Keystone State Education Coalition

Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 31, 2013: Happy New Year. Every member of the PA House of Representatives will face re-election in 2014. Do you know where your Rep. stands on public education?

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3060 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, 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

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

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?

Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania

WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio runtime 52:01

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2013/12/23/debating-charter-school-reform-in-pennsylvania/

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for December 31, 2013:

Happy New Year. Every member of the PA House of Representatives will face re-election in 2014. Do you know where your Rep. stands on public education?

“Although there is massive international demand for places at U.S. schools, overseas students still only account for 6% of the student body, and the proportion of children at private high schools has fallen below 10%. This means that the resounding majority of college students are educated in U.S. public high schools. Somehow or another, our “underperforming” public schools fill the pipeline for our exceptional colleges.”

Where the World Comes to School

Language Magazine December 2013

After the results of the latest international comparisons of educational achievement (PISA) are released early this month, recriminations will no doubt be ringing throughout schools until they close for the holidays. Different factions will skew the results to prove, whatever their point may be, and teachers will bear the brunt of any criticism. However, these tests are a snapshot measure of educational achievement in a limited area at the age of 15 and take little account of the overall socio-economic situation in which the students live.

Whatever the results of these tests, American education is more in demand than ever, believe it or not. More and more international students are prepared to pay exorbitant fees to attend our universities and colleges (see p.55) with little hope of being able to work in their new-found home. Universities don’t excel without excellent students. Although there is massive international demand for places at U.S. schools, overseas students still only account for 6% of the student body, and the proportion of children at private high schools has fallen below 10%. This means that the resounding majority of college students are educated in U.S. public high schools. Somehow or another, our “underperforming” public schools fill the pipeline for our exceptional colleges.

http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=18291

14% of city’s early childhood ed programs are “high quality”

While Philadelphia lacks high-quality early education programs all across the board, some neighborhoods need more of these high quality programs than others do, according to a report.

Technically Philly By Juliana Reyes / STAFF December 30, 2013

While Philadelphia lacks high-quality early education programs all across the board, some neighborhoods need more of these high quality programs than others do, according to a report.

Only 14 percent of Philadelphia’s more than 2,000 early childhood education programs are high quality, according to an analysis by Azavea and the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. “High quality” refers to ratings given by state and regional associations like DVAEYC and the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

http://technical.ly/philly/2013/12/30/early-childhood-education-programs-high-quality/

Corbett considered one of 2013's biggest political losers: column

By Robert J. Vickers | rvickers@pennlive.com on December 30, 2013 at 4:26 PM

The same day Tom Corbett appeared to abandon his hard-fought attempt to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery – possibly for political reasons – the poll-weary governor was ranked as one of 2013’s biggest political losers by a weekly magazine read by Washington insiders

The National Journal ranked Corbett, who’s public approval rating has languished for months and has even seen his popularity among commonwealth Republicans suffer significantly, along with President Barack Obama, disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as one of the seven biggest losers of the year.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/12/corbett_considered_one_of_2013.html

The Biggest Political Winners and Losers of 2013

Chris Christie, Bill de Blasio, and an Arkansas House member head the list of political winners in 2013.

National Journal By Josh Kraushaar December 30, 2013

For a year after a presidential election, 2013 proved to be filled with significant political developments—from President Obama's second-term struggles over his health care law, messy Republican divisions between the establishment and the grassroots, and, on a lighter note, the antics of a colorful New York City mayoral race and a South Carolina congressional election pitting Mark Sanford against Stephen Colbert's sister. Some politicians, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, saw their stock rise. Others, like red-state Democratic senators, began 2014 increasingly concerned about their political futures. Here's our National Journal list of the biggest political winners and losers of the year.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/the-biggest-political-winners-and-losers-of-2013-20131230

Politically Uncorrected: Raising Kane in Pennsylvania

PoliticsPA Written by Dr. G. Terry Madonna and Dr. Michael Young December 30, 2013

As one year ends and another begins, one thing is crystal clear: some particular Cain was raised in Keystone state politics this past year; and the particular Kane to which we refer was one Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s new Attorney General. By any measure Attorney General Kane has become in less than a year Pennsylvania’s reigning political star. Interest in her is intense while speculation about her future political plans runs the gamut from a possible late entrance into the 2014 governor’s race to a future challenge to incumbent U.S. Senator Pat Toomey.

http://www.politicspa.com/politically-uncorrected-raising-kane-in-pennsylvania/53885/

Green, possible SRC chief, gives views on schools
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Monday, December 30, 2013, 8:21 PM

Is Bill Green interested in becoming chair of the School Reform Commission?

