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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for August 13, 2015:
Number of Pa.
Interested in letting our elected leadership know your thoughts on
education funding, a severance tax, property taxes and the budget?
Governor Tom Wolf, (717) 787-2500
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, (717) 772-9943
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
Number of Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY AUGUST 12, 2015
In a sign that the
opt-out movement continues to grow, the number of elementary school students
who refused to take Pennsylvania 's
state standardized tests rose dramatically over the past two years. Between 2013-14 and 2014-15, opt-outs on the
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment math test more than tripled – from
1,017 students to 3,270. That's a 220 percent jump. In the same years, PSSA English language arts
opt-outs jumped 139 percent – from 1,355 to 3,245. Opt-outs on the science test jumped 263
percent – from 309 to 1,123. These are the
largest jumps in nine years of available data.
These numbers,
though, actually account only for parents who formally opted out. The state
also counts students whose parents refused to have them take the test without
going through the opt-out process. When
both categories are combined, the increases are starker in math and English. Between 2013-14 and
2014-15, the PSSA math test saw total exclusions jump by 240 percent – from
1,292 to 4,394. Likewise, the PSSA
English language arts test saw total exclusions jump 155 percent – from 1,789
to 4,567. Total exclusions on the
science test jumped 258 percent – from 456 to 1,635. "It's a recognition that there's already
substantial concern among some parents about the climate with standardized
testing," said Adam Schott, director of policy research at Research for
Action. "And so it's just important that policymakers be attentive going
forward."
New PSSA results show
risks of "one-size-fits-all" testing: Don Bell
PennLive Op-Ed By Don Bell on August 12, 2015 at
1:30 PM
Don Bell, the school superintendent for the
Northern Lebanon School District, is an occasional PennLive Opinion
contributor.
It has always been
clear that some believe that the definition of student success can only be
found in a "one size-fits all test."
Even when the world has moved away from this scenario -- check your
ballcap for proof. Some caps are custom fitted, others adjust and create a
custom fit and still others are stretch bands that say "one size fits
most". None of the hats say one
size fits "all." Yet in the world of public education we are still
mandated by some but "not all" government officials that the one size
fits all PSSA test is the only approach to define student success. With the release of
the newest PSSA information it shows that the preliminary scores decreased
significantly from the previous year. Does
this mean, as another superintendent put it, that students are dumber one year
later or teachers stopped teaching last year? - Absolutely not.
20%
of New York State
New York Times By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS AUG. 12, 2015
More than 200,000
third through eighth graders sat out New
York ’s standardized tests this year, education
officials said on Wednesday, in a sign of increasing resistance to testing as
more states make them harder to pass. The
number of students declining to take the exams quadrupled from the year before,
and represented 20 percent of all those eligible to be tested, according to
data from the State Education Department. The statistic not only showed
the growing
strength of the “opt out” movement against standardized testing, but
also put immediate pressure on state and federal officials, who must now decide
whether to penalize schools and districts with low participation rates.
N.Y. Opt-Out Rate Hits 20
Percent on Common-Core Tests
We finally have an
answer to a burning question about the epicenter of the opt-out movement. According to
data released by the New
York state education department Aug. 12, 20 percent of students
in grades 3-8 eligible to take the statewide tests in reading and math for the
2014-15 school year did not do so.
It's the third year that New
York state students have taken tests aligned to the
Common Core State Standards. And scores didn't change dramatically from last
year to this year. Overall statewide
proficiency rates in 2014-15 were 31.3 percent on the reading exam and 38.1
percent in math. The math proficiency rate rose by just under 2 percentage
points from the 2013-14 rate,
but in reading, the proficiency rate rose by less than a percentage point.
Standardized Testing Costs
States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Says
Education Week By Andrew
Ujifusa Published Online:
November 29, 2012; Updated: June 24, 2015
Standardized-testing
regimens cost states some $1.7 billion a year overall, or a quarter of 1
percent of total K-12 spending in the United States, according to a new report on assessment
finances. The report released Nov. 29 by
the Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy, at the Brookings
Institution, calculates that the test spending by 44 states and the District of Columbia
amounted to $65 per student on average in grades 3-9 based on the most recent
test-cost data the researchers could gather. (The Brown
Center report was not able to gather
that data from Connecticut , Iowa ,
Oklahoma , South Carolina ,
West Virginia , and Wyoming .)
