Daily postings from the Keystone State Education
Coalition now reach more than 3150 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?
Keystone State Education Coalition
Still think that CCSS was a teacher and
state-led endeavor?
Still think that CCSS was a teacher and state-led endeavor?
Follow the Money: How
Bill Gates Bought the Common Core (in one Graphic Image)
By Eleanor Chute /
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette March 10, 2014 11:48 PM
Mayor Bill Peduto is
among 14 mayors nationwide whose cities were chosen for "community
conversations" focusing on early childhood education, after school and
postsecondary education.
Announced Monday in
Washington, D.C., the effort is part of a partnership with the National League
of Cities and the U.S. Department of Education. Mr. Peduto is a member of the
league's committee overseeing education and advocacy. The date of the conversations has not been
set but may take place over a couple of days in the summer. The U.S. Department
of Education will send expertise but not money.
The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S.
Department of Education is the lead on the community conversations, according
to the department.
"On
Monday, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center joined tax groups in Ohio and
West Virginia in calling for uniform severance taxes in the states, and
released a joint letter to the governors seeking their adoption. ...“We believe that cooperation will
strengthen our respective governors' hands in dealing with the energy
industry,” said the center's director, Sharon Ward. She and other group leaders
said states should reap the industry's benefits to pay for roads, education and
impacts from drilling."
Gas tax could factor into Pennsylvania
gubernatorial race
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review By David
Conti Monday, March 10, 2014, 11:12 p.m.
A debate over how to tax the plentiful gas from Pennsylvania shale is intensifying and will remain prominent this election year as Democrats use it to attack Gov. Tom Corbett, observers say. There's no question this will be a very strong issue. It's a populist issue, arguing that corporations are not paying their fair share,” said Joseph DiSarro, chair of the political science department at Washington & Jefferson College. “It fits the Democrats' set of values.”
A debate over how to tax the plentiful gas from Pennsylvania shale is intensifying and will remain prominent this election year as Democrats use it to attack Gov. Tom Corbett, observers say. There's no question this will be a very strong issue. It's a populist issue, arguing that corporations are not paying their fair share,” said Joseph DiSarro, chair of the political science department at Washington & Jefferson College. “It fits the Democrats' set of values.”
All seven candidates
for governor in the May 20 Democratic primary say they support some form of a
severance tax based on the value or volume of gas and liquids from wells.
Corbett, a Republican
running for re-election, opposes a tax and opted for an impact fee based on a
per-well formula that took effect two years ago. Corbett's primary opponent,
Bob Guzzardi of Montgomery County, said he is against any new taxes or fees,
including targeted taxes on specific industries.
Read more:http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/5739452-74/tax-corbett-gas#ixzz2veJXVo5c
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
By not acting, justices left intact a court
ruling that says breast cancer awareness bracelets are protected by the First
Amendment.
By Peter Hall, Of The
Morning Call 10:44 p.m. EDT, March 10, 2014
For students, a U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday means
frank classroom conversations about sensitive subjects are less likely to lead
to discipline. For teachers, it means
they'll face new challenges in maintaining decorum while allowing their
students to express themselves.
Declining to hear
Easton Area School District's appeal to reinstate a ban on breast cancer awareness bracelets with the
slogan "I [heart] Boobies," the Supreme Court ended more than three
years of fighting in the federal courts between the district and two students.
The high court's
decision leaves intact a ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last
August that the bracelets — worn to middle school by Brianna Hawk and Kayla
Martinez on Breast Cancer Awareness Day in October 2010 — are protected by the
First Amendment.
Video clip: Auditor General's Bucks County Charter School Hearing
Pennsylvania Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale holds public meeting to explore ways to improve
accountability, effectiveness and transparency of charter schools.
Rep. Glen
Grell talks pension reform at Camp
Hill School
By Allison
Dougherty | Special to PennLive on March 10, 2014 at 11:04 PM,
updated March 10, 2014 at 11:23 PM
CAMP HILL – The
Camp Hill School District’s 2013-14 PSERS contribution is expected to be about
$746,000, by 2017-18 that amount could be $1.434 million, according to state
Rep. Glen Grell, R-Hampden Township. Grell
has a proposal to reform public pensions, which he presented on Monday to
the Camp Hill School District School Board. The plan addresses both SERS and
PSERS financial issues, but Grell primarily spoke to school board members about
how the plan relates to school employee pensions. Grell’s proposal, which he called a three
bucket plan, includes a cash balance plan for new employees, strategic
borrowing to address ten years of pension underfunding and voluntary current
member modifications for current employees.
