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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup April 26, 2016:
25+ Districts Pass Resolutions Supporting
PA School Funding Lawsuit
Get out and vote today!
Polls are open until 8:00 pm
Rally in Harrisburg with the Campaign for Fair Education Funding
on May 2nd 12:30 Main Rotunda!
We're rallying for a permanent fair funding formula + increases to basic
education in 2016-17 budget
Public schools in Pennsylvania are a far cry from the
“thorough and efficient” system of education promised guaranteed under our
state constitution. That’s why we want YOU to join Education Law Center and
members of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Buses
of supporters are leaving from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia - please register
below so we can help you arrive on time for the 12:30 press conference in the
Main Rotunda! Questions? Email smalloy@elc-pa.org
for more details.
25+ Districts Pass Resolutions Supporting
PA School Funding Lawsuit
Thorough
and Efficient Blog APRIL
25, 2016 by BARB GRIMALDI
Our
partners at Education
Voters of PA have been helping school districts and organizations pass
resolutions in support of the school funding lawsuit. Here is the list of
districts and organizations that have passed such resolutions to date. If
your district or organization is interested in passing a resolution, our
partners at Education Voters of PA have put together a
sample resolution and an
FAQ about passing such a resolution.
For
additional resources, check out Tools for Advocates.
Read why
these groups are supporting the suit:
School funding: how much does money
matter?
WHYY
Radio Times with Marty Moss Coane April 25, 2016 Audio Runtime 48:57
Guests:
Kevin McCorry, Bruce Baker, Cory Turner
Two
elementary schools only a few miles apart might spend wildly different amounts
of money on their students. Since school funding depends on the revenue
generated from local property taxes, impoverished communities often have the
most poorly funded public schools. Pennsylvania has the greatest disparities in
funding among the states — the poorest districts receive 33% less money then
the richest. But how much does money matter in education? Do more
dollars automatically mean better schools and better educated students? And how
can we make the system of school funding more equitable across the
nation? This hour, Marty talks with three guests about disparities in
school funding. BRUCE
BAKER is a professor at Rutgers who specializes in
school funding, KEVIN
MCCORRY is WHYY’s senior education writer, and CORY TURNER,
an NPR education correspondent and the co-editor of the new NPR series,
- See
more at: http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2016/04/25/school-funding-how-much-does-money-matter/?platform=hootsuite#sthash.e6xnuTyR.dpuf
“So, quick recap:
While the money in Camden, N.J., has led to relatively little academic
progress, our stories from North Carolina, Indiana and Massachusetts offer a
compelling counterpoint to the idea that money doesn't really matter. So, too, do a pair of recent studies that
look not at one state but at many where parents, activists and school leaders
from low-income districts sued and won increases in school funding.”
Can More Money Fix America's Schools?
NPR by CORY TURNER, KEVIN
MCCORRY, LISA WORF, SARAH GONZALEZ, KIRK CARAPEZZA, CLAIRE
MCINERNY April 25, 20166:00 AM ET
This
winter, Jameria Miller would often run to her high school Spanish class, though
not to get a good seat. She wanted a
good blanket. "The cold is
definitely a distraction," Jameria says of her classroom's uninsulated,
metal walls. Her teacher provided the
blankets. First come, first served. Such is life in the William Penn School
District in an inner-ring suburb of Philadelphia. The
hardest part for Jameria, though, isn't the cold. It's knowing that other
schools aren't like this. They're
always going to be a step ahead of us. They'll have more money than us, and
they'll get better jobs than us, always.
Before her family moved closer to the city, where they could afford more
living space, she attended the more affluent Upper Moreland district, which is
predominantly white and, according to state and local records, spends about
$1,200 more per student than William Penn.
That difference adds up, Jameria says, to better buildings, smaller
class sizes, take-home textbooks and less teacher turnover. "It's never going to be fair," she
says, comparing her life now to her former classmates. "They're always
going to be a step ahead of us. They'll have more money than us, and they'll
get better jobs than us, always."
So Jameria's parents have signed onto a lawsuit, arguing that
Pennsylvania's school funding system is unfair and inadequate. To the Millers,
money matters. But not everyone agrees.
