Daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 3250 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,
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These daily emails are archived and
searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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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
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup
for April 26, 2014:
Waltons: Save more, live
better, dismantle democratically governed American public schools….
PSBA members - Come hear
former Assistant US Secretary of Education, author and education historian
Diane Ravitch.
PSBA Buxmont
Region 11 and Penns Grant Region 15 Combined Region/Legislative Meeting --
Thursday, May 15, at William Tennent High School
-
Buffet dinner/registration, 6 p.m. ($8 charge for dinner) - Program, 7:30 p.m.
-- Minority Senate Education Committee Chair Hon. Andy Dinniman will
introduce guest speaker Diane Ravitch, author and education historian, and
former Assistant Secretary of Education.
Retiring House Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer will also be
honored for his long time (1981) public service.
"In effect, Walton has subsidized an entire charter
school system in the nation's capital, helping to fuel enrollment growth so
close to half of all D.C. public school students now attend charters, which get
taxpayer dollars but are privately operated.
Walton's investments here are a microcosm of its spending across the
nation."
Wal-Mart fortune molds
charter schools
Walton Foundation’s pours
$164 million in 2013 education grants. Who won?
The Walton Family Foundation spent more than $164 million in
2013 to promote its corporate-influenced education reform agenda in 2013,
according to a new list (see below) of grants that went to dozens of
organizations. The foundation’s priorities are evident in who won the biggest
amounts. Among the winners are:
Teach For America, which got nearly $20 million
Charter Fund Inc.,$14.5 million
KIPP Foundation, $8.8 million
Children’s Scholarship Fund (which gives our school vouchers) $8.56 million
California Charter School Association, $5 million.
Charter Fund Inc.,$14.5 million
KIPP Foundation, $8.8 million
Children’s Scholarship Fund (which gives our school vouchers) $8.56 million
California Charter School Association, $5 million.
While the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the biggest
player in the education philanthropy world, the Walton Family Foundation spends
an enormous sum to push school choice, vouchers and the privatization of public
education. The 2013 grantee amount was higher than the $158 million it
gave out in 2012, when Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst got $8 million.
Follow the Money: In the past
four years the Walton Family Foundation has invested well over half a
billion dollars to privatize democratically run American public schools.
Are you still shopping at Walmart?
Click on the following links for detailed lists of
recipients and amounts for each year:
2009 $ 134,119,354
“The outlook is just as bleak without significant investment
from our funding partners,” he said at a news conference Friday after the district
published its proposed budget for 2014-15. “Unfortunately, the reality is
that we are still trying to get the $216 million that we need to keep the level
of insufficient funding that we currently have this year.”
Shortfall
May Force More Cuts at Philadelphia Schools
New York Times By JON HURDLE APRIL 25, 2014
The superintendent of schools, William R. Hite Jr., said the
131,000-student district would not have the money it needed to maintain
existing levels of education that he said were already “wholly insufficient”
after a $304-million budget cut at the start of the 2013-14 school year.
The district, which has had chronic budget problems, laid
off some 3,800 employees as a result of that cut. Although about a
quarter of those employees were rehired as some funding was restored, about
2,350 jobs could be eliminated next year unless the district finds funding to
bridge its new shortfall, Dr. Hite said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/us/shortfall-may-force-more-cuts-at-philadelphia-schools.html?_r=0
Beyond 'doomsday': Philadelphia School District
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY APRIL 26, 2014
If it seems like we've been here before, we have. But now it's worse.
On Friday, the Philadelphia
School District
If this year's budget is "doomsday," next year's
could be that which doomsday has left behind.
"If the district does not get
the minimum amount requested, officials said reductions would be made to
special education, nurses, school police, alternative education,
transportation, facilities and administrative supports, accounting for more
than 1,000 layoffs. To absorb the cuts, average class sizes would swell to 37
in elementary schools and up to 41 in high schools."
Hite warns of 1,000-plus
layoffs
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Sunday, April 27, 2014, 3:01 AM
PHILADELPHIA School
District Superintendent William Hite said yesterday that unless the district
receives $216 million in new funding, it would be forced to lay off more than
1,000 employees.
That was part of the bad
news in the district's proposed $2.5 billion budget, which was as grim as
expected. The district is requesting up
to $320 million in new revenue from the city and state, and labor concessions.