Sources say he is a finalist for the job; Green is mum on the subject. But the current city councilman is clear in his view that the Philadelphia School District is failing far too many children, and change must come quickly. "Eliminating all the bad seats in the School District is a concept I think is important to pursue," Green said Monday. "There are tens of thousands of kids in underperforming schools."

Gym, class hero

Philly Daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2013, 3:50 PM

Philadelphia's next mayor?

That’s what happens when you develop a rep as perhaps Philadelphia’s preeminent public agitator. Relentless, whip-smart, meticulously prepared and utterly fearless, [Helen] Gym—a private citizen who works without the heft of any meaningful institutional support—has managed to build herself one of the city’s largest bully pulpits.

And bully she does. Her foes are “hilarious and dishonest.” Education reformers are “corporate raiders” and “party shills.” Columnists she disagrees with are operating a “Corbett PR flack machine.” And that’s just a sample of a 10-day run on Gym’s Twitter feed. She’s equally relentless when face-to-face with her targets.

I'm looking forward to reading the entire piece by Patrick Kerkstra, which -- based on the headline -- delves into the possibility that Gym might run for mayor in 2015, which will be upon us sooner than we realize. Look, it's ridiculous that Philadelphia has never had a woman as mayor, but electing a fierce, never-held-public-office advocate for public education would say so much more than just that. It also fair to say that she'd be a super long-shot -- Philadelphia has always elected machine-tied members of the Boys Club because they've rigged things so it's hard not to.

Some chafe at charter school’s low pay for tutors

Service model getting wide use

Boston globe By James Vaznis GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 30, 2013

Match Charter School in Boston makes it clear: A year as one of its tutors is a lot of work.

“Think med school. Think military. Think your toughest semester in college,” according to a Q&A on the school’s website. “Corps members are virtually always ‘on-call’ to help students succeed academically.”

But a dispute over the minimal pay for long hours of public service offers a rare glimpse into labor unrest at a charter school, where workers usually make less than their peers in traditional public schools and rarely belong to a union. Questions about tutors’ pay come as programs like Match proliferate in such places as Denver, Houston, and Chicago, and as Boston public schools expand their own intensive tutoring efforts. For years Match billed the year of tutoring volunteerism — nearly 10-hour school days and additional duties at night — as an opportunity to give back and gain a true sense of what it is like to work in an urban school. For their efforts, the tutors, who are mainly recent college graduates, were paid a $7,500 annual stipend and received free housing. But in an abrupt switch last summer, after recruiting this year’s 153-member tutoring force, Match decided to make them paid employees, at $8 an hour, the state’s minimum wage. Tutors ended up seeing little of that increase in their pay checks because Match also decided to start charging them $5,500 annually for housing and stopped reimbursing them for health insurance.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/30/dispute-over-tutors-pay-roils-match-charter-school/Zo0iry9UCbKqPxDGtFYTxN/story.html

“Given the amount of money that was put in here, the return on investment looks negligible at this point. I don’t know how you can interpret it any other way.”

U.S.

Ed Dept. pours $43 million into reform program with questionable results

The Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 30 at 8:59 am

The U.S. Education Department is pouring $43 million more in federal funds into a program that is aimed at improving the lowest-performing schools but has had highly questionable results.

The department announced last weekthat seven states would receive more than $43.4 million through the School Improvement Grants program: Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin (see each state award below).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/30/ed-dept-pours-43-million-into-reform-program-with-questionable-results/?utm_content=buffer4f20a&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

Women in the legal profession 33.3%

Women medical doctors and surgeons 34.3%

Women in the teaching profession 76%

Why Is the Teaching Profession the Target of Reform?

Russ on Reading Blog by Russ Walsh Monday, December 30, 2013

Could it be that the teaching profession is under attack, in part, because it is a largely female profession?

Over the past few weeks, several things have coalesced in my mind to make me ask why teachers are the target of education reform.

