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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup October 16, 2016
NAACP
ratifies controversial resolution for a moratorium on charter schools
Blogger note: Great seeing so many at
the PSBA/PASA School Leadership Conference!
Many thanks to all staff for their good work.
NAACP Press Release October 15,
2016
CINCINNATI – Members of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Board of
Directors ratified a resolution Saturday adopted by delegates at its 2016 107th
National Convention calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion and
for the strengthening of oversight in governance and practice. “The NAACP has been in the forefront of the
struggle for and a staunch advocate of free, high-quality, fully and
equitably-funded public education for all children,” said Roslyn M. Brock,
Chairman of the National NAACP Board of Directors. “We are dedicated to
eliminating the severe racial inequities that continue to plague the education
system.”
Read more: http://www.naacp.org/latest/statement-regarding-naacps-resolution-moratorium-charter-schools/
NAACP ratifies controversial resolution
for a moratorium on charter schools
Washington Post Answer Sheet
Blog By Valerie
Strauss October 15 at 4:17 PM
Leaders
of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, bucked
intense pressure from supporters of charter schools on Saturday and ratified a
resolution calling for a moratorium on the expansion of charters and for
stronger oversight of these schools. Members of the NAACP’s board of directors,
meeting in Cincinnati, ratified a resolution adopted in July by delegates to
the organization’s 2016 convention that called for a moratorium on more charter
schools until:
1. Charter schools are subject to
the same transparency and accountability standards as public schools
2. Public funds are not diverted to charter schools at the expense of the public school system
3. Charter schools cease expelling students that public schools have a duty to educate
4. Cease to perpetuate de facto segregation of the highest-performing children from those whose aspirations may be high but whose talents are not yet as obvious.
2. Public funds are not diverted to charter schools at the expense of the public school system
3. Charter schools cease expelling students that public schools have a duty to educate
4. Cease to perpetuate de facto segregation of the highest-performing children from those whose aspirations may be high but whose talents are not yet as obvious.
This was not the first time the
NAACP has expressed concern about charter schools, but this resolution goes
further than others approved in recent years and had generated an intense
campaign by supporters of charters to try to persuade the group’s board not to
ratify it.
Five myths about charter schools
Washington Post By Emma Brown October
14
They’re in demand among parents
who say traditional public schools have failed — but they’re not always
successful. Their intense rate of growth has fueled an equally intense debate
about the role they’ll play in the future of U.S. education. Advocates see
their expansion as evidence that parents have a huge appetite for school
choice. Critics see the beginning of the end of public education, with systems
of neighborhood schools replaced by independent, privately run companies
without the same obligation to teach the toughest students. A great deal of
confusion surrounds charter schools. Here are some of the myths.
Op-ed: Charter schools build leaders the
NAACP should support
WHYY Newsworks COMMENTARY BY AUSTIN GIBSON OCTOBER 14, 2016 SPEAK EASY
I graduated from a West
Philadelphia high school that’s a charter school. Now in college, I also work
at a charter school that’s focused on science and technology and promoting
self-reliance in the African-American community. So when I heard that the NAACP
— a civil rights organization I’ve revered for fighting for black students and
families — was opposed to charter schools, I was shocked. This weekend, the NAACP’s National Board of
Directors will meet to vote on a policy that seeks to prevent new charter schools
from opening. They must not have much personal experience with charter schools, which are public,
tuition-free, and open to all, but operate independently from local school
districts. I’ll talk about my experience in a minute, but first, let me share
what it was like for me in a traditional public school.
Trib Live BY ELIZABETH
BEHRMAN | Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, 5:51 p.m.
The School Performance Profiles
are available online at paschoolperformance.org.
Following a steep drop in scores
on the state's new standardized tests and a one-year hiatus, local school
districts say they are largely pleased with the new School Performance
Profiles. The Pennsylvania Department of
Education released the profiles Thursday, providing a “snapshot” of how
individual schools performed last year in categories such as academic growth,
college readiness and closing the achievement gap.
