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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October
18, 2014:
27 Lehigh Valley
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
27 Lehigh Valley
By Adam Clark,Of The Morning Call October 17, 2014
“The charter school
concept is a caterpillar that never became a butterfly.”
The concerns raised Friday by Allentown School District
Superintendent Russ Mayo weren't new.
Charter schools are costing taxpayers extra money, Mayo said.
Board members are not. And their scores on average are lower than those of
traditional public schools.
But rather than Mayo expressing these worries himself during a
school board meeting, a coalition of 27 Lehigh Valley
At a news conference at the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in
Palmer Township, superintendents from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and
Pike counties released a four-page document titled "The Cost of School
Choice: Time for a Change in Charter School Legislation."
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-lehigh-valley-superintendents-charter-schools-20141017-story.html
By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times on October 17, 2014
at 3:35 PM, updated October 17, 2014 at 6:10 PM
School superintendents across a five-county region want Pennsylvania taxpayers
to know the "true cost" of public school choice. Twenty-seven superintendents from Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Pike and Monroe counties gathered Friday to call for
reforms and highlight flaws they see in the state's charter and cyber school
laws.
Superintendents are increasingly concerned about the additional
cost to taxpayers, the lack of accountability and transparency in charter
schools and poor test scores, said Allentown
schools Superintendent Russell Mayo. Charter
and cyber schools in Pennsylvania
were established in 1997 to encourage innovation and efficiency in public
schools.
"We have 17 years of history now, and we can say that the
good intentions of this legislation have gone astray," Mayo said.
"The spread of innovation is uneven at best, and the efficiencies just don't
exist."
A score of 70 is considered passing
PA Cyber Charter School
Pennsylvania School Performance Profile
Website (2012-2013)
Pennsylvania Department of Education
21st Century Cyber
CS
66.5
Achievement House
CS
39.7
Agora Cyber
CS
48.3
Aspira Bilingual Cyber
CS
29.0
Commonwealth Connections Academy CS
54.6
Esperanza Cyber CS
32.7
PA Learners Online Regional Cyber CS
45.0
Solomon
CS
36.9
Susq-Cyber
CS
46.4
He'll regroup after board's rejection of
district-charter mix
By Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1
on Twitter UPDATED: 10/16/2014 11:42:01 PM EDT
The state-appointed recovery officer for the York City School District
"Certainly my goal was to have board cooperation and
consensus, so ... I'm going to spend the next couple of days rethinking,"
Meckley said Thursday.
State education spokesman Tim Eller said that the board's vote
doesn't mean there would be an immediate move for receivership, which is an
option in the recovery law. He said the ultimate goal is for the board to
maintain control and make positive change.
Lawsuit seeks to prevent
charter conversion in York
City
A complaint filed alleges the recovery plan isn't being
followed correctly
By Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1
on Twitter UPDATED: 10/17/2014 07:46:38 PM EDT
As district officials consider the next steps for the York City
School District
FOX43.com POSTED 11:14 PM, OCTOBER 15, 2014, BY MELANIE ORLINS
The York City School Board has decided to forgo charter schools
and continue as a traditionally run school district. This decision comes after
months of debate over whether to move to a fully chartered district. The public
comment of Wednesday night’s meeting started at 7 o’clock and went on for more
than two hours. When the board finally came to a vote the
board president said, “You have saved the best for last. They will not turn us
into guinea pigs, we will not be run by charter schools.” Chief recovery officer, David Meckley has
recommended a district that is 100% charter run by the company, Charter Schools USA
Phila. PFT files legal
response to SRC's contract cancellation
By thenotebook on Oct 17, 2014 11:22 AM
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has filed a multi-pronged response to the School Reform Commission's
move to cancel its contract. Primarily,
the union is challenging the District's gambit of going directly to Commonwealth Court
with its action, bypassing the traditional labor relations process for settling
contract disputes. The PFT is responding with motions to Commonwealth Court , the local Court of
Common Pleas, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, and the American
Arbitration Association. “We feel the
SRC’s attack last week was not only cowardly and disrespectful, but lacking
legal merit,” said PFT president Jerry Jordan in a statement.
Debating teacher insurance
costs is a distraction from the big picture
WHYY Newswoprks COMMENTARY BY DAUN KAUFFMAN OCTOBER 17, 2014 ESSAYWORKS
The "big picture" problem with debating in the press
about who pays what for Philadelphia
teacher health insurance costs is that we are debating a tiny tip of the
iceberg.
Of course the SRC wants to focus public discussion on this tiny
tip, but not on the iceberg — where teachers earn a base salary 20 percent
below their suburban counterparts, while teaching in a more complex context
with fewer resources. A deceptively incomplete picture, and a dishonorable way
for SRC to publically bully teachers. Since it wasn't offered in rational
negotiations, the SRC is very willing to take salary back by force — in a
sense, like the bully who "needs" your lunch money.
The public conversation should instead, openly and honestly,
incorporate the holistic contract to maintain perspective:
·
Base salaries $10,000 to $20,000 below market.
·
Three years (in March) without a raise.
·
Class sizes 40 percent to 50 percent-plus higher
than elementary schools elsewhere, and those larger classes including more
deeply injured kids — and without necessary counselors, nurses NTA, SSAs.
·
Add another $xxx out-of-pocket cost for
supplies, basic office supplies (and the personal time to procure) — plus, in
my own case, costs (and personal time again) to build a $5,000 classroom
library. Now we have a clearer picture.
The Path Least Taken: At a
Glance
Center for Public Education by Jim Hull September 2014
In recent years, there’s been a focus among states to establish
standards that prepare students for college and careers. All too often,
however, the discussion surrounding these standards largely focuses on college,
and even more narrowly, four-year institutions. As a result, many have called
for resources to be redirected to those high school students who have no
intention of continuing their studies at college, let alone a four-year
university. Thus, the thinking goes, high schools that are single-minded in
preparing students for college, potentially alienate a swath of students who
have no desire for post-secondary education in their future. But is such
conventional wisdom accurate? Is college a distant thought for many high school
graduates? Is a high school diploma the last educational milestone for a large
number of graduating seniors?
Not quite.
Not quite.
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
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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