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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October
17, 2014:
Superintendents
from well funded suburban districts tell BEFC state funding of basic education is inadequate
The PA Senate will reconvene on Wed.
Nov 12, 2014 at 1:00PM
The PA House will reconvene on Mon.
Oct 20, 2014 at 11:00AM
NEXT BASIC
EDUCATION FUNDING COMMISSION PUBLIC MEETING
Next Meeting Tuesday,
October 21, 2014 at 11 AM, Community College
of Allegheny County, West Campus, Pittsburgh
Corbett vs. Wolf: What
regional differences say about the race for governor
By Nick Malawskey | nmalawskey@pennlive.com on October 16,
2014 at 2:37 PM, updated October 16, 2014 at 4:25 PM
The prevailing media narrative in the Pennsylvania governor's race is that Gov.
Tom Corbett is running from behind and that his opponent, Tom Wolf, has created
a nearly insurmountable polling lead that makes his victory over the incumbent
an all-but forgone conclusion. That's
correct, insofar as Corbett is running from behind, but a deeper look at
polling data indicates that it's still too early to count the governor out. Since early polling indicated Wolf had a
healthy lead headed into the general election, Corbett has clawed much of that
back – especially outside of the Democratic bulwarks of eastern Pennsylvania . In fact, when polling results are broken down
regionally, there's a good chance that Corbett not only will give Wolf a run
for his money on election day but could end up carrying much of the state.
Whether or not that translates into votes remains to be seen. At Franklin
and Marshall College
State school performance
scores stuck in limbo
Trib Live By Megan Harris Friday, Oct. 17, 2014, 12:01 a.m.
Overdue school performance scores will remain in limbo through the end of the month pending verification from the state Department of Education, spokesman Tim Eller said. “We're hopeful that the (profiles) will be released in the next few weeks,” Eller said this week, “but we want to make sure every school has an opportunity to check their information and make corrections if necessary.” It's the latest in a series of delays this year for release of annual scores that became a fiasco a year ago. District administrators were initially told to expect school scores Sept. 24. Then state officials emailed them to say public release was delayed to Oct. 1. Eller said the department has communicated via email as the process evolves. “Since the 2013-14 (score) is the first year that impacts educator evaluations, the department wants to ensure schools have adequate time to review their information for accuracy,” he said.
Overdue school performance scores will remain in limbo through the end of the month pending verification from the state Department of Education, spokesman Tim Eller said. “We're hopeful that the (profiles) will be released in the next few weeks,” Eller said this week, “but we want to make sure every school has an opportunity to check their information and make corrections if necessary.” It's the latest in a series of delays this year for release of annual scores that became a fiasco a year ago. District administrators were initially told to expect school scores Sept. 24. Then state officials emailed them to say public release was delayed to Oct. 1. Eller said the department has communicated via email as the process evolves. “Since the 2013-14 (score) is the first year that impacts educator evaluations, the department wants to ensure schools have adequate time to review their information for accuracy,” he said.
Education funding group hears
local testimony at Perkiomen Valley
By Frank Otto, The Mercury POSTED: 10/16/14,
6:36 PM EDT |
PERKIOMEN >> Members of the Basic Education Funding
Commission met with local school superintendents Thursday at Perkiomen Valley
High School
“We’ve been statewide,” Vereb said of the commission. “What
we’ve heard from multiple superintendents is our non-taxable properties,
special education, transportation; they’re the same issues coming up. It’s a
matter of how do we tackle those issues moving forward.”
In addition to Perkiomen Valley Superintendent Cliff Rogers,
superintendents from Spring-Ford Area (David Goodin), Methacton (David Zerbe),
Norristown Area (Janet Samuels), Phoenixville Area (Alan Fegley),
Hatboro-Horsham (Curtis Griffin) and North Penn (Curtis Dietrich) gave
testimonies to the commission in the high school’s auditorium.
Superintendents: School
funding inadequate
Doylestown Intelligencer By Gary Weckselblatt Staff Writer Posted: Thursday,
October 16, 2014 6:30 pm | Updated:
7:53 pm, Thu Oct 16, 2014.
