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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup May 9, 2016: CFEF: Make new formula permanent; increase 16-17
funding by $400M
Pennsylvania
has the widest funding gap between wealthy and poor schools in the country
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Website
Make the new funding formula permanent; pass a budget for 2016-17 that
increases funding for public schools by at least $400 million
Joint public hearing on Every Student Succeeds Act.
PA House and PA
Senate Education Committees
Harrisburg Wednesday
May 18th 9:00 AM Hearing Room #1 North Office Building
“Resolving the deficit is important because Pennsylvania
faces downgrades from credit rating agencies such as Moody’s and S&P
otherwise. The agencies have said the current budget doesn’t address the
deficit or public pension debt. A credit downgrade means higher costs to
taxpayers when state government does routine borrowing.”
Capitol Matters: Budget
deadline nearing fast
Citizens Voice BY ROBERT SWIFT Published: May 8, 2016
HARRISBURG — Because
the state budget for fiscal 2015-16 wasn’t completed until two weeks ago, there
is a reluctance to think deeply about the budget for fiscal 2016-17, which
faces a June 30 passage deadline. That’s
less than two months away. Yet April is
one of the largest state tax revenue collection months, signaling the arrival
of budget season at the Capitol. The
Revenue Department collected $3.7 billion in taxes last month, about 0.7
percent less than estimated. Total tax collections for the fiscal year to date
are about $26 billion, or $122 million above estimate. Things won’t change that
drastically during May and June as far as revenue is concerned. That leaves the size
of the built-in state revenue deficit due to escalating pension costs and
overreliance on one-time revenue sources as the major question hanging over
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers. Unlike Washington, Pennsylvania is
legally required to have a budget balanced between spending and revenues. The Wolf administration pegs the deficit at
$2 billion, while House Appropriations Chairman Bill Adolph, R-Springfield,
thinks it will be in the $1.3 billion to
$1.5 billion range.
“The Campaign for Fair Education Funding, a coalition of
labor unions, social welfare groups and education improvement advocates, is
pressing for $400 million in new aid to schools. It is advocating the year-old
formula to distribute the money instead of the politically sticky position of
backing Wolf's push to wipe out the 5-year-old funding cuts or reducing aid to
districts that, arguably, should not be getting it. Even so, pumping that much new aid into
schools year after year will soon iron out funding disparities in Pennsylvania
schools, some say.
"If we continue to do it at $150 million a year, like
we did this year, it'll take over 20 years," Buckheit said. "If we do
a $400 million increase going forward over the next several years, we can get
there in six to eight years."
Amid inequity, school
funding may be budget flashpoint again
Inquirer By MARC
LEVY - Associated Press -
Saturday, May 7, 2016
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
- Pennsylvania’s school funding could once again become a contentious point in
fledgling state budget talks after a fight over how school funding helped drive
this past year’s historic budget stalemate.
The stalemate came amid the backdrop of federal data showing that
Pennsylvania harbors the nation’s most inequitable education system in terms of
a funding disparity between wealthier and poorer school districts. It’s not clear that much has changed, and
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said this past week that inequity is still a
serious problem.
Hey, ready for another
state budget battle?
by John Baer, Daily News Political
Columnist Updated: MAY 9,
2016 — 12:16 AM EDT
LET'S ALL WISH our
(cough) great state leaders luck. They're
gonna need it.
For the Wolf
administration and Republican bigwigs are starting to talk about a new state
budget that's due at the end of next month.
That's right. Here we go again.
And as they chat
about new taxes or no new taxes, fixing a deficit, funding education and so on,
they face the same set of problems and issues that stymied them last time for,
well, longer than the duration of a full-term pregnancy. And after that there was no birth of a new
Pennsylvania. Instead, things that
lots of folks want - property tax relief, pension reform, liquor reform, shale
tax - died on the vine. Instead, after
cussin' and fightin' and partisan rancor, the Legislature passed a budget that
Gov. Wolf allowed to become law that amounts to little more than maintenance.
“It was painful for me to go through the period we went
through last year where those were the institutions that were hurt the most
because the impasse meant the state funding, however inadequate, wasn’t coming
to them and they couldn’t plan because they didn’t know when it was coming
through,” Gov. Wolf said. “That was
absolutely appropriate, that was something that I did, that we did in
Harrisburg and it did cause a lot of problems for schools.”
