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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for
November 18, 2014:
Even when you compare cyber
charters to high-poverty traditional schools & high-poverty charter
schools, they still underperform
PA Basic Education
Funding Commission Hearing Tuesday 1:00 pm and Wednesday 10 am Phila. City Hall
Courtroom 676
Philadelphia City Council Hearings on
High-stakes Testing and the Opt-Out Movement, Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 3—5
PM
Education Committee of Philadelphia City Council
Wednesday, November 19,
2014, 3—5 PM, Room 400 City Hall
"Even when you compare the cyber
charters to high-poverty traditional schools and high-poverty charter schools,
they still underperform," said Kate Shaw, RFA's executive director.
Pa cyber charters again get
low marks on state tests
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY NOVEMBER 17, 2014
A new
study by Research for Action has found that Pennsylvania 's cyber-charter sector
continues to yield subpar results on the state's standardized tests.
Using the state's recently released school performance profile
data for 2013-14, RFA found the average School Performance Profile score for
the cyber-charter sector was 48.9 – well below the averages for the state's
brick and mortar charters and traditional public schools.
To date, no cyber charter has earned a SPP of 70 or higher, the
state Department of Education's quality threshold. The department is now reviewing three
applications for new cyber charters. Last year the department, which hasn't
approved a new cyber charter since 2013, rejected eight applicants. While the report says the school performance
profile system is "suspect due to its heavy reliance on test scores that
are highly correlated with socioeconomic characteristics," it notes that
cybers perform poorly even when compared with the state's most impoverished
public schools.
RFA Updates Analysis on Cyber
Charter Performance
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is
considering three new applications for cyber charter schools. With the release
earlier this month of the state’s new School Performance Profile (SPP) scores,
RFA has updated our November 2013 analysis of the performance and oversight of
the cyber charter sector.
With regard to performance, much remains the same. Cyber
schools continue to lag far behind both traditional public and charter schools
on the state’s performance measure. Average cyber performance also trails
behind the average performance for the state’s highest poverty school
buildings, which tend to face the greatest challenges in meeting state
performance standards. Importantly, we could not replicate the intra-year
enrollment analysis for 2013-14, as this information is no longer available in
the annual reports for any Pennsylvania
cyber charter schools. The consistently
poor performance by cyber charters on state assessments deserves attention,
especially in light of the enrollment growth (36,000 and counting) in the sector.
Policymakers and stakeholders should review these analyses carefully as
consideration is given to expanding this sector."
Policy
Brief: Revisiting Cyber Charter Performance
Research for Action by John
Sludden and Lucas Westmass Novermber 2014
The Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE) is currently reviewing applications for three
new cyber charter schools. This
development, along with the state’s release of new School
Performance Profile (SPP)
scores, makes this a fitting time to update Research for Action’s
(RFA’s) November 2013 analysis
of the performance and oversight of the sector.
Our 2013 review found:
Cyber charters were
consistently among the very lowest performing schools, as
measured by the state’s SPP
scores.
Just five of 16 Pennsylvania cyber
charter schools operating at that point publicly
reported annual student
enrollment and withdrawal data. These five schools had higher
student transfer rates than any
brick and mortar charters with comparable available
data (87 schools).
Our findings in Pennsylvania reflect
national trends. A 2014 report on virtual schools in the U.S.
by the National Education
Policy Center
noted that despite growth in online education
nationally, “there is little
high-quality research to support the practice or call for expanding
virtual schools.”i
This updated analysis shows that
cyber schools continue to lag far behind both traditional public
and charter schools on the
state’s performance measure, and average cyber performance trails
behind the average performance
for the state’s highest poverty school buildings, which tend to
face the greatest challenges in
meeting state performance standards. Importantly, we could not
replicate the intra-year
enrollment analysis for 2013-14, as this information is no longer
available in the annual reports
for any Pennsylvania
cyber charter schools.