As school superintendents testified before the commonwealth's
Basic Education Funding Commission on Thursday, a consistent theme was echoed
through their pleas to lawmakers — state funding of basic education is
inadequate. And most of the officials
were not from financially distressed school systems. They represented suburban
districts that would be considered well-off financially. Curtis Griffin of Hatboro-Horsham, whose
district recently received a credit upgrade, said "our financial future is
bleak" because of the burden placed on local taxpayers. "I find that
the current public school funding is inadequate, inequitable, unfair, unpredictable
and unsustainable," he said. Curtis
Dietrich of North Penn, Montgomery
County
State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151, who represents the communities
that fill those districts, said the funding is "hardly living up to our
constitutional obligation to our students."
School superintendents
describe bleak funding landscape to Pa.
JESSICA PARKS, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Thursday, October 16, 2014, 6:45 PM POSTED: Thursday,
October 16, 2014, 6:38 PM
Seven Montgomery County school superintendents testified Thursday
before Pennsylvania 's
Basic Education Funding Commission in Collegeville, describing years of
declining funds and increasing costs, program and staff cuts, and unpredictable
allocations from the state.
"Our financial future is bleak. We cannot continue to
increase . . . this burden on the local taxpayer and our local business
representatives," Hatboro-Horsham Superintendent Curtis Griffin said,
calling the state funding system inequitable and unsustainable. Griffin conceded that his district, like many
others in well-off Montgomery County, aren't struggling in the same way as
districts such as Philadelphia, where low funding has become an existential
threat. For suburban districts, the
larger problem is an over reliance on homeowners to foot the school bills.
Storify: Education Funding
Commission hearing at PV, 10-16-14
Storify by Frank Otto October 16, 2014
The Basic Education Funding Commission tasked with coming
up with a new formula for state education funding arrived for a hearing in Perkiomen
Valley and heard testimony from a host of local superintendents.
We don't need to reinvent the wheel.....
Funding Formulas in Other
States
Education Commission of the States Powerpoint for October 16,
2014 Basic Education Funding Commission Hearing presented by Mike Griffith of
ECS
Basic Education Funding
Commission Public Hearing Thursday, October 16, 2014
Basic Education Funding Commission website October 16, 2014
Other State Formulas
& Weights, Level of Local Support, and Taxing Capacity
Video of this hearing has not been posted yet - there are links
to the agenda and testimony.
SRC listens to anger for
hours, after thousands protest contract cancellaton
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 16, 2014 11:37 PM
A massive crowd gathered outside District headquarters to
support protesting teachers.
For nearly three hours Thursday night, the School Reform
Commission listened to harsh and bitter criticism of its move last week to
cancel its contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and
unliaterally change health benefits for the union's 11,500 members.
The SRC's first meeting since its Oct. 6 action followed a demonstration outside District
headquarters that drew what police estimated as upwards of 3,000 angry teachers
and their supporters, who listened to speeches, chanted, and vowed labor
solidarity. Inside the meeting, SRC
members were lectured by more than 50 teachers, parents, legislators and one
student. Alfredo Practico of Masterman
Middle School
Thousands join street protest
before raucous SRC meeting
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM AND AUBREY WHELAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS LAST UPDATED: Friday,
October 17, 2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Thursday, October 16, 2014, 10:29 PM
Furious over the Philadelphia School Reform Commission's move
to unilaterally cancel its teachers' contract, 3,000 people shut down North
Broad Street on Thursday, vowing more disruptive action if the panel's action
is not undone. The eyes of the nation
are on Philadelphia ,
said American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, in town for a
massive rally held before an SRC meeting.
"Philly is ground zero for injustice," Weingarten told the
crowd of sign-waving teachers, counselors, nurses, and supporters. "The
SRC has become a morally bankrupt institution." "We're not rolling over and we're not
taking it," said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of
Teachers. Joined by the Pennsylvania
Department of Education, the SRC filed a motion for declaratory judgment Oct. 6
in Commonwealth Court
to affirm its action, taken to save $54 million by making PFT members pay
toward their health benefits. The union is expected to file a counter-motion
shortly.
Future of York City
One thing is clear after the York City
Each of the district's nine board members expressed doubt
Wednesday that a charter company could solve the district's financial and
academic problems — even the two members who voted in favor of chief recovery
officer David Meckley's proposal to split operation of the district's eight
buildings between traditional administrators and Charter Schools USA next year.
Greased lightning for a good
cause
Auto-body
students in Chesco repairing a car to be given to a man in need.
