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
PSBA Region 15 Members (Delaware and Chester
Counties
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive Director for the Pennsylvania School
Charter schools flout open
records law, state official tells Senate panel
“They ignore the citizens. They
ignore us. They ignore the courts,” Mutcher told the Senate State
Charter schools flout open
records law, state official tells Senate panel
TribLive
By Brad
Bumsted Monday, May 13, 2013 , 4:45 p.m.
HARRISBURG — Taxpayer-funded charter schools are a “cancer” on the state's Right to Know law, because they routinely ignore citizens' requests for records, the state's open records director said Monday. In response to a question at a Senate hearing, Terry Mutchler said charter schools are the No. 1 violator of the law.
HARRISBURG — Taxpayer-funded charter schools are a “cancer” on the state's Right to Know law, because they routinely ignore citizens' requests for records, the state's open records director said Monday. In response to a question at a Senate hearing, Terry Mutchler said charter schools are the No. 1 violator of the law.
So is there an enterprising reporter out there who
might ask Ms. Mutchler for some specific examples that prompted her statement
above? Here’s one that comes to mind…
Vahan Gureghian, whose
management company runs Chester Community Charter School, the state’s largest
brick and mortar charter, has been fighting a right to know request for several
years. The request sought information on
the use of taxpayer dollars - finances, which Mr. Gureghian claims are a trade
secret. Coincidentally, Mr. Gureghian
was recently able to purchase two beachfront lots in Palm Beach Florida Pennsylvania
“At Julia de Burgos, close to 90 percent of our students are Latino, and
about 25 percent are classified as ELL. Our special-education population is 14
percent. Half of my class is either ELL, special-ed, or both.”
The wrong way to test schoolchildren
The wrong way to test schoolchildren
Inquirer LTE By Hillary
Linardopoulos POSTED: Monday, May 13, 2013 , 10:47 AM
Another round of PSSA testing
has come and gone. The 26 students in my third-grade class took six days of
intense exams intended to measure their grade-level proficiency in reading and
math.
State guidelines require that
"ethical testing practices must be maintained during the administration of
a test ... to ensure test results reflect actual student learning."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130513_The_wrong_way_to_test_schoolchildren.html#6dUUzMcEWX1GwHIH.99
Suit against Kensington
charter can proceed
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER Tuesday, May 14, 2013 , 3:01
AM
The case involves
Adorable Harper, a former administrator at Community Academy of Philadelphia
Charter School, who alleges she was wrongfully fired the day after the school
was raided by federal agents in August 2009.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130514_Suit_against_Kensington_charter_can_proceed.html#xCOY8jdf3QXJMVL0.99
$ 300
Million Education Common Core Mandate Threatens Graduation
Senator Jay Costa, Minority
Leader’s website On May
13, 2013
No Legislative
Oversight, Lack of Financial Backing Panned by Senate Democrats
Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester)
Democratic chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senate Democratic Leader
Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), Sens. Judy Schwank, John Blake and Jim Brewster all
expressed their displeasure and concerns about the proposed changes.
“We are not opposed to the implementation
of Common Core standards for Pennsylvania
"This is an unfunded mandate, anywhere between 300 million or 500
million (dollars) or more," Black said. "This is about corporate
education getting millions of dollars to produce tests and to produce
evaluations of those tests with no meaningful expectation of improvement in
education."
Common
Core: PA State Senate Democrats Denounce Proposed Standardized Tests
WESA
(Pittsburgh May 13, 2013
Calling it "phony"
and a boon to "corporate education," a handful of Democrats in the
Pennsylvania Senate blasted Gov. Tom Corbett's proposal to implement new
standardized tests that would determine students' high school graduation status
based on knowledge of Common Core academic benchmarks. Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-Chester), minority
chair of the Senate Education Committee, led the charge against the proposals
at a news conference Monday. He argued two main points: first, that the higher
standards require increased state funding; and second, that the governor added
the tests without consulting the Legislature.
Controversy
surrounds Pennsylvania
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on May 13, 2013
- Common
Core Standards: Arguments for and against
- Controversy
surrounds Pennsylvania Common Core Standards
- Common
Core: An example of a language arts standard
- Common
Core: An example of a math standard
- Education
poll finds few voters know of common core standards that Pa. schools are
required to implement next year
A controversy is brewing in Pennsylvania
Common Core standards, and
high-stakes graduation exams, are headed to public school classrooms in Pennsylvania
School districts’ curriculum
must be aligned with the state’s version of the Common Core standards starting
next school year.
Gates gives $150 million in grants for
Common Core Standards
For an initiative billed as
being publicly driven, the Common
Core States Initiativehas benefited enormously from the generosity of the
private philanthropy of Bill and Melinda Gates. How much? About $150 million
worth. Take a look at this list of
grants, obtained from
their foundation’s Web site. Note not only the amounts but the wide range
of organizations receiving money. Universities. Unions. State education
departments. Nonprofits. Think tanks. The grants were given for a range of
reasons, including developing materials aligned to the standards and building
support for the standards.
You can see how invested the Gates
Foundation is in the success of the Common Core. What kind of Core support do
these grants buy from the organizations that receive them?
House Education Committee to Receive
Informational Briefing on Common Core Standards
PA House Repuplican Caucus 5/13/2013
WHAT: The
House Education Committee, led by Majority Chairman Paul Clymer (R-Bucks), will
hold an information hearing on Common Core standards being implemented in Pennsylvania
WHO: Providing
an update to the committee will be Secretary of Education Ron
Tomalis.
WHEN: Tuesday,
May 14, at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Room
G-50, Irvis Office
Building , Capitol Complex, Harrisburg
LIVE WEBSTREAMING: The
hearing will be streamed live on Clymer’s website at www.PaulClymer.com.
