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
Less Rosy Revenue; More Business Tax Cuts?
State's
revenue picture not looking as rosy as Gov. Tom Corbett had hoped
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on May 01, 2013
at 7:03 PM
State revenue streams for the
month of April, one of the fiscal year’s biggest collection months, raised $3.6
billion, according to the Department of Revenue. That is nearly $32 million more than was
anticipated when the budget was enacted last June. It brings the fiscal year-to-date collections
to $23.9 billion, or $67 million above estimate, to support the $27.7 billion state general fund budget. But based on revenue projections released
today by the state's Independent Fiscal Office, that
$67 million is likely to disappear by the time the fiscal year ends on June 30.
That is mostly because of slumping sales tax collections. …..The less rosy revenue outlook had Sharon
Ward, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center ,
urging lawmakers to hold off on Corbett’s proposed business tax cuts, which the
House is expected to consider next week.
Pennsylvania fiscal office projects
$520M revenue shortfall
By
Kate Giammarise / Post-Gazette Harrisburg
Bureau May 1, 2013
6:53 pm
HARRISBURG -- An estimate released Wednesday by the state's
Independent Fiscal Office shows a $520 million shortfall between projected
general fund revenues and Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget through the end of
the next fiscal year.
Read
more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/independent-fiscal-office-forecasts-520-million-shortfall-for-state-685811/#ixzz2S7qBq5r1
PBPC Revenue Tracker: April Collections Come in
Above Estimate But Sales Tax Remains a Drag
Pennsylvania General Fund revenue collections
came in $32 million above projections for April, putting the fiscal
year-to-date surplus at $67.
A copy of this posting is being
faxed to all members of the PA General Assembly this morning. Ask your State Senator and State
Representative if they think that our tax dollars for education should be spent
on advertising and corporate bonuses.
According to minutes
from 12/18/12 Agora Cyber Board mtg, your PA tax $$$ paid for 19,298
local TV commercials
IMHO….I respectfully disagree
with Mr. Eller’s comments in the article below.
Districts will in fact have to make sure that their curriculum,
including textbooks is aligned with the Common Core and that their teachers are
properly trained. There will be considerable expense at the district
level. I am a 13 year school board member in a relatively affluent school
district.
If any of you listened to the
hearings with the Philadelphia
School District before
City Council, the notion that somehow we are going to just test these kids into
success is a fantasy. Higher expectations are great, but in underfunded
urban schools with little support services somehow the Common Core
implementation does not strike me as the best use of scarce resources.
Proponent calls Common Core the 'great
equalizer of education'
VICKI ROCK Daily American Staff
Writer 2:16 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2013
Panel: Level the playing field for
traditional schools, cyberschools
Observer-Reporter By Mike Jones
Staff Writer Mjones@Observer-Reporter.Com April 30, 2013
State legislators and school
officials from around Southwestern Pennsylvania
met Saturday morning to discuss the future of public education and the growing
presence of cyberschools.
"Education doesn't always happen in the classroom," said
Hardy. "We live in a city that has all these places where students can
learn, and we want to make sure we utilize them."
Boys Latin now serves almost 500 students — all boys, almost all
African-American, many of them poor. The
school does just so-so on standardized tests, but Hardy says that's only part
of the equation.
"Over the past three years, we've gotten guys into over 120
different colleges. Not one of them asked about the state test," Hardy
said. "We need to spend more time
on SAT prep. We need to spend more time on critical thinking. We need to spend
time on things where these kids are going to have practical knowledge that they
can apply when they go to college or on their jobs. That's what education
is."
At Boys
Latin Charter, a lesson in watching Philadelphians
WHYY
Newsworks By Benjamin Herold, @BenjaminBHerold May 1, 2013
Download Audio File » Listen to the story as featured on
NewsWorks Tonight.
Sixteen-year-old boys aren't
typically thought of as quiet observers of the world around them.
But that's exactly what the students
in Carly Ackerman's 10th grade composition class at Boys
Latin Charter
High School in West
Philadelphia are learning to become.
Computer Problems in Three States Hamper
Student Proficiency Tests
New
York Times National Briefing By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS May 1, 2013
School
districts in Indiana , Oklahoma
and Minnesota
are rescheduling high-stakes proficiency tests because of technical problems
involving the test administrators’ computer systems. Thousands of students have
been kicked offline multiple times during testing in recent weeks. School
officials say there is no room for error on the tests, on which states are
spending millions of dollars and for which teachers and students are held
accountable. The stakes are even higher in Indiana , where teachers’ merit pay is tied
to student performance on the tests. CTB/McGraw-Hill administers the tests in Indiana and Oklahoma
and says it is fixing the problems.
