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?
The Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose
SB 1085
SB1085
Advocacy Alert:
Please contact your PA state senator ASAP to
express concerns with SB1085 Charter Reform bill. Charter reform should not
diminish accountability and local control over the expenditure of tax dollars.
Contact
info here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/contact.cfm?body=S
If you have a few more
minutes to spare please consider also contacting Senate Majority Leadership:
Taxation without representation: SB1085 would
eliminate taxpayer participation in the authorization of new charter schools
Corbett,
Acting Education Secretary Dumaresq award Derry
Twp. schools for academic achievements
By Julianne Mattera
| jmattera@pennlive.com on January 10, 2014 at 2:00 PM ,
Gov. Tom Corbett and Acting Secretary of
Education Carolyn Dumaresq Friday presented banners to three schools in Derry Township
School District ,
recognizing them for their high academic performance in the last school year. Hershey
Middle School , Hershey
High School and Hershey Intermediate
Elementary School all
received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics. Out of the three, the middle school was the
standout as officials pointed out its score of 96 percent on the 2012-13 School
Performance Profile was not only the highest in the district, but among all
public schools in Dauphin County.
First
Lady Susan Corbett Recognizes Academic Achievement of Mooreland Elementary
School in Carlisle
PDE Press ReleaseJanuary 13, 2014
Carlisle – First Lady Susan Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Mooreland Elementary School in Carlisle Area School District, Cumberland County.
PDE Press Release
Carlisle – First Lady Susan Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Mooreland Elementary School in Carlisle Area School District, Cumberland County.
“Mooreland
Elementary School
demonstrates the invaluable partnership between students, parents, teachers,
administrators and support staff,” said Mrs. Corbett. “I commend the
school and community for their commitment to ensuring that our children receive
a quality education.”
Based on the 2012-13 School Performance
Profile, www.paschoolperformance.org,
Mooreland Elementary School attained a score of
93.9 percent, the highest score in the district.
House
passes two bills aimed at increased transparency on school spending
By Jeff Frantz |
jfrantz@pennlive.com on January 13, 2014 at 4:51 PM
The state House passed a pair of bills Monday sponsors
said would increase transparency in school funding across Pennsylvania . One bill, 1411, would
set up SchoolWATCH, a statewide website to track expenses in school districts
across the state. It's sponsor Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver, said the bill
is based on PennWATCH,
which tracks state spending. That passed 119-81.
The other bill, 1741, would
require school districts to notify the public 48 hours before voting on a union
contract. That passed 102-98.
Both bills need Senate approval before they
could reach Gov. Tom Corbett's desk.
Pension
reform to take center stage in the Pa.
Legislature this spring, leaders say
BY JAN MURPHY | jmurphy@pennlive.com, JEFF
FRANTZ | jfrantz@pennlive.com and CHARLES THOMPSON | cthompson@pennlive.com on January 13, 2014
at 7:55 AM ,
updated January 13, 2014 at 3:07
PM
Pension
reform has been an issue that has been simmering on the Legislature’s
stove for quite a while. Whether it
reaches the boiling point in the upcoming months remains to be seen.
The House and Senate return to Harrisburg today, looking
for a pre-election encore to their fall session success of passing a $2.4
billion transportation plan. Could
pension reform be it?
Be
Careful What You Wish For
Politically Uncorrected Column by G. Terry
Madonna & Michael L.Young January 13, 2014
As we race toward the halfway mark of the new
decade, politics in Pennsylvania
remains uncertain. Long the quintessential competitive two-party state,
Republicans have now lost a record setting six straight presidential elections
back to 1988, while laboring under a registration deficit of 1 million voters.
Nevertheless, they still control the governorship, one U.S. senate seat, both houses of the state
legislature and 13 of Pennsylvania 's
18 congressional seats.
Republican control of the governorship came in the 2010 Tea Party year. So did retaking control of the state house and winning a majority of the congressional delegation. It took a wave election to accomplish the first and some artful gerrymandering to accomplish the second.