Pennsylvania Department
of Education Cyber Charter
School Performance
Profile Scores for 2013 and 2014
A score of 70 is considered passing. No cyber charter
achieved a score of 70 in either year. Additionally, most cybers never
made AYP under No Child Left Behind during the period 2005 thru 2012.
Here are the 2013 and 2014 SPP scores for Pennsylvania ’s cyber
charter schools:
School 2013 2014
21st Century Cyber
CS 66.5 66.0
Achievement House
CS
39.7 37.5
Agora Cyber
CS 48.3 42.4
ASPIRA Bilingual CS
29.0 39.0
Commonwealth Connections Academy CS 54.6 52.2
Esperanza Cyber CS
32.7 47.7
Solomon Charter School
Inc.
36.9
Susq-Cyber
CS
46.4 42.4
Most cybers
never made AYP…..
PA Cyber Charter PSSA AYP
2005 - 2012 from PDE
Of 12 PA cyber charters -only 1 made AYP for 2012 only 2 made
AYP for 2011 while 8 were in corrective action status.
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/11/pa-cyber-charter-pssa-ayp-2007-2011.html
Testing: How Much Is Too Much?
NPR.org by ANYA KAMENETZ November 17, 2014 8:03 AM ET
"In some places, tests – and preparation for them – are
dominating the calendar and culture of schools and causing undue stress for
students and educators."
The quote comes not from an angry parent or firebrand school
leader but from Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Of course, he's the guy
currently in charge of a big chunk of those tests: the No Child Left Behind
requirement of annual standardized testing in grades 3-8, plus once in grades
10-12. And those tests are just the
start. Lately everyone from the president on down has been weighing in on the
question: Are kids really being tested too much? And their answer, mostly, is a
big "Yes." President Obama
said last month that he "welcomes" a pledge from state and big-city
school leaders to work together to "cut back on unnecessary testing and
test preparation." The groups, the
Council of Chief State School Officers and the Council of the Great City
Schools, announced
the initial results of an attempt to quantify the current state of
testing in America . Their survey of large districts showed
students taking an average of 113 standardized tests between pre-K and grade
12, with 11th grade the most tested.
"Johnson pointed to a study by Shippensburg University professor Winston Cleland
that compares individual schools' academic scores with the percentage of kids
in the school who qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches, an indication of
poverty. The study finds that low school
scores are "very highly correlated" with poverty – with smaller
schools faring slightly better even with higher poverty rates, Johnson said."
Central Dauphin
superintendent blasts 'report card' approach to School Performance Profiles
Penn Live By Marijon Shearer |
Special to PennLive on November 17, 2014 at 11:45 PM,
updated November 17, 2014 at 11:46 PM
Addressing the Central Dauphin School Board Monday,
Superintendent Carol Johnson followed a Pennsylvania Department of Education
slideshow outlining 2013-2014
school performance scores with her own assessment of the
shortfalls of the scoring system.
The assessment system was supposed to improve on a prior
test-based system, she said, but, "The lion's share of the school
performance profile is still based on one high-stakes test."
Johnson pointed to a study byShippensburg
University professor
Winston Cleland that compares individual schools' academic scores with the
percentage of kids in the school who qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches,
an indication of poverty. The study
finds that low school scores are "very highly correlated" with
poverty – with smaller schools faring slightly better even with higher poverty
rates, Johnson said.
Johnson pointed to a study by
Newsmaker: Shauna
D'Alessandro received the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association's Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award
By Megan Harris Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, 12:01 a.m. Updated
7 hours ago
Noteworthy: D'Alessandro received the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association's Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award, which recognizes
outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public
education.
Age: 58 Residence: Jefferson Hills
Background: D'Alessandro joined the West Jefferson Hills
School Board in 2003 and serves as president for the Allegheny Intermediate
Unit's Board of Directors. From 2007 to 2010, she was a member of the South
Hills Area School District Association. She served as president of the
association's board from 2009 to 2010. She also is a graduate of Leadership
Pittsburgh Class XXVI.
