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postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1875
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
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advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of the press and a
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advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Plus cyber special: more than
you ever wanted to know about PA cyber charter schools.
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
I guess this means that the cyberschools have been getting a windfall
for several years. If a home schooling
parent can get a cyber curriculum for $1000 from K12, Inc. why should a
cyberschool be able to charge my district’s taxpayers $9000 for a regular ed
student and $27,000 for a special ed student?
Schools may get windfall: Cyber
reform measure would redirect funding to local districts
HARRISBURG — Public school districts may finally get help in their
struggle to recapture some of the money that has followed students who choose
to enroll in charter schools rather than attend the local bricks-and-mortar
school system. State Rep. James Roebuck
Jr., D-Philadelphia, unveiled a comprehensive cyber school funding reform bill
Thursday that was largely modeled on recommendations made by Auditor General
Jack Wagner in a special report released during the summer. The projected savings would be four times the
amount that Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed to increase in the state’s basic
education funding this year.
“Haverford currently has 35 students, 23 special ed and 12 regular ed,
enrolled in its blended school. Savings are significant, since the district
must pay more than $26,000 for each special education student to attend a cyber
charter, and just more than $9,000 for regular education students. Total costs for those students
would have been $714,000. Instead, the
district is paying a $55 maintenance fee, $3,500 in special development and
$24,000 in licensing costs for its blended program, totaling only $27,555 for
all 35 students,
said program chair and emotional support counselor Nicole Battestelli.”
Haverford reviews benefits of
‘blended school’
Delco Times By LOIS PUGLIONESI Times Correspondent Thursday, March 07, 2013
HAVERFORD — The school district’s blended school program appears to be
curtailing cyber charter school enrollment and saving taxpayer money, officials
said in a recent update to the school board.
The blended school program offers a combination of “online learning with
instructional support by Haverford teachers through direct contact, email and
phone,” said Haverford Middle School Assistant Principal David Parker, who also
serves as coordinator of secondary special programs.
Ponzi
schemes? Homeschoolers can pay $1000 for
cyber curriculum but K12 charges PA taxpayers an average of $12000. How much K12, Inc. stock does Budget Secretary
Zogby still own and what are the terms of his current relationship with K12?
Amy Worden, Inquirer Harrisburg March 8, 2013 ,
6:01 AM
What is traditionally an opportunity for lawmakers to publicly make a
case for funding programs turned into a partisan debate, as Budget Secretary
Charles Zogby defended Gov. Corbett's policies and trashed his Democratic
predecessor's.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130308_Pa__fiscal_chief_rails_about_Rendell__Ponzi_schemes_.html
Here
are three collections of articles/prior postings that will give you a pretty
broad overview of Pennsylvania
Cyber special: Lancaster
This posting from November 2012 includes a great Lancaster Online series
on cybercharters by Mary Beth Schweigert and Chip Smedley. If you are new to this issue this is a great
place to get a handle on it.
This is a collection of current and prior postings on K12, Inc. from February 14, 2013
Cyber special: Collection of
articles on Pennsylvania cybers and charters, followed by some additional
history on K12, Inc. and Pennsylvania Budget Secretary Charles Zogby’s
involvement with them.
“The governor's proposed budget for key classroom funding programs is
more than $250 million below actual state funding levels from five years ago.”
A True Look at Basic Education
Funding In Pennsylvania
Senator Vincent Hughes, Democratic Appropriations Chair March 8, 2013
While the Corbett Administration touts its public education investments,
saying that it has provided more basic education funding than any other
governor, the numbers reveal an entirely different story. Deep budget cuts of nearly $900 million in
the 2011-12 budget year, created a seriously underfunded public education
system in Pennsylvania
During the prior decade, Pennsylvania
Take a look at this chart provided by Senator Hughes:
Philly school closings in the
national news
by thenotebook on Mar 09 2013 Posted in Notes from the news
Thursday's decision to close 23 schools and relocate or merge five
others has received national - and international - news attention. On
Friday, NPR's national evening news program, "All Things Considered,"
included a
report by NewsWorks' Benjamin Herold.
Coverage of the aftermath of the decision in the national and world
news:
WHYY RadioTimes with Marty
Moss-Coane: Philadelphia
Audio Runtime: 52:01
GUESTS: BENJAMIN HEROLD, WILLIAM HITE JR., LORI SHORR March 8, 2013
We'll respond to the school closures announced last night, and the
politics and process that led the School
District of Philadelphia
PCCY STATEMENT ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS:
EFFECTIVE STUDENT TRANSITIONS FROM CLOSED SCHOOLS
Philadelphia, PA — Following the Philadelphia School Reform
Commission’s (SRC) decisions on school closures Thursday, Public Citizens for
Children and Youth today released the following statement calling on the SRC to
now focus priority attention on the safe, productive transfers of about 6
percent of the School District’s students from closed schools into their new
schools:
The District must ensure that the new schools into which students
transfer are as good as --or better than -- the closed schools. This means that
at a minimum class sizes should be conducive to learning and the supports
students received in the closed buildings should be available in the new
buildings.
“The school is one of the foundations of the
community,” said Rosemarie Hatcher, president of the Philadelphia
Home and School Council, which represents local home and school
associations. “It’s like a village. The schools know our kids and they look out
for our kids.”
Rational Decisions and Heartbreak on
School Closings
New York Times News Analysis By MOTOKO RICH and JON HURDLE
Published: March
8, 2013
The overflow crowd on Thursday at the meeting of the School Reform
Commission, at which school closings were announced. At University City High in Philadelphia
Latest Study: A full-time school
librarian makes a critical difference in boosting student achievement
School Library Journal By Debra E. Kachel and Keith Curry
Lance on March 7, 2013
Imagine trying to teach kids how to swim in an empty pool.
