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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for April 20, 2015:
In New York, tens of thousands of students sat out the
first day of tests; PSSA opt-outs see
huge jump in Philly; Lehigh Valley PSSA test opt-outs on the rise; Nearly 15%
of New Jersey 11th graders skip new test
Lehigh Valley Forum on School Funding April
22, 7:00-8:30
Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Rd, Center Valley, PA 18034
The entrance is at the back of the building and parking is available in lots by the school.
Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Rd, Center Valley, PA 18034
The entrance is at the back of the building and parking is available in lots by the school.
Confirmed panelists include:
Dr. Bill Haberl, superintendent, Pen Argyl Area SD
Dr. Joe Roy, superintendent, Bethlehem Area SD
Mr. Rich Sniscak, superintendent, Parkland SD
Mr. Russ Giordano, school board director, Salisbury Township SD
Dr. Russ Mayo, superintendent, Allentown SD
Ms. Stacy Gober, CFO, Bethlehem Area SD
Ms. Susan Gobreski, Executive Director, Education Voters of PA
Moderator: Roberta Marcus, School Board Director, Parkland SD
Dr. Bill Haberl, superintendent, Pen Argyl Area SD
Dr. Joe Roy, superintendent, Bethlehem Area SD
Mr. Rich Sniscak, superintendent, Parkland SD
Mr. Russ Giordano, school board director, Salisbury Township SD
Dr. Russ Mayo, superintendent, Allentown SD
Ms. Stacy Gober, CFO, Bethlehem Area SD
Ms. Susan Gobreski, Executive Director, Education Voters of PA
Moderator: Roberta Marcus, School Board Director, Parkland SD
Register HERE to attend the Lehigh Valley
education forum.
Public schools
need fair-funding formula
Beaver
County Times Online Letter Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 11:45 pm
EDITOR'S
NOTE: The following was submitted on behalf of the Beaver County school
superintendents.
Education
leaders across the state are pushing hard for a fair-funding formula by 2016.
Monies
allocated from the Pennsylvania Legislature for public education pay only 33
percent of a child’s schooling. The national average is 44 percent. The
remainder is assumed by the local taxpayer through payment of real estate and
other local taxes.
Homeowners
residing in stable communities pay a proportionally larger tax bill than those
in communities fraught with poverty and are thus able to offer a higher level
of content in their schools. Residents living in poverty may pay a higher
percentage of tax but revenues fall short in providing necessary services,
programs, course offerings and faculty. Since 2008, almost all of the
commonwealth’s 500 school districts have borne this burden, having to increase
real estate taxes by 16 percent, equaling $1.6 billion, over the past seven
years.
Governor
Wolf's outreach to lawmakers contrasts with Corbett's style
Trib
Live By Brad
Bumsted Saturday, April 18, 2015, 9:50 p.m.
HARRISBURG — Republican Aaron Kaufer, a freshman House member from Luzerne County, recalls his surprise in January when he opened his office door to find Gov. Tom Wolf standing there. Wolf since has visited Kaufer five times. It's rare for a newcomer to get a visit from the governor, much less six. “He's very approachable and easy to talk to,” Kaufer said. Turns out, they share an interest in 17th-century British philosopher John Locke. Wolf, a wealthy, liberal York County businessman and Democrat, is making extraordinary efforts to engage Democrats and the Republicans who control the House and Senate. His lobbying is one more way in which he and his predecessor, former Republican prosecutor Tom Corbett of Shaler, are polar opposites.
HARRISBURG — Republican Aaron Kaufer, a freshman House member from Luzerne County, recalls his surprise in January when he opened his office door to find Gov. Tom Wolf standing there. Wolf since has visited Kaufer five times. It's rare for a newcomer to get a visit from the governor, much less six. “He's very approachable and easy to talk to,” Kaufer said. Turns out, they share an interest in 17th-century British philosopher John Locke. Wolf, a wealthy, liberal York County businessman and Democrat, is making extraordinary efforts to engage Democrats and the Republicans who control the House and Senate. His lobbying is one more way in which he and his predecessor, former Republican prosecutor Tom Corbett of Shaler, are polar opposites.
Read
more: http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/8194008-74/wolf-corbett-lawmakers#ixzz3XkPGDSbc
Editorial: Pa.
budget talks head in the right direction
Delco
Times POSTED: 04/18/15, 9:53 PM EDT
Take a
look at the calendar. It says April. It’s about two and a half months until the
deadline for passage of a state budget. Now
take a look at what’s going on in Harrisburg.
Lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf seem to actually be working toward a budget.
The governor and legislative leaders even sat down last week to start
negotiating. This is good! It’s certainly better than a typical year, when
leaders don’t start talking until mid-June, and we wind up with the kind of
budget you’d expect from college kids pulling an all-nighter. There are many moving parts in a state
budget, but probably the biggest issue this year is school funding.
Finally - a
serious conversation about property tax relief: Editorial
By PennLive Editorial Board on
April 17, 2015 at 1:09 PM
If
nothing else is certain this budget season, it appears that Pennsylvania
property owners will see some kind of reduction in the annual real estate taxes
they pay to the state's 500 school districts.
Both Gov. Tom Wolf and
Republicans who control the state House of Representatives are shopping
competing plans that each hope will be wrapped into the budget document
that will be signed into law sometime around June 30. Wolf,
a Democrat, cannily wrapped his freshman, $33 billion spending plan with the
sort of corporate tax breaks and property tax reductions that Republicans have
unsuccessfully sought for years. The two
sides differ substantially in the fine print, but the fundamentals of a shift
from property taxes to higher personal income and sales taxes are the same.
How do Wolf's, Republicans' property tax
relief plans compare?
Penn
Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com April 17, 2015, 7:45AM
Rep.
Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion, on Tuesday shared details of a property tax relief
plan crafted by a group of 30 House Republicans that is presented as an
alternative to Gov. Tom Wolf's plan. Both plans have their critics but will the
desire to do something about this three-decade-old problem outweigh what they
don't like about either of them. Here is how the two plans compare and
contrast:
An on-time
state budget? Maybe. But whose?: John L. Micek
By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on
April 17, 2015 at 10:00 AM, updated April 17, 2015 at 11:24 AM
So
here's one prominent Republican leader on the state budget: "The people of
Pennsylvania don't want to see gridlock like we saw in Washington, D.C., when
we had a Democratic president and a Republican Congress. We will not do that to
the people of Pennsylvania. We want Pennsylvania to move forward." And here's another: "I personally think
it's probably more productive to look at the different components of it and put
the jigsaw back together. But if the governor would like to request me
to run his budget (in its entirety), I'm certainly open to it."
Whose
Line is it, Anyway? I'll give you a minute ... Give up?
Big week ahead
for Wolf appointees as another comes under fire
Penn
Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on April
17, 2015 at 4:21 PM, updated April 17, 2015 at 5:31 PM
The
Senate has scheduled confirmation hearings next week for three of Gov. Tom Wolf's Cabinet nominees and an
appointee of a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission member. Meanwhile, another one of Wolf's nominees is
drawing opposition from the House and Senate Pro-Life Caucus for his handling
of complaints about Dr. Kermit Gosnell's
"house of horrors" abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Acting PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards and turnpike
commissioner Bill
Lieberman will go before the Senate Transportation Committee at
9:30 a.m. on Tuesday for their confirmation hearings. Also that day, the Senate
Education Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Acting Education
Secretary Pedro Rivera at
10:30 a.m.
“There’s no requirement that student demographic
information be provided,” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Senior
Director of Communications Steve Robinson said. “There isn’t any auditing
process, there’s nothing that requires the schools to explain how their
administrative costs are being used.” Public
schools, however, are required to give those explanations. Critics say if
private schools are up for the same tax credits, they should have to provide
the same data.
“Without that accountability, it’s really public money
going into a black hole without any proof that the program’s working,” Robinson
said.”
EITC/OSTC: Lawmakers consider bill to
expand funding for private education tuition
ABC27 By Amanda St. Hilare Published: April 16, 2015,
5:26 pm
Pennsylvania
lawmakers are considering a bill that would provide more tax credits to help
aid private school tuition. The Diocese
of Harrisburg is supporting this bill, saying it would affect several of its
Catholic schools. “It’s a matter of
choice for these parents,” Bishop McDevitt Principal Sr. Mary Anne Bednar said.
“They look at the private schools, not just Bishop McDevitt but the other
private schools in the area and they say this is where I want my son or daughter
to go. This should be an option for them.”
Right now, a local business can give money to a school’s foundation for
scholarships and programs. Private schools use the majority of that money to
help families with tuition. The state then gives the business a tax credit for
those donations.
