Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
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administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup May 1, 2016:
NYT: Money, Race and Success: How Your
School District Compares
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.
Wishing a long hot shower to all those running Broad Street
or the Pittsburgh Marathon in the rain this morning……
Our Opinion: Ensure your vote counts; push
for election reforms in Pennsylvania
Times
Leader Editorial April 30, 2016
To
promote voting and preserve confidence in the process, Pennsylvania better
revamp its election rules. Observers of
last week’s presidential primary found plenty of flaws and much about which to
be disillusioned, and, no, we’re not talking about the candidates. From a
confusing delegate-selection process, which conceivably can render meaningless
the will of average voters, to the lack of modern conveniences, such as early
voting, the Keystone State sticks out among its peers like a horse-drawn buggy
at a NASCAR starting line. Ill-suited. Archaic. A total letdown. Is it
any wonder, aside from a presidential-year Trump-like bump, that voter
participation continues to edge lower? Pennsylvania
only last year made the leap to online voter registration. Next, voters in both
major political parties, and others, should insist that party officials as well
as the state’s elected lawmakers act to bring the rest of the voting process
into the 21st century. Make it modern. Make it transparent. And most of all,
make it fair.
Money, Race and Success: How Your School
District Compares
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH, AMANDA COX and MATTHEW
BLOCH APRIL 29, 2016
Sixth graders in
the richest school districts are four grade levels ahead of children in the
poorest districts.
We’ve
long known of the persistent and troublesome academic gap between white
students and their black and Hispanic peers in public schools. We’ve long understood the primary reason,
too: A higher proportion of black and Hispanic children come from poor
families. A new analysis of
reading and math test score data from across the country confirms just how much
socioeconomic conditions matter. Children
in the school districts with the highest concentrations of poverty score an
average of more than four grade levels below children in the richest districts. Even more sobering, the analysis shows that
the largest gaps between white children and their minority classmates emerge in
some of the wealthiest communities, such as Berkeley, Calif.; Chapel Hill,
N.C.; and Evanston, Ill. (Reliable estimates were not available for
Asian-Americans.) The study, by Sean F. Reardon, Demetra Kalogrides and Kenneth Shores of
Stanford, also reveals large academic gaps in places like Atlanta and Menlo
Park, Calif., which have high levels of segregation in the public schools.
Achievement
Gaps and Racial Segregation: Research Finds an Insidious Cycle
Education
Week By Sarah D. Sparks on April
29, 2016 8:54 AM
Fifteen
years of new programs, testing, standards, and accountability have not ended
racial achievement gaps in the United States.
The
Stanford Education Data Archive, a massive new database that allows researchers to compare school districts across state
lines has led to the unwelcome finding that racial achievement
gaps yawn in nearly every district in the country—and the districts with the
most resources in place to serve all students frequently have the worst
inequities. "I think we like
to think, 'Here we have this problem, but it's fixable. We know we could figure
it out.' It's not clear we've figured it out," said Sean Reardon, a
professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University.
"There's some deep ... problems that we as a society haven't faced up to
yet." This morning, Reardon and his
Stanford colleagues Demetra Kalogrides and Kenneth Shores released the first in
an ongoing series of studies based on the new data. The new studies shine a
light on how racial disparities in education differ throughout the country—and
how school segregation widens the gaps among students.` The Stanford researchers and Harvard
University education professor Andrew Ho linked state tests' scale scores to the scales
for National Assessment of Educational Progress in the same
grades and subjects, and used it to compare average achievement gap trends for
3rd-8th grade students in more than 11,000 districts across the country from
2009 to 2013.
“DePasquale said the nearly nine-month stalemate that
stretched into 2016 drove school districts to borrow a total of just under $1
billion, at an estimated cost of as much as $50 million dollars in interest
payments.”
DePasquale warns of costs of stalemate
WITF Written
by Mary Wilson, Capitol Bureau Chief | Apr 28, 2016 10:06
PM
The
state's top fiscal watchdog says another budget impasse would lead to a
"backdoor tax increase" in Pennsylvania. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said
Thursday that if lawmakers and the governor allow another lengthy budget
stalemate to take place without "dealing" with the state's projected
structural deficit, the commonwealth will receive another credit downgrade,
hiking the cost of borrowing. "Every
road project, every school construction project, every time a school district
or the state want to take out a loan... that money will not go as far,"
said DePasquale at a press conference in the Capitol. Pennsylvania has received multiple credit
downgrades over the past few years. Rating agencies have cited the state's
growing pension debt, the use of one-time money sources to balance its budget,
and, more recently, partisan gridlock. The
auditor general's office plans to monitor the cost of any 2016-17 budget
impasse for schools as well as county human services that rely on state
funding.
