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
“because the closings would create education deserts in
areas of the city with the highest concentration of minority and
low-income residents….Who would stay or move into a neighborhood that doesn’t
even have a school in which parents and community members can invest their
energies?”
thenotebook by
Elaine Simon on Mar 04 2013
PA House Education Committee Public
Hearing:
Cyber Charter Funding Reform
Thursday, March
14, 2013 10:00 AM
Room 140 Main Capitol
Here’s some background on these two bills:
Charter and Cyber Charter Funding Reforms Proposed
Charter and Cyber Charter Funding Reforms Proposed
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai’s website 1/25/2013
Roebuck: Taxpayers could save $365
million with charter/cyber school reform bill
Amount could be higher if increased transparency requirements unmask more
overfunding
Press release HARRISBURG
"While I do support charter schools, I believe major revisions are
needed regarding the governance, financing and accountability of charter and
cyber charter schools. These revisions will result in significant savings to
our school districts, and I believe this is the most far-reaching reform bill
of its kind introduced in Pennsylvania
Philly SRC votes to close 23
schools, spare four
Kristen A. Graham and Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writers
POSTED: Friday, March 8, 2013 , 3:01
AM
In a tense, dramatic conclusion to a months-long battle, the Philadelphia
School Reform Commission voted Thursday night to close 23 schools across the
city - and spare four it had considered shutting. Taylor and
T.M. Peirce Elementaries in North Philadelphia, Roosevelt
Middle School in Germantown ,
and Robeson High
School in Southwest Philadelphia
were all on the chopping block but will stay open. The vote capped a long series of protests,
rallies, and public outcries against what appears to be one of the largest mass
school closings in the nation's history. And it happened after 19 people,
including American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, were
arrested when they tried to block SRC members' entrance into the meeting.
School Reform Commission votes to
close 23 Philadelphia
WHYY Newsworks By Benjamin Herold March 8, 2013
After an excruciating day of protests and pleas for mercy, Philadelphia
Four schools – T.M. Peirce and Bayard Taylor elementary schools,
Roosevelt Middle, and Paul Robeson High – were spared. All told, the SRC approved a total of 28
recommendations put forth by Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite,
including three program relocations and a merger of the city's two high school
military academies. A total of 25 school programs will be shut down as part of
the complicated set of proposals.
"It's heart-wrenching," said SRC Chairman Pedro Ramos.
"Nobody wants to do this, much less have to do it at this scale."
School Reform Commission shuts down
23, saves 4 schools
REGINA MEDINA & SOLOMON LEACH, Daily News Staff Writers medinar@phillynews.com, 215-854-5985 POSTED: Friday, March 8, 2013 , 3:01 AM
THE SCHOOL Reform Commission voted Thursday night to close 23 district
schools, opting at the 11th hour to keep four schools open during an emotional
meeting highlighted by human barricades, 18 arrests and plenty of pleas to save
public schools.
Many audience members wept when the SRC voted to close their schools.
"I think they shot them down as if they were in a firing line,"
said Colleen Grelis, a teacher at George
W. Pepper
Middle School
RadioTimes today: Philadelphia
GUESTS: BENJAMIN HEROLD, WILLIAM HITE JR., LORI SHORR
We'll respond to the school closures announced last night, and the
politics and process that led the School
District of Philadelphia
New York Times By JON HURDLE Published: March 7, 2013
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission voted tonight to close 23
public schools at a meeting where American Federation of Teachers President
Randi Weingarten was arrested along with 18 other activists during a protest at
the entrance to the hearing. Four schools originally slated to be closed were
given a reprieve and will stay open
Superintendent announces potential layoffs at
Thursday night meeting. Many cuts would be in the arts.
By Margie Peterson, Special to The Morning Call 11:09 p.m.