Will lawmakers stick with new education
funding formula next year?
Abc27 By Kendra Nichols Published: April 25, 2016,
5:52 pm
HARRISBURG,
Pa. (WHTM) – After a 10-month state budget stalemate, school districts across
the state will start to receive millions of dollars in additional state
funding. Governor Tom Wolf allowed the bill to go into effect without his
signature. “Certainly, schools are
relieved that the money is going to flow now,” said Jim Buckheit, executive
director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. There are only a few months left in the
fiscal year and talks about next year’s budget are just around the corner. “One of the problems that Pennsylvania has
had is that every year they keep changing how they give out money to schools,
so there is no predictability,” Buckheit said.
Buckheit hopes lawmakers will stick with the new Basic Education Funding
Appropriation which was approved in June.
“He remembers
legislators working together to advance legislation — fighting it out on the
House floor but meeting for drinks and dinner later. Apparently, that is no longer the case. “I talked to a Republican legislator who told
me, ‘You know, Brian, if I was seen talking with you, I would get called into
the speaker's office,' ” Clark said. “I said, ‘Is it really that bad?' He said,
‘It is that bad.' ”
Money,
partisanship in Harrisburg cited as deterrents to running for Pa. Legislature
Trib
Live BY BRIAN C. RITTMEYER AND TOM YERACE | Saturday, April 23, 2016,
11:00 p.m.
Outside
of the red-hot presidential primary, voters in the Alle-Kiski Valley are in for
a boring primary. The ballot features
few contested primary races for state office. The only state level contested
race is for attorney general. “Running
unopposed was unheard of when I was actively involved,” said John Regoli, Sr.,
a Westmoreland County commissioner from 1976 to 1986 and a state senator from
1986 to 1990. “Everybody had opposition in every primary then. The Democrats
fought it out tooth and nail.” Running
for office requires raising significant amounts of money, and campaigns are
brutal, having become more personal than ideological, according to G. Terry
Madonna, a pollster and political scientist at Franklin & Marshall College
in Lancaster. “It's
asking a lot for people to venture out into all of this,” he said. This year, 18 state lawmakers of both parties
in the House and Senate announced they are not seeking re-election.
“Shapiro received a $100,000 donation from Students First
PA, a political action committee that advocates for school vouchers and charter
schools, efforts adamantly opposed by the union representing public school
teachers in the city.”
Did campaign donation
cost Shapiro the PFT's backing?
by Chris Brennan, Staff Writer Updated: APRIL 26, 2016 — 1:08
AM EDT
Call it
an un-endorsement by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The
union on April 15 endorsed Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman Josh Shapiro
in Tuesday's Democratic primary election for attorney general. On Monday, PFT spokesman George Jackson said
the union is not endorsing any candidate in that election and declined to
comment on or even acknowledge the endorsement of Shapiro 10 days ago. What happened? While
the PFT won't say, Shapiro's foes cite a campaign donation as the source of the
controversy.
In Democratic AG race, questions arise
about education-sector support
By Chris
Potter / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 25, 2016 2:24 PM
Just
days before a hotly contested primary fight between Democratic attorney general
candidates, Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro appears to have lost
the support of Philadelphia's teacher union. And while some of the
circumstances are murky, the campaign of his chief rival, Allegheny County
District Attorney Stephen Zappala, is trumpeting the news. In a
weekend statement, the Zappala campaign asserted that Mr. Shapiro had lost the
backing of Philadelphia's chapter of the American Federation of Teachers,
because he'd accepted a $100,000 campaign contribution from the Students First
PAC. That PAC, largely bankrolled by a handful of eastern Pennsylvania
financiers, espouses charter schools. The
Zappala campaign said "American Federation of Teachers leaders in
Pennsylvania were not amused" by the contribution. While the AFT's
statewide organization previously made no endorsement in the AG's race, the
statement noted, the Philadelphia chapter had given its backing to Shapiro --
support "which they have now rescinded."