But 2012 was not so kind to state Republicans. Instead, they lost the presidential election decisively, did not come close to defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and more ominously lost all three statewide row offices – attorney general, auditor general and treasurer-- for the first time in state history.
Republican control of the governorship came in the 2010 Tea Party year. So did retaking control of the state house and winning a majority of the congressional delegation. It took a wave election to accomplish the first and some artful gerrymandering to accomplish the second.
But 2012 was not so kind to state Republicans. Instead, they lost the presidential election decisively, did not come close to defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and more ominously lost all three statewide row offices – attorney general, auditor general and treasurer-- for the first time in state history.
The
Regulation of Charter Schools
American School Board Journal By Del Stover
January 2014
An estimated 6,000 charter schools are open
across the nation, enrolling more than 2.3 million students. Certainly,
these schools are having an impact on the educational landscape, but that impact
varies widely from state to state. Where state policymakers have adopted sound
policies, charters have proven much more likely to provide novel and exciting
educational experiences for children. Elsewhere,
however, poorly conceived or weakly enforced policies have allowed charters to
evolve into what appears to be a rival education system. This system competes
with traditional schools for scarce resources and diverts thousands of students
into academically inferior schools. So
what is good charter school policy? What should school boards, working through
their state school boards associations, be advocating to ensure the academic
success of children attending charter schools in their districts?
Harambee
charter CEO to surrender to federal authorities
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Monday, January
13, 2014 , 6:26 PM
PhillyDeals:
Analyst: More Phila. school cuts would hurt bond rating
Inquirer by JOSEPH N. DISTEFANO
POSTED: Monday, January
13, 2014 , 2:01 AM
The Philadelphia School
District has cut all the programs it can
afford to cut without scaring away not just more students, but also the
bond-buying investors the schools depend on to finance operations, Moody's
Investors Service analyst Michael D'Arcy warned in a report to
clients last week. More program cuts
will drive city students to charter, Catholic, private, or suburban schools,
reducing state and federal school payments and obliging the credit-rating
agency to cut the district's bond rating, according to the report. Moody's said it will cut its Ba2 credit
rating for the school district's $3.4 billion debt - boosting borrowing costs -
unless state and city funding officials, school financial managers, and labor
unions agree on plans to curb the cycle of overspending and program cuts.
State
Rep. Glen Grell named legislator of the year by school retirees
By Deb Kiner |
dkiner@pennlive.com on January 10, 2014 at 12:20 PM
The Pennsylvania
Association of School Retirees presented state Rep. Glen Grell, R-Hampden Township , with its 2013 Joseph Siegman
Outstanding Legislator of the Year award on Jan. 7. “Representative Grell was selected for his
continued efforts in the General Assembly to find workable solutions to the
challenges facing Pennsylvania ’s
statewide pension systems,” said Richard Rowland, PASR’s executive director.
“Though we have not taken a formal stand on his pension reform proposal, PASR
greatly appreciates how Representative Grell has advanced the conversation in Harrisburg and heightened
awareness that action needs to be taken sooner rather than later to address the
funding shortfalls in the state’s retirement systems.”
Examining
the only voluntary school district merger in Pennsylvania history
Reading Eagle By Becca Y. Gregg
Monday January
13, 2014 12:01 AM
MONACA, Beaver
County - In a dimly lit steakhouse
some 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh ,
two school superintendents - one current and one newly retired - crowd into a
booth illuminated by neon signs. The
smell of barbecue permeates the air at PJ's Bar-B-Q & Steak House, as Nick
Perry and Dan Matsook grab menus and talk school mergers. For Matsook, it's a familiar setting for such
a discussion.
In October 2005, Matsook, then superintendent of the Center Area School District, sat in another restaurant, the Ground Round in nearby Moon Township, where he and school officials from his district and the neighboring Monaca School District laid the foundation for what would be the first voluntary merger of two school districts in Pennsylvania.