First at my office Christmas party for staff of the Education Department at Rider University, it was pointed out to me, as gifts were exchanged, that I was the only male at the party. Then Frank Rich wrote a column in the New York Times called “Waiting for Wonder Woman” about the absence of major action roles in Hollywood with the woman as the central hero. Finally, I watched the DVD of the movie “The Hunger Games” and on reflection I had to note that in this advanced game of “Survivor” the women (young girls) were given no quarter for being female. Would it take a dystopian universe to bring about true equality for women?

Women dominate the teaching profession. Women are still fighting for equality and even in the movies only seem to achieve it in a dystopian fantasy. Could it be that the teaching profession is under attack, in part, because it is a largely female profession?

http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-is-teaching-profession-target-of.html

Anthony Cody’s most widely read post of 2013….

Common Core Standards: Ten Colossal Errors

Education Week Living in Dialogue Blog By Anthony Cody on November 16, 2013 6:18 AM

A recent book described the "Reign of Errors" we have lived through in the name of education reform. I am afraid that the Common Core continues many of these errors, and makes some new ones as well. The Business Roundtable announced last month that its #1 priority is the full adoption and implementation of the Common Core standards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is likewise making a full-court press to advance the Common Core. Major corporations have taken out full-page ads to insist that the Common Core must be adopted. Many leading figures in the Republican party, like Jeb Bush, have led the charge for Common Core, as have entrepreneurs like Joel Klein. And the project has become a centerpiece for President Obama's Department of Education.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/11/common_core_standards_ten_colo.html

Happy New Year – another loop around the sun

Pictures of the year 2013: space

Awesome pictures published by The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/pictures-of-the-year/10504019/Pictures-of-the-year-2013-space.html?frame=2776582

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Below is an alphabetical list of the 2014 Gubernatorial Candidates and links to information about their plans, if elected, for education and arts/culture in Pennsylvania. This list will be updated, as more information becomes available.

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

EduCon 2.6

January 24th – 26th, 2014 at The Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia

EduCon is both a conversation and a conference.

It is an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.

http://educonphilly.org/

DELAWARE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT - GOOGLE SYMPOSIUM 2014

FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014

The DCIU Google Symposium is an opportunity for teachers, administrators, technology directors, and other school stakeholders to come together and explore the power of Google Apps for Education. The Symposium will be held at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. The Delaware County Intermediate Unit is one of Pennsylvania’s 29 regional educational agencies. The day will consist of an opening keynote conducted by Rich Kiker followed by 4 concurrent sessions.

https://sites.google.com/site/dciuchromesymposium/home

NPE National Conference 2014

The Network for Public Education November 24, 2013

The Network for Public Education is pleased to announce our first National Conference. The event will take place on March 1 & 2, 2014 (the weekend prior to the world-famous South by Southwest Festival) at The University of Texas at Austin. At the NPE National Conference 2014, there will be panel discussions, workshops, and a keynote address by Diane Ravitch. NPE Board members – including Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimson, and Julian Vasquez Heilig – will lead discussions along with some of the important voices of our movement.

In the coming weeks, we will release more details. In the meantime, make your travel plans and click this link and submit your email address to receive updates about the NPE National Conference 2014.

The National School Boards Association 74^th Annual Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans

The National School Boards Association 74^th Annual Conference & Exposition will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA. Our first time back in New Orleans since the spring of 2002!

General Session speakers include education advocates Thomas L. Friedman, Sir Ken Robinson, as well as education innovators Nikhil Goyal and Angela Maiers.

We have more than 200 sessions planned! Colleagues from across the country will present workshops on key topics with strategies and ideas to help your district. View our Conference Brochure for highlights on sessions and focus presentations.

· Register now! – Register for both the conference and housing using our online system.

· Conference Information– Visit the NSBA conference website for up-to-date information

· Hotel List and Map - Official NSBA Housing Block

· Exposition Campus – View new products and services and interactive trade show floor

Questions? Contact NSBA at 800-950-6722 (NSBA) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST.

Join the National School Boards Action Center Friends of Public Education

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

’s schoolchildren

http://nsbac.org/?page_id=1873

Monday, December 30, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 30, 2013: Advocating for policies that support quality public education

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

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?

Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania

WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio runtime 52:01

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2013/12/23/debating-charter-school-reform-in-pennsylvania/

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for December 30, 2013:

Advocating for policies that support quality public education

Did you catch our weekend postings?