Education: Bachelor's degree in business
management/accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Quote: “I am honored and privileged to receive this award,
especially because Mr. Allwein was a mentor to me. He taught many of us how to
advocate for children. And whenever he entered a room, whether he was an ally
or an adversary on an issue, he was respected and liked.”
Pottstown Mercury EDITORIAL: Pa. school funding
formula denies equal education
POSTED: 11/14/14, 5:27 PM EST | UPDATED: 3 DAYS
AGO
The William Penn School District
in Delaware County let the rest of the state in on
something their students, teachers and parents already know. Pennsylvania ’s
formula for doling out education funding is unfair. Every day when kids make the hike to school
in William Penn, it’s a decidedly uphill trudge, due in no small part to an
education funding formula that penalizes them merely by virtue of their zip
code. It is an unfair, unlevel playing
field. That’s not especially new. Even outgoing Gov. Tom Corbett, who became
the poster boy for an out-of-whack education funding system courtesy of brutal
cuts enacted in his first years in office, agrees.
That’s why earlier this year he asked the Legislature to set up
a commission to study education funding in the state and come up with
recommendations. They’ve been criss-crossing the state talking to residents,
teachers, and administrators. Their conclusions are due next year.
William Penn and five other school districts decided not to
wait for their recommendations. They went to court this week and slapped the
state Department of Education with a lawsuit, claiming the state’s current
funding allocations are “unconstitutional.”
http://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/20141116/editorial-pa-school-funding-formula-denies-equal-education
Pottstown Mercury EDITORIAL: Pa. voters sent message
on education
POSTED: 11/16/14, 11:02 AM EST |
If there is one clear message from this year’s race for
governor in Pennsylvania ,
it’s this: The way the state funds K-12 schools is neither fair nor adequate. From the Delaware River to Lake
Erie , voters saw class sizes swelling, school programs being
slashed, and teachers getting pink slips, while school districts imposed
painful property tax increases. Education was THE issue in the race and it cost
Republican Tom Corbett his job — all in a year when his party romped to
victories nationwide by running against President Obama and a disappointing
economy.
While the state underfunds schools in general, some districts
suffer a lot worse than others.
The key variable driving Pennsylvania ’s
school funding decisions is not what students need to get a good education —
it’s politics. Communities with a friend in the Legislature or Governor’s
office do better. Pennsylvania
is one of only three states that has no set formula for sending money to
schools. That ad hoc, politically-driven
system is grossly unfair, and there’s now evidence to suggest it may be
racially biased as well.
Tom Wolf on work, reforms and
driving his Jeep
JOHN BAER, DAILY
NEWS POLITICAL COLUMNIST POSTED: Monday, November 17, 2014, 3:01 AM
AFTER TOM WOLF got his doctorate from MIT, he worked at his
family-owned cabinet company - driving a forklift. That experience could soon come in handy. Estimates just released by the state's
Independent Fiscal Office say the incoming governor's first budget faces a
shortfall of nearly $2 billion. Heavy
lifting clearly is called for.
And the first question? Does digging out of a fiscal fissure
hurt or help his top priorities of seeking more money for schools and getting
more money, via a severance tax, from natural-gas drillers?
"I'm not sure it helps or hinders," Wolf says in an
interview. "I think what they [the numbers] do is promote a shared sense
of crisis" with legislative leaders.
With Tom Wolf, schools have a
second chance: Michael Crossey
PennLive
Op-Ed By Michael Crossey on
November 17, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Michael Crossey is the
elected president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association in Harrisburg .
I'm not one to put a lot of stock in opinion polls.
I'd rather talk with people, look in their eyes, and feel the
emotion in their voices.
