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
Gates and Ravitch on Common Core
Please join the
national call for Congressional hearings on test abuse in the schools:
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com on March 17, 2014 at 5:50 PM
Following
a yearlong national search, the Public
School Employees’ Retirement System has found its next chief
investment officer within its own offices.
James Grossman Jr., 47, has been named to this $293,537-a-year post. He
had been serving in the position in an acting capacity since the June
retirement of longtime CIO Alan
Van Noord, who Grossman regarded as his mentor. In this position, he will lead the system’s
$50.4 billion investment operation which provides or promises retirement
benefits to more than 476,000 school retirees or employees.
Accepting cash from lobbyists: Legal in
Pa
WHYY
Newsworks DAVE DAVIES OFF
MIC A BLOG BY DAVE DAVIES MARCH 17, 2014
It
seems clear that the four Pennsylvania
lawmakers who apparently accepted thousands of dollars from a lobbyist as part
of the strange sting operation shut down by State Attorney General
Kathleen Kane won't face prosecution. And
that little fact reminds me of another way that Philadelphia , long regarded by many in the
state as a filthy nest of political corruption, is in some respects ahead of
the state in ethics and transparency. The
truth is that it is perfectly legal for a state lawmaker to accept gifts,
including cash in any amount, even from a lobbyist or business owner with
interests in state business, as long as it's not in return for official action
and as long as the lawmaker reports the gift on his or her annual statement of
financial interests (which these four didn't).
A primary for LG that
actually matters: G. Terry Madonna and Michael L. Young
By G. Terry Madonna and Michael L. Young on March 17, 2014 at 1:07 PM
Normally, primary
contests for lieutenant governor are quiet affairs, given little thought by
voters and not much more by party leaders. It’s not that candidates don’t lust
after the nomination. Currently, six have filed petitions for the Democratic
May 20 primary.
But the office itself
comes with few official demands, little or no power, and no independent
political base. It does pay pretty well. The lieutenant governor receives
almost $160, 000 annually, and housing is first class.
“Investing in these programs now will have a greater return
later as our children grow into successful adults,” said Steven Wray, Executive
Director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, one of the coalition
member organizations. The League is a research and policy action organization
focused on regionwide economic development issues."
Coalition Calls for More State
There are nearly 70,000 three and four-year-old children in SE PA who cannot enroll in high-quality pre-kindergarten
(Pre-K), according to information released this week by the “Pre-K for PA”
campaign. Despite the known benefits of Pre-K, public funds provide access to
only about one in six eligible children in Montgomery ,
Bucks, Chester , Delaware
and Philadelphia
counties, said the group. “Every family
in PA should have the option of enrolling their child in a high-quality Pre-K
program,” said Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children
and Youth (PCCY), one of the founding partners of the campaign in a press
statement. “Investing in these tried and true programs will make sure more of
our children are ready for school.”
Jenkintown sees big plus in
its tiny school district
KATHY BOCCELLA, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Monday, March 17, 2014, 1:08 AM
JENKINTOWN In the tiny Montgomery County Jenkintown
School District
Read more at
Phila. school principals'
union agrees to pay cuts
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 1:08 AM
POSTED: Monday, March 17, 2014,
1:42 PM
PHILADELPHIA By an
overwhelming margin, Philadelphia 's school
principals agreed Monday to steep pay cuts and other concessions, concluding
that they had no choice but to save the Philadelphia School
District
Principals ratify contract
that includes big salary and health-care concessions
by thenotebook on Mar 17 2014 Posted in Latest news
By Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks
Members of the union
representing Philadelphia
School District Philadelphia
principals have been earning between $124,900 and $149,900; that will change to
$97,000 to $124,900. Assistant principals
have been paid between $106,000 and $133,000. Now it will range from $88,500 to
$110,000.
BY ERICA
ERWIN, Erie Times-News PUBLISHED: MARCH 16, 2014 12:01 AM EST
Members of the Erie School Board answered one by one, each giving the same response Superintendent Jay Badams wanted to hear: no. In voting against granting a charter to the proposedHuxley
Charter School
Members of the Erie School Board answered one by one, each giving the same response Superintendent Jay Badams wanted to hear: no. In voting against granting a charter to the proposed
The vote came after a
sometimes contentious public hearing, split over two days, during which the
district called several administrators to testify about the shortcomings of the
Huxley charter application. The total
cost of staff and attorney hours spent analyzing the application and preparing
for the hearing topped $30,000, Badams said -- a figure that represents the
district's new, more aggressive and defensive approach to evaluating all
charter applications.
"In our roles as
stewards of taxpayers' dollars, we have to subject these applications to as
much scrutiny as possible," Badams said.
The district expects to spend more than $17 million on tuition for
charter school students in 2014-15.
"The idea that emerged — of making the school the
centerpiece of a major redevelopment project — is a grand urban experiment.
Operated by Johns Hopkins University in
collaboration with Morgan
State University
New York Times Critic’s Notebook By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN MARCH 18, 2014
This is the neighborhood where parts of the “The Wire”
were filmed. In 2000, when the
city’s mayor convened local business leaders, the vacancy rate was 70 percent.
Poverty was twice the city average. Crime, infant mortality and
unemployment were all through the roof.
50 terrible ideas for
improving schools
A valuable new book called “50
Myths & Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools” takes
a stark look at some of the worst ideas being promoted by school reformers
around the country as ways to improve the public education. The book —
from which I am going to run a series of excerpts — looks at international
tests, teachers, school funding, charter schools and a lot more, including
sections on:
* International tests show that the United States has a second-rate
education system.
