Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors,
administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition
team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, charter school
leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders,
faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members
of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Keystone
State Education Coalition
Help A Kid Find Their Smile!
PCCY GoFundMeHave you ever had a toothache? 1 in 7 young children get toothaches, and too many of them go without any dental care. These kids are in pain, can have trouble eating and paying attention in school – in fact children with poor oral health are nearly 3 times more likely to miss school due to dental pain. But you can change things for children in the Philadelphia area. You can help relieve a child’s pain, give the gift of a dental appointment and a boost to their health and confidence by donating to Public Citizens for Children and Youth’s “Give Kids a Smile” event. Our goal is to raise $25,000 by January 5th in order to make 1,000 kids in the greater Philadelphia area free dental appointments.
Equitable
School Funding—A Must For Pennsylvania’s Economic Competitiveness
Looming workforce skills gap demand adequate funding
for all schools
Council for a Strong America ReadyNation Report
October 2017
Rural Pa. public schools look to break cycle of struggle, welfare, and addiction in the Northwest
WHYY/Keystone
Crossroads By Kevin McCorry January 3, 2018
Listen to part 1 of 4 in this series about
schools in rural Pennsylvania
They contorted
their faces in a howl. With eyes bulging, mouths twisted, veins popping, the
Titusville High School senior class, cheerleaders screeching out orders, filled
the gymnasium with frenzied intensity as they bellowed out the name of their
school mascot, letter by letter — rattling the grandstands and reaching for
their maximum decibel. “What’s that spell?” a girl screamed. “Rockets!” the
seniors answered. “Rockets! Rockets!” Homecoming week had come to Titusville,
Pennsylvania, and students across the small rural Northwestern Pennsylvania
town were going bonkers, a mob scene of Rocket yellow and brown. Seniors
strutted the halls wearing war paint and letterman jackets. Multiple marching
band parades were led through the streets. And injured middle linebacker
Luciano DeRose gave a rousing speech of heartfelt violence before the Friday
night football game. “Make them think you are not human,” barked DeRose, a
senior, in the pre-game huddle. “Because I promise you, if you keep hitting
them, if you have that look in your eyes, they’re gonna break. And this is
going to be a good night.”
Gerrymandering:
JUDGE FINDS PA’S 2011 U.S. CONGRESSIONAL MAP ADVANTAGES REPUBLICANS
Public Interest Law Center Website January 2018
On December 29, Commonwealth Court Judge P.
Kevin Brobson issued his Recommended Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in
Pennsylvania’s redistricting lawsuit, League of Women Voters of
Pennsylvania, et al., v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al.In his opinion, Judge Brobson concluded that the petitioners, 18 voters representing each of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House districts, and their legal team, established that the 2011 map intentionally discriminates, “so as to grant Republican candidates an advantage in certain districts within the Commonwealth.” In other words, Judge Brobson found, “the 2011 Plan was drawn to give Republican candidates an advantage.” He also found that all four of the petitioners’ expert witnesses are credible, while rejecting the analyses and opinions of the legislative respondents’ only two witnesses. In sum, Judge Brobson concluded, “A lot can and has been said about the 2011 Plan, much of which is unflattering and yet justified.” While he determined that petitioners did not present a manageable standard for deciding if the map had been excessively gerrymandered, he found that “partisan considerations are evident in the enacted 2011 plan such that the 2011 plan overall favors the Republican party in certain congressional districts.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered expedited
briefing and will hear oral argument in the case on January 17.
5 things
in Pa. politics to watch in 2018 | John Baer
Philly Daily News by John Baer, STAFF
COLUMNIST baerj@phillynews.com Updated: JANUARY
2, 2018 — 4:22 PM EST
Believe it or not, the normal state of Pennsylvania politics
– a swamp of sameness and despair – could see systemic change in 2018. I know,
I know, wishful thinking. Still. Signs are there. Stuff could happen. I
surveyed a half-dozen insiders for five things that bear watching. Thing one:
that gerrymandering case. Last week, one (Republican) Commonwealth Court judge
said our congressional districts, ranked among the nation’s most
partisan, should stay as drawn. Ah,
but the case is now before the (5-2) Democratic state Supreme Court; oral
arguments Jan. 17. We all know judges don’t (cough) play politics. But
imagine if the high court rules the other way and orders the legislature to
redraw lines for future elections, maybe even this year’s. That could alter the
face of our 18-member delegation to Washington: currently 13 Republicans, five
Democrats, no women – which, if you think about it, sort of reflects the
socio-cultural landscape of most of Pennsylvania.
