Friday, August 3, 2012

Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market


“Only public schools, operated by school districts with elected school boards are open to all children and fully accountable to all taxpayers.”
Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy, Education Law Center, in testimony before the PA House Democratic Policy Committee, July 17, 2012

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1600 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.

These daily emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market
Reuters  |  Posted: 08/02/2012 10:16 am 
Huffington Post By Stephanie Simon
NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The investors gathered in a tony private club in Manhattan were eager to hear about the next big thing, and education consultant Rob Lytle was happy to oblige.
Think about the upcoming rollout of new national academic standards for public schools, he urged the crowd. If they're as rigorous as advertised, a huge number of schools will suddenly look really bad, their students testing way behind in reading and math. They'll want help, quick. And private, for-profit vendors selling lesson plans, educational software and student assessments will be right there to provide it.
"You start to see entire ecosystems of investment opportunity lining up," said Lytle, a partner at The Parthenon Group, a Boston consulting firm. "It could get really, really big." Indeed, investors of all stripes are beginning to sense big profit potential in public education.

Posted: Thu, Aug. 2, 2012, 3:00 AM
The past should inform school district reform
Philadelphia Daily News Opinion by Kate  Shaw
Kate Shaw is executive director of Research for Action. More information can be found at www.researchforaction.org.
With a nearly $300 million deficit, a leadership transition, and rapidly-unfolding plans for a comprehensive governance overhaul, the School District of Philadelphia faces challenges that are unprecedented in its nearly 200-year history. The "Blueprint for Reforming Philadelphia's Public Schools" proposes one course for navigating the rough seas ahead by focusing on two major goals: safe, high-achieving schools for all kids, and the elimination of the district's deficit by 2014. The Blueprint's suggested remedies include a decreased reliance on the district's central office; new providers of educational services; an expansion of nontraditional public-school options, including charters; and an accountability system intended to expand high-performing schools and shutter bad ones.
This proposal has been hotly debated since its release in April, and rightly so: we can't afford to get it wrong. The good news is that Philadelphia needn't look far for important lessons learned. The district embarked on a similar reform in the early 2000s that was, at the time, the nation's largest experiment in decentralizing public education. Forty-five of the district's lowest-performing schools were managed by seven for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including two universities; and an additional 21 low-performing schools were "restructured" by the district. All schools involved in the reform received additional resources.
Results from that era of school reform were mixed.

Report detailing Boston Consulting Group findings and recommendations released
Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 08/02/2012
The Notebook by Dale Mezzacappa and Benjamin Herold
The School District released a 119-page document on Thursday that summarized the analyses and recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group, an outside firm retained at private expense to help the District avert a financial meltdown by radically overhauling its business operations and delivery of education. 

Transforming Philadelphia’s Public Schools
Key findings and recommendations
The Boston Consulting Group, August 2012
118 page consultant’s report; 10 page executive summary

Guest column: ‘Failing’ schools list shows state is out of touch
Published: Friday, August 03, 2012
Delco Times Opinion By JOSEPH BATORY Times Guest Columnist
Joseph P. Batory of Philadelphia is a retired Upper Darby School District superintendent.
The latest fiasco of the Pennsylvania Department of Education in publicizing its list of “allegedly” failing schools pretends that public schools exist in some vacuum. With this list of “failing” schools, the state’s political establishment has offered a simplistic and worthless appraisal of educational quality across the commonwealth.
To begin, Pennsylvania government continues to ignore the sad reality it has created of tremendous funding inequities among its schools statewide. By underfunding public education, literally hundreds of the state’s schools are sorely lacking in educational resources, personnel, facilities and instructional materials. Of course, none of this matters to state officials.

Capitolwire.com — Under The Dome™ Thursday, August 2, 2012
DCED published guidelines for EITC 2.0 scholarships.
The Department of Community and Economic Development published guidelines Wednesday for the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program, also known as EITC 2.0. The program, which was passed as a component to the state budget, made $50 million in tax credits available for businesses that contribute to an approved opportunity scholarship organization. Tax credits may be applied against the tax liability of a business for the tax year in which the contribution was made. The tax credits awarded to businesses will be equal to 75 percent of their contribution amount, which can be increased to 90 percent upon the business committing for two years. The total may not exceed $400,000 per taxable year, according to the press release. Students who live in the districts of the lowest-performing 15 percent of secondary schools and the lowest-performing 15 percent of elementary schools can apply for the scholarship. Only a few kids per class in 414 failing schools could get an EITC 2.0 scholarship of up to $8,500 to attend another private or public K-12 school .CLICK HERE (paywall) to read a Capitolwire story from July 26 about that breakdown.