Pa. teacher
misconduct bill stalls
Legislation would make
districts aware of problems
Wilkes Barre Times Leader
By Mark
Guydish - mguydish@civitasmedia.com
March 09. 2014 11:32PM
It’s called “passing the trash.” A teacher faces discipline for misconduct, resigns before repercussions, and ends up teaching in another district, the suspect history left behind and undisclosed to the new employer. A state bill designed to eliminate the practice sailed unanimously through the state Senate and the House of Representative’s education committee, but has stalled. “I can’t believe this isn’t already current law,” state Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Hughestown, said. Carroll, who sits on the House education committee, said he voted to move the bill out of committee but no action has been taken. Why? “I can speculate, based on an announcement that the House education committee is going to consider, on March 12, House Bill 2063,” Carroll said. “Which looks like an identical bill, as far as I can see.”
It’s called “passing the trash.” A teacher faces discipline for misconduct, resigns before repercussions, and ends up teaching in another district, the suspect history left behind and undisclosed to the new employer. A state bill designed to eliminate the practice sailed unanimously through the state Senate and the House of Representative’s education committee, but has stalled. “I can’t believe this isn’t already current law,” state Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Hughestown, said. Carroll, who sits on the House education committee, said he voted to move the bill out of committee but no action has been taken. Why? “I can speculate, based on an announcement that the House education committee is going to consider, on March 12, House Bill 2063,” Carroll said. “Which looks like an identical bill, as far as I can see.”
PBPC: Pennsylvania Taxpayers
for Good Public Schools
Posted
by PA Budget and Policy Center on March 7, 2014
Legislative proposals to eliminate property taxes in
Pennsylvania have gained steam in the Legislature, posing a serious threat to
stable, predictable education funding. Most of the proposals currently before
the General Assembly do not address the primary issue with property taxes in
Pennsylvania — that too few state dollars are used to support public schools in
the commonwealth. Pennsylvania can help
seniors and working families having trouble paying their property taxes with
better targeted strategies while still protecting critical investments in
public education. Done well, property
tax reform can make it easier for Pennsylvania to finance our schools more
equitably for both students and property owners. Done poorly, reform efforts
could create larger inequities in the system and reduce school funding.
13 ways high-stakes standardized tests hurt students
Washingtonn Post Answer
Sheet Blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS March
11 at 4:00 am
It’s time for March Madness
— not the famous college basketball tournament but the start of high-stakes
standardized testing season in many school districts around the country. I’ve
published many posts on how standardized test scores are inappropriately used
to evaluate students, educators and schools, but there are plenty of other
costs to students as well. Here are 13 ways that high-stakes
standardized testing harms students, from the Yinzercation blog by Jessie B. Ramey.
She is the parent of two children in Pittsburgh
public schools and a historian of working families, gender, race and U.S. social policy and teaches women’s studies
and history at the University
of Pittsburgh
Pension woes push A-K Valley
Four out of 15 school
districts in the Alle-Kiski
Valley
After hitting a high
watermark of 228 exemptions in 2011-12 approved by the state Department of Education,
the number declined by 25 percent to 171 exemptions in the 2013-14 school year.
Springfield Township
(Montco) School District approves preliminary
budget
The Springfield Township School Board has
approved a preliminary budget of $50.4 million for 2014-15. The board voted 7-0 on the budget March 4,
and it was passed without any public discussion at the meeting. According to the version of the budget
available on the district’s website, www.sdst.org,
about $43.2 million of revenue was anticipated from local sources, including
almost exactly $38 million from current real estate taxes. Revenue from state
sources was projected at $6.3 million, including $2.5 million for
Pennsylvania’s share of retirement contributions. Slightly over $900,000 was
expected from federal revenue sources.
Using the township’s “typical” home assessment value of $175,400, owners
could expect to pay about $5,470 in real estate taxes under the preliminary
budget or a $215 tax increase. By comparison, that same homeowner paid about
$5,255 in real estate taxes this year.
Easton Area School District Community Coalition gathers volunteers,
solutions to stem layoffs
By on
March 08, 2014 at 4:32 PM
Some prominent members of the
community are on the Easton Area School District Community Coalition. Clockwise
from top left, Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr., school board member Robert Fehnel,
former state Rep. Richard Grucela and school board member Dominick Buscemi.
