Daily postings from the Keystone State Education
Coalition now reach more than 2250 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,
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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?
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More than 2250 PA education policymakers have the
Education Policy Roundup from the Keystone
State
If you
were proud of making a contribution would you launder it 20 times?
School Choices: If you were proud
of making a contribution would you launder it 20 times?
One page
follow-the-money graphic for 2012 PA’s Students First PAC
A once
in 12 years opportunity for school board members!
You
can contact your House member of Congress today and urge them to vote YES on ESEA
rewrite HR5 here: http://www.
Here’s the current status of the proposed legislation
House Lawmakers Set to Debate No Child Left Behind Act Rewrite
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on July 17,
2013 10:04 PM
On the eve of a possible vote in the U.S. House of
Representatives on long-stalled legislation to rewrite the No Child Left Behind
Act, the bill's road to passage is still somewhat bumpy. House leaders have scheduled votes for Thursday on a host of amendments
to the proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act revision—26 of them
altogether. But so far, a vote on final passage hasn't been scheduled,
which gives leaders extra time to twist some arms, if they need to. The final
vote could be Thursday, Friday, or later, if need be.
Here’s more detail on the bill:
NSBA urges House to approve ESEA bill this week
NSBA School Board News Today by Joetta Sack-Min July 17, 2013
In anticipation of a vote by the U.S. House of
Representatives later this week, the National School Boards Association (NSBA)
has written to all House members to urge them to support
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization.
Specifically, NSBA is supporting an amendment that would give school
districts greater input in the development of federal regulations, and it would
prohibit the U.S. Department of Education from extending its authority to make
regulations outside specific legislative authority.
NSBA also has concerns about the funding authorizations
included in the bill, H.R. 5. It has urged House members to support the
reinstatement of Maintenance of Effort requirements to ensure that schools
receive adequate state funding in an era of tight budgets.
Finally, NSBA announced its opposition to an amendment that
would require school districts to reallocate Title I funds on a per-pupil basis
and set up a system of public school choice. “Title I portability would cause
irreparable harm to high-needs schools and the students they serve,” the letter states.
UPDATE: It's official: The
Obama administration has issued a veto threat. The White House argues the
bill would not encourage states to adopt college-and-career ready standards,
backs away from accountability for disadvantaged kids, would lock in sequester
cuts, and would not reauthorize key Obama priorities, such as Race to the Top.
Where Does the NCLB
Rewrite Stand in the House?
Education
Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on July 17,
2013 12:25 PM
The big
question of the day: Is a rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
headed to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week? There's
been a lot of talk about conservative opposition, but, so far, it appears that
the initial whip count looks pretty decent for the bill's chances, advocates
say. (A "whip count" is the vote count, for you folks who aren't
regular C-SPAN viewers, or fans of fictional whip Rep. Frank Underwood, D-Netflix's House of Cards.) No official word from GOP leaders, but right
now, the bill is likely headed to the floor on Thursday, advocates say. Of
course, nothing is ever a sure thing on Capitol Hill, so don't bet the bank (or
your Starbucks money) on House action this week, or not just yet. Something to
look for: President Barack Obama is almost certain to issue a veto threat on
the measure, possibly sometime today.
Corbett replaces 2 top
aides after legislative disappointments
By James O'Toole / Pittsburgh July 17, 2013 11:56 pm
Spurred by a frustrating legislative session and chronically
anemic poll numbers, Gov. Tom Corbett has replaced his chief of staff as well
as his top legislative liaison.
The administration announced Wednesday that its new chief of
staff -- its third -- is Republican veteran Leslie Gromis Baker, who rose to
prominence as a strategist for then- Gov. Tom Ridge. She replaces Stephen
Aichele, who stepped in for Mr. Corbett's first chief of staff, Pittsburgh lawyer Bill Ward, in 2012 when he resigned to
take a seat on Allegheny
County Common Pleas Court
Corbett chief-of-staff
Aichele headed for the exits: Wednesday Morning Coffee
By John L. Micek
| jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
onJuly 17, 2013
at 7:59 AM ,
updated July 17, 2013 at 8:25 AM
on
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow
Seekers.