Those
tax credits are limited. House Bill 752 would make more available. Some public
school districts support the bill because their foundations can use the tax
credits for programs as well. However, there are some concerns.
http://abc27.com/2015/04/16/lawmakers-consider-bill-to-expand-funding-for-private-education-tuition/
Pennsylvania pension funds could run dry
in as little as 10 years
By Eric
Boehm | PA Independent April 16, 2015
Without
higher contributions from workers and taxpayers, Pennsylvania’s public sector
pension plans may not be able to pay for their promises. And if investment returns fail to live up to
expectations, the two pension funds could run dry before the end of the next
decade.
IN THE
LONG RUN: Things look bleak for taxpayers and retired state workers in a new
report that suggests Pennsylvania’s two major pension funds could run dry by
the end of the 2030s.
Those
are the startling conclusions drawn by a pair of researchers at the Mercatus
Center, an economic think tank based at George Mason University, who examined
Pennsylvania’s Public School Employees Retirement System and the State
Employees Retirement System. They
say PSERS has a 31 percent chance of making it to 2030 with sufficient funding
to pay for all the retirement benefits promised to current and former workers,
while SERS has only a 16 percent chance of making it that long.
That
would be bad news for Pennsylvania taxpayers and the nearly 700,000 current and
former public worker in the two plans.
Penn Hills, Woodland Hills won’t take
Wilkinsburg students
By Mary
Niederberger and Clarece Polke / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 18, 2015 12:00
AM
Although
no public discussions have taken place, officials from the Penn Hills and
Woodland Hills school districts say their boards have rejected overtures from
the Wilkinsburg School District to accept its approximately 200 students in
grades 7-12 on a tuition basis. Both
districts have confirmed that Wilkinsburg school officials requested meetings
to discuss a possible transfer of the secondary students, but the boards of
both decided not to entertain the idea despite no evidence of a public
discussion or vote. Under the plan, Wilkinsburg would continue to pay for its
residents’ education. Wilkinsburg has a
meeting scheduled with officials of Pittsburgh Public Schools, another
bordering district, later this month. Wilkinsburg also will hold a community
forum in its high school auditorium at 7 p.m. May 7 about the future of its pre-K-12
program.
PSSA opt-outs
see huge jump in Philly
SOLOMON
LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF
WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Sunday, April 19, 2015, 3:01 AM
MORE
THAN 500 students in the Philadelphia School District have already been opted
out of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, a huge jump from only 20
students a year ago, officials said yesterday.
A district representative said 552 families have requested that their
children be excused from PSSA testing, a figure that could rise. Students in
grades 3 through 8 began to test this week on English language arts, with math
and science to follow in the next two weeks.
The rise in opt-outs locally mirrors a national trend as more and more
parents and educators voice concerns over the amount of time spent on test
preparation rather than actual instruction. Hundreds of thousands of students
have reportedly been opted out in New York.
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20150419_PSSA_opt-outs_see_huge_jump_in_Philly.html#RXXmAVzg1ur22cYJ.99
Lehigh Valley
PSSA test opt-outs on the rise
By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on April
17, 2015 at 7:00 AM, updated April 17, 2015 at 8:57 AM
Kelly
Aquila's daughter landed in the emergency room for severe stomach pain several
times before doctors told them there was nothing medically wrong. They ended up seeing a therapist and learned
Briane, who is now in sixth grade, was extremely stressed out by Pennsylvania
System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams, which are administered to
students in grades third through eighth.
"It never dawned on me it was the test," Aquila said.
The Whitehall-Coplay School District parent
is part of a growing number of Pennsylvania parents opting out of state
standardized testing. Testing began this
week and lasts for much of April. Student performance on the tests are used to
measure student achievement. It's also linked to individual school building's
School Performance Profile report cards and teacher evaluations.
Nationally
there's been a boycott of high-stakes standardized testing as students this
spring take exams aligned to the Common Core -- standards adopted by 43 states
outlining the math and language skills students should master in each grade. In
Pennsylvania, they're known as the Core Standards. Opt-out parents say that the emphasis on
testing detracts from real learning, stifles teacher and student creativity and
stresses everyone out.