Report: Big education firms spend millions lobbying
for pro-testing policies
(Corrections: The center
corrects points about Houghton Mifflin’s market share for Common Core testing;
and McGraw Hill. The original post said testing made up for shrinking textbook
market share; the company says it is digital resources.
The four
corporations that dominate the U.S. standardized testing market spend millions
of dollars lobbying state and federal officials — as well as sometimes hiring
them — to persuade them to favor policies that include mandated student
assessments, helping to fuel a nearly $2 billion annual testing business, a new
analysis shows. The analysis, done by
the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit liberal watchdog and advocacy
agency based in Wisconsin that tracks corporate influence on public policy,
says that four companies — Pearson Education, ETS (Educational Testing
Service), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and McGraw-Hill— collectively spent
more than $20 million lobbying in states and on Capitol Hill from 2009 to 2014. The analysis notes
that of the four, only one, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has signed
the Student
Privacy Pledge, an initiative by the Future of Privacy Forum and the
Software & Information Industry Association to get K-12 school service
providers to pledge to safeguard student privacy built around a dozen
commitments regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal
information. Currently
127 providers have signed it. Here’s a summary of
findings from the new analysis on lobbying by testing corporations:
Wolf’s budget talks with lawmakers focus on school
funding
ABC27 MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Published: August 12, 2015, 5:08 pm
The Democratic
governor and leaders of both parties focused on education funding and
Republican proposals to cut public-sector pensions during a closed-door meeting
in the Capitol on Wednesday. Pennsylvania is about a
month and a half into its new fiscal year without a budget in place. Majority
Republicans passed a spending plan without new taxes in late June, but Wolf
vetoed it along with GOP proposals on pensions and liquor privatization.
Wolf says they’re
making progress and plan to meet again on Thursday.
Wolf, GOP inch closer on
budget
JESSICA PARKS AND CHRIS PALMER, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS LAST UPDATED: Thursday, August 13,
2015, 1:08 AM POSTED: August 12, 2015, 6:54 PM
HARRISBURG - During
an hour-long negotiating session Wednesday, Gov. Wolf and Republican
legislators inched toward compromise on some key sticking points in a budget
six weeks overdue. House Speaker Mike
Turzai (R., Allegheny) was careful to temper expectations, but said the talks
marked the first time he had seen "some movement [by Wolf] acknowledging
our perspective" on pension reform and privatization of the state liquor
store system. "There's no
breakthrough," Turzai said, "but it was an important
discussion." Wolf agreed that there
had been progress, though, like Turzai, without elaborating on what was
discussed in the second-floor Capitol conference room. But the first-term
Democratic governor said he needs to see similar acknowledgment by Republican
leaders of his plan to bolster education spending.
Wolf shows movement on
pension reform in latest budget talks
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on August
12, 2015 at 7:04 PM, updated August 12, 2015 at 9:41 PM
With the state budget stalemate now
in its 43rd day, Gov. Tom Wolf decided a way to try to break
the logjam with the GOP-controlled General Assembly would be to focus on
pension reform and education spending. While
no agreements were reached during the nearly hour and a half session, Wolf and
House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders all said they saw the talks
as productive and plan to meet again on Thursday. "We're making progress," Wolf said.
"I think we're trying to move. We're having substantive conversation on
issues that are important to both sides and I think that's a good thing in this
negotiation."
Budget negotiations forge
ahead with new proposals coming on pension reform, education funding
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Wednesday, August
12, 2015
Top legislative
leaders from the four legislative caucuses met with Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday
afternoon to discuss matters related to resolving Pennsylvania’s seven-week old
budget stalemate and left the meeting to review new proposals offered by the
administration dealing with pension reform and education funding. The negotiators will meet again Thursday
morning to discuss the new plans and see if they can find a way to forge ahead
and agree to a spending plan. “I think
we made some progress,” Gov. Wolf said about the Wednesday meeting. “We’re
going to get together at 10:00 tomorrow morning, we have some information
[Budget Sec. Randy Albright] is going to be presenting to the leaders, both
parties, so we can have a continuation of this tomorrow.” While the governor stopped short of saying
there was any sort of a breakthrough in negotiations, he remained optimistic
saying again, “We made progress.”
