Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1900
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.
The Keystone State Education Coalition is
pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public
Education. Are you a
member?
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
HB2 - O'Neill's special ed plan awaits governor's
signature
Online petition calls on PA
policymakers to restore education funding to 2010 levels:
PA Students are Waiting:
Fund Public Ed
PETITION STATEMENT: PA has an obligation to
fund a thorough and efficient system of education for children. Stop shifting
the burden to local communities and RESTORE education funding to 2010 levels.
HB2 - O'Neill's special ed plan awaits governor's
signature
Phillyburbs.com By
Gary Weckselblatt Staff Writer Posted on April 24, 2013
Not quite one year ago, state Rep. Bernie
O’Neill was beside himself as his legislation to reform special education
funding was rewritten in such a way that he refused to support the measure, and
it ultimately collapsed. “I had such an
empty, hollow feeling,” O’Neill recalled Tuesday. “Last year the process was so
frustrating. I bit my tongue and just continued plugging ahead.”
That perseverance, nearly seven years
worth, is close to paying off as O’Neill’s House Bill 2 and its Senate
companion SB 470 passed both chambers without a negative vote. It will become
law with Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature, which a spokeswoman said Tuesday is
“likely” to happen.
Panel to study
community college funding in Pa.
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
April 24, 2013
A push to take a fresh look at the five-decade-old funding formula for community colleges got another shove today by the House Education Committee. It approved legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver, to form a 19-member task force to examine the sustainability of the current funding model. The panel also will look at accessibility and affordability issues related to community college.
A push to take a fresh look at the five-decade-old funding formula for community colleges got another shove today by the House Education Committee. It approved legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver, to form a 19-member task force to examine the sustainability of the current funding model. The panel also will look at accessibility and affordability issues related to community college.
Door
locks, security doors, cameras, secure entrance areas – school districts all
over the state are spending millions to upgrade building security systems…..
“The locks cost nearly $783,000, but that does not include the cost of
installation. District officials expect that the locks will be installed by the
end of the year.”
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review By Bill
Zlatos Wednesday, April 24, 2013 , 9:36 p.m.
Teachers will be able to lock out intruders from classrooms in Pittsburgh Public Schools as part of the school district's response to the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Teachers will be able to lock out intruders from classrooms in Pittsburgh Public Schools as part of the school district's response to the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The school board voted unanimously Wednesday
night to approve the purchase of 4,400 intruder locks in all 59 schools and
early learning centers. There was no discussion on the security measure. The administration proposed buying the locks
from Stanley Security Systems Inc. in Indianapolis Newtown , Conn.
Ethics report: Pocono Ex-charter school chief's
'self-dealing' cost taxpayers $1.5 million
Ethics
report says former head of Poconos school cost taxpayers $1.5 million.
By Steve Esack, Morning Call Harrisburg
HARRISBURG — The former head of an
embattled Monroe County charter school broke state ethics and
conflict-of-interest rules by funneling more than $1.5 million in taxpayer
money to himself, his family, his businesses and his church, an investigative
report made public by Commonwealth Court says.
The Rev. Dennis Bloom, founder of the Pocono Mountain
Charter School
Common Core: Program brings big changes to class
Common
Core standards aim to help students succeed after graduation.
Published: April 21. 2013 12:01AM
Wilkes-Barre
Local schools are grappling with a dramatic
shift in what gets taught at which grades, courtesy of something known as the
“Common Core” standards. Critics contend it’s massive overreach by a federal
government determined to control education; proponents counter that it’s a
voluntary, state-initiated effort to make sure students graduate ready for
work, college or the military regardless of where they live.
Save Upper Darby Arts
(SUDA) Continues Grass-Roots Public Education Advocacy
In April 2012, our community came together
to achieve what no one thought we could. We created a viral video, collected
22,000 petition signatures, earned the recognition of people like Congressman
Sestak, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Rosario Dawson, and Seth Green, and
in the end, retrieved $2.7 million for Upper Darby School District
It’s April 2013, and we’re ready to
help every community in the Commonwealth to do the
same…together.
“In the charter gold rush, cyber
schools are veritable diamond mines with, as Roebuck noted, "very little
accountability."
Karen Heller: In Philly, the fast track to the
cyber-school bottom
Karen
Heller, Inquirer Columnist POSTED: Wednesday,
April 24, 2013 ,
3:01 AM
Americans are overwhelmed by choices, not
all of them good. In response to struggling public schools, Philadelphia
That gold, by the way, would be your tax
dollars.
$6 million awarded to grow Philly district schools
Inquirer Philly
School Files Blog by Kristen Graham Wednesday, April 24, 2013 , 12:45 PM
A city nonprofit with growing clout will
spend $6 million to expand two successful public schools and turn another Philadelphia School District Science
Leadership Academy ;
and turn the Workshop
School
Philadelphia Schools Partnership, which is
well on its way to raising $100 million to invest in strong charter, public and
nonpublic schools across the city, has also signaled its intent to give away
another roughly $2 million to district schools affected by the School Reform
Commission’s move to shut 24 buildings. That money will fund grants to schools
receiving large numbers of students from closing schools.