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 29, 2013: Busting Early Childhood Education Myths – The Fadeout Myth

http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/12/pa-ed-policy-roundup-for-december-29.html

Advocating for policies that support quality public education

Here are links to grass-roots organizations that see public education as a public good and a public responsibility. Are you and your colleagues involved with any of them?

Yinzercation Blog

Public Education is a Public Good – Help Save Our Schools!

Yinzers care about public education. We know that public schools are a public good. But Pennsylvania schools are now missing $2.3 BILLION due to historic state budget cuts in 2011. Those cuts continue to have a devastating impact on our schools in Southwestern PA since they were carried forward in the 2012 and 2013 budgets as well. The de-funding of our public schools has gone hand in hand with a national “corporate-style-reform” movement that pushes a damaging agenda of privatization, competition, choice, high-stakes-testing, and school closures – all disproportionately affecting our poorest students and communities of color.

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/

Great Public Schools Pittsburgh

Strong public schools make strong communities. We are a coalition of community, faith, and labor organizations working together for great public schools in Pittsburgh.

https://www.facebook.com/GreatPublicSchoolsPittsburgh

Education Matters in the Cumberland Valley

School districts across Pennsylvania are struggling to cope with devastating state budget cuts and crippling cyber charter school tuition bills. Now, more than ever before, Pennsylvanians need to speak out loudly and together in support of our public schools. Join parents and community members from across Pennsylvania to advocate for policies that support public education.

http://educationmattersinthecv.wordpress.com/our-goals/

Education Voters of Pennsylvania

Education Voters Pennsylvania is dedicated to informing the public about the needs and importance of our public schools, ensuring our political leaders adopt and implement a pro public education agenda, and holding those leaders accountable if they fail to do so.

http://www.educationvoterspa.org/

Helen Gym: The Agitator

Fiery Helen Gym has been the bane of school reformers. Is she eyeing the mayor’s office next?

Philadelphia Magazine BY PATRICK KERKSTRA | DECEMBER 27, 2013

Helen Gym advances, and Mayor Nutter inches warily back. She waves a thick stack of papers at him, each sheath a complaint lodged by parents lamenting the calamitous conditions in Philadelphia’s reeling public schools. There’s the kid with dangerous asthma at the school without a nurse on hand. The dyslexic, orphaned high-school senior applying for colleges with no counselor to lean on. The bullying victim who fled Overbrook High only to find it impossible to enroll at another school. “This is what we’re fighting against,” Gym tells Nutter. The Mayor is just a few yards from his office door, but he’s the one shifting his feet, looking to get away.

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/helen-gym-school-reform/

Parents United for Public Education

Parents United for Public Education is a citywide group of Philadelphia parents that focuses on budgeting and accountability in order to ensure resources get to the classroom level. We got started in Spring 2006 when a budget crisis forced parents from multiple schools out to school board meetings. We shared common concerns around supporting academically rich environments, equity across populations, and accountability for money spent. Since then, we have engaged an active and diverse group of parents across neighborhoods to successfully advocate for classroom-focused budget priorities and improved funding from local and state agencies, as well as the broader Philadelphia community. Today, the work of Parents United is more important than ever. An independent, organized and engaged parent body has proven we can clarify budget priorities to keep a focus on children and classrooms. We invite all people concerned about Philadelphia’s future to join us in this effort for our public schools.

http://parentsunitedphila.com/about/

Save Our Schools NJ

Save Our Schools NJ is a nonpartisan, grassroots, volunteer led and powered organization of parents and other concerned residents who believe that all New Jersey children should have access to a high quality public education. Save Our Schools NJ began as a successful effort to pass a local school budget. It quickly became clear that it will take many voices across the entire state to ensure that our children’s education is not compromised to political or ideological objectives. Thus, what was an ad hoc movement has grown into Save Our Schools NJ, and our membership has grown to include almost 12,000 public school supporters, across all of New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts.

http://www.saveourschoolsnj.org/

The Network for Public Education

Our Mission: The Network for Public Education is an advocacy group whose goal is to fight to protect, preserve and strengthen our public school system, an essential institution in a democratic society. Our mission is to protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools and the education of current and future generations of students. We will accomplish this by networking groups and organizations focused on similar goals in states and districts throughout the nation, share information about what works and what doesn’t work in public education, and endorse and rate candidates for office based on our principles and goals.

http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/about-npe/

Keystone State Education Coalition

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

School districts face uphill battle in reversing declines

Tribune-Review By Richard Gazarik Published: Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, 10:30 p.m.
The Wilkinsburg School District struggles in just about every way that matters — financially, academically and with enrollment. Superintendent Lee McFerren knows that merging with another district could help, but no district is willing to take on the challenge, he said.