“There’s a sense
that we’re trying to move and have a substantive conversation on issues that
are important to both sides and I think that’s a good thing with this negotiation,”
he added. House Majority
Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) described the negotiating session as “a good
discussion.” “Look, we’re still going to
have differences as long as we’re still working off of the governor’s March
proposal,” he said. He called the fact
that the legislative leaders will be presented with a new pension reform
proposal a “significant step” depending on what the proposal contains.
Gov. Wolf's complaints
with the Republican budget
Governor sees
basic math errors in Republican budget
York Daily Record By Flint McColgan fmccolgan@ydr.com @flintmccolgan
on Twitter UPDATED: 08/12/2015
10:23:55 PM EDT
Gov. Tom Wolf
discusses policy during a YDR editorial board session. (File)
Ahead of a meeting
with state legislative leaders to try to fix a budget impasse, Gov. Tom Wolf
met with reporters at York
City Hall York County
Pittsburgh Public Schools
discusses taking in Wilkinsburg middle, high school students
Trib Live By Katelyn
Ferral Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, 7:12 p.m.
Wilkinsburg middle and high school students could attend Pittsburgh Public Schools as early as 2016-17 if both boards approve a plan to partner. Officials at Pittsburgh Public andWilkinsburg schools said they will form an internal group
this fall to explore how the two districts might work together. “We indicated several months ago our
inability to be offering what we believe is the same type of education
opportunities that other students in Allegheny County experience in their
secondary years,” Wilkinsburg Superintendent Daniel Matsook said. “That's the
No.1 reason we look for a partnership.” The
exploratory group will consist of the superintendent or designee, business
manager and solicitor representing each district, who will develop terms and
draft a potential agreement for how Wilkinsburg could pay to send students in
grades seven through 12 to a Pittsburgh middle and high school. They will
determine which Pittsburgh school would be a
feeder school for Wilkinsburg students. Wilkinsburg
has suffered from declining enrollment for years from a shrinking population
and student diversions to charter schools. About 260 students attend Wilkinsburg 's middle and high schools, and 190 children
who live in the district attend charter schools, Matsook said.
Wilkinsburg middle and high school students could attend Pittsburgh Public Schools as early as 2016-17 if both boards approve a plan to partner. Officials at Pittsburgh Public and
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Thursday, August 13, 2015, 1:08 AM POSTED: Wednesday,
August 12, 2015, 6:15 PM
Top Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY AUGUST 12, 2015
A battle between the
Philadelphia School Reform Commission and the Philadelphia Federation of
Teachers is heading toward the state's highest court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide if
the SRC has the authority to unilaterally cancel the teachers' contract. In October, the SRC voted to
cancel the teachers contract and impose health care concessions on teachers in
order to achieve $200 million in savings.
The SRC argued it had that power based on the 2001 law that took local
school control away from the city. In
January, the state Commonwealth
Court rejected that
argument. Now, in response to an appeal
by the SRC and the district, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear the case. No date has yet been set.
Pew: 5 facts about America
In a few weeks,
America’s roughly 53.5
million K-12 students will head to the classroom. Trading in
swimming pools and summer jobs for math problems and history homework, these
students will hit the books at one of more than 129,200 schools across the
country, including about 5,700 charter schools and 30,900 private schools. Pew Research Center has found today’s
American students as a whole to be more diverse –and on track to be
better educated – than their parents and grandparents. Here
are five key findings about these students:
"A recent report from
education consulting firm Bellwether Education Partners found that when
potential candidates were asked why did not apply to TFA, 70 percent said criticism of the organization played a role."
Teach For America
Fewer young people are looking to join the
organization's ranks.
Rebecca Klein Education
Editor, The Huffington Post Posted: 08/11/2015 09:01 AM EDT | Edited:
08/11/2015 03:54 PM EDT
Teach For America,
the controversial education nonprofit that places recent college
graduates as teachers in disadvantaged classrooms, saw a decline in its
number of accepted corps members after previously seeing a drop in applications
for the second year in a row, the organization announced Tuesday. TFA received over 44,000 applications for the
2015-2016 school year. Last year, the organization received just over 50,000
applications. The previous year, the organization hit a high of over 57,000
applications, topping off years of growth.
