Daily postings from the Keystone State Education
Coalition now reach more than 3100 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?
SB1085: “A review of
relevant, rigorous research finds no evidence that higher education
authorizers, in particular, correlate with student achievement gains. A
comprehensive study of charter school performance in 16 states found lower
student achievement in states with multiple authorizers, including non-profit
organizations and higher education authorizers.” Research for Action
http://www.researchforaction.org/2014/01/28/rfa-releases-brief-on-higher-eds-as-charter-authorizers/
Gov. Corbett wants to keep charter schools from double dipping on
pensions; statewide groups believe he is cutting the wrong dip
Governor Corbett Recognizes Windber Area Middle School for Academic
Excellence; Touts Increase for Education in 2014-15 Budget
PDE Press releaseFebruary 10, 2014
Windber – Governor Tom Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Windber Area Middle School in Windber Area School District, Somerset County.
PDE Press release
Windber – Governor Tom Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Windber Area Middle School in Windber Area School District, Somerset County.
“This school demonstrates
the remarkable commitment and dedication of students, parents, taxpayers,
teachers and administrators in preparing students for a successful future,”
Corbett said. “Windber Area Middle School
is a great example of the high-quality learning that is taking place in
classrooms across Pennsylvania
“But statewide groups and local school district officials believe
the governor is trying to cut off the wrong dip.”
Corbett wants to keep charter schools from double dipping on pensions
Corbett wants to keep charter schools from double dipping on pensions
He'd drop state's pension reimbursement
to charter schools.
By Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call 9:41
p.m. EST, February 10, 2014
Imagine getting a $15
reimbursement for something that costs $10.
Good deal, right?
That's the kind of
bargain Pennsylvania
But after years of school
districts complaining and a recent series of bills introduced in the state
Legislature, Gov. Tom Corbett has decided it's not just a good deal,
it's too good a deal.
In his 2014-15 budget
proposal, Corbett recommends eliminating the state's 50 percent pension
reimbursement to charter schools, putting an end to what many decry as a
"double dip." The state would roll the $62.7 million it saves into
its proposed Ready to Learn Block Grant, giving extra funding to Pennsylvania
DN Editorial: CONTROL ISSUES: Is the state using charter rules to help
kill Philly's school district?
Philly Daily News Monday,
February 10, 2014 ,
3:01 AM
LAST WEEK, the School District of Philadelphia
“You could make the reasonable argument that the district is being
completely deconstructed outside charter schools and perhaps for-profit
schools,” Mr. Lytle said.”
NY Times: Philadelphia
School
New York Times By JON
HURDLE FEB. 10,
2014
PHILADELPHIA — William R.
Hite Jr., superintendent of schools here inone
of the nation’s poorest cities, is known as a man who prefers collaboration
to confrontation, but he has spent the academic year taking no prisoners. He
laid off almost 4,000 workers to close a $304 million budget gap and threatened
to keep school doors locked until officials
found stopgap money to ensure what he considered a basic level of
security for students. He says he was just warming up. Since joining the district in October 2012
from his previous post as superintendent in Prince George’s County, Md., Dr.
Hite has battled what he called a perfect storm of cuts, in which state
reductions coincided with the ending of federal stimulus dollars.
State Dems Take Issue With Corbett's Education Funding Proposal
NPR Pittsburgh WESA By MARY WILSON February 10, 2014
State Democratic
lawmakers are taking issue with how Gov. Tom Corbett is proposing to increase
funding for public education. The
governor proposed a $240 million block grant which would come with spending
restrictions and be doled out according to a formula.
But Chester County Sen.
Andy Dinniman, ranking Democrat on the chamber’s education committee, said the
formula differs from the one used under an existing block grant.
"When we add up the
impact of this new formula, this extra $241 million, it appears that the
poorest school districts are actually ending up with less money and the more
prosperous school districts are ending up with more money," Dinniman said.
Republican Sen. Mike
Folmer, education committee chairman, said he’s still waiting for details on
the administration’s proposed formula for the block grant.
Politically Uncorrected
by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L.Young February 10, 2014
Opponents call it
"flip-flopping," but "changing positions” might be a more
neutral description. Regardless, either term is about as popular with
practicing politicians as term limits and root canals. The political
cognoscenti’s preferred locution today is “evolvement” as in “my views have
evolved on that question.” Consequently,
pols never acknowledge flip-flopping, of any sort, and only rarely admit they
have changed their minds about anything. They evolve.
