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
“children
who were not proficient at reading by the end of third grade are four times
more likely to drop out”
The PA House currently has voting session days
scheduled for Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28.
The PA Senate has voting session days scheduled for
Monday, June 24 through Sunday, June 30.
Send an email to Harrisburg
Education Voters PA
As the budget process continues please consider
contacting the legislative leadership listed below regarding the education
budget ; here’s part of their job description:
PA Constitution - Public School System Section 14.
“The General Assembly shall provide for the
maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education
to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
PA Legislature Republican Leadership 2013
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi
717-787-4712
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake
Corman
717-787-1377
Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati
717-787-7084
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai
717-772-9943
House Appropriation Committee Chairman William
Adolph
717-787-1248
House Speaker Sam Smith
717-787-3845
Governor Tom Corbett
717-787-2500, Fax: 717-772-8284
Email: governor@state.pa.us
New Poll: School Funding
Cuts Are Top Concern for Pa.
PA Budget
and Policy Center June 24, 2013
HARRISBURG,
PA (June 24, 2013) — Education and funding for public schools is a top concern
among Pennsylvania voters, outpacing other issues like transportation, taxes
and jobs that have dominated debate in Harrisburg, according to a new
poll of Pennsylvania voters commissioned by the Pennsylvania Budget
and Policy Center and Public
Citizens for Children and Youth.
Read more: http://pennbpc.org/EducationPoll2013
Poll: Voters would pay
higher taxes to avert school cuts
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 , 1:07 AM
Amid
widespread concern over school-funding cuts, a majority of Pennsylvania
The
statewide poll said 78 percent of those questioned were concerned about public
school funding, 48 percent "very concerned." The rates were higher
for women, with 85 percent expressing concern for schools and 55 percent saying
they were "very concerned."
Overall, 55
percent of respondents said that they believed the schools were in crisis and
that Gov. Corbett and the Republican-controlled legislature should act to
prevent staff from being laid off, programs ended, and class sizes increased.
“…children who were not proficient at reading
by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out than those who
are proficient readers by that point.
…..children who live in poverty and aren't proficient readers are at
even more risk of dropping out of high school.
…The numbers are worse for poor African-American and Hispanic students.”
Experts hope Pennsylvania
By Mary
Niederberger / Pittsburgh June
23, 2013 12:17 am
It's a
well-known concept in education circles: Children learn to read from preschool
through third grade. After third grade, they read to learn.
In recent
years, the focus on third-grade reading proficiency has intensified to the
point where more than 30 states have policies targeting third-grade reading,
with about a dozen of those states allowing school districts to retain students
in third grade, rather than promoting them to fourth grade, if they do not hit
reading proficiency targets. Pennsylvania
That
information comes from a report on third-grade reading released earlier this
month by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
KIDS COUNT®
Data Book Underscores Impact of Deferred Investments in Kids
It's crunch time for Corbett and his 'big three'
agenda: column
By Robert J. Vickers |
rvickers@pennlive.com on June 24, 2013 at 6:58 PM \
It wouldn't
ensure his re-election, but if Gov. Tom Corbett were to pull one, two or an
improbable three rabbits from his legislative hat by the end of the week, it
would go some way toward shoring up his wobbly political standing.
One day
into the final week of budget negotiations, the only Corbett target close to a
sure thing is passing a third straight balanced budget on-time.
Beyond
that, it remains highly speculative whether the governor can coerce the House
and Senate to pass some incarnation of a transportation bill, liquor
privatization, and/or state workers' pension reform by Sunday's budget
deadline.
Pale reform: Senators shortchange the public on
fixing pensions
If a state
Senate committee vote last week on pension reform is a gauge, state and public
school employees can relax -- the measure that squeaked past the Senate Finance
Committee doesn't touch the publicly funded retirement benefits of any current
employees. That may be good news for
them, but the watered-down version of Senate Bill 922 that cleared the panel on
a 6-5 vote isn't good news for taxpayers.
“Aliquippa is
not alone. Last year, Chester
Upland , Duquesne
City , York
City and Harrisburg
were dubbed “financially distressed” as Reading ,
Steelton-Highspire and Wilkinsburg Borough
joined the watch list.”
Schools’ financial
struggles unending
The Tribune-Review By Megan Harris Published: Tuesday,
June 25, 2013 ,
12:01 a.m.
Pennsylvania
Covering
187 of the state's 501 districts, the survey blamed flat revenue growth and
accelerating pension demands for driving up financial pressure on schools. More
than half of districts surveyed predicted their financial position would
deteriorate next school year.
PA Budget
and Policy Center June 21, 2013
Funding
public education is a core responsibility of state government. Over the past
two years, Pennsylvania has stepped back from
this responsibility, resulting in a shifting of costs to local taxpayers and
the loss of educational opportunities for Pennsylvania
Guess who pays for the
proposed Philly school funding deal?