If you're ever asked to serve in the Corbett administration, double-check to make sure you're not also issued a red Starfleet security jersey as part of the deal. Members of Gov. Tom Corbett's inner circle are becoming terrifyingly interchangeable these days, with Chief of Staff Steve Aichele being shown the door less than a year after coming on board, The Philadelphia Inquirerreports this morning.
If you're ever asked to serve in the Corbett administration, double-check to make sure you're not also issued a red Starfleet security jersey as part of the deal. Members of Gov. Tom Corbett's inner circle are becoming terrifyingly interchangeable these days, with Chief of Staff Steve Aichele being shown the door less than a year after coming on board, The Philadelphia Inquirerreports this morning.
With latest departures,
is Corbett just rearranging deck chairs? John L. Micek
By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
onJuly 17, 2013
at 12:52 PM ,
updated July 17, 2013 at 4:45 PM
on
(*This story has been updated to reflect the
official naming of Leslie Gromis Baker as the Corbett administration's new
chief of staff and the departure of Legislative Secretary Christopher Carusone)
Late in the evening of June 30, with his legislative agenda
in disarray, Gov. Tom Corbett stood
at a lectern in his reception room and told reporters, “This is only the first
quarter,” and that months remained for him to get his top priorities of liquor
privatization and transportation funding signed into law. Around him, state House Republicans grinned
approvingly. Key staffers nodded. Senate Republicans were nowhere to be found.
And as Corbett signed a $28.4 billion budget into law, there was a sense that the
Republican governor wanted his words to be true.
But the fact is that Corbett is out of time.
“Insiders
point to four Republicans who could replace Corbett: Reps. Jim Gerlach, Pat
Meehan, Mike Kelly, and state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi. Gerlach
and Meehan, both from the suburbs of Philadelphia, ran for the GOP
gubernatorial nomination against Corbett in 2010.”
Tom Corbett is one of the most unpopular
politicians in the country. Now his own party is turning on him.
National Journal By Alex Roarty July 17, 2013 |
6:00 a.m.
Few Republicans think Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett can
survive politically. (Chris Knight/AP)
The biggest question in Pennsylvania
Already, speculation among GOP operatives has shifted to a
quartet of candidates the party might turn to, including several Republicans in
the state's congressional delegation. Fearful of alienating a sitting governor,
they've done little to publicly jockey for the potential opening. But all are
said to be keeping a close eye on Corbett.
The commonwealth's “failure to adequately address key fiscal
pressures,” including pension reform, prompted Fitch Ratings on Tuesday to
downgrade the rating on $10.9 billion in outstanding general obligation bonds.
“Continued budgetary structural imbalance, a failure to boost the adequacy of pension funding and the lack of a reserve cushion signal an inability or unwillingness on the part of political leaders to make difficult fiscal decisions,” the credit rating agency said in a news release.
“However,
before anyone starts doing victory laps and campaign commercials are written
using words like "savior" and "hero," this fact must be
underscored: In three Pennsylvania budgets,
the governor has walked away from new recurring state dollars for Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Pa.
Philly.com Opinion by SEN. VINCENT HUGHES POSTED: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 , 12:18 AM
AS THE various elements of the imperfect funding package for
the Philadelphia School
District come into place, it is important to understand the
context in which it was cobbled together, its specifics, the one silver lining
and what must be done about education funding in Pennsylvania
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130717_Pa__must_respond_to_the_school_crisis.html#VpkY1Tw5eLeT5Dvs.99
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130717_Pa__must_respond_to_the_school_crisis.html#VpkY1Tw5eLeT5Dvs.99
“In
order to make up for the lost funds, Clarke's plan counts on the state anteing
up an extra $45 million annually in future years, perhaps by reinstating
charter school reimbursements. That state budget line item, which once sent
$110 million to Philadelphia
State budget secretary questions Clarke's idea on school funding
by thenotebook on Jul 17 2013 Posted in Latest news
by Dale Mezzacappa for the Notebook and
Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks
The tug-of-war between the city and the state over how to
keep the Philadelphia School District solvent heated up on Wednesday, with City
Council President Darrell Clarke announcing that he is not on board with a key
piece of the funding package worked out in Harrisburg -- dedicating $120
million to the schools in future years by extending a 1 percent local sales
tax.