By:
Scott Theisen 05/01/2013
5:22 PM KSTP.com
School districts across several states are rescheduling high-stakes tests that judge student proficiency and even determine teachers' pay because of technical problems involving the test administrators' computer systems. Thousands of students inIndiana ,
Kentucky , Minnesota
and Oklahoma
have been kicked offline while taking tests in recent weeks, postponing the
testing schools planned for months and raising concerns about whether the
glitches will affect scores.
School districts across several states are rescheduling high-stakes tests that judge student proficiency and even determine teachers' pay because of technical problems involving the test administrators' computer systems. Thousands of students in
Not much data available on school
turnaround models, new CPE report finds
NSBA’s
School Board News Today by Joetta Sack-Min May 1st, 2013
Turnaround
strategies for low-performing schools are getting a lot of attention from
states and the federal government—which are spending billions of dollars on
those efforts. But do these strategies work?
The National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Center for Public
Education (CPE) finds that while there have been some successes there’s
not much evidence yet that many of these strategies will work on a larger
scale.
The
report, “Which
Way Up? What research says about school turnaround strategies,”
reviews numerous methods of school improvement to determine which, if any, hold
the most promise, but finds that in most cases it’s too early to tell.
Walton Foundation giving $8 million to
Rhee’s StudentsFirst — plus 2012 donations
The Walton Family Foundation is
giving $8 million to Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst to add to the scores of
millions of dollars it hands out each year to support the public education
reform agenda of Walton family members.
Here’s a prior Keystone State
Education Coalition posting….
Follow the Money: In the past four years the Walton
Family Foundation has invested well
over half a billion dollars to
privatize democratically run American public schools.
Are you still shopping at Walmart?
Arne
Duncan's address to U.S.
education writers to be webcast live
Who: Arne Duncan
When: Thursday,May 2, 11 :45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Webcast: edpolicy.stanford.edu/multimedia/video/
You're invited to tune in to a live webcast by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.Duncan
is a keynote speaker for the Education Writers Association's (EWA's) 66th
National Seminar. He will be addressing conference participants and the speech
will available via live webcast to a national audience. Secretary Duncan will discuss the future of
federal education reform and the new directions the Department of Education
will take during President Obama’s second term. Topics include federal No Child
Left Behind Act waivers for states and the outlook for congressional
reauthorization of that law. Following his speech, reporters attending the
event will participate in a Q&A with the secretary.
When: Thursday,
Webcast: edpolicy.stanford.edu/multimedia/video/
You're invited to tune in to a live webcast by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
PSBA Bylaws amendment proposals due May 15
PSBA
website 2/15/2013
As stated in Article XII,
proposals for amending the PSBA Bylaws must be submitted "in writing,
mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA headquarters prior
to May 15 of each year." Proposals
should be addressed to the Bylaws Committee Chair or the Executive Director and
sent to PSBA headquarters by the May 15, 2013, deadline.
The procedures for submitting
proposed bylaws changes are outlined in Article XII and can be found online atwww.psba.org/about/psba/2013_psba_bylaws.pdf.
Search underway for PSBA Executive Director
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA)
is a nonprofit statewide association of public school boards, pledged to the
highest ideals of local lay leadership for the public schools of the
commonwealth. Founded in 1895, PSBA has a rich history as the first
school boards' association established in the United States . Pennsylvania 's 4,500 school directors become
members by virtue of election to their local board -- the board joins as a
whole. Membership in PSBA is by school district or other eligible local
education agency such as intermediate unit, vocational school or community
college……..
Search
by Diversified Search, 1990 M St NW, Suite 570 , Washington , DC .
Questions may be directed to PSBA@divsearch.com. Interested
parties should email their resume and cover letter to PSBA@divsearch.com.
Please apply by June 1, 2013 for
best consideration.
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 McGuffey/Sullivan Rooms
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 's
Schools
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 two 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 , Hamilton Hall, 320 S. Broad Street .
We will be honoring a member of the Notebook community for years of
service to our mission as well as honoring several local high school
journalists. Help us celebrate another year of achievement that included two
awards from the Education Writers Association and coverage of other critical
stories like the budget crisis and the school closing process.
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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