Changing DEP’s Drilling Regs May Be At Heart Of Budget
Compromises In Harrisburg
Crisci Associates
Environmental Digest May 8, 2016
The Wolf
Administration this week let it be known the Governor’s Chief Of Staff Mary
Isenhour would be the one negotiating the budget this year to avoid last year’s
problem of “too many cooks in the kitchen,” according to Capitolwire.com. The other visible change, so far, is the lack
of weekly (or daily) budget salvoes back and forth between Republicans and Gov.
Wolf. But, then again, it’s early. On KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, Gov. Wolf said
the budget impasse was necessary in order to bring all players to the reality
of the budget situation. “We couldn’t
keep going down that same road where the state was not coming up with the
funding that we should at the state level,” Gov. Wolf said. “We needed to have
that impasse, which was a catharsis, to try to shake ourselves into some sense
or reality in terms of what the state should be doing.”
School
districts await construction reimbursement money from state
Trib Live BY MARY ANN THOMAS | Saturday, May 7, 2016,
11:20 p.m.
When the state's
nine-month budget impasse ended in March, money for Pennsylvania's 500 school
districts was released, but the state's contribution remained short. About $266
million short. The budget Gov. Tom Wolf
allowed to become law without his signature did not include any money for
“PlanCon,” the state program that reimburses districts for a portion of their
education-related construction costs. The
budget impasse blocked the release of PlanCon money. While both Democrats and
Republicans agreed to fund it, they disagreed on how to pay for it. The result is schools likely won't get any
PlanCon money before the school year ends June 30. And because the state may borrow $2.5 billion
to pay for the program, it's unclear when and how much money schools can expect.
“The Basic Education Funding Commission established last year identified 180 school districts
that are underfunded by $937 million every year. …One plan would allocate additional state
funding for education with one-fourth of the money going to everybody and
three-fourths set aside to boost underfunded schools. The idea is in the form of legislation
proposed by state Rep. David Parker, R-114th Dist., which is scheduled to get a
hearing before the House Education Committee in the next few weeks. The 3-1 ratio dividing $400 million would
give every district additional funding each year; it’s just that those in
greater need would receive a greater amount.”
Pa. schools fair funding
debate picks up support
Pottstown Mercury
Editorial POSTED: 05/08/16, 12:01 AM EDT | UPDATED: 11 HRS AGO
The cause of fairly
funding public schools in Pennsylvania has been simmering for decades.
At its most basic,
the issue is that money available to schools is skewed because education is
funded with a local property tax. The
higher the value of real estate in a district, the more local revenue is
collected to fund schools. The poorer the district in property values, the less
money available for education and the higher the tax burden per property owner. That disparity is what has led to the phrase
“education by zip code,” referring to the resources available to schools based
on the affluence of neighborhoods. Thus,
the call to eliminate the property tax in Pennsylvania goes hand in hand with
the call for fair funding. In Pottstown
last week, it was the fair funding rallying cry that took center stage.
“Not to impugn the
intentions of the 46 cosponsors of the civics test bill, but the legislation
smells suspiciously like an election-year gambit. Who, after all, could be
opposed to students learning about the foundations of America? It would be more impressive if a bipartisan
group of representatives could come up with a budget on time. Maybe that budget
could lay the groundwork for a reform of the state’s appalling system for
financing education, which relies on local property taxes and a regressive
state income tax structure that dooms schools in less-affluent areas to
perpetual under-funding and under-achievement.
Getting that through the General Assembly would be a true test of
responsible citizenship in Harrisburg.”
Pa. schools need more
money, not another state-imposed test
Citizens Voice Editorial by THE EDITORIAL BOARD Published: May 8, 2016
a. Why do some
states have more representatives in Congress than other states?
b. Can you name one
of the writers of the Federalist Papers?
c. When was the U.S.
Constitution written?
d. How many
amendments are there to the Constitution?
Miss any of those?