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola's attorney says charges are unwarranted, surprising

Published: Thursday, August 02, 2012, 3:07
By ERIC VERONIKIS, The Patriot-News 
State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola's attorney Bob Davis said that the charges the state Supreme Court Office of Disciplinary Counsel has lodged against his client are "an embarrassment" and that Piccola is extremely disappointed by the charges. 

A Well Deserved Shout Out to KIPP
Huffington Post Blog by Kevin P. Chavous Attorney, author and national school reform leader
Posted: 08/02/2012 10:06 am
….The KIPP schools -- all 124 of them -- have emerged as the gold standard model for non-traditional public education in the country. Following the example laid by educators like Marva Collins, Jaime Escalante, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Harriett Ball and others, KIPP continues to prove that zip code, income and ethnicity does not need to be determinative of your educational attainment. Indeed, the KIPP results by any measure, are nothing short of remarkable. Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have graduated high school, and more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college. And 100% of high school seniors classes on average consistently out-perform their district-wide SAT scores.

2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-19, 2012
Registration is Now Open!
Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/

As of July 23, content on EdMedia Commons is viewable to nonmembers.
National Education Writers Association Website
If you're a visitor, welcome! We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy clicking around the site. EMC membership is still restricted to members of the Education Writers Association. Interested in EWA? Learn how to join here.

PA EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program FAQ
PA Department of Community and Economic Development

Details on Act 85 of 2012, PA’s new EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit “Supervoucher” Program.
Click here for a detailed report from PSBA regarding the new EITC 2.0 program.

Pennsylvania’s "Failing Schools" List For the 2012-2013 school year.
Here the list of low achieving schools released by PDE last week
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2012/07/pennsylvania-failing-schools-list-for.html

 

EPLC’s 2012 Arts and Education Symposium: Save the Date, Thursday, October 11

Education Policy and Leadership Center
Please mark your calendars and plan on joining EPLC, our partners, and guests on October 11 in Harrisburg for a full day of events.  Stay tuned to aei-pa.org for information about our 2nd Arts and Education Symposium.  Scholarships and Act 48 Credit will be available.  Outstanding speakers and panelists from Pennsylvania and beyond will once again come together to address key topics in the arts and arts education and related public policy advocacy initiatives.  This is a networking and learning opportunity not to be missed!

http://www.aei-pa.org/


PSBA 2013 Officer Candidates Slated
If you are not planning to attend the October Leadership Conference and would like to vote for any of these candidates please see the absentee ballot information below and note the August 15 deadline for absentee ballot requests
At its May 19 meeting at PSBA Conference Center, the PSBA Nominating Committee interviewed and selected a slate of candidates for officers of the association in 2013.
They are:
Marcela Diaz Myers, Lower Dauphin SD, Dauphin County
President (automatically assumes the office of president)
Jody Sperry, Conneaut SD, Crawford County
President-Elect
Richard Frerichs, Penn Manor SD, Lancaster County
President-Elect
Mark B. Miller, Centennial SD, Bucks County
First Vice President
Larry Breech, Millville Area SD, Columbia County
Second Vice President
Edward J. Cardow, Chichester SD, Delaware County
Second Vice President

Absentee ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
Absentee ballot requests must be received no later than August 15
PSBA website 6/1/2012
All school directors and school board secretaries who are eligible to vote and who do not plan to attend the association's annual business meeting during the 2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in Hershey, Oct. 16-19, may request an absentee ballot for election purposes.
The absentee ballot must be requested from the PSBA executive director in accordance with the PSBA Bylaws provisions (see PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, J-Q.). Specify the name and home mailing address of each individual for whom a ballot is requested.
Requests must be in writing, e-mailed or mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA Headquarters no later than Aug. 15. Mail to Executive Director, P.O. Box 2042, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 or e-mail administrativerequests@psba.org.

