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?
EVERY CHILD COUNTS. SUPPORT DEMOCRACY AT
ITS BEST.
Stand Up for America
Mayor Nutter calls on business
community to lobby for school funding
Nutter calls on business community to lobby for school funding
Philly.com PhillyClout
Blog by Sean Collins Walsh TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014 , 2:37 PM
Mayor Nutter today closed
his annual address to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce with an
impassioned plea for the business community to help the city lobby Harrisburg
Nutter wants the state to
rewrite the way it distributes basic education funds, saying that Pennsylvania
Governor Corbett Announces Revamped, User-Friendly Campaign Finance
Website
FOX43.com by Paul Smith Content Manager February 18, 2014
Gov. Tom Corbett today
announced his administration has launched a revamped, more user-friendly
website for Pennsylvanians to view the campaign finance reports of candidates
for state legislative and statewide offices.
“Part of my pledge to make government more open and transparent includes
making it easier for Pennsylvanians to see who is contributing to political
campaigns, and how campaign money is being spent,” Corbett said.
“Citizens have a right to know who is funding campaigns, and this redesigned
website will make that much easier.”
Revamped PA Dept. of State Campaign Finance Website
Corbett education plan proving a tough sell to Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY
WILSON FEBRUARY
18, 2014
Gov. Tom Corbett's top
education official is defending the administration's plan for funding Pennsylvania
PBPC Analysis: Governor's 2014-15 Budget Funds New Initiatives by
Relying on Uncertain Savings and One-Time Revenues
Posted by PA Budget and Policy Center February 18,
2014
Governor Tom Corbett
proposed a 2014-15 budget of $29.4 billion — $927 million, or 3.3%, more than
the current fiscal year. The
proposal provides $240 million in additional funding for Pre-K-12 education,
but restricts funds in a way that will make it hard to restore cuts made to the
classroom in recent years. For the third
year, the budget level funds higher education, while adding $25 million for a
new scholarship fund for middle-class families.
"We elected to put the money in the block grant because one of
the concerns is that the basic instructional subsidy formula is
broken," Dumaresq said Feb. 6 after an event presenting the Governor's
Award for Excellence in Academics to Wycallis and Dallas elementary schools. Corbett supports "a piece of legislation
moving" that would take "a look at a new funding formula" that
relies on factors such as growth, shrinkage and poverty, Dumaresq said.”
Acting education secretary explains why subsidy is unchanged
Hazelton Standard Speaker
BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER (STAFF WRITER) February 17, 2014
State giving school districts an extra week for PSSA testing, due to
snow days
PennLive By Barbara Miller |
bmiller@pennlive.com on February 17, 2014 at 2:23 PM
Due
to the amount of school days missed with recent
snowstorms, the state Department of Education is giving school districts an
additional week in which to administer PSSA tests this spring. The window for PSSA Math/Reading testing had
been March 17-28, and is being changed to March 17-April 4. The makeup period
will be April 7-11. The PSSA Writing
testing period had been March 31-April 4, and is being changed to March
31-April 11. The make-up period will be April 14-25.
Districts can request to count school hours instead of days to make up
snow days
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com updated February 19, 2014 at 2:47 AM
School districts will be
receiving a letter
from the state Department of Education either today or Wednesday offering
guidance about what they can do about making up all that time lost to snow
days. The letter will advise
district officials that they have the option of making a request to the
department to have their school days counted in hours, rather than days, Acting
Education Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq told the House Appropriations Committee on
Tuesday.