Of the $320 million, $96.1 million is needed to maintain current service
levels, which Hite described as "insufficient." The district is counting on $120 million from
the extension of the extra 1 percent sales tax, which City Council has yet to
approve.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140427_Hite_warns_of_1_000-plus_layoffs.html#lY7qvWdwwDLkvvCY.99
Layoffs, bigger classes,
if no new $ for schools
Inquirer Philly School Files by Kristen Graham FRIDAY, APRIL
25, 2014, 11:21 AM
by Donald Gilliland |
dgilliland@pennlive.com on April 25, 2014 at 6:46 PM
Standard & Poor's Rating Services has given Harrisburg School District
Acting Secretary of Education Presents
Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Two Beaver Area Schools
PDE Press Release April 23, 2014
Beaver – Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to two schools in Beaver Area School District, Beaver County: Dutch Ridge Elementary School and College Square Elementary School.
PDE Press Release April 23, 2014
Beaver – Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to two schools in Beaver Area School District, Beaver County: Dutch Ridge Elementary School and College Square Elementary School.
“On
behalf of Governor Corbett, I congratulate Beaver Area School District and the
local communities for working together to ensure that students are growing
academically and being prepared for post-high school success,” Dumaresq said.
“These schools are an example of the high-quality learning that is taking place
in schools and classrooms across Pennsylvania.”
Based
on the 2012-13 School Performance Profile, www.paschoolperformance.org,
Dutch Ridge
Elementary School attained a score of
94.3 percent – the highest score in the district and the highest score among
all 51 public schools in Beaver
County
College
Square Elementary School followed with a 90.3 percent – the second highest in
the district and third highest in Beaver County.
First Lady Susan Corbett Recognizes
Academic Achievement of Mechanicsburg Area High School; Presents School with a
Governor’s Award
PDE Press Release April 25, 2014
Mechanicsburg – First Lady Susan Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Mechanicsburg Area High School in Mechanicsburg Area School District, Cumberland County. “Mechanicsburg
Area High
School Mechanicsburg Area
High School attained a score of 91.5
percent, the highest score in the district and the third highest among all 50
public schools in Cumberland
County
PDE Press Release April 25, 2014
Mechanicsburg – First Lady Susan Corbett today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to Mechanicsburg Area High School in Mechanicsburg Area School District, Cumberland County. “
Pension Reform Plan Helps to Protect
Current Employee and Retiree Benefits, While Saving Taxpayer Dollars Says
Tobash
PA
House Republican Caucus 4/24/2014
HARRISBURG – Rep. Mike Tobash’s
(R-Schuylkill/Berks) pension reform proposal would reduce the costs of both the
state (SERS) and teacher (PSERS) pensions for taxpayers, but NOT at the expense
of retirees or those who remain enrolled in the current systems, he said
today. “As a result of
underfunding, huge declines in the market and previous benefit increases,
Pennsylvania is facing a nearly $50 billion debt that will take decades to
overcome,” said Tobash. “The enormity of the challenge is matched only by our
commitment to protect people already in the pension systems and pay them the
benefits they have earned. “We are
committed to protecting the benefits of current retirees and workers,” said
Tobash. “Anyone telling people anything different does not fully understand
this plan.”
SRC DISSOLUTION BEING EXPLORED
Philly
Trib Written by Wilford
Shamlin III April 24, 2014
At
Tuesday’s press conference at Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’
headquarters, union President Jerry Jordan, citing overwhelming public support,
emphatically declared, “It is time to return control of Philadelphia public
schools to the people.” The relevancy of
the School Reform Commission, which has overseen the city’s public school
district since the state takeover in 2001, is being called into question as the
district struggles to maintain quality programs and services following the loss
of $300 million in public education funding.
However, state legislation that declared Philadelphia public schools in
distress, enabling the state takeover, contains language which bars immediate
changes in school governance. The SRC
may be dissolved with a majority vote of the SRC and by order of the state’s
Secretary of Education. The majority of SRC seats and the Secretary of
Education post are named by the governor.
The SRC's uncivil rights movement
thenotebook by
Matthew Mandel on Apr 25 2014 Posted in Commentary
Matthew Mandel is a National Board
Certified Teacher with the School District of Philadelphia.
When
new SRC Chairman Bill Green last month characterized teacher salaries and benefits as “excessive,” he
may have won points in Harrisburg. But to those of us who work on behalf our
city’s public school children and their families each day, he revealed little
more than contempt and disrespect. “When
the [Philadelphia Federation of Teachers] makes that their goal rather than
excessive benefits and salary and impossible work rules, those children will
have a chance at success," Green said, referring to loosening teacher
seniority rights to give principals more flexibility to choose their staff.
Benefits are driving high personnel costs in Philadelphia schools
By
Maura Pennington | PA Independent April 24, 2014
PHILADELPHIA
— Last spring, six elementary school librarians were laid off in the School
District of Philadelphia. Those who remain are being richly rewarded.
Elementary
school teachers and librarians will pull in an average $112,000 in combined
salary and benefits next year, according to the district’s Guide to School Budgets, which was released in
advance of budget hearings this month and details expected costs for the
2014-15 school year.