In October 2005, Matsook, then superintendent of the Center Area School District, sat in another restaurant, the Ground Round in nearby Moon Township, where he and school officials from his district and the neighboring Monaca School District laid the foundation for what would be the first voluntary merger of two school districts in Pennsylvania.
House
candidates scramble for backing in Philly suburbs
Philly.com CapitolInq Blog by Jonathan Tamari
POSTED: JANUARY
12, 2014 , 1:18 PM
This post was reported and written by Inquirer staff
writers Chris Palmer and Jonathan Tamari. An abbreviated version appeared in
Sunday’s Inquirer:
Residents
tell SRC of concerns about universal enrollment
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF
WRITER UPDATED: January 14, 2014 , 2:01 AM
For more than a year, a working group has been exploring sweeping changes to the way students apply and are assigned to city schools - a universal enrollment process that would boilPhiladelphia
School District , charter,
and possibly private schools' application and assignment systems into one. On Monday night, a few hundred parents,
students, and others gathered to give the School Reform Commission an earful on
the idea. Many said they saw serious problems with universal enrollment, which
could be managed by a third party and, some fear, might narrow families'
choices. Superintendent William R. Hite
Jr. said he understood the concerns. He emphasized that the district was not
overseeing the universal enrollment efforts, and said its opting in was not a
given.
For more than a year, a working group has been exploring sweeping changes to the way students apply and are assigned to city schools - a universal enrollment process that would boil
A
universal enrollment process won't improve neighborhood schools
thenotebook on
Jan 13 2014
Posted in Commentary
by Jerry Jordan
Jerry Jordan is president of the Philadelphia
Federation of Teachers, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, and a graduate of
the city's public schools.
As the School District of Philadelphia
prepares for today's public strategy meeting on the topic of universal
enrollment, I am hopeful that the District will recognize that exploring
universal enrollment is simply continuing down the path of misguided and
experimental "reform" efforts with no basis in improving
education for all of Philadelphia’s children.
Universal enrollment is the notion that a
common application would match each Philadelphia
student to a single school based on a set of criteria. Students would
then be assigned to a District, charter, or parochial school. This opens the
door for myriad problems, and, most significantly, is another misguided
distraction that detracts from the real issues plaguing our schools. As the
District prepares to look at the pros and cons of this concept, I am
concerned that the real issues at hand will get lost in logistical details of
the process, which would take away from the broader discussion that must be
had.
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: January
14, 2014 , 2:01 AM
A new North Philadelphia nonprofit has taken the unusual step of naming the charter school it wants to establish in Harrisburg for Dorothy June Brown, who last week was acquitted of six counts of fraud by a federal jury but will be retried on the 54 counts the panel could not agree upon. National Education Partners Inc. is seeking to open the Dr. D. June Brown Academy, which would enroll 650 K-8 students, in September. The nonprofit is scheduled to go before theHarrisburg School District 's
board Wednesday night to ask for approval.
A new North Philadelphia nonprofit has taken the unusual step of naming the charter school it wants to establish in Harrisburg for Dorothy June Brown, who last week was acquitted of six counts of fraud by a federal jury but will be retried on the 54 counts the panel could not agree upon. National Education Partners Inc. is seeking to open the Dr. D. June Brown Academy, which would enroll 650 K-8 students, in September. The nonprofit is scheduled to go before the
By J.D. Prose jprose@timesonline.com | 0 comments January 13, 2014 11:00 pm
The state's Office of Open Records has denied
The Times' request for unredacted records from the Pennsylvania Cyber
Charter School
concerning payments it made for students to take college courses. The Times received documents from 2013, 2012
and 2011 in November, but PA Cyber had redacted names of students and any
individuals who might have received reimbursements after paying college
expenses. The paper then appealed to the state office to get unredacted
documents.
District wins the distinction three times in a row
for Advanced Placement enrollment, improved scores.
By Meghan Moravcik Walbert, Special to The
Morning Call January 13, 2014
The Nazareth Area School District made the honor roll.
