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,
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These daily emails are archived and
searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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The Keystone State Education Coalition
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Keystone State Education Coalition
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup
for April 3, 2014:
Education Spring? Thousands of Long Island
students refuse to take state tests
"And what does Pennsylvania
That pales in comparison to what is being reaped in other
gas-producing states such as Texas and Oklahoma Pennsylvania
Editorial: Gas drilling tax
to help fund education a sound idea
Delco Times Editorial
POSTED: 04/02/14, 10:10 PM EDT |
After falling short for
fourth straight month, Pa.
By on April 01, 2014 at 5:18 PM, updated April 02, 2014 at
12:29 PM
March and April are
traditionally among the biggest revenue collection months for Pennsylvania as people pay their taxes. After reviewing the receipts from March, the
Department of Revenue has to be hoping for a lot of deadline filers. And more
shoppers. Pennsylvania
collected $20 million less than it estimated it would in March, the
Treasury announced Tuesday. That includes an extra $80 million in money in
profits the Liquor Control Board transferred to the general fund. The state
hadn't expected the LCB to transfer that money so soon. So really, Revenue
Secretary Daniel Meuser said in a statement, the state came in about $100
million below estimates for March alone.
This
is the fourth straight month Pennsylvania has failed to meet its revenue
estimates. It's starting to add up.
If you adjust for the LCB transfer, the state is now behind estimates by
$176 million for the fiscal year.
Subject: Commonwealth Payment of Cyber
Charter Schools
COSPONSORSHIP
MEMORANDUM Posted: April 1, 2014 01:29 PM
From: Representative Jim Christiana To: All House members
Pennsylvania’s
current charter funding system, by which cyber charter schools receive payment
from a student’s local school district, has fueled unnecessary tensions between
school districts and cyber charter schools. Because cyber charters are approved
at the state level, accept students from all 67 counties and are basically
statewide school districts, I believe they should be paid directly by the
Commonwealth through an appropriation specifically for this purpose. For this reason, I am preparing to introduce
legislation that will provide for Commonwealth payment of per-student
expenditures by cyber charter schools.
Our
current Charter School Law sets forth a formula under which school districts
must pay all charter schools an amount equal to the district’s budgeted
per-student expenditure for the prior school year, minus certain deductions,
for each student residing in the district who attends a charter school,
regional charter school or cyber charter school. This formula was originally designed for
charter schools and regional charter schools, which are approved and overseen
by local school districts, and are located within the region of the student’s
home school district. However, cyber
charter schools receive their approval and oversight from the Department of
Education (PDE); therefore, their funding should come from the Commonwealth’s
General Fund -- not from local property taxpayers.
"Greensburg
Salem
Tribune-Review By Joe
Napsha Published: Thursday, April 3, 2014, 12:01 a.m.
With costs of salaries and retirement benefits projected to rise in the coming school year, Greensburg Salem school directors were told on Wednesday the board will have to weigh the impact of budgetary decisions on the quality of education in the district. Business manager James Meyer told the board during a presentation of the first draft of the budget for the 2014-15 school year that the cost of operating the district at its current staffing levels and educational programs is projected to increase by about $1.9 million. If the board does not increase property taxes above the current rate of 81.21 mills, revenue is projected at about $40.4 million, Meyer said.
With costs of salaries and retirement benefits projected to rise in the coming school year, Greensburg Salem school directors were told on Wednesday the board will have to weigh the impact of budgetary decisions on the quality of education in the district. Business manager James Meyer told the board during a presentation of the first draft of the budget for the 2014-15 school year that the cost of operating the district at its current staffing levels and educational programs is projected to increase by about $1.9 million. If the board does not increase property taxes above the current rate of 81.21 mills, revenue is projected at about $40.4 million, Meyer said.
Nine months after Senate
vote, House passes its own version of bill to keep sexual predators out of
schools
By n
April 02, 2014 at 3:53 PM
The state House on
Wednesday passed legislation aimed at keeping sexual predators out of schools,
yet this milestone left the head of a national advocacy group that is
championing this issue disappointed. By
passing its own bill by a 199-0 vote instead of a similar one that passed the Senatein
June, it leaves more students at risk of being sexually abused or exploited by
educators, said Terri Miller, president of the Nevada-basedStop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct &
Exploitation. Now the House bill
will go to the Senate for consideration, which could take weeks or months. If
the House instead had passed the Senate-approved bill, Miller said it would be
heading to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk for enactment.
BEN FINLEY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Thursday, April 3, 2014, 1:08 AM
POSTED: Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 6:32 PM
POSTED: Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 6:32 PM
Nationally, the practice
is known as "passing the trash" - when a school district allows an
employee accused of sexual misconduct to resign quietly and might even offer a
reference for a job elsewhere. On
Wednesday, Pennsylvania
legislators took a step toward making the state one of the few in the nation to
require the disclosure of sexual-abuse allegations as part of the application
process for school-related jobs.