If it can save the job of one teacher, her
group's efforts will be worth it, according to Marisa McFadden. The
PTA parent is one of the organizers of a citizens group called the Easton Area School District Community Coalition. The group's goal
is to find ways to roll back a projected 36 teacher layoffs before the school
board approves its 2014-15 budget. The preliminary budget also calls
for a 4.9 percent tax hike.
Cutting that many teachers will make class sizes too big, McFadden
fears. She also worries art and music classes could be cut. She came to the school board with 600 signatures to an online petition in January,
asking board members to find ways to prevent the potential layoffs. By early
February, she had 900 signatures. Since then, her group has met twice. It's
hosting a community night Thursday to encourage more participation.
Haverford
School District prelim budget ups taxes by 3.59 percent
HAVERFORD TWP--The school board at a recent
meeting voted unanimously to adopt a $102.6 million preliminary budget for
2014-15 that includes a 3.59 percent millage rate increase, from 27.6784 to
28.6707 mills. With the average
residential property assessment valued at $162,858, the average residential
property tax increase will be $162 annually, for a total $4,669.
Business Manager Richard Henderson noted that the school district plans to apply for two referendum exceptions, for special education and PSERS (Public School Employees Retirement System), which will allow the tax increase to exceed this year’s 2.1 percent Act 1 index.
Driving a 4.72 percent increase in total expenditures is an 11.78 percent hike in benefits and fringes, projected to reach $25.6 million next year. Officials at a prior meeting said the lion’s share of that increase is due to PSERS.
Business Manager Richard Henderson noted that the school district plans to apply for two referendum exceptions, for special education and PSERS (Public School Employees Retirement System), which will allow the tax increase to exceed this year’s 2.1 percent Act 1 index.
Driving a 4.72 percent increase in total expenditures is an 11.78 percent hike in benefits and fringes, projected to reach $25.6 million next year. Officials at a prior meeting said the lion’s share of that increase is due to PSERS.
Phila.
students soar at state chess tourney
ROBERT
MORAN, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER POSTED: Tuesday,
March 11, 2014, 1:08 AM
Philadelphia students,
including an eighth grader with a nationally certified master rating, captured
110 awards at the Pennsylvania State Scholastic Chess Championships this
weekend.
It was a big haul for
the group of more than 130 youths, sponsored by After School Activities
Partnerships, whose trip to the tournament in central Pennsylvania was paid for
by the family of the late Philip Lindy, a longtime supporter of the chess
program at ASAP. "We have 3,200
kids playing chess every week in Philadelphia," said Marciene S.
Mattleman, founder of ASAP, which promotes after-school recreation and
enrichment in the city's most underserved neighborhoods.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20140311_Phila__students_soar_at_state_chess_tourney.html#hMvIduDfVLQe1V40.99
New
money, new plans for 2 troubled Phila. schools
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 1:08 AM
Khyrie Brown stood outside his school and enumerated the things he was going to tell School Reform Commission Chairman Bill Green on a tour of Blaine Elementary on Monday. The school lacks adequate supplies, said Khyrie, an eighth grader. Its equipment is old, its classes are too big, and it doesn't have enough staff. "They need to restore what they took from us," said Dawn Hawkins, Khyrie's mother, who also took the tour with Green. She said the school is so underfunded that teachers solicit small change for copier paper, and parents are asked to send in toilet paper and hand soap.
Khyrie Brown stood outside his school and enumerated the things he was going to tell School Reform Commission Chairman Bill Green on a tour of Blaine Elementary on Monday. The school lacks adequate supplies, said Khyrie, an eighth grader. Its equipment is old, its classes are too big, and it doesn't have enough staff. "They need to restore what they took from us," said Dawn Hawkins, Khyrie's mother, who also took the tour with Green. She said the school is so underfunded that teachers solicit small change for copier paper, and parents are asked to send in toilet paper and hand soap.
Green had news, though. Blaine
and W.D. Kelley, another public school in North Philadelphia, will use $3
million in grant money from the private Philadelphia School Partnership to
transform themselves. Though the grants were made last summer, teachers at both
schools were informed last week that they will need to reapply for their
positions, with no more than half permitted to remain on the job in September.
2
N. Phila. schools explore new turnaround models
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903 POSTED: Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 3:01 AM
TWO NORTH Philadelphia schools that were awarded grants last year to
create their own turnaround models are revealing their plans to the community. James G. Blaine Elementary and William D.
Kelley Elementary will become district-run turnaround schools in September. The
schools will keep their principals, unlike Promise Academies - another
district-run turnaround model - but teachers must reapply for their positions,
with no more than half being brought back.