The College Board recently released its fourth
annual District Honor Roll list, recognizing 477 school districts across the United States and Canada that increased enrollment in
Advanced Placement courses and improved student scores on AP exams. Forty districts in Pennsylvania
were recognized, including Nazareth , Easton
Area, Parkland, Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh . Nazareth Area High School Principal Alan
Davis thanked the district's AP teachers at a school board meeting Monday
night, noting that Nazareth
is one of just seven districts in the state to appear on the past three honor
rolls.
School district hit with high costs for special
education, employee pensions.
By Margie Peterson, Special to The Morning
Call January 14,
2014
The East
Penn School
District is expecting to have to raise taxes this
year, partly as a result of large increases in special education and employee
pension costs. Superintendent Thomas
Seidenberger declined Monday to say what the expected tax increase might be,
but said the proposed preliminary budget for 2014-15 will be unveiled at the
school board's Jan. 27 meeting.
School districts that anticipate they might
have to increase taxes over the Act 1 index, which this year is 2.1 percent,
must adopt a proposed preliminary budget by February.
By Sara K.
Satullo | The Express-Times on January 13, 2014 at 8:31 PM
The Bethlehem
Area School District is starting the 2014-15 budget process with a
projected $16.9 million deficit. The
$242.2 million preliminary spending plan currently includes no tax increase.
The district can hike taxes by up to 2.6
percent under state law and also apply to the state for exceptions to the
annual property tax cap. The district estimates the maximum tax increase,
including exceptions, could generate $7.59 million in school property taxes.
Boosts
for Head Start, Title I, Special Education in Federal Spending Bill
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on January
13, 2014 11:23 PM
Federal funding for most schools would be
largely restored after the biggest cuts to K-12 spending in history, under
a giant spending bill unveiled Monday night by Republican and Democratic
leaders in Congress. And the Head Start early childhood program would see a
major, $1 billion boost. But two
initiatives high on the Obama administration's wish list—a Race to the Top for
higher education and $750 million in new grants to help states improve
their preschool programs—won't receive funding in the fiscal year ending
Sept. 30 of this year. What's more, the Obama administration's signature school
turnaround program would undergo a major makeover, resulting in more
flexibility for states and districts to devise their own strategies for fixing
the lowest-performing schools.
Rep.
George Miller, Major Education-Reform Advocate in Congress, to Retire
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog by Alyson Klein on January
13, 2014 1:17 PM
U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the top
Democrat on the House education committee, a key author of the No Child Left
Behind Act and a powerhouse on K-12 policy for decades, announced Monday that
he will not seek re-election to Congress after this term.
It's hard to overstate the impact that the
retirement of Miller, first elected to Congress in 1974, will have on the
future of federal K-12 policy. He was one of the first Democrats to embrace
policies like charter schools, merit pay for effective teachers, and a robust
role for the federal government in accountability—and remains among their most
vocal champions in the Democratic caucus.
He's helped sell those ideas—which aren't always
popular with traditional Democratic allies such as teachers' unions—to his
fellow Democrats, aided in part by his close relationship with his colleague
from the Golden State, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader.
Rep.
George Miller, leading Democratic voice on education, set to retire
Rep. George Miller’s decision to retire after
40 years in Congress, coming after the announced retirement of Sen. Tom Harkin
(Iowa ), means
Democrats will lose their two strongest congressional leaders on education
issues at the end of the year.
Miller, 68, the ranking member of the House
Committee on Education and the Workforce, has led the Democrats on issues
surrounding K-12 schools and higher education for more than 15 years.
“He’s
been the leading Democratic voice in the House on that whole range of issues —
education, working people, low-income and special populations of children,”
said Joel Packer, a lobbyist who represents the country’s largest teachers’
union, the National Education Association. “Coupled with Harkin’s retirement,
this is going to create a double void, so to speak.”
