The Keystone State Education Coalition was
originally established in 2006 as the Southeastern Pennsylvania School
Districts’ Education Coalition (SPSDEC). It is a growing grass roots public
education advocacy group comprised of several hundred locally elected,
volunteer school board members (no salaries, no benefits, no pensions) and
administrators from over 300 Pennsylvania school districts in Allegheny,
Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Crawford, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackwanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, McKean, Mercer, Montgomery,
Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Washington and York Counties.
Our focus is on improving
student learning and achievement for all Pennsylvania
We
are a “non-partisan” group of school directors with political affiliations
comprising both political parties and independents. Our objective is not
to promote the political agenda of either party, but rather to advocate for
kids - for “best practices” in education, for fiscal responsibility to the
local taxpayer, for effective use of their tax dollars, and for local control
of public education.
We believe that public education is the
foundation of our democracy, and that there is essential intrinsic value in
children of all races, religions, special needs, cultural and socio-economic
backgrounds learning together. In contrast to private businesses whose mission is to make a profit, we believe that the mission of public education is to make informed American citizens.
Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform
our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of
common interest.
Our “special interests” are our stakeholders –
students, parents and taxpayers.
In summer of 2010 we raised over $2200 to purchase 100 copies
of Diane Ravitch’s “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How
Testing and Choice are Undermining Education” ,” and delivered them to Pennsylvania
policymakers in Harrisburg and Washington DC.
We have been actively engaged in policy
discussions and the legislative process on issues such as tax reform,
graduation exams, adequate and equitable school funding, best practices, safe schools, oversight and funding
of charter schools and cyber charter schools, mandate relief, school nutrition
regulations, vocational/technical schools and vouchers. We have presented testimony on those issues to
the PA House and Senate Education Committees, the PA House Republican Policy
Committee, the PA Senate Democratic Policy Committee, the PA House Democratic Policy Committee and the PA Independent
Regulatory Review Commission.
Keystone State Education Coalition Co-Chairs:
Shauna D’Alessandro, 12 year retired Master School Board Director, West
Jefferson Hills School District, Allegheny County
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2014
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2011
Lynn Foltz, Wilmington Area School District , Lawrence County
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2015
Mark B. Miller, Centennial School District , Bucks County
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2014
Roberta M. Marcus, 20 year retired Master School Board Director, Parkland School District, Lehigh County
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2012
Valentina Viletto, General Counsel, 8 year retired school director, Cheltenham School District, Montgomery County
PSBA Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award 2013
A member of the School District of Haverford Township school
board since 1999, Feinberg has earned a reputation as a leading advocate for
public education statewide. He serves as chairman of the Delaware County School
Boards Legislative Council where he has been a member since 2000. In 2006, he
founded and now co-chairs the Keystone State Education Coalition, a
non-partisan grassroots public education advocacy group, where he publishes a
daily PA Education Policy Roundup that reaches more than 3500 state and federal
policymakers. He was recently appointed to his fifth two year term as a member
of the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network.
Feinberg has provided legislative testimony before several PA
legislative and regulatory committees.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the PA School Boards
Association and a participant in the Pennsylvanians Opposed to Vouchers
Coalition, the PA School Funding Campaign Steering Committee and the
Philadelphia Education Fund’s Education First Compact.
In 2011, he received PSBA’s first annual Timothy M. Allwein
Advocacy Award. In 2012, Feinberg received the Media Area NAACP’s Foot Soldier
for Justice Award in recognition of his commitment to universal public
education and advocacy efforts, and was invited to join a group of Pennsylvania
He previously served as chairman of the Board of Managers of the Main
Line YMCA and as a member of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Philadelphia
and Vicinity. Feinberg attended Philadelphia public schools, is a graduate of LaSalle
University and attended Villanova University