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
The first edition of the Network for
Public Education Newsletter is Here!
Letter
to Gov. Corbett: Pennsylvania Fails
Education Requirements of Its Constitution; Fails to Meet the Needs of Its
Children
Here’s our weekend posting in case you missed
it……
Help spread the message
of the Pennsylvania
School Funding Campaign
for the 2013-2014 State Budget
The Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign is an unprecedented coalition of
more than 30 statewide and regional education and advocacy
organizations representing hundreds of thousands of parents, students,
educators, school board members, administrators, and other concerned citizens
advocating for adequate and equitable funding of Pennsylvania’s public schools.
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/03/help-spread-message-of-pennsylvania.html
Pass reforms for charters
Philly.com Opinion By James Roebuck Monday, March 18, 2013 , 3:01 AM
State Rep. James Roebuck, Democratic chairman
of the House Education Committee, represents the 188th District in west and
southwest Philadelphia .
The General Assembly can produce these savings, including an estimated
$175 million for Philadelphia ,
by passing my bipartisan charter and cyber charter school reform bill (H.B.
934).
I support charter schools as a way to produce innovations that can be
duplicated in other public schools. That was the intent of the 1996 law
authorizing these schools in the commonwealth.
However, I believe Pennsylvania
needs major reforms in the governance, financing, and accountability of charter
and cyber schools.
Here is the PA Charter Coalition’s coverage of last week’s House
Education Committee hearing; it includes links to bills and to written
testimony that was submitted. IMHO,
“Devastating” is an appropriate term for the impact that inflated cyber charter
tuition payments have had on high-poverty school districts that were already
significantly underfunded…..
Recap: March 14 House Education Committee
Hearing on Devastating Cyber Charter Legislation
Pennsylvania
Coalition of Public Charter Schools website March 17, 2013
On
Thursday, March 14, the House Education Committee held a hearing on proposed
legislation that, if passed, will negatively impact the future of every Pennsylvania cyber
charter school. Links to the bills and testimony follow:
Public school closings reflect our
priorities. Weapons are more important.
WHYY Newsworks By Jan C. Ting March 13, 2013
Thinking and reading about last week's closing of 23 public schools by
the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, I've concluded that the closings are
necessary, though insufficient to address the fiscal crisis of the school
district. Other school districts including some of the nation's largest are
expected to do the same thing, including Chicago ,
Newark , and Washington , D.C.
But those protesting the school closings are right, too. The closings are
an outrage against poor children.
Public ed heroes of the day:
School closings
Media Mobilizing Project and the public education testimonials of
#phillyeducation #underattack
Parents United for Public Education Posted
on March 16, 2013 by HELENGYM
History is not made only by those with titles and power. It is defined and
understood through the heroic actions of many. Here are a few public ed heroes
who stood out for us during the school closings vote:
Court OKs church invites at Pa. school
Law still evolving on how case should affect elementary schools
Post-Gazette By Maryclaire Dale / The Associated Press March 18, 2013 12:03 am
NSA seeks high-school kids for cyber
hacking competition
WHYY Newsworks By Kevin Begos, Associated Press March 17, 2013
Bored with classes? Carnegie Mellon University and one of the government's
top spy agencies want to interest high school students in a game of computer
hacking.
Their goal with "Toaster Wars" is to cultivate the nation's
next generation of cyber warriors in offensive and defensive strategies. The
free, online "high school hacking competition" will run from April 26
to May 6.
Music to Their Ears
Digital Notebook Blog by Evan Brandt SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013
Recently, members of the Pottstown School District Music Department
brought their music to our state capitol building in Harrisburg . Students, under the
direction of Brian Langdon, Ben Hayes, and Nancy Mest, performed in the Rotunda
of our state capitol as part of the Music In Our Schools Month program
sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association.
Teach for America solicits donations, public
funds, finder fees while amassing $1 billion fortune, tax records show
Louisiana Voice Blog March 5, 2013 by tomaswell
Remember when teaching was about answering to a calling—before the Jindal
administration came charging onto the scene with its half-baked ideas of
education reform through sweeping legislation that promoted something called
Teach for America?
As noble and magnanimous as Teach for America (TFA) would have you
believe its motives to be, it would be wise to keep your eye on the dollar
sign.
From 2009 through 2012 the Walton
Family Foundation reported $47,879,682.00 in grants to Teach for America
“While dumping problem students from your books like a subprime loan is
effective business management, it’s also a deeply unethical way to operate a
system of public education.”
What school choice means to parents
with ‘bad’ kids
What rights do kids have in schools? This is one of the poignant
questions asked in this hard-hitting post by Natalie
Hopkinson, who looks at what happens to kids in charter schools
who have discipline problems. Hopkinson is a contributing editor to The RootDC.