NSBA Federal Relations Network seeking new members for 2013-14
School directors are invited to advocate for public education at the federal level through the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. The National School Boards Association is seeking school directors interested in serving on the Federal Relations Network (FRN), its grass roots advocacy program that brings local board members on the front line of pending issues before Congress. If you are a school director and willing to carry the public education message to Washington, D.C., FRN membership is a good place to start. 
Click here for more information.

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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Ten PA Schools to Share $6.9 Million in Federal SIG Funds/US DOE also announces grants to cover AP test fees for low-income students


“Only public schools, operated by school districts with elected school boards are open to all children and fully accountable to all taxpayers.”
Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy, Education Law Center, in testimony before the PA House Democratic Policy Committee, July 17, 2012

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1600 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.

These daily emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Pennsylvania is slated to receive $487,964 under this grant program
US Dept. of Education announces $21.5 Million in Grants Awarded to 43 States to Cover Fees Charged to Low-Income Students for Taking AP Tests
ED.GOV AUGUST 1, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of more than $21.5 million in grants to 43 states to cover all or part of the fees charged to low-income students for taking Advanced Placement tests.  Based on the anticipated number of test-takers and other factors, the grants under the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program are expected to be sufficient to pay up to $38 per Advanced Placement exam for as many as three exams per student.
"Advanced Placement participation is an important element in creating a college-going culture in our high schools," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "AP courses help students develop the study skills, critical reasoning and habits of mind that prepare them for the transition to college. They give students—particularly first-generation college-goers—the confidence that they can successfully handle college-level work."

PA Department of Education Press Release August 01, 2012
Ten PA Schools to Share $6.9 Million in Federal Funds to Initiate Reform 
Harrisburg – Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis today announced the award of $6.9 million in federal School Improvement Grants to 10 of Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing schools.
“Pennsylvania has a rich educational history and is home to some of the best and brightest school leaders, educators and students; but unfortunately there are too many schools that have a history of persistently failing to provide their students with a quality education,” Tomalis said.
“The intent of the School Improvement Grants is to allow low-performing schools to implement innovative educational initiatives that meet the needs of the students they serve and ensure their students receive a world-class education,” Tomalis said.
“I applaud the leadership of these schools for acknowledging the challenges they face and seeking an opportunity to reform their educational programs.”

Below is the list of grantees, the reform model that will be implemented and the award amount for the 2012-13 school year:

Albert Gallatin Area School District, Fayette County
Albert Gallatin High School, Transformation, $1,008,323

Corry Area School District, Erie County
Corry Area High School, Transformation, $787,864

Greater Johnstown School District, Cambria County
Greater Johnstown Middle School, Transformation, $989,459

Lebanon School District, Lebanon County
Lebanon High School, Transformation, $816,133

Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia County
Grover Cleveland School, Restart, $1,385,140

William Penn School District, Delaware County
Aldan Elementary School, Transformation, $438,700

York City School District, York County
Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School, Closure, $116,116
Hannah Penn Middle School, Closure, $118,237
McKinley Elementary School, Transformation, $563,000
William Penn High School, Transformation, $730,710

Posted: Thu, Aug. 2, 2012, 5:39 AM
Consultant: Philadelphia district needs to close 29 to 57 schools
By Kristen A. Graham Inquirer Staff Writer
Six months into its study of the troubled Philadelphia School District, a global management firm has made public its extensive, game-changing analysis and recommendations for how the system should proceed to overhaul operations and avoid insolvency.
Among the suggestions in the 118-page document, being released Thursday: The district should close between 29 and 57 schools in the next five years. It should be much more selective about charter school growth, which in the last decade has given Philadelphia families more educational options - but at a staggering cost to the district.
It should pursue massive changes in the next teachers' contract, not just reforming the salary and benefits structure but disconnecting seniority from layoffs and possibly extending the school day and year.
Thomas Knudsen, the district's chief recovery officer, stressed that the Boston Consulting Group Inc. was hired to survey the education system and recommend a way out of the district's current financial and academic troubles, with an emphasis on decentralization.

