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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup August 16, 2016:
It’s poverty, not teacher
quality
“When researchers control for the effect
of poverty, American students score near the top of the world on international
tests. Our overall scores are unspectacular because of our unacceptably
high child poverty rate, now around 25%. The problem is poverty, not teacher
quality. Poverty means food
deprivation, lack of health care, and lack of access to books. Each of these
has a strong negative influence on school performance.”
It’s poverty, not teacher qualitySchools Matter Blog by Stephen Krashen Sent to the Washington Post, August 12
Melinda Gates still thinks that teacher quality is the problem in American education (“Gates Foundation to ‘stay the course’ as it seeks to help shape state education policies,” August 12). Of course we should always be trying to improve teaching, but there is no teacher quality crisis in the US: When researchers control for the effect of poverty, American students score near the top of the world on international tests. Our overall scores are unspectacular because of our unacceptably high child poverty rate, now around 25%. The problem is poverty, not teacher quality. Poverty means food deprivation, lack of health care, and lack of access to books. Each of these has a strong negative influence on school performance. Let’s forget about developing new ways of evaluating teachers, fancy databases, and the other Gates ideas that have no support in research or practice. Instead, let’s invest in making sure no child is left unfed, no child lacks proper health care, and all children have access to quality libraries.
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2016/08/its-poverty-not-teacher-quality.html
School officials sound off
on new funding formula
Herald Standard by Eric Morris emorris@heraldstandard.com August
15, 2016
A new funding formula used to
allocate state education dollars based on the need of a district is a step in
the right direction, say several area school officials. Approved by state legislature in May and
signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf June 1, the Basic Education Funding Formula,
also known as the “fair funding formula,” applies weights to certain
socioeconomic factors that influence how school districts operate. The formula allows the state to allocate
funds accordingly based on the need of a district, ultimately favoring school
districts in high poverty areas. Charleroi
Area School District Superintendent Ed Zelich strongly favors the new fair
funding formula. “Absolutely it’s an
improvement,” Zelich said. “Right now, it’s based on zip codes. The fair funding
formula makes it a more level playing field, especially in districts which are
challenged like in the Valley.” In
determining the amount of funding to allot each district, the fair funding
formula takes into consideration student enrollment, poverty measures, school
district wealth and a district’s capacity to generate local revenue. Zelich said the fair funding formula
“equalizes learning opportunities for all children” by taking socioeconomic
factors into consideration. Uniontown
Area Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky called the switch to a new formula a
“very positive” one that benefits school districts in rural areas.
Blogger note: At the gym this morning I
saw a couple ads by K12, Inc. for “tuition-free” cyber education in
Pennsylvania. Here’s a significant piece
on cybers’ lack of performance from October 2015…
“The National Alliance for Public
Charter Schools, an advocacy group based in Washington, said the findings were
so troubling that the report should be "a call to action for authorizers
and policymakers." Pennsylvania's
14 cyber schools, which enroll more than 35,000 students, were among those
studied. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California account for half the nation's
200,000 students who were enrolled in approximately 200 cyber schools in 2011-12.”
Reprise October 2015: Study: Cyber charter
schools failing their students
By
Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: October 28, 2015
A massive national study of
online charter schools has found that 70 percent of students at cyber schools
are falling behind their peers at traditional public institutions. The study, released Tuesday by three policy
and research centers, found the online schools have an "overwhelming
negative impact." Stanford
University researchers said their analysis showed severe shortfalls in reading
and math achievement. The shortfall for
most cyber students, they said, was equal to losing 72 days of learning in
reading and 180 days in math during the typical 180-day school year. "While the overall findings of our
analysis are somber, we do believe the information will serve as the foundation
for constructive discussions on the role of online schools in the K-12 sector,"
said James Woodworth, senior quantitative research analyst at Stanford's Center
for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO).
Another scholar, Brian Gill, a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research
in Cambridge, Mass. cautioned, "I don't think we should view these
findings as saying that online education does not work."
“Luetkehans, dean of Indiana University
of Pennsylvania's College of Education and Educational Technology, said it's
hard to attribute the decrease to a single factor. “As we think back, there were a lack of
employment possibilities, and that was affecting students and their interest.
Part of it was due to demographics in Pennsylvania where school districts are
shrinking. And there has been a national and community dialogue around
educators and education. “Sometimes,
teachers become scapegoats for problems in the American education system. That
all made people think twice about teaching and education,” Luetkehans said.
It adds up to some shocking numbers for
college administrators.”
Fewer college students opt to pursue career as teachers
Trib Live BY DEBRA
ERDLEY | Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, 4:51 p.m.