Green, Jimenez sworn in to SRC
Philly.com Philly School
Files Blog by Kristen Graham FEBRUARY 18, 2014 , 1:52
PM
The School Reform
Commission has two new members. Farah Jimenez and Bill Green were sworn in as
commissioners at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Green is chairman of the five-member volunteer
panel. They were sworn in by Family
Court Judge Kevin Dougherty, who reminded them that "education is the
vaccine against violence." Dougherty said that with the addition of Green
and Jimenez, he believed that "we are truly on the right path. We have two
great advocates."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/school_files/Green-Jimenez-formally-join-the-SRC.html#d1GqDC43MALYhMzO.99
As Philly teacher contract talks drag on, superintendent keeps tough
stance on work rules
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY FEBRUARY
13, 2014
For Philadelphia
Either, grab some quick
savings that could free up money for services that the city's school children
could really use. Or, hold off on that
deal in hopes of securing the long-term structural changes that you bet will
strengthen the system overall. The
short-term money would come if the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers agreed
to pay into their health care coverage. The
school district says that these concessions would generate "tens of millions"
of dollars that could return "significant resources" to Philadelphia School District
Inquirer Editorial: Hite plan gets muted response
POSTED: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 ,
1:08 AM
There has been very
little excitement about Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s Action Plan v2.0
for Philadelphia School District 's little money
problem - a deficit that at one point exceeded $300 million - that makes people
skeptical. Hite's predecessors, Paul Vallas and Arlene Ackerman, got mixed
results even when the district could get its hands on more cash. In comparison,
Hite's main job since being hired 18 months ago has been to beg for alms.
10 things we learned from Hite's new Action Plan 2.0
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa on Feb 18 2014 Posted in Latest news
Superintendent William
Hite’s Action Plan 2.0 is full of interesting facts and statistics. A few that
caught our eye:
By KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff
Writer Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 10:40 am | Updated: 10:59 pm , Tue Feb 18, 2014 .
The second time wasn’t a
charm for the Academy of
Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School. Repeating a decision made last March, the School District of Lancaster
Here is some background on the lead applicant for the ABECS Charter
School which was rejected by the School District of Lancaster
Parent Leaders in Lancaster , Pennsylvania , Oppose Gulen Charter
School
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianeravitch February
18, 2013 //
Two parent leaders in Lancaster , Pennsylvania Turkey
Three more sessions are slated
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh February 18, 2014
11:56 PM
Caleb Coleman, a program
manager for a social service agency, understands the financial challenges
facing Pittsburgh Public Schools are serious enough that the public can't get
the whole cake. But he wants a slice. "You need to give us something,"
said the graduate of Pittsburgh
Peabody High
School
The "feeling of
sadness" in the West
York Area
School District West York alumni, resident and parent," said
resident Nicole Sanderson. "However, at this point I am disappointed in
our direction." But the district
had little choice, said Superintendent Emilie Lonardi. While some districts
have been able to cut 30 to 40 positions through retirement, the staff at West York is young, Lonardi said. She added state and
federal funding has dropped in the past several years, and the district has
lost millions of dollars in commercial property reassessments.
By Emily Previti |
epreviti@pennlive.com on February 17, 2014 at 8:29 PM
HARRISBURG – School
officials say they need more time to mull over proposed changes to the capital
city district’s recovery plan to adjust for possible increases in state funding
and figure out how to give back more to unions. A fund balance last year well in excess of
the anticipated amount - $10 million or so versus a nearly $5 million deficit –
prompted the revisions. But after
meeting last week with Public Financial Management consultants, officials
decided they wanted more time.
It's time for businsses to have a say in how schools are run: Keith
Naughton
By PennLive
Op-Ed By Keith Naughton
updated February 18, 2014 at 11:10
AM
Property tax reform is
the longest running joke in Pennsylvania
Of course, without
someone else paying more, you can’t pay less – and that someone else is not
going to like that at all. Whether handing out exemptions, raising income taxes
or raising sales taxes, cutting property taxes will be hard to
accomplish. The only way to cut
property taxes is to cut education spending which leads to the second problem:
there isn’t much room to cut.
Education is an
investment in the future. Considering the parlous state of public education,
cutting back on that investment does not seem to be a good idea.
Snow forces student into cyber school
KATHY
BOCCELLA, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED:February 19, 2014, 1:08 AM
Last week, when a foot of snow piled up and kept buses off slippery streets, some schools plowed ahead and stayed open, using the one road that wasn't shut down. The information superhighway. Several schools inPennsylvania
and New Jersey
Last week, when a foot of snow piled up and kept buses off slippery streets, some schools plowed ahead and stayed open, using the one road that wasn't shut down. The information superhighway. Several schools in
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20140219_Snow_forces_student_into_cyber_school.html#46pOy4ZlDTBAsMMD.99
Cyber-Charter Applicants Face Tougher Times in Pa.
