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Sorry, this is not an April Fools joke: speech
services at Washington SD
Help spread
the message of the PA School Funding Campaign for the 2013-2014
State Budget:
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/03/help-spread-message-of-pennsylvania.html
Did you miss our weekend postings?
In Camden, let them eat computers; Oh Atlanta; Glenn Beck: Common Core
a Chinese-Muslim Conspiracy
Why I won't let my son take the PSSA
The opt-out movement is growing because
high-stakes tests are wrecking our schools
Post-Gazette Opinion By Kathy M. Newman March 31, 2013 12:10 am
I am an English professor. So you can imagine how my pride was hurt when
my 9-year-old son Jacob started bringing home low scores on his practice
reading tests for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. My husband and I have been helping Jacob with
his test-prep reading homework every weeknight this year, and it has been a
grim slog. At times I have found myself getting angry when Jacob has fidgeted,
or when he has had trouble focusing. Sometimes I have gotten angry when he
simply hasn't been able to answer the questions.
Then one day this March it dawned on me. I am getting angry at my son
about a test. A test that I do not like. A "high-stakes" test that
will put so much pressure on Jacob that it probably will not reflect his true
abilities. I also realized something else: Jacob does not love to read.
After doing some research and talking with other parents, my husband and
I decided to "opt out" Jacob from the PSSA tests. We are opting him
out because we do not like what high-stakes tests are doing to Jacob, to our
family, to his teachers, to his school and, ultimately, to our entire education
system.
“A
student receiving speech services at Washington School District for one
30-minute session per week costs $569 while, for the same time in a
cyberschool, the cost is $8,461.”
Cost, outcome of cybereducation
questioned by Washington
By Christie
Campbell Staff Writer chriscam@observer-reporter.com
publishedmar 29,
2013 at 11:23 pm
(updated mar 29,
2013 at 11:23 pm )
published
By attaching her computer mouse to an oscillating fan, one cyberschool
student was able to pretend she was working on her computer throughout the
school day. That admission, to the
cyberschool coordinator for Washington
School District , is just one reason
why the district is questioning the effectiveness and accountability of charter
and cyberschools in Pennsylvania
In the past five years, the district has spent $1.9 million in tuition so
that 60 to 65 students could enroll in cyberschools. At the same time, there is little to show
that those students were receiving a good education. In fact, attempts by
administrators to get attendance and progress reports, as well as notification
when a student dropped out of a cyberschool, were met with a “cease and desist”
letter from an attorney for the Pennsylvania
Cyber Charter
School
The Pennsylvania General Assembly will reconvene on Monday, April 8, 2013
Education Policy and Leadership Center March 28, 2013
Editorial: School funding is a
lesson never learned
Delco Times Published: Sunday, March 31, 2013
Well, of course it is a tax shift. So is the current system, under which state lawmakers shift to local school districts what should be their state-level responsibility to pay for education.
NLRB to oversee union-organizing
vote at Philadelphia
Martha Woodall, Inquirer
Staff Writer POSTED: Monday, April 1, 2013 , 3:01 AM
And, in what union officials said will be a first for a charter school in
Pennsylvania, New Media's union election will be overseen by the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) instead of Pennsylvania's state labor board. At the request of the charter school, the
national board took jurisdiction of New Media's election as a result of a
recent NLRB decision that said the Chicago
Mathematics & Science Academy Charter
School
The NLRB ruled in December that although the Chicago Chicago
EVENT CALENDAR 2013 PHILADELPHIA
The Philadelphia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
community has been hard at work collaborating on events for the
2013 Philadelphia Science Festival! All of the events for the Festival are
immersive and interactive. Registration is open, so reserve your seats today!
Event Calendar for PIFA Philadelphia April 27, 2013
It would be easy to think that the Atlanta
cheating scandal by adults on standardized tests is the worst we have
seen, given last week’s startling indictment against former Atlanta
But you shouldn’t. In the past
four academic years, test cheating has been confirmed in 37 states and Washington D.C.
Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass
New York Times By JENNY ANDERSON Published: March 30, 2013
Across the country, education reformers and their allies in both parties
have revamped the way teachers are graded, abandoning methods under which
nearly everyone was deemed satisfactory, even when students were falling
behind.
More than half the states now require new teacher evaluation systems and,
thanks to a deal announced last week in Albany ,
New York
The changes, already under way in some cities and states, are intended to
provide meaningful feedback and, critically, to weed out weak performers. And
here are some of the early results:
In Florida Tennessee
In Michigan
Vouchers Don’t Work: Evidence from Milwaukee
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav March 29,
2013
Now that 17 states have authorized vouchers to “save kids from failing
schools,” it is time to review the evidence from Milwaukee
The
Selling Out of Camden
NEPC’s Best of the Ed Blogs Jersey
Jazzman March
28, 2013
The
Selling Out of Camden
NEPC’s Best of the Ed Blogs Jersey
Jazzman March 29, 2013
What is it about Finland
Center for Public Education The Edifier March 22, 2013
American education is suffering from Finn envy. While the U.S. has
been steadily but slowly climbing its way out of the mid-rankings on PISA — the
international assessment of 15-year-olds — little Finland has been knocking the
academic socks off of its OECD peers in math, reading and science. So
what do the Finns have that we don’t?
A lot has been made about the differences in culture. As many observers point out Finland U.S.
Pedro Noguera on Atlanta
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav March 30, 2013 //
Pedro Noguera, my colleague at New
York University
“How ironic. Not one banker in jail for ruining the economy but a
superintendent is under indictment for cheating. Says a lot about our
nation’s priorities. – pedro”
AP Engineering May Be on the Horizon
Education Week Curriculum Matters Blog By Erik Robelen on March
29, 2013 2:15 PM
With 10 STEM-focused Advanced Placement programs, from calculus and
chemistry to computer science and even Physics
C: Electricity and Magnetism, you might imagine there would be one for
engineering. Nope. Doesn't exist. Not yet, that is.
I recently learned that the College Board and advocates for engineering
education are actively exploring the creation of a new AP program in
engineering design. What's more, the idea is not to create a traditional AP
assessment. Instead, the idea being bandied about is a portfolio assessment for
the topic, akin to the
AP Studio Art program.
Chinese funding Florida
Miami Today By Meisha Perrin October 4, 2012
Investment money is pouring into Florida from wealthy Chinese who find that Florida has exactly what they are looking for — and what they need to secure US green cards. Chinese investors are taking advantage of the EB-5 investment visa program, the so-called "green card via red carpet," by putting millions intoFlorida 's charter
schools and an aquaculture farm in Central Florida . Under the EB-5 program, through investments of
at least $1 million — or $500,000 for "targeted employment areas" —
foreign nationals are able to obtain legal residency in the US so long as the
money they invest will help secure or create at least 10 full-time jobs.
A group of Chinese investors have put $30 million into the state's charter school program to date and are looking to invest three times that amount in the next year, Ilona Vega Jaramillo, director of international business development forEnterprise Florida
Investment money is pouring into Florida from wealthy Chinese who find that Florida has exactly what they are looking for — and what they need to secure US green cards. Chinese investors are taking advantage of the EB-5 investment visa program, the so-called "green card via red carpet," by putting millions into
A group of Chinese investors have put $30 million into the state's charter school program to date and are looking to invest three times that amount in the next year, Ilona Vega Jaramillo, director of international business development for
Education Voters
PA ACTION ALERT – Call to action day April 10th
Mark your calendar for the next Call to
Action Day on Wednesday April 10th - where thousands of Pennsylvanians
will take 10 minutes to call their State Senators and House members.
Read more: http://educationvoterspa.blogspot.com/2013/03/time-for-fair-and-meaningful-ed-funding.html
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
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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