It's a common cry from distressed districts that essentially have “lost their right to exist,” said Maureen McClure, associate professor of administration and policy studies at the University of Pittsburgh. “There's no tax base to hold them,” said McClure, a school director in Riverview School District. “They just don't have enough of a tax base to do the basic things it needs to do, and those are the districts nobody wants.”

New version of GED comes in with the New Year

WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY DECEMBER 30, 2013

Starting Jan. 1, earning a GED in Pennsylvania will become a whole lot harder.

The Graduate Equivalency Diploma -- now administered by the for-profit group Pearson -- is being revamped in ways proponents say will give the test greater credibility and better prepare students for work and college. But for high school dropouts hoping to claw their way back into the job market, the New Year is bringing about not happiness, but anxiety.

The new GED test, to be aligned with the new Common Core state standards, will be purely computer-based. It will also cost 60 percent more, jumping from $75 to $120.

"It's a disaster," said Bonnie Kaye. "They're holding high school dropouts to an educational standard that high school students aren't being held to."

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/63311-new-version-of-ged-comes-in-with-the-new-year?linktype=hp_impact

“Although the narrow impact of this ruling is very important, and could lead to more sensible fracking practices across the state, the court's broader reasoning seems to open other. just-as-important legal doors. Many have argued that the other defining policy legacy of the Corbett era -- the relentless undermining of public schools in a push for more charters and voucher-like benefits -- is also fundamentally unconstitutional. Just as Pennsylvania's bedrock document promises a clean environment, it also mandates "the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth." The state Constitution also bars using public dollars to support "sectarian schools," yet the Corbett-backed "voucher lite" program known as EITC does exactly that. It would be great to see the high court rule on these matters, too.”

The fracklash

Philly Daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013, 8:19 PM

Gov. Corbett may have taken a shuffle-step to his left on gay rights this week, but he continues to pay the price for his past sins. Today, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court smacked down -- or maybe fracked down -- a key section of the 2012 law on gas-drilling that was signed by Corbett after it was pushed through the legislature by his GOP allies. In a 4-2 vote, with Republican Justice Ronald Castille, the former Philadelphia DA, crossing over to vote with the three Democratic state Supremes, the state's highest court rulled that Act 13's key provision, preventing local governments from using their zoning laws to prevent or regulate fracking activities, is unconstitutional.

Jon Stewart’s greatest education hits ’13

Washington Post The Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 29 at 12:45 pm

From 2013, in no particular order, with a bonus at the end.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/29/jon-stewarts-greatest-education-hits-13/

First Book – Access to New Books for Children in Need

Donate Today –Your gift today will provide three times as many new books to children in need thanks to a generous grant from Random House Children’s Books. Offer expires December 31

https://secure3.convio.net/book/site/Donation2;jsessionid=24722E03251E3D20D73E10D2D6242932.app333a?1340.donation=form1&df_id=1340&utm_content=buffer0c029&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

‘Five things I did not expect from my Teach For America experience’

Washington Post The Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 30 at 4:00 am

Here is part of a post that Julian Vasquez Heilig, an award-winning researcher and associate professor of educational policy and planning at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote on his Cloaking Inquality blog. The piece, entitled “Tell-All From A TFA and KIPP Teacher: Unprepared, Isolation, Shame, and Burnout,” is largely about a former student of Heilig’s who came to him to tell him about her experience in TFA. The student is still teaching at a KIPP school as a TFA corps member so asked not to be identified.

You can see the whole piece here; following is the part of the piece that is in her words:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/30/five-things-i-did-not-expect-from-my-teach-for-america-experience/

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

DELAWARE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT - GOOGLE SYMPOSIUM 2014

FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014

https://sites.google.com/site/dciuchromesymposium/home

NPE National Conference 2014

The Network for Public Education November 24, 2013

The National School Boards Association 74^th Annual Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans

General Session speakers include education advocates Thomas L. Friedman, Sir Ken Robinson, as well as education innovators Nikhil Goyal and Angela Maiers.

· Register now! – Register for both the conference and housing using our online system.