For the past three years, I've traveled across Pennsylvania , and I've
heard thousands of people talk about the funding crisis in their public
schools. They talk about class sizes
that are too big, libraries that are closed, programs that have been cut, and
good teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and classroom aides who have
lost their jobs. I've been struck by
those conversations, because they almost always end the same way. The person
I'm talking with asks me, "Can't we do better?" And I always say the same thing. What's better: Crisis, cuts, and consequences
on our kids? Or investments that help our kids learn and succeed in life?
"Yes, we can."
If more money
comes in, it could go to things like staffing and salaries, but not to CSUSA as
a fee
York Daily Record By
Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1 on Twitter UPDATED:
11/15/2014 04:05:05 PM EST
Philadelphia’s Poverty Rate
Declined in 2013, But Not By Much
CBS By Kim Glovas
November 17, 2014 1:00 PM
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The latest figures on Philadelphia ’s poverty rate show the number
going down. But it still accounts for more than one quarter of the city’s
population.
The city’s first progress report on its fight against poverty
shows the rate was 26 percent in 2013, compared to 28 percent in 2011. But Eva Gladstein, head of the city’s Office of
Community Empowerment, says Philadelphia
is the poorest of the nation’s ten biggest cities.
“Right now the single biggest predictor of how a child will do
in life is the zip code in which they are born,” she notes. “So there are
communities with high need and less opportunity as compared to other
neighborhoods.”
District will review
applications for 40 new charter schools
the notebook November 17, 2014
The School District said
Monday that it has received applications for 40 new charter schools.
In Philadelphia ,
applications for new charter schools haven't been considered by the School
Reform Commission in seven years. But in
passing the law approving Philadelphia 's
$2-per-pack cigarette tax, state legislators included a provision that requires
the School District
of Philadelphia to open
itself to new charter applications annually, while giving rejected applicants
the chance to appeal decisions through a state board. Now that the deadline for submitting
applications has passed, the District's Charter Schools Office will start its
process for reviewing each of the applications.
According to a District release, that process will consist of three
phases.
·
Review of Applications – Review
teams comprised of reviewers with expertise in educational leadership, school
operations, curriculum, school finance, support for English language learners,
and support for students in special education will review applications. Each
review team will have a mix of School District
employees and outside experts.
·
Public hearings – Each applicant
will have an opportunity to present their proposals and answer questions from
the School District . The public hearings will
include time for public comment on the charter applications.
·
Public vote by the SRC – After the
public hearings, the SRC will vote on the charter applications at a public
action meeting.
Public hearings will be held within 45 days of the Nov. 15
application deadline, as required by state charter school law, the District
said. And the SRC will vote on each application no later than 75 days after the
hearing. All applications will be posted
publicly on the District's website, along with the schedule of the
hearings.
Here is the list of new charter school applicants.
Phila. schools see 40
applications for new charters
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER POSTED: Tuesday, November 18, 2014,
1:08 AM
Talk about pent-up demand.
After the Philadelphia
School District announced
that it would accept applications for new charter schools for the first time in
seven years, it received 40, the district said Monday.
If the School Reform Commission approves them all, the schools
eventually could add 40,341 more seats in charter schools in a district that
already has 67,000 - or more than one-third - of its students enrolled in
charters. The vast majority of the
proposals - 29 - were from operators of existing charters in the city,
including KIPP Philadelphia, Freire, Mastery, MAST, Global Leadership, Franklin
Towne, Independence ,
and Green Woods.
District receives
applications for 40 new charter schools
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 12:16 AM
AN ALL-GIRLS school, a career-and-technical academy and several
performing-arts institutions are among the 40 applications for new charter
schools submitted to the district, officials said.
The applications, submitted by last Saturday's deadline, mark
the first time since 2008 that the district has accepted new charter proposals,
a requirement of the $2 cigarette tax passed in September to provide additional
district funding. Each application will
go through a rigorous review, including public hearings and a public-comment
period, the district said. After the public hearings, the School Reform
Commission will vote publicly on the applications.
