Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 3500 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, business 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, Twitter and LinkedIn
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?
PA Ed Policy Roundup for
September 28, 2014:
Quadrillion to one: no fallout; no charges for Gureghian managed
CCCS
KEYSTONE EXAMS: Not Just Another Standardized Test
What You Need to Know
About Pennsylvania’s NEW High School Graduation Requirement
Join the Radnor, Haverford, Chester
County , Lower
Merion & Narberth Leagues of Women Voters October 7 @ 7:00 pm
in Radnor
How to Register to Vote -
Deadline is October 6th
PA Department of State
Once you know you are eligible
to vote, the next step is to register. In Pennsylvania , you can register in person, by
mail and at various government agencies. Below you will find information about
how to register, as well as links to voting registration forms and
applications.
Upcoming PA Basic Education
Funding Commission Meetings*
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at
11 AM, Clarion University
Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 10 AM, Perkiomen Valley
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 11 AM, Pittsburgh
* meeting times and locations subject to change
Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 10 AM, Perkiomen Valley
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 11 AM, Pittsburgh
* meeting times and locations subject to change
Basic Education Funding
Commission with State Senator Rob Teplitz
Comcast Newsmakers September 24, 2014
Jill Horner speaks with Pennsylvania State Senator Rob Teplitz
(www.senatorteplitz.com ) about the Basic Education Funding Commission and its
efforts to find a more equitable funding formula for the state’s public schools.
Plancon: Corbett
Administration Approves More Than $21.6 Million in Reimbursement for
Construction Projects in 41 Schools
PDE Press Release September 26, 2014
Harrisburg – Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq today announced that more than $21.6 million has been approved for reimbursement of construction projects in 41 schools in 27 school districts and one career and technology center across the commonwealth.
PDE Press Release September 26, 2014
Harrisburg – Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq today announced that more than $21.6 million has been approved for reimbursement of construction projects in 41 schools in 27 school districts and one career and technology center across the commonwealth.
“This much-needed funding will help to free up dollars that can
be directed into the classroom to support student achievement,” Dumaresq
said. “I am hopeful that as we progress through the current fiscal year,
the department will be able to approve additional projects as more funding
becomes available.”
If charters are recommended
for York
If outside operators
are recommended, rejection could lead to other state action
York Daily Record By
Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1
on Twitter UPDATED: 09/27/2014 03:29:10 PM EDT
Teachers and other community members rallied outside a school
forum last week, urging the York City School Board to "say no" to two
charter operators being considered to run schools.
The companies, Mosaica Education and Charter
Schools USA ,
have visited York 's
schools, hosted local representatives at their schools and had discussions with
the district's state-appointed chief recovery officer about potential draft
agreements for operating district buildings starting next year, which is an
option under the district's recovery plan. (Read ongoing coverage of York City School District considering using
charter operators.) At least
one school board member, Michael Breeland, has publicly said he doesn't want
charter operators, and board President Margie Orr said Friday she's not sure
she sees what more the operators can offer the district. But if David Meckley, the recovery officer,
were to recommend one of the charter operators, the board's rejection of the
notion could raise at least the possibility that a receiver would be appointed
to carry out the plan. The state
recovery law — which triggered the appointment of Meckley and development of
the recovery plan — states that the board must not take any action inconsistent
with its recovery plan. If the board did, the state could petition the county
court to appoint a receiver for the district.
Did 27,000 Pennsylvania Pa.
York Daily Record By
Ed Mahon emahon@ydr.com @edmahonreporter
on Twitter UPDATED: 09/26/2014 10:38:24 PM EDT
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, left, shakes hands with
challenger Tom Wolf after their debate Monday in Hershey. A second debate is
scheduled to take place in the Philadelphia
media market on Oct. 1, followed by an Oct. 8 debate in the Pittsburgh media market. (Jason Plotkin —
Daily Record/Sunday News) An ad from
Democrat Tom Wolf's campaign criticizes Republican Gov. Tom Corbett on the
issue of education and says that because of the governor's cuts, "27,000
educators were laid off." The issue
got brought up again in Monday's general election debate, and Wolf's supporters
have made a similar claim before.
