Showing posts with label Mandate Relief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mandate Relief. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, no more elementary music classes, no more French, German or Latin, pay to play sports.


Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1500 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg


Monday March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the direction of education policy in Pennsylvania
The last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012.  Make sure that you, your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers are all registered to vote in the April 24th Pennsylvania Primary.  Ask your incumbent state representative and state senator for their positions on public education.  Let them know how important these issues are to you.  Forward this reminder to any and all public education stakeholders.

 

Tip of the iceberg: Pensions, mandates are shackling schools

Published: Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 6:06 AM
By Patriot-News Editorial Board 
Teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, no more elementary music classes, no more French, German or Latin, pay to play sports.
These are not typical discussion topics in many of Pennsylvania’s suburban school districts.
These are school districts that by and large have solid tax bases and good test scores. People move to these districts so their children can go to school there. 
Yet the cuts and pain have hit suburbia, too.
And Gov. Tom Corbett and the Republican Legislature do not seem to have a clear answer about what school districts should do.

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/03/tip_of_the_iceberg_pensions_ma.html

 

PA Auditor General criticizes education spending priorities

Chester County Daily Local By JIM CALLAHAN, Staff Writer 3/20/12

WESTTOWN — Auditor General Jack Wagner said some charter and cyber-charter schools replacing public schools are being run for profit and the state legislature should end this practice.

Wagner spoke Monday at Stetson Middle School during a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters about public education funding.

http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120320/NEWS01/120329935/auditor-general-criticizes-education-spending-priorities&pager=full_story

 

Chester County Daily Local News to host education discussion

Staff Report Posted: 03/19/12 07:44 am

The Daily Local News will host a State of Education discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday in its Community Media Lab.

The roundtable discussion will include local education leaders and officials answering questions from a live audience and from those watching remotely via a live stream on the Daily Local News website. The event is free to the public. The Community Media Lab is upstairs at the Daily Local News offices at 250 N. Bradford Ave. in West Chester. While topics will come from those in attendance or watching at home, the focus will likely be about where education stands in Pennsylvania and nation, how education is or should be funded, and what options exist for students who may be entering school or looking for an alternative. The discussion will be moderated by Daily Local News staff writer Eric S. Smith.

The panel will include home-school parent Lynne Burkholder; Coatesville Area School Board President J. Neil Campbell; state Sen. Andy Dinniman, minority leader of the state Senate Education Committee; Downingtown Area Education Association President Craig Krusen; West Chester Area School District Superintendent James Scanlon; Director of Career, Technical and Customized Education for the Chester County Intermediate Unit Alan Slobojan; state Rep. Dan Truitt, a member of the state House Education Committee; and Collegium Charter School CEO Bill Winters.

http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120319/NEWS01/120319478/daily-local-news-to-host-education-discussion

 

“According to Gary Miron, a professor at Western Michigan University's College of Education, the report is selective in its use of data to bolster charter schools. "The selection of researchers they cite is misleading," he said. "They only select papers that show choice is working, when most reports say it's not."

Schools Report: Failing To Prepare Students Hurts National Security, Prosperity

Huffington Post by Joy Resmovits Posted: 03/19/2012 5:18 pm Updated: 03/19/2012 7:23 pm

Thirty years ago, a Reagan administration report warned of "a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people." The report, "A Nation at Risk," tied that mediocrity to the alleged failure of America's schools.
Fast forward to 2012, and the story hasn't changed, former New York City schools chief Joel Klein and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in a report provided to The Huffington Post slated to be released Tuesday. "The sad fact is that the rising tide of mediocrity is not something that belongs in history books," said the report produced by a Council on Foreign Relations task force they co-chaired.
The report, called the U.S. Education Reform and National Security report, argues for treating education as a national-security issue, noting that deficiencies in areas like foreign languages hold back America's capacity to produce soldiers, diplomats and spies. It calls for increased standards, accountability and school choice -- charter schools and vouchers -- to increase America's international educational standing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/schools-report-condoleezza-rice-joel-klein_n_1365144.html?ref=education

 