Instead, Clarke wants to direct just $70 million of the sales
tax revenue to the schools, and use the rest of it for debt service and the
city's chronically underfunded pension system.
“The
charter schools are sucking resources and students from Chester
Upland Chester
Chester
Kathy
Boccella, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 , 1:07 AM
With a
salesman's charm and snappy patter, Gregory Shannon stood in the blazing sun
Tuesday in Chester Chester
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130717_Chester_schools_have_a_tireless_advocate.html#fTOdvXRUx5CdrXeh.99
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130717_Chester_schools_have_a_tireless_advocate.html#fTOdvXRUx5CdrXeh.99
Should merit matter in
deciding which Philly teachers to lay off?
WHYY
Newsworks By Kevin McCorry @bykevinmccorry July 17, 2013
Jacqueline
Bershad loved everything about the way her son's second grade teacher ran her
classroom at Greenfield
Elementary School
She was
"exactly what you would hope for in a teacher," Bershad said — warm,
yet firm, giving kids just the right mix of academic rigor and fun. "My son's teacher was the one who was at
the Halloween party at night, and the picnic at night and really became
involved in the community," she said. "There's some teachers who
choose to do that, and some who don't."
That's why
Bershad became so upset when she learned this summer that this teacher was one
of the 676 being laid off by the district because of a $304 million budget
shortfall.
Fund education now, avoid
problems later
Every year
the state budget is broken down by category - education, human services,
Medicaid, corrections, environmental protection and so on. That's fine for accounting purposes but life
doesn't operate by category. It cuts across all of those budgetary line items,
yet it's rare for lawmakers to analyze public policy that way.
Softball Questions:
Community wondering whether axing a successful sports program was the right
play at struggling Sto-Rox
"I
feel really bad for the girls left behind."
Softball is
Josie Buckley's life.
The game,
she says, kept her out of trouble, made her go to class and made her more
competitive on the field, in the classroom and in life. "I probably wouldn't have gone to school
as much," she says now. "I know a lot of the girls on my team
wouldn't have gone to school as much.
"It
taught me to be more competitive. I wanted to get into first or second place in
my class."
By the time
she graduated this past June from Sto-Rox high school, she had actually
finished third in her class — two spots behind her teammate, the valedictorian.
In the fall, Buckley will attend La Roche College in the North Hills, and
she'll play softball for them next spring. The friends and teammates she's left
behind at Sto-Rox, however, won't have that same luxury.
At its June
meeting, the Sto-Rox school board voted 8-1 to eliminate both the softball and
baseball programs in an attempt to cut costs at the financially strapped
district.
Action!
Lights!
Camera! It’s time to take action! You may be hanging out this summer enjoying
the latest blockbuster films, but it’s time to make an appearance in the next
scene of our movement. Perhaps even take a starring role. Are you ready for
your close-up?
Yinzercation
has been hard at work the last couple of months with our new coalition, Great
Public Schools (GPS) Pittsburgh Yinzercation , PA
Right now
we are planning an exciting series of events for the next two months. This is
where we need your star power.
The Charter
School
Npr.org by
by CLAUDIO SANCHEZ July 16, 2013 5:02
PM
Charter
schools turn 21 this year. In that time, these privately run, publicly funded
schools have spread to 41 states and enrolled more than 2 million students. But one key question lingers: Do kids in
charter schools learn more than kids in traditional public schools?