"As we enter 2016-2017, I look forward to coming
together to reach a long-term solution to fix our deficit and to fund education
at all levels," Wolf said in a statement. "I remain adamant that we
must take additional steps to restore the cuts from the previous
administration." A spokeswoman for
Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said Senate Republicans were
pleased with Wolf's move. "We are
pleased schools will receive their $200 million increase in funding under a
bipartisan formula while at the same time fulfilling our commitments to funding
school construction and renovation," spokesman Jennifer Kocher said..
Wolf lets last
budget bill become law without his signature
Education
Week by Associated Press Published Online: April 25, 2016
HARRISBURG,
Pa. (AP) — Legislation directing the distribution of $200 million to
Pennsylvania's public school districts and authorizing up to $2.5 billion in
borrowing for the state share of school construction costs will take effect
Monday, the governor's office said. Democratic
Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday in a brief statement that he would allow the bill to
become law without his signature, after a fight with the Republican-controlled
Legislature over which school districts should benefit most from the money. It
is the same approach he took last month after a long fight with the
Republican-controlled Legislature toward a $6.6 billion spending package, part
of an overall $30 billion budget that he viewed as inadequate to fairly fund
schools and wipe out a long-term deficit.
The law
takes effect barely two months before the 2016-17 fiscal year begins July 1.
“Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, was the guest speaker at
Friday’s Greater DuBois Chamber of Commerce Business Connections Luncheon at
Luigi’s Villa in DuBois. The senator spoke about the budget problems in
Harrisburg, noting that with Gov. Tom Wolf proposing more taxes and spending in
the new fiscal year, that a budget impasse is looking likely.”
Scarnati: Another budget battle likely for
state
Tri-County
Sunday By
Joy Norwood jnorwood@thecourierexpress.com Apr 24, 2016
DuBOIS —
Another budget battle seems likely, according to Senator Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway,
as the state General Assembly works on a budget for the June 30 deadline. Scarnati, who was the guest speaker at the
Greater DuBois Chamber of Commerce’s Business Connections Luncheon Friday at
Luigi’s Villa, said a budget impasse is in the state’s future as Gov. Tom Wolf
is allegedly seeking even higher taxes and increases in spending than in last
year’s budget proposal. “It’s necessary
to govern in the method in which those who are paying the taxes are living,”
Scarnati said. Pennsylvania has a structural
deficit, he said, explaining that the state has expenses that every year
increase basically out of our control. Pension costs are going up every year
for the commonwealth from $500 (million) to $600 million a year.
Pa. House
Appropriations leader says 2016-17 budget "may" be concluded without
income or sales tax hike
Penn
Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
April 25, 2016 at 4:54 PM
The
chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee said Monday he believes
Pennsylvania's 2016-17 budget can be balanced without an increase in the
state's personal income or state sales taxes.
But Rep. William Adolph, R-Delaware County, studiously refused to back
himself into a corner - a lesson Adolph added, he hopes Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf
has learned after his budget veto of 2015.
Wolf issued a full veto last summer of a $30.2 billion
budget plan crafted by the Legislature's Republican majorities. While that plan was pushed through at the
fiscal year deadline without administration input, supporters noted most of its
individual line items matched Wolf's initial proposal.
GOP leadership
may seek new money for next Pa. budget
WHYY
Newsworks BY MARY WILSON
APRIL 25, 2016
Negotiations
haven't gotten started for the state budget due in July, but already a
top-ranking Republican said he thinks the commonwealth will need more money. "You're going to need some
revenue," said Rep. Bill Adolph, R-Delaware, chair of the House
Appropriations committee, at the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon Monday.
"You may be able to get there without a broad-based tax. I do believe —
it's just my opinion —that there's going to be some kind of revenue to balance
the budget this year." Adolph cited
the state's projected structural deficit — expected to be well over a billion
dollars, though he held out hope that the state's April tax collections would
minimize the budget gap. The retiring
Delaware County lawmaker said there's no potential menu of tax increases or
other new revenue options, since negotiations haven't begun.
CAN GOV. WOLF
RE-BOOT?