And so the movement grows:
This week in New York, tens of thousands of students sat out the first day of
tests, with some districts reporting more than half of students opting out of the
English test. Preliminary reports suggest an overall increase in opt-outs
compared to last year, when about 49,000 students did not take English tests
and about 67,000 skipped math tests, compared to about 1.1 million students who
did take the tests in New York. Considerable
resistance also has been reported in Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and
Pennsylvania, and more is likely as many states administer the tests in public
schools for the first time this spring.
Opt-Out Movement Accelerates Amid Common Core Testing
New York Times By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS APRIL 17, 2015, 5:32 P.M. E.D.T.
ATLANTA
— Thousands of students are opting out of new standardized tests aligned to the
Common Core standards, defying the latest attempt by states to improve academic
performance.
This
"opt-out" movement remains scattered but is growing fast in some
parts of the country. Some superintendents in New York are reporting that 60
percent or even 70 percent of their students are refusing to sit for the exams.
Some lawmakers, sensing a tipping point, are backing the parents and teachers
who complain about standardized testing.
Resistance could be costly: If fewer than 95 percent of a district's
students participate in tests aligned with Common Core standards, federal money
could be withheld, although the U.S. Department of Education said that hasn't
happened. "It is a theoretical club
administrators have used to coerce participation, but a club that is
increasingly seen as a hollow threat," said Bob Schaeffer with the
National Center for Fair & Open Testing, which seeks to limit standardized
testing.
Mom: The religious reasons my kids won’t be taking
Common Core tests
Washington Post Answer
Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss April
17 at 12:10 PM
Jessie B. Ramey is the
parent of two children in Pittsburgh public schools and a historian of working
families, gender, race and U.S. social policy who teaches women’s studies and
history at the University of Pittsburgh. She has decided to opt her children
out of upcoming state-mandated tests in Pennsylvania known as the PSSAs for
reasons not often cited by parents who have made the opt-out decision for their
own children. The opt-out movement is
spreading around the country, with tens of thousands if not hundreds of
thousands of parents deciding that the state-mandated tests being given to
students are not fair to either the students or the teachers who will be
evaluated by the test scores. While the percentage of parents opting out is
small relative to the number of parents allowing their children to take the
test, the movement has forced a national debate on the value of the tests and
forced administrators and policymakers to address it.
In this post, Ramey
provides her religious reasons for opting her children out of the tests. This
first appeared on her Yinzercation blog, and
I am republishing it with her permission. This is a letter she sent to
Linda Lane, superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools; Lisa Augustin,
director of assessment; Jamie Kinzel-Nath, Pittsburgh Colfax K-8 principal; and
all of her children’s teachers.
Report: 175,000-plus N.Y. students opt out of Common
Core test, more expected
Washington Post Answer
Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss April 18
An
education advocacy group says that more than 175,000 New York students — far
more than last year — opted out of Common Core English Language Arts exams
given this week, and the number is expected to climb, highlighting a growing
movement among parents around the country to protest standardized tests they
think are unfair to students and teachers.
New York State Allies for Public Education is counting opt-out students district by
district, and in early afternoon Saturday, it had counted 177,249
with 64 percent of the state’s school systems reporting. Math tests are being
given next week. Last year about 60,000-70,000 students — or less than 5
percent of the total — students opted out of Common Core math and ELA tests in
the state; this year, so far, the group estimates that more than 14 percent
refused the first Common Core test.
Nearly 15 percent of New
Jersey 11th graders skip new test
GEOFF MULVIHILL, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POSTED: Wednesday,
April 15, 2015, 5:06 PM
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -
Preliminary results show nearly 15 percent of New Jersey high school juniors
and less than 5 percent of grades three through eight refused to take a new
standardized test being given for the first time this year in all districts,
state education officials said Wednesday.
The test is being
given in all districts twice. Most finished the first round last month; the
second round begins later this month. The
test, intended to measure whether students are meeting the nationwide Core
Content standards, are the subject of criticism and a boycott movement in New
Jersey and many of the dozen other states where they have been rolled out this
year.
All are invited for a screening of the
documentary:
STANDARDIZED: Lies, Money
& Civil Rights—How Testing is Ruining Public Education Monday,
April 27, 7- 9 PM Wayne, PA
The Saturday Club, 117 West Wayne Avenue,
Wayne, PA
Standardized testing
has long been a part of public education. Over the last ten years however,
education reform has become an increasingly heated political issue and
seemingly a highly profitable target market for private enterprise resulting in
expanded and high-stakes testing. While some hold the view that testing is an
effective assessment of student ability and teacher and school effectiveness,
many feel these exams are instead undermining our students, teachers and
schools. Daniel Hornberger’s STANDARDIZED documentary raises issues
about this model of education reform and
the standardized testing that goes along with it. The film includes interviews
with prominent educational experts and government officials who take aim at the
goal of standardization that is being promoted and imposed by our federal and
state governments. It sheds light on the development, nature and use of these
assessments, the consequences of high-stakes testing, and the ostensible
private enterprise and government agendas behind them.