E-mail her at NHopkinson@hotmail.com (and join her and The Root DC for a
discussion on Saturday, March 16, from 1-3 p.m. at THEARC for “Schools and
Discipline: Is it working? Is it fair?” 1901 Mississippi Ave, SE , Washington
DC . This appeared on
The Root D.C.
“The great challenge for a senator isn't to go to Washington and represent the problems of his
own family. It's to try to obtain the intellectual and moral perspective
necessary to represent the problems of the people who don't have direct access to the
corridors of power. Senators basically
never have poor kids. That's something members of Congress should think about.
Especially members of Congress who know personally that realizing an issue
affects their own children changes their thinking.”
Rob Portman and the Politics of
Narcissism
Slate.com By Matthew Yglesias Posted Friday, March 15, 2013 , at 12:26 PM
I'm glad that Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio has reconsidered
his view on gay marriage upon realization that his son is gay, but I also
find this particular window into moderation—memorably dubbed Miss America conservatism by Mark Schmitt—to
be the most annoying form.
ALEC makes public hundreds of
“model” bills
The shady lobby group has published pre-written legislation under
pressure from watchdog coalition
Salon.com BY NATASHA
LENNARD FRIDAY, MAR 15, 2013 05:25 PM EDT
It’s been public knowledge for a number of years that the American
Legislative Exchange Council is responsible for writing model legislation for
major industries and then pushing them, through Republican lawmakers, into
statehouses nationwide. Until these model bills pop up on legislative agendas,
however, little is known about the group’s legislation penning.
On Friday, following a two-year campaign by watchdog groups, ALEC
published hundreds of its model bills online. The coalition of organizations
pushing for greater transparency included the Center for Media and Democracy,
ColorOfChange, Common Cause, Greenpeace, People for the American Way , Progress Now and a variety
of labor organizations.
The full list of model bills is available here. It includes
template bills pertaining to charter schools, climate (mis)education,
union-busting right to work bills, workplace drug testing laws and more
Rupert Murdoch Wins Contract to
Develop Common Core Tests
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav March
17, 2013 //
Amplify, the company owned by Rupert Murdoch, won
a $12.5 million contract to develop formative assessments for Common
Core tests. The award was made by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium,
one of two groups funded by the Obama administration to create national tests,
administered online. Joel Klein runs Murdoch’s Amplify division.
INTERVIEW Charlotte Danielson on
Teaching and the Common Core
Education Week By Anthony Rebora
Published Online: March
13, 2013
Charlotte Danielson, a former teacher and school administrator with
degrees from Cornell and Oxford Universities, is one of the most recognized
authorities on teaching practice in the United States . A popular speaker
and trainer, she is best known as the creator of the "Framework for
Teaching," a 115-page set of components for effective pedagogy that is
used in many states and districts to inform teacher evaluation and professional
development.
Danielson recently released a new edition of her Framework for 2013, with
updates designed to reflect the Common
Core State
Standards. In a recent interview, we talked to her about the common standards
and how they might change teachers' work.
New York Times THE TEXAS
TRIBUNE By MORGAN SMITH Published: March 16, 2013
When Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida ,
told Texas
lawmakers recently to “go big or go home” on education reform, the Senate
education chairman, Dan Patrick, had already embraced that advice. In his new role, Mr. Patrick, a Houston
Republican, has championed the policies — robust virtual learning, unrestricted
charter-school growth and private-school vouchers — advanced by national
reformers like Mr. Bush. Conservative,
business-friendly Texas ,
where Republicans have controlled the House and Senate since 2003, would appear
to be fertile ground for a philosophy based on the belief that low regulation
and high competition encourage innovation. But in the state that gave birth to
the accountability movement embodied by the No Child Left Behind law,
other key policies linked to that philosophy have struggled to take root.
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/
Teachers Lead Philly Spring
Dinner/Workshop
Thu,Mar 21, 2013 ~ 5pm -7pm Franklin 1075 @ SDP/440 N. Broad Street
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 ,
located at 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.
PSBA opens nominations for the
Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award
PSBA website 3/15/2013
The nomination process is now open and applications will be accepted
until June 21,
2013 .
In 2011, PSBA created a new award to honor the memory of its long-term
chief lobbyist, who died unexpectedly. The Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award
may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school
board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on
behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions
in PSBA�s Legislative Platform. The nomination process is
now open and applications will be accepted until June 21, 2013 . The award will be
presented during the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in October.
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
are pleased to announce a competition for students in Middle and
High School to demonstrate how and why societies honor valor. Inspired by
the valor exemplified by Soldiers at Gettysburg
in 1863, citizens on 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 When: May 18, 2013 Cost: FREE!
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.
NICE BLOG!!! MBA is considered to be one of the most preferred post graduation course among the world today. Business management is currently the most sought after career option in the entire globe. Thanks for sharing a nice information.
ReplyDeletetop engineering colleges in Bangalore
engineering colleges in Bangalore