SCHOOL DISTRICT AND PHILADELPHIA
Grants
to support improvements at Facilities Master Plan receiving schools and expand
three high-performing programs could total $8 million or more
PSP has indicated its desire to support transformational improvements in Facilities Master Plan receiving schools during the upcoming school year with grants totaling $2 million or more. The grants are contingent upon school leaders with strong track records making it through PSP’s grant-approval process with compelling school turnaround plans.
Senate
board convenes at Lebanon
High School
The
state's Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Folmer, held hearings Tuesday
on learning programs
By JOHN LATIMER Lebanon 04/24/2013 07:57:57 AM EDT
Sequestration: 40 Reading
Reading Eagle by David Mekeel April 17, 2013
The Reading School District
The exact level of federal funding won't be
known until next month at the earliest, Peters said, but thanks to the federal
sequester and other cuts, funding for city schools will decrease.
Title I grants, which impact economically
disadvantaged students, will likely be cut more than $1.3 million.
Title II grants, which are spent for
teacher and principal training and recruitment, are expected to drop about
$700,000.
And Title III grants, which assist students
with limited English skills, will likely be cut more than $500,000.
Yinzercation does school closings…… Overall,
school closings:
- don’t offer
better academic outcomes for students, and
- don’t save
significant amounts of money.
Again and Again
It’s like a bad case of school closure déjà
vu. Pittsburgh
First Book has Free Books for Students in
Need
Education Week Bookmarks Blog By Catherine A. Cardno on April 23, 2013
So many truly awful events have
occurred in the last few months, Hurricane Sandy's damage seems like it
occurred years ago, rather than a mere 6 months. However, the organization
First Book has been busy collecting new books for distribution to homes,
community centers, and schools in need in the aftermath of the storm. Due to
the generosity of Random House, the organization now has more than 1 million brand-new books to distribute to
home, community, and school libraries. A program or school "in need" (70
percent or more of the students must come from low-income families to qualify,
according to First Book) can register to receive these new books if they are located
in states affected by the storm.
April 2013 | Volume 70 |
Number 7
What Works: How High-Poverty Schools Are Getting It Done
What Works: How High-Poverty Schools Are Getting It Done
ASCD’s
The Principalship Pages 56-59 by Karin Chenoweth and Christina Theokas
Principals in high-achieving schools with a high percentage of students
in poverty share four characteristics.
To anyone who cares about
ensuring that all children are educated to a high standard, it is depressing to
look at one of those graphs that show schools by percentage of low-income
students on the x axis and academic achievement on the y axis.
The steep slope down and to the right seems to demonstrate an iron law of
probability: High-income schools have high achievement; low-income schools have
low achievement. Even more uncomfortable for a country that often prides itself
on having eliminated institutional discrimination, the same results can be
replicated when race rather than income is used.
But if you take your eye to the
upper-right quadrant of that graph, you'll often see an outlier or two—that is,
high-achieving schools with a high percentage of students of poverty or
students of color. What are those
schools like? Are they there because of a one-time fluke? Are their poor kids
the children of impecunious grad students? Are their students of color the
children of doctors or lawyers?
After eight years of studying
schools in the upper-right quadrant, we can say that their presence there is
rarely a fluke. Their poor children are like poor children everywhere, burdened
with hardships children should not have to face. Their students of color are
not primarily the children of upper-income professionals. And many of these
schools have teachers trained in the same local colleges that trained teachers
who work in less successful schools nearby.
These schools do, however, have
something that helps explain their success: They all have excellent school
leaders.
The Nation by Lee
Fang on April
23, 2013 - 2:46 PM
ET
The Commonwealth Foundation, a right-wing
think tanks in Harrisburg Pennsylvania
the next Wisconsin or Michigan
Chicago Public Schools Student Boycott:
High Schoolers Skip Required State Exam To Protest School
Huffington Post Posted: 04/24/2013
2:54 pm
EDT | Updated: 04/24/2013 2:56 pm EDT
On a day they were slated to
take a state-required test that directly affects their graduation eligibility,
around 100 Chicago
Public School
"CSOSOS [Chicago Students
Organizing To Save Our Schools] has organized this boycott to show [Mayor Rahm
Emanuel] and the CPS school board that we are over-tested, under-resourced and fed up," Paul Robeson
High School
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
Sign Up
Today for PILCOP Special Ed CLE Trainings
Spots are filling up for the
final three trainings in our 2012-2013 Know Your Child’s Rights series with
seminars on ADAAA, Pro Se Parents and Settlement Agreements.
For seminar details and
registration: http://pilcop.org/sign-up-today-for-special-ed-cle-trainings/
Turning the Page for Change
celebration, June
11, 2013
Please join us for the Notebook’s annual Turning the Page for
Change celebration on June 11, 2013 , from 4:30 - 7 p.m. at the University of The Arts 320 S. Broad Street
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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