KRISTIN E. HOLMES, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER POSTED: Friday, October 17, 2014,
1:08 AM
It turns out that Chester
County
High-income residents, expensive cars, and winding rural roads
add up to a lucrative place for collision-repair specialists to make six-figure
salaries. And 45 students at Technical
College High School (TCHS) Brandywine are on
their way there, learning the magic of making dents - or worse - disappear. But
along the way, the teens are doing a good deed.
Students at the Downingtown school are the first high schoolers in the
nation to participate in a program that repairs older vehicles to be donated to
needy families and charitable groups. The
students are part of Recycle Rides, a seven-year-old program of the National
Auto Body Council that has insurance companies, paint suppliers, parts vendors,
and collision repairers collaborating to not only fix up a car, but also give
it away.
Education issues highlight
57th House District race
Trib Live By Kari Andren Friday, Oct. 17, 2014, 12:01 a.m.
Education funding is the top issue for candidates seeking to represent part of Westmoreland County in the state House. Three-term Rep. Tim Krieger, R-Delmont, will square off against Democratic challenger Donna McClelland, a Greensburg attorney, on Nov. 4 for the district comprising Delmont, Greensburg, Hunker, New Stanton, Salem, South Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg, Youngwood and parts of Hempfield. Krieger, 53, said reining in pension costs, particularly for school districts, is crucial to alleviate school budget pressures. “When you take a look at local districts, there's substantial state funding there,” Krieger said. “School district budgets are getting more tight and will continue to get more tight until we address the problem.”
Education funding is the top issue for candidates seeking to represent part of Westmoreland County in the state House. Three-term Rep. Tim Krieger, R-Delmont, will square off against Democratic challenger Donna McClelland, a Greensburg attorney, on Nov. 4 for the district comprising Delmont, Greensburg, Hunker, New Stanton, Salem, South Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg, Youngwood and parts of Hempfield. Krieger, 53, said reining in pension costs, particularly for school districts, is crucial to alleviate school budget pressures. “When you take a look at local districts, there's substantial state funding there,” Krieger said. “School district budgets are getting more tight and will continue to get more tight until we address the problem.”
After founder loses court
case, 600 students face expulsion from Philly's Palmer charter
WHYY Newsworks BY BILL
HANGLEY, FOR WHYY OCTOBER 16, 2014
Usually, charter schools hold lotteries to decide who will
attend. But one school is scheduled to hold a lottery Thursday night to find
out who will have to leave. A forced
enrollment cut is just one of many problems faced by the Walter
D. Palmer
Charter School
in Philadelphia 's
Northern Liberties. A pioneer of the
local school choice movement, Walter Palmer has for years overenrolled his
charter school, hoping to force the Philadelphia
School District
Philly students disrupt
anti-union film screening at school district HQ
WHYY Newsworks COMMENTARY BY WALEED SHAHID OCTOBER 16, 2014 ESSAYWORKS
Yesterday evening, students from the Philadelphia Student Union disrupted
ascreening at the School District headquarters of “Won’t
Back Down,” a film largely critical of teachers unions and supportive of charter
school development. The
students sat silently in the first few rows of the auditorium, only to break
out of their seats about 20 minutes into the film to sit in front of the screen
and clap and chant in support of a fair funding formula and against the recent
decision by the School Reform Commission to cancel the teachers’ union contract. Members of the surprised audience took out
their cell phones and began filming the students while event organizers
scrambled around the auditorium attempting to control the situation.
Diversity rising in Lancaster County
Across the road from New
Holland Elementary
School America ,"
Bob Hollister says. But the Eastern Lancaster County
School District
"Three years after the New York Times exposé, K12 appears to finally be taking a
step away from virtual charter school operation — not because it is bowing to
critics’ continuing complaints, but because virtual charters are no longer the
lucrative or growing business they once were."
K12 Inc: The Beginning Of The
End For Controversial For-Profit Charter Schools
K12 Inc. may be
shifting its focus away from managing online charter schools, a business that
has made it the subject of harsh criticism.posted on Oct. 15, 2014, at 5:00 p.m.
Molly Hensley-Clancy BuzzFeed Staff October 15, 2014
For years, the core business of the education company K12 Inc.
has been mired in controversy. The company essentially invented the business of
operating for-profit virtual charter schools, using public education funds to
run free online elementary and high schools in 29 states — and to generate
millions of dollars of profits. K12
schools became known for dismal academic results, high turnover rates, and
profit-maximizing tactics that involved charging school districts for students
who left the school within months. A 2011 New York Times investigation into
the company, which K12 strongly disputed, was followed by a major shareholder
lawsuit, causing the company’s stock to plummet. Investor Whitney Tilson, an
outspoken advocate of education reform, announced that K12 was his largest
short position, releasing apresentation that detailed a raft of further violations
by the company’s charter schools.