Help us protect our kids from
child predators, say Pat Toomey and Lynn Carson
By By Pat Toomey and Lynn Carson on April 02, 2014 at 9:30 AM
Since Jan. 1 of this
year, 121 school employees have been arrested across the nation for
sexual misconduct with children. One-hundred-and-twenty-one. That is more than one per day since the
beginning of the year. And 12 of those are from Pennsylvania . There is another number that is just as
disturbing: 73. That is the number of children the average predator victimizes
over a lifetime. We believe the
Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act is a significant step
in protecting our children. Together, we
are working to protect our kids from child predators. One of us is working
through the Harrisburg Children’s Resource
Center
F&M poll: Wolf maintains
lead in the pack
Can anyone stop Tom
Wolf? After injecting $10 million of his
personal fortune into his campaign and initiating an early television
advertising campaign, the York
businessman has some wondering if his competition can keep up. And a new Franklin
& Marshall College
March 2014 Franklin
& Marshall College
Posted: Wednesday, April
2, 2014 4:10 pm
"Missing information includes treasurer reports, bills,
expenditure approvals, check registers and complete annual financial reports.
DePasquale called it a case of "horrible bookkeeping, horrible management,
horrible leadership." "Their
books are so bad that our auditors really can't audit them," DePasquale
said."
State audit: Serious problems
at Erie
BY ERICA
ERWIN, Erie Times-News erica.erwin@timesnews.com APRIL 1, 2014 12:01 AM EST
Serious problems highlighted by a state audit of the Erie R.I.S.E. Leadership Academy Charter School could hamper the school's efforts to renew its charter. State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Monday issued an interim audit of the school that has found fault with school board oversight, the school's academic performance, and its compliance with state and federal laws and the school's charter. Interim audit findings are only issued by the Department of Auditor General when, during the course of a review, auditors identify issues that require immediate attention. It is the first issued by DePasquale.
Serious problems highlighted by a state audit of the Erie R.I.S.E. Leadership Academy Charter School could hamper the school's efforts to renew its charter. State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Monday issued an interim audit of the school that has found fault with school board oversight, the school's academic performance, and its compliance with state and federal laws and the school's charter. Interim audit findings are only issued by the Department of Auditor General when, during the course of a review, auditors identify issues that require immediate attention. It is the first issued by DePasquale.
Among the issues
identified:
Philly schools caught on
funding merry-go-round
Watchdog.org By Maura
Pennington / April 2, 2014
Cash-strapped District
nurtures outside partnerships
The leader of a new office is building
relationships and seeking to remove any red tape that interferes.
the notebook by Dan
Hardy April 2014
Beset by massive budget
cuts and with more deficits looming in future years, Philadelphia School
District Superintendent William Hite has been reaching out to area businesses,
nonprofits, and foundations to make up the losses in money and programs. Last year, he created the Office of Strategic
Partnerships to find new allies that would augment the District’s programs and
finances, while cementing and enhancing relations with old ones. Maximizing outside partnerships is a good
strategy in any case, but is crucial when a cash-starved district is trying to
provide enough quality learning time for students. “Philadelphia
schools are surrounded by a rich array of resources that support the
development and learning of students,” the superintendent’s latest action plan
says. “These resources are currently underutilized.” Those resources include the city’s recreation
department, which operates a wide range of afterschool and weekend programs for
school-age children. In the new,
stripped-down central office, the formidable task of facilitating these
partnerships largely falls to one person: Stacy Holland, former head of the
Philadelphia Youth Network.
Critics say charters given
unfair advantage for Renaissance schools
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Thursday, April 3, 2014, 3:01 AM
AS HEAD of the School Advisory Council at Steel Elementary,
Kendra Brooks should be one of the first people to learn about major potential
changes at the school, which two of her children attend. Apparently, that doesn't apply when a charter
operator is poised to take it over.
Brooks, co-founder of a community organization in Nicetown, said she was
blindsided Friday when another parent told her that Mastery Charter Schools had
been chosen to turn around Steel - three days before it was announced by the School District of Philadelphia
Letters: Take a chance on
education
Philly Daily News by
COUNCILMAN JIM KENNEY POSTED: Thursday, April 3, 2014, 3:01 AM
NOTHING is more
important than providing our children with the best education possible - and
that costs money. Philadelphia School Superintendent Dr. William Hite estimates
that our schools will need another $320 million for the next school year.