PA Families First released a TV ad earlier this year, saying
"Gov. Tom Corbett cut nearly a billion from education, forcing school districts
to fire 20,000 teachers and staff," according to the Associated Press. Tom Wolf makes a point during the Pennsylvania Governor's
debate Sept. 22. (Jason Plotkin - Daily Record/Sunday news) The Wolf campaign previously used the 20,000
figure. But the campaign and other critics of the governor increased it after
the Keystone Research Center York County that Pennsylvania
is "firing 27,000 teachers."
So what's true?
So the charter funding
formula is unfair – but to whom?
Many observers agree that the overall pot of Pa.
the notebook By Dan Hardy on Sep 24, 2014
01:24 PM
With education funds scarce in the commonwealth, the debate
over how charter schools get their money has never been more polarized. The stakes are huge: Last school year, 176
charter schools educated 129,000 students statewide, at a cost to Pennsylvania school
districts of more than $1.2 billion. About half those schools and students are
located in Philadelphia ;
they consume 30 percent of the District’s operating budget. Charter schools are independently run public
schools paid for by tax dollars, authorized and primarily funded by the school
districts from which their students come. Districts send charters a per-student
payment, based on a state-established formula.
State's special education
funding rules are slow to change
the notebook By Dan Hardy on Sep 24, 2014 01:29
PM
Answers to common questions
on Philly funding needs
the notebook By Paul Jablow on Sep 26, 2014 10:33 AM
Doesn’t Philadelphia
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai made the point when he met
with District Superintendent William Hite in August that the city has 12
percent of the state’s school population but receives 18 percent of the state’s
basic education subsidy. But Matthew Stanski, Hite’s finance director, says
that these numbers alone don’t capture the reality. He gives several reasons.
First, Pennsylvania
chips in a smaller share of education funding than most other states, so there
is less state aid to balance out inequities between districts. But more
important, he said, Philadelphia
educates more children from low-income backgrounds than any other district.
More than 80 percent of Philadelphia
students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, almost twice the
statewide average of 43 percent. Such a high concentration of poverty comes
with added costs to a school district
Fallout of Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
Early in the morning, before anyone else arrived, former
Communications Technical High School principal Barbara McCreery would sit in
her office and redo some of her students' standardized test booklets – 15 at a
time, she admits, with an answer key in hand.
McCreery details that routine in a grand jury report released this week
by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, as she and former Bok Technical
High School
Quadrillion to one: no fallout; no charges
for Gureghian managed CCCS
"A state
forensic analysis found that the odds that erasure patterns were random on the
reading portion of Chester Community Charter School
Citypaper July 2013: How Pennsylvania
Tainted scores throw an entire way of running schools into
question.
Citypaper By Daniel Denvir Published: 07/18/2013
The odds that 11th-graders at Strawberry Mansion High School
In short, there appeared to be cheating — and it didn’t come as
a total surprise. In 2006, student members of Youth United for Change protested
being forced out of class for test-preparation sessions and won concessions
from the district. In 2010, principal Lois Powell-Mondesire left Strawberry Mansion
"CCCS was founded by Gladwyne lawyer
and entrepreneur Vahan Gureghian, who is also the founder and CEO of Charter School Management,
Inc. (CSMI), a for-profit management company that operates CCCS
under contract. The school has attracted attention in part because
Gureghian is an influential power broker in both Delaware
and Montgomery
the notebook July 2011: Two
of Pa.
by Benjamin Herold for the Notebook/NewsWorks on
Jul 21, 2011 12:07 PM
Two of the largest charters in Pennsylvania, Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) and the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber), are among the 89 schools across the state that are to be investigated for statistical irregularities on 2009 standardized tests.
Two of the largest charters in Pennsylvania, Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) and the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber), are among the 89 schools across the state that are to be investigated for statistical irregularities on 2009 standardized tests.
In all, 10 Pennsylvania charters
were found to have 2009 test scores warranting further inquiry, according to a
recently revealed state report meant to identify
"potential test results that may have been earned unfairly." The rest of the 89 schools are spread over 38
school districts. State Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis has directed those districts to conduct investigations in
all their traditional public schools that were heavily flagged in the study.