Online Database by Caspio
York
daily record by Angie
Mason , amason@ydr.com4:08 p.m. EDT October 14, 2016
Editor's note: If the searchable
database does not appear at the top of the page, try hitting refresh.
Last year, Northern High School
saw its performance score from the state education department drop, something
the superintendent said, at the time, he'd expected. But work was under way to
try to change that. This year, the high
school's score increased, which Supt. Eric Eshbach attributed to work in
teacher training and changes in curriculum and instruction. "To me, that's the way any kind of
accountability system should work. We should be able to look at the
results, and dig, dig, dig deep into the results and find out where we're
doing well and where we have weaknesses," Eshbach said last week, in
anticipation of the latest scores being released. "Then try to shore up
those weaknesses, build up those strengths."
Lancaster Online KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff
Writer Oct 14, 2016
Things are looking up for
Lancaster County’s public high schools. The
state Department of Education on Thursday released its School Performance
Profiles, and 14 of 19 local high schools received higher scores compared
with 2015. Last year, the majority of Lancaster County high schools saw a decline in
profile scores, which are primarily based on students’ standardized test
scores. Profile ratings also are given
to elementary and middle schools, but a year-over-year comparison is not possible
this year because changes to state tests for those schools led to a pause on
the scores in 2015. The performance
ratings go from 0 to 100, and state officials do not have a target number for
what is considered a passing mark.
Check out Pa. schools' progress scores
newly released online
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Staff Writer Updated: OCTOBER 14, 2016 — 1:08
AM EDT
The Pennsylvania Department of
Education on Thursday released School Performance Profile scores that measure
the academic progress of 2,860 public schools across the state, including about
800 in the Philadelphia region. Number
one on the statewide list was Unionville High School in Chester County, with a
score of 101.6, followed by Wissahickon High School at 100.8, and North Penn
High at 100.3. They were the only schools in Pennsylvania to score above 100.
Rounding out the top 10 schools
regionwide were Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Downingtown STEM
Academy, Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester, Quakertown Community High
School, Springfield High School in Delaware County, Central Bucks High School
East, and Haverford High School.
Gov. Wolf to nominate Estelle Richman for
SRC
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT OCTOBER 14, 2016
Gov. Tom Wolf intends to nominate
Estelle Richman, a career public servant and former Secretary of Pennsylvania's
Department of Public Welfare, to serve on Philadelphia's School Reform
Commission. Multiple sources confirmed
the nomination to NewsWorks. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported Richman's
selection. A formal announcement is
expected next week. Richman would
replace Feather Houstoun. Her resigned from the five-member commission
took effect Friday. Richman must be confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate before
she can begin to serve. Richman's resume
is heavy with government experience. She helmed the state's Department of
Public Welfare under former Gov. Ed Rendell. She's also a familiar face in
Philadelphia, having served as city manager, director of social services, and
commisioner for public health. Most
recently Richman was a senior adivsor to the secretary of the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development. If
confirmed, Richman would join the SRC at a critical time for the body.
“Senate confirmation is not a slam dunk,
given the frosty relationship Wolf has with Harrisburg Republicans. "Many of my caucus members know Estelle
well," said Drew Crompton, the Senate Republicans' top lawyer. "That
being said, what we will be looking for from any new SRC member is educational
balance and an appreciation that vibrant charter schools and healthy private
schools are vital in that district. Any nominee having a negative bent towards
alternative schools will not garner much support from the Republican
caucus."
Wolf asks Richman to be next SRC member
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham and Angela Couloumbis,
STAFF WRITERS Updated: OCTOBER 15, 2016 — 1:07 AM EDT
Gov. Wolf has asked a former
state Department of Public Welfare secretary to be his nominee for an open
School Reform Commission seat, sources in his office said. An announcement is expected next week, the
sources said Friday. Estelle B. Richman
spent three decades in public service, working on the federal, state, and local
levels. She recently retired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, where she was a senior adviser. She also worked as head of the
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, as Philadelphia's managing director,
and its commissioner of public health. Richman,
73, of Philadelphia, also served on the transition teams of both Wolf and Mayor
Kenney. She could not be reached for
comment. Richman, who must be confirmed
by the state Senate, would take the seat vacated Friday by Feather Houstoun.