Although we all continue to fight for a fair education-funding formula from the
commonwealth, we must also seek creative alternative sources of revenue to
ensure that our children get the quality education they deserve. I have two
ideas that could generate an estimated $30 million a year in additional revenue
for our schools.
Education Week by AP Published Online: April 2, 2014
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A proposal to limit sports programs at
charter schools in Pennsylvania
drew indignation from charter school advocates at a legislative meeting
Tuesday.
Currently, charter school students who want to play multiple sports
must play for their charter school teams if that sport is offered and, for
other sports, may play on teams at their neighborhood public school. But Bob Lombardi, director of the
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, which governs scholastic
sports in the state, said the arrangement constitutes a "dual
enrollment" status for charter school students that is not available to
students who attend public school or who are home-schooled. Charter schools are privately run public
schools that are financed with payments from the students' local school
districts. Lombardi said some charters use their unique status to build
"all-star" boys' basketball teams that steamroller public school
teams in state championship tournaments.
"Forty-one school districts
in Nassau and Suffolk
Thousands of Long Island
students refuse to take state tests
Newsday By JO
NAPOLITANO AND JOIE TYRRELL April 1, 2014 8:28 PM
Thousands of Long Island students in grades three through eight refused to sit for the state's English Language Arts exam Tuesday as the so-called "opt-out" movement picked up momentum in districts across Nassau and Suffolk counties. School administrators said the increase was driven by the state's rushed rollout of the Common Core education initiative and the link between teacher job evaluations and student grades. Tuesday kicked off three days of the English exam for 204,000 students on Long Island and about 1.2 million statewide. Math tests will be administered to the same grades from April 30 through May 2.
Thousands of Long Island students in grades three through eight refused to sit for the state's English Language Arts exam Tuesday as the so-called "opt-out" movement picked up momentum in districts across Nassau and Suffolk counties. School administrators said the increase was driven by the state's rushed rollout of the Common Core education initiative and the link between teacher job evaluations and student grades. Tuesday kicked off three days of the English exam for 204,000 students on Long Island and about 1.2 million statewide. Math tests will be administered to the same grades from April 30 through May 2.
Another Voice: Boycotts of
standardized tests protest the harmful effect on our education system
Chris Cerrone of Springville is co-founder of New York State
Allies for Public Education.
An editorial in The
Buffalo News criticizing families who boycott the New York State assessments
mischaracterizes the actions of parents and the testing program. Parents who
opt out of the testing do so to protest what high-stakes standardized
assessments have done to our education system.
Some families began to boycott the assessments as the No Child Left
Behind policies began to narrow the school curriculum. As a result of the
rating of schools via NCLB and its test-and-punish philosophy, the focus of
many elementary classrooms shifted primarily to subjects of English language
arts and mathematics. History and science instruction became limited or ignored
as schools focused on building skills in the tested subjects of ELA and math.
The arts and physical education have been hit with major cutbacks due to the
focus on core topics and misguided budget cuts. As standardized assessments
become high-stakes for adults, our children are no longer receiving a
well-rounded education in their elementary years
Federal Bill Aims to Boost
Growth of High-Quality Charter Schools; Cross-Aisle Support Seen
Education Week Politics
K-12 Blog By on April
1, 2014 4:56 PM
States and districts
would be encouraged to help grow high-quality charter schools—and ensure that
they enroll and retain English-language learners and students in special
education—under a rare, bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday by Rep. John Kline,
R-Minn., the chairman of the House education committee, and Rep. George Miller,
D-Calif., the top Democrat on the panel.
Under the measure, the
two main federal programs for charter schools would be consolidated, combining
federal grants to help charter school developers open new schools, with money
to help charters find and fix up facilities. Overall, it calls for $300 million
a year in federal funding for charters, a little more than the roughly $250
million the current Charter School Grants program received in the most recent
budget, for fiscal year 2014, which started back on Oct. 1.
The revamped program
would provide incentives for states to help develop charter schools and make it
easier for those who operate charters with a track record of success to open
more schools. Right now, charter operators can get federal grants to open new
schools, but not to expand existing, successful models.
The Walton Family
Foundation released its list of grantees in the education world, and once
again, the foundation put its huge resources into privatizing American public education.
The billions that
hard-working families spend at Walmart are used to support privately managed
charters and vouchers and to undermine democratic local control and traditional
public schools.
Some of the biggest
recipients of the Walton family’s largesse are Teach for America (nearly $20
million), which staffs non-union charters; KIPP charter schools ($8.8 million);
the Charter Fund, Inc. ($14.5 million); The Children’s Scholarship Fund (which
gives our school vouchers) $8.56 million; and the California Charter School
Association, $5 million. Parent Revolution got almost $2 million, the Black
Alliance for Educational Options got $1.3 million.
Save more, live better, privatize American
public education. Where do you shop?