House Informational
briefing on the Common Core Standards from PA Dept. of Education Secretary
Ron Tomalis.
Tuesday,
May 14, 2013
9:00 AM Room
G50 Irvis Office Bldg.
Senate Public
hearing on Common Core
Wednesday, May 15, 1:00 PM , Hearing Room 1 North Office
Bldg
Indiana, one of the most
education reform-minded states in recent years, is postponing implementation of
the Common Core initiative so that there can be more discussion on the quality
and impact of the standards. Gov. Mike
Pence signed a bill Saturday that halts implementation as of Wednesday, a
compromise between forces that want the Common Core to go forward because they
say they will raise academic achievement, and forces who believe the standards
are not as good as Indiana
New public hearings on the Core
will be held, and by the start of 2015, the State Board of Education will have
to vote again to go ahead with it, as it did in 2010, or stop it permanently,
according to the Indianapolis
Star. There will also be a cost analysis done on core implementation.
"What else could the district do to create this kind of revenue?"
Board President Charles Ballard said, noting that inflation means East Penn can
only cut so much before seeking out tax dollars to balance the budget. It's
better to get that money from commercial rather than residential property
owners, he said.”
East Penn
school directors OK plan that could bring Costco to region
By Precious Petty | The Express-Times
onMay 13, 2013
at 10:42 PM ,
updated May 14, 2013 at 12:59 AM
on
East Penn school directors
tonight approved a tax-increment financing planthat
could bring Costco and another Target to Lehigh County
Philly schools gets tough with two charters
over money dispute
WHYY Newsworks By Benjamin
Herold @BenjaminBHerold May 13, 2013
Confronted with a similar
threat, Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter in Kensington last month repaid the
district more than $435,000.
The School Reform
Commission could vote on the school's future later this week.
Got Data?
Pennsylvania Partnerships for
Children May 13,
2013 6:20 PM |
Posted By : PPC
Do you know how your county compares to other Pennsylvania counties when it comes to child poverty, health insurance coverage, educational opportunities and other important measures of children's well-being? You can find those answers quickly and easily withPennsylvania
Do you know how your county compares to other Pennsylvania counties when it comes to child poverty, health insurance coverage, educational opportunities and other important measures of children's well-being? You can find those answers quickly and easily with
For each of the commonwealth's
67 counties, you can find:
- Child population and poverty
statistics;
- Information on how many
children are uninsured, and how many benefit from coverage through Medicaid or Pennsylvania
- Data on how many children
benefit from subsidized child care and publicly funded pre-kindergarten
programs;
- The number of children in
foster care or receiving other child welfare services; and
- Academic performance data for
school districts, charter schools and cyber charter schools.
Whether you're a parent,
policymaker, journalist, activist, children's advocate or just someone who
likes to stay in the know, our "State of the Child" profiles can help
you get timely, reliable information on how Pennsylvania's 2.7 million kids are
doing.
“The House’s focus is on the nine out of 10 kids in a traditional
classroom setting,” he said. “I’m very pro-charter, pro-home school,
pro-private school, pro-all of the above. But my focus as chair of public
education has been trying to find good policy for those nine out of 10 kids.”
Texas
Advocacy Group Wields Charter-Policy Power
New York Times/Texas Tribune By MORGAN
SMITH May 11,
2013
“This is not a voucher bill.
This is not a vendor bill,” said Mr. King, Republican of Canadian. “I’m the
last guy on this floor that’ll ever vote for a voucher.” That did not reassure several of his
colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, who objected to allowing
profit-making companies to offer online courses to public school students.
How the
Walton Family Celebrates Teacher Appreciation Day | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Network for Public Education
Newsbrief 13 May 2013 by Diane Ravitch –
“Imagine that you are possessed
of the surname “Walton” and happen to be sitting on mad coin—say a cool $90
billion. How do you celebrate the occasion that is Teacher Appreciation Day? Do
you chip in to give the nation’s teachers a raise, knowing they’ve been hard
hit by the recession? Do you send them gift cards to Walmart, the store that
hath so enrichethed you? If you are a teacher in Massachusetts
Navigating School Funding Decisions in Harrisburg
Webinar for School Boards &
Superintendents Wed, May 22, 2013 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
This spring marks the third
year that superintendents and school boards are struggling to put together
budgets with deeply reduced state funding levels. So what is Harrisburg
Join the Pennsylvania Budget andPolicy
Center on Wednesday, May 22nd at 3pm for a webinar on the latest in the
state budget debate and what it means for education funding in Pennsylvania
Join the Pennsylvania Budget and
For more info and registration:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3540292551835560192
PSBA
Region 15 Members (Delaware and Chester Counties
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive Director for the
Pennsylvania School
Penns
Grant Region 15 -- Thursday,
May 30 ; 5 p.m. Region 15 meeting; 6
p.m. dinner; 7 p.m. Legislative meeting; Garnet Valley HS, 552 Smithbridge
Rd., Glen Mills, 19342; registration is required
Panel: Striking Back on High Stakes Testing
hosted by Rethinking Schools
Panel Discussion Hosted by
Rethinking Schools
Arch Street United Methodist Church 55 North Broad Street , Philadelphia
Wednesday, May
15, 2013 4:30pm until 6:00pm
Join CUNY Professor Michelle
Fine and Rethinking
Schools
Space limited! RSVP: parentsunitedphila@gmail.com
Info and directions: https://www.facebook.com/events/459048834184078/
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
Search
by Diversified Search, 1990 M St NW, Suite 570Washington , DC
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 320 S. Broad Street
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.