A Q&A session with a panel
of informed parents, teachers and experts will follow.
This screening is made possible
through a collaboration of Radnor, Tredyffrin/Easttown and Lower Merion
concerned parents and PTOs.
Testing Resistance & Reform News: April 15 - 17,
2015
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on April 17, 2015 - 1:21pm
We've pulled
together this special edition of our usually-weekly newsclips because of three
huge stories that broke in the past several days.
- In New York,
more than 173,000 students opted out of the first wave of state testing, at
least tripling last year's boycott level.
- In five
states (Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada and North Dakota) computerized
Common Core testing systems collapsed in a replay of the widespread technical
problems which plagued Florida exams earlier this spring.
Both major
developments further undermine the credibility of judgements about students,
teachers and schools made on the basis of standardized exam results.
-- And, in
Washington DC, the U.S. Senate education committee responded to grassroots
pressure for assessment reform by endorsing an overhaul of "No Child Left
Behind," which eliminates most federal sanctions for test scores.
The bill does not go far enough to reversing test misuse and overuse, but it is
a step in the right direction
Remember that these
updates are posted online at:http://fairtest.org/news/other for your reference and
for use in Facebook posts, Tweets, weblinks, etc.
“There has been no information available as to whether
Brady will return to the Avon Grove Charter School or why he was suspended.”
Head of Avon Grove Charter
School suspended
By Chris Barber, Daily Local News
POSTED: 04/19/15, 4:23 PM
EDT
London Grove
>> Kevin Brady, head of the Avon Grove Charter School, has been suspended
with pay by the board of trustees. The
board took the action at its April 14 meeting and was announced as effective
April 1. Early in April a letter to
parents said that Brady was on leave effective April 2. During Brady’s absence, the board appointed
the following individuals to run the school according to the letter: Kristen Bishop, head of the lower school, is
in charge of academics. Donna Archer,
school business manager, assumes responsibility for financial matters. Tosha Bowers, human resources director,
assumes responsibility for personnel matters.
“We do not expect
this circumstance to have any impact on the valuable educational experience
your children receive under the leadership of our teachers and staff,” the
letter said. It was signed “School
Administration.”
Philadelphia's rejected
charter schools beginning to resubmit applications
WHYY Newsworks BY LAURA BENSHOFF APRIL 20, 2015
Philadelphia School
Reform Commission already rejected 34 out of 39 charter school applications
this year. But any rejected charter can
put its application back on the table, according to Pennsylvania charter law. The school board — in this case the School
Reform Commission — may choose to hold hearings on the revised application and
"shall consider the revised and resubmitted application at the first board
meeting occurring at least forty-five (45) days after the receipt of the
revised application by the board."
One applicant, KIPP
West Philadelphia Charter, has already resubmitted.
Public Schools
Are a Public Good
The rapid growth of
market-driven charter schools erodes a cornerstone of American democracy.
US News
and World Report By Jerusha Conner April
16, 2015 | 11:15 a.m. EDT+ More
Many
involved in K-12 education seem to be growing weary of the charter school
versus public school debate. Mark Gleason, head of a private advocacy
organization in Philadelphia that has invested morethan $20 million in charter schools, publicly declared:
“I just would like to encourage all of us to get beyond this district versus
charter concept.” And Michelle Rhee, founder of the pro-charter
advocacy organization StudentsFirst, while sparring
on Twitter with Julian Vasquez Heilig, voiced the opinion, “the
arguments btwn charter and traditional are tired. We shld celebrate great
schools regardless ofsector ... focus on quality of schl instead of sector.”
These exhortations are appealing in their simplicity and attempt to move us
toward a common vision, but we must not let charter proponents divert our
attention from the difference between charter school and traditional public
schools. Traditional public schools are a fundamental cornerstone of American
democracy that is being jack-hammered away. And if we look away from their
destruction, we abrogate our duty to preserve them for future generations.