You’d better go back to school. Or if you’re currently in school, you’d better
study up, or you might never get out. A
bipartisan group of state representatives, including Harveys Lake Republican
Karen Boback, has introduced legislation that would require all high school
seniors to pass a civics test based on the U.S. citizenship test in order to
graduate. It’s hard to argue
that Americans wouldn’t benefit from a better grounding in the nation’s
history, government and politics. Just witness some of the goings-on in this
year’s presidential race. But is it wise to
add yet another standardized test to students’ already full test calendar? The
state Department of Education is talking about scaling back reliance on such
tests and the Wolf Administration recently postponed the implementation of
previously mandated graduation tests until at least 2018-19. The topics covered
by the proposed civics test — the form and function of U.S. government,
American history and geography — are already part of every social studies
curriculum.
http://citizensvoice.com/opinion/pa-schools-need-more-money-not-another-state-imposed-test-1.2039877
“We can get rid of the gerrymandering and install a citizen
commission to design election districts fairly. Urge your state legislator to
support Senate Bill 484 and House Bill 1835. Check FairDistrictsPA.com for a
message to move these bills now.”
Letters: End
gerrymandering, make elections fair
Inquirer Letter by Ken
Myers, chair, Common Cause of Pennsylvania, Elkins Park Updated: MAY 9, 2016 — 3:01 AM EDT
In the Pennsylvania
primaries, with hot battles for president in both major parties and 18
congressional seats and a Senate seat at stake, just 45 percent of registered
voters turned out. This was a primary people cared about, with clear, major
differences that separated the candidates.
Why did most voters stay home? Many believe the system is rigged,
through complicated political party rules for nominating conventions, through
superdelegates, and in other ways ("After the primaries," May 1). The system is rigged in the race for seats in
Congress. Voting districts are set up to assure that the incumbent stays in
power ("More votes that matter," April 27). The party with less than
half the votes routinely walks away with more than two-thirds of our
congressional seats. The story is the same in the state legislature.
“According to Business Manager Peggy Gillespie, that is
because of two factors: an increased contribution to the Pennsylvania State
Employees Retirement System and a lack of state reimbursement for school
construction work.”
Kiski Area
School District budget avoids tax increase, but shortfall expected
Trib Live BY TOM YERACE | Sunday, May 8, 2016, 11:36 p.m.
Real estate taxes
will not increase under the Kiski Area School District preliminary budget
presented Wednesday. But the $58.3
million spending plan is looking at a shortfall.
According to Business
Manager Peggy Gillespie, that is because of two factors: an increased
contribution to the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System and a lack
of state reimbursement for school construction work. “We are looking at a $3 million spread
between the two of them,” Gillespie said.
She said the PSERS payment, which was $5.5 million last year, will be
$6.9 million this year — a $1.4 million increase. The reimbursement is actually for the debt
service on the $30 million bond issue used to finance construction and
renovation in the elementary schools dating to 2010. “According to the state's calculations, we
would be looking at a $1.5 million reimbursement,” Gillespie said.
Hempfield School District considers 2.4 percent tax
increase
Lancaster Online JUSTIN
STOLTZFUS | LNP CORRESPONDENT May 8, 2016
Homeowners in
Hempfield School District would see their tax bills rise by 2.4 percent as part
of a nearly $117 million proposed budget likely to win approval Tuesday. A majority of school board members who
attended a finance committee meeting last week said they support the tax
increase, the maximum allowed by the state without seeking an exception. The increase would raise school tax rate from
19.653 to 20.125 mills, an increase of around $80 for the average district
homeowner with a property assessed at $169,470. A property owner with a house
assessed at that amount would pay about $3,411 in school taxes in the fiscal
year that begins July 1, up from about $3,331.
The board has been wrestling for nearly two months with the issue of how
much of a tax hike is crucial to deliver K-12 educational programming to 6,826
students. Like other schools, Hempfield is facing the rising costs of salaries,
benefits and pensions, as well finding ways to invest about $21 million in
building maintenance over the next eight years.
Commentary: Education
efforts that would make Mr. Rogers proud
Inquirer Opinion By
Gregg Behr and Maxwell King Updated: MAY
9, 2016 — 3:01 AM EDT
What happens when
one of the most divisive presidential primary campaigns in memory sweeps
through Mister Rogers' Neighborhood? From
our positions at Pennsylvania foundations that have long invested in continuing
Fred Rogers' legacy of innovation in children's education and development, the
question has occurred to us more than once over the past few weeks. A primary contest should be a fantastic
opportunity to excite children about the political process and the issues
important to their futures. Instead, it has at times devolved into an R-rated,
cringe-inducing media spectacle. And while we're convinced that Fred would be
troubled by the bickering, brawling, and name-calling, we think he would be
even more concerned about what is not being said: anything substantive about
children and their development.
