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State "very
concerned" about reports of too much PSSA prep
Pennsylvania
By Stuart L. Knade on
April 11, 2013
at 9:45 AM
Stuart L. Knade is interim executive director of the Pennsylvania School
When Pennsylvania
State "very concerned" about
reports of too much PSSA prep
Philly
daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch Thursday, April 11, 2013 , 5:26 PM
Following up on my
story earlier this week about a small but growing protest movement of
parents opting their kids out of Pennsylvania's standardized PSSA tests, an
official said the state Department of Education is "very concerned"
about anecdotal reports of too much test prep and not enough conventional
learning in the weeks leading up to the exams.
But Timothy Eller, the spokesman for the state Department of Education,
also gave a full-throated defense of the high-stakes test that the state uses
to evaluate which schools are rated as "failing" and will soon be
used to grade teacher performance. Indeed, he compared the experience to an
annual physical exam.
Closing the learning-time gap
thenotebook by James H. Lytle on Apr 11 2013
Posted in Commentary
Amid all the debate about
addressing the achievement gap, one obvious explanation has
escaped attention: the amount of time that kids from different backgrounds
spend engaged in school or school-related activities. Having worked in or observed both public and
private schools -- including inner-city, magnet, suburban, independent, and
boarding schools -- I’ve concluded that there is a striking and straightforward
explanation for why kids in the inner city do relatively well through 3rd grade
before starting to fall by the wayside. They are not getting nearly enough
time in structured learning environments.
Using high school as the point of comparison, let's see how learning
time varies among the different types of schools.
“Before enacting new tax cuts, Pennsylvania
Patriot-News Op-Ed By Sharon Ward on April 11, 2013 at 8:30 AM
For public policymakers, as for
doctors, a guiding principle should be “first, do no harm.”
Unfortunately, Harrisburg
There is more harm to come.
Hidden deep within Gov. Tom Corbett’s latest budget plan are major income tax
cuts for corporations beginning in 2015 that, when fully phased in, will cost
hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Profitable corporations will pay
less, hardworking families will pay more, and our schools and communities will
deteriorate.
Paying for preschool with a $1 a pack
cigarette tax
President Obama’s plan to pay
for universal
preschool for 4-year-olds by doubling the federal tax on cigarettes
was quickly attacked by tobacco companies, which argued Wednesday that it is
unfair to saddle smokers with the costs.
In discussing the administration’s proposed 2014 budget, Education
Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters that raising the federal tobacco
tax by 94 cents would generate $75 billion over the next decade, enough to pay
for federal subsidies to states to enroll all low-income and some
moderate-income 4-year-olds in quality preschool.
The president’s plan would
expand such preschool services to 1.1 million additional four-year-olds from
low- and moderate-income families, according to the Education Department.
“The Obama administration's proposal aims to expand preschool to include
every 4-year-old whose family makes less than 200 percent of the poverty line.”
Obama Pre-K Expansion Battle
Huffington Post by Joy
Resmovits 04/10/2013
7:35 am EDT
President Barack Obama's 2014
budget pits education activists against the tobacco industry by
proposing to help fund a new early childhood education program with a tax hike
on tobacco.
The education advocates took up
that fight early Wednesday. The Center for American Progress, a left-wing think
tank with close ties to the administration, released an analysis showing the expansion is badly needed. The
analysis by Juliana Herman, Sasha Post, and Melissa Lazarin found that while many
states are expanding access to state-funded preschool -- such as Mississippi
"This investment could
help jumpstart preschool programs in states without adequate preschools and
could also help states with programs reach the lowest-income children,"
the authors wrote. "This would free up state dollars to expand access for
higher-income children and improve program quality.
PEAK outreach seeks to get parents on-board
early with reading
Pottstown
Mercury By Evan Brandt ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
Sunday, 04/07/13 12:01 am
POTTSTOWN — To say that Pottstown ’s early education efforts are community-wide is
to understate the matter. Recognizing
when it was established in 2006, that some of the most important years in a
child’s education career happen before they ever get to school, Pottstown’s
program — 
Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness, or
PEAK — does more than just train preschool
teachers and provide curriculum to local pre-schools, it reaches out to parents
who, coordinator Mary Reick will happily tell you, are a child’s first, best
teachers.
Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness, or
PEAK — does more than just train preschool
teachers and provide curriculum to local pre-schools, it reaches out to parents
who, coordinator Mary Reick will happily tell you, are a child’s first, best
teachers.
Filmmaker wants to document Pottstown ’s pioneering early ed efforts
Pottstown
Mercury By Evan Brandt ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
Sunday, 04/07/13
12:01 am
A Virginia
filmmaker who made a short film about Pottstown ’s
pioneering early education program called PEAK has alerted the district of his
desire to make a full-length documentary film about the first children to
benefit from the program. Superintendent
Jeff Sparagana told the school board recently that filmmaker John Harrington,
president of Virginia-based Madison films, has
expressed an interest in building on the work he did in 2009 when he put some
film shorts together for a presentation on Pottstown ’s
early education efforts for the Pennsylvania Office of Childhood Development
and Early Learning.
The video, which won an award,
highlights the PEAK approach, developed with the help of the National Institute of School Leadership . Harrington hopes to track some of the
students he first filmed through their education in Pottstown
to explore how their early education experience may have helped “and have the
students and parents tell their story about their partnership with PEAK,” Sparagana
said.
National Institute of School Leadership . Harrington hopes to track some of the
students he first filmed through their education in
Charter
reform sought by Seneca
Valley
Post-Gazette By Laure Cioffi April 11, 2013 4:55 am
Obama Budget Increases Education Spending,
Flatlines Key Funds For Poor And Students With Disabilities
Huffington Post by Joy
Resmovits 04/10/2013
1:19 pm EDT
While President Barack Obama's
2014 budget proposal asks for an overall spending increase
to education, most of that will go to new programs and competitive grants as
two key funds devoted to poor students and students with disabilities flatline.
According to the
administration's budget documents, amid a slew of other budget cuts, the Obama
administration is asking for $71.2 billion in discretionary funding for
education, an ask that represents a 4.6 percent or 3.1 billion increase over
2012 levels.
Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error
Taking Note Blog by JOHN MERROW on 11. APR, 2013
With the indictment of former Atlanta School
*****
|
|
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny
Proposed statewide
authorization and direct payment would further diminish accountability and
oversight for public tax dollars
Network for Public Education
Webinar: How to Organize a
Grassroots Group; Saturday, April 13 at 2:30
pm EDT
Many of those who have joined our network want to get involved in
grassroots work to change the direction of education in our communities. We are
now planning a series of web forums to share concrete ways to do just that. The
first will focus on how to organize grassroots groups.
Phyllis Bush and members of the North
East Indiana Friends of Public Education will share their experiences
in getting organized. Formed just two years ago, this group helped elect
teacher Glenda Ritz as state superintendent of education.
The webinar will take place on Saturday, April 13, at 2:30 pm Eastern time, 11:30 am Pacific time. You can register
here. You will be emailed a link to the webinar a day or two before the
event.
WTXsW � A 5 �& P+ 3zuDAHGM7NBE25DqeBNPm7WClrklE8aPiIC0Zqg3Xm9BaRLCxrTqAEdtnBv9lyUVaZz2iTUDaCRWR_k7hCDHEpx7A=">register
here. You will be emailed a link to the webinar a day or two before the
event.
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
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