Report shows vast differences
among Pittsburgh
public schools
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette November 17, 2014 10:10 AM
A+ Schools today released its annual report to the community on
public school progress in Pittsburgh , showing
wide differences among public schools in Pittsburgh . The report includes schools operated by
Pittsburgh Public Schools as well as bricks-and-mortar charter schools located
in the city. The report shows wide
variations in teacher turnover, the percentage of teachers on staff who are
rated distinguished, the achievement of students, student absenteeism rates and
parent satisfaction.
Annual schools report shows
academic achievement down locally, across state
Trib Live By Megan
Harris Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, 9:03 a.m.
An annual report on the state of Pittsburgh Public Schools showed academic achievement declined in the district and across the state. District watchdog group A+ Schools released its 10th “Report to the Community” early Monday, which highlights trends and progress at each school.
An annual report on the state of Pittsburgh Public Schools showed academic achievement declined in the district and across the state. District watchdog group A+ Schools released its 10th “Report to the Community” early Monday, which highlights trends and progress at each school.
“We know readers are as curious as we are about what
contributes to gains as well as persistent low achievement in our schools,” the
report said. “There is no single answer.”
Schools vary widely in academic performance, and the achievement gap
between black and white students decreased slightly since 2006. Graduation rates increased between 2011 and
2013 by 8 percentage points. The percentage of students enrolled in advanced
courses increased 26 percentage points between 2012 and 2014.
YDR Editorial: No more
stalling on York
city school reform (YDR opinion)
York Daily Record
editorial UPDATED: 11/14/2014 08:35:41 AM EST
It's late in the fourth quarter. The score is tied 0-0. York city school district
teachers have the ball in the red zone. And they're running out the clock?! That strategy would outrage football fans,
and it should anger parents of city students. But there's an endgame here that
doesn't appear to involve putting the ball in the end zone or through the
uprights. York teachers and others, such as Rep. Kevin
Schreiber, D-York, want to stall movement on the district recovery process
until a new referee — Tom Wolf — takes the field. But current referee David
Meckley is still in charge, and he's calling delay of game.
By Sara K.
Satullo | The Express-Times on November 17, 2014 at 3:10 PM,
updated November 17, 2014 at 4:46 PM
The Bethlehem
Area School Board is expected to deny a charter school's request to
open a second location in a shuttered Catholic School
over concerns about the separation of church and state. Bethlehem 's
objections largely center on language in Lehigh
Valley Dual Language Charter School's lease with Saints Simon and Jude
Parish, the Catholic church that owns the school building. The South Bethlehem
charter school already operates out of a closed Catholic school on Thomas Street but
it has outgrown the space as it has added grades. The school applied this
summer to open a second building in the former Seton Academy .
Auditor General: Fairfield schools will
undergo audit in 2015
A news release cites 'significant outcry from concerned
residents' as a contributing factor in looking into the district.
Chambersburg Public
Opinion Online By Jennifer Wentz jwentz@eveningsun.com @jenni_wentz on Twitter 11/14/2014
08:27:08 PM
The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General will examine
Fairfield Area School District 's
operations in early 2015. While the
district was due to be audited in 2015, the auditor general's office decided to
push the audit to the beginning of the year in light of "significant
outcry" from concerned residents, according to a news release. "I take citizens' concerns very
seriously, and we will review all of the facts during the audit," Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale said in the release.
Auditor General Press Secretary Barry Ciccocioppo could not elaborate on
the exact nature of those concerns but said several residents called the office
or posted comments to the auditor general's Facebook and Twitter pages to ask
the office to investigate the district.
During the examination, which could take several months,
auditors will examine the district's finances, school board minutes and other
documents to check if the district is spending state funding in the most
efficient way possible, Ciccocioppo said.