“Though the bill easily
passed the House, not everyone was in support. Rep. Jordan Harris, a
Philadelphia Democrat, said that he is a churchgoing Christian, but that people
"have a right to believe in the god of their choosing or believe in no
creator at all." He said that's why
he voted no. And he suggested that concerns about students' understanding of
history would be better remedied by making sure schools are adequately funded. "If my colleagues are concerned about
young people knowing the history of the country, then let us get to the
business of fixing the $2 billion structural deficit" and providing enough
funding "so we can have the money in the schools," Harris said.”
Pa. bill would add a motto
Inquirer by Karen Langley, HARRISBURG BUREAU Updated: MAY 9, 2016 — 3:01 AM
EDT
HARRISBURG - The way
State Rep. Rick Saccone sees it, American children are being bombarded with bad
influences. Instead of being taught
patriotism, he says, they are playing violent video games and listening to
vulgar music. "Our culture
celebrates all the negative things: materialism, vulgarity, pornography, every
type of lawlessness," said Saccone, a Republican from Allegheny County. His solution, or at least a step in a better
direction, can be summed up in four words:
In God We Trust. For years now,
Saccone has been pushing a bill that would tell Pennsylvania schools they can
post the national motto, as well as the Bill of Rights.
Proposed Philly soda tax
gets wide attention
Inquirer by Julia Terruso, Staff Writer Updated: MAY 8, 2016 — 3:01 AM
EDT
Hillary Clinton and Bernie
Sanders have weighed in. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a
billionaire couple from Houston are writing checks. Tax wonks and health
advocates from Seattle to Washington, D.C., are setting up Google alerts so as
not to miss the latest news. The debate over
Mayor Kenney's 3-cents-per-ounce sugary drink tax, it seems, is reverberating
far beyond city limits. "In my
circles, people are talking about Philadelphia constantly," said Marlene
Schwartz, director of the Connecticut-based Rudd Center for Food Policy and
Obesity, which supports such taxes. Some
experts say a win for Kenney in Philadelphia could be a tipping point for
enacting soda taxes in other major metropolitan areas. That's good or bad news
depending on where you fall on the issue.
But both sides are anxiously watching, particularly because of the
unique pitch being used to sell the levy here. Rather than push it as a health
measure to fight obesity, as done elsewhere, Kenney is offering his measure as
a way to fund early childhood education.
Philly District gives up
on Source4Teachers, poised to hire new firm
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa May 6, 2016 — 1:17pm
The School District
is ending its relationship with Source4Teachers.
The School District
has thrown in the towel with Source4Teachers to provide substitute service to
schools after a disastrous year, but it is poised to hire another firm that has
more experience dealing with large urban areas.
The School Reform Commission plans to vote on a contract with Kelly
Educational Staffing at its next meeting on May 19. Officials expressed hope that Kelly, a
national firm – unlike Source4Teachers, which is mostly regional and
based in Cherry Hill – will be able to do better. Source4Teachers, hired
last summer, set ambitious goals for providing substitutes but never met
them, leaving tens of thousands of students without consistent
instruction and throwing schools into chaos as other teachers scrambled to cover
for absent colleagues. Kelly has
experience in providing substitutes for large districts, including
Duval County, Florida, which includes Jacksonville, the capital city.
Philly schools' new subs
contract criticized, cheered
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Staff Writer Updated: MAY 6, 2016 — 10:04 PM
EDT
Now that the
Philadelphia School District is parting ways with substitutes contractor
Source4Teachers, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan
isn't exactly saying, "I told you so." But he notes that he predicted last fall that
the Cherry Hill firm would be unable to deliver on its pledge to fill 75
percent of the positions that were vacant on the first day of school and 90
percent by Jan. 1. Yet Jordan opposes the district's proposal to replace
Source4Teachers with another company. He believes the district can do a better
job of providing substitutes at a fraction of the cost. "This is another outsourcing
experiment," Jordan said Friday. "If you do the arithmetic, you will
see it is a substantial amount of money. The School District can manage this in
house much more cheaply." The
School Reform Commission is expected to vote May 19 on a proposed contract with
Kelly Services to take over placement of substitutes in the fall.