Abbie Yasika is part of a rare
breed of college students who want to be teachers.
The 22-year-old from Greensburg
discounted comments from friends and classmates who warned she would never find
a teaching job. She graduated from
college in May, and this month she's launching a career as a kindergarten
teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
But she's among a rapidly
shrinking pool of students opting to teach.
The trend is apparent at local colleges where enrollment in teacher prep
programs has declined dramatically. And
statistics from the state Department of Education show a steep drop in the
overall number of teaching certificates issued: from a 15-year high of 18,590
in 2013 to 7,280 last year. Lara M.
Why
are fewer students interested in becoming teachers?
Radio Times
with Marty Moss-Coane August 15, 2016 Audio runtime 48:59
Guests: Richard Ingersoll,
Claudine Keenan, Yaasiyn Muhammad, Danielle Kovach
The number of college students
entering the teaching profession has been dropping, particularly in
Pennsylvania. This hour, why are fewer students interested in becoming
teachers? And we’ll look at reports of teacher shortages and high teacher
turnover. Mary Cummings-Jordan talks with RICHARD
INGERSOLL, professor of education and sociology at the University of
Pennsylvania, CLAUDINE KEENAN, Dean of Education
at Stockton University, and YAASIYN MUHAMMAD, a social studies
teacher at Central High. We’ll also hear from DANIELLE KOVACH, a special education teacher at Tulsa Trail
Elementary School in Hopatcong, New Jersey.
State Supreme Court rules in favor of PFT
in contract case
It upheld a lower court's
decision that the SRC could not unilaterally cancel the teachers' contract. The
union's leader says he hopes the ruling helps restart contract negotiations.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa August
15, 2016 — 3:57pm Updated 8:45 p.m.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court
has upheld a lower court ruling that the School Reform Commission did not have
the power to unilaterally cancel its collective bargaining agreement with the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. The decision is
a victory for the union in its ongoing battle with the SRC, primarily over
benefits and working conditions for teachers. Members of the PFT
have been working without a contract for nearly four years, and teachers
haven’t had raises during that time. The
SRC claimed the right to cancel the contract under special powers granted
by the state when it declared the District academically and financially
distressed and took it over, installing the SRC in place of a nine-member Board
of Education. The decision appeared to
rest on the fairly narrow grounds of what a “teachers’ contract” is – whether
it refers to the individual contract signed by each teacher regarding their
rights under tenure provisions that predate even the advent of collective
bargaining or the collective bargaining agreement reached by a District
and its unions. The court sided with the
PFT on that point – that the relevant law and case law support the
interpretation that the phrase refers to collective bargaining agreements.
Pa. high court says SRC can't cancel
Philly teachers contract
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT AUGUST 16, 2016The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Philadelphia School Reform Commission broke state law when it canceled its contract with the city’s teacher’s union.
The unanimous decision upholds two lower court rulings and marks the end of a legal battle that began in October 2014 when the SRC made the stunning decision to scrap its existing contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and impose changes to union health benefits. Monday’s decision, penned by Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, is a decisive victory for the union — one that removes at least some of the uncertainty surrounding union negotiations with the district over a new contract.
State Supreme Court agrees: SRC can't
cancel teacher contract
Inquirer by Mensah M. Dean, Staff Writer Updated: AUGUST 16, 2016 — 1:08
AM EDT
The Philadelphia School Reform
Commission's nearly two-year battle to cancel the city teachers' union contract
and impose new work rules to save money was soundly defeated again Monday. The state Supreme Court upheld a
lower court decision last January that blocked the five-member commission from
forcing terms on the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Union leaders called the ruling a rebuke of a
power grab, and a spokesman for the commission and Superintendent William R.
Hite Jr. said no further legal action would be taken. "We hold, at least insofar as teachers
are concerned, that collective bargaining agreements are 'teachers' contracts'
which are excepted from a school reform commission's cancellation powers,"
five justices wrote in an opinion.
Pa. Supreme Court Sides With Teachers in
Contract-Cancellation Case
Education Week Teacher Beat Blog By Emmanuel
Felton on August 15, 2016 10:01 PM
The Pennsylvania Supreme
Court has ruled against the School Reform Commission, the board in
charge of overseeing Philadelphia schools, in a case stemming from a 2014
decision by that body to unilaterally cancel teachers' collective-bargaining
agreement. The SRC was founded in
2001 to turnaround the district, which had long struggled academically and
financially. This was three years after the Pennsylvania General Assembly
crafted a bill, called Act 46, that would allowed the state secretary of
education to declare a school district in "distress," and replace its
school board with a five-member "School Reform Commission." The new
board was given special powers under the state's constitution. But today, the
justices unanimously ruled that when the SRC cancelled its contract with the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) and altered members' healthcare
benefits it had overstepped the bounds of those extraordinary powers.