The SRC has to
go
INQUIRER
EDITORIAL BOARD POSTED: Monday, April 20, 2015,
Philadelphia's
School Reform Commission outlived its usefulness years ago, so it's disturbing
that some candidates to become the city's next mayor haven't grasped that
reality. The SRC was created in a state
takeover of Philadelphia schools in December 2001 with only two goals: get the
School District's finances in order and improve students' academic performance.
Fourteen years later, it has failed miserably in both regards, though some of
its past and current members do deserve an A for effort.
Math lesson
INQUIRER
EDITORIAL BOARD POSTED: Sunday, April 19, 2015, 1:09 AM
If the
contest for mayor were between a candidate who supports schools and one who
doesn't, it wouldn't be much of a campaign. Declaring education important and
vowing to fund it accordingly is easy. How to pay for it is the hard question -
one the mayoral candidates, as their answers on today's op-ed page show, aren't
especially eager to answer. Like most
core government services, public education has to be funded on a recurring
basis. That means one-time windfalls like Jim Kenney's tax-lien sale and
several candidates' welcome promises to collect back taxes won't get the School
District that far. Other than savaging
Mayor Nutter's proposed 9 percent property tax hike, the candidates are short
on concrete plans for the broad-based taxes that could significantly boost
long-term school funding.
In with the
new
INQUIRER EDITORIAL BOARD POSTED: Sunday,
April 19, 2015, 1:09 AM
While
the city's legislators have to work together, Philadelphia City Council is
overpopulated by members who reflexively follow Council President Darrell
Clarke. Emblematic of this was Council's refusal to hold a public hearing on a
$1.87 billion offer for the Philadelphia Gas Works.
Council
needs an upheaval to return it to its mission of representing the public.
Fortunately, the crowd of candidates seeking five Democratic at-large Council
seats includes political newcomers with impressive civic experience and
potential. Though Helen Gym is best
known as a fierce advocate for Philadelphia's public schools, she has been an
effective activist on a range of issues. Gym, 47, of Logan Square, cofounded
the Public School Notebook, which informs and mobilizes parents, and its
companion advocacy group, Parents United for Public Education. She is
appropriately impatient with the status quo and, provided she maintains some
daylight between herself and her union supporters, capable of being an
independent Council member in the tradition of David Cohen, Michael Nutter, and
John Street.
Senate
Committee Votes to Kill No Child Left Behind, but the High-Stakes Testing Era
Isn’t Over
The Nation by Zoë Carpenter on
April 16, 2015 - 3:41 PM ET
Public
school students in New York State are supposed to be taking standardized tests
this week, but more than 100,000have been absent. In protest of mandatory
high-stakes testing, parents are pulling their children from the classroom, and
in numbers high enough to invalidate the results. More than 80 percent of
students in the Comsewogue School District in Long Island have refused to
take the test; 70 percent of students at the West Seneca School District near
Buffalo opted out; several districts in the Hudson Valley reported that
at least a quarter of their students did not show up. Meanwhile, in the capital, members of the
Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions have spent the week
debating a proposal to replace No Child Left Behind, the 2002 law that
sanctified the use of standardized tests to evaluate and punish teachers and
schools. On Thursday afternoon they voted unanimously to send a new bill
drafted by Washington Democrat Patty Murray and Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander
to the floor. Congress failed to revise NCLB as expected in 2007, and since
then the Obama administration has reinforced much of its
underlying ideology via programs like Race to the Top. This year
lawmakers are committed to replacing the law (which is a version of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, signed 50 years ago by President
Johnson). It’s a rare opportunity for the parents, teachers, and
public-education advocates who are desperate for relief from the high-stakes
testing regime. The Senate bill has a new name—the Every Child Achieves Act—but
whether it drives a stake through the heart of NCLB is a matter of debate.
ESEA
Reauthorization: A Chance to Right a Wrong | Commentary
By Jitu Brown and Judith Browne Dianis Special
to Roll Call Posted at 5 a.m. on April 14
Fifty
years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, legislation designed to support education as a force for equal
opportunity. As part of his “war on poverty” agenda, Johnson was convinced the
law would close the achievement gap. As Congress seeks to reauthorize ESEA this
year, there is an incredible opportunity to finally right some of the grave
wrongs in the public education system that have sustained the opportunity gap
for low-income children. In 2001, ESEA
got off track with the passage of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left
Behind promising achievement and accountability. Public schools have since been
mired in drills of standardized testing, with a focus on test results as the
sole measure of achievement. Instead of increasing investment and resources for
success however, test results have led to the closure of neighborhood public
schools at dramatic rates across the country. As communities of color lose
their schools in the wake of disinvestment and high-stakes testing, public
education dollars are being diverted toward privately operated charter schools.