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 03/21/2012

Best part of ‘schools-threaten-national-security’ report: The dissents

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss
The most interesting part of the new Condoleezza Rice-Joel Klein report, which bemoans how American national security is threatened by the poor state of public education, is not in the body of the document itself. The real story is in the dissents at the end of the report.
You can read the report here, and then find out all of the many problems with it in the dissenting views attached at the end of the report, which was written by several members of the Council of Foreign Relations task force.
Some of the dissenters — including Linda Darling-Hammond and Randi Weingarten — express such broad disagreement with the actual thesis that national security is threatened by our public schools, as well as with some of the recommended solutions, that one could wonder why they agreed to stay on the commission and put their names to the document. Here’s why: To ensure that their viewpoint was at least included somewhere in the document.
The report, after attacking public schools for failing to educate students to become involved in the diplomatic corps, military and intelligence services of the country, makes three major recommendations. They are expanding the Common Core State Standard initiative to include subjects beyond math and English Language Arts; expanding charter schools, vouchers and the choice movement; and an annual “national security readiness audit” that would look at how schools are addressing the country’s needs through increased foreign language programs, technology curriculum and more.
Here are some excerpts from the dissents, which you can read in their entirety at the report’s end. The people I have included are: Carole Artigiani, Global Kids, Inc; Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University professor; Randi Weingarten, president of the American of the Federation of Teachers; and Stephen M. Walt, Harvard University professor.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/best-part-of-schools-threaten-national-security-report-the-dissents/2012/03/20/gIQAe0yaQS_blog.html

 

Has your board considered this draft resolution yet?

PSBA Sample Board Resolution regarding the budget

Please consider bringing this sample resolution to the members of your board.

http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/state-budget/Budget_resolution-02212012.doc


Arcadia University's Education Department presents:
Panel: Unpacking the PA School Budget: What Does This Mean for Me?
March 29, 2012 from 5:30pm to 8pm at Arcadia University
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Join us for a panel discussion that will delve into details of the Commonwealth's School Budget as announced by the Governor in February 2012.  This event will tell you how the budget will affect your schools, community, and children.
Host:  Dr. Bruce Campbell, Coordinator, Educational Leadership Master's Program, Arcadia University
Moderator: Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy and Senior Staff Attorney, Education Law Center
Panelists:
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent, Lower Merion School District
Art Haywood, President, Board of Commissioners, Cheltenham Township
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook 
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu

Education Voters PA – Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process, but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in standing up for our priorities.  Last year, public outcry helped prevent nearly $300 million in additional cuts.  We heard from the Governor, and we know where he stands.  Now, we need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our schools?

 

PSBA officer applications due by March 31
PSBA Website 3/12/2012
Candidates seeking election to PSBA officer posts in 2013 must file an expression of interest for the office desired to be interviewed by the PSBA Nominating Committee. Deadline for filing is March 31.  For more info and forms:
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Gentzel & Brouillette do a Duet on Mandate Relief


Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1500 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg


Monday March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the direction of education policy in Pennsylvania
The last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012.  Make sure that you, your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers are all registered to vote in the April 24th Pennsylvania Primary.  Ask your incumbent state representative and state senator for their positions on public education.  Let them know how important these issues are to you.  Forward this reminder to any and all public education stakeholders.

 

Public Schools Can Do More with Less -- If We Let Them

Editorial: Thomas Gentzel, Matthew Brouillette 3/19/2012

Thomas J. Gentzel is executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and Matthew J. Brouillette is president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation.

As families across Pennsylvania try to figure out how to do more with less in this difficult economy, our local public schools must also do the same. But unlike fiscally sound kitchen-table decisions that can be made in the morning and implemented by lunch, elected school board members are forced to waste taxpayer money because of antiquated and unfair mandates from Harrisburg that do nothing to improve the quality of public education.

Although the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Commonwealth Foundation are policy opponents in the debate over school choice, we strongly agree on the need to give elected school boards the ability to better manage their taxpayer resources.

http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=2621

 

Prevailing sentiment: It's time to repeal arcane wage law

Published: Monday, March 19, 2012, 6:09 AM
By Patriot-News Editorial Board 
It’s time the state Legislature repeals the prevailing-wage law.
We continue to ask our local governments and school districts to cut costs and find ways to deal with decreasing state funding and shrinking tax bases, but yet we don’t give them meaningful ways to do that.
Who knows better what local governments need to cut costs and do more with less than the local governments themselves? And they say — from county commissioner, city, township and school board associations — repeal the prevailing-wage law.
The mandate adds an extra 5 percent to 30 percent onto the costs of public school, municipal and state building projects compared with private sector costs, according to many studies nationwide. This notion of increasing the cost makes no sense in 2012.