“It’s critical to kids’ futures to look beyond the
celebrity haze and see “National School Choice Week” for what it truly is, a
profit-driven wolf in sheep’s clothing that stands to erode our nation’s public
schools. Read “Top
10 Reasons School Choice is No Choice“ to shake off any lingering
stardust.”
K-12 Education for Sale -
Buying and Selling Kids’ Futures
The for-profit assault on
public education is real - and growing.
Huffington Post by David A. Pickler May 7, 20116
Huffington Post by David A. Pickler May 7, 20116
David A. Pickler, J.D., is president of the
American Public Education Foundation, a past president of the National School
Boards Association, and Vice-Chair of a new Standards Recommendation Committee
for Mathematics and English Language Arts formed by Tennessee Governor Bill
Haslam and other state officials.
It’s a deft turn of
phrase, “school choice” - until you scratch the surface and discover that it is
a marketing ploy. Simply put, the tug-of-war between public and private
interests is, at its core, about money, placing the interests of the few over
the needs of the many. The battle to
control the fate of America’s K-12 education market is not new - but the profit
potential is higher. A 2014 article in The Nation outlined how
venture capitalists and for-profit firms are “salivating over the exploding
$700 billion+ market in public education.”
For 6 days in late January, National School Choice Week, “the largest
series of education-related events in U.S. history,” held more than 16,000
separate events across 50 states, a 45 percent increase over 2015. Celebrity
firepower included former Cosby child star Keshia Knight Pulliam Hartwell,
Vivica A. Fox, Louis Gossett, Jr., Kathie Lee Gifford, and other celebrity
“champions for choice.”
Survey: Classroom,
Formative Tests Far More Useful Than End-of-Year Exams
Education Week
Curriculum Matters By Catherine Gewertz on May
5, 2016 7:30 AM
Parents, students,
teachers, and administrators place greater value on classroom tests and formative
assessments than they do on summative tests used for accountability, according
to a new survey. The results,
from a Gallup poll released Thursday, reflect a view reported widely: that
families and educators find statewide accountability testing to have limited
value. It was commissioned by theNorthwest Evaluation Association,
which has a keen interest in these matters: NWEA is the maker of the widely
used MAP formative assessments. In the last four years, it has conducted
periodic surveys gauging public opinion on assessment, such as this one, from 2014, about the amount of time
students spend taking tests. In
the most recent poll, Gallup examined the attitudes of 4,200 students, parents,
teachers, principals, and superintendents. The survey was conducted just as
states begin contemplating the new testing flexibility they have under the
Every Student Succeeds Act.
‘I have seen the school of tomorrow. It is here today,
in Finland.’
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss May 7 at 1:30 PM
William
Doyle is a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar who joined the faculty of the University
of Eastern Finland last year as a lecturer on media and education. He has
enrolled his 7-year-old son in a Finnish public school and has been dazzled at
what he has seen. His Fulbright project title: “Global Education Forum: The
Schools of Tomorrow.” In this post, he talks about an approach to education in
Finland that he thinks would do well in the United States. Doyle served as director of original
programming and executive producer during seven years at HBO. In 2014, he
co-wrote with civil rights icon James Meredith the American Child’s Education
Bill of Rights, which you can read about here. He is the co-author, with former
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, of the New York Times bestseller,
“American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms.” His other books include “A Soldier’s Dream:
Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq,” “An American Insurrection:
James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford, Mississippi” (winner of the American
Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award and the American Library Association’s
Alex Award), “Inside the Oval Office” (a New York Times Notable
Book), and “A Mission from God” (with James Meredith). He was co-producer of
the PBS special “Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story,” for which he co-wrote the
companion book. His latest book is “PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival
and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy.” When
he isn’t in Finland, he lives in New York City.
How Parental Power(lessness) Distinguishes Suburban
Public Schools from Urban Charters
Edushyster Blog By Emily KaplanMAY 3, 2016 by EDUSHYSTER2012
This is how you get
your child into a public school in an affluent suburb:
1. Make a lot of
money.