Tom Wolf is isolated and wounded. Here’s what he needs to do to
get his mojo back
Philadelphia
Citizen BY JEREMY NOWAK
APR. 25, 2016
Put
aside the question of blame for Pennsylvania’s budget arriving 200 days late.
Who deserves the most blame is now inconsequential. The more important question
is: Can Governor Wolf regain political momentum? The Republicans got what they most wanted
from the new budget: No broad-based tax increases. Wolf got less than he wanted
in school funding and received no new revenue for the structural deficit. And
the citizens of the Commonwealth got nothing in terms of fixing a pension fund time
bomb, addressing a structural deficit, or getting local property tax relief. Wolf lost the battle of his first budget and
is losing the battle of his first fiscal code, the operating system for the
budget. The Governor lost the budget
battle because the Republican legislative majority, while not veto proof, could
hold out longer than the Governor. In a battle between a single protagonist
(the governor) and a crowd (the legislature), pressure for relief—from school
districts, social service agencies, and local governments—draws strongly
towards the one person able to change the situation. This is the risk that any
executive leader assumes when he or she signs up for the job.
Charter schools, pension costs create hole
in Bethlehem's budget
Jacqueline
Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning
Call April 25, 2016
Charter
schools, pension costs create hole in Bethlehem's budget
BETHLEHEM
— If it wasn't for rising charter school tuition payments and pension costs,
the Bethlehem Area School District would have a balanced budget with a surplus,
according to Superintendent Joseph Roy. But
instead, the district is facing a 25 percent increase in charter school costs
and 19 percent hike in pension costs. That's led to a $6 million deficit in a
$263 million budget that could force the district to raise taxes by 3.9 percent
for the 2016-17 school year. "Pension
and charter school payments continue to literally break our bank," Roy
said Monday at a school board meeting on the budget. By comparison, the district is seeing a 3
percent increase in its expenditures. The
school district projects paying $26 million in tuition payments for more than
2,000 students in charter and cyberschools next year. It will also pay nearly
$30 million in pension costs.
Editorial: As more students opt out, it
becomes even clearer that standardized testing needs to be reassessed in
Pennsylvania
Lancaster
Online byThe LNP Editorial Board Apr 24, 2016
THE
ISSUE
Pennsylvania
System of School Assessment exams, or PSSAs, are administered to
students in grades three to eight. As
LNP reported last Sunday, students began taking the annual exams earlier this
month. The results of those tests are used in the state’s scorecards for
schools, as well as in teacher evaluations. In recent years, a growing number
of parents have chosen to have their children sit out of the tests using a religious
exception. According
to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the number of students
opting out tripled from 2014 to 2015. Let’s do this in
the style of eighth-grade language arts PSSA questions. School administrators say that if more than 5
percent of eligible test-takers opt out of PSSAs, schools will face penalties.
Which sentence most accurately states what those penalties might be?
A.
Classroom teacher evaluations may be affected.
B. A
school will receive a poor rating on the state’s school performance profile.
C. The
negative label, “focus school,” may be applied to a school.
D. No
one really knows.
If you
answered “D,” you are correct.
Sen. Jake Corman and county officials
celebrate new pre-K classroom
- Pre-K
education in Pennsylvania gets a $30 million funding boost
- Allowed
for the opening of a new pre-K classroom in downtown State College
Centre
Daily Times BY JEREMY HARTLEY jhartley@centredaily.com
April 25, 2016
An
additional $30 million in funding has brought the opportunity for
prekindergarten learning to more children in Centre County. State Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman,
R-Benner Township, met with educators and law enforcement officials at St.
Paul’s Christian Preschool and Childcare in downtown State College on Monday to
discuss the infusion of funds and recognize the school’s new pre-K classroom
and students. The funding came as part
of the state’s 2015-16 budget, said a joint news release from Fight Crime:
Invest in Kids in Pennsylvania and Pre-K for Pa. Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts
received $25 million while the Head Start Supplemental Assistance program
received $5 million. This new funding
for the remainder of the school year has allowed the county to serve an
additional 47 children with pre-K education, the release said.
