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Had 2nd kid share anxiety over
test-me"C'mon what's worst that can happen?" Him"They can fail
me, fire my teacher & close my school." Well.
Had 2nd kid share anxiety over
test-me"C'mon what's worst that can happen?" Him"They can fail
me, fire my teacher & close my school." Well.
Cybers emerge as a 2nd-chance option for
students
With over 5,000 students in Philadelphia
The
notebook by Connie Langland April 2013
…..As
of February, the providers serving the largest numbers of Philadelphia students
in grades K-12 were Agora Cyber with 2,857; Commonwealth Connections Academy,
915; Pennsylvania Cyber, 446; and Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School,
417. Superintendent William Hite
has announced plans for the District to open its own online-only charter for Philadelphia
The
state has 16 cyber charter schools serving more than 32,000 students this year.
One of the newest, Solomon Charter School Inc., of Philadelphia
Cyber charter graduation rates (chart)
The
notebook April 2013
This
chart shows how the most popular cybers serving the city (besides ASPIRA,
for which numbers were not available), are doing with their economically
disadvantaged students.
For
comparison, the School District ’s graduation
rate in 2012 was 57% for economically disadvantaged students, as
measured by the state. More than three-fourths of Philadelphia
Philly SRC to vote this week on $15 million
for new cyber school
by Dale
Mezzacappa on Apr 15 2013 Posted in Latest news
On
the agenda for Thursday's School Reform Commission meeting is a resolution
to approve $15 million to establish a District-run virtual school. The District plans to release more details
later this week, but Superintendent William Hite has spoken in the past of
starting a cyber school in an effort to retain some of the nearly $50 million
that the District now pays for more than 6,000 city students who have headed to
cybers. Some of that growth has happened amongstudents
who struggled in traditional high schools.
“Eighty-four charter schools operate in the
district, enrolling more than 55,000 students.”
Crowd urges SRC to approve charter
renewals, expansions
Martha
Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: Monday,
April 15, 2013 ,
9:16 PM
Waving
placards and chanting, more than 250 charter school students, supporters, and
parents urged the Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Monday to approve
pending charter renewals and expansion requests. "Hold up your posters. Make some
noise!" Naomi Booker, president of the Philadelphia Charters for
Excellence, exhorted the crowd massed for the upbeat after-school rally outside
district headquarters at 440 N.
Broad St
Booker,
also the chief executive of Global
Leadership Academy
Charter School
Charter
school officials said they had been told that the SRC would act on their
pending requests this month, but the action has been postponed. The district said in a statement Monday that
it was reviewing charter applications but was not sure when the SRC would
consider them.
Proceed With Caution When Closing Schools
Districts must address school
closures comprehensively
Education
Week COMMENTARY By Kate Shaw & Adam Schott April 15, 2013
Kate
Shaw is the executive director of Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based
nonprofit educational research and policy organization. Adam Schott is the
senior policy analyst at Research for Action.
over
the past decade, another
23 closures are on the horizon. The
Nationwide,
the implications of these policies are difficult to comprehend. Yet federal and
state policies that incentivize closures, continued growth in the charter
school sector, and the lingering effects of the national recession are driving
more districts to embrace school closure as a reform strategy and to move
aggressively to downsize on a broad scale.
The
rationale for these plans centers on two major assumptions that remain
unproven.
PSBA, Local Government Leaders Demand
Prevailing Wage Reform
PSBA
website 4/15/2013
This
week PSBA joined local government leaders at the Capitol to ask the General
Assembly to enact meaningful reforms to the Prevailing Wage Act, which was
enacted in 1961 and has been unchanged since that time. The event was hosted by the Local Government
Conference and attended by elected officials from across the state. Speaking at the event on behalf of PSBA was
Kathy Swope, president of the Lewisburg Area School Board.
PA State Representatives Tallman, Metcalfe and
Saylor discuss using liquor store privatization revenue for transportation
infrastructure improvements instead of education block grants proposed by
Governor Corbett.
PAindependent·YouTube video runtime 1:37
Lawmaker calls for directing liquor
privatization dollars to transportation
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com
onApril 15, 2013
at 5:45 PM ,
updated April 15, 2013 at 9:50
PM
on
Gov.
Tom Corbett's proposal that
uses money from the sale of the state's liquor system for educational programs
isn't a bad idea, but Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill, said his is better.
Knowles
has introduced legislation that
would direct the liquor money toward the state’s $3.2 billion annual
transportation funding needs. He said he would like to see that happen before
he would support any proposal that would drive up fees or taxes on motorists.
