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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for February
11, 2015:
High-Stakes-Testing in
National and Local Spotlight
Upcoming Basic Education Funding Commission hearing
scheduled in Dauphin County
PA
Basic Education Funding Commission website
Thursday, February 26, 2015, 11 am Dauphin County, location TBA
Why Pew Works with States on Pension Reforms
A conversation about
Pew's pension work with Project Director Greg Mennis.
The Pew Charitable Trusts September 26, 2013
Public pension
reform is arguably one of the most significant fiscal challenges facing states
and municipalities today. In fact, our research shows that as of 2010, state
governments had pension debts totaling $757 billion. Although some plans are
well-funded, in other places, if changes are not made, retirees, workers, and
taxpayers will be left with rising costs and unpaid promises for years to come.
Arne Duncan: Deliver on
promise of schools
Philly.com Opinion By Arne Duncan POSTED: Monday, February
9, 2015, 1:07 AM
Early reading skills can be a powerful predictor of life
outcomes, ranging from school success to incarceration. So when dozens of
schools in Camden and Philadelphia see jumps in students' reading
skills, it's worth asking why. The
answer, according to early results from a rigorous study, is an effort called
the Children's Literacy Initiative, a locally based group that coaches and
supports teachers and provides books tailored to teaching early reading. The
expansion of this important work is supported by federal innovation funds. Growing effective approaches to teaching and learning is
exactly what America 's
young people need. Yet support for this type of innovation is in doubt today,
amid troubling proposals for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA).
High-Stakes-Testing in
National and Local Spotlight
Are they or aren’t they? As the U.S. Senate debates
re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind act, they have waffled on
eliminating the federal mandate for annual high-stakes-testing. Just two weeks
ago, Education Week gave opponents of required testing some hope when they
reported:
Although members of the Senate education committee agreed at a
hearing Tuesday that teacher evaluations are essential for a thriving
public education system, it’s unlikely that the forthcoming reauthorization of
the No Child Left Behind Act will include specific requirements. Republicans,
including Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said Washington shouldn’t mandate such policies,
while Democrats, including ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., were wary of
increasing the role student test scores play in evaluations and how those
evaluations are used to compensate teachers. [Education Week, 1-27-15]
But yesterday, Politico reported, “Now that Sens. Lamar
Alexander and Patty Murray are working together on a No Child Left Behind bill,
it’s all but certain that any deal will keep the federal annual testing
mandate.” This despite massive push-back by parents across the country who
point to the dramatic expansion of testing and test culture, the elimination of
non-tested subjects, the loss of learning time, and a host of negative impacts
on kids, teachers, and schools.
Preview of House Education
Committee Markup of NCLB Rewrite
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Lauren
Camera on February 10, 2015 12:22 PM
Ahead of tomorrow's House education committee markup of a bill
that would drastically overhaul the No Child Left Behind law, members on both
sides of the aisle are prepping amendments they plan to offer in hopes of
reshaping the opening
bid of the committee's chair, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn. On the right, lawmakers will offer amendments
to further reduce the footprint of the federal government with proposals that
would, for example, put in place a private school voucher system. On the left,
members will try to wholesale replace the federal K-12 measure with one of
their own, and also offer more-tailored amendments on a variety of issues, such
as maintaining dedicated streams of funding for certain programs eliminated in
the bill.
Capitolwire: Moody’s report
credits cash-strapped school districts for ‘bold’ recovery plans.
PSBA website Reprinted with permission By Christen Smith, Staff Reporter, Capitolwire
HARRISBURG (Feb. 9) — Moody’s Investors Service leveled
rarely-sung praises last month at four Pennsylvania school districts currently
navigating through different stages of state-ordered financial recovery. The report, released Jan. 21, credited York City School District , Harrisburg
City School
District , Chester-Upland
School District and Duquesne City
School District
"In a Feb. 9 email, Przywara said the
large deficit was due mostly to factors out of the district's control,
including unfunded state mandates and rapidly rising pension obligations. According to Przywara, Public School Employees'
Retirement System costs account for $4 million of the district's deficit. State support for special education, flat for
six years, also has a big impact. Przywara said 50 percent of newly enrolled
students have special academic, health or other needs."