· Conference Information– Visit the NSBA conference website for up-to-date information

· Hotel List and Map - Official NSBA Housing Block

· Exposition Campus – View new products and services and interactive trade show floor

Questions? Contact NSBA at 800-950-6722 (NSBA) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST.

Join the National School Boards Action Center Friends of Public Education

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

’s schoolchildren

http://nsbac.org/?page_id=1873

Sunday, December 29, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 29, 2013: Busting Early Childhood Education Myths – The Fadeout Myth

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

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?

Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania

WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio runtime 52:01

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2013/12/23/debating-charter-school-reform-in-pennsylvania/

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for December 29, 2013:

Busting Early Childhood Education Myths – The Fadeout Myth

Thirty-five years of longitudinal data: Disadvantaged children who receive quality early childhood education are more likely to persist in school, enjoy better career outcomes, higher wages and healthier lifestyles

Busting Early Childhood Education Myths – The Fadeout Myth

First Five Years Fund Starting Point Blog DEC 27, 2013

Early childhood education opponents are upping their efforts in the wake of federal early childhood initiatives such as the recently introduced Strong Start for America’s Children Act.

Unfortunately, they’re touting the same tired, debunked lines that critics have trotted out for years. Today we set the record straight about one of the most common myths cited by critics of early childhood education - that the gains made in early childhood education disappear by third grade.

http://www.ffyf.org/busting%20early%20childhood%20education%20myths?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=lightspan

Changes Coming to Charters in New York City, Philadelphia

Education Week Charters & Choice Blog By Katie Ash on December 27, 2013 2:06 PM

The new year may bring changes to charter schools in some large, urban districts. New legislation in Philadelphia and new leadership in New York may alter the landscape for charter schools in those districts. Also, charter skeptics in Chicago are criticizing the approval of a new charter school by the state charter school commission after the charter school's application was originally turned down by Chicago Public Schools. Read on for more details about these three developing stories.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2013/12/changes_coming_to_charters_in_philadelphia_new_york.html

Two PA reps make Top 12 lawmakers to watch list

Philly.com Commonwealth Confidential Blog FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2013, 6:02 PM

What are the odds of two Pennsylvania lawmakers ending up on a list of the top state legislators to watch next year? Pretty big actually.

Rep. Mike Fleck (R., Huntingdon) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Phila.) both got the nod from Governing magazine, the premier periodical for local and state governments.

That's out of 7.383 state lawmakers across the country, according to a press release from Fleck.

12 State Legislators to Watch in 2014

It’s a tough time to be a politician, but these state lawmakers are really making a mark.

Governing Magazine BY LOUIS JACOBSON | JANUARY 2014

On a list of the most hated jobs, politicians consistently rank up there with telemarketers, used car salesmen, lawyers, parking enforcement officers and taxmen. And obviously, coming off a year that saw sequestration and the federal shutdown, the occupation is more unpopular now than ever with the general public. But President Theodore Roosevelt once said that good people should enter politics or else be governed by those who do. And despite what many may think of politicians, there are a number of good men and women working in the nation’s 50 state legislatures. Two years ago, we compiled a similar list of legislators to watch. Now we’re doing it again. Here are a dozen state lawmakers, equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, who are considered players by political experts in state capitals across the country.

http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-2014-state-legislators-to-watch.html

Vacancies to bring change to Pa. Legislature

AP State Wire by MARK SCOLFORO December 28, 2013
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania Legislature's two-year election cycle circles back around in the coming year, as new district boundaries, a spate of retirements, death and ambition appear destined to usher in more than the usual share of turnover in the 253-member body.

Now is the time of year when the campaign battlefield begins to take shape, with candidates rounding up support and making plans to start gathering signatures on nominating petitions by mid-February. The legislative election picture will be even more complicated than usual in 2014 because it will involve House and Senate district maps the state Supreme Court approved in March after lengthy litigation. Incumbents must decide if they want to run in their newly drawn districts and 10 lawmakers in the House have the additional challenge of having been shifted into the same district as another sitting member.

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=g8edK6qB

Educator’s indictment surprised the community

By JO ANN BOBBY-GILBERT - Staff Writer Morning Journal News December 29, 2013

Editor's note: This was voted the No. 4 story of 2013 by the Morning Journal news staff.