No more school
buildings, sports teams; All students should be taught via cyber school:
PennLive letters
Penn
Live By Letters to the
Editor by DALE G. FORBES,
Spring Creek Twp., Warren County on April 25, 2016 at 8:20 AM
Recently
the local news outlets have reported on school districts having difficulty
balancing their budgets, or having a shortage of substitute teachers. I feel it's time we move our education system
into the 21st century, think outside the box as some would say, and move
education to cyber schooling, all done at home on a computer. The State could
buy each student a new computer each year if need be, and furnish schooling or
lessons via cyber. All students in the State would be taught with the same
lesson plan, those that have a higher IQ or understanding could advance faster
without waiting for those that can't or are less inclined.
Pennsylvania Department
of Education
Cyber Charter School Performance
Profile Scores
for 2013, 2014
and 2015
A
score of 70 is considered passing. No cyber charter
has achieved a score of 70 in any year. Additionally, most cybers never
made AYP under No Child Left Behind during the period 2005 thru 2012.
Here
are the 2013, 2014 and 2015 SPP scores for Pennsylvania
School
2013
2014 2015
Achievement
House
CS
39.7 37.5 44.8
Agora
Cyber CS
48.3
42.4 46.4
ASPIRA
Bilingual CS
29.0 39.0 38.4
Central
PA Digital Lrng Foundation
CS 31.7 48.8 39.3
Commonwealth
Connections Academy CS 54.6
52.2 48.8
Education Plus Academy Cyber
CS 59.0
50.0 N/A
Esperanza
Cyber CS
32.7 47.7 31.7
Pennsylvania Distance
Learning CS 54.7 50.9 49.2
Solomon
Charter School
Inc.
36.9
Susq-Cyber
CS
46.4 42.4 45.5
Commentary:
Time to end Pa.'s corporate welfare handouts
Inquirer Opinion by Nathan Benefield Updated: APRIL 26, 2016 — 3:01 AM
EDT
Nathan Benefield is
vice president of policy for the Commonwealth Foundation
Conservatives
loathe government handouts. Liberals denounce special favors to corporations.
One thing can unify these two sides: ending Pennsylvania's budget-busting
corporate-welfare handouts. Every year,
state government gives millions in taxpayer dollars to favored businesses under
the guise of "economic development." In reality, these giveaways
represent political development, enriching special interests and their
well-connected lobbyists. ncredibly,
Pennsylvania leads the nation in corporate-welfare spending, according to a
recent study by the Commonwealth Foundation. This year, the commonwealth will
award nearly $700 million in corporate welfare. In fact, Pennsylvania has
topped the nation in business subsidies since 2007, spending nearly $6 billion
of taxpayers' money on them.
School
District backs converting three Philly schools to charters
Inquirer
by Martha Woodall, Staff
Writer Updated: APRIL 26,
2016 — 1:08 AM EDT
Three
days before the Philadelphia School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote on
whether to turn three district schools into charters, district officials said
they would recommend the controversial changes.
Reports posted on the district's website late Monday showed that teams
that evaluated the turnaround proposals submitted by providers would urge the
SRC to convert the following schools into Renaissance charters in the fall: Jay
Cooke in Logan, Samuel Huey in West Philadelphia, and John Wister in
Germantown. The Great Oaks Foundation
has applied to take over Cooke. Global Leadership Academy is seeking to run
Huey, and Mastery Charter Schools wants to take control of Wister. District teams that examined the proposals
said all operators met the criteria to convert the schools to Renaissance
charters and should be granted five-year agreements with conditions.
Sisters of
controversy
New "parent
congresses" stoke claims of hidden agendas and conflict of interest.
The
notebook by Bill
Hangley Jr. April 25, 2016 — 3:19pm
Activist
Quibila Divine has launched a citywide series of “parent congresses” meant to
teach residents citywide how to advocate for change in their schools. The new effort is underwritten by a
combination of federal grant funds tied to Divine’s sister, School Reform
Commissioner Sylvia Simms, and undisclosed funding connected to a group
supported by the Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP), a private
organization that supports charter expansion. The inaugural parent congress was held on
April 16 at Audenried Charter High School in South Philadelphia. The next will
be held in May at Lewis Elkin Elementary.
