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
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Happy
Spring – Spring begins at 7:02 am
this morning.
“Only 28 percent of charters statewide met academic benchmarks based on
student test scores in 2011-12. And no cyber school met the standards set by
the state to determine if a school has made "adequate yearly
progress," or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind law.”
Inquirer Editorial: Law creating
charters needs to be overhauled
POSTED: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 , 3:01 AM
A new report on Pennsylvania 's
charter and cyber charter schools helps make the case for long overdue reforms
in how they operate. Released Tuesday by
State Rep. James Roebuck (D., Phila.), the 41-page report details instances of
fraud, financial irregularity, mismanagement, and cheating at charters
statewide.
Roebuck Charter Report: Charter and Cyber Charter
School Reform Update and
Comprehensive Reform Legislation
March 2013 Democratic House Education Committee, Representative James R.
Roebuck, Chairman
This report will provide you with: An update on Charter and Cyber Charter
Schools regarding
academic performance and investigations of irregularities as well as Representative
Roebuck’s HB934 of the 2013-14 Session – Comprehensive Reform Legislation
regarding the governance, financing and accountability of charter and cyber
charter schools.
Report: 44 Pa. cyber/charter schools with
investigations or problems; Support grows for bill to return $365 million in
overpayments
State Rep. James Roebuck
HARRISBURG , March 19 – State Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., Democratic
chairman of the House Education Committee, today issued a
report on the amount of investigations and problems at charter and
cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania .
"These investigations and incidents are often reported only in dribs
and drabs, and I feel it's important for Pennsylvania
families and taxpayers to have an overall picture. The Democratic Education
Committee report is drawn from credible sources such as the Philadelphia
city controller, the Pennsylvania
auditor general and news media across the state. It shows investigations or
problems at 44 charter and cyber charter schools, including the six
schools covered in the state auditor general's report last week and
the school that
had its charter revoked last week and is set to close in three months.
My understanding is that 37 of the 44 schools mentioned in our report are still
operating," Roebuck said.
"With investigations or problems at 37 out of 173
charter and cyber charter schools currently operating in Pennsylvania , that's
more than 20 percent. I continue to support the concept of charter schools as
centers of innovations that can be duplicated in other public schools, but this
compilation shows a need for major reforms in the governance, financing and
accountability of these publicly funded schools," Roebuck said. "If
any other vendors were charging public schools 5 or 20 percent too much, we
would demand reform – not push for 'direct pay' that would take the payments
out of school districts' state funding before that funding reaches the
districts."
The report is available at http://is.gd/PACharter.
tweet from Steve Esack @sesack 10h
PA lawmakers put 119 amendments — and
counting — on liquor privatization bill. Pack a bag & bottle of booze for
12-hour House session Wed.
House set to debate privatizing Pennsylvania liquor and
wine stores
Amendment helps beer distributors
By Karen Langley / Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau March 19, 2013 12:19 am
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/house-set-to-debate-privatizing-pennsylvania-stores-679919/#ixzz2O4QpRREJ
Three New Tax Breaks Would Come at
the Expense of Pa.
Schools and Services
The PA Budget and Policy
Center March 19, 2013
After making deep cuts to schools, early chilhood education, and health
and human services, Pennsylvania lawmakers are now considering new tax
breaks that will largely benefit a small number of higher-income earners. In the coming weeks, the House and Senate are
poised to take up the following bills:
Dinniman proposes smokeless tobacco
tax
By JEREMY GERRARD jgerrard@dailylocal.com
Posted: Monday, 03/18/13
06:26 pm
The intended legislation cites smokeless tobacco as “a product containing
finely cut, ground, powdered, blended or leaf tobacco made primarily for
individual consumption which is intended to be placed in the oral or nasal
cavity and not intended to be smoked.”
Organizations dispute report that
finds flawed operations at charter schools
Martha Woodall, Inquirer
Staff Writer POSTED: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 , 3:01 AM
Two Pennsylvania
charter school organizations on Tuesday criticized the Democratic chairman of
the House Education Committee's report that catalogs instances of fraud and
mismanagement at charter schools across the state.
State Rep. James R. Roebuck (D., Phila.) said his review of selected
charters' operations supports the need for legislation he has introduced to
reform the state's charter laws by strengthening oversight and accountability
and reexamining how they are funded.
Of big cities, Phila. worst for
people in deep poverty
Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer
Staff Writer POSTED: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 , 6:11 AM
The annual salary for a single person at half the poverty line is around
$5,700; for a family of four, it's around $11,700. Philadelphia 's
deep-poverty rate is 12.9 percent, or around 200,000 people.
Funds to expand Philly after-school
activity
PhillyTrib.com Written by Damon
C. Williams Monday, 18 March 2013 18:48
Born 13 years ago out of citizens’ desperate cry for some form of
organized, enriching after-school program for the city’s pupils, the After
School Activities Partnership – ASAP – has issued a public-challenge grant,
kicked off with donations from longtime philanthropists Vivian and Oscar Lasko. The Laskos have donated a combined $25,000 to
the effort which, when fully operational, would target the schools receiving
pupils from the closing schools. They would be provided with ASAP-facilitated after-school
programs, and ASAP will also pitch in $50,000. ASAP’s hope is that this $75,000
will help spur donations and volunteerism among the populace.