At the same time, by maintaining an acceptance rate of 15 percent, the
organization is welcoming a smaller class of teaching corps members than in
previous years. TFA will have a new teaching corps class of about 4,100 this
year, compared to around 5,300 the previous year and about 6,000 the year before that.
"For eight hours of work
per week, TFA chair Wendy Kopp drew a 2013 salary of $176,657. Co-CEOs Matt Kramer and
Elisa Villanueva Beard drew salaries of $381,946 for 42 hrs/wk (Kramer) and $342,134 for 40 hrs/wk (Beard)."
Teach for America Seeks
Help Promoting Itself on Capitol Hill
deutch29 Blog by
Mercedes Schneider July 28, 2015
Teach for America
(TFA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by Princeton graduate and noneducator,
Wendy Kopp. TFA was granted nonprofit status in June 1993. According to its 2013 990, TFA’s end-of-year total
assets were $494 million, with $73.5 million of its 2013 revenue designated as
“government grants” and $31.6 million of its 2013 revenue earmarked as “service
fees revenue.” Interestingly, TFA’s 2013
990 also includes $4.7 million tagged as “bad debt expense” as part of its
total functional expenses. For eight
hours of work per week, TFA chair Wendy Kopp drew a 2013 salary of $176,657.
Co-CEOs Matt Kramer and Elisa Villanueva Beard drew salaries of $381,946 for 42
hrs/wk (Kramer) and $342,134 for 40 hrs/wk (Beard).
TFA began as a Peace
Corps-like temp agency that sends college graduates outside of the field of
teaching into classrooms for usually two years. However, by 2001, TFA had
established a second goal: To move former TFA corps members into positions of
influence in education, business, and politics in order to solidify and expand
TFA’s influence over public education.
"The Walton Family Foundation
has contributed more than $50 million to Teach for America since 2009.[1] "
Are Walton/Walmart Ties Hurting Teach for America’s
Reputation?
February 9,
2015 By skhalifa
It looks like the
Walmart heirs’ multi-milion dollar investment in Teach for America is causing
some young teachers-to-be to think twice about the group and its
agenda. In Friday’s New York Times,Motoko
Rich writes that Teach for America has experienced a 10% drop
in applications over the prior year, breaking a 15 year growth trend for the
organization. Among the reasons cited for the drop are increasing
criticism of TfA, it’s funders, and its close alliance with the charter school
movement. In fact, the article quotes
one college student who was originally interested in applying for Teach for
America: But as she learned more
about the organization, Ms. Duncan lost faith in its short training and grew
skeptical of its ties to certain donors, including the Walton Family
Foundation, a philanthropic group governed by the family that founded Walmart.
The Walton Family
Foundation has contributed more than $50 million to Teach for America since
2009.[1]
Video: Corporate Education
"Reform"
Video runtime 4:45 from Shine
On Productions
This is a clip from
the film DEFIES MEASUREMENT. To watch the whole film and learn more about how
to screen the film in your community, please visit defiesmeasurement.com
PCCY: Get on the Bus to Harrisburg
As parents, teachers
and advocates, you know first hand how difficult it is to get the resources
needed to support our students. Harrisburg continues to be mired in political
gridlock and has failed to pass a budget for Pennsylvania’s 500 school
districts.
Teachers,
parents and students have no idea what they will be walking into come September
for the start of school. We say enough is enough.
We are contacting
you because on August 25th the PA House is scheduled to return to the
Capitol—and we want to be there to meet them. Could you give us a few hours of
your day and help make it clear that we demand a budget?
- Join your neighbors and other concerned
citizens who believe that investing in our kids is non-negotiable
- We’ll provide: FREE Transportation to
and from the Capitol and lunch; a brief training on the bus, materials,
and day of schedule
- Scheduled visits with elected
officials
Kids are off from
school so bring them with you – after all, it concerns their future!
Details:
Details:
- Bus will depart from in front of the
United Way Building at 7:45am at 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
- We will return to Philly by
approximately 4:30pm. (Discounted parking ($8) available at the
Sheraton Hotel at 17th & Race)
- If you plan to drive yourself, we will
meet at the Capitol between 10am and 10:30am.