The irony of it all: These charters, many of which are dismally low performing and
sometimes profit from taxpayer dollars, are run with practically no oversight
or accountability.
Young Voters
in the Capitol April 22 8:00AM - 5:00PM
N. 3RD
ST.HARRISBURG, PA 17120
PCCY: Join your neighbors, meet your local
legislators and make a difference as we fight for a fair education funding formula
in this year’s state budget. We’ll provide: a brief training, materials,
lunch and transportation to and from the Capitol and we’ll even schedule visits
with legislators for you! If you need
transportation let us know! We will be departing from in front of the
United Way Building at 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway promptly at 8am. We
will return to Philly by approximately 4:30pm.
If you plan to meet up with us in Harrisburg, we will meet in the
Capitol by 10:30am. We will wrap up the
day back in Philadelphia with a happy hour at Field House (1150 Filbert
St.) from 5-7 pm. We hope you can join us!
You're
invited to our 2015 YEA! Philadelphia
Investor Panel Competition on April 22nd at Rosemont College! 5:30 meet &
greet; 6:30 Presentations
Young Entrepreneurs Academy - Philadelphia
and suburban middle schoolers make presentations to a panel of local investors
to obtain funding for their business/social movements. We hope you can join us for this fun and
inspiring event. Registration is FREE:
DISTRICT TO HOLD SEVEN
COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS
PHILADELPHIA—The School District of Philadelphia, in
partnership with local organizations, will host seven community budget
meetings. District officials will share information about budget projections
and request input on school resources and investments. Partnering groups include the Philadelphia
Education Fund, POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower &
Rebuild), Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), local clergy and
community advocates. All meetings will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The
dates and locations are as follows:
Wednesday,
April 15
Northeast High
School, 1601 Cottman Ave.
Wednesday,
April 22
Bartram High School,
2401 S. 67th St.
Tuesday,
April 28
West Philadelphia
High School, 4901 Chestnut St.
Wednesday,
May 6
Dobbins High School,
2150 W. Lehigh Ave.
Tuesday,
May 12
South Philadelphia
High School, 2101 S. Broad St.
Thursday,
May 14
Congreso, 216 West
Somerset St.
Wednesday,
May 20
Martin Luther King
High School, 6100 Stenton Ave.
Nominations for PSBA
offices closes April 30
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. The positions open are:
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. The positions open are:
- 2016 President Elect (one-year term)
- 2016 Vice President (one-year term)
- 2016 Eastern Section at Large
Representative - includes Regions 7, 8, 10, 11 and 15 (three-year
term)
Complete details on
the nomination process, including scheduled dates for nominee interviews, can
be found online by clicking here.
Please join Education Voters, school
officials, community leaders and guest legislators at upcoming community forums
in the Lehigh Valley, central PA, and Southeastern PA to discuss school
funding and state funding policy. Click HERE for more details.
Pre-registration for the forum is recommended, but not necessary.
Lehigh Valley Forum April 22,
7:00-8:30
Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Rd, Center Valley, PA 18034
The entrance is at the back of the building and parking is available in lots by the school.
Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Rd, Center Valley, PA 18034
The entrance is at the back of the building and parking is available in lots by the school.
Confirmed panelists
include:
Dr. Bill Haberl, superintendent, Pen Argyl Area SD
Dr. Joe Roy, superintendent, Bethlehem Area SD
Mr. Rich Sniscak, superintendent, Parkland SD
Mr. Russ Giordano, school board director, Salisbury Township SD
Dr. Bill Haberl, superintendent, Pen Argyl Area SD
Dr. Joe Roy, superintendent, Bethlehem Area SD
Mr. Rich Sniscak, superintendent, Parkland SD
Mr. Russ Giordano, school board director, Salisbury Township SD
Ms. Stacy Gober,
CFO, Bethlehem Area SD
Ms. Susan Gobreski,
Executive Director, Education Voters of PA
Moderator: Roberta
Marcus, School Board Director, Parkland SD
Register HERE to attend the Lehigh Valley education forum.
