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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October
29, 2014:
Power
Players Behind the Corporate Takeover of Pennsylvania Schools
New F&M poll finds
Corbett still behind, but gaining ground on Wolf
With just a few days left before voters head to the ballot box,
a new poll shows that Gov. Tom Corbett is closing the gap his Democratic
challenger Tom Wolf has held for months.
A Franklin & Marshall College
The survey shows 53 percent of likely voters backing Wolf and
40 percent supporting Corbett. Compare that to a September F&M poll that
had the candidates separated by 20 points, with Corbett’s support at 34
percent. Pollster G. Terry Madonna said
the big boost of support comes from those within the Republican Party.
F&M poll: October 2014
A week before election day,
Corbett still trails Wolf in latest F&M poll
Penn Live By Christian Alexandersen | calexandersen@pennlive.com on
October 29, 2014 at 5:01 AM
Gov. Tom Corbett has gained some ground against Democratic challenger
Tom Wolf, but he has a long way to go to convince voters to return
him to office next Tuesday, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by Franklin & Marshall College's Center
for Opinion Research and released Wednesday morning, shows Wolf with a 13-point
lead over Corbett among self-reported likely voters and an 18-point lead among
registered voters.
"After the Nov. 4 elections, several House Republicans
could jockey for the position. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Bradford
Woods, is a potential candidate, along with Caucus Secretary Mike Vereb,
R-Montgomery, and Dave Reed, R-Indiana, chair of the House Majority Policy
Committee. All three are opposed to a
severance tax."
Leadership fight in Pa.
General Assembly could impact energy industry
It is likely the
energy industry could find more allies in leadership positions in the General
Assembly after the Nov. 4 election.
By Michael Sanserino / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette October 28, 2014 2:30 AM
The upcoming Pennsylvania House and Senate elections likely
will do little to change the balance of power in either chamber
— Republicans are expected to continue to control both. But there is a
chance both chambers could see new leaders, which could have implications for
the energy industry in the state. If
anything, it is likely the energy industry could find more allies in leadership
positions in the General Assembly. Republicans
in the House will elect a new leader after Speaker of the House Sam Smith,
R-Jefferson, announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. And
some Senate Republicans have lashed out at current Majority Leader Dominic
Pileggi, upset that the Republican from Delaware County Delaware
County Philadelphia suburbs and Lehigh Valley
Yes there's more money for
education - because the locals are paying for it: Don Bell
PennLive Op-Ed By Don Bell on October 28, 2014 at 12:00
PM
Don Bell is the
superintendent of schools for the Northern
Lebanon School
District
On one hand, we hear that public education is being financed by
the taxpayers of Pennsylvania
at its highest level ever. On the other
hand, we hear that funding has been cut by $1 billion dollars. The question is
which is right and which is wrong. The answer is that both are right and both
are wrong. Get ready for some Common
Core Mathematics.
You know the names: Gureghian, Yass, Greenberg,
Dantchick, K12, Inc., Trombetta, ALEC, Commonwealth Foundation, DeVos, American
Federation for Children……
Power
Players Behind the Corporate Takeover of Pennsylvania Schools
Center for Media and Democracy Report
October 2014
Here's a related Keystone
State
Follow the Money: Who gave/received
school privatization contributions in Pennsylvania
Six millionaires and billionaires contributed
$1,482,604 to privatize democratically-governed Pennsylvania
Open
Records Office orders release of education secretary emails
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette October 28, 2014 12:00 AM
The state Office of Open Records has ordered the state
Department of Education to release the emails of acting state Education
Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq, granting an appeal that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
filed. The office issued its final
determination Friday. The department has 30 days to appeal to Commonwealth Court . On Aug. 5, the Post-Gazette and two of its
reporters, Mary Niederberger and Bill Schackner, asked for all of the acting
secretary’s emails “as they pertain to the performance of her duties” since she
was appointed on Aug. 25, 2013.
The request came after Ms. Dumaresq cited a department practice
of purging emails each evening as the reason her department released only five
emails authored by Ron Tomalis, the governor’s special adviser on higher
education, during his first year in the position. Mr. Tomalis resigned in
August.
Faced with deficit, Scranton
Although the Scranton
School District
A week away from being presented with the proposed 2015 budget,
school directors spent part of Monday’s work session discussing other ways to
balance the budget. President Lyn Ruane
asked for a list of administrators and salaries, as well as job descriptions to
determine whether any roles are duplicated. State law allows for teacher
layoffs if there is a decline in enrollment or cuts to programs. Director Cy
Douaihy said teacher layoffs are not likely because enrollment is up and he and
other directors are against cutting programs.