State and District Leaders
Vow to Reduce Testing, Stick With Yearly Assessments
Education Week Curriculum Matters Blog By Liana Heitin on October 15, 2014 1:00 PM
UPDATED State school chiefs and leaders from big-city
districts committed to reviewing the array of assessments students take in
schools and eliminating redundant tests, but they also made clear that they
will not back away from annual standardized testing. At a conference call this afternoon,
representatives from the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Council
of the Great City Schools acknowledged widespread concerns about the frequency and quality of tests being
administered in public schools, and said they will take steps to ensure the
tests used are in students' best interests.
"Education experts said Mr. Deasy’s resignation was
part of a broader pattern, partly because change-minded leaders may have pushed
too hard without securing the commitment of the teachers who would be
responsible for making the modifications in their classrooms. “There are a lot
of places where I think it’s been pressed as far as it can go,” said Gary
Orfield, professor of education and co-director of the Civil Rights Project at
University of California, Los Angeles, referring to many of the latest changes.
“And I hope there will be something new emerging. We have to be sensitive to
teachers, and they have to be involved if these reforms are ever going to actually
work.”
Deasy
Resigns as Los Angeles Schools Chief After Mounting Criticism
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH OCT.
16, 2014
In a sign of the powerful resistance that big-city school
chiefs face in trying to make sweeping changes, John E. Deasy, superintendent
of the Los Angeles
Unified School
District California judge ruled that tenure protection laws deprived students of
their basic right to an education and violated their civil rights.
New website offers closer
look into candidate' views on public education
PSBA NEWS RELEASE 10/6/2014
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) has created a
new website for its members and the general public to get a closer look into
candidates' views on public education leading up to the 2014 election for the
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Following
the primary elections, PSBA sent out a six-question questionnaire to all
Pennsylvania House and Senate candidates competing for seats in the November
election. Candidates are listed by
House, Senate seat and county. Districts can be found by visiting the 'Find My
Legislator' link (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/).
Features include:
·
Candidate images, if provided
·
Candidates are tagged by political party and
seat for which they are running
·
Candidates who did not respond are indicated by
"Responses not available."
Visit the site by going to
http://psbacandidateforum.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the link tweeted out
by @PSBAadvocate.
Candidates wishing to complete the questionnaire before
election day may do so by contacting Sean
Crampsie (717-506-2450, x-3321).
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=8650#sthash.1vGGRff4.dpuf
Register Now – 2014 PASCD Annual
Conference – November 23 – 25, 2014
Please join us for the 2014 PASCD Annual Conference, “Leading
an Innovative Culture for Learning – Powered by Blendedschools Network” to
be held November 23-25 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in
Hershey, PA. Featuring Keynote Speakers: David Burgess - - Author
of "Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your
Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator", Dr. Bart Rocco,
Bill Sterrett - ASCD author, "Short on Time: How do I Make
Time to Lead and Learn as a Principal?" and Ron Cowell.
This annual conference features small group sessions (focused
on curriculum, instructional, assessment, blended learning and middle level
education) is a great opportunity to stay connected to the latest approaches
for cultural change in your school or district. Join us for PASCD
2014! Online registration is available by visiting www.pascd.org
Upcoming PA Basic Education
Funding Commission Meetings*
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 11
AM, Community College of Allegheny County
West Campus, Pittsburgh
Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 10 AM, Lancaster
Tuesday, November 18 & 19, 2014, Philadelphia
Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 10 AM, East Stroudsburg
Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 10 AM - 12:00 PM, Lancaster
* meeting times and locations subject to changehttp://basiceducationfundingcommission.pasenategop.com/
West Campus, Pittsburgh
Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 10 AM, Lancaster
Tuesday, November 18 & 19, 2014, Philadelphia
Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 10 AM, East Stroudsburg
Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 10 AM - 12:00 PM, Lancaster
* meeting times and locations subject to changehttp://basiceducationfundingcommission.pasenategop.com/
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, 19103
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
Philadelphia has one of the worst childhood asthma rates in the
country. We need more nurses in Philadelphia's schools to aid children
suffering from this and other health issues. Join us to discuss Pennsylvania
laws governing nursing services.
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
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)
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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