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/03/prevailing_sentiment_its_time.html

 

PA seeks to swap property taxes with hikes in sales, income taxes

Bill has bipartisan support
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent March 19, 2012
HARRISBURG — A new proposal might eliminate property taxes in Pennsylvania, only to replace them with a 1 percent increase in sales and personal income taxes.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers believe this trade-off would help taxpayers and school districts alike.  The plan, being crafted by state Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks, is expected to be introduced formally within the next two weeks as House Bill 1776.
The legislation would offset the state’s $12 billion in annual property tax revenue with the new revenue from the higher personal income and sales taxes. Pennsylvania's property tax system is the fundamental local funding source for school districts.

http://paindependent.com/2012/03/pa-seeks-to-swap-property-taxes-with-hikes-in-sales-income-taxes/

 

More oversight sought for growing charter schools

By Rachel Weaver, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Charter school enrollment continues to climb in Pennsylvania, but educators still argue over how to fund the schools and who should grant or renew charters.
Read more: More oversight sought for growing charter schools - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_787317.html#ixzz1pe27mylW

 

The West Chester Daily Local News will host a State of Education discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday in its Community Media Lab.

The roundtable discussion will include local education leaders and officials answering questions from a live audience and from those watching remotely via a live stream on the Daily Local News website.  The event is free to the public. The Community Media Lab is upstairs at the Daily Local News offices at 250 N. Bradford Ave. in West Chester.

While topics will come from those in attendance or watching at home, the focus will likely be about where education stands in Pennsylvania and nation, how education is or should be funded, and what options exist for students who may be entering school or looking for an alternative.

The discussion will be moderated by Daily Local News staff writer Eric S. Smith.

The panel will include home-school parent Lynne Burkholder; Coatesville Area School Board President J. Neil Campbell; state Sen. Andy Dinniman, minority leader of the state Senate Education Committee; Downingtown Area Education Association President Craig Krusen; West Chester Area School District Superintendent James Scanlon; Director of Career, Technical and Customized Education for the Chester County Intermediate Unit Alan Slobojan; state Rep. Dan Truitt, a member of the state House Education Committee; and Collegium Charter School CEO Bill Winters.

http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120319/NEWS01/120319478/daily-local-news-to-host-education-discussion&pager=1

 

WHAT WORKS: On Borrowing Best Practices and Even Better Policies

Education Week Top Performers Blog By Marc Tucker on March 19, 2012 9:02 AM
Last week, I attended the Second International Summit on the Teaching Professionin New York City.  Like the first, this is a meeting of education ministers and teachers' union heads from countries around the world, most of which outperform the United States.  They've been talking about the strategies they've been using to improve their education systems.  Like the first Summit, it is fascinating.

After looking all over the world at the ways various countries addressed this issue, the Shanghai Education Commission decided to ask the best school principals and their faculties to take responsibility for managing other schools that perform less well.  Now the best school principals manage up to six schools.  When they do that, they often send some of their best teachers to the poor-performing schools for which they take responsibility.  Those teachers are, of course, very successful in those schools, and the result is that support grows among the whole faculty for making one of these teachers the new principal in that school.  In that way, over time, one good school and five bad ones become six good schools.
Guess where Dr. Zhang said the Shanghai Education Commission got the idea for doing this?  The answer is the United States. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2012/03/on_borrowing_best_practices_and_even_better_policies.html

 

In Defense of Facing Reality

Huffington Post by Diane Ravitch Posted: 03/18/2012 9:24 pm
I recently wrote two review articles for the New York Review of Books about the teaching profession. The first was a review of Pasi Sahlberg's Finnish Lessons, about the exceptional school system of Finland, which owes much to the high professionalism of its teachers.
The second of the two articles was a review of Wendy Kopp's A Chance to Make History, and it focused on her organization, Teach for America.
I expressed my admiration for the young people who agree to teach for two years, with only five weeks of training. But I worried that TFA was now seen -- and promoting itself -- as the answer to the serious problems of American education. Even by naming her book A Chance to Make History, Wendy Kopp reinforced the idea that TFA was the very mechanism that American society could rely upon to lift up the children of poverty and close the achievement gaps between different racial and ethnic groups.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-ravitch/wendy-kopp-teach-for-america_b_1359322.html?ref=education