Divine is expanding her role as a Philadelphia education advocate even
as questions about her financial backing remain unanswered and possible
conflict-of-interest issues for Simms – particularly as they relate to
Thursday’s final vote on charter conversion for Germantown’s Wister
Elementary – remain unexplored.
Despite
calls for clarity, including from Mayor Kenney, Divine declined to share any
details of the funding supporting her activities at Wister or the parent
congresses.
Pittsburgh Public Schools, teachers union
reach deal on contracts
By Molly
Born / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 26, 2016 12:30 AM
The
Pittsburgh Public Schools and its teachers union on Monday announced that they
have reached a tentative agreement to extend their contracts through June 30,
2017. Pacts with nearly 3,000 teachers,
paraprofessionals and clerical-technical workers represented by the Pittsburgh
Federation of Teachers expired on June 30.
Neither party will comment on the proposal until after members have voted
on the matter, according to a joint statement by union president Nina
Esposito-Visgitis, superintendent Linda Lane and school board president Regina
Holley. The teachers union will hold
informational meetings for each bargaining unit. Voting will occur May 16 at
the union headquarters on the South Side. The school board also will schedule a
meeting to vote on the plan.
Tough decisions ahead for Dubois Area SD
Tri-County
Sunday By
Elaine Haskins ehaskins@thecourierexpress.com Apr 17, 2016
DuBOIS —
Despite a potential tax increase in its 2016-17 budget, directors of the DuBois
Area School District talked Thursday night about how the district will still be
facing a deficit of at least $3 million.
Director Bob Wachob, along with Director of Finance Jeanette Buriak and
other directors, painted a bleak and uncertain picture of the district’s
financial future during a building and maintenance committee meeting. “I think the community needs to understand
that we are in serious financial shape,” Wachob said. “We are running a $3
million deficit this year, possibly $4.5 million, and if we do not get PlanCon
money, we are looking at a $3 million deficit next year. And I don’t know how
that will continue in years down the road. We only have about $7 million in the
bank so you don’t have to be a mathematical genius to realize that in two years
on our current track, we will be out of money.”
No amount of a tax increase in the world is going to fix that, Wachob
said.
What Are Kids Learning From This
Presidential Election?
Third-grader
Victor Reza was watching CNN in the living room in Houston with his family
when Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the Florida
Republican primary. Victor teared up, his older sister, Maria, said in a telephone
interview. "I don't want him to
win," he announced. "If he wins, I'm never going to see any of you
again." Victor, 10, is a U.S. citizen, but members of his immediate family
are not. And, says 21-year-old Maria, "I'm pretty sure he's heard hateful
rhetoric from his classmates at school. His friends at school were saying,
'Ha-ha, your family's going to be deported now because Donald
Trump is going to win.' "
This has
been an unusually long and hotly contested presidential campaign, in both
parties. Trump and other candidates have used language
that wouldn't be acceptablein most classrooms. The tone
of the debate, and specific statements about building a wall on the Mexican
border, deporting millions
of immigrants and how "Islam hates us," have raised concerns
about how all this is affecting students. Especially given that nearly a third
of the children in U.S. public schools, like Victor Reza, have foreign-born
parents.
Top business leaders, 27 governors, urge
Congress to boost computer science education
Washington Post By Emma Brown April
26 at 6:00 AM
Leaders
of dozens of the nation’s top businesses — from Apple and Facebook to Target,
Walmart and AT&T — are calling on Congress to help provide computer science
education in all K-12 schools, arguing that the United States needs far more
students who are literate in the technologies that are transforming nearly
every industry. They worry that the
United States could lose its competitive edge without significant efforts to
boost computer science among the nation’s youth. A bipartisan coalition of 27
governors has joined the effort, saying they see teaching coding and
programming as a way to draw middle-class jobs to their states, and dozens of
school system superintendents and nonprofit leaders say they see computer
science courses as essential for giving children the skills they’ll need to be
successful in the modern economy. “Our
schools should give all students the opportunity to understand how this
technology works, to learn how to be creators, coders, and makers — not just
consumers,” they wrote Tuesday in an open letter to lawmakers. “Instead, what
is increasingly a basic skill is only available to the lucky few, leaving most
students behind, particularly students of color and girls.”