PA Chamber
CEO: Final state budget must address the pension crisis
Philadelphia
Business Journal by Gene Barr Guest Columnist Apr 29, 2016, 2:01pm EDT
Over the
past year and a half, Pennsylvania’s fiscal landscape has been marred by
protracted budget battles, repeated credit downgrades and the threat of
multi-billion dollar tax increases. Unfortunately, in his 2016-17 budget
address Gov. Tom Wolf continued his calls for many of the same tax
and spend policies that played a central role in the nine-month 2015-16 budget
impasse. In addition to policies that will increase labor costs for
Pennsylvania employers, the governor’s budget plan includes $2.7 billion in new
and increased taxes on Pennsylvania’s working families and businesses. What it
doesn’t include are any significant reforms to address the Commonwealth’s
growing cost drivers. The governor’s
proposed $33.29 billion budget calls for a multitude of tax increases,
including: a retroactive 11 percent increase in the Personal Income Tax; a
retroactive increase in the Bank Shares tax; an additional 6.5 percent tax on
the natural gas industry; an expansion of the sales tax base; an increase in
the waste removal tax; a monthly cap on the vendors allowance for sales tax;
and a new tax on property, casualty and fire insurance; among other tax
increases. In a slow-growth economy, these proposals hurt Pennsylvania’s
competitive edge and create new barriers to building a better future.
SRC approves 3
Renaissance charters, postpones vote on non-renewals
At the meeting, two
charter schools were renewed, and three Mastery charter renewals were withdrawn
to work out legal issues.
The notebook
by Dale Mezzacappa April 29, 2016 — 7:59am
The
School Reform Commission voted Thursday to turn over three more low-performing
District elementary schools to charter operators as part of its Renaissance
turnaround initiative -- Jay Cooke in Logan to the Great Oaks Foundation,
John Wister in Germantown to Mastery, and Samuel Huey in West
Philadelphia to Global Leadership Academy.
At the end of a nearly five-hour meeting, at which more than 60
members of the public spoke, the SRC delayed voting on four
existing Renaissance charters recommended for non-renewal: Olney High
School and Stetson Middle, run by ASPIRA; and Audenried High and Vare
Middle, run by Universal Companies. The three
charter conversions elicited both cheers and jeers from
a room packed with both supporters and opponents of the District's
policy of using charter operators to turn around low-performing District
schools.
SRC moves
forward on 3 Renaissance schools
Inquirer
by Mensah M. Dean, Staff
Writer Updated: APRIL 29,
2016 — 7:37 AM EDT
The
School Reform Commission moved forward Thursday night with plans to turn over
three struggling elementary schools to charter operators as part of the
Renaissance reform program, but postponed taking action on seven existing
charter schools that were seeking renewal agreements. The decisions came at the end of a five-hour
meeting during which audience members at times shouted out their frustrations
and suffered having their microphone cutoff when they spoke too long. The district's five-year-old Renaissance
Schools initiative, which aims to transform academically struggling schools by
turning them over to charter operators, was front and center at the meeting.
The three schools that will become Renaissance schools this fall are Wister,
Cooke and Huey Elementary Schools.
NEW DATA RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER
RENAISSANCE CHARTERS SERVE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS
The
office of Councilwoman Helen Gym reviewed the in-catchment and out-of-catchment
data of the six Renaissance charters currently under review. Our findings are
as follows:
Commentary:
Pa. charters' authorizers need authority
Inquirer Commentary by David Lapp Updated: MAY 1, 2016 — 3:01 AM EDT
David Lapp is the
director of policy research at Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based
education organization (www.reserachforaction.org)
A good
charter school law must ensure that authorizers have actual authority over
their charter schools. That's the
conclusion to be gleaned from a recently released "performance" audit
of the School District of Philadelphia's Charter School Office by state Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale. The report
finds the district compliant with state law "in all significant
respects" on charter authorization, but suggests changes are needed to
ensure quality. DePasquale said three of
his four main findings were "beyond the control" of the district and
primarily attributable to weaknesses in the state charter school law, which he
called "simply the worst" in the nation.
“When comparing the
cost of tuition to Penn State, Bellefonte students with qualifying scores saved
in total last year about $250,000, Bellefonte Area High School Principal Jen
Brown said. In the past five years,
Bellefonte Area students scored a 3 or higher on 365 AP Exams for a total
college savings of about $756,645, based on the Penn State rate, Brown said.”