 

Graduation rates on the rise

Center for Public Education Edifier Blog — Jim Hull @ 5:01 pm March 19, 2012

On-time high school graduation rates have been increasing while the number of so-called “dropout factories” have declined dramatically since 2001, according to the report Building a Grad Nation released by America’s Promise Alliance. The release of the report corresponded with the group’s Building a GradNation Summit taking place this week in Washington, DC.

http://blog.centerforpubliceducation.org/2012/03/19/graduation-rates-on-the-rise/

 

Blended Learning Sports Variety of Approaches

As schools mix online instruction and face-to-face learning, educators are identifying promising hybrid approaches

Education Week By Katie Ash Published Online: March 12, 2012

Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.

As blended learning models, which mix face-to-face and online instruction, become more common in schools, classroom educators and administrators alike are navigating the changing role of teachers—and how schools can best support them in that new role.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/15/25hybrid.h31.html?tkn=OYUFdDnHWn59CQznvkreuELfYoliykVMLcDn&cmp=clp-edweek?intc=TC12TWT

 

Posted at 02:00 AM ET, 03/20/2012

Condi Rice-Joel Klein report: Not the new ‘A Nation at Risk’

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss
A new report being officially released today — by a Council of Foreign Relations task force chaired by Joel Klein and Condoleezza Rice — seems to want very much to be seen as the new “A Nation at Risk,” the seminal 1983 report that warned that America’s future was threatened by a “rising tide of mediocrity” in the country’s public schools.
It’s a pale imitation.
The U.S. Education Reform and National Security report, to be sure, has some similar language and themes of a Nation at Risk. It says (over and over) that America’s national security is threatened because America’s public schools aren’t adequately preparing young people to “fill the ranks of the Foreign Service, the intelligence community, and the armed forces” (or diplomats, spies and soldiers).
But it takes a very different view of the public education system than the authors of “A Nation at Risk,” who sought to find ways to improve public schools and treat the system as a civic institution. The new report seems to look at public schools as if they are the bad guys that need to be put out of business, with a new business taking over, funded with public dollars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/condi-rice-joel-klein-report-not-the-new-a-nation-at-risk/2012/03/19/gIQAI8hKOS_blog.html

 

Has your board considered this draft resolution yet?

PSBA Sample Board Resolution regarding the budget

Please consider bringing this sample resolution to the members of your board.

http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/state-budget/Budget_resolution-02212012.doc


Arcadia University's Education Department presents:
Panel: Unpacking the PA School Budget: What Does This Mean for Me?
March 29, 2012 from 5:30pm to 8pm at Arcadia University
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Join us for a panel discussion that will delve into details of the Commonwealth's School Budget as announced by the Governor in February 2012.  This event will tell you how the budget will affect your schools, community, and children.
Host:  Dr. Bruce Campbell, Coordinator, Educational Leadership Master's Program, Arcadia University
Moderator: Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy and Senior Staff Attorney, Education Law Center
Panelists:
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent, Lower Merion School District
Art Haywood, President, Board of Commissioners, Cheltenham Township
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook 
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu

Education Voters PA – Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process, but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in standing up for our priorities.  Last year, public outcry helped prevent nearly $300 million in additional cuts.  We heard from the Governor, and we know where he stands.  Now, we need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our schools?

 

PSBA officer applications due by March 31
PSBA Website 3/12/2012
Candidates seeking election to PSBA officer posts in 2013 must file an expression of interest for the office desired to be interviewed by the PSBA Nominating Committee. Deadline for filing is March 31.  For more info and forms:
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

There is no prohibition against lawmakers and elected officials or heads of public agencies being associated with charter schools. But there should be.



Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

WHAT WORKS: Full-day kindergarten lauded in Franklin Regional presentation

By Renatta Signorini, TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Franklin Regional school board plans to decide on March 19 whether to maintain the district's full-day kindergarten program or revert to half-day.  Sloan Elementary kindergarten teacher Libby Carr presented the board last night with an analysis of the full-day program and its benefits.
"This is powerful data," she said.