As the long, historic 2014 gubernatorial race stretches out in front of us, one very pertinent question is whether Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is “evolving” on issues that might decide the race? If so, then, on what issues?
As the long, historic 2014 gubernatorial race stretches out in front of us, one very pertinent question is whether Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is “evolving” on issues that might decide the race? If so, then, on what issues?
Corbett scales back goal in Pa.
Delco Times By MARC LEVY,
Associated Press POSTED: 02/10/14, 2:39
PM EST |
“The governor’s budget, however, makes no increase in basic
education funding. Instead, it adds $241 million to a new program, the Ready to
Learn Block Grant.
The program is a welcome step, but strings attached to those funds
may prevent schools from restoring the basics that have been cut over the past
three years – small classes, nurses and counselors, art, music and advanced
courses. Common sense demands that we restore the basics and build from there.”
Corbett paints a rosy picture with his budget plan, but can he
deliver?: Sharon Ward
PennLive
Op-Ed By Sharon Ward on February 10, 2014 at 1:15 PM
A winter-weary Gov.
Tom Corbett must have spring on his mind. His budget address last
Tuesday painted
a bright and rosy picture of Pennsylvania’s future even as we remain
in the grip of a long economic winter. Pennsylvania
Differing Pa.
WHYY Newsworks by Mary
Wilson FEBRUARY
11, 2014
Lawmakers are scratching
their heads over two different economic analyses that are key to putting
together a budget for Pennsylvania
Rumor Mill: Republican PA House Speaker Sam Smith to Retire
Keystone Politics on February 10, 2014 by Jake Sternberger #
Keystone Politics is
hearing from multiple sources that Pennsylvania House Speaker Sam Smith may
retire, rather than face re-election against Tea Party challengers in a 2014
re-election bid. In 2012, Smith won his 13th term with 49% of
the vote against two near-unknown challengers from his right.
By Sara K.
Satullo | The Express-Times n February 10, 2014 at 7:35 PM
The Bethlehem
Area School Board unanimously rejected the Advanced Military
Aerospace Science
Academy
Organizers proposed
opening the high school in the former Holy Child School
By Sara K.
Satullo | The Express-Times n February 10, 2014 at 9:19 PM
The Bethlehem
Area School Board plans to apply to the state for exceptions to the cap
on annual property tax increases. The
board passed its $242.5
million 2014-15 preliminary budget in an 8-1 vote with Director
Basilio Bonilla Jr. voting against the plan.
With so many senior
citizen residents in the district, Bonilla said he cannot support a budget that
exceeds the 2.6 percent cap on annual property tax increases. Superintendent Joseph Roy said
now the district must begin the process of closing its $16.9 million budget
hole. The next budget workshop is scheduled for March 19.
By Precious
Petty | The Express-Times n February 10, 2014 at 9:13 PM
The East
Penn School Board tonight approved a 2014-15
proposed preliminary budget with a 4.57 percent tax increase. The spending plan sets the tax rate at
16.8633 mills, up from 16.1259 mills in 2013-14. The owners of homes assessed
at $100,000 and $200,000, for example, would pay $73.74 and $147.48 more in
taxes each year, respectively.
However, school
district administrators have emphasized that the budget is a work in progress. The
tax increase adopted with East Penn's final budget will be lower than the hike
proposed now, officials said. The
district is seeking Act 1 exceptions for 2014-15, and so must submit a
preliminary proposed budget to the Pennsylvania Department of Education this
month.
Philly charter school CEO gets three years for embezzlement
WHYY Newsworks BY HOLLY
OTTERBEIN FEBRUARY
10, 2014
The former CEO of a Philadelphia
Prosecutors said that led
them to ask for a longer sentence than the 21 to 27 months they originally
sought.
SB1085: North
Hills School
North Hills School
District Board of Education members recently approved a resolution in
opposition of Senate Bill 1085 citing the proposed bill’s potential negative
impact on the district as it relates to charter and cyber charter school
funding and approval processes.
The proposed bill:
- Allows the formation of charter schools in a
community that are not authorized by a local school district’s Board of
Education. The bill gives the authority to authorize charter schools to
the boards of colleges and universities which are comprised of individuals
who are not elected to office by North Hills community members and may not
reside in this district.
- Removes the authority of local school boards
to manage the growth and grade configuration of charter schools that have
been authorized thereby creating significant obstacles for effective
student enrollment planning and staffing on the part of local school
districts.