Houstoun served for five years and resigned last week.
SRC delays vote on closing charters
Inquirer by Valerie Russ, Staff Writer Updated: OCTOBER 15, 2016 — 3:01
AM EDT
WHAT HAD BEEN expected to be a
raucous School Reform Commission meeting Thursday turned out to be rather mild
since SRC Chairwoman Marjorie Neff announced early in the meeting that the
panel would not vote immediately to either renew or reject charters for four
area schools. Last spring, the district's
charter school office had recommended the SRC not renew the operating charters
of Universal's Vare Promise Neighborhood Partnership Charter and its Audenried
Promise Neighborhood Partnership Charter, both in South Philadelphia, or those
of Aspira's John B. Stetson Charter School in Kensington and Olney Charter High
School in Olney because of low test scores and concerns about their operations
and finances. The four schools are
former district campuses that the SRC converted to charters as part of its
Renaissance program to overhaul struggling schools.
Green says teachers' union turned down
'serious offer'; Kenney to intervene
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer Updated: OCTOBER 14, 2016 — 1:08
AM EDT
Mayor Kenney said Thursday that
he will get involved in the Philadelphia teachers' contract negotiations,
directing a top lieutenant to intervene in stalled talks between the school
system and its largest union. "Talented
educators have gone far too long without a fair contract or salary increases,
and we risk losing many talented educators to other fields or school
districts," Kenney said in a statement. "This is simply not fair and
it's not good for our kids." Jerry
Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he had asked
the mayor to bring the two sides together.
Kenney made his statement in advance of a School Reform Commission
meeting Thursday where Commissioner Bill Green divulged details of the latest
district offer to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, made at a
negotiating session in June.
DN letters: New contract would attract
quality teachers to Philly schools
Philly Daily News Letter by Jerry Jordan Updated: OCTOBER 14, 2016 — 3:01 AM
EDTPhiladelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan
THERE'S ONLY one way the Daily
News can credit the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers for helping create Penn
Alexander, while simultaneously blaming the PFT for the district's inability to
replicate it: blatantly misrepresent the facts, as you did in your Oct. 3
editorial. Here are the facts: Since
2000, school-based site selection of teachers has been the rule, not the exception
in Philadelphia. Every school in the district fills at least 50 percent of its
teacher vacancies through site selection. Moreover, site selection is used to
fill every teacher vacancy in Philly's "high needs" schools. But there is no correlation between site
selection and student achievement. Regardless of the hiring procedures in
place, to fill vacancies, you need applicants. Site selection did not help the
district fill the hundreds of teacher vacancies that existed last year, and it
won't bring new teachers to our schools this year. The biggest impediment to recruiting and
retaining the best teachers is not the current PFT contract, but the lack of a
new contract.
PSBA
members elect new officers for 2017
PSBA Website October 15, 2016
Members of the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association heard the election results for new officers at its
Delegate Assembly on Saturday, Oct. 15, at The Hershey Lodge & Convention
Center. Open voting for members of PSBA was held from Aug. 15 to Oct. 3 through
a secure, online voting website. The new
officers will take their offices on Jan. 1, 2017, as part of the 12-member PSBA
Governing Board. As 2016 president-elect, Mark B. Miller, Centennial Area SD
(Bucks Co.), automatically assumes the office of the president. Kathy K. Swope,
Lewisburg Area SD (Union Co.), will assume the title of immediate past
president in January 2017 when her term comes to an end as 2016 president. The
treasurer position was not up for election this year so Otto W. Voit III,
Muhlenberg SD (Berks Co.), will continue to serve in this role.