Education group eyes system for 1
citywide school application
REGINA MEDINA, Daily News
Staff Writer medinar@phillynews.com,
215-854-5985
POSTED: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 , 3:01 AM
WHILE the number of district-run and parochial schools shrinks and the
city's charter-school population booms, a group of education advocates is
looking at a plan to implement a single, citywide enrollment process. The result could alter Philadelphia 's educational landscape.
The plan, still in the early stages, would involve students' filling out
one application that would place them on lists at district, charter and
parochial schools in the city, said Miles Wilson, director of the Great Schools
Compact for the Philadelphia Schools Partnership. Private schools are not part
of the current plan, but the group is working on also including them.
Chambersburg Area school board faces
deadline from ACLU of Pa.
Lawsuit threatened over rejection of
Gay-Straight Alliance
club
Chambersburg Public Opinion Online By BRIAN HALL @bkhallpo March 19, 2013
The American Civil Liberties Union Pennsylvania gave Chambersburg Area
School District until the end of
business Wednesday to reverse its rejection of a Gay-Straight Alliance club at Chambersburg Area Senior High School .
CASD solicitor Jan Sulcove recommended the school board approve the club
before the Feb. 27 board meeting when the vote was conducted, but the board did
not take his advice.
Vic Walczak, ACLU legal director, believes the case is nearly a slam
dunk. If the district doesn't act before the deadline, the ACLU will file a
lawsuit in federal court by the beginning of next week.
"We've never had to go to court on this issue," said Walczak,
speaking of the Pennsylvania
division of the ACLU. "We went back and pulled records on the issue. Since
2009, Chambersburg would be the fourth district
we have had to send a letter to. All three settled before court."
The nation's top teacher honored by
Rep. Mundy, Sen. Baker, Sen. Yudichak
State Rep. Phyllis
Mundy’s website HARRISBURG ,
March 19
Leslie Nicholas, a language arts teacher at Wyoming Valley
West Middle
School who was recently named the country's top
educator, was honored Tuesday by state Rep. Phyllis Mundy and state Sens. Lisa
Baker and John Yudichak.
Nicholas, known as 'Mr. Nick' to his students, was introduced in the
House chamber by Mundy and the Senate chamber by Baker. He received citations
from both chambers recognizing his accomplishment. Mundy said he also delivered
a powerful address to the Senate on the importance of education in Pennsylvania .
Education Week On Special Education Blog By Christina
Samuels on March 19, 2013 4:25
PM
After trying more than once to do so, Pennsylvania is poised to make a change in
its 22-year-old funding formula for special education.
Last week the state House passed, on a 193-0 vote, a
bill that would create a 15-member commission to study the issue
and develop a recommendation that would take into account the severity of a
student's disability when it comes to funding districts. Enrollment and
district wealth would also play a factor in determining how much special
education money a district would get. The Patriot-News in
central Pennsylvania
described the current funding landscape and recent political moves in an editorial that
spoke in favor of the changes.
Currently, Pennsylvania
distributes state special education dollars to its 501 districts using a simple
formula known as "census-based" funding: The state assumes that 16
percent of a district's student population requires special services, and
distributes a share of money based solely on that percentage.
NSBA urges La. Supreme Court to strike down vouchers
NSBA School Board News Today by Joetta Sack-Min|March 19th, 2013
In a closely watched Louisiana Supreme Court case that began today, the
National School Boards Association (NSBA) is urging the court to rule that the
state’s voucher program violates the state constitution because it diverts
taxpayer funds to private schools.
NSBA has filed an amicus brief in the case, Louisiana Federation of Teachers v. State of Louisiana,
which could have national implications for the school choice movement. The
lawsuit brought by the Louisiana School Boards Association (LSBA) and other
education groups challenges the constitutionality of several measures adopted
by the Louisiana State Legislature in 2012, including a law that provides vouchers
to students in low-performing schools. Under the law, a centerpiece of Gov.
Bobby Jindal’s education agenda, the state board of elementary and secondary
education is required to pay funds to private schools, including religious
schools, as “scholarships” to cover the tuition and fees of students whose
parents choose to remove their children from “failing” public schools and send
them to a participating private school.
Minority Groups Remain Outnumbered
at Teaching Programs, Study Reports
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH Published: March 19, 2013
Despite major changes in the racial makeup of American public school
students, the people training to be teachers are still predominantly white. According to a study being released Wednesday
by the American Association of Colleges for
Teacher Education, which represents colleges and universities with teacher
certification programs, 82 percent of candidates who received bachelor’s
degrees in education in 2009-10 and 2010-11 were white. By contrast, census figures show that close
to half of all children under 5 in 2008 were members of a racial or ethnic
minority.
Teachers Lead Philly Spring
Dinner/Workshop
Thu,Mar 21, 2013 ~ 5pm -7pm Franklin 1075 @ SDP/440 N. Broad Street
Register HERE!
Thu,
Register HERE!
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.
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.
Wow very long post :D
ReplyDeleteLet me share this story to my Facebook and Twitter :)
Keep it up mates
Regards
Hendynoize
Thanks so much for sharing this. I have a friend who is currently applying to some colleges in PA and he could really use this list to get some ideas on who to consider. I am going to forward this to him.
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