The School
District of Lancaster
Digital Notebook Blog by Evan Brandt Wednesday, February
11, 2015
The Pottsgrove School Board did something unusual Tuesday
night.
They adopted a preliminary budget with no tax increase, but with a $2.5 million deficit.
And they did it unanimously. Which either makes them irresponsible, or geniuses.
They adopted a preliminary budget with no tax increase, but with a $2.5 million deficit.
And they did it unanimously. Which either makes them irresponsible, or geniuses.
Report: Pa.
KATHY BOCCELLA, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER POSTED: February 10, 2015, 4:22 PM
Only 45 percent of low-income children who eat lunch at school
in Pennsylvania
also are eating a school breakfast, according to a report released Tuesday by a
national food research group.
In BASD, few issues with
fed's tough new lunch guidelines
By Christy Potter Special to The Morning Call February 10,
2015
So far so good. That's
the assessment that the Bethlehem Area School Board got Monday night on the
implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's tough new school lunch
guidelines.
Andrew Chandler, supervisor of dining services, and Michelle
Martucci, the district's new dietitian, gave the board's Finance Committee an
overview of the nutrition guidelines that began to be phased in during the 2012-13
school year. Gone are the days when
schools would offer students a cup of fruit or vegetables, or a whole grain
option. Now students must take at least a half-cup of fruit or vegetables as
one of their three items selected in order for the meal to be reimbursable by
the USDA, Martucci said. The federal
government provides reimbursement for breakfasts, lunches and snacks served to
children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast
Programs.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-area-school-board-lunches-20150209-story.html
"The 25-year-old program is for
students in Grades 1-5 who are in a class during which Spanish is spoken all
day for all five grades."
SoLehigh nixes vote on
Spanish immersion policy, saying proposal would create 'uproar'
By Charles Malinchak Special to The Morning Call February
10, 2015
Changes to Spanish Language Immersion program at Southern Lehigh shot down
A new method of enrolling students in Southern Lehigh School
District's Spanish language immersion program was shot down Monday after
several school board members said it favored a select few. The proposal called for creating a lottery
system allocating 14 slots of the program's 29 for students who had siblings
enrolled or had finished the program. The remaining 15 seats would have been
open to all other students.
Facing growing shortfall, Philly
officials ask public for ideas on new revenue, cuts
the notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on Feb 10, 2015 06:31 PM
At the School Reform Commission's latest strategy, planning and
priorities meeting Monday night, District officials again laid out a bleak
budget picture -- predicting a shortfall next fiscal year of $80 million. The
projection assumes that no labor savings and no new revenues are forthcoming.
At the two-hour meeting, officials asked about 40 members of
the public who attended how they would make decisions about raising new revenue
and cutting spending -- or adding services, should more than enough money to
balance the budget miraculously materialize.
Chief Financial Officer Matthew Stanski ran the meeting, and discussion
took place in small groups at six tables.
Kenney rips Williams over
PSP, donors
David Gambacorta, Daily News Staff Writer TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015, 12:10 PM
If you can do a decent Michael Buffer impersonation, now might
be a good time to bust out a hearty, "Let's get ready to
rumble!" Former City
Councilman Jim Kenney today lashed out at fellow Democratic mayoral candidate
state Sen. Anthony Williams over Williams' stance on a $25 million donation the
Philadelphia School Partnership has offered to make to the School District of Philadelphia
He also questioned money Williams has received from political
action committees.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Kenney-rips-Williams-over-PSP-donors.html#y47oXLFVBBzAs8up.99
Piling on Anthony Williams
In a sign the mayoral
campaign is truly underway, Kenney and Diaz attack the state senator.
