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
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?
74 percent of students who fail to read
proficiently by the end of third grade falter in later grades.
“The results? The analysis shows that, while there are enough exceptions
to prevent iron clad conclusions, how a school fared under the old system is
good indicator of how it fares under the new, at least in Luzerne County
Brand
new system, same old results?
School rankings not much different under state’s
new ‘School Performance Profile’
“We now have a better way of guiding
improvement efforts in schools,” Gov. Tom Corbett boasted in an August
announcement that the program had
won federal approval. “This new system brings together multiple
academic indicators that are proven to provide a full overview of academic
growth and achievement in our public schools,” Acting Secretary of Education
Carolyn Dumaresq promised when the state unveiled the first SPPs in October.
The new system replaced the decade-old
“Adequate Yearly Progress” gauge, which amounted to a pass/fail mark for
schools, based heavily on state math and reading tests for grades three through
eight and 11. SPP looks at more tests —
science, writing, SAT, ACT, tests of trade skills
at career and technology centers and others — as well as at “academic growth”
(student improvement) and closing of the “achievement gap” between those who
statistically do well in standardized tests and those who don’t (low income and
English Language Learners, for example).
Advocates
hitch Philly schools to national literacy push
WHYY Newsworks by Kevin McCorry DECEMBER 24, 2013
Is it possible for all the city's third
graders to read on grade level by the year 2020?
That's the goal of the new initiative led
by Public Citizens for Children and Youth and the Urban Affairs Coalition. Over the next six months, at the direction
of PCCY and UAC, city agencies and community groups will
create a multi-year strategy to improve early childhood literacy as part of the
national Campaign for Grade-Level
Reading. Advocates point to research
that says that 74 percent of students who fail to read proficiently by the end
of third grade falter in later grades. They also often drop out before
finishing high school.
Did you miss our XMAS eve posting?
PA Ed Policy Roundup
for December 24,
2013 : Let it burn? SB1085 could take another $150 million from
strapped Philly schools
The
school board has now made the right call on teacher program
Post-Gazette Letter to the Editor by John
Tarka December 26,
2013 12:00 AM
John Tarka is a former president of Pittsburgh
Federation of Teachers
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Public school America America
contends that recent college graduates who complete a five-week training course
are equipped to teach in America
The only thing that is preposterous is the
idea that five weeks of training would prepare anyone to address the many needs
of today’s students. Successful teachers have deep knowledge of their subject
matter and specific skills that help students learn. They have regular practice
under the mentorship of experienced teachers, guidance especially in their
early years, and opportunities to refine their skills as they mature. It’s
educational nonsense and incredibly unfair to students to assume that someone
with little more than one month’s training can be adequately prepared to teach
effectively.
Low-scoring
Pa.
Education Week Published Online: December 26, 2013
WILKINSBURG, Pa.
An art teacher conducts chemistry classes at Wilkinsburg High School
The school scored 36.3 out of 100 in a new
ratings system meant to measure which Pennsylvania
By JENNIFER LAWSON, jlawson@21st-centurymedia.com 12/26/13 , 11:37 AM EST |
A little more than a year after the shooting
at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. that killed 20 children and
six adults, a state lawmaker is proposing a piece of legislation that would let
school boards decide if school employees should be armed on the job.
However, officials with North Penn and
Souderton schools have said they’re not looking at arming teachers and staff at
this time, instead focusing on enhancing school building safety through
technology and training them on what to do during an active shooter scenario.
In other areas of the state, including the
district of state Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, which is about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh
White said the shootings at schools over the
last year as well as feedback from educators in his area promoted him to
introduce Pa. Senate Bill 1193. The
measure would allow school boards decide whether or not administrators,
teachers and staff can carry guns on school property. They would be required to
meet training requirements and obtain concealed firearms licenses.
In
Chester
HAROLD BRUBAKER, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER December 25, 2013 ,
2:01 AM
Since opening nearly seven years ago, Harrah's
Philadelphia Casino in Chester
So how much additional money will Harrah's -
it already turns over more than $10 million of its annual winnings to Chester
City under state law - start kicking in to help the city and the financially
beleaguered Chester-Upland School District?