- Extends the authorization period for charter
schools from five to 10 years when all evidence suggests the need for greater
oversight on the part of local school districts.
- Creates new and substantial financial
obligations for local school districts by not adequately addressing the
need to immediately change the funding formula for cyber charter schools
when the Pennsylvania Department of Education has sound evidence that the
costs of operating cyber charter schools is considerably less than the
costs of operating "brick and mortar" charter schools.
- Ensures all charter school payments are sent
directly to charter schools without an evaluation of costs by a home
school district, thus requiring school districts to track down the excess
funds and ensure they receive what is owed to them.
Former Auditor General
Jack Wagner has stated that Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Read More: http://www.nhsd.net/news.cfm?story=135261
North Hills SD Resolution in Opposition to Senate Bill 1085 (pdf
file - 689kb)
How ‘field testing’ turns kids into guinea pigs — without parental
permission
Testing companies like to
“test” future questions for standardized tests on kids, sometimes as part of a
regular standardized exam and sometimes as a stand-alone field test. Here’s a
post making the case that this practice essentially turns kids in guinea pigs
for corporations. It was written by Jessie B. Ramey, a visiting
scholar in women’s studies at the University
of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
“Based on your suggestions, we've put together the poll below. The
issues that get the most votes will be debated and considered for upcoming
editorials on PennLive. We'll
compile the votes and start running the editorials in March.”
We asked, you answered. PennLive's editorial agenda takes shape for
2014
By PennLive Editorial
Board on February
10, 2014 at 1:39 PM
In late January, as part
of our effort to improve PennLive's Opinion and Editorial
pages, we
asked you what issues you wanted us to tackle in 2014. As is your custom, you weren't shy about
telling us what was on your mind. In e-mails and in the comments, you shared
your thoughts on a wide-ranging variety of issues where you wanted us to take
an institutional stand.
The 10th Annual AP Report to the Nation
The College Board February 11, 2014
“But have we actually expanded preschool to more kids? Not really.
Have we made progress at closing achievement gaps between young students from
different socioeconomic backgrounds? No. Have we sustained funding commitments
after the one-time stimulus boost in 2009? Far from it.”
Early Childhood Education: Lots of Talk, but Not Much Action (Yet)
Business leaders, law enforcement,
retired military leaders, charitable foundations, and Nobel-winning
economists—not to mention President Obama—support better preschool. Why hasn't
there been more progress?
The Atlantic
by LAURA
BORNFREUND & CONOR WILLIAMSJAN 30 2014, 10:25 AM ET
Five years after his
first inauguration, there’s a strong case that President Obama has made early
education one of his core education policy priorities. As a presidential
candidate, Obama pledged that if he were elected, he would invest $10 billion
on early childhood. The following year, Congress’s 2009 stimulus bill helped
him make good on the pledge. Last year, in his 2013 State of the Union address,
President Obama proposed “working with states to make high-quality preschool
available to every single child in America
Awareness of early
education issues is as high as it’s ever been. President Obama is only one
prominent member in an eclectic coalition of early education advocates.
Business leaders, law enforcement, retired military leaders, charitable
foundations, and Nobel-winning economists have made novel new arguments for
early education investments. Lawmakers in states red, blue, and purple have
reignited interest in existing programs and sometimes pushed for new
investments.
DeVos family big givers, Republicans early winners under new Michigan
MLive By Jonathan Oosting |
joosting@mlive.com on February 10, 2014 at 1:37 PM ,
Nine members of West Michigan 's powerful DeVos family opened up their checkbooks
on December 31, making a series of $40,000 donations to the House and Senate
Republican caucuses -- the maximum amount allowed under the law that took
effect on December 27.
All told, the DeVos' gave
$700,000 to the caucuses that day and $720,000 for the year, according to
campaign finance reports filed with the state.
Here are links to some prior
postings covering the Devos family’s funding of school privatization efforts in
Pennsylvania
Monday April 2, 2012
The American Federation for Children was
founded by Michigan
In 2012
a total of $1 million in new out-of-state “Big Voucher Money” was poured into
Pennsylvania by Betsy
Devos’ American Federation for Children (AFC) in two
payments of $500K each on 2/21/12 and 3/2/12 according to Campaign
Finance Reports filed by Students First PAC. In
April 2011 AFC contributed $120,000, and in October 2010 AFC posted 3 payments
totalling $1.2 million to the Students First PAC. Joel Greenberg, one
of three Main Line mega-millionaires
who have bankrolled the Students First PAC locally, also serves on the Board of
Directors of DeVos’ AFC.