“The shining star in last month's
revenue report was the personal income tax. It generated $1.1 billion which was
$70 million above estimate. About that, the IFO said it could be from taxpayers
wanting to qualify for the uncapped state and local tax deduction before the
federal tax reform law took effect that caps that deduction at $10,000.”
December
tax collections far and away better than what Pa. took in last December
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated 1:30
AM; Posted Jan 2, 6:45 PM
December overall proved to be not as strong a
revenue month as was expected but far better than December a year ago. According
to the state
Department of Revenue, general fund tax collections to support the
state's $32 billion budget came in at $2.8 billion which was $30.1 million less
than was anticipated. That brings the general fund collections for the first
half of the fiscal year to $14.2 billion - or $4.1 million below estimate.
In November, the
department reported that revenues were running $26.1 million above estimate. But still last
month's collections represented an increase of $198.1 million or 7.6
percent, over what was collected in December 2016, according to the
state's Independent Fiscal Office.
Blogger note: Senator Eichelberger currently serves as
chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
“PoliticsPA reported that
Republicans, state Sens. John Eichelberger of Blair County and Pat Stefano of
Fayette County are considering a run for the seat, along with Art Halvorson
who challenged
him in 2014 and again in 2016,
when he came within 1,300 votes of beating Shuster in the primary.
Eichelberger confirmed to PennLive that he is thinking about running for the
seat. He noted this is a re-election year for him in the state Senate so he is
faced with a decision as to whether to run for Congress or seeking another term
in the Senate. He said he has been encouraged by others to consider running and
has spoken with Senate colleagues as well as folks in D.C. about it. "I
'm considering it and expect to make up my mind in the next couple weeks,"
Eichelberger said. “
U.S. Rep.
Bill Shuster will not seek re-election in 2018
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jan
2, 4:31 PM; Posted Jan 2, 3:25 PM
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster is the
latest in among Pennsylvania's Republican congressmen who plan to leave office
this year. Shuster, 56, of Bedford County, announced on Tuesday he will not
seek re-election to his Ninth Congressional District seat which covers all or
parts of 12 counties from Franklin County in southcentral Pennsylvania to
Fayette County in the western part of the state. "As I look forward to the future, I have had a
lot to contemplate as to how to best serve my constituents and the American
people over the next year. With much deliberation, consultation with my family,
and prayer over the last several weeks, I have decided not to seek election for
a 10th term," Shuster said in a statement. Shuster was elected
to Congress in 2001, to fill a vacancy created when his father, Bud Shuster,
resigned shortly after winning election to a 15th two-year
term. Shuster joins U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta and Charlie Dent,
who previously announced their intention not to seek re-election.
Lehigh
Valley's newest lawmaker sworn-in
Pennsylvania state Rep. Jeanne McNeill,
D-Lehigh, was sworn into office Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, replacing her late
husband Dan.
Morning Call by Steve Esack Contact Reporter January 2, 2018
The Lehigh Valley’s newest state lawmaker — and one
with a familiar last name — was sworn into office Tuesday in the state Capitol.
Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, took the oath from Supreme Court Justice Kevin
Dougherty in a House floor ceremony overseen by Speaker Mike Turzai,
R-Allegheny. Jeanne McNeill, 57, of Whitehall, won a special election in
December to fill the remaining term of her late husband Dan. He died on Sept. 8
while in his third term representing the 133rd District. “I know Dan is looking
down on you and your family with great pride,” Turzai said. Jeanne McNeill beat
Republican David Molony, 64, of Catasauqua and Libertarian Samantha X. Dorney,
35, of Salisbury Township. McNeill’s term expires Nov. 30. If McNeill hopes to
keep the seat, she will have to run for a full two-year term, along with the
rest of the House, in the May 15 primary election, and if she wins there the
Nov. 6 general election
Here we're
not outcasts: A three-part series on the Pa.'s Lakeside School and
innovative approaches to trauma-informed education
The notebook by Paul Jablow, video by Melanie
Bavaria January 3, 2018
York Dispatch Editorial Published 7:23 a.m. ET Jan.
2, 2018
The York City School District has become an easy
target over the years, especially for those who reside outside the city limits.