Grand jury recommends
resignations of three Easton
Area School
Board members
Lehigh Valley Live By Rudy Miller
| The Express-Times on November 17, 2014 at 10:55 AM,
updated November 17, 2014 at 11:34 AM
Circumstantial evidence suggests former district technology
director Thomas Drago fed confidential information to Leonard Ellison and
former board member Janet Matthews, the jurors found. Both denied receiving
information. The jurors said Pintabone
and Fehnel weren't credible when they said they couldn't recall whether former
Superintendent Susan McGinley wanted to go to authorities over Drago spying on
other employees.
Unionville, Kennett schools
rank among elite in the nation
By Fran Maye, Daily Local News POSTED: 11/17/14,
5:14 PM EST |
EAST MARLBOROUGH>>The Unionville-Chadds Ford School
District is the 15th best school district in the nation, and Kennett
Consolidated the 42nd best, according to a national ranking agency that rates
both hard data and student surveys. In Pennsylvania ,
only Lower Merion School District ,
which placed fourth out of more than 13,000 public school districts, bested
Unionville and Kennett. The rankings
were compiled by Niche.com. The website, founded in 2002 by Carnegie Mellon
University students, has
grown into one of the largest contest startups in the country to evaluate,
among other things, colleges and school districts. “By using multiple measures to evaluate our
program, Niche has offered ratings that reflect the values of the U-CF
community as a whole,” said John Sanville, superintendent of Unionville-Chadds
Ford schools. “Since our students, staff, and families focus energies on
productive endeavors of all kinds - this honor embodies the wisdom of Henry
Ford who said If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care
of itself.”
Keeping score: Local school
scores show ups and downs
Pottstown Mercury By
Evan Brandt and Frank Otto, ebrandt@pottsmerc.com, fotto@pottsmerc.com
,@PottstownNews, fottojourno on Twitter POSTED: 11/15/14,
9:49 AM EST
More than half the schools in the Pottstown
tri-county area saw their state profile scores decline over the past year,
according to The Mercury’s analysis of results recently released by the state.
Only one district — Pottsgrove — saw more schools’ scores
increase than decline.
From a percentage standpoint, Pottstown’s Lincoln Elementary School saw the greatest year-over-year
improvement (28.08 percent) and Franklin
Elementary School , also in the Pottstown School District , saw the greatest
year-over-year decline (17.27 percent).
The Boyertown Area School District ’s
Gilbertsville Elementary
School and Spring-Ford’s Seventh Grade
Center tied as the
highest scoring schools in the region with 97.9
The scores are from the Pennsylvania School Performance Profiles, the commonwealth’s
year-old school assessment system which replaced the Annual Yearly Progress
standards set up under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
PA Cyber reviewing its
relationship with NNDS
Two years later, Trombetta had PA Cyber convey its own Lincoln
Interactive online curriculum to NNDS, which, in turn, has leased it back to PA
Cyber under a contract that pays NNDS a 12 percent fee based on PA Cyber
revenue. As PA Cyber’s revenues have
mushroomed over the past decade, the deal has netted NNDS hundreds of millions
of dollars. According to the latest available Form 990 filed by NNDS for 2012,
it received nearly $51 million from PA Cyber for curriculum and management
services, nearly 88 percent of NNDS’ total reported support of $58 million that
year. For 2011, NNDS collected $52.2
million from PA Cyber, which has annual revenue exceeding $100 million. Last
school year, PA Cyber paid NNDS $53 million, Conti said.
Conti said the 2013-14 payment for curriculum accounted for
about $38.2 million, with managed services coming in at $14.8 million, which
included a handful of NNDS employees working in PA Cyber’s business office.
F.C.C. Chief Aims to Bolster Internet for Schools
New York Times By EDWARD
WYATT NOV. 17, 2014
WASHINGTON — With a goal of
fiber-optic lines reaching to every school and a Wi-Fi connection in every
classroom, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is
expected on Monday to propose a 62 percent increase in the amount of money the
agency spends annually to wire schools and libraries with high-speed Internet
connections.