WHYY
Newsworks Off Mic Blog By Dave Davies @DaveDaviesWHYY June 24, 2013
These are
days of miracle and wonder. Suddenly, there's hope that Philadelphia
Word
emerged last week that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett – yes, Republican
we-don't-need-no-stinking-Medicaid-expansion Tom Corbett - is working to craft
a funding solution for the Philadelphia
School District
I'm told Corbett said in committing to the effort that he doesn't want a one-year fix. He wants a solution that will last. Philadelphia City Council members are crossing their fingers and looking to the heavens, hoping it happens.
I'm told Corbett said in committing to the effort that he doesn't want a one-year fix. He wants a solution that will last. Philadelphia City Council members are crossing their fingers and looking to the heavens, hoping it happens.
The deal is
a long way from done and may fall apart, but there's a point to be made about
the funding package under consideration: This "solution" relies
mostly on Philadelphia taxpayers and school district employees, and requires no
serious funding commitment from the state – despite the legislature's constitutional
obligation to provide a "thorough and efficient system of public
education" for the state's children.
AP State
Wire by KATHY MATHESON Published: 47 minutes ago
That's what
the Philadelphia
So for the
past eight days, he's been on a hunger strike.
In Pa.
JOHN BAER, DAILY NEWS
POLITICAL COLUMNIST Monday, June 24, 2013 , 3:01 AM
OK, GET
READY.
This week
determines the fate of the governor, Philly schools, state stores, pension
reform, the state budget, SEPTA, whether Pennsylvania bridges will collapse
under the weight of their own decrepitude and, by implication, life as we know
it.
Maybe. It's the rush to the annual June 30 deadline,
when Harrisburg
School Finance 101 Blog by Bruce Baker Posted on June 20, 2013
On a daily
basis, I continue to be befuddled by the ignorant bluster, intellectual
laziness and mathematical and financial ineptitude of those who most loudly
opine on how to fix America
Uncertainty as new
teacher-evaluation systems near
SARAH GARLAND AND RITA GIORDANO, FOR THE INQUIRER INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Monday, June 24, 2013 , 3:01
AM
Upper Darby
High School Principal Christopher Dormer sat in the back of Joe Niagara's
humanities class, tapping out notes on his laptop. But if having the boss sit
in and observe made the first-year teacher nervous, he wasn't letting it show.
"What
we're going to do today is create presentations on figures from the
Enlightenment," Niagara said, breaking
the classes into work groups, coaching the students on what they needed to be
looking for, moving around the room, and making sure they were on task.
Later,
teacher and principal discussed Niagara 's
instructional strengths, including extra efforts he makes with students outside
class, as well as areas in need of improvement. Dormer then assigned Niagara a rating based on what he saw and what they
talked about.
And soon, Niagara will also be held accountable for how well - or
not - his students perform.
“a windfall for consultants”;
Here’s a longer version of the above Inky article….
Lack of time and money as
educators launch new teacher evaluations
The Hechinger Report By Sarah Garland and Rita Giordano JUNE 24, 2013
…..This
fall, under a 2012 state law that requires tougher standards for teacher
evaluations, Pennsylvania
This year
and last, the state budgeted about $6 million per year in state and federal
funds to cover software, consultant fees, and trainings for the rest of the districts
in the state. The new evaluations could mean a
windfall for consultants. Among the companies that have benefited is
Teachscape, a partner of Charlotte Danielson’s, which received a state contract
for $259,000 to provide online evaluation system; Pittsburgh spent more than
two thirds of the first half of its Gates grant on consultants, according
to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Reduced busing radius for private, charter schools
could save districts money, Parkland officials
say
By Precious Petty | The Express-Times
on June 25, 2013
at 5:30 AM
Parkland School Districtofficials
want to change that. They advocate changing the busing radius to 5 miles in a
proposal submitted for inclusion on the Pennsylvania School Boards Association 2014
Legislative Platform. Superintendent
Richard Sniscak says reducing the radius could save Parkland
nearly $500,000 annually. Bethlehem Area and East Penn school district
officials say the change could save money for their school districts, too,
though not as much.
Education
Week Curriculum Matters Blog By Catherine
Gewertz on June 24, 2013 11:55 AM
Those of
you who are wonky enough to like keeping super-close track of who's dating whom
in the assessment-consortium world will be interested to know that Pennsylvania
has decided to withdraw from both groups.
We heard
this news last week while attending the Council of Chief State School Officers'
annual assessment conference. Senior officials in both the Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers, or PARCC, told me that Pennsylvania Keystone
State
Getting in touch with PennLive's Opinion staff
By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com on June 24, 2013 at 3:20 PM
So you've
read the stories, columns and editorials. Maybe you've even posted an online
comment, but you still feel like you have more to say. We want to hear from
you.