If you’ve lived in York County for more than a few weeks, you’ve almost
certainly heard the barbs. The kids are troublesome, the teachers are
passionless and the administrators are clueless. Or so the stereotypes go. On
more than a few occasions, in this space, we’ve taken the city district to task
for its failures. We believe those criticisms were justified then, and remain
justified now. For instance, the district’s overall financial oversight has
often been lacking, and its poor handling of the Helen Thackson Charter School
situation was especially troubling. That school is now scheduled to close after
the 2018-19 school year. While the city school district is far from perfect
and still faces some huge challenges, there are a few reasons for optimism as
we enter a new year.
Guest
Column: Pa. can do more to upgrade STEM education
Delco Daily Times By Jeff
Remington, Times Guest Columnist POSTED: 12/29/17,
8:42 PM EST
Jeff
Remington is a science educator and National STEM Teacher Ambassador at Palmyra
Middle School in Palmyra, Pa.
As a practicing Pennsylvania classroom science
teacher for more than 30 years and a National STEM Teacher Ambassador, I
appreciate the good work Gov. Tom Wolf has done for education and his advocacy
to increase resources for education. His recent Op-Ed “Why it’s essential for
Pennsylvania to invest in education” points out how far the state has come in
regard to education. I agree we have come a long way, but there are two
significant impediments that state lawmakers and leadership could be addressing
in regard to the state of STEM education in Pennsylvania. Our science and technology standards were conceived
in the 1990s and adopted in 2002. They were birthed in an age where VHS tapes
were common and adopted five years before the first iPhone was rolled out!
These standards do not emphasize engineering, they teach subject disciplines as
unrelated silos and lack the innovation and 21st century content or practices
that STEM jobs require.
By Tremaine Johnson, Policy Advisor- The Fellowship
BLACK MALE EDUCATORS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
BLACK MALE EDUCATORS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Why
are schools still judged by the results of standardized tests?
The New Republic BY DIANE RAVITCH December 27, 2017
In 1979, the psychologist Donald Campbell proposed
an axiom. “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social
decision-making,” he wrote, “the more subject it will be to corruption
pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social
processes it is intended to monitor.” He also wrote: “Achievement tests may
well be valuable indicators of general school achievement under conditions of
normal teaching aimed at general competence. But when test scores become the
goal of the teaching process, they both lose their value as indicators of
educational status and distort the educational process in undesirable ways.”
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianeravitch December 21, 2017
David Berliner, Regents Professor Emeritus at
Arizona State University, and one of the natuon’s Most distinguished
researchers of education, asked me to pass along his advice to the citizens of
Philadelphia.
Dear Diane,
A few weeks ago, I was heartened by your column
about the return of the public schools to the citizens of Philadelphia. Since
then, I’ve been mulling over four things that I wish I could communicate to
them. Perhaps you can do so if you think it appropriate. I don’t know the folks
there. First, it will be difficult for teachers to show that they can turn
Philadelphia’s schools into higher-achieving institutions. Teachers may help
their students become stronger and more engaged learners, but they probably
won’t be able to demonstrate student learning in the way that most people
understand it, namely, through higher standardized achievement test scores.
The education research community clearly knows what
politicians and the media don’t fully grasp: teachers simply don’t account for
much of the variance in standardized tests scores. A reasonable estimate is
that teachers account for about 10 percent of the variance in standardized
achievement test scores. Research also suggests that outside-of-school factors
account for 6 times more of that variance! We even have a Philadelphia based
study corroborating these estimates.
Trump,
Congress, and Education in 2018: Eight Big Questions
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on January
1, 2018 2:45 PM
There's plenty of suspense heading into President Donald
Trump's second year in office when it comes to education, and some big
issues on the horizon for the GOP-controlled Congress as well. What will be the
fate of the U.S. Department of Education's budget? Will U.S. Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos get to applaud any new school choice initiative? And will
Congress prevent hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers" from being
deported? Here's a rundown of what to watch for in Washington over the next 12
months when it comes to K-12:
Testing
Resistance & Reform News: December 20 - 26, 2017
FairTest Submitted by fairtest on December
26, 2017 - 12:40pm
We hope you've enjoyed receiving Testing
Resistance & Reform News and consider it a valuable tool for
staying informed about the national movement against testing overkill. Please
help FairTest support assessment reform campaigns with tools like this by
clicking here now:
Happy New Year from all of us at FairTest!