Keystone State January 9, 2012
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Contributions to Students First PAC
- Not Exactly Grassroots $6.66 Million from just 19 donors
NY
Suit Will Seek State Money Promised to Schools in 2007
New York Times By AL BAKER FEB. 10, 2014
The group,
New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights, says in the suit, to be filed in
State Supreme Court in Manhattan
The suit
comes amid a raging debate over how to pay for prekindergarten in New York
Beware! Pearson's Plan for Education Is Coming to a Country Near You
Huffington Post by Alan Singer Social studies
educator, Hofstra
University
Posted: 01/21/2014 12:48 pm
EST Updated: 01/25/2014 4:01
pm EST
In the United States Great Britain United Kingdom United
States
Have you considered signing this petition yet?
Petition by Denise
Kurnas
To be delivered to The
Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania
This petition is designed
to keep charter school oversight in local district control instead of allowing
other entities or the Pennsylvania Department of Education to spend our
property tax dollars without input from our locally elected school board
officials.
The Pennsylvania Budget
and Policy Center will host its Annual Budget Summit on Thursday, February 20th
to provide an in-depth look at the Governor's spending plan and an update on
the federal budget — and what it all means for communities and families across
Pennsylvania.
As in previous years, the
Budget Summit will be at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Harrisburg
Additional information,
agendas, and workshops will be posted in the new year.
Register Now! EPLC’s Education Policy Forums on Governor Corbett’s
2014-2015 State Budget Proposal for Education
The next EPLC education
policy forums will be held on the following days and in the following
locations. These forums will take place shortly after Governor Corbett’s
February 4th presentation of his proposed 2014-15 state budget and will focus
on his plans for education.
Thursday, February 13, 2014 – Pittsburgh , PA
Monday, February 24, 2014 – Philadelphia , PA
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
– State College, PA
Thursday, February 27, 2014 – Harrisburg , PA
Space is limited for each event and an
RSVP is required. Anyone wishing to receive an invitation should inquire by
contacting The Education Policy and Leadership
Center
PSBA White Paper: The costs of charter and cyber charter schools
Updated January 2014
Research and policy implications for Pennsylvania
White Paper by PSBA’s
Education research & Policy
Center
This week PSBA’s Education Research and Policy Center
Register
Now! EPLC’s 2014 Education Issues Workshops for Legislative Candidates,
Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters
EPLC’s Education Issue
Workshops Register
Now! – Space is Limited!
A Non-Partisan One-Day Program forPennsylvania
A Non-Partisan One-Day Program for
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 in Harrisburg, PA
Wednesday,March
19, 2014 in Monroeville, PA
Thursday,March
27, 2014 in Philadelphia,PA
Wednesday,
Thursday,
RESCHEDULED:
PDE chief Dumaresq LIVE budget presentation, PSBA Conference
Center
PSBA website Feb 4, 2014
Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn
Dumaresq will be at the PSBA
Conference Center Pennsylvania
To register for the LIVE
event, Thu., Feb. 13, 2:30 p.m., at the PSBA Conference
Center
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.EhFhjsIb.dpuf
Auditor
General DePasquale to Hold Public Meetings on Ways to Improve Charter Schools
Seeks
to find ways to improve accountability, effectiveness, transparency
The public meetings will be held:
- Northampton
County: 1 to 3 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 27, City Council Chambers, 6th Floor,
City Hall, One South Third St., Easton
- NEW:
Time is limited to two hours for each meeting.
Comments can be submitted in writing by Wednesday, Feb. 19, via email to Susan
Woods at: swoods@auditorgen.state.pa.us.
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
Public Interest Law
Center of Philadelphia
Dear
Parents and Advocates:
This month
we are offering TWO great special education seminars.
Learn about
special education provisions in charter schools,
including
how one's rights differ from school to school.
Tuesday, February 11, 2013 12:00 -
4:00 p.m.
Audience
members will learn about the legal needs of children with dyslexia, and other
learning disabilities, and hear from expert presenters on the latest research
and trends.
Tuesday, February 25, 2013 12:00 -
4:00 p.m. - Full Session
6:00 - 8:00
p.m. - Abbreviated Session
NPE National Conference
2014
The Network for Public Education
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
Details and
registration here: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.com/conference/
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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