EDITORIAL: Pressure of PSSAs failing
students
Delco
Times Editorial Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2013
It’s
PSSA time!
If you’re a teacher, student or parent, you’re probably sick of hearing about the state assessment tests, what with all the pep rallies, study sessions and such. But the tests are important. Even if we’re tired of hearing about them, no one can afford to take them lightly. State and federal funding, educators’ careers, communities’ reputations and even housing prices hinge at least partially on how well students do on the standardized achievement tests.
Is that unfair? To a certain extent, yes.
If you’re a teacher, student or parent, you’re probably sick of hearing about the state assessment tests, what with all the pep rallies, study sessions and such. But the tests are important. Even if we’re tired of hearing about them, no one can afford to take them lightly. State and federal funding, educators’ careers, communities’ reputations and even housing prices hinge at least partially on how well students do on the standardized achievement tests.
Is that unfair? To a certain extent, yes.
More opt out of standardized tests
While
their peers at Schaeffer
Elementary School
The Hellers are skipping the exams this year through a little-known provision of the state education law that allows parents to opt their children out of PSSAs and Keystone Exams for religious reasons. Their mother, Renee Heller, is part of a small but growing group of parents fed up with the emphasis at their schools on state-mandated high-stakes, high-stress tests
The Hellers are skipping the exams this year through a little-known provision of the state education law that allows parents to opt their children out of PSSAs and Keystone Exams for religious reasons. Their mother, Renee Heller, is part of a small but growing group of parents fed up with the emphasis at their schools on state-mandated high-stakes, high-stress tests
NSBA seeks to stop erosion of local control
NSBA
2013 Conference Daily by Del Stover April 15th, 2013
The
erosion of local school board authority is on the minds of many board members
these days, and NSBA has responded with the Local School Board Governance and
Flexibility Act, which seeks to rein in the U.S. Department of Education’s use
of rules and regulations to intrude on the role of local school policymakers.
“What
local school boards need is the flexibility and freedom to govern education in
a way that reflects the needs and values of their own local community,” Michael
A. Resnick, NSBA’s associate executive director for federal advocacy and public
policy, told attendees at Saturday’s National Network Luncheon at NSBA’s annual
conference.
The
federal government has engaged in “significant overreach” in the past decade,
he said. No longer content to administer federal legislation, federal officials
are attempting to implement their own policy agenda. One strategy to accomplish this has been to
write grant rules and regulations so officials can use the promise of federal
funding to encourage states and school districts to experiment with charter
schools, close so-called failing schools, and adopt unproven teacher evaluation
systems.
A
group of teachers and their unions are filing a lawsuit against Florida
Bush, Obama focus on standardized testing
leads to ‘opt-out’ parents’ movement
A
decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to
standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and
students opting out of the high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools and
teachers. From Seattle ,
where 600 high school students refused to take a standardized test in January,
to Texas Florida
School Board Member Opts Son Out of State
Tests
Diane
Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav April 15,
2013
Willa
Powell, a member of the school board in Rochester ,
New York
Superintendents, Business Managers, School
Board Members, Union Leaders, Any Others interested in PSERS and wanting to
learn more about Pension Reform . . .
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Registration:
6:30 p.m. Presentation: 7:00 p.m.
Allegheny Intermediate Unit 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead , PA 15120
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive
Director for the Pennsylvania Schools Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)
will present on the topic of pension reform. Mr. Clay’s presentation will
review the increases in retirement contributions and the Governor’s proposal on
pension reform. As one concerned about public education, we are sure that
you will find this meeting enlightening and a valuable investment of your time.
In order to accommodate those
attending and prepare the necessary materials for the meeting, please
register using the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6252177431 by May 7, 2013 .
If you have any questions
regarding the registration process, please contact Janet Galaski at 412.394.5753 or janet.galaski@aiu3.net.
NAACP 2013
Conference on the State of Education in Pennsylvania
A Call for Equitable and
Adequate Funding for Pennsylvania
Media Area Branch NAACP
Saturday, May 11, 2013 9:00 am – 2:30 pm (8:30 am registration)
Marcus Foster Student Union 2nd
floor, Cheyney University of PA, Delaware County Campus
Information and registration
at: http://www.naacpmediabranch.org/2013_conference.html
PA Charter Schools: $4 billion taxpayer dollars with no real
oversight
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny; Proposed
statewide authorization and direct payment would further diminish
accountability and oversight for public tax dollars
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