Legal battle between SRC and
PFT heads to Commonwealth Court
A local judge made her injunction against benefit
changes permanent. The District has appealed.
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 28, 2014 12:06 PM Updated | 2:30
p.m.
The legal battle over whether the School Reform Commission can
impose benefit changes on teachers has shifted to Commonwealth Court , which could hear
arguments in the dispute as early as December.
On Monday, Common Pleas Court Judge Nina Wright Padilla made an injunction permanent that delays
any benefit changes until the matter is resolved in court, and the District appealed that ruling to Commonwealth Court . Both sides said they are pleased by the
outcome of the latest legal maneuvers.
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, October 29,
2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 5:05 PM
Can the Philadelphia School Reform Commission cancel union
contracts? The question now rests in the hands of Commonwealth Court . As a result of an agreement reached in the
last week, a Common Pleas Court
judge has permanently enjoined the Philadelphia
School District
Both sides called the order a victory Tuesday: District
officials said it was a fast track to Commonwealth
Court in Harrisburg ,
the venue it prefers, widely viewed as more favorable to the SRC's viewpoint.
Parents spar angrily with
founder of closing charter school in N.E. Philly
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY OCTOBER 28, 2014
Ex-district officials: Cheltenham in 'dire straits'
KATHY BOCCELLA, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER POSTED: Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 6:08
PM
Saying that a stream of employees had left, been transferred,
or forced out under the new superintendent, 25 former Cheltenham school board
directors, teachers, PTO presidents, and current residents warned in a letter
to the school board that the district "is in dire straits and that there
is a failure of leadership." The
signers, including a retired principal, wrote that they talked to dozens of
teachers who say "there is fear and intimidation and misinformation being
promulgated" under Superintendent Natalie Thomas.
Class itself a brand new
model
Sharon Herald By JOE PINCHOT | Herald Staff
Writer | Posted 21 hours ago
HERMITAGE – Lisa Evans had a couple of months to create
something out of nothing.
It was too much time. “I
just couldn’t wait,” said Evans, the teacher at the Enterpreneurship Academy Workforce Development Center
Eleven civil rights groups
urge Obama to drop test-based K-12 ‘accountability’ system
Eleven national civil rights groups sent a letter Tuesday to
President Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and congressional leaders
saying that the current standardized test-based “accountability system” for
K-12 education ignores “critical supports and services” children need to
succeed and discourages “schools from providing a rich curriculum for all
students focused on the 21st century skills they need to acquire.” The
groups make recommendations on how to revamp the system in a way that would
improve educational opportunity and equity for students of color. The letter comes a time of growing resistance
to accountability systems based on standardized test scores among educators,
parents, principals and superintendents. The Obama administration has expressed
some support for the idea that districts and states should review their testing
systems but has not said it would change federal mandates that help drive what
districts and states do.
Toward Better Teachers
New York Times Opinion by Frank Bruni OCT.
28, 2014
More than halfway through Joel Klein’s forthcoming book on his
time as the chancellor of New York
City ’s public schools, he zeros in on what he calls
“the biggest factor in the education equation.”
It’s not classroom size, school choice or the Common Core. It’s “teacher quality,” he writes, adding
that “a great teacher can rescue a child from a life of struggle.”
We keep coming back to this. As we wrestle with the urgent,
dire need to improve education — for the sake of social mobility, for the sake
of our economic standing in the world — the performance of teachers inevitably
draws increased scrutiny. But it remains one of the trickiest subjects to
broach, a minefield of hurt feelings and vested interests.
Klein knows the minefield better than most. As chancellor from
the summer of 2002 through the end of 2010, he oversaw the largest public
school system in the country, and did so for longer than any other New York schools chief
in half a century.
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
Children with Autism - Who’s Eligible? How to get ABA services?
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 1:00 – 4:00 P.M.
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
United Way Building 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway,
Philadelphia, 19103
Join us on November 19th, 2014 to discuss eligibility services for children with Autism. This
session will teach parents, teachers, social workers and attorneys how to
obtain Applied Behavioral Analysis services for children on the autism
spectrum. Presenters include Sonja Kerr (Law Center), Rachel Mann
(Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania), Dr. Lisa Blaskey (The Children's
Hospital of Pennsylvania), and David Gates (PA Health Law Project).
Registration: bit.ly/1sOY6jX
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
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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