Charter
School Discussion in Philly Jan 11, 2018 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.
PCCY Email December 26, 2017
Serious flaws in Pennsylvania’s charter
school law put the quality of charter schools on the back
burner. Join PCCY for a discussion of how other states’ laws are
doing a better job and explore what makes sense in Pennsylvania. January 11, 2018 from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m., at
the United Way Building 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 19103Featured speakers include:
·
Representative
James Roebuck (D), PA
General Assembly, Democratic Chairman - Education Committee
·
Representative
Jordan Harris (D), PA
General Assembly
·
Veronica
Brooks-Uy, Policy Director,
National Association of Charter School Authorizers
·
Sharif
El-Mekki, Principal,
Mastery Charter Schools
·
Jeff
Sparagana, Ed.D, Former
Superintendent Pottstown School District
·
Doug
Carney, Former
Springfield School Board Member (24 years), SVP Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
·
Donna
Cooper, Executive
Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth
·
Tomea
Sippio-Smith, Education Policy
Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY)
Register
for New School Director Training in December and January
PSBA Website October 2017
You’ve started a challenging and
exciting new role as a school director. Let us help you narrow the learning
curve! PSBA’s New School Director Training provides school directors with
foundational knowledge about their role, responsibilities and ethical
obligations. At this live workshop, participants will learn about key laws,
policies, and processes that guide school board governance and leadership, and
develop skills for becoming strong advocates in their community. Get the tools
you need from experts during this visually engaging and interactive event.
Choose from any of these remaining
locations and dates (note: all sessions are held 8 a.m.-4 p.m., unless
specified otherwise.):
·
Jan. 6, Haverford Middle School (This session is full)
·
Jan. 13, A W Beattie Career Center
·
Jan. 13, Parkland HS
Fees: Complimentary to All-Access
members or $170 per person for standard membership. All registrations will be
billed to the listed district, IU or CTC. To request billing to
an individual, please contact Michelle Kunkel at michelle.kunkel@psba.org. Registration also includes a
box lunch on site and printed resources.
NSBA 2018
Advocacy Institute February 4 - 6, 2018 Marriott Marquis, Washington D.C.
Register Now
Come a day early and attend the Equity
Symposium!
Join hundreds of public education advocates
on Capitol Hill and help shape the decisions made in Washington D.C. that
directly impact our students. At the 2018 Advocacy Institute, you’ll gain
insight into the most critical issues affecting public education, sharpen your
advocacy skills, and prepare for effective meetings with your representatives. Whether
you are an expert advocator or a novice, attend and experience inspirational
keynote speakers and education sessions featuring policymakers, legal experts
and policy influencers. All designed to help you advocate for your students and
communities.
Local School Board Members to Advocate on Capitol Hill in 2018
NSBA's Advocacy Institute 2018 entitled, "Elected. Engaged. Empowered: Representing the Voice in Public Education," will be held on February 4-6, 2018 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. This conference will convene Members of Congress, national thought-leaders, state association executives and well-known political pundits to provide local school board members with an update on key policy and legal issues impacting public education, and tactics and strategies to enhance their ability to influence the policy-making process and national education debate during their year-round advocacy efforts.
WHAT'S NEW - ADVOCACY INSTITUTE '18?
·
Confirmed
National Speaker: Cokie Roberts, Political Commentator for NPR and ABC News
·
NSBA
will convene first ever National School Board Town Hall on School Choice
·
Includes
General Sessions featuring national policy experts, Members of Congress,
"DC Insiders" and local school board members
·
Offers
conference attendees "Beginner" and "Advanced" Advocacy
breakout sessions
·
NSBA
will host a Hill Day Wrap-Up Reception
Click here to register for the Advocacy
Institute. The hotel block will close on Monday, January 15.
Registration is now open for the 2018 PASA Education Congress! State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018
Don't miss this marquee event for Pennsylvania school leaders at the Nittany Lion Inn, State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018.
Learn more by visiting http://www.pasa-net.org/2018edcongress
SAVE THE DATE for the 2018
PA Educational Leadership Summit - July 29-31 - State College, PA sponsored by
the PA Principals Association, PASA, PAMLE and PASCD.
This year's Summit will be held from July 29-31, 2018 at the Penn Stater
Conference Center Hotel, State College, PA.
Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization
that I may be affiliated with.
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