PA grantees include Philadelphia School
Partnership and 50CAN, parent of PennCAN
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.
K12 Inc. Building a New
Identity for Part of the Company
Education Week By Sean Cavanagh
Published Online: April 1, 2014
As education companies fight for space in the digital learning
market, one of the biggest and most controversial players in the school
industry is betting that a simple strategy—changing the name of a line of
products and services—will give it an edge.
K12 Inc., the publicly traded virtual
education provider, says the rebranding move is meant to group a number of similar
resources under a single, marketable banner, Fuel Education—and not to distance
those offerings from a recent spate of critical news reports affecting the
company as a whole.
“I DON’T TRUST YOU WITH THAT
INFORMATION.”
Cashing In On Kids Blog
April 3, 2014
Public dollars used for
public services should be publicly visible. It seems like simple logic;
however, when it comes to charter schools, the potential for profit often
trumps transparency.
Journalists from the Akron Beacon Journal and the News Outlet joint program called 294 of Ohio’s 393 charter schools to gather basic information – information that is required byOhio
law to be publicly accessible. One school responded with “I don’t trust you
with that information.”
The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools states that by law,Ohio charter schools
“must follow health and safety, ethics, public records and privacy laws; and
comply with open meetings laws.” As citizens, journalists do not have to give
reasons for their requests, but they encountered major obstacles to even benign
questions such as “Who runs the building?” and “How does one contact the school
board?” Only 1 in 4 of the 294 charter schools contacted gave any information
and only 80 provided all the information requested.
Journalists from the Akron Beacon Journal and the News Outlet joint program called 294 of Ohio’s 393 charter schools to gather basic information – information that is required by
The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools states that by law,
NPE is going old-school -
April mail-in campaign; write your letter to Congress now
On March 2, 2014, The
Network for Public Education issued a call for congressional hearings into the
overuse and abuse of tests in our schools.
Together, we have managed to catch the attention of Congress,
we created a Twitter Storm that sent out over 20K tweets and reached 400K
people via social media while trending #1, and the offices of Congress members
were flooded with phone calls from concerned constituents. We continue to bring
attention to the plague of over-testing and the media is beginning to take
notice!
For the next part of our campaign, we’re going old school.
During the month of April, we are asking our Friends & Allies to print out
and mail a copy of this
letter to the offices of our friends at Campaign for America ’s Future in Washington D.C.
The Pennsylvania PTA 105th annual statewide convention April 4-6, 2014,
at the Radisson Valley Forge/King of Prussia.
Pennsylvania PTA Harrisburg,
Pa. March 21, 2014
Delegates from local PTA
units, councils, and regions throughout the state will gather to give direction
to the State PTA on issues of resolutions, bylaws, and timely topics being
addressed around education and child advocacy. The convention format will include a Diversity
Leadership Conference, a Town Hall Meeting on Suicide Awareness and Prevention,
twenty (20) workshops on timely issues, networking time with other delegates,
an exhibit hall, a Reflections Gallery showcasing student artwork, and the
opportunity to hear keynote speakers and representatives from the National PTA
and other statewide partnering organizations from Pennsylvania. Complete
details for registration may be obtained at the Pennsylvania PTA website at
www.papta.org.
The PA PTA is inviting you to attend
the Diversity Leadership Conference on Friday, April 4, 2014, at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge,
King of Prussia, PA.
Registration
for this event is free and open to those caring about diversity in leadership
for today’s public schools. Registration is at 8:30 AM and the session will run from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Contact Sandy Zelno, PA PTA Consultant for Media, at sandyzelno@comcast.net or 412-370-6141 for further details. Why not
join your colleagues to hear about programs operating that promote diversity
and leadership in today’s schools? In conjunction with this
diversity leadership conference, you will find a host of other activities in
conjunction with the PTA’s 105th Annual
PTA Convention. This link not only
includes information about the Diversity Leadership Conference and it’s
nationally lauded speakers, but about the convention which will deal with
issues of Youth Suicide, Military Families in Today’s Schools, School Finance,
School Libraries, Testing and Assessment in PA Schools, Advocacy, and Arts in
Education--among many other workshops and keynote speakers being
featured.
Education Debate - Pittsburgh, April 8
by Yinzercation
March 20, 2014
Please mark your calendars now
and plan to be a part of this event:
Democratic candidates for
Governor of Pennsylvania
Tuesday, April 8th atPittsburgh 6-12 515 N. Highland Ave. , Pittsburgh
PA 15206
Tuesday, April 8th at
Sign up for weekly Testing
Resistance & Reform News and Updates!
Fairtest - The National Center for Fair and Open Testing
PSBA
nominations for offices now open!
Deadline 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.
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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