EAST LIVERPOOL - Most in the community were surprised by the news in August that Liverpool Township resident Dr. Nick Trombetta had been charged with siphoning more than $8 million from the PA Cyber School through a web of companies. Trombetta, 922 Rhovanion Drive, had served 12 years in the city school district as a teacher and coach, then as a principal in Aliquippa before taking on the job of superintendent in Midland, Pa., for seven years, during which he formulated the plans for PA Cyber. With the startup of PA Cyber, the Lincoln Park School of Performing Arts and other cyber-related businesses, Trombetta had often been credited with "saving" the borough of Midland, which had fallen on hard times in 1982 with the closing of Crucible Steel.

- See more at: http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/549080/Educator-s-indictment-surprised-the-community.html?nav=5006#sthash.SXrWVoJu.dpuf

Distrust of government keeps school district consolidations at bay

TribLive.com By Adam Smeltz and Richard Gazarik Published: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013
They squeezed more kids into classrooms, cut field trips and combined high school athletics.

But for all the expenses Pennsylvania public schools shaved in the past several years, district mergers that could trim millions of dollars remain mostly off the table, despite research showing selective consolidation might deliver savings statewide of almost $100 million annually.

“It's the nature of Pennsylvania. We do not trust large government. Overcoming that is very difficult,” said state Sen. John Wozniak, a Cambria County Democrat who pressed for an independent study of school consolidation in 2006. “Somebody's got to talk about it — talk about it consistently and loudly.”

Duquesne charter school proposal submitted

By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 27, 2013 11:17 PM

Former Duquesne school director Connie Lucas struck out in her first attempt to start a charter school in the academically and financially troubled district earlier this month when the state Charter Appeals Board rejected the application she filed in May 2012.

But she was back at bat again Friday with a second proposal for a K-6 charter school that was aired at a public hearing before Paul Long, the state-assigned receiver for Duquesne.

Here the PPG editorial board seems to think that college grads with virtually no teaching experience and just 5 weeks of training would be more effective than experienced teachers who are teaching out of their subject areas…..

Wilkinsburg’s woes: A troubled district could use Teach for America

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial December 27, 2013 7:47 PM

Just when residents of the Wilkinsburg School District thought they had heard everything, they are confronted by more bad news. This latest embarrassment should be the last straw.

In the spring, Wilkinsburg’s financial straits prompted it to borrow $3 million to pay bills, which in turn caused the state Department of Education to put the district on a financial watch list.

“In a recent political loophole, Congress approved Teach For America’s “highly qualified” status, an earmark that was slid last second into the Oct. 16 budget/shutdown deal. TFA’s “highly qualified” status means anyone with a college degree, in any subject area, can become a special education instructor.

In other words, a graduate in government can teach P.E., an art major can teach science, or a person with a major in business can teach special education. TFA instructors arrive at a school with little to no experience in teaching methods, educational psychology or a substantive pre-service teaching experience.”

Teach For America Falls Short

ISU Bengal December 18, 2013 By Levi Cavener

“We all know that we aren’t yet providing a world-class education for every child with a disability. And we won’t rest until we do that,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2010 while celebrating the anniversary of the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA).

Indeed, there is good reason for Duncan to acknowledge that, despite achieving such incredible victories for special education students, our nation still has many hurdles to overcome with educating students with special needs.

This is particularly true when ensuring that a “highly qualified” educator — not just on paper, but in practice — is leading the head of every special education classroom; such is my concern with an organization inaptly named, Teach For America (TFA).

http://isubengal.com/teach-america-falls-short/

A Better Way to Teach

New York Times Letter by RANDI WEINGARTEN, President, American Federation of Teachers Published: December 24, 2013

“Why Other Countries Teach Better” (“Numbers Crunch” series, editorial, Dec. 18) really nailed what needs to happen. For far too long, the

United States

was sold on market-driven education reform ideas — test-based accountability, combined with competition and sanctions. That approach hasn’t kicked the doors of success open and helped all children reach their full potential. Those reforms simply create winners and losers.

The new Program for International Student Assessment data, when you look under the hood — as you have — makes clear that the nations that outperform us take an entirely different approach, an approach I’ve seen firsthand while visiting places like Finland, Singapore and Canada.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/opinion/a-better-way-to-teach.html?src=rechp&_r=0

Four tough questions about charter schools

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 27 at 12:00 pm

Mark Naison, a professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham University and director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program, has some important questions about charter schools. He is the author of three books and over 100 articles on African American History, urban history, and the history of sports, and he is a founder of the Badass Teachers Association. A version of this appeared on his blog, With a Brooklyn Accent.