Read more: Full-day kindergarten lauded in Franklin Regional presentation - Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviewhttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_782674.html#ixzz1n1oJaQxc

 

Research study gives good marks to Phila.'s school turnaround effort

By Kristen A. Graham Inquirer Staff Writer Posted: Wed, Feb. 22, 2012, 3:01 AM

Philadelphia's nationally watched school turnaround effort gets high marks from a research study to be released Wednesday.  Growth in student achievement and attendance both at district-run overhauled K-8 schools and at those turned over to charters outpaced gains at comparable city schools, the Philadelphia nonprofit Research for Action found.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120222_Research_study_gives_good_marks_to_Phila__s_school_turnaround_effort.html

 

“Of course, we have a rich history of lawmakers' involvement: Until last year, state Sen. Anthony Williams served as chairman of the board of the Hardy Williams Charter School; John Perzel's wife founded a school and served on its board; Vincent Fumo and Dwight Evans have been instrumental in establishing charter schools.

Lawmakers who are committed to improving education can, and should, do it the old-fashioned way - through budget allocations. They should stay far away from the obvious conflicts of interest that stem from starting their own schools.”

DN Editorial: Lawmakers should drop out of charter involvement

Philadelphia Daily News Editorial Posted: Wed, Feb. 22, 2012, 3:01 AM

WHEN the School Reform Commission next votes to approve new charter schools, it'll review one application that carries two familiar names - State Reps. Bill Keller and John Taylor.  Keller and Taylor are part of the "founding coalition" of Philadelphia Polytechnic Charter School. The coalition also includes Vincent Fenerty, director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

There is no prohibition against lawmakers and elected officials or heads of public agencies being associated with charter schools.  But there should be.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120222_DN_Editorial__Lawmakers_should_drop_out_of_charter_involvement.html

 

Corbett’s budget foreshadows surge in PA pension costs

Increases begin this year, but the big numbers are a few years away
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent February 17, 2012
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett’s second proposed budget contains an ominous warning about the state’s two major pension funds and the taxpayer contributions they will require in the coming years.  The state’s contribution to the two pension plans is increasing by more than $300 million in the newly proposed budget, up from $705 million last year to more than $1 billion in the fiscal year that will begin July 1.

 

“Standardized tests may be lucrative for educational publishers and useful for politicians who want to control school resources, but they seldom improve learning. …. Although accountability and data-driven instruction are often the stated goals of educational testing, politicians may be eager to expand it for other reasons. The most obvious one is control: The easier it is to label schools as failing, the easier it is to take them over - at which point politicians can influence their policies and curriculums and dole out more of the associated money and resources to whomever they want.”

The mighty testing juggernaut

Philadelphia Inquirer By Christopher Paslay Posted: Tue, Feb. 21, 2012, 9:00 AM

Christopher Paslay is a Philadelphia schoolteacher and the author of "The Village Proposal" (Rowman & Littlefield). His blog, "Chalk and Talk," is at http://chalkandtalk.wordpress.com

There's an old saying that weighing a cow doesn't make it fatter. When it comes to educational testing in Pennsylvania, however, Gov. Corbett may beg to differ. His proposed 2012-13 budget calls for a 43 percent increase in funding for educational assessments, to $52 million, even as it keeps school funding generally flat and cuts spending on state-related universities.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120221_The_mighty_testing_juggernaut.html

 

An open letter to Gov. Tom Corbett: Now is the time for meaningful mandate relief

PSBA Executive Director Tom Gentzel 2/21/2012

Dear Governor Corbett:

Last week, you presented to the General Assembly a challenging budget for 2012-13. It reflects the continued concerns related to the economy and the need to carefully select priorities for state spending. Certainly, in times like these, tight budgets mean that difficult choices must be made.

In your budget address, you emphasized that the state's revenues do not match mandated, escalating costs. You proposed the use of block grants to "give school districts the flexibility to adjust to their own, unique needs" You said that "right now, education spending is bound up in a thicket of outdated and time-consuming regulations and mandates."

