Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1875
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent
advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of the press and a
broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education
advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
PA 1 of only 2 states in booze biz; 1 of only 3 states without an
education funding formula
I attended the Governor’s press
conference yesterday at the Delaware
County
If education is a core function
we should fund it that way. Forty-seven
states have funding formulas that provide predictable and sustainable funding
for their schools. Pennsylvania
Gov. Corbett pitches sale of liquor stores
to Chamber of Commerce
Delco
Times By KATHLEEN E. CAREY kcarey@delcotimes.com March 13, 2013
“It is clear that selling liquor is not a core function of the government,” Corbett said this morning, “but, education is a core function of the government. So, I think it’s time that we get
PDE
PRESS RELEASE March
13, 2013
Governor Corbett, along with Delaware County Area Business and Education Leaders, Discuss Plan to Get PA out of Liquor Business, $1 Billion Passport for Learning Block Grant Program
Governor Corbett, along with Delaware County Area Business and Education Leaders, Discuss Plan to Get PA out of Liquor Business, $1 Billion Passport for Learning Block Grant Program
This Passport for Learning Block Grant is in addition to Corbett’s proposed $90 million increase in the upcoming budget’s Basic Education Funding line item. This year’s proposed $5.5 billion state investment in education is the highest in state history.
“Let’s get Pennsylvania out of
this outdated system of selling alcohol once and for all, and reinvest the
proceeds into Pennsylvania’s future - our children,’’ Corbett said. “Selling
liquor is not a core function of government; education is.”
Funding,
Formulas, and Fairness in Practice
A Vision for Great Public Schools
Yinzercation
Blog March 13,
2013
What is your vision for great
public education? If you could wave your magic wand today and create the
perfect public school in your neighborhood, what would it look like? At the
Rally for Public Education last month, over 320 people from our grassroots
movement thought about just this as they filled out postcards addressed to
Governor Corbett, answering the questions, “I came to the rally today because
…” and “If our priorities were in the right place, and everyone paid their fair
share, our public schools could/would …”
From those postcards, messages
on Facebook, the blog, Twitter, and in conversations with others in our
movement, a common vision for public education has begun to emerge. We shared
some of our insights with the coalition that produced the Vision
Statement for Pittsburghschools, distributed Monday evening at the PIIN
town hall meeting. Today, A+Schools
released its own Vision Statement focused on the city school board
races. The grassroots vision is broader than these two, more detailed,
and includes elements relevant to schools both in and outside the city of Pittsburgh
Budgets are statements of values and
priorities
A+Schools Blog March 13, 2013 10:08 am
Advocates, the public and the
state legislature have now had a month to review the various proposals in
Governor Corbett’s budget that touch upon public education. We at A+
Schools have some concerns [Money,
money, money - February 11, 2013 Eblast] about the choices being made
in this budget. While there are some modest increases to basic education
funding, real questions exist about needed resources for special education
students, funding our pension obligations and one time funding from the sale of
state liquor stores. We thought we’d share some additional thinking on
the budget from statewide partners who like us, are fighting to ensure that
there is a more equitable distribution of resources to our students with the
greatest needs.
YouTube Video (runtime 2:08) by
Miss Rarick Published on Mar 11,
2013
Our Kids Deserve Better: Music teacher's moving response to
Allentown SD budget plan to cut music, arts, ESL
Nutter unlikely to seek a cash increase for
Philly schools
Kristen
A. Graham and Miriam Hill, Inquirer
Staff Writers March 13, 2013 , 6:52 AM
The Philadelphia School
District
Philly charter school lottery shows effects
of district closures
6ABC Action News Kenneth
Moton Wednesday, March 13, 2013
WEST PHILADELPHIA March 12, 2013 (WPVI) -- A
thousand kids applied to get in, but there's only room for a little more than
100. On Tuesday night, Global Leadership
Academy Charter
School in West
Philadelphia held its lottery for grades kindergarten through 8.
Parents were on the edge of
their seats because they know what's at stake.
Parent Kevin Hite of Southwest Philadelphia explains, "You try to do the
best for your kids and the best situation as far as school, for her starting
kindergarten you want her to start in one of the better schools in the
area."
About 500 more parents joined
the gamble this year. GLA believes it's because of the controversy surrounding Philadelphia School District
Phila. School Partnership to announce $3.4
million in grants for 2 charter groups
Martha
Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer Thursday,
March 14, 2013 ,
3:01 AM
The Philadelphia School
Partnership will announce grants totaling $3.4 million Thursday to help two
charter organizations with long waiting lists expand in the northern and
western parts of the city. Scholar
Academies will receive $1.8 million to help add 600 to 900 seats, while KIPP
Philadelphia will receive $1.6 million to serve 700 to 800 more students.
Mark Gleason, the partnership's
executive director, said Wednesday the two nonprofit groups were chosen because
of strong academic performance in the city and elsewhere.