After receiving additional students due to nearby school closings, both
schools won a $1.5 million grant in July from the Philadelphia School
Partnership, a controversial nonprofit group that funnels philanthropic dollars
to schools.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140311_2_N__Phila__schools_explore_new_turnaround_models.html#rSyJrT5ghMMOkR7k.99
Two North Philly grade
schools to undergo massive staffing changes in hopes of 'turnaround'
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY MARCH 10, 2014
Two elementary schools
in North Philadelphia will undergo massive
staffing changes before the 2014-15 school year in an attempt to transform
school culture and student performance. Blaine
Elementary in Strawberry Mansion and W.D. Kelley Elementary in Brewerytown have
been selected for what the Philadelphia School District is calling a
"district-led renaissance turnaround."
Teachers at both schools
must reapply for their jobs. At least 50 percent of the teaching staff at each
school won't be recalled. The move is
designed to give increased flexibility to the schools' principals. "We basically believe in the autonomy of
the principals and the school design teams to develop the transformation plan
that they think is going to work best given the students that are in their
buildings," said Paul Kihn, assistant district superintendent. Kihn rejected the view that this move would
cause more tumult and upheaval to an increasingly fragile system.
SB1 Voucher vote a factor in PA-4
Senate primary challenge...
"The one overriding reason that Haywood and Gralnick
cite for their run against the seemingly well-entrenched incumbent is her vote
for education vouchers, which passed the Senate but never reached the House in
late 2011. The Democratic votes by Anthony Williams (D-Phil.) and Andrew
Dinniman (D-Chester), in addition to Washingtons’, put the bill over the top,
27 to 22. Five Republicans opposed it. (Williams’ run for governor in the 2010
Democratic primary was almost solely bankrolled by more than $3.3 million from
a single PAC organized by some hedge fund financiers committed to “school
choice.”)
Sen. Washington, identifying herself as a former high school
drop-out, teenage parent and survivor of domestic violence, underscored her
work around issues of children and women. She pointed to her bill, SB 20, which
overhauls the definition of child abuse, as the first to be passed coming out
of the Task Force on Child Protection. Arguing for creating new tax revenue
sources from big businesses like a Marcellus shale drilling tax, she said,
“When we talk about finding money for education . . ., we can’t go to
Harrisburg and find that money – because there’s no money.” She asked to be
returned to the Senate to continue her efforts.
Many public school advocates believe tax payer funding for
students moving to private schools would dangerously erode the resource base
for public schools. Haywood said explicitly last night that he was running to
oppose the incumbent who co-sponsored and voted for the school voucher bill.
“School vouchers would eviscerate the financial support for public schools,” he
declared. Similarly, Gralnick ended his presentation saying that he thought “we
had representation that was in the best interests of ourselves, our students
and our children. That was until three Democrats voted for a voucher bill . .
.” Among Washington’s non-supporters, there were comments about her alleged
unwillingness to even discuss the voucher issue prior to her vote."
Montco Dems Stay Clear of
Endorsements in Most Primary Races; Looks Like a Split on the PA-4 Senate
Contest
Posted on February 26, 2014 Leave
a Comment
Montco Democrats apparently decided last night that discretion is the
better part of valor (or fill in your own cliche of choice) to avoid party
infighting and let the voters decide on their nominees in contested races on
the May 20 primary ballot. The party regulars at the well-attended
Montgomery County Democratic Nominating Convention in Whitemarsh, although
enthusiastic, apparently had no stomach for taking sides as an organization,
even if it meant letting a familiar incumbent do battle with insurgent
candidates minus the cloak of an endorsement.
State Sen. Leanna Washington of the 4th District, a veteran of
two-plus terms in the Senate and 12 years in the House before that, is pitted against
two-term Cheltenham Township (Ward 2) Commisioner Art Haywood and activist
Brian Gralnick of Elkins Park.
Congrats to Palisades School District
National School Boards Honors Ed Tech Innovators
The Journal By Dian
Schaffhauser 03/10/14
Those who use technology
in the classroom and school operations in innovative ways share three
characteristics: They're willing to take risks; they share what they learn with
their colleagues; and they inspire others to believe that they can be effective
too. This from the National
School Boards Association, which has just designated 20 people as educators
"to watch." Each year this
non-profit representing state and local school boards recognizes education
leaders who motivate others to try new technology approaches to make a
difference in the learning and school environment.