Here's who
we are, what we do and how to get in touch with us:
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/06/getting_in_touch_with_pennlives_opinion_staff.html
Teacher Layoffs Are Bad;
Aide Layoffs Might Be Worse
A social worker familiar with Philadelphia
The Atlantic by JEFF DEENEYJUN 18 2013, 12:44 PM ET
I'll never
forget the first day of the 2008 school year, when I showed up for work at Philadelphia 's Bartram
High School Pennsylvania
Yong Zhao - Green
Evaluation: China’s Latest Reform to Deemphasize Testing
Yong Zhao’s
Blog 24 JUNE 2013 710 ONE COMMENT
Last week
the Chinese Ministry of Education launched another major reform
effort to reduce the importance of testing in education. In a document
sent to all provincial education authorities on June 19th, the
Ministry of Education unveiled guidelines and a new framework for evaluating schools.
“Twenty years after the start
of the charter school movement, even with all the private energy and public
policy cheerleading it has engendered, students in charter schools roughly
perform the same as students in the rest of public education — not the leaps
and bounds that were promised”
Charter Schools Are Improving, updated Stanford CREDO
Study Says
New York
Times By MOTOKO RICH Published: June 24, 2013
An updated
version of a widely cited study that
found many students in charter schools were not performing as well as those in
neighborhood public schools now shows that in a few states, charter schools are
improving in some areas.
Where U.S.
A new
report that analyzes education trends in several dozen countries says that the United States
LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS: NSBA SUPPORT ACKNOWLEDGED AT
HOUSE MARK-UP OF ESEA REAUTHORIZATION
NSBA
Support Acknowledged at House Mark-up of ESEA Reauthorization
The House
Education & Workforce Committee approved The Student Success Act, H.R. 5 to
reauthorize the ESEA on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 . Many thanks to the state
associations and school board members who responded to NSBA’s call to action
prior to the mark-up. Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) named NSBA as
the first supporter of HR 5 during the Committee’s deliberations. NSBA
supported the bill because it eliminates unnecessary and overwhelming
administrative requirements and restores flexibility and governance to local
school boards who are in the best position to address the needs of students in
our local communities. However, NSBA raised strong concerns about federal
funding caps and lowered state support requirements in the bill.
Save the Date:
Diane Ravitch will be speaking at the Main Branch of the Philadelphia 7:30
pm . Details to come.
Friday June 28th is the
deadline to submit proposals for PSBA’s 2014 Legislative Platform
There is
one week remaining to submit proposals for consideration for PSBA’s 2014
Legislative Platform.The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, June
28. Guidelines for platform submissions and submission forms are
posted on PSBA’s Web site. Boards may submit new proposals as well as revisions
to the current platform and should include a brief statement (about 50 words)
of rationale for each proposal submitted. The rationale should include a
summary of the reasons why your board believes this issue should be addressed
in the platform, any specific problems your district has encountered, and how
your board believes the problem could be resolved. In addition, your
board is encouraged to submit any data related to the issue as it affects your
district, or any draft language that could be crafted into proposed
legislation. This information will be shared with the PSBA Platform Committee.
All submissions should be directed to PSBA’s Office of Governmental and Member
Relations. All items submitted must be verified by the board secretary. The
PSBA Platform Committee under the direction of Chairman Mark B. Miller will
review proposals and rationale submitted for the platform on Aug.
10.
The items
recommended by the Platform Committee will be presented to the new PSBA
Delegate Assembly for final determination by the voting delegates
present. Next week, PSBA will be mailing to all school board
secretaries a memo and response form for the appointment of their voting
delegates to the Delegate Assembly. Selection of voting delegates for
the Delegate Assembly meeting is the same as it was for the Legislative Policy
Council. Each PSBA member entity has the opportunity to participate in
the meeting the debate and vote on all of the agenda items.
October 15-18, 2013 | Hershey Lodge & Convention Center
The
PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference is the largest gathering of elected
officials in Pennsylvania
Registration:
https://www.psba.org/workshops/?workshop=17
The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College , PA
The state
conference is PAESSP’s premier professional development event for principals,
assistant principals and other educational leaders. Attending will enable you
to connect with fellow educators while learning from speakers and presenters
who are respected experts in educational leadership.
Featuring
Keynote Speakers: Charlotte Danielson, Dr. Todd Whitaker, Will Richardson &
David Andrews, Esq. (Legal Update).
EPLC
Education Policy Fellowship Program – Apply Now
Applications are available now for the 2013-2014 Education Policy
Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is
sponsored in Pennsylvania
With more than 350 graduates in its first
fourteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity
for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community
leaders. State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to
certified public accountants.
Past participants include state policymakers,
district superintendents and principals, school business officers, school board
members, education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders,
education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows
are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization.
The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day
retreat on September 12-13, 2013 and continues to graduation
in June 2014.
Building One
America 2013 National Summit July 18-19, 2013 Washington , DC
Brookings Institution to present findings of
their “Confronting Suburban Poverty” report
Building One America’s Second National Summit
for Inclusive Suburbs and Sustainable Regions will involve local leaders and federal
policy makers to seek bipartisan solutions to the unique but common challenges
around housing, schools and infrastructure facing America America
Lineup of speakers: https://buildingoneamerica.org/summit/speakers
Information and registration: https://buildingoneamerica.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1
PA Charter Schools: $4
billion taxpayer dollars with no real oversight
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.