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20131225_In_Chester__Harrah_s_losing_its_tax_break.html#KoR3zokKbARoLPqg.99
Phila.
district joins field with own cyber school
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Thursday, December 26, 2013 , 2:01 AM POSTED: Wednesday, December 25, 2013 ,
10:05 PM
For six years, Alessandra Mullin excelled at
Masterman, one of the top schools in the state. But when she heard about a new
cyber venture of the Philadelphia
School District
Mullin dances with the Pennsylvania Ballet,
and switching to online education would allow her to pursue her dream of
dancing full time, she reasoned. The Philadelphia Virtual Academy
Monday
and Friday are stargazing nights at Widener observatory
JULIE ZAUZMER, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Thursday, December
26, 2013 , 2:01 AM
Through the wide opening in a rooftop dome on
the engineering building at Widener
University Chester Chester
Islamic
cleric linked to U.S.
charter schools involved in Turkey
Washington Post The
Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December
26 at 7:00 am
A Muslim cleric who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania and has been linked to a network of more
than 135 public charter schools in the United
States is believed to be deeply involved in the political
drama that is unfolding in his home country of Turkey
The reclusive cleric is Fethullah Gulen, who
has been linked to charter schools in some 25 states and to other schools in
dozens of countries around the world. Gulen, who has denounced
terrorism and is said to believe in a moderate form of Islam, has lived in Pennsylvania
“The investigation has been linked to the followers of Fethullah Gulen,
a reclusive Muslim preacher who lives in Pennsylvania Turkey
Three
Turkish Ministers Step Down Amid Graft Inquiry
New York Times By DAN BILEFSKY Published: December 25, 2013
Three Turkish cabinet ministers resigned
Wednesday in an intensifying corruption scandal that has challenged the
government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and polarized the country. Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior
Minister Muammer Guler, both of whose sons have been arrested in the
anticorruption investigation, stepped down. Their sons are among 24 people who
have been arrested on bribery charges in a corruption investigation that has
engulfed Mr. Erdogan and his close associates.
Fethullah Gulen is accused of promoting 'dirty
operation' to weaken country's ruler.
Morning Call Staff and wire reports 11:38 p.m.
EST, December 23, 2013
A reclusive Muslim cleric living in exile on
a Monroe County farm denied claims
by Turkey's prime minister that his progressive religious movement is behind a
corruption probe designed to undermine the Asian nation's government. Fethullah Gulen, who has lived near
Saylorsburg since 1999, condemned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for characterizing
the corruption probe as a Western plot to destabilize the nation.
Gulen, 72, who lives on the grounds of the Golden Generation
Worship Center
in Ross Township
He has made his life's work spreading the
influence of Turkey , a
moderate Muslim country on the boundary between Europe and Asia, through an
international network of schools, including about 130 public charter schools
in the United States , three
of which are in Pennsylvania
CPS
says no to charter schools, but Michael Madigan says yes
When Concept Schools Inc. wanted to open two
charter schools in Chicago
CPS officials have allowed the rapid expansion
of charters. But they turned down Concept. They said the charter operator,
headquartered in Des Plaines , didn’t merit being
allowed to expand based on test scores at its one city school, the Chicago Math
and Science Academy
This time, the answer was yes.
AdvanceIndiana Blog Sunday, December 15, 2013
The FBI raided the offices of the Kenilworth
Science & Technology charter school in Baton Rouge , Louisiana Indiana Math & Science Academy
charter schools in Indianapolis , the charter
school in Kenilworth has ties
to the controversial education movement inspired by Fethullah Gulen, a
Turkish exile once accused of trying to overthrow the Turkish government who
now resides in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
The FBI and school are not talking about the cause for this past week's raid, but a Philadelphia Inquirer report in 2011 indicated that the FBI was investigating whether teachers employed by schools associated with the Gulen movement are required to kick back part of their taxpayer-supported salaries to Hizmet, a Turkish Muslim movement.
The FBI and school are not talking about the cause for this past week's raid, but a Philadelphia Inquirer report in 2011 indicated that the FBI was investigating whether teachers employed by schools associated with the Gulen movement are required to kick back part of their taxpayer-supported salaries to Hizmet, a Turkish Muslim movement.
The
13 most important charts of 2013
If you continually listen to school reformers
in the “accountability” movement — those who believe that standardized test
scores are the most important measure of success — then you could be forgiven
for really believing that the U.S. economy and the country’s national security
are dependent
on getting those scores ever higher (because, in this skewed world
view, the very flawed tests are seen as a real measure of achievement). You
might also think that all of America
The problems with this thinking have been a
common theme on this blog, mostly by looking at why it is wrong to imbue
standardized tests with more validity than they deserve and to use test scores
to make high-stakes decisions about students, teachers and schools. Here is a
different way of looking at what is really going on in the economy — and why
it’s time to stop blaming the public schools. Here are 13 telling charts
about the economy from the nonprofit Economic
Policy Institute, which has a mission of broadening the discussion
about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income
workers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/24/the-13-most-important-charts-of-2013/
The
10 Most-Viewed EdWeek Stories of 2013
Education Week By The Editors 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.
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
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
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
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 74th Annual
Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans
The National School Boards Association 74th Annual
Conference & Exposition will be held at the Ernest
N. Morial
Convention Center in New Orleans , LA. New Orleans
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
Join the National
School Boards
Action Center
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
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