That’s exactly what Baruch Kintisch envisioned when he took a hard look
at the effects of his city’s deep education cuts. Philadelphia ’s
“schools are underfunded; classrooms are crowded; libraries, labs, and
special-education services are outdated or nonexistent,” writes Kintisch, the
director of policy advocacy and a senior staff attorney at the Education Law Center August 9, 2012 ).
Simply put, students suffer when they don’t have adequate resources—and,
in particular, we’ve found that student achievement suffers when schools lack
libraries that are staffed by full-time librarians. “Nearly every public school
in Bucks, Delaware , and Montgomery Counties Philadelphia
He’s right. More than half of Philadelphia
Our View: Help save arts in Erie
ERIE TIMES-NEWS OPINION PUBLISHED: MARCH 7, 2013 12:01 AM EST
Youngsters need to plan for their careers at an early age, and students who excel in science, technology, engineering and math courses will be ready to land good jobs. That's the conventional wisdom in education and business. InErie Fort LeBoeuf
High School Erie School District has produced two arts education
advocates from within its own ranks -- Andrew Dolan, a senior at Northwest Pennsylvania
Collegiate Academy ,
and Daria Simon Devlin, a graduate of Central
High School who has a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Colgate
University
Youngsters need to plan for their careers at an early age, and students who excel in science, technology, engineering and math courses will be ready to land good jobs. That's the conventional wisdom in education and business. In
Philipsburg charter school
proponents mull next steps
Centre Daily Times By Lori Falce — For the CDT Published: March 7, 2013
PHILIPSBURG — According to organizers of the Central Pennsylvania
Charter Academy
On Tuesday, the Philipsburg-Osceola Area school board officially rejected
the group’s application. The secondary charter school was envisioned as an
inquiry-based environment modeled on theHarkness
method, the kind of discussion-as-learning program that is used in some of
the country’s most sought-after preparatory schools, such as the Phillips Exeter Academy in
Exeter , N.H. Philipsburg-Osceola
Area Senior
High School
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/03/07/3528245/philipsburg-charter-school-proponents.html#storylink=cpy
Lawmakers weigh in on Philly school
contract dispute
PhillyTrib by Damon
C. Williams Thursday, 07 March 2013 17:12
Using two different methods, two politicians with measurable clout and
statewide power are taking the School Reform Commission to task for its
handling of the school closure situation, and for its dealings with the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers as it recently opened contract negotiations
with its biggest union. State Senator
Vincent Hughes, who serves as Senate Democratic Appropriations Chairman,
recently sent a scathing letter to SRC Chair Pedro Ramos that accused the
district of offering a “draconian contract proposal” to its biggest union as
the sides open up contract talks that appear to be careening toward hostility.
Harper Poll: Corbett, Sestak Lead
Guv Primaries
PoliticsPA Written by Keegan Gibson, Managing
Editor March 7,
2013
The latest numbers from Harper
Polling show Gov. Tom Corbett in command of a hypothetical Republican
primary, although he falls just shy of the 50% mark. He leads Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce
Castor 49% to 21% among likely Republican voters with 30% not sure.
…..Former Congressman and 2010 Senate candidate Joe Sestak leads with 20%
statewide, followed by Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz at 19%. Sestak has made
only vague statements about the possibility he might run. Schwartz appears by
all intents and purposes to be moving toward a bid. Pa. Treasurer Rob McCord came in third with
7%, followed by Philadelphia
Is Closing Underperforming Schools
Really Good for Students?
The Atlantic Cities by SARAH
CARR March 8,
2013
For better or for worse, today's school superintendents have become CEOs.
Corporate principles and the lexicon of business are pervasive throughout
American schools. Teachers work to shore up a bottom line defined by test
scores. And if numbers fail to improve, the district drops the school from its
portfolio. In some communities, the
record numbers of public school closures have set off a fiery backlash among
activists and educators. Philadelphia Chicago Detroit , Washington ,
D.C., and Oakland
Participants Are Sought For Workshops To Begin This Month
By VANESSA DE LA TORRE, vdelatorre@courant.comThe
Hartford
6:36 p.m. EST, March 6, 2013
HARTFORD —— School administrators
plan to recruit dozens of city parents for new evening workshops that aim to
connect families with the school system and teach mothers and fathers how they
can educate their children at home. The
school board voted this week to allow Superintendent Christina Kishimoto to
finalize a $79,166 contract between the district and Parent
Academy , or La Academia Para Los
Padres, a Hartford
“Rep. Mike Hope, a Republican from Snohomish
County, has introduced a bill that would require school districts each year to
provide a host of information to parents about the battery of standardized
tests their kids are subjected to these days. That would include how much time each
test would take, whether the test is required by the state or federal
government, the impact of test scores for students and--perhaps most
interestingly of all-- how much the tests cost.”
Anti-Testing Movement Gains Voice in
the WA Legislature With Bill Asking for Tally of Costs
The Seattle
School District
Now, the legislature is getting in on the action.
Parent-Trigger Bills Progress in
States' Legislatures
Education Week Charters and Choice Blog By Katie Ash on March
8, 2013 3:21 PM
At least three states—Florida , Georgia , and Oklahoma
The Network for Public Education
Daily KOS Blog By teacherken
March 7, 22 013
The Network for Public Education was announced today. If you care
about saving public education from privatization, from the so-called
"reformers" like Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee, the corporatizers like
Joel Klein, this is an organization you should join and support.
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/
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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