2. Buy a house in an affluent suburb.
Congratulations! Your child will now receive a top-tier education!*
2. Buy a house in an affluent suburb.
Congratulations! Your child will now receive a top-tier education!*
*If you ever feel
that your child is not receiving the education to which she is entitled,
exercise your right to go directly to the administration and complain. (Your tax
dollars pay their salaries, after all.) Work with teachers and administrators,
many of whom have decades of experience, to create an individualized education
plan for your child. Do not fear retribution: your child cannot legally be
driven from the district in which you have chosen to live.**
- **If you still feel that your child is
not receiving the best education property taxes can buy, you may choose
among several courses of action, including: going to the school committee
(an elected board on which sits one or more parent representatives like
yourself); running for a seat on said committee; sending your child to a
private school; or moving to another suburb, where you may repeat the
steps above until you are satisfied.
This is how you get
your child into a Boston charter school:
Survey: Linda
Darling-Hammond, Ben Carson Most Likely Ed. Secretary Picks
Education Week
Politics K-12 By Andrew Ujifusa on May 9,
2016 7:10 AM
Education researcher
Linda Darling-Hammond and former Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson are
the most likely picks to be U.S. Secretary of Education for White House candidatesHillary
Clinton and Donald Trump, respectively, according to an "Education Insiders" survey by
Whiteboard Advisors released Monday. And who's second on the
list for Clinton? American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten,
say these insiders. The survey of
roughly 50 to 75 current and former White House and U.S. Department of
Education leaders, current and former congressional staff members, state
education officials, and think tank leaders also found that a slight majority
of them believe that over the next two years, more states will stop
participating in two consortia (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) that were
originally funded by Washington and create tests aligned to the Common Core
State Standards. And
these "insiders" are generally pessimistic about the extent to which
both the media and presidential politics will focus on education, although
there's some belief that higher education could be an exception.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/05/next_education_secretary_whiteboard_survey.html
Donald Trump on education: Wrong, wrong and wrong
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss May 8 at 1:59 PM
Donald
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, doesn’t talk all that
much about education issues, but when he does, it is usually about the
Common Core, rankings and spending. And usually he is wrong, wrong and wrong. In one Trump ad this year, he hit all three
in just a few sentences: “I’m a
tremendous believer in education. But education has to be at a local level. We
cannot have the bureaucrats in Washington telling you how to manage your
child’s education. So Common Core is a total disaster. We can’t let it
continue. We are rated 28th in the world, the United States. Think of it, 28th
in the world. And, frankly, we spend far more per pupil than any other country
in the world. By far. It’s not even a close second.” And on May 2, he
said: Now, if you look at education.
Thirty countries. We’re last. We’re like 30th. We’re last. So we’re last in
education. If you look at cost per pupil, we’re first. So we — and by the way,
there is no second because we spent so much more per pupil that they
don’t even talk about No. 2. It’s ridiculous.
Talk about
ridiculous.
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:
“NATIONAL ANTHEM “SING-A-LONG”
When: September 9, 2016, 10:00 am PST/1:00pm EST
Where: Schools across America
Sponsor: American Public Education Foundation (APEF)
The National Anthem “Sing-A-Long” is a movement to teach K-12 students the
words, meaning,
music and history of the Star-Spangled Banner. This annual event is held
each year on the
second week of September to honor 9/11 families, victims and heroes and
celebrate the historic
birthday of the National Anthem on September 14. Those who join the
“Sing-A-Long” are singing in unison at the exact same time at multiple sites
across the U.S. The APEF has also created a robust, companion curriculum
recognized by numerous State Departments of Education, available online
at www.theapef.org (see the “Educate”
tab) for free download.
The Foundation hopes to have the support of the Alabama Department of
Education as we
commemorate the 15th Anniversary of 9/11 this year. Teachers are encouraged
to sign up
before the end of the school year at www.theapef.org.
Also online is a "how-to" guide on
holding an event at your school and sample press release. If you do not
wish to hold a full
ceremony at the school, your students can simply stand up and sing
at 10 am PST/1:00pm EST.
The Star-Spangled Banner Movement is a simple, elegant way to honor 9/11
while also teaching students how the world came together in the days, weeks and
months after the September 2001 terrorist strikes. The APEF also offers a host
of other free educational material on its website, including polls, contests
and grant information.
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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