Data suggests Ohio Internet-based education isn't living up to the hype
Cinncinnati CityBeat BY GERMAN LOPEZ · AUGUST 1ST, 2012
…….The for-profit e-schools are a sham and a fraud against children,” Ravitch wrote in an email to CityBeat. “They don’t provide a good education and they rip off taxpayers. The only reason they exist is because of campaign contributions to politicians.”
Ravitch’s claim is supported by a 2011 report by Innovation Ohio on Ohio’s biggest e-schools, which concluded fundraising, not good academic results, is keeping e-schools alive.
The report used the examples of David Brennan and William Lager. Brennan operates the Alternative Education Academy in Toledo, and Lager runs Columbus’ Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), the largest e-school in Ohio. Between 2001 and 2010, Ohio Republicans received nearly $4 million in campaign contributions from Brennan and Lager, according to the report. In 2009 and 2010 alone, Brennan donated more than $412,000 to Republicans and $9,420 to Democrats.  During the same time period, Lager donated $129,488 to Republicans and $62,000 to Democrats.
The Innovation Ohio report took a close look at the seven for-profit statewide e-schools in Ohio, which host 90 percent of students that attend e-schools. The other 10 percent is made up of localized e-schools.

Teacher union boss bends to school reform winds
Chicago Tribune by James B. Kelleher Reuters
6:44 p.m. CDT, July 31, 2012
DETROIT (Reuters) - In the maelstrom of criticism surrounding America's unionized public teachers, the woman running the second-largest educator union says time has come to collaborate on public school reform rather than resist.  Randi Weingarten, re-elected this week for a third term as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with 98 percent of the vote, wants her 1.5 million members to be open to changes that might improve public schools.

2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-19, 2012
Registration is Now Open!
Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/

As of July 23, content on EdMedia Commons is viewable to nonmembers.
National Education Writers Association Website
If you're a visitor, welcome! We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy clicking around the site. EMC membership is still restricted to members of the Education Writers Association. Interested in EWA? Learn how to join here.

PA EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program FAQ
PA Department of Community and Economic Development

Details on Act 85 of 2012, PA’s new EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit “Supervoucher” Program.
Click here for a detailed report from PSBA regarding the new EITC 2.0 program.

Pennsylvania’s "Failing Schools" List For the 2012-2013 school year.
Here the list of low achieving schools released by PDE last week
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2012/07/pennsylvania-failing-schools-list-for.html

 

EPLC’s 2012 Arts and Education Symposium: Save the Date, Thursday, October 11

Education Policy and Leadership Center
Please mark your calendars and plan on joining EPLC, our partners, and guests on October 11 in Harrisburg for a full day of events.  Stay tuned to aei-pa.org for information about our 2nd Arts and Education Symposium.  Scholarships and Act 48 Credit will be available.  Outstanding speakers and panelists from Pennsylvania and beyond will once again come together to address key topics in the arts and arts education and related public policy advocacy initiatives.  This is a networking and learning opportunity not to be missed!

http://www.aei-pa.org/


PSBA 2013 Officer Candidates Slated
If you are not planning to attend the October Leadership Conference and would like to vote for any of these candidates please see the absentee ballot information below and note the August 15 deadline for absentee ballot requests
At its May 19 meeting at PSBA Conference Center, the PSBA Nominating Committee interviewed and selected a slate of candidates for officers of the association in 2013.
They are:
Marcela Diaz Myers, Lower Dauphin SD, Dauphin County
President (automatically assumes the office of president)
Jody Sperry, Conneaut SD, Crawford County
President-Elect
Richard Frerichs, Penn Manor SD, Lancaster County
President-Elect
Mark B. Miller, Centennial SD, Bucks County
First Vice President
Larry Breech, Millville Area SD, Columbia County
Second Vice President
Edward J. Cardow, Chichester SD, Delaware County
Second Vice President

Absentee ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
Absentee ballot requests must be received no later than August 15
PSBA website 6/1/2012
All school directors and school board secretaries who are eligible to vote and who do not plan to attend the association's annual business meeting during the 2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in Hershey, Oct. 16-19, may request an absentee ballot for election purposes.
The absentee ballot must be requested from the PSBA executive director in accordance with the PSBA Bylaws provisions (see PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, J-Q.). Specify the name and home mailing address of each individual for whom a ballot is requested.
Requests must be in writing, e-mailed or mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA Headquarters no later than Aug. 15. Mail to Executive Director, P.O. Box 2042, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 or e-mail administrativerequests@psba.org.