Read more at http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/10/national-school-boards-honors-ed-tech-innovators.aspx#mxdfElEIdH2jTSRa.99
NSBA webinar
to showcase successful case studies for community-school partnerships
NSBA School Board News
Today by Staff March 10th, 2014
Join school board members Eve Bolton from Cincinnati,
Ohio and Jody London from Oakland, Calif. as they discuss the important role of
school board members in promoting the community school strategy, and the
successful outcomes they are seeing in their districts through support of this
strategy. Participate in this webinar
from 3 to 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 11. Reserve your webinar seat now.
Aaron Dorsey, Manager of
Equity and Achievement Programs at the National School Boards Association
(NSBA) and Mary Kingston Roche, Public Policy Manager at Coalition for
Community Schools will be on hand to answer questions and provide specific
steps on implementing community school strategy for success in your district.
AFT Says It Will No
Longer Accept Gates Funding
Education Week Teacher Beat Blog By on March
10, 2014 12:00 PM
The American Federation
of Teachers, to date the recipient of more than $11 million in Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation largesse, will no longer accept Gates funding, Politico hasreported, citing increasing criticism from
members. AFT officials said the union's
President, Randi Weingarten, made the announcement at the Network for Public
Education conference last week in Austin, Texas. NPE is an advocacy group begun
by Diane Ravitch and other critics of so-called "corporate education
reform."
The
Common Core Is Driving the Changes to the SAT
The recently announced
redesign will bring the test in line with the standards.
MAR 10 2014, 10:36
AM ET
The SAT and ACT—the
premier college admissions examinations–have “become disconnected from the work
of our high schools.” This proclamation by David Coleman, president of The
College Board (the developer of the SAT), came during his announcement of
forthcoming changes to the SAT that will aim to address this issue. And while
this news has touched off a flurry of headlines, the national media and higher
education outlets are missing a huge piece of the story: the role the Common
Core has played in driving these changes.
The major content and procedural changes the SAT will undergo have been
well documented by news outlets—the New York Times, the Chronicle, and Inside Higher Education, to name a
few. The announced changes move the SAT closer to ACT’s content-based method of
assessment, an achievement test seen as more connected to the work of high
schools. Wonkblog pointed out that ACT’s increased market share (up to 54
percent) is no doubt driving these changes to the SAT.
Study: Virtual Schools
Lack Diversity
Latino Ed Beat Blog by
Virtual schools are
less diverse than traditional public schools, new research reveals. The online schools
tend to have few Latino, limited English proficient, black and poor students. The 2012-13 ”census” by the National Education Policy Center
(NEPC) identified 338
full-time virtual schools in the country that enrolled 243,000 students. The
Colorado-based center published the study entitled, “Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2014:
Politics, Performance, Policy and Research Evidence.” Virtual schools also tend to perform lower on
adequate yearly progress measures, according to the report. Most students attendschools run by
private education management companies, while still others are charters or run
by school districts.
"We will continue to see more and more state litigation on
this issue of what it takes to ensure that all students can meet standards and
placing a legal obligation on the state legislature to adopt financing systems
that provide both adequate funding and equitable funding to ensure that those
standards are actually achieved," said Dianne Piche, a former U.S.
Education Department attorney who leads education initiatives at the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights."
Kansas School Funding Declared Unconstitutional By State Supreme Court
By Joy.resmovits@huffingtonpost.com
Posted: 03/07/2014 6:52 pm EST
The Kansas Supreme Court
on Friday ruled the state's funding of public schools to be
unconstitutional, a declaration likely to have effects beyond the state's
borders. The decision ordered the
immediate reversal of recent education cuts, but told a lower court to
reconsider the potential $1 billion question of whether Kansas provides enough
education funding to adequately prepare students for the future. The 110-page opinion's immediate effect on
schools isn't clear. Much depends on the actions of Gov. Sam Brownback (R), who
after the ruling promised to work with the legislature to "fix this."
Earlier, conservative state lawmakers had threatened to defy
the court, arguing that school funding is the business of the legislature, not
courts.
PILCOP Special Education Seminars 2014 Schedule
Public Interest Law
Center of Philadelphia
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
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 in Monroeville ,
PA
Thursday, March 27, 2014 inPhiladelphia ,PA
Thursday, March 27, 2014 in
Auditor
General DePasquale to Hold Public Meetings on Ways to Improve Charter Schools
Seeks
to find ways to improve accountability, effectiveness, transparency
The the last of five public meetings will be
held:
- Philadelphia:
1 to 3 p.m., Friday, March 14, City Council Chambers, Room 400, City Hall
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. This list will be updated, as more
information becomes available.
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