Philly Mag Citified BY HOLLY OTTERBEIN | FEBRUARY
10, 2015 AT 1:43 PM
Until today, Philadelphia ’s
mayoral race seemed to be missing something: good old-fashioned
mudslinging. That all changed when
former City Councilman Jim Kenney and former Judge Nelson
Diaz issued press releases slamming state Sen. Anthony Williams. Until
now, no candidate had come out strongly against
Williams — the top fundraiser in the race — or anyone, really. The
only other notable mudslinging, aimed at former District Attorney Lynne
Abraham, was by a candidate who has since withdrawn. Team Kenney attacked Williams over
schools. Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Kenney, said in a statement that
Williams is a "single-issue candidate driven by the
contributions from anonymous billionaires more concerned with making a profit
than a quality school. The Senator is supported by no fewer than four PACs
with either implicit or explicit education privatization missions." This
comes after Kenney said last week that the district should not accept a $35 million offer
from a nonprofit to expand charters.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/02/10/mudslinging-begins-kenney-diaz-gang-williams/#axAkvz7J16lvzLFY.99
Testing Resistance &
Reform News -- February 4 - 10, 2015
Fairtest Submitted by fairtest on February 10, 2015 -
12:46pm
This week's news stories and opinion columns -- from more than
half the 50 states -- demonstrate the rapidly growing breadth and depth of the U.S. assessment
reform movement. As the school testing season draws near, we expect parent and
student opt-out campaigns, teacher boycotts, community teach-ins,
demonstrations, school board resolutions, and legislative hearings will
escalate pressure on policy-makers to roll back widespread misuse and overuse
of standardized exams. As always, please feel free to call on FairTest
for assistance.
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in York County
Where: York
Learning Center 300 E. 7th Ave., North
York
Who: Panelists will include Emilie Lonardi, West York Area
School District superintendent; Scott Deisley, Red Lion Area School District
superintendent; Brian Geller, Northeastern School District director of
operations; Troy Wentz, Hanover Public School District business manager; Ellen
Freireich, York Suburban School Board member; Eric Wolfgang, Central York
School Board member; Jim Buckheit, executive director of the Pennsylvania
Association of School Administrators. Susan Spicka, advocacy coordinator for Education
Voters of PA will facilitate the event.
PSBA 2015 Advocacy Forum
APR 19, 2015 • 8:00
AM - APR 20, 2015 • 5:00 PM
Join PSBA for the second annual Advocacy Forum on April 19-20,
2015. Hear from legislative experts on hot topics and issues regarding public
education on Sunday, April 19, at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg. The next
day you and fellow advocates will meet with legislators at the state capitol.
This is your chance to learn how to successfully advocate on behalf of public
education and make your voice heard on the Hill.
·
Schedule of Events
·
Day One –PSBA headquarters
·
10 a.m. — Early Bird Arrival and Registration
·
10:30-12 p.m. — The State Education Agenda
The chairman of the Senate and House Education Committees will share their perspectives on the education agenda for the 2015-16 session of the General Assembly. Speakers: Senator Smucker, chairman, Senate Education Committee; and Representative Saylor, chairman, House Education Committee
The chairman of the Senate and House Education Committees will share their perspectives on the education agenda for the 2015-16 session of the General Assembly. Speakers: Senator Smucker, chairman, Senate Education Committee; and Representative Saylor, chairman, House Education Committee
·
Noon-1:15 p.m. — Welcome Lunch
·
1:00-12:15 p.m. — Special Welcome and
Introduction: Nathan Mains, PSBA Executive
Director and William LaCoff, PSBA President
·
12:30-1 p.m. — Speaker: Diane Ravitch, nationally known education
historian, policy analyst and author of Reign of Error.
·
1:15-2:00 p.m. — Education Priorities will be
discussed with the Education Secretary Pedro
Rivera
This session provides the latest information on the governor’s proposed state funding plans, the pension crisis and the latest on special education.
This session provides the latest information on the governor’s proposed state funding plans, the pension crisis and the latest on special education.
·
2:00-2:30 p.m. — Federal Education Update:
NSBA
Director of National Advocacy Services Kathleen Branch will join Director of Federal Programs Lucy Gettman from NSBA, to speak about federal advocacy.
Director of National Advocacy Services Kathleen Branch will join Director of Federal Programs Lucy Gettman from NSBA, to speak about federal advocacy.