Advanced Placement classes help students
get head start on college
- Taking Advanced Placement classes could
save families hundreds of dollars before their children head to college
- AP credits can be transferred to
universities for college credit
- Bellefonte Area awarded for its AP
program
Centre
Daily Times BY BRITNEY MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com APRIL 30, 2016 6:42 PM
When
Julia Stone attends Purdue University in the fall, she could enter her freshman
year with enough credits to graduate early.
Classmate Chauncey Blakeslee is in a similar situation. And it
all has to do with participating in Bellefonte Area School District’s Advanced
Placement program. They said taking AP
classes was hard work, but when it comes to the costs-saving aspect, it was all
worth it. After all, the cost to take an
AP exam is $92. Many colleges and
universities accept AP class credits to be transferred as college credits as
long as the student has an eligible test score per university requirements. At Penn State in the 2015-16 academic year,
the cost per credit for in-state residents is $691 up to 12 credits, Undergraduate
Admissions Marketing and Communications Director David Gildea said.
Chester County
Student Forum lobbying for more sleep
Delco Times By Eric Devlin, edevlin@21st-centurymedia.com, @Eric_Devlin on Twitter
POSTED: 05/01/16,
5:55 AM EDT
Downingtown
>> Matthew Daniels and Chris Arencibia are among a group of Chester
County students who may be well on their way to helping tackle a nationwide
problem. Across the country, millions of teens are not getting the recommended
amount of sleep they need, due in large part to the early start times at their
schools. They’re trying to fix that. “We’re
supposed to get over nine-and-a-quarter hours of sleep,” said Daniels, a junior
at Unionville High School. “Our students sometimes don’t even get four or
five.” “It’s a growing problem,” said
Arencibia, a senior at Avon Grove High School.
Fewer than one in five middle and high schools in the U.S. began the
school day at the recommended 8:30 a.m. start time or later during the
2011-2012 school year, according to data published in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity
and Mortality report. Too-early start times can keep students from
getting the sleep they need for health, safety and academic success, according
to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20160501/chester-county-student-forum-lobbying-for-more-sleep
A revealing new twist in the Common Core
state standards controversy
Washington
Post By Valerie Strauss April 30 at 4:10 PM
A
committee in the Michigan Senate has approved a bill that would require the
state to drop the Common Core state standards, a move that a number of other
states have already made. What’s different with this legislation is what comes
next: It requires that the state adopt the standards that Massachusetts used to implement
before it adopted the Common Core in 2010. Those old standards were
widely considered the best in the country at the time. Meanwhile,
in Massachusetts, Core critics are scrambling to get a referendum on the 2016
ballot asking voters to return to the standards that used to be in place.
Media
Matters: Reporting
on Corporate Reform and Omitting Walton, Gates, and Broad
Deutsch29
Blog by Mercedes Schneider April 30, 2016
Pam Vogel is the education program director of the
nonprofit, Media Matters. She has been with Media Matters since August 2015.
Her previous experience includes four months in 2014 as an intern in the office
of Vice President Joe Biden. For another six months in 2014, Vogel interned at
the Clinton Foundation. Vogel graduated from Whitesboro High School (NY) in
2008; Vasser College in 2012, and Teachers College in 2014. On April 27, 2016, Vogel published this piece for Media
Matters, entitled, “Here Are The Corporations And Right-Wing Funders Backing
The Education Reform Movement: A Guide To The Funders Behind A Tangled
Network Of Advocacy, Research, Media, And Profiteering That’s Taking Over
Public Education.” Now, from the title,
it sounds like Vogel’s piece is exhaustive– “a guide to the funders.” However,
as one continues reading, one finds this summation: Media Matters outlines the many
overlapping connections in an echo chamber of education
privatization advocacy groups, think tanks, and media outlets that
are increasingly funded by a handful of conservative billionaires and
for-profit education companies — often without proper disclosure. Interestingly enough, Vogel’s “many
overlapping connections” fails to include the Big Three
corporate-reform-purchasing philanthropies: Gates, Walton, and Broad.
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.
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:
Pennsylvania
Partnerships for Children (PPC), a statewide children's advocacy organization
located in Harrisburg, PA has an immediate full-time opening for an Early
Learning and K-12 Education Policy Manager.
PPC's vision is to be one of the top ten states in which to be a child
and raise a child. Today, Pennsylvania ranks 17th in the nation for child
well-being. Our early learning and K-12 education policy work is focused on
ensuring all children enter school ready to learn and that all children have
access to high-quality public education. Current initiatives include increasing
the number of children served in publicly funded pre-k and implementing a fair
basic education formula along with sustained, significant investments in
education funding.
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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