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Keystone State Education Coalition:
For January 29, 2013
PDE Press Release Date: 01/28/2013
PA Secretary of Education Denies Charters to Eight Cyber Charter School Applicants for 2013-14 School Year
Harrisburg – Citing significant deficiencies in curriculum, finance and overall operations, Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis today denied eight cyber charter school applications for the 2013-14 school year.
PA Secretary of Education Denies Charters to Eight Cyber Charter School Applicants for 2013-14 School Year
Harrisburg – Citing significant deficiencies in curriculum, finance and overall operations, Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis today denied eight cyber charter school applications for the 2013-14 school year.
Pa. education secretary
rejects all 8 proposed cyber charters
by thenotebook on
Jan 28 2013 by Benjamin Herold of NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
Pennsylvania
Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis rejected on Monday all eight cyber
charter school applications pending before the state Department of Education.
The schools had
hoped to serve a total of almost 10,000 Pennsylvania students at a projected
cost to taxpayers of roughly $350 million over the next five years.
PDE 2013-14 School Year Cyber Charter School Applications
and Decisions
“Ron Cowell, president of the Education Policy
and Leadership Center, said, "In addition to the specific comments and
reasons cited by the secretary, it's important to note that currently there are
significant questions being raised by state policy-makers about the efficacy of
cyber charter schools generally and certainly about the way they are funded."
Pennsylvania withholds OK for 8 cyber charter schools
Pennsylvania withholds OK for 8 cyber charter schools
By Eleanor
Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
January 29, 2013 12:16 am
All eight statewide
cyber charter school applications have been rejected, a decision that comes as
legislators debate charter school funding and existing cyber schools have taken
a hit for missing state academic goals.
Cyber charter school applications denied including two based in the
midstate
Penn Live
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
January 28, 2013 at 4:33 PM
On the
second day of National School Choice Week, state Education Secretary Ron
Tomalis announced he rejected the applications for eight cyber charter schools,
including one based in Dauphin County and one in Lebanon County.
Pennsylvania
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis rejected eight cyber charter school
applications, citing significant deficiencies in them. In announcing his decision to reject the
proposals for the independent public schools that offer education over the
Internet, Tomalis said all the applications “lack adequate evidence and
sufficient information of how prospective students would be offered quality
academic programs.”
Pennsylvania Cyber
Charters Under the Microscope
Education
Week Digital Education Blog By Sean Cavanagh on January
28, 2013 9:16 AM
Pennsylvania
officials are considering whether to approve a group of new cyber charter
schools, even as the performance of the state's existing network of online
providers is coming under scrutiny and criticism. A decision is expected today from the state's
department of education on whether to allow eight cyber charters seeking the
right to open.
“This year, Pennsylvania taxpayers will
spend about $400 million so that roughly 35,000 students can be taught through
cyber charters instead of traditional public schools.”
Pennsylvania Embracing Failure
Digital Notebook by Evan Brandt JANUARY 27, 2013
Lately, I have begun to espouse a new philosophy which
is distinctly non-philosophical -- "show me that it works." Both liberalism and conservatism are replete
with theories about the way we should live and run our governments and our
societies.
“Since the bulk of pension cost increases this
year – about 70 percent of the $511 million increase due in the new fiscal year
that begins July 1 – are in the public school teacher’s pension system, Zogby
said it makes sense to tie savings in those pension costs to higher funding for
school districts.”
Pension reform will likely target future benefits, PA budget chief says
(Video)
By Eric
Boehm | PA Independent January 28, 2013
HARRISBURG
— Facing nearly $1 billion in new pension costs in the next two years, Pennsylvania appears
to be inching toward reforming retirement benefits for state employees and
public school teachers. Monday, Budget
Secretary Charles Zogby offered a preview of how the Corbett
administration plans to deal with Pennsylvania’s $40 billion unfunded pension
debt and rising annual costs. Part of the plan would target future benefits of
current employees while keeping previously earned benefits and benefits for
retirees in place, Zogby said during an appearance at the Pennsylvania
Press Club luncheon.