EST, March 7, 2013
The Allentown
School District
He made the announcement at the end of a school board Education Committee
meeting Thursday night that drew a standing-room-only crowd. Mayo acknowledged the
cuts would be difficult but said districts like Allentown
"This has been personally excruciatingly painful," Mayo said. The district is facing a budget gap of $22.5
million. The cuts would reduce the deficit by $11 million.
Where Kids Go When Neighborhood
Schools Close
NPR March
06, 2013 12:00 PM Audio runtime 11:24
A rash of public school closings in some U.S. Chicago reporter and a Philadelphia
Gym: Where is the vision for public
education?
by Helen Gym on Mar 07 2013 Posted in Commentary
Thursday's School Reform Commission vote on the recommended closure of
nearly 30 schools will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future of the
city's public school system. In advance of the vote,
the Notebook asked prominent Philadelphians to offer their
thoughts, using new
data and maps on school attendance patterns in the city as a
starting point.
Read the responses from:
Mark Gleason and Mike Wang of the Philadelphia School Partnership
Sandra Dungee Glenn, former School Reform Commission chair
Mark Gleason and Mike Wang of the Philadelphia School Partnership
Sandra Dungee Glenn, former School Reform Commission chair
One of the biggest challenges our schools face has as much to do with a
lack of vision around public education as it does with a lack of resources.
Huffington Post Posted: 03/07/2013 11:10 am EST
Chicago Public Schools' Commission on School Utilization late Wednesday
released its final report on the district's plan to shutter dozens of its
schools. The report claims the nation's
third largest school district has the capacity to consolidate 80 schools over
the next two years, an astoundingly unprecedented move for a district
that has never before closed more than 11 schools in one year,
Catalyst Chicago notes.
“According to Education Week, there are now more than 6,000 publicly funded
charter schools in the United
States
It’s time to refocus
public policy on providing excellent public schools for all
Somewhere along the way, nearly every teacher dreams of starting a
school. I know I did.
More than once during the 30 years I taught English and journalism to
high school students in Paterson
Schools examine, distribute new
Keystone Exam test results
Keystone scores show which students need
extra help.
By KATY
PETIFORD The
Evening Sun Posted: 03/06/2013 10:27:04 PM EST
Earlier in the school year, administrators were concerned the new
Keystone exam would not accurately reflect students' progress. They're about to
find out if their nervousness was necessary.
Results have been released for the test that replaced the Pennsylvania
System of School Assessment for 11th grade students, and at first glance,
administrators say they are pleased with what they see. "We held our own, certainly,"
Principal Mark Blanchard said to the Gettysburg Board of Education Monday. However, school officials are waiting for
information from the Department of Education regarding when and how the scores
will be distributed to students.
Building on Success by Expanding
Pre-K Opportunities
In case you missed it amidst news coverage of snowstorms and
sequestration, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) on Wednesday stepped up efforts
to make the benefits of high-quality pre-kindergarten available to more kids. Pennsylvania
"Having at least one year of pre-k will better prepare our children
in an increasingly competitive global economy," Casey said. "Every
child deserves a chance to develop their talents, and a year of pre-k is
essential to doing that."
Casey's plan would create a pre-k funding partnership between the states
and the federal government – a partnership similar to the federal CHIP program
(enacted in 1997) that fueled a large expansion of health coverage for children
in our state and around the nation.
Zogby on the agita of projections
Post-Gazette Early Returns Published by Karen Langley on Thursday,
07 March 2013 7:25 pm .
If there's one thing that makes Charles Zogby nervous, it's revenue projections, the
Corbett budget secretary told a House panel today. It was the last day of appropriations
hearings, in which lawmakers have questioned administration officials
about Gov. Tom Corbett's $28.4 billion proposal before
beginning their own work on a plan for the fiscal year starting July 1. "If there's one area that has given me
agita over the past couple of years, it is in the revenue projections,"
Zogby said. "We're in a very volatile economy. I think that's kind of
played out in the revenue projections this year."
http://earlyreturns.post-gazette.com/home/early-returns-posts/5328-zogby-on-the-agita-of-projections
By JOSEPH STENDER - jstender@sungazette.com , Williamsport
Sun-Gazette March
6, 2013
The Williamsport
Area School
District
Richards said if Gov. Tom Corbett's budget was passed as proposed, the
district would see an increase of about $353,000 in the basic education
subsidy. But Richards said he heard that the increase in basic education is
tied into the proposed state pension reform.