Central PA education forum
Tuesday,
April 28, 6:30-8:30
Grace Lutheran Church (in Harkins Hall), 205 S. Garner Street, State College
Grace Lutheran Church (in Harkins Hall), 205 S. Garner Street, State College
Panelists
Dr. Cheryl Potteiger, superintendent, Bellefonte Area School District
Ms. Kelly Hastings, superintendent, Keystone Central School District
Mr. James Estep, superintendent, Mifflin County School District
Mr. Sean Daubert, CFO, Mifflin County School District
Dr. Robert O’Donnell, superintendent, State College Area School District
Mr. David Hutchison, school board member, State College Area School District
Ms. Cathy Harlow, superintendent, Tyrone Area School District
Mrs. Linda Smith, superintendent, Williamsburg Community School District
Dr. Cheryl Potteiger, superintendent, Bellefonte Area School District
Ms. Kelly Hastings, superintendent, Keystone Central School District
Mr. James Estep, superintendent, Mifflin County School District
Mr. Sean Daubert, CFO, Mifflin County School District
Dr. Robert O’Donnell, superintendent, State College Area School District
Mr. David Hutchison, school board member, State College Area School District
Ms. Cathy Harlow, superintendent, Tyrone Area School District
Mrs. Linda Smith, superintendent, Williamsburg Community School District
Register HERE to attend the central PA education forum.
Southeastern PA Regional
Meeting on School Funding
Wednesday April 29th 7:00 pm Springfield High School Auditorium, 49 West Leamy Avenue, Springfield, PA 19064
Wednesday April 29th 7:00 pm Springfield High School Auditorium, 49 West Leamy Avenue, Springfield, PA 19064
Local school
district leaders will discuss how state funding issues are impacting our
children’s educational opportunities, our local taxes and our communities.
Hosted by Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council, Education Voters of PA, the Keystone State Education Coalition and Public Citizens for Children and Youth
Hosted by Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council, Education Voters of PA, the Keystone State Education Coalition and Public Citizens for Children and Youth
Panelists:
Mr. Frank Agovino, school board president, Springfield
School District and Board of Directors, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce
Dr. James Capolupo, superintendent, Springfield School
District
Dr. Wagner Marseille,
Acting Superintendent, Lower
Merion School District
Mr. Joe Bruni, superintendent, William Penn School District
Dr. Richard Dunlap, superintendent, Upper Darby School
District
Mr. Stanley Johnson.
Executive Director of Operations, Phoenixville Area
School District
Ms. Susan Gobreski, Executive Director, Education Voters of
PA
Moderator: Mr. Lawrence Feinberg, Chairman, Delaware County
School Boards Legislative Council
Registration HERE to
attend.
Your Right to a Fair Shot: Discrimination Claims,
Post-Secondary and the Professions
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia Tuesday,
April 21, 2015 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
United Way Building 1709 Benjamin Franklin
Parkway, Philadelphia, 19103
Attendees will learn
about discrimination claims, post-secondary schools and the professions in this
session. You'll learn how federal law aids students with disabilities who
do not qualify for special education services, hear about recent cases, and
understand strategies for getting students services. 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.
Tickets: Attorneys
$200 General Public $100 Webinar $50
"Pay What You Can" tickets
are also available
Beyond a New School Funding
Formula: Lifting Student Achievement to Grow PA's Economy
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM (EDT)
Harrisburg, PA
7:30 am: Light breakfast fare and registration; 8:00 am:
Program
Harrisburg University Auditorium, Strawberry Square 326 Market
Street Harrisburg, PA 17101
Opening Remarks by Neil D. Theobald, President, Temple
University
SESSION I: THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ACHIEVEMENT GAPS IN
PENNSYLVANIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS with introduction by Rob Wonderling,
President, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and Member, Center on
Regional Politics Executive Committee.
Presentation by Lynn A. Karoly, Senior Economist, RAND
Corporation
SESSION II: WHAT CAN PENNSYLVANIA LEARN FROM THE WORLD’S
LEADING SCHOOL SYSTEMS? with introduction by David H. Monk, Dean,
Pennsylvania State University College of Education.
Presentation by Marc S. Tucker, President and CEO,
National Center on Education and the Economy
Sessions to be followed by a response panel moderated
by Francine Schertzer, Director of Programming, Pennsylvania Cable
Network
Program presented by the University Consortium to Improve
Public School Finance and Promote Economic Growth
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