·
2:30-3 p.m. — Social Media Training (Speakers
to be announced)
·
3-3:15 p.m. — Break
·
3:15-3:45 p.m. — Grassroots Advocacy: How to
be an Effective Advocate
Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Shauna D’Alessandro, school director from West Jefferson Hills SD and PSBA Allegheny Region 14 director, and Mark B. Miller, board vice president of Centennial SD and PSBA BuxMont Region 11 director.
Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Shauna D’Alessandro, school director from West Jefferson Hills SD and PSBA Allegheny Region 14 director, and Mark B. Miller, board vice president of Centennial SD and PSBA BuxMont Region 11 director.
·
3:45-4:15 p.m. — Legislative Update and Lobby
Day Coordination
PSBA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs John Callahan will walk you through legislative issues and priorities that might be addressed the next day during legislative visits by members.
PSBA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs John Callahan will walk you through legislative issues and priorities that might be addressed the next day during legislative visits by members.
·
4:15-5 p.m. — Roundtable Discussion
Network with your fellow board members before visiting your legislator
Network with your fellow board members before visiting your legislator
·
5:00-5:15 p.m. — Break
·
5:15-6:30 p.m. — Dinner Buffet
Enjoy a legislative discussion on the 2015-16 budget and appropriations with Senator Browne
Enjoy a legislative discussion on the 2015-16 budget and appropriations with Senator Browne
·
6:30 p.m. — Adjourn
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Seeks Campaign Manager
Campaign for Fair Education Funding February 2, 2015
The Campaign for Fair Education Funding seeks a campaign
manager who is a strategic thinker and an operational leader. This position
could be filled by an individual or firm. The manager will lead the day-to-day
operations of the campaign and its government relations, communications,
mobilization and research committees and work in partnership with the campaign
governing board to set and implement the campaign’s strategic direction.
Sign-up for weekly email updates from the
Campaign
The Campaign for Fair
Education Funding website
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Thorough and Efficient: Pennsylvania
Education Funding Lawsuit website
Arguing that our state has failed to ensure that essential
resources are available for all of our public school students to meet state
academic standards.
Sign up for National School Boards Association’s Advocacy Network
Friends of
Public Education http://p2a.co/nsbac
Register
Now! EPLC 2015 Regional Workshops for School Board Candidates and Others
The Education Policy and Leadership Center, with the
Cooperation of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), will
conduct A Series of Regional Full-Day Workshops for 2015
Pennsylvania School Board Candidates. Incumbents,
non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to
participate in these workshops.
Pittsburgh Region Saturday, February 21, 2015 – 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Harrisburg Region Saturday, March 7, 2015– 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Philadelphia Region Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
PILCOP: Children with
Emotional Problems: Avoiding the Juvenile Justice System, and What Does Real
Help Look Like?
This session will help you navigate special education in order
to assist children at home not receiving services, those in the foster care
system or those in the juvenile court system. CLE and Act 48 credit is
available. This session is co-sponsored
by the University of Pennsylvania School of Policy and Practice, a Pre-approved
Provider of Continuing Education for Pennsylvania
licensed social workers. Click here to purchase tickets
NPE 2015 Annual Conference –
Chicago April 24 - 26 – Early Bird Special Registration Open!
January 4, 2015 NPE 2015 Annual Conference, NPE National Conference
Early-bird discounted Registration for the Network for
Public Education’s Second Annual Conference is now available at this address:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/network-for-public-education-2015-annual-conference-tickets-15118560020
These low rates will last for the month of January.
The event is being held at the Drake Hotel in downtown
Chicago, and there is a link on the registration page for special hotel
registration rates. Here are some of the event details.
There will be a welcoming social event 7 pm Friday night,
at or near the Drake Hotel — details coming soon. Featured speakers will be:
§
Jitu Brown, National Director – Journey
for Justice, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Network for Public
Education Board of Directors
§
Tanaisa Brown, High School Senior, with
the Newark Student Union
§
Yong Zhao, Author, “Who’s Afraid of
the Big Bad Dragon?“
§
Diane Ravitch in conversation with
§
Lily Eskelsen Garcia, NEA President and
§
Randi Weingarten, AFT President
§
Karen Lewis, President, Chicago Teachers
Union
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