Rhode Island Treasurer Defies Conventional Pension Wisdom
Institutional
Investor January 7, 2013 by Imogen Rose-Smith
Gina
Raimondo shows how tough pension reforms can pay fiscal and political
dividends.
Public schools remain
safe haven, school board association official says
TribLive By Paul
Peirce January 28, 2013, 9:13 a.m.
Despite the massacre in Newtown, Conn., where Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six adults inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, the new executive director of the National School Boards Association maintains that public schools remain among the safest places for children.
Despite the massacre in Newtown, Conn., where Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six adults inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, the new executive director of the National School Boards Association maintains that public schools remain among the safest places for children.
Thomas J.
G entzel, 61, began his new job in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3 after working 32
years with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
Universal is one
laggard among first batch of 'Renaissance' charters in Philly
WHYY
Newsworks January 28, 2013 By Benjamin Herold
Philadelphia's
independent Renaissance school operators are bringing families back to
struggling neighborhood public schools that they have "turned around"
– with one notable exception.
Universal
Companies, the city's second largest manager of Renaissance charter schools, is
lagging behind its targets for serving students from the surrounding community
at the majority of its schools.
Shakeup at Philly SRC:
Former city bus aide appointed
Philly School Files Blog by Kristen Graham POSTED: Monday,
January 28, 2013, 1:53 PM
A shakeup
is coming to the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, the Inquirer has
learned.
Commissioner
Lorene Cary, who had taken a leave of absence for medical reasons, will not be
reappointed. Her term is up at the end of the month" . In her
place, Mayor Nutter will appoint Sylvia P. Simms, a parent advocate. Wendell Pritchett, whose term is also up this
month, will be reappointed to the SRC. Both
Simms and Pritchett will serve four-year terms. Mark McDonald, a spokesman for
the mayor, confirmed the appointments.
Until
recently, Simms, 52, was a bus aide working with special needs children for the
district. She is a North Philadelphia resident, graduate of Simon Gratz
High School, and the mother of two children who graduated from Dobbins and
University City High Schools. Her granddaughter currently attends T.M.
Peirce Elementary, a North Philadelphia school slated for closure.
Simms is
the founder of Parent Power, a parent empowerment organization.
Pittsburgh Feb. 10th
Rally for Public Education!
Yinzercation
Blog January 28, 2013
One year
ago over 250 people Rallied for Public Education in the middle of a February
snowstorm. This year we will do it again — even bigger, but inside where it’s
warmer. Remember these fabulous students who spoke about the effects of budget
cuts on their schools? They helped spark an entire grassroots movement.
Our
public schools are still staggering under massive state budget cuts. Students
in Pennsylvania have lost almost 20,000 of their teachers in the past two
years. Our kids have lost music, art, library, languages, tutoring programs,
full-day Kindergarten and more. Here in Southwest PA, our children are sitting
in classes with 35 and even 39 students. And this year they will take even more
high-stakes, standardized tests, spending several months of the school year on
nothing but test prep and test taking. Enough is enough!
Come RALLY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION on Sunday,
February 10, 2013. 3PM at the Kelly Strayhorn
Theater in East Liberty (5941 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15206). This is about equity, social justice, and a great
public education for all our children.
US Education Dept. to Hear School Closing Complaints
New York
Times By JON HURDLE Published: January 28, 2013
PHILADELPHIA
— The United States
Department of Education is investigating complaints that plans to
close or reorganize public schools in Philadelphia, Detroit and Newark
discriminate against black and Hispanic students, as well as those with
disabilities, a department official confirmed on Monday. The Philadelphia school system plans to close
37 schools, including University City High School, over five years.
Community
activists from those cities and 15 others are scheduled to meet Tuesday with
Education Secretary Arne Duncan to urge a moratorium on school-closing plans
until agreements can be reached on alternatives.
Secretary Duncan
addresses school board members at NSBA meeting
NSBA
School Board News Today by Lawrence Hardy January 28th, 2013
U.S.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged school board members Monday at NSBA’s
Federal Relations Network (FRN) meeting in Washington, D.C., to “stay the
course” through a tumultuous time in public education, predicting that in a few
years the nation will see big results from programs such as Race to the Top
(RTTT) and the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
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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