Get
Ready to Talk About Early Childhood Education
Bloomberg Businessweek By Brendan Greeley January
06, 2014
Thursday night, in a speech to the annual
conference of the American Economic Association in Philadelphia , Jim Heckman mentioned, in an
aside, that an early childhood education initiative may show up in this year’s
State of the Union address.
Heckman won
a Nobel Prize in 2000. I followed up with his office and was cautioned that
the aside was a conjecture, and not to treat Heckman as an administration
source. But the idea of real money for pre-kindergarten does fit with what the
president’s been saying. And it fits with what the profession of economics
knows about how to spend the least money for the most return on economic
development.
Come
to Harrisburg
February 4th for the Governor's Budget Address
Show your School Spirit with PCCY!
In 25 days the Governor will introduce his
budget plan for 2014-2015. Based on past performance, the next budget may
do little to meet the needs of Pennsylvania ’s
public school students. School districts in Philadelphia
and the surrounding counties of Bucks, Chester , Delaware and Montgomery
remain underfunded by the state by a combined $161 million. That is why
we need YOU to stand up for your school in Harrisburg on February 4th to
demand equitable funding for our schools. To really make our point,
please wear local school colors, jackets or sweatshirts to show your school
spirit!
Click here to sign-up and get details. For more
information please email Shanee Garner-Nelson at shaneeg@pccy.org.
PDE
chief Dumaresq LIVE budget presentation, PSBA Conference Center, Feb. 5 at 2
p.m
PSBA’s website 1/13/2014
Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn
Dumaresq will be at the PSBA
Conference Center
on Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. to present a special state budget
overview.
Find out how the proposals of the fiscal year
2014-15 Pennsylvania
budget impact your school district the day after the governor delivers his
address to the General Assembly. Secretary Dumaresq will review the governor's
plan and answer your questions. In addition to the live presentation, members
across the state also can participate through streaming media on their
computers.
To register for the LIVE event, Wed.,
Feb. 5, 2 p.m., at the PSBA
Conference Center ,
Mechanicsburg: https://www.psba.org/workshops/register/?workshop=150
To register for the WEB event: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7884287076736574210
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=6842#sthash.6jG84BK0.dpuf
NAACP:
Public Discussions Scheduled on PA Charter
School Expansion Bill –
SB1085. January 18th, 12:30
pm Media PA.
NAACP Press Release January 9, 2014
Open and public discussion of PA Senate Bill
1085, a charter school expansion plan now due third consideration in the PA
General Assembly, will be held on January 18, 2014 in the community room of Campbell AME
Church , at 3rd and Olive Streets in Media , PA. The event is free. The discussion will last
from 1:00 – 2:00 PM . A light lunch will be available between 12:30
and 1:00 PM “Local
control of public education through the elected school board is under threat
for each of the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania ,”
stated Bettie McClarien, a member of the Media Area NAACP Education Committee,
and coordinator of this event. “Senate
Bill 1085 is specifically structured to allow charter school authorization by
colleges and universities or by the Department of Education and without local
school board input. The bill is written so as to eliminate tax payer
participation in approval of the opening of charter schools in their school
districts,” McClairen said. “Even voters in successful suburban districts
such as Radnor, Garnett
Valley , Nether Providence
and Rose Tree Media will be subject to an influx of charters run by educational
management organizations with no knowledge of or concern for the community.”
A panel of informed education experts has been
assembled to enlighten the public concerning the contents and implications of
SB 1085. Sue Tiernan, school board member from West
Chester Area School District and David Lapp of the Education Law Center
will serve on the panel. Other officials
knowledgeable on the bill have been invited to the panel as well.
More info contact:
Bettie McClairen at Urban_parent@yahoo.com
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.
2014 PICASSO PROJECT SCHOOL AWARDS
Representatives
from winning schools and partner organizations are invited to join us for the
grants award ceremony on Monday, January 27, 2014 at
the World Cafe Live, 3025
Walnut Street from 4:00pm to 6:00pm . RSVP to
info@pccy.org or call 215-563-5848 x11.
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.
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.