Including
pensions, Social Security, severance pay and other entitlements and perks,
benefits for district employees are valued, on average, at 40 percent of the
cost of salaries. That means an average teacher making $72,000 per year gets an
additional $45,800 in benefits this year, though the exact calculation varies a
bit depending on an individual’s position.
One in
three students enrolled in the district will not graduate high school on time
and only one out of every five students scored proficient or above in eighth
grade math, according to the latest Nation’s Report Card. Yet the public is
paying an average of more than $110,000 for each teacher’s total compensation
package — and more than $7 million for salaries and benefits for the 56
employees in the Office of the Superintendent.
"Until Pennsylvania
adopts a fair funding formula for our schools, we will continue to witness the
evisceration of our school district and as a result, the ultimate decline of Philadelphia
Statement from PFT president Jerry
Jordan on School District's Budget Projections for 2014-15 School Year
PFT president Jerry Jordan today issued the following response to the district's latest "doomsday" budget, which includes massive school staff layoffs, loss of programs and increasing class sizes.
PFT website 4/25/2014
PHILADELPHIA
PFT president Jerry Jordan today issued the following response to the district's latest "doomsday" budget, which includes massive school staff layoffs, loss of programs and increasing class sizes.
PFT website 4/25/2014
At fiery meeting, SRC moves
to revoke charter school's status
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM AND
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF
WRITERS POSTED: Saturday, April 26, 2014, 1:08 AM
Blogger Commentary: PDE announces 2014 List of Low Achieving
Schools which define eligibility for tax credit scholarships.
- There are no
accountability requirements for either the use of diverted tax dollars or
for the academic performance of students using the scholarships.
- Scholarship
organizations are permitted by law to keep up to 20% of the funds for
administrative purposes with no transparency or reporting requirements on
the use of such retained funds.
- Several members of
Governor Corbett's initial education transition team and a number of the
board members of the Philadelphia School Partnership have intimate ties
with scholarship organizations.
- Charter schools and
cyber charter schools are specifically excluded from the low achieving
schools list regardless of their actual performance.
The Opportunity
Scholarship Tax Credit Program List of Low Achieving Schools April 21, 2014
PDE
website Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program April 21, 2014
The
Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (OSTCP) was created pursuant to Act
85 of 2012. This program enables eligible students residing within the
boundaries of a low-achieving school to apply for a scholarship to attend
another public or nonpublic school. A low-achieving school is defined as a
public elementary or secondary schools within this Commonwealth that ranked in
the lowest 15% of its designation as elementary for the 2012-13 school year
based on the combined Mathematics/Algebra I and Reading/Literature scores from
the annual assessments (PASA, PSSA, and/or Keystone) administered in the 2013. The term shall not include a charter school,
cyber charter school or area vocational-technical school.
Click on this PDE link to download the
list of 2014-2015 Low Achieving Schools:
Education
Commission of the States, The Progress of Education Reform, June 2012
"Finance policies must be linked specifically to
quality improvements (in education)."
This
quote, taken from a piece written by the Education Commission of the States
(ECS) nearly 30 years ago, demonstrates that researchers have long recognized
the relationship between quality education reform and the structure of a
state’s school funding system. However, many policymakers continue to view
their state’s school funding formula not as a tool for reform but as a barrier
to change. Policymakers tend to view
the way that their state funds schools as a byzantine system of rules,
regulations, and formulas that is only comprehendible to a handful of people.
This perception scares many policymakers away from even trying to grasp how
their funding formula works. When policymakers don’t understand the basics of
their state’s funding system, it is difficult for them to determine what
changes are needed to encourage innovation.
This issue of The Progress of Education Reform sets out to ease some of
the confusion by helping readers better understand these complex systems, with
the hope that this knowledge will be used to help support education reform in
the states.
Stand Up 4 Public Schools unveils Magic
Johnson ads
NSBA
School Board News Today April 25, 2014 by Joetta Sack-Min
A new
“Stand Up 4 Public Schools” ad featuring legendary basketball star Earvin
“Magic” Johnson, Jr. debuted today in Businessweek magazine.
Stand
Up 4 Public Schools is the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA)
public advocacy campaign that celebrates the good things happening in public
schools. In the ad, Johnson notes, “Who I am today began with public
education,” the campaign tagline.
"Unless
educational services are offered preferential treatment by providers,
"schools could find themselves even further challenged to make use of digital
learning tools and services," Douglas Levin, executive director of the State
Educational Technology Directors Association, wrote in an email."