The powers that be in the Democratic Party, including President Obama, have made charter schools their main vehicle for educational renewal in low-income communities, and there are more than a few civil rights leaders and elected officials in black and Latino communities who view them as a chance to give families in their neighborhoods better educational opportunities. We have now had six years of strong support for charters from the Obama administration, backed up by Race to the Top money.

It is time to ask some hard questions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/27/four-tough-questions-about-charter-schools/

THE YEAR IN REVIEW The 10 Most-Viewed EdWeek Stories of 2013

Education Week By The Editors Published Online: December 26, 2013

To provide a sense of what was high on our readers’ priority lists in 2013, the editors at Education Week compiled a list of our ten most-viewed articles. Below, those stories are ordered by the number of online page views they generated. Take a look at what other readers saw as the most interesting pieces of the year, and catch up on news you may have missed in 2013.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/12/26/15topstories-mostviewed.h33.html?tkn=QQXFoWZOGBEHO%2FXcsOUBeDcmqD6cenXq7etJ&cmp=clp-edweek

THE YEAR IN REVIEW The 10 Most-Viewed EdWeek Commentaries of 2013

Education Week By The Editors Published Online: December 26, 2013

In 2013, Education Week published in print and online more than 100 thoughtful Commentaries on education issues. To give a sense of which opinion essays our readers found most compelling, the editors at Education Week have compiled a list of our 10 most-viewed Commentaries. Below, they are ordered by the number of online page views they generated. Revisit these Commentaries and examine perspectives you may have missed in 2013.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/12/26/15topcommentaries-mostviewed.h33.html?tkn=WOTFEc1XCu6%2BjvRLSRjo9YistRuHC%2B0SAKwX&cmp=clp-edweek

Public Education Under Siege

University of Pennsylvania Press, Michael B. Katz and Mike Rose, Editors

"Most of the fire in the national debate over school reform has come from those in favor of high-stakes testing of students, charter schools, and weakening of teachers' unions—until now. The very timely essays in Public Education Under Siege challenge the assumptions and goals of the so-called school reform movement. If you want to understand why the movement will not bring serious change to the schools that need it most and may even make things worse, read this book. This is an extraordinarily valuable contribution to the national debate."—Michael K. Brown, Race, Money and the American Welfare State

Proponents of education reform are committed to the idea that all children should receive a quality education, and that all of them have a capacity to learn and grow, whatever their ethnicity or economic circumstances. But though recent years have seen numerous reform efforts, the resources available to children in different municipalities still vary enormously, and despite landmark cases of the civil rights movement and ongoing pushes to enact diverse and inclusive curricula, racial and ethnic segregation remain commonplace. Public Education Under Siege examines why public schools are in such difficult straits, why the reigning ideology of school reform is ineffective, and what can be done about it.

http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15120.html

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

DELAWARE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT - GOOGLE SYMPOSIUM 2014

FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014

https://sites.google.com/site/dciuchromesymposium/home

NPE National Conference 2014

The Network for Public Education November 24, 2013

The National School Boards Association 74^th Annual Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans

General Session speakers include education advocates Thomas L. Friedman, Sir Ken Robinson, as well as education innovators Nikhil Goyal and Angela Maiers.

· Register now! – Register for both the conference and housing using our online system.

· Conference Information– Visit the NSBA conference website for up-to-date information

· Hotel List and Map - Official NSBA Housing Block

· Exposition Campus – View new products and services and interactive trade show floor

Questions? Contact NSBA at 800-950-6722 (NSBA) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST.

Join the National School Boards Action Center Friends of Public Education

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

’s schoolchildren

http://nsbac.org/?page_id=1873

Pages

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 31, 2013: Happy New Year. Every member of the PA House of Representatives will face re-election in 2014. Do you know where your Rep. stands on public education?

NPE National Conference 2014

Monday, December 30, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 30, 2013: Advocating for policies that support quality public education

The Network for Public Education

NPE National Conference 2014

Sunday, December 29, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 29, 2013: Busting Early Childhood Education Myths – The Fadeout Myth

NPE National Conference 2014