New officers elected by PSBA
members and announced at the Delegate Assembly are as follows:
“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.
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 EducationMedia Matters ››› April 27, 2016 1:50 PM EDT ››› PAM VOGEL
Education policy has long been
recognized as a contentious, complicated political third rail that transcends a
typically partisan divide, but this complexity hasn’t kept staunchly
conservative funders from bankrolling education reform efforts that line up
with business interests. With the rise of privately operated public charter
schools, digital learning models, and voucher and scholarship tax credit
programs in recent decades, the education debate has grown even more complex,
and schools and students are increasingly regarded as an untapped market. Media
should know that the education reform movement advocating for these policies
often relies on the backing of corporate and right-wing funding. These
conservative-backed policies aim to weaken labor unions by attacking teachers’
job protections and to push state-level education legislation that makes way
for greater private profiteering -- while leaving traditional public schools
further behind.
Below, we outline the many
overlapping connections in this echo chamber of 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. These groups are driving the education privatization
movement forward by co-opting the education reform mantle.
“No charter school in the country has
had a teachers’ strike since the publicly-funded, privately-run schools were
created in the 1990s.”
Chicago
Charter School Teachers Picket Ahead Of Possible Strike
Becky Vevea/WBEZ October
13, 2016
One of Chicago’s largest charter
school networks may go on strike next week.
Staff at the UNO
Charter School Network, commonly referred to as UCSN, voted last week to authorize
a strike Oct. 19 if they don’t reach a tentative contract agreement
first. No charter school in the country
has had a teachers’ strike since the publicly-funded, privately-run schools
were created in the 1990s.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/charter-school-teachers-picket-ahead-of-possible-strike/dbc2a512-7f9f-401b-a7b9-e9d030bd6e45
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 10/15/2016
Testing
Resistance & Reform News: October 5 - 11, 2016
Submitted by fairtest on
October 11, 2016 - 1:26pm
This week's top stories include
several about Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) "Walk-Ins"
around the country. The coordinated events included a strong call to end
high-stakes tests to make time for more teaching and learning.
Rocket launch viewing is a go 8:03 pm
Sunday: Mostly clear skies expected
By Steve Novak |
For lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 15, 2016 at 3:37 PM, updated October 15, 2016 at 7:29 PM
on October 15, 2016 at 3:37 PM, updated October 15, 2016 at 7:29 PM
Lehigh Valley residents may want
to keep their eyes skyward Sunday night.
A
rocket bringing supplies to the International Space Station is
scheduled to launch at 8:03 p.m. from Wallops Island, Va. and will
be visible to much of the East Coast.
Though clouds will start to move in later in the evening, mostly clear
skies are expected in the Lehigh Valley region at launch time, National
Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson said Saturday afternoon. A map
shared on NASA's Wallops Island Twitter account shows the launch will be
visible from Boston to Pittsburgh to South Carolina. The Lehigh Valley can
expect to see the rocket — which will appear as a bright light rising
above the horizon and moving southeast — about two minutes after liftoff.
Share
your interest in volunteering with PSBA
Complete this form to share your
interest in volunteering with PSBA
The 2016 Arts and Education Symposium will be held on October 27 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Convention Center. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Arts Education network and EPLC, the Symposium is a Unique Networking and Learning Opportunity for:
·
Arts Educators
·
School Leaders
·
Artists
·
Arts and Culture Community Leaders
·
Arts-related Business Leaders
·
Arts Education Faculty and Administrators in Higher Education
·
Advocates
·
State and Local Policy Leaders
Act 48 Credit is
available.Program and registration information are available here.
PA Principals Association website Tuesday, August 2, 2016 10:43 AM
To receive the Early Bird Discount, you must be registered by August 31, 2016:
Members: $300 Non-Members: $400
Featuring Three National Keynote Speakers: Eric Sheninger, Jill Jackson & Salome Thomas-EL
SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June
1-4, 2017
Join the
League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful
Inn at Pocono Manor!
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