempts to level playing field for districts, charter schools
PA House Republican Caucus attempts to level playing field for districts, charter schools
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review By Rachel Weaver Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013 ,
12:01 a.m.
The House Republican Caucus released a plan on Friday that it said would reform charter and cyber charter school funding. “Our goal in developing this package was simple: to propose fair and responsible changes to charter school funding while preserving parental options for our commonwealth’s students,” said Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mt. Pleasant.
The House Republican Caucus released a plan on Friday that it said would reform charter and cyber charter school funding. “Our goal in developing this package was simple: to propose fair and responsible changes to charter school funding while preserving parental options for our commonwealth’s students,” said Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mt. Pleasant.
$41B Pa.
By EVAN BRANDT ebrandt@journalregister.com
Saturday, 01/26/13 04:53 pm
As school districts across Pennsylvania prepare their budgets for the coming year and anxiously await Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2013-14 budget proposal, one issue looms larger than all the rest combined — pensions.
As school districts across Pennsylvania prepare their budgets for the coming year and anxiously await Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2013-14 budget proposal, one issue looms larger than all the rest combined — pensions.
Reeling under
the burden of investment losses during the 2009 economic collapse and years of
under-funding, the state’s two major pensions are under-funded by a combined
$41 billion.
As a result, the
state and school districts face a steeply climbing schedule of payments that is
consuming much of the additional revenue the state has seen in the current
year’s budget and even more of the small slice of discretional spending school
boards have control over in their annual spending plans.
Philly SRC plans hearing on
closings Feb. 21-23; vote scheduled for March 7
Notebook by Paul
Socolar on Jan
25 2013
The School
Reform Commission has scheduled its decisive vote on school closings for
Thursday, March 7. The commission will be considering the District's 44
proposed closings and relocations.
In advance of
the vote, the five-member SRC has scheduled two-and-a-half days of hearings on
the closings, starting on Thursday Feb. 21 at 5 pm , and continuing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and
Saturday. That leaves only about a half hour average per school, but
"every school community will have a chance to speak," said District
spokesperson Fernando Gallard.
Cyber charter angst? See how
a public school does cyber the right way #qcsd featured
on Digital Learning Day
Tweet from Lisa
Andrejko @SuptLisa, Superintendent at Quakertown Consolidated SD
Digital Learning Day is a national campaign
that celebrates teachers and shines a spotlight on successful instructional
practice and effective use of technology in classrooms across the country. The
inaugural Digital Learning Day boasted tens of thousands of teachers
representing nearly 2 million students.
Teacher boycott of
standardized test in Seattle spreads
A boycott of Washington state’s mandated standardized test by teachers
at a Seattle
The decision
by teachers at Garfield
High School
Facts on vouchers to
counter National School
NSBA
School Board News Today Kathleen Vail January 26th, 2013
As
the National
School Choice Week begins, the Voucher Strategy Center at
the National School Boards Association (NSBA) recommends several resources to
counter arguments for vouchers and the privatization of K-12 education.
“The annual FRN Conference, which runs from Jan.
27 to 29, brings more than 600 school board members, selected by their state
associations, and state association staff to Washington to learn about the most
current federal policies and issues that will impact their schools. This year, U.S.
Two federal meetings
feature leadership and legislative advocacy for school boards
NSBA
School Board News Today Kathleen Vail January 26th, 2013
Over the
next four days, School Board News Today will be covering the top events and
sessions at NSBA’s annual Leadership Conference and its Federal Relations
Network (FRN) Conference, held in Washington ,
D.C.
FRN meeting kicks off with
rally to protect federal funds, promote school board governance
School Board
News January 27, 2013 Joetta Sack-Min
Participants in
the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network will focus
on stopping planned budget cuts to federal K-12 programs, advocating for a bill
to promote local school board governance, and pushing yet again to reauthorize
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
At the opening session the more than 700 attendees also learned about
what NSBA leaders are calling the “New NSBA,” the organization’s plan to focus
further on advocacy for school board governance and public education.
Philly pension fund
closer to pulling gun company investments
WHYY
Newsworks By Emma Jacobs January 25, 2013
The
pension board said it will take its money out of companies that won't adopt
Mayor Michael Nutter's "Sandy Hook
principles," named for the horrific school shooting in December in which a
gunman shot 20 children with a semi-automatic weapon.
The
eight-point proposal asks companies to support federal legislation requiring
background checks of every gun buyer and for them to re-evaluate their own sales
practices.
Why Gloomy Pundits
and Politicians Are Wrong About America's Education System
The
Atlantic By Derek Thompson January 2013
A
eye-opening new paper comparing U.S. students to their international peers by social
class finds that the richest Americans are world-class readers, and in math,
our disadvantaged kids have improved more than almost any other country
Reuters -
Here's what everybody knows about education in the United States. It's broken.
It's failing our poorest students and codding the richest. Americans are
falling desperately behind the rest of the developed world. But here's what a new study from
the Economic Policy Institute tells us about America's education system: Every
one of those common assumptions is simplistic, misguided, or downright wrong.
SAVE THE DATE: 2013 Pennsylvania Budget Summit
Many
Pennsylvanians have sent a clear message to Harrisburg Policy Center for an in-depth look at the Governor's
proposal and an update on the federal budget -- and what they mean for
communities and families across Pennsylvania
2013 Pennsylvania
Budget Summit
Thursday,
February 21, 2013 ,
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
HiltonHarrisburg , 1 North Second Street, Harrisburg , PA
Hilton
EPLC 2013 REGIONAL WORKSHOPS
FOR SCHOOL
The Education Policy and Leadership Center, with the Cooperation
of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), will conduct A Series of Regional Full-Day
Workshops for 2013
Pennsylvania School Board Candidates. Registration is $45 and includes
coffee/donuts, lunch, and materials.
Philadelphia Region Saturday, February
2, 2013 – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 1605 W. Main Street, Norristown, PA 19403
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 1605 W. Main Street, Norristown, PA 19403
Harrisburg Region Saturday, February
9, 2013– 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Pittsburgh Region Saturday,
February 23, 2013
– 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh/Monroeville, 101 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146
Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh/Monroeville, 101 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146
2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on
Advocacy and Issues
April 6, 2013 The Penn Stater Convention Center Hotel; State College, PA
Strategic leadership, school budgeting and advocacy are key issues facing today's school district leaders. For your school district to truly thrive, leaders must maintain a solid understanding of these three functions. Attend the 2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on Advocacy and Issues to ensure you have the skills you need to take your district to the next level.
April 6, 2013 The Penn Stater Convention Center Hotel; State College, PA
Strategic leadership, school budgeting and advocacy are key issues facing today's school district leaders. For your school district to truly thrive, leaders must maintain a solid understanding of these three functions. Attend the 2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on Advocacy and Issues to ensure you have the skills you need to take your district to the next level.
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