The charters with unusual results will investigate themselves, according to
Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) spokesperson Tim Eller.
A proposal before state
lawmakers would require public colleges and universities to agree on uniform
guidelines for accepting credits, not only from AP exams, but also from
International Baccalaureate or College-Level Examination Program exams, which
are less common in Pennsylvania
HB2076: AP classes put college-bound students on fast track
HB2076: AP classes put college-bound students on fast track
Trib Live By Kari Andren Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014,
9:00 p.m.
When Alexandra Piampiano stepped onto the lush, 200-acre campus ofSt. Vincent College Webster , N.Y. St. Vincent as sophomores. The
students, part of an incoming class of 450, earned between 23 and 47 credits
through AP exams, programs offering college courses in high school or a
combination of the two, school officials said.
When Alexandra Piampiano stepped onto the lush, 200-acre campus of
PennLive By Monica Von Dobeneck | Special to PennLive on September
25, 2014 at 10:01 PM, updated September 26, 2014 at 11:18 AM
The Palmyra
Area School
District
DePasquale right on DOE
Even though the Corbett administration has failed to produce
any work product from former Education Secretary Ron Tomalis, who was kept on
as an adviser after the governor sacked him, it also contends there is
something wrong with Auditor General Eugene DePasquale continuing to look for
it. A DOE spokesman contended that
DePasquale is playing politics, after the auditor general announced that he
would expand an ongoing routine audit of the department to examine the
performance of its paid advisers, including Tomalis.
Judge orders Palmer charter
to pay back $1.5 million
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Saturday, September 27,
2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Friday, September 26, 2014, 5:17 PM
The Walter
D. Palmer
Leadership Learning
Partners Charter
School School District
of Philadelphia
Commonwealth Court Judge James Gardner Colins issued the order
Thursday. It stemmed from a state Supreme Court decision in May that the school
was bound by the terms of the charter it signed in 2005, which limited
enrollment to 675 students.
Why Don’t We Have Real Data
on Charter Schools?
Charters were supposed
to be laboratories for innovation. Instead, they are stunningly opaque.
The Nation by Pedro Noguera
September 24, 2014
In several cities throughout the country, there is a fierce
conflict raging over the direction of education reform. At the center of this
increasingly acrimonious debate is the question of whether or not charter
schools—publicly funded schools that operate outside the rules (and often the
control) of traditional public-school systems—should be allowed to proliferate.
Given their steady growth (from no more than a handful twenty years ago to over
6,000 today), charter schools and their advocates appear to have the upper
hand. A new bipartisan bill—the Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter
Schools Act, sponsored by Republican senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and
Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Democratic senators Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana
and Michael Bennet of Colorado—would provide new funds to launch, replicate and
expand charter schools nationwide.
"Indeed, K12 Inc.’s spectactular
growth over the years stems largely from the extraordinary amount the company
spends on lobbying, as well as on marketing and advertising, with promises in
some areas that enrollment comes with a free computer. USA
K12 Inc.’s lobbyists helped author model
legislation to develop sweeping voucher laws through the American Legislative
Exchange Council, a conservative group that provides state lawmakers with
template legislation. Though state by state lobbying figures are difficult to
come by, given the patchwork of varying laws, K12 Inc. has hired dozens of
local officials to ensure that these voucher laws are quickly passed with few
amendments. “We have incurred significant lobbying costs in several states,”
K12 Inc. noted in a filing with the SEC.
“The stockholders benefit from those
students’ enrollments, but the students get stuck with a lousy education that
will follow them the rest of their lives,” says Jeff Bryant, the director of
the Education Opportunity Network."
Venture Capitalists Are
Poised to ‘Disrupt’ Everything About the Education Market
Venture capitalists and for-profit firms are
salivating over the exploding $788.7 billion market in K-12 education. What
does this mean for public school students?
The Nation by Lee Fang
September 25, 2014
This story was reported in partnership with the
Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.
