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Friday, December 27, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 27, 2013: “And we have unequal funding, so that we give more money to the education of rich kids than poor kids.”

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
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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?



Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania
WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio runtime 52:01


Keystone State Education Coalition
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for December 27, 2013:
“And we have unequal funding, so that we give more money to the education of rich kids than poor kids.”


Budget no-brainers: A deficit at hand, Corbett must welcome all ideas
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 27, 2013 12:00 AM
It’s that time of year again. Not Christmas or New Year’s, but time for the state budget secretary’s midyear appraisal.  The forecast, like so much winter weather, is not good. Budget Secretary Charles Zogby said that, although Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration expects to balance the books on a $28.4 billion budget by the end of the fiscal year, it faces a $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion deficit in 2014-15, which begins July 1.  The annual projection comes when Democrats and Republicans are sharpening their proposals for the coming budget debate, a months-long process that will kick off in February when Mr. Corbett releases his fourth spending plan.

2014's tougher GED test spurs year-end rush to IU13
55 percent more students take test in 2013; demand exceeds supply of testing time slots
Intelligencer Journal Lancaster New Era Updated Dec 26, 2013 15:37 By KARA NEWHOUSE Staff Writer knewhouse@lnpnews.com
Christmas shoppers weren't the only ones battling crowds this month.
People seeking a GED diploma showed up in throngs at Intermediate Unit 13's testing center.
They were rushing to finish the GED before a harder exam arrives in January and old scores are wiped out.  "There's been a huge scramble for people to try to pass the test before the end of this year," said Tim Shenk, director of IU13's Adult Education Program.

Court rules against Delco Charter School
Delco Times By LINDA REILLY, Times Correspondent 12/26/13, 9:15 PM EST
UPPER DARBY — The Delaware County Court of Common Pleas ruled against the appeal of the Delco Charter School and in favor of Upper Darby School District.  Upper Darby School District Manager of Media Services Dana Spino announced the results of the appeal.
“The Upper Darby School District learned late last week of the favorable ruling of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas regarding the charter school application of Delco Community Charter School,” Spino said. “The Nov. 21 trial and decision rendered by the court on Dec. 20 are the latest developments in a one-and-one-half-year process that began in the summer of 2012.”
Officials with the charter school have not decided whether to appeal the latest ruling and are exploring options including filing an appeal of the ruling.

“And we have unequal funding, so that we give more money to the education of rich kids than poor kids.”
Darling-Hammond Deplores Failure of No Child Left Behind and Test-and-Punish
Blog Posted on December 27, 2013 by janresseger
This morning, December 26, Linda Darling-Hammond spoke with Steve Inskseep on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.  You can listen or read the transcript here.
Darling-Hammond is the Stanford University professor who was considered seriously by President Barack Obama back in 2008 to be his Secretary of Education, although Obama eventually went with his Chicago buddy, Arne Duncan.
Here Darling-Hammond looks at the failure—evident after ten years—of President George Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act that set the bar for test score passage so high that, without the waivers now being offered by Arne Duncan’s Department of Education, all schools in the United States would be rated a failure in 2014, the deadline the 2002 law established as the time all children across the United States would be proficient.

“As the district has been active in closing and defunding public schools, a flurry of new charter schools has sprung up across the city. Just last week, CPS proposed the addition of 21 new charter schools.”
Amid mass school closings, a slow death for some Chicago schools
MSNBC By Trymaine Lee 12/26/13 09:16 AM—UPDATED 12/26/13 09:24 AM
CHICAGO— After Parrish Brown graduates from Walter Dyett High School this spring, it’s likely he’ll never set foot in that school building again. Not for a 10-year reunion or to catch up with former teachers or to admire the gleaming trophies inside the school’s display case.  Because if all goes according to the city’s plan, there soon will be no Walter Dyett High School to return to in Bronzeville, an historic African-American enclave on the city’s south side.  “They closed my elementary school and now they’re phasing out my high school. One day there’ll be nothing in my community to come back to,” said Brown, 17.
“Phasing-out” is a euphemism for slow death in a district that has become increasingly aggressive about closing public schools in poor and African-American neighborhoods.   Dyett is scheduled to close at the end of next school year, at which point, community groups say, there will be no other viable public high school in the neighborhood–essentially creating a “school desert.”
Parrish Brown, 17, is a senior at Walter Dyett High School in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood. Dyett is on the list of schools being phased-out by Chicago Public Schools. When the school closes there will be no other viable public high school in the neighborhood, creating what critics of the closure call a “school desert.”
Mass school closings have become a growing trend in major cities across the country, including Philadelphia, New York City, Oakland and Detroit. But in Chicago, the school board has struck more broadly and with a heavier axe than any other school district in the country. For more than a decade the school district has been on a mission to close underperforming and underutilized schools, mostly in minority neighborhoods on the city’s south and west sides. Since 2001 the district has shuttered or phased-out about 150 schools, including 49 over this past summer. It was the largest single mass school closing in American history and affected more than 30,000 students who were either displaced or whose schools absorbed the massive spillover.

11 telling stories about 2013 school reform
Washington Post The Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 26 at 4:00 am
I know it’s more common to do a Top 10 list but here are 11 of The Answer Sheet’s most popular posts in 2013, some that I wrote and others that some of my wonderful guest writers have authored. I have chosen posts that seem to me to be revealing about the path that corporate-influenced school reform took in the past year and about what is ahead for 2014. The subjects include the Common Core State Standards, the demoralization of teachers, Teach For America and the standardized testing obsession.

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.

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. 

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 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.  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

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