* Teachers are the most important influence in a child’s life.
* Merit pay is a good way to increase the performance of teachers.
* Subject matter knowledge is the most important asset a teacher can possess.
* American K-12 education is being dumbed down.
* The money available to school districts is spread equally across their schools.
* Group projects waste children’s time and punish the most talented.
* School uniforms improve achievement and attendance.
* Schools can teach all students to the point of mastery.
* Education will lift the poor out of poverty and materially enrich our entire nation.
* Teachers are the most important influence in a child’s life.
* Merit pay is a good way to increase the performance of teachers.
* Subject matter knowledge is the most important asset a teacher can possess.
* American K-12 education is being dumbed down.
* The money available to school districts is spread equally across their schools.
* Group projects waste children’s time and punish the most talented.
* School uniforms improve achievement and attendance.
* Schools can teach all students to the point of mastery.
* Education will lift the poor out of poverty and materially enrich our entire nation.
Bill Gates calls on teachers
to defend Common Core
Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who is spending part of
his considerable fortune trying to improve U.S. public education, called on
teachers Friday to help parents understand the new Common Core academic
standards in an effort to beat back “false claims” lobbed by critics of the
standards. “There are many voices in
this debate but none are more important or trusted than yours,” Gates told
several thousand educators gathered in the District for the inaugural
conference of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a
nonprofit organization that runs a voluntary system to certify teachers. The
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a sponsor of the conference; it has
awarded about $5 million to the board since 2010.
The Gates Foundation has spent more than $170 million to
develop and promote theCommon Core
standards, and is their biggest nongovernmental backer.
Everything you need to know
about Common Core — Ravitch
Diane Ravitch, the education historian who has become the
leader of the movement against corporate-influenced school reform, gave this speech
to the Modern Language Association on Jan. 11 about the past, present and
future of the Common Core State Standards.
Here’s her speech:
As an organization of teachers and scholars devoted to the
study of language and literature, MLA should be deeply involved in the debate
about the Common
Core standards. The Common Core
standards were developed in 2009 and released in 2010. Within a matter of
months, they had been endorsed by 45 states and the District of Columbia . At present, publishers
are aligning their materials with the Common Core, technology companies are
creating software and curriculum aligned with the Common Core, and two federally-funded
consortia have created online tests of the Common Core. What are the Common
Core standards? Who produced them? Why are they controversial? How did
their adoption happen so quickly?
Gates Dined on March 13,
2014, with 80 Senators
deutsch29 blog by
Mercedes Schneider March 17, 2014
Bill Gates has too much
power.
The following
announcement, dated March 13, 2014, is from Politico:
DINNER WITH GATES – About 80 senators are expected to attend a dinner
discussion at the Capitol tonight with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the
NYT’s David Brooks. The 6:45
p.m. dinner, according to an invitation obtained by Huddle, is sponsored by the
No Labels Foundation, and one of that group’s honorary co-chairs, Sen. Joe
Manchin, will make opening remarks. So what’s the No Labels-Microsoft
connection? No Labels co-founder Nancy Jacobson is married to
longtime pollster Mark Penn, executive vice president and chief strategy
officer at Microsoft, said a source who will be attending the
event. [Emphasis
added.]
I find Gates’ access to
80 senators very disturbing. There’s
more.
PA School Board Members
interested in running for PSBA officer positions must file applications no
Later than April 30th
PSBA's website Electing PSBA Officers
All persons seeking nomination for elected positions of the
Association shall file with the Leadership Development Committee chair during
the month of April, an Application for Nomination on a form to be provided by
the Association expressing interest in the office sought. The Application for
nomination shall be marked received at PSBA Headquarters or mailed first class
and postmarked by April 30 to be considered and timely filed. If said date
falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, then the Application for Nomination
shall be considered timely filed if marked received at PSBA headquarters or
mailed and postmarked on the next business day." (PSBA Bylaws, Article IV,
Section 5.E.).
Details and position descriptions: https://www.psba.org/elections/index.asp
Live Chat with PA's Major Education Leadership Organizations on Twitter
Tuesday March 25th at 8:00 p.m.
PSBA
website 3/11/2014
On Tuesday,
March 25 at 8 p.m., Pennsylvania's major education leadership organizations
will host a live chat on Twitter to share the opinions of school leaders from
throughout the state and invite feedback.
Join the conversation using hashtag #PAEdFunding and
lurk, learn or let us know what you think about the state of support for public
schools. If you've never tweeted before,
join us. It's a simple, free and fast-paced way to communicate and share
information. Here are directions and a few tips:
- See
more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=7286#sthash.OGonknCO.dpuf
How the Business Community Can Lead on
Early Education
Economy
League of Greater Philadelphia
Join
business and community leaders to learn about how you can help make sure every
child arrives in kindergarten ready to succeed. On April 29th, the Economy
League of Greater Philadelphia and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and
Southern New Jersey will host a forum featuring business leaders from around
the country talking about why they’re focused on early childhood education and
how they have moved the needle on improving quality and access in their states.
Featured
Speakers
- Jack Brennan, Chairman Emeritus of The
Vanguard Group
- Phil Peterson, Partner, Aon Hewitt and
Co-Chair of America’s Edge/Ready Nation
- And more to be announced!
- Date & Time Tuesday, April
29, 2014 | 5-7 PM
Registration begins at 5 PM;
program from 5:30 to 7:00 PM
- Location Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia
10 North Independence Mall West Philadelphia,
PA 19106
Registration:
http://worldclassgreaterphila.org/worldclasscouncilforum
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
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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