In his book, Finding the Next Starbucks: How to
Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, Michael Moe, describes
how carefully crafted business strategies have transformed markets to create
huge profits in unlikely sectors. The title relates to how Starbucks became a
global corporation of almost $15 billion in revenue by capturing and
streamlining the café experience. Moe, a former director at Merrill Lynch,
wrote that at one point in the United
States , even healthcare was an undesirable
and difficult industry for investment, and that bankers once worried if
profit-making in such a realm was worth their effort. In 1970, healthcare
spending comprised 8 percent of GDP, yet market capitalization in healthcare
stood at less than 3 percent. That shifted quickly not only as the boomer
generation aged, but as a wave of privatization hit hospitals, insurers, and
other segments of the healthcare system. More than thirty years later, Moe
wrote, healthcare companies are among the largest in the world, and represent
more than 16 percent of US capital markets. “We see the education industry
today as the healthcare industry of 30 years ago,” Moe predicted.
Health Issues in Schools:
"Mom I can't find the Nurse"
October 21, 2014 1:00 -- 4:00 P.M.
United Way Building 1709
Benjamin Franklin Parkway , Philadelphia
Tickets: Attorneys $200
General Public $100 Webinar $50
"Pay What You Can" tickets are also
available
Click here to purchase tickets
Click here to purchase tickets
LWV Panel:KEYSTONE EXAMS
Not Just Another Standardized Test Oct 7th Radnor
What You Need to Know About Pennsylvania’s NEW High School Graduation
Requirement
Join the Radnor,
Haverford, Chester County, Lower Merion & Narberth Leagues of Women Voters
October 7 @ 7:00 pm in Radnor
In partnership with your area schools’ Parent
Organizations and supported by your area School Districts
Moderator: Susan Carty, President, League of Women Voters of PA
Panelists Will Include:
Pennsylvania State
Senator, Andy Dinniman
Lower Merion
School District Board of Directors
Member, Lori Actman
Conestoga High
School
Education Lawyer, Josh Kershenbaum, Esq.
Additional Panelists To Be Announced
Panelists Will Include:
Education Lawyer, Josh Kershenbaum, Esq.
Additional Panelists To Be Announced
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014 at 7:00 PM Radnor Municipal Building, 301 Iven Ave. ,
Radnor
Questions? Please Call 610-446-8383 or e-mail katederiel@verizon.net
Questions? Please Call 610-446-8383 or e-mail katederiel@verizon.net
What About the Schools? A
Community Forum on the Next Governor's Education Agenda Oct. 15 7:00 pm WHYY
Philly
Pennsylvania's public schools, especially in Philadelphia, are
in dire straits. Many hope that the upcoming gubernatorial election will help
shine a light on the state's education issues. But how will Harrisburg politics
and financial realities limit the next governor’s agenda for education?
Join Research for Action, WHYY, and the United Way of Greater
Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey for an interactive community forum
designed to suggest an education agenda for the next administration—and to
assess the politics of achieving it. Hear
from local educators about what they see as priorities for the schools, and
from seasoned policy practitioners on the political realities of Harrisburg. Then, make your voice heard. Discuss your
thoughts and perspectives with other event guests and interact with the
panelists. You’ll come away from this spirited discussion with a more nuanced
view of the politics of education in both Philadelphia and at the state level.
Admission
This event is FREE and open to the public, but registration is
required.
When
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Doors open at
6:30 p.m.
Where
WHYY, Independence Mall West, 150 N. 6th Street, Philadelphia,
Pa 19106
Contact
Questions? Call 215-351-0511 during regular business hours,
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Save the date: Bob Herbert
book event! Pittsburgh October 9th
Save the date – you don’t want to miss this! We are hosting the
national launch of Bob Herbert’s new book, Losing Our Way: An Intimate
Portrait of a Troubled America
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014 Time: 5:30 – 6:30PM,
moderated discussion and Q&A.
Doors will open at 5 with student performances. Followed by book signing.
Doors will open at 5 with student performances. Followed by book signing.
Location: McConomy Auditorium,
Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh 15213. Free parking in the garage.
Hosted by: Yinzercation (we are
profiled in the book!)
Moderator: Tony Norman, columnist and
associate editor,Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PUBLIC Education Nation October
11
The Network for Public Education will hold a historic event in one month's time.
The Network for Public Education will hold a historic event in one month's time.