According to state law, the SRC
can "cancel or renegotiate any contract other than teachers' contracts to
which the board or the school district is a party, if such cancellation or
renegotiation of contract will effect needed economies in the operation of the
district's schools."
Post Gazette By Tim Means August 15, 2016 9:25 PM
A shared services agreement
between Penn Hills school district and the Imagine Penn Hills Charter School of
Entrepreneurship is under review by the district’s finance committee. According
to a draft of the agreement the school district will provide services including
landscaping, snow removal, basic maintenance, one custodial position and two
food service positions. The charter school will pay $140,000 per year for the
services provided by the district. Employees performing services under the
proposed contract will be school district employees and the district will be
responsible for benefits and insurance. Earlier
this year, the Imagine charter school signed a five year lease with the
district to use the former Washington elementary school building. The school
board is expected to vote on the shared services agreement at the regularly
scheduled board meeting on Monday August 22nd.
Inquirer editorial: No drama expected to
begin school year in Philly
Inquirer Editorial Updated: AUGUST 16, 2016 — 3:01 AM EDT
Southside Johnny and the Asbury
Jukes made waves in 1977 with their hit record, "This Time It's For
Real." Superintendent William H. Hite Jr. may be humming a similar tune
when Philadelphia schools open in three weeks. He's much more certain that the
district won't have to beg for another large infusion of cash to make it
through the school year. "While we
continue to have work to do, the Philadelphia School District begins the
2016-17 school year more optimistic than we have been in years as we work
toward our goal of great schools close to where children live," Hite told
the Inquirer Editorial Board. "After years of difficult choices and smart
fiscal management, not only has our budget stabilized, we are making $440
million in investments over the next five years." The district will begin the school year with
a fund balance, or surplus, of $129 million. State funding will include $1.1
billion for basic education and $137 million for special education. Total city
funding is expected to reach about $1.2 billion. But even at that level,
officials say the district's $2.7 billion budget could fall $7 million short.
Philly Trib by Wilford Shamlin III Tribune Staff Writer Posted: Saturday, August 13, 2016 12:00 am
Science Leadership Academy will expand its inquiry-driven, project-based schools, with a new middle school on Drexel University’s campus. A Philadelphia public school will occupy space in a renovated mansion at the West Philadelphia university on school days. In an interview Friday, founding principal Timothy Boyle said a school design committee is working with an architectural firm, an educational consultant, and Drexel staff, on designs for a new school site, adapting the best parts of its school model for the younger middle school enrollment. “My job is to take what’s wildly successful at SLA Center City and SLA Beeber and bring an inquiry-driven school model to a neighborhood school level,” Boyle said. SLA’s Center City school, at 55 N. 22nd St., and the Beeber campus, at 5925 Malvern Ave., are both configured for grades 9 to 12. Last spring, the middle school was approved by the School Reform Commission as part of the school district’s effort to offer innovative schools as an alternative to traditional public schools.
City schools to get water hydration
stations this fall
Inquirer by Mensah M. Dean, Staff Writer Updated: AUGUST 16, 2016 — 12:16
AM EDT
HYDRATION STATIONS have arrived
in the School District of Philadelphia.
The stations - water fountains
equipped with filters and separate faucets from which to fill water bottles -
will be up and running at 43 schools when classes start next month, school
officials announced Monday. Each school
is receiving at least three hydration stations, and plans call for the
remainder of the district's more than 170 schools to receive stations by the
end of the school year, spokesman Kevin Geary said. The $1 million initiative is part of the
district's recently announced GreenFutures sustainability plan, which is
designed to provide a framework to conserve resources, decrease consumption and
waste, and create green school settings and healthy indoor environments for
students.
For
school nurses, job is more than scrapes and bruises
Centre Daily Times BY BRITNEY
MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com AUG
15, 2016 7:50 PM
Karen Truesdale knows how to save
lives. It’s something the Bellefonte
Area School District certified school nurse has done before. And when it comes to school nurses, she,
alongside fellow certified school nurse Val Fulton, and a group of aides prove
the job is more than bandaging up students with scraped knees, and sending sick
kids home. “We’re almost like the first responders to
health problems when kids come to school,” Truesdale said. But health education and keeping up with new
medical advances are also part of the job.