NSBA Federal Relations Network seeking new members for 2013-14
School directors are invited to advocate for public education at the federal level through the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. The National School Boards Association is seeking school directors interested in serving on the Federal Relations Network (FRN), its grass roots advocacy program that brings local board members on the front line of pending issues before Congress. If you are a school director and willing to carry the public education message to Washington, D.C., FRN membership is a good place to start. 
Click here for more information.
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Dispatches from a ‘low-achieving' Philadelphia school


“Only public schools, operated by school districts with elected school boards are open to all children and fully accountable to all taxpayers.”
Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy, Education Law Center, in testimony before the PA House Democratic Policy Committee, July 17, 2012

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1600 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.

These daily emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Posted: Wed, Aug. 1, 2012, 3:00 AM
LTE: Dispatches from a ‘low-achieving' Philadelphia school
Inquirer Letter to the Editor By Hillary Linardopoulos
Hillary Linardopoulos teaches third grade at Julia deBurgos School.
I teach at a low-achieving school. Well, I don't see it that way, but the state of Pennsylvania does.
Julia deBurgos School, in Kensington, is one of many Philadelphia schools designated as "low-achieving" on a state Department of Education list published last week. The list is based on the 2010-11 state test scores in reading and math — and nothing else. And even though my school made what's defined as "adequate yearly progress" on those tests, there we were on the list.
Now, under the new Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, my students will have the "opportunity" to go to "better" schools. The main problem is this: My school is not a bad school. My school is incredible.
A staggering 95 percent of our students come from poor families, nearly 30 percent are learning English, and at least 16 percent have special needs. You will never hear me use those numbers as excuses, though. I tell anyone who will listen that my students are some of the most intelligent, engaging, enthusiastic, and resilient children in Pennsylvania.

PA EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program FAQ
PA Department of Community and Economic Development

Details on Act 85 of 2012, PA’s new EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit “Supervoucher” Program.
Click here for a detailed report from PSBA regarding the new EITC 2.0 program.

Pennsylvania’s "Failing Schools" List For the 2012-2013 school year.
Here the list of low achieving schools released by PDE last week
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2012/07/pennsylvania-failing-schools-list-for.html

Posted: Wed, Aug. 1, 2012, 3:01 AM
More charges possible in complex Philadelphia charter-school case
By Martha Woodall Inquirer Staff Writer
Federal prosecutors unveiled a 62-count indictment against charter school mogul Dorothy June Brown and four codefendants last week, and said in court papers that additional charges could be lodged.  "This is an ongoing criminal investigation," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court, "and the government anticipates that it may seek the return of a superseding indictment that adds charges against some of the current defendants and potentially other persons not yet charged."

"Significant barriers to entry" at many Philadelphia charters, says District report
by Benjamin Herold for the Notebook and WHYY/NewsWorks on July 31 2012
A School District review found “significant barriers to entry” to numerous city charter schools, according to a draft report obtained by the Notebook/NewsWorks.
In at least one case, an unidentified charter only made its enrollment applications available on only one day per year.  Another unnamed charter required applicants to complete an 11-page application, write an essay, respond to 20 short-answer questions, provide three recommendations, be interviewed, and provide records related to their disciplinary history, citizenship and disability status.

"What they're going to be getting financed with public money is phony science.  They're going to be getting religion instead of science," Barbara Forrest, a founder of the Louisiana Coalition for Science, told AP.
Louisiana Voucher Program Includes Schools That Teach Creationism, Reject Evolution
Huffington Post no by line Posted: 07/31/2012 12:31 pm
Public dollars in Louisiana's landmark new voucher program will go toward sending children to schools that teach creationism and reject evolution, the Associated Press reports.
Under the new initiative, the most sweeping voucher program in the country, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars will be shifted from public schools to pay private schools, private businesses and private tutors to educate students across Louisiana.
The program is the cornerstone of Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's bold effort to reform public education in the state. Critics are concerned about funding and fairness -- vouchers would cover the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools, including small, Bible-based church schools. Jindal says the program will spur school competition and expand parental choice.
Several of those religious schools that will be receiving public funds to take in new students from public schools also teach curricula that question the age of the universe, defying scientific evidence and theory and promote religious doctrine that "challenges the lessons central to public school science classrooms," according to the AP.

Tests Don’t Assess What Really Matters

New York Times Opinion – Room for Debate: Can School Performance Be Measured Fairly?