Governor, we couldn't agree more, and the time to address this problem is now.

http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=2446

 

Parkland school district approves ads inside buses

Delco Times Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania school district plans to put advertisements on the inside of its buses as it tries to deal with cuts in state funding.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2012/02/22/news/doc4f44c481acbf4798608968.txt

 

Financial Collapse Threatens Pennsylvania District

No rescue yet for Chester Upland schools

Education Week By Christina A. Samuels Published February 21, 2012

The financially troubled Chester Upland school district in Pennsylvania, which made national news when its teachers promised to stay on the job even if the district could not pay them, continues to teeter on the brink of financial collapse despite a court-ordered meeting with state officials this month to seek a rescue.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/22/21chester_ep.h31.html?tkn=LLTFULXDu%2FvkIcZ0k2iAIembFVjDULhZRcV5&cmp=clp-edweek

 

Cumberland Valley officials target elementary strings and band programs for elimination

Published: Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 7:10 AM

By DAVID N. DUNKLE, The Patriot-News

Both the elementary strings and band programs are slated to be eliminated as district officials try to close an anticipated $2.7 million budget deficit for the 2012-13 school year.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/cumberland_valley_officials_ta.html

 

About Yinzercation:

Outraged by the $1 BILLION state cuts that are now hitting our schools, a group of Pittsburgh Colfax K-8 parents formed a “Harrisburg Strategy” group in late 2011 to work at the state level. With the Governor’s recent announcement that he proposes cutting an additional $100 MILLION, that initial group has quickly grown into a region-wide movement as folks from across Southwest PA have joined the fight to stop this attack on public education. We welcome you to join us.

You can signup for emails at: http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/about/

The Letter Wars Continue (or Why Networking is Working)
Yinzercation Blog — FEBRUARY 21, 2012
The letter wars continue on the editorial pages of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Today’s letter-to-the-editor (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12052/1211504-110.stm) is a spot-on rebuttal to two of the most commonly repeated, and false, claims about the budget cuts to public education. But it is also an excellent example of how Yinzer Nation is growing through our personal networks — and how this most basic strategy of networking is working.

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/author/burghersabroad/

 

State to switch from PSSA to Keystone Exams

By Barbara Phillips Long, Shippensburg Bureau Chief, Posted: February 20, 2012 7:00 am

Pennsylvania will switch from using the PSSA exams in high school to using the Keystone Exams on specific subjects, despite a tight state budget for education, Assistant Superintendent Beth Bender told Shippensburg Area School District board members Feb. 13.

Read more: http://cumberlink.com/news/local/education/state-to-switch-from-pssa-to-keystone-exams/article_d634c8f6-5bb5-11e1-a0bc-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1n1aiC0ST

 

The authors suggest a multifaceted response to Obama’s agenda, including that Congress “should immediately pass legislation clarifying that the department cannot impose conditions on waivers requested by states under ESEA.”

Obama imposing national school curriculum

Posted by EducationViews.org on February 21, 2012 
‘The department has simply paid others to do what which it is forbidden’
A new report compiled by several former Education Department insiders for the Pioneer Institute warns that the Obama administration is imposing a national school curriculum, even though the law doesn’t allow it, by making trades with districts seeking waivers from other program requirements.  “In three short years, the present administration has placed the nation on the road to a national curriculum,” said the authors of the reported called “The Road to a National Curriculum: The Legal Aspects of the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and Conditional Waivers.”

http://educationviews.org/2012/02/21/obama-imposing-national-school-curriculum/

 

“But what we cannot support is reshaping the program into one that caters to the middle class - and that's where the voucher program is headed after last year's revamp.”

Choice enrollment boost shows a worrisome trend

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Editorial February 20, 2012

At least some of the growth in the voucher program came from kids already enrolled in private schools. Poor students should be the priority.

More than 2,000 new students entered the school voucher program this year after the Legislature relaxed requirements. That's the good news. The bad news? Much of that growth came from kids whose parents already were paying out-of-pocket for their children to attend private or religious schools, according to a new study by the Public Policy Forum. The trend is the result of a misguided shift in philosophy that we warned against when lawmakers were considering these changes last year.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/choice-enrollment-boost-shows-a-worrisome-trend-as46693-139763423.html

 

“If legislators give charter schools the construction money, in many cases they will be transferring dollars out of classrooms and onto the bottom lines of for-profit firms. That's not innovation. That's traditional corporate welfare.”