Mr. Wheeler will propose that
the annual cap on spending for school Internet needs be raised by $1.5 billion,
to $3.9 billion, according to an F.C.C. official who spoke on condition of
anonymity but was authorized to release details of the proposal. The initiative
is part of a continuing overhaul of the Universal Service Fund and its
educational component, known as E-Rate.
The new spending would lead to
an increase of roughly 16 percent in the monthly fee on consumers’ phone bills.
The fee is used to finance the Universal Service Fund, an $8.7 billion effort
that provides phone and broadband connections for low-income populations, rural
areas, and schools and libraries.
"According to cut scores approved Friday night by the
22-state consortium, 41 percent of 11th graders will show proficiency in
English/language arts, and 33 percent will do so in math. In elementary and
middle school, 38 percent to 44 percent will meet the proficiency mark in
English/language arts, and 32 percent to 39 percent will do so in math."
Cutoff Scores Set for
Common-Core Tests
Education Week By Catherine Gewertz Published Online: November 17, 2014
In a move likely to cause political and academic stress in many
states, a consortium that is designing assessments for the Common Core State
Standards released data Monday projecting that more than half of students will
fall short of the marks that connote grade-level skills on its tests of
English/language arts and mathematics. The
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test has four achievement categories.
Students must score at Level 3 or higher to be considered proficient in the
skills and knowledge for their grades.
Public Issues Forums of Centre County
| What should be the goal of public schools?
BY DAVID
HUTCHINSON State College - Centre Daily
Times November 8, 2014
What: “What is the 21st-century Mission for our Public Schools?”
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 20
Where: Fairmount
Building , 411 S. Fraser St. , State
College
The articles linked on this page offer several perspectives on
one of the most important issues we have to wrestle with as residents: What is
the goal of a public education?
To prepare students for the workforce?
To prepare them as residents, as Ben Franklin initially
proposed? Or to help students discover and develop their individual talents?
What is the experience of our students? What do they think we
should do differently? This is your invitation to join that conversation.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/11/08/4447469_public-issues-forums-of-centre.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
Join the Listening Tour
hosted by PSBA as it follows the Basic Ed Funding Commission to each
location this fall
The next tour stop will be on Thursday, Nov 20, 2014 from 6-8 p.m., atHambright Elementary School in Lancaster . Click here to register for the FREE event. Other tour dates
will be announced as the BEF Commission finalizes the dates and locations for
its hearings. The comments and suggestions from the Listening Tour will be
compiled and submitted to the Commission early next year. Members also are
encouraged to complete a form online allowing you to "Tell your story" if you are not able to attend one of
the BEF Listening Tours.
The next tour stop will be on Thursday, Nov 20, 2014 from 6-8 p.m., at
Philadelphia City Council Hearings
on High-stakes Testing and the Opt-Out Movement, Wednesday, November 19, 2014,
3—5 PM
Education Committee of Philadelphia City Council
Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 3—5 PM, Room 400 City Hall
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, Councilman Mark
Squilla and The Opt-Out Committee of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public
Schools urge all who care about the future of education to attend: Parents, students and educators will testify
on the effects of over-testing on students and teaching, including the crisis
of the Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement.
Information: Alison McDowell or Lisa Haver
at: philaapps@gmail.com
DelCo Rising: Winning for
Education Nov 18
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Delaware County students and taxpayers have sacrificed enough.
The state is not paying its fair share. Rising property taxes and school
budget cuts are not acceptable–help us change that.
Join your neighbors for a community workshop: Delco
Rising: Winning for Education
·
Learn about Pre-K for PA and the Statewide
Campaign for Fair Education Funding and how they can help your community
·
Practice winning strategies to advocate for your
community
·
Create an advocacy plan that works for
you—whether you have 5 minutes or 5 days per month
This non-partisan event is free and open to the public.
Click here to download a PDF flyer to
share.
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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