Pension
Media Walkthrough Presentation (49 slides); an overview of the administration’s
proposed pension reforms
PA State Pensions on PCN
PCN (1 hour video) By Francine Schertzer on Mar 12, 2013
with Comments 1
“It would be like a mechanic
whose boss has said, ‘I want you to use the cheaper version of the breaks even
though they are not as good. I want you to use that.’ And the mechanics finally
stood up and said, You know this is bad for customers, right? You know that the
breaks are going to give out sooner. ‘ And I feel so strongly that is the wrong
thing to do that I’m going to turn to my boss and say, ‘No.’”
The day some Seattle
Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 13, 2013
at 11:00 am
Teachers at Garfield High
School in Seattle recently
banded together to boycott mandated standardized district tests called
the Measures of Academic Progress because, they say, the exams are bad measures
of student learning. The action has served as a flashpoint in the growing
revolt against high-stakes standardized tests around the country.
Here’s a great video, by Storyline Research & Productions,
that explains why the teachers did what they did at Garfield
Anthony Cody and Diane Ravitch Talk
About the new Network for Public Education @TheChalkface
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav March
11, 2013 //
Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson are fearless education activists who operate
on many fronts to support public education. They write, they blog, they make
videos, they spoof the loony ideas called “reform.” On March 11, Anthony Cody and I were
interviewed @TheChalkface about the new Network for Public Education. We
described how we hope to provide a means for grassroots groups to get connected
to one another; to supply them with information and research on important
issues; and to let them know that they are not alone. We will oppose the misuse
of testing to punish or reward teachers, and to close schools.
When we clear away all legal issues, we hope to be able to endorse
candidates and to let voters in state and local elections know which candidates
truly care about strengthening their public schools. We even intend to have a
Seal of Approval for our allies.
Listen
in here. Audio runtime: 40:43
How to Join the Network for Public
Education
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav March 13,
2013
Several readers have contacted me asking how they can join the Network
for Public Education.
Some read about it but don’t know how to find the website.
Here it is: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org
Become a member: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/network-membership/
Subscribe to our
newsletter: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/subscribe/
Cantor, Rubio, Other Key Republicans
in Congress Focus on Choice
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on March
13, 2013 11:14 AM
Could school choice legislation be coming to a Congress—or at least to a
GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives—near you? Vouchers, which are seeing some fresh
momentum in states, aren't a new idea, politically—many Republicans in
Washington
“Lessons from the Heartland” Barbara
Miner book signing and discussion Thursday, March 14th, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Defending Public Schools,
Defending our Democracy
Interviewed by Helen Gym
Hosted by Media Mobilizing Project, TAG-Philly, Philadelphia
Media Mobilizing Project, 4233
Chestnut Street , Philadelphia
Please RSVP to parentsunitedphila@gmail.com.
Teachers Lead Philly Spring
Dinner/Workshop
Thu,Mar 21, 2013 ~ 5pm -7pm Franklin
Register HERE!
Thu,
Register HERE!
Children with Specific Learning Disabilities,
Dyslexia and Calls for Reforming Special Education
Session will take place from 12:00-4:00pm on the
listed day at the United
Way Building 1709 Benjamin Franklin
Parkway , Philadelphia , PA 19103
Sessions also available via webinar.
Cost: Pay What You Can! (Minimum
payment of $5 Requested)
This session is designed
to address the legal aspects surrounding the needs of children with dyslexia,
and other learning disabilities (ADHD, non-verbal learning disabilities). An
expert in dyslexia will join Sonja Kerr to explain dyslexia/learning
disabilities, the research and what we can do about it.
Honoring Valor: National History Day
Student Competition
Letters of intent due by April 1, 2013
The Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Army Heritage Center
Foundation, and the Pennsylvania
State Museum
High School to demonstrate how and why societies honor valor. Inspired by
the valor exemplified by Soldiers at Gettysburg September
11, 2001 , and the responses of individuals battling disease or
injustice, the competition will recognize students who demonstrate
excellence in identifying and describing how and why societies honor
their valiant men and women.
PSBA officer applications due April
30
PSBA’s website 2/15/2013
Candidates seeking election to PSBA officer posts in 2014 must file an
expression of interest for the office desired to be interviewed by the PSBA
Leadership Development Committee.
This new committee replaces the former Nominations Committee. Deadline
for filing is April 30. The application shall be marked received at
PSBA headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked by the deadline to be
considered timely filed. Expression of interest forms can be found online
at www.psba.org/about/psba/board-of-directors/officers/electing-officers.asp.
Edcamp Philly 2013 at UPENN
May 18th, 2013
For those of you who have never gone to an
Edcamp before, please make a note of the unusual part of the morning where we
will build the schedule. Edcamp doesn’t believe in paying fancy people to come
and talk at you about teaching! At an Edcamp, the people attending – the participants
- facilitate sessions on teaching and learning! So Edcamp won’t
succeed without a whole bunch of you wanting to run a session of some kind!
What kinds of sessions might you run?
What: Edcamp Philly is an"unconference" devoted
to K-12 Education issues and ideas.
Where:University
of Pennsylvania
Where:
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.