Education INC, film screening and panel
discussion - Drexel University April 27th, 6:30 pm
Public
schools in America are under attack. Reformers seek to turn our public
education system over to private investors. Communities are catching on
and fighting back. Education INC tells the story of what happens when a
local public school district is turned over to corporate ED reformers and how a
community fights back to keep control. Following the documentary film, Drexel
University School of Education Professor, Dr. Erin McNamara Horvat will
moderate a talk on issues raised in the film. The talk will feature State
Rep James R. Roebuck, Education Committee, Democratic Chairmen, Philadelphia
Councilwoman, Helen Gym, councilwoman-at-large and Mark B. Miller, School Board
Director, Centennial School District. The event is free and open to the
public.
When:
Wednesday, April 27th | 6:30 pm Film, discussion
immediately after
Where: Antoinette Westphal
College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University
Film Screening Annex: 3401 Filbert St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Film Screening Annex: 3401 Filbert St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Rally in Harrisburg with the Campaign for
Fair Education Funding on May 2nd 12:30 Main Rotunda!
Public
schools in Pennsylvania are a far cry from the “thorough and efficient” system
of education promised guaranteed under our state constitution. That’s why we
want YOU to join Education Law Center and members of the Campaign for Fair
Education Funding in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Buses of supporters are leaving
from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia - please register below so we can help you
arrive on time for the 12:30 press conference in the Main Rotunda! Questions?
Email smalloy@elc-pa.org for more
details.
Electing PSBA Officers – Applications Due
by April 30th
All
persons seeking nomination for elected positions of the Association shall send
applications to the attention of the chair of the Leadership Development
Committee during the month of April, an Application
for Nomination to be provided by the Association expressing interest
in the office sought. “The Application for nomination shall be marked received
at PSBA Headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked by April 30 to be
considered and timely filed. If said date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or
holiday, then the Application for Nomination shall be considered timely filed
if marked received at PSBA headquarters or mailed and postmarked on the next
business day.” (PSBA
Bylaws, Article IV, Section 5.E.).
Open
positions are:
- 2017 President
Elect (one-year term)
- 2017 Vice
President (one-year term)
- 2017-19 Central Section at
Large Representative – includes Regions 4, 5, 6, 9 and
12 (three-year term)
In
addition to the application form, PSBA Governing
Board Policy 302 asks that all candidates furnish with their
application a recent, print quality photograph and letters of application. The
application form specifies no less than two and no more than four letters of
recommendation, some or all of which preferably should be from school districts
in different PSBA regions as well as from community groups and other sources
that can provide a description of the candidate’s involvement with and
effectiveness in leadership positions. PSBA Governing
Board Policy 108 also outlines the campaign procedures of candidates.
All
terms of office commence January 1 following election.
Join the Pennsylvania Principals Association at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at The
Capitol in Harrisburg, PA, for its second annual Principals' Lobby Day.
Pennsylvania Principals
Association Monday, March 21, 2016 9:31 AM
To register, contact Dr. Joseph Clapper at clapper@paprincipals.org by
Tuesday, June 14, 2016. If you need assistance, we will provide
information about how to contact your legislators to schedule meetings.
Click here for the informational flyer, which includes
important issues to discuss with your legislators.
2016 PA Educational
Leadership Summit July 24-26 State College
Summit Sponsors:
PA Principals Association - PA Association of School Administrators
- PA Association of Middle Level Educators - PA Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development
The 2016
Educational Leadership Summit, co-sponsored by four leading Pennsylvania education associations,
provides an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and
instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together at a quality venue in
"Happy Valley."
Featuring Grant
Lichtman, author of EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education,
Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (invited), and Dana
Lightman, author of POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have...
Create the Success You Want, keynote speakers, high quality breakout
sessions, table talks on hot topics and district team planning and job alike
sessions provides practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and
discussed at the summit before returning back to your district. Register and pay by April 30, 2016 for the
discounted "early bird" registration rate:
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
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