There have
been lots of skirmishes over charter school data over the years. But few have
created as big a ruckus as the 26-state
study of charter schools released recently by Stanford University
Diane
Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav July 17,
2013 //
As Rahm
Emanuel once memorably said, when he was President Obama’s chief of staff,
never let a crisis go to waste. Naomi Klein surely agreed in her book “Shock
Doctrine,” which showed how crises, both natural and man-made, are used to
achieve other goal unrelated to the crisis. Hurricane Katrina made it possible
to wipe out public education and the teachers union in New Orleans Philadelphia
Phila. school group plans $4.7M in grants
Martha
Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: Thursday, July 18, 2013 , 1:08 AM The Philadelphia School Partnership
will announce Thursday grants totaling $4.7 million to help high-performing
charter schools expand and a nonprofit develop a new high school with the
School District. "What is exciting about this [funding] round is that it
shows the many different ways that the fund is available to invest in expanding
access to great schools," Mark Gleason, the partnership's executive
director, said Wednesday.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130718_Phila__school_group_plans__4_7M_in_grants.html#O2PyJu19kl2qCYWz.99
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130718_Phila__school_group_plans__4_7M_in_grants.html#O2PyJu19kl2qCYWz.99
“Would you prefer a system that motivates your children to succeed
on tests or one that engages and inspires them to find areas of interest and
passion? Which is more important to your child’s future, following rules or
learning to become a confident independent thinker?”
Key questions begging for
answers about school reform
Here is a
thoughtful piece about school reform and the march toward privatization of
public education. It was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center
for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of
Technology in Hoboken , New Jersey
By Arthur
Camins
The New
York Times editorial board has been a staunch supporter of the trifecta of
current reform policy: high-stakes testing, performance pay and closing public
schools, while opening new charter schools. Now in
this editorial it is hedging one of its bets, the overtesting of
students. However, it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
Neither Congress, nor the U.S. Department of Education appear ready to change
course.
Better Teachers and Better Tests
New York
Times Letters to the Editor Published: July 16, 2013
Responses
to “The
Trouble With Testing Mania” (editorial, July 14):
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD – JOIN FRIENDS OF
PUBLIC EDUCATION TODAY
Join the Friends
of Public Education and participate in a voluntary network to
urge your U.S.
Representatives and Senators to support federal legislation on Capitol Hill
that is critical to providing high quality education to America
So, join today.
(…And recruit your friends and family to do the same).
Thank you
for your support for America
Yinzers - Save the Date: Diane
Ravitch will be speaking in Pittsburgh 6:00
pm . Location and details to
come.
Save the Date: Diane Ravitch will be
speaking in Philly at the Main Branch of the Philadelphia 7:30
pm . Details to come.
Know Your Child’s Rights! 2013-2014 Special Education
Seminars
The Law Center Law Center
This year’s
topics include Tips for Going Back to School; Psychological Testing, IEEs and
Evaluations; School Records; Children with Autism; Transition Services;
Children with Emotional Needs; Discipline and Bullying; Charter Schools;
Children with Dyslexia; Extended School Year; Assistive Technology;
Discrimination and Compensatory Education; and, Settlements. See below for
descriptions and schedules of each session.
PSBA members will elect
officers electronically for the first time in 2013
PSBA 7/8/2013
Beginning
in 2013, PSBA members will follow a completely new election process which will
be done electronically during the month of September. The changes will have
several benefits, including greater membership engagement and no more absentee
ballot process.
Below is a
quick Q&A related to the voting process this year, with more details to
come in future issues of School Leader News and at
www.psba.org. More information on the overall governance changes can be found
in the February 2013 issue of the PSBA Bulletin:
October 15-18, 2013 | Hershey Lodge & Convention Center
Important change this year: Delegate Assembly (replaces the
Legislative Policy Council) will be Tuesday Oct. 15 from 1 – 4:30 p.m.
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.
PA Charter Schools: $4
billion taxpayer dollars with no real oversight
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny
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