Governance is a concern
Education Week By Benjamin
Herold and Sean Cavanagh
February 18, 2014
In rejecting a recent
group of applications to open cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania
“If a regular-education student from Lower Merion school district
attended a cyber-charter in 2011-2012, Lower Merion
(which then had a per-pupil expenditure of $22,140.70) sent the cyber charter
about $17,000.
If a regular-education student from the Philadelphia
school district attended the same cyber-charter, Philadelphia
Same cyber school. Same cyber-education. Outrageously different
price tag.”
Network for Public
Education 18 Feb 2014
Fewer teachers. No school
building. No heating bill. Same cost.
You’d think Pennsylvania
They collect as much
money per student as the state’s brick-and-mortar charter schools. Despite
a call from Governor Tom Corbett to do otherwise, the state still doesn’t ask
how much it actually costs to educate students in cyber-charters to proficiency
standards (nor does it, actually, for any of its schools). Instead — as it does for brick-and-mortar
charters — the state simply demands that school districts turn 70 percent to 80
percent of their normal per-pupil costs over to the cybers. (School districts
are allowed to deduct certain expenses such as debt-service and transportation
costs from their payments to charter schools.)
Those costs, of course,
differ greatly from one school district to another. And since the state’s cyber
charters can take students from any of Pennsylvania
From Junk Bonds to Junk Schools: Cyber Schools Fleece Taxpayers for
Phantom Students and Failing Grades
Center for Media and
Democracy’s PRWatch Posted by MARY BOTTARI on October 02, 2013
The data is in and K12 Inc.'s brand
of full-time public "cyber school" is garbage. Not surprising for an
educational model kicked off with a $10 million investment from junk-bond king
Michael Milken. Milken was the Wall
Street financier who virtually invented junk-bonds -- high-risk securities that
were used to leverage hostile buyouts in the "go-go" 1980s. Milken
came to symbolize Wall Street excess, serving as inspiration for the Michael
Douglas character Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie Wall Street.
Milken spent almost two years in a federal penitentiary for securities fraud.
After he was released
from prison, Milken set his sights on the $600 billion public education
"market," forming new companies including Knowledge Universe and
Knowledge Learning, parent company of the KinderCare child care chain. With his
$10 million stake in K12 Inc., Milken aided one of his Vice Presidents and another junk dealer, Ron Packard,
who specialized in mergers and acquisitions for Goldman Sachs back in the '80s. The duo prepped to exploit the public
education sector, and boy, have they. His various educational ventures have
made Milken one of the richest
men in America, and Packard raked in over $16 million in compensation from 2008 to 2012
as CEO
of K12 Inc. Almost all of that money came from U.S. taxpayers.
Workshop: For the Love of Schools: Be a Public Education Advocate
Join us in Philly at Arch St. United
Methodist Thursday, Feb 27, 6-8 pm OR Saturday March 1, 10 am - 2 pm in the chapel of the
church.
Public Citizens for
Children and Youth and Education Voters PA is offering two
duplicate workshops designed to support parents, community members, and
advocates in their efforts to improve public education. The workshop will provide leaders with
information on the state of public education funding in our region and
what they can do to get involved. Participants
will learn advocacy best practices and develop individualized action
plans.
Participants should enter
through the door on Broad St
This event is
free and open to the public.. Childcare and light refreshments will be
provided.
The Joy of Teaching Computer Science in the Age of Facebook
"When people see companies like
Google and Facebook being founded by relatively young people, they feel empowered
and think: I can do that."