"So if nothing goes through, we won't see that much (of an
increase)," he said after the meeting.
Teachers Make Handy Scapegoats, But Spiraling Inequality Is Really What
Ails Our Education System
No shortage of ink had
been put to paper pondering what it is that ails America Stanford University
Rhee Candidate Crushed in W. Sacramento School Board Race
Education Week District Dossier Blog By Lesli A.
Maxwell on March 7, 2013 11:45
AM
Though Michelle Rhee's name was not on the ballot this week in a race for
a school board seat in West Sacramento , Calif. , voters there indirectly turned down the former District of Columbia Sacramento
Diane Ravitch Launches New Education
Advocacy Counterforce
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Michele McNeil on March
7, 2013 1:10 PM
Education historian Diane Ravitch, a fierce critic of current education
reform trends, is launching a new advocacy organization that will support
political candidates who oppose high-stakes testing, mass school closures, and
what her group calls the "privatizing" of public schools.
The new Network for
Public Education is meant to counter state-level
forces such asDemocrats for Education
Reform, Stand for Children, and Students First—all of which are
promoting their own vision of education reform and supporting candidates for
office, including with donations. That agenda backs things such as charter
schools and teacher evaluations tied to student growth. Other powerful outside
groups are also pushing such an agenda, though without the political donations,
including former Gov. Jeb Bush's Foundation
for Excellence in Education and Chiefs for Change.
Advocacy Group to Monitor Reform
Efforts in Public Schools
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH Published: March 8, 2013
Diane Ravitch, the historian and
former assistant education secretary who has become an outspoken critic of
those who favor high-stakes testing, tenure reforms and other controversial
measures aimed at the public schools, has joined with other education advocates
to form a group that will grade and endorse political candidates. Diane Ravitch said her group “wants to be a
sane voice.” The group will be called
the Network for Public
Education and is co-founded by Anthony Cody, a former teacher and
now a blogger on education issues. It will try to
bring together parents, teachers and other local interest groups from across
the country through social networking.
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF THE NETWORK
FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION
The Network for Public
Education is an advocacy group
whose goal is to fight to protect, preserve and strengthen our public school
system, an essential institution in a democratic society. Our mission is to
protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools and the education of
current and future generations of students. We will accomplish this by
networking groups and organizations focused on similar goals in states and
districts throughout the nation, share information about what works and what
doesn’t work in public education, and endorse and rate candidates for office
based on our principles and goals. More specifically, we will support
candidates who oppose high-stakes testing, mass school closures, the
privatization of our public schools and the outsourcing of its core functions
to for-profit corporations, and we will support candidates who work for
evidence-based reforms that will improve our schools and the education of our
nation’s children.
Become a member: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/network-membership/
Subscribe to our
newsletter: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/subscribe/
On Tuesday evening, PanSTARRS will lie to the
south, or left, of the crescent moon, which can serve as a guide in finding the
comet. The next night, it will be found to the moon's lower right.
Comet PanSTARRS will appear in skies abovePittsburgh
Comet PanSTARRS will appear in skies above
Clouds, sunset may obscure good look at PanSTARRS
By Pete Zapadka / Pittsburgh March
8, 2013 12:06 am
A bright comet is coming to the skies over Pittsburgh
Comet PanSTARRS has been visible from the Southern Hemisphere for the
past few months, where it exhibited a comet's signature tail and could be seen
with the unaided eye. It initially gained star status shortly after it was
discovered in June 2011, showing promise that it would become dazzling. But earlier this year, its brightness was not
meeting expectations.
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.
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