Why
American Schools Are Even More Unequal Than We Thought
New York Times By SUSAN
DYNARSKI AUG. 12, 2016
Education is deeply unequal in
the United States, with students in poor districts performing
at levels several grades below those of children in richer areas. Yet the problem is actually much worse than
these statistics show, because schools, districts and even the federal
government have been using a crude yardstick for economic hardship. A closer look reveals that the standard
measure of economic disadvantage — whether a child is eligible for a free or
reduced-price lunch in school — masks the magnitude of the learning gap between
the richest and poorest children. Nearly half of students
nationwide are eligible for a subsidized meal in school. Children whose
families earn less than 185 percent of the poverty threshold are eligible for a
reduced-price lunch, while those below 130 percent get a free lunch. For a
family of four, the cutoffs are $32,000 for a free lunch and $45,000 for a
reduced-price one. By way of comparison, median household income in the United
States was about
$54,000 in 2014. Eligibility
for subsidized school meals is clearly a blunt indicator of economic status.
But that is the measure that policy makers, educators and researchers rely on
when they gauge gaps in academic achievement in schools, districts and states.
In Utah, schools can now hire teachers
with no training whatsoever
Washington Post Answer Sheet
Blog By Valerie
Strauss August 15 at 4:13 PM
Utah
has a severe teacher shortage, so it decided to do something about it. Under a
new rule, schools can now hire people to teach who have no training in the
profession. None whatsoever. This is just the newest piece of
evidence that the supposed national initiative started by the 2001 No Child
Left Behind law to ensure “highly qualified” teachers in every classroom is at
best unsuccessful and at worst a sham. In
June, the Utah Board of Education approved
a new rule that would make it easier for schools to fill teaching
vacancies by allowing them to hire people who can meet some minimum criteria,
including having a bachelor’s degree, paying the applicable licensing fee and
passing a test. Veteran teachers are supposed to mentor the new teachers for a
few years, though how many will want to take on that responsibility is unclear.
Blogger note: Jamie Casap is the
PSBA/PASA School Leadership Conference Keynote Speaker · Sat., Oct. 15, 9:30
a.m.
Jaime
Casap: From Tough Childhood to Google's Global Education Evangelist
NBC News by ESTHER
J. CEPEDA August 11, 2016
NAME: Jaime Casap; AGE: 48
HERITAGE: My mother is from
Argentina and my father is from Syria
HOMETOWN: Hell's Kitchen, NY now
living in Phoenix, AZ
OCCUPATION/TITLE: Global
Education Evangelist at Google, Inc.
At Google, Casap evangelizes the
power and potential of the web, technology, and Google tools. During his eight
years at Google, Casap has been part of the original team that launched Google
Apps for universities, launched Google Apps into K through 12 schools, and
helped get Chromebooks off the ground and into schools. Today Casap is
responsible for working across all internal teams that impact education, and he
works with educational organizations around the world, helping them find ways
to improve the quality of education through the use of technology.
American Public Education Foundation Website
The Star-Spangled Banner will be sung by school children nationwide on Friday, September 9, 2016 at 10:00am PST and 1:00pm EST. Students will learn about the words and meaning of the flag and sing the first stanza. This will be the third annual simultaneous sing-a-long event created by the APEF-9/12 Generation Project. The project aims to bring students together – as the world came together – on September 12, 2001.
Registration
for the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 13-15 is now open
The conference
is your opportunity to learn, network and be inspired by peers and
experts.
TO REGISTER: See https://www.psba.org/members-area/store-registration/
(you must be logged in to the Members Area to register). You can read more
on How
to Register for a PSBA Event here. CONFERENCE WEBSITE: For all other program
details, schedules, exhibits, etc., see the conference website:www.paschoolleaders.org.
PSBA
Officer Elections Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members seeking election to
office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later
than April 30, 2016, to be considered. All candidates who properly completed
applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates below. In
addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 24 at PSBA
headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to bylaws, the
Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly qualified for
the office they seek. This is noted next to each person’s name with an asterisk
(*). Each school entity will have one
vote for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities
to come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically
during the open voting period (Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016). Voting will be
accomplished through a secure third-party, web-based voting site that will
require a password login. One person from each member school entity will be
authorized as the official person to cast the vote on behalf of his or her
school entity. In the case of school districts, it will be the board secretary
who will cast votes on behalf of the school board.
Special note: Boards should be
sure to include discussion and voting on candidates to its agenda during one of
its meetings in September.
PA Supreme Court sets Sept. 13 argument
date for fair education funding lawsuit in Philly
Thorough
and Efficient Blog JUNE 16, 2016 BARBGRIMALDI LEAVE A COMMENT
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