The Atlantic
by HOPE REESE FEB 18 2014 , 8:48 AM ET
Over the last two
decades, it can be argued, no area of study has seen larger growth in span and
general application than computer science. Today, computer science encompasses
everything from bio-statistics to computer animation to start-ups. Mehran
Sahami, a professor and Associate Chair for Education in Computer Science at Stanford University
NEPC policy brief finds strong evidence for the benefits of making
classes smaller
National Education Policy Center Press Release
National Education Policy Center Press Release
BOULDER, CO (February 18,
2014) – While a series of high-profile and often controversial school reforms
has gotten the lion’s share of attention from policymakers over the last decade
or two, one reform appears to have been consistently ignored and marginalized:
reducing the size of classes. Yet, as
Professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach points out in a new policy brief released
today, the evidence that class size reduction helps raise student achievement
is strong. Schanzenbach’s report, published today by the National Education
Policy Center (NEPC) at the University
of Colorado Boulder
“The announcement of the Kalamazoo
The Kalamazoo
College funds boost grades of African
American students
Education Next By Timothy J. Bartik and Marta Lachowska SPRING 2014 / VOL.
14, NO. 2
The Kalamazoo Promise
provides college scholarships to graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS), a
midsized urban school district in Michigan Michigan Kalamazoo Central
High School
“Hiss
found that there was virtually no difference in grades and graduation rates
between test "submitters" and "non-submitters." Just 0.05
percent of a GPA point separated the students who submitted their scores to
admissions offices and those who did not. And college graduation rates for
"non-submitters" were just 0.6 percent lower than those students who
submitted their test scores.”
College Applicants Sweat The SATs. Perhaps They Shouldn't
NPR Morning Edition
by ERIC
WESTERVELT February
18, 2014 3:29 AM (runtime 8 min 51 sec)
Standardized tests are an
important consideration for admissions at many colleges and universities. But
one new study shows that high school performance, not standardized test scores,
is a better predictor of how students do in college. With spring fast approaching, many American
high school seniors are now waiting anxiously to hear if they got into the
college or university of their choice. For many students, their scores on the
SAT or the ACT will play a big role in where they get in. That's because those standardized tests
remain a central part in determining which students get accepted at many
schools. But a first-of-its-kind study obtained by NPR raises questions about
whether those tests are becoming obsolete.
“Duncan's office has been the moving force behind a concerted
effort to conceal the reality of what charter schools have, and have not,
accomplished. The truth is not very pretty. Overall, the performance of their
students on standardized tests, and graduation rates, are marginally worse on
than those of the country's public schools. The drop-out rate among minorities
is actually higher.** This dismal record is despite the preferential treatment
that charter schools' receive: subsidies above and beyond the budgets of
counterpart public schools; the cherry-picking of students that excludes many
of those with chronic learning and/or discipline problems and/or from
non-English speaking families; etc.”
The American
Public School
Huffington Post by Michael Brenner Senior
Fellow, the Center for Transatlantic Relations; Professor of International
Affairs, University
of Pittsburgh
Posted: 02/17/2014 3:03 pm
EST Updated: 02/17/2014 3:59
pm EST
A feature of the Obama
presidency has been his campaign against the American public school system, eating
way at the foundations of elementary education. That means the erosion of an
institution that has been one of the keystones of the Republic. The project to
remake it as a mixed public/private hybrid is inspired by a discredited dogma
that charter schools perform better. This article of faith serves an alliance
of interests -- ideological and commercial -- for whom the White House has been
point man. A President whose tenure in office is best known for indecision,
temporizing and vacillation has been relentless since day one in using the
powers of his office to advance the cause. Such conviction and sustained
dedication is observable in only one other area of public policy: the project
to expand the powers and scope of the intelligence agencies that spy on, and
monitor the behavior of persons and organizations at home as well as abroad.
Senate Ed Committee Chairman Folmer Holding Town Hall Meetings on
Education
Senator Folmer’s Facebook
Page February 10,
2014
Parents, I want to hear
your thoughts on education! Join me for a parent town hall meeting Tuesday,
February, 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 203 of the Neidig
Garber Building ,
on the campus of Lebanon
Valley College
A similar meeting is planned for Monday, February 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Quiet Study Room of Penn State Harrisburg’sCapitol Union
Building
Seating is limited - please RSVP to (717) 787-1347 or fbinner@pasen.gov.
A similar meeting is planned for Monday, February 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Quiet Study Room of Penn State Harrisburg’s
Seating is limited - please RSVP to (717) 787-1347 or fbinner@pasen.gov.
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.
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,
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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