Cash grab by big business

By THE PALM BEACH POST- Jac Wilder VerSteeg, for The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board

Posted: 6:04 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012

Charter schools supposedly are great innovators. They promised better academic results than traditional public schools, and they promised to do it for less money. Taxpayers, for example, would not have to underwrite their budgets for construction and maintenance.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/editorials/cash-grab-by-big-business-2186521.html#.T0OssLX6aaY.email

 

Posted at 03:26 PM ET, 02/21/2012

Santorum’s children went to a cyber charter school

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has said some pretty provocative things about public education on the campaign trail recently, declaring that it is not the job of government to educate children but rather the responsibility of parents.  That didn’t stop him from enrolling his children for a time in a Pennsylvania cyber charter school and insisting that taxpayers there pay for it, even though his children lived primarily in another state.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/santorums-children-went-to-a-cyber-charter-school/2012/02/20/gIQArAwhRR_blog.html

 

February 23: 9 am to 3 pm Harrisburg Hilton 2012 Budget Summit: Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center

Join the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center for our 2012 Budget Summit on Thursday, February 23, 2012 for an in-depth look at the state and federal budget plans and what they mean for communities and families across Pennsylvania. The Summit will also feature workshops on how to talk about budgets, government and state services and lessons from successful budget campaigns in other states.

Time: February 23, 2012 from 9am to 3pm
Location: Harrisburg Hilton
City/Town: Harrisburg
Website or Map: http://org2.democracyinaction…

Click here to RSVP

 

February 29th: Partners for Public Education at 6PM in the South Fayette High School Theater

Statewide kickoff meeting of PSEA's Partners for Public Education (PPE) Program

PPE is all about connecting parents, community leaders, elected officials, and teachers together for one goal - the support of public education.  State Senator Wayne Fontana, State Representative Jesse White, PSEA President Mike Crossey, along with members of the SFEA Representative Council, SF School Board, SF Administration, and SF Student Government will stand together to recruit parents and other interested parties add their voices to the chorus of those who care about public education.

http://partnersforpubliced.org/  

http://www.facebook.com/SouthFayettePPE


SAVE THE DATE: March 8, 7 pm Lehigh County Legislative Forum on Public Education
Thursday, March 8th, 7:00 pm at Lehigh Carbon Community College, Community Services Center
All public education stakeholders are invited to this special event.  Join us on Thursday, March 8th at Lehigh Carbon Community College at 7PM for an evening with several key state legislators from Lehigh County and other education experts who will help explain local impacts. 
State Representatives and Senators representing surrounding school districts have been invited to attend and discuss their positions on public education as they head into negotiations over next year’s budget.  This event will be moderated by the League of Women Voters.

The Education Committee of the League of Women Voters of Chester County
March 19th LWV Chester County Public Meeting: The Real Impact of the Proposed State Budget on Public Education
PA Auditor General Jack Wagner
Monday March 19th 6:30 pm at Stetson Middle School, West Chester
Location: Stetson Middle School Auditorium
The Auditor General will speak to the public followed by Q & A Session.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 

March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the direction of education policy in Pennsylvania
The last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012.  Make sure that you, your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers are all registered to vote in the April 24th Pennsylvania Primary.  Ask your incumbent state representative and state senator for their positions on public education.  Let them know how important these issues are to you.  Forward this reminder to any and all public education stakeholders.

PA SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Budget Hearing - Department of Education
Monday, February 27, 2012  9:30 AM  Hearing Room 1 North Office Bldg.

PA HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
BUDGET HEARINGS: EDUCATION
10:00 AM Department of Education
1:00 PM State System of Higher Education
2:30 PM PHEAA
Monday, March 5, 2012 10:00 AM  Room 140 Main Capitol

Education Voters PA – Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process, but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in standing up for our priorities.  Last year, public outcry helped prevent nearly $300 million in additional cuts.  We heard from the Governor, and we know where he stands.  Now, we need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our schools?

At The Chalk Face - Education Talk Radio – Listen Anytime
Educated Educators Talking Education.
A new one hour talk show dedicated to education.  Hosts Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson cover the biggest issues in education.  From standardized testing to No Child Left Behind.

PA House Democratic Caucus Website
UPDATED DAILY – STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETS
As districts consider their preliminary budgets and we await the Governor’s February 7th budget announcement, the PA House Democratic Caucus has begun daily tracking of press coverage on school district budgets statewide:

http://www.pahouse.com/school_funding_2011cuts.asp?utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pahouse.com%2fschool_funding_2011cuts.asp&utm_campaign=Crisis+in+Public+Education

 

Latest Updates on Chester Upland – February 22, 2012

District is slated to lose an additional $980,000 under the Governor’s proposed 2012-2013 budget
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