How can you measure the achievement of students, teachers and schools in a way that is fair, accurate and doesn't provide incentives for obsessive testing, and cheating? 
Leonie Haimson, a New York City public school parent, is the executive director of Class Size Matters, a citywide advocacy group.
UPDATED JULY 29, 2012, 7:06 PM
Campbell's Law predicts that any time huge stakes are attached to quantitative data, the data itself will become inherently unreliable and distorted through cheating and gaming the system. In the New York City public schools, the overemphasis on standardized testing has led to test score inflation and numerous cheating scandals. Precious resources are diverted to for-profit testing companies, and learning time is lost as students spend weeks preparing for the tests, and teachers are pulled out of the classroom for days at a time to score them. Meanwhile school budgets are scraped to the bone and class sizes are rising. In New York City, class sizes in the early grades are the largest in 13 years.
The new federal mandate that teachers be judged at least in part on how well student test scores have risen is exacerbating this trend. Schools with the greatest numbers of poor, immigrant and special needs children will be increasingly subject to slash and burn tactics: mass closures and/or firings of educators, making it even more unlikely that qualified, experienced teachers will be drawn to working with the most at-risk students in the future.

Nearly 250 Communities Apply for Promise Neighborhood Grants

Education week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on July 30, 2012 5:00 PM
The U.S. Department of Education got 242 applications for a slice of the nearly $60 million in funding for the program, which helps communities pair education with other services, including pre-kindergarten, health, and arts education. That's a slight increase over last year.
The department is aiming to allocate $27 million for up to seven "implementation" grants—which help communities create actual Promise Neighborhoods, and $7 million for up to 14 "planning grants", which help communities figure out what services they need. Communities don't need to have won a planning grant to qualify for an implementation grant, but it helps give them a leg up in the competition.

EPLC’s 2012 Arts and Education Symposium: Save the Date, Thursday, October 11

Education Policy and Leadership Center
Please mark your calendars and plan on joining EPLC, our partners, and guests on October 11 in Harrisburg for a full day of events.  Stay tuned to aei-pa.org for information about our 2nd Arts and Education Symposium.  Scholarships and Act 48 Credit will be available.  Outstanding speakers and panelists from Pennsylvania and beyond will once again come together to address key topics in the arts and arts education and related public policy advocacy initiatives.  This is a networking and learning opportunity not to be missed!

http://www.aei-pa.org/


Who’s Failing?
One third of the 415 schools on Pennsylvania’s “Failing Schools” List made AYP (105) or were making progress (33) on the 2011 PSSAs
PSBA has concerns with EITC 2.0 program 7/27/2012
The Pennsylvania Department of Education yesterday published the list of low-achieving elementary and secondary schools to be used in determining eligibility for scholarships through the EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program under the new Act 85 of 2012.
This proposal would broaden the current EITC program to create a school voucher-type system making students who live in the attendance boundary of one of the schools on the list potentially eligible for scholarship under the program.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association remains concerned of the effects this voucher-lite program will have on school districts. While PSBA continues to review Act 85 and its implementation, including the list of low-achieving schools, we raise several concerns which include:
  • Despite being categorized as a low-achieving schools, several schools on the list, which was prepared using 2010-11 PSSA results, actually reached their student achievement targets and achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2010-11. Labeling these schools as low-achieving when they have met the student achievement standards set by the state and federal government functions to create two separate and conflicting measurements for student achievement. (Download PSBA's enhanced list of 15% lowest-performing schools (XL file).)
http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=3843

PSBA 2013 Officer Candidates Slated
If you are not planning to attend the October Leadership Conference and would like to vote for any of these candidates please see the absentee ballot information below and note the August 15 deadline for absentee ballot requests
At its May 19 meeting at PSBA Conference Center, the PSBA Nominating Committee interviewed and selected a slate of candidates for officers of the association in 2013.
They are:
Marcela Diaz Myers, Lower Dauphin SD, Dauphin County
President (automatically assumes the office of president)
Jody Sperry, Conneaut SD, Crawford County
President-Elect
Richard Frerichs, Penn Manor SD, Lancaster County
President-Elect
Mark B. Miller, Centennial SD, Bucks County
First Vice President
Larry Breech, Millville Area SD, Columbia County
Second Vice President
Edward J. Cardow, Chichester SD, Delaware County
Second Vice President

Absentee ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
Absentee ballot