PUBLIC Education Nation will deliver the
conversation the country has been waiting for. Rather than featuring
billionaires and pop singers, this event will be built around intense
conversations featuring leading educators, parents, students and community
activists. We have waited too long for that seat at someone else's table.
This time, the tables are turned, and we are the ones setting the agenda. This event will be livestreamed on the web on
the afternoon of Saturday, October 11, from the auditorium of Brooklyn New
School, a public school. There will be four panels focusing on the most
critical issues we face in our schools. The event will conclude with a
conversation between Diane Ravitch and Jitu Brown.
Please join us for a symposium
on:
“Funding
Pennsylvania's Public Schools: A Look Ahead”
This event is co-sponsored by the
University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics and the Temple University
Center
When: Friday, October 3, 2014, 8:30 am to 12 pm
Where: Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh in Green Tree, PA
Session I:
"Forecasting the Fiscal Future of Pennsylvania's Public
Schools"
A panel of legislators and public
officials will respond to a presentation by Penn State Professor William
Hartman and Tim Shrom projecting the fiscal trajectory of Pennsylvania’s 500
school districts over the next five years and by University of Pittsburgh
Professor Maureen McClure discussing the implications for school finance of an
aging tax base.
Session II: "Why Smart
Investments in Public Schools Are Critical to Pennsylvania's Economic
Future"
Following an address by Eva Tansky
Blum, Chairwoman and President of the PNC Foundation, a panel of business
and labor leaders will discuss the importance of public school funding
reform to the competitiveness of regional and state economies.
We look forward to your
participation!
Pennsylvania Arts Education
Network 2014 Arts and Education Symposium
The 2014 Arts and Education Symposium will be
held on Thursday, October 2 at the State Museum
of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA. Join us for a daylong convening of
arts education policy leaders and practitioners for lively discussions about
the latest news from the field.
The Symposium registration fee is $45 per person.
To register, click
here or follow the prompts at the bottom of the page. The Symposium will include the following:
Register Now – 2014 PAESSP
State Conference – October 19-21, 2014
Please join us for the 2014 PAESSP State Conference, “PRINCIPAL
EFFECTIVENESS: Leading Schools in a New Age of Accountability,” to be
held October 19-21 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh,
Pa. Featuring Keynote Speakers: Alan
November, Michael Fullan & Dr. Ray Jorgensen. This year’s conference will provided PIL
Act 45 hours, numerous workshops, exhibits, multiple resources and an
opportunity to network with fellow principals from across the state.
PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference (Oct. 21-24) registration forms now available online
PSBA Website
PSBA Website
Make plans today to attend the most talked about education
conference of the year. This year's PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference promises to be one of the best with new
ideas, innovations, networking opportunities and dynamic speakers. More details
are being added every day. Online registration will be available in the
next few weeks. If you just can't wait, registration
forms are available online now. Other important links are available
with more details on:
·
Hotel
registration (reservation deadline extended to Sept. 26)
·
Educational
Publications Contest (deadline Aug. 6)
·
Student
Celebration Showcase (deadline Sept. 19)
·
Poster
and Essay Contest (deadline Sept. 19)
Voting for PSBA officers
and at-large representatives opens Sept. 9
PSBA Website 9/8/2014
The slate of candidates for 2015 PSBA officer and at-large
representatives is available online. Photos, bios and
videos also have been posted for candidates. According to recent PSBA
Bylaws changes, each member school entity casts one vote per office. Voting
will again take place online through a secure, third-party website -- Simply
Voting. Voting will open Sept. 9 and closes Oct. 6. One person from the school
entity (usually the board secretary) is authorized to register the vote on
behalf of the member school entity and each board will need to put on its
agenda discussion and voting at one of its meetings in September. Each person
authorized to cast the school entity's votes received an email on Aug. 13 and a
test ballot was sent to them on Aug. 28. In addition, a memo from PSBA
President Richard Frerichs will be mailed in the coming days to all board
secretaries and copied to school board presidents and chief school
administrators.
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=8465#sthash.faopm8Xr.dpuf
January 23rd–25th, 2015 at The Science Leadership
Academy , Philadelphia
EduCon is both a conversation and a conference.
It is an innovation conference where we can come together, both
in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will
be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the
big dreams.
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