The John Stoops Lecture
Series: Dr. Pasi Sahlberg "Education Around the World: Past, Present &
Future" Lehigh University October 8, 2015 6:00 p.m.
Baker Hall |Zoellner Arts
Center | 420 E. Packer Avenue | Bethlehem , PA 18015
Baker Hall |
Free and open to the
public!
Ticketing is general
admission - no preseating will be assigned. Arrive early for the best seats.
Please plan to stay
post-lecture for an open reception where you will have an opportunity to meet
with students from all of our programs to learn about the latest innovations in
education and human services.
Register now for the
2015 PASCD 65th Annual Conference, Leading and Achieving in an Interconnected World, to be
held November 15-17, 2015 at Pittsburgh Monroeville Convention
Center.
The Conference
will Feature Keynote Speakers: Meenoo Rami – Teacher and Author
“Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching,” Mr. Pedro Rivera,
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Heidi Hayes-Jacobs – Founder and President
of Curriculum Design, Inc. and David Griffith – ASCD Senior Director of Public
Policy. This annual conference features small group sessions focused on:
Curriculum and Supervision, Personalized and Individualized Learning,
Innovation, and Blended and Online Learning. The PASCD Conference is
a great opportunity to stay connected to the latest approaches for innovative
change in your school or district. Join us forPASCD 2015!
Online registration is available by visiting www.pascd.org <http://www.pascd.org/>
Nominations for PSBA's
Allwein Advocacy Award now open
PSBA July 7, 2015
PSBA July 7, 2015
The Timothy M.
Allwein Advocacy Award was established in 2011 by the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association and may be presented annually to the individual school
director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in
legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that
are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. The
2015 Allwein Award nomination process will close on Aug. 28, 2015. The
2015 Allwein Award Nomination Form is available online. More details on the
award and nominations process can be found online.
Slate of
candidates for PSBA offices now available online
PSBA website July 31, 2015
PSBA website July 31, 2015
The
slate of candidates for 2016 PSBA officer and at-large representatives is now
available online, including bios, photos and videos. According to
recent PSBA Bylaws changes, each member school entity casts one vote per office.
Voting will again take place online through a secure, third-party website --
Simply Voting. Voting will openAug.
17 and closes Sept. 28. One person from the school entity
(usually the board secretary) is authorized to register the vote on behalf of the
member school entity and each board will need to put on its agenda discussion
and voting at one of its meetings in August or September. Each person
authorized to register the school entity's votes has received an email on July
16 to verify the email address and confirm they are the person to register the
vote on behalf of their school entity.
Register Now for PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference Oct. 14-16, 2015 Hershey Lodge & Convention
Center
Save the date for the
professional development event of the year. Be inspired at more than four
exciting venues and invest in professional development for top administrators
and school board members. Online registration is live at:
Register Now – PAESSP
State Conference – Oct. 18-20 – State College, PA
Registration is now
open for PAESSP's State Conference to be held October 18-20 at The
Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA! This year's
theme is @EVERYLEADER and features three nationally-known keynote
speakers (Dr. James Stronge, Justin Baeder and Dr. Mike Schmoker), professional
breakout sessions, a legal update, exhibits, Tech Learning Labs and many
opportunities to network with your colleagues (Monday evening event with Jay
Paterno). Once again, in conjunction
with its conference, PAESSP will offer two 30-hour Act 45 PIL-approved
programs, Linking Student Learning to Teacher Supervision and Evaluation
(pre-conference offering on 10/17/15); and Improving Student Learning
Through Research-Based Practices: The Power of an Effective Principal (held
during the conference, 10/18/15 -10/20/15). Register for either or both PIL
programs when you register for the Full Conference!
REGISTER TODAY for
the Conference and Act 45 PIL program/s at:
Apply
now for EPLC’s 2015-2016 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Applications are
available now for the 2015-2016 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania
by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). With more than 400 graduates in its
first sixteen years, this Program is a premier professional development
opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and
community leaders. State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available
to certified public accountants. Past
participants include state policymakers, district superintendents and
principals, charter school leaders, school business officers, school board
members, education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders,
education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows
are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization. The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day
retreat on September 17-18, 2015 and continues to graduation in June
2016.
Click here to read about
the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
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