Schools Could Be on Internet
'Slow Track' Under Proposed FCC Rules
Education Week
Marketplace K-12 By on April 24, 2014 5:19 PM | No
comments
Questions arose today
about whether schools will have to stand in line for acceptable speeds of
Internet access under proposed new rules floated by the chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission. FCC
commissioners received the rules Thursday, in advance of a May 15
vote. As written, the proposed rules would impact "net
neutrality," which refers to the open and free flow of content on the
internet, regardless of where it originates. The new rules would leave
an opening for broadband internet providers like Verizon Communications,
Comcast Corp., and Time Warner Cable, to give preferential treatment
to content providers that pay for the privilege of higher priority
service, as theWall
Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Obama Administration Plan
Seeks to Rate Teacher Training Programs
New
York Times By MOTOKO RICH APRIL 25, 2014
The
Obama administration on Friday will announce plans to develop ratings of
teacher preparation programs to try to make them more accountable for their
graduates’ future performance in the classroom.
Teachers have long complained that training programs often do not
adequately prepare candidates for the challenges of teaching children with
varying needs and abilities. Prospective teachers, in turn, have no common way
of evaluating the quality of thousands of programs across the country, whether
they are in colleges of education or based in alternative groups like Teach for
America.
Arne
Duncan, the education secretary, said he often speaks with teachers about how
they trained for the job. “I ask teachers, were they prepared when they entered
into that school, or entered the profession, and there’s often a fair amount of
nervous laughter,” Mr. Duncan said in a conference call with reporters. By this summer, the administration will
propose rules for evaluating all teacher training programs, using metrics that
could include the placement of graduates in schools, pass rates on licensing
exams, teacher retention rates and the performance ratings that teachers
receive on the job.
Are charter schools
monopolizing public resources?
PBS Newshour April
24, 2014 at 6:24 PM EDT
Charter school enrollment has soared from
about 300,000 a little more than a decade ago to nearly 2 million students
nationwide. But the expansion of charter schools, whose public funding is
supplemented with private donations, has created serious competition for
limited resources and space. Special correspondent John Tulenko of Learning
Matters reports on the ongoing battle in New York.
Deadline
for PSBA officer nominations is April 30th
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association.
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. Complete details on the nomination process, links to the Application for Nomination form, and scheduled dates for nominee interviews can be found online by clicking here.
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association.
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. Complete details on the nomination process, links to the Application for Nomination form, and scheduled dates for nominee interviews can be found online by clicking here.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth
(PCCY) will Host an Education Funding Forum in Delaware County on May 7th
On May
7th, PCCY will host a forum that discusses the state of school
funding in Delaware
County 501 Bywood Avenue ,
Upper Darby PA 19082 from 6:30pm-8pm.
Attendees will get a budget update from Sharon Ward of the Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center , hear from School Board members representing
Upper Darby, William Penn, and Haverford
School Districts
Please
RSVP by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OjFpJwTHnZwRqh0Q5Tdp0KHYaI1Jg0XNvGpmeYMmIyA/viewform
Educating the Voter: A Forum on Public
Education featuring Democratic gubernatorial candidates - April 30th 6:00 pm
Phila Central Library
Presented by Committee of Seventy, Congresso and
Philadelphia Education Fund
Wednesday,
April 30, 2014 at 6:00PM
Join Democratic gubernatorial candidates Katie McGinty, Tom Wolf, Allyson Schwartz and Rob McCord for a discussion on public education.
Please
click here to
register.
PSBA members in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware
Counties
PSBA Buxmont Region 11 and Penns Grant
Region 15 Combined Region/Legislative Meeting -- Thursday, May 15, at William
Tennent High School
- Buffet
dinner/registration, 6 p.m. ($8 charge for dinner) - Program, 7:30 p.m. -- Minority
Senate Education Committee Chair Hon. Andy Dinniman will introduce guest
speaker Diane Ravitch, author and education historian, and former Assistant
Secretary of Education. Retiring House
Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer will also be honored for his long time
(1981) public service.
PSBA Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill
May 5-6, Mechanicsburg & Harrisburg
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leadingPennsylvania
political analyst, will discuss the legislative landscape in his usual lively
and informative style. How to Be an
Effective Advocate -- Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Larry
Feinberg, Roberta Marcus and Tina Viletto on how to successfully support
your issues. At noon, Rep. Dave
Reed, Majority Policy Chairman, will address participants. On day two, participants will start with a
breakfast at the Harrisburg Hilton with Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley as
guest speaker and then hit the ground running with visits to legislative
offices in the State CapitolSpace is limited so register early. Click here for more details and to register online.
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leading
Registration
fee of $50 includes lunch and dinner on May 5 and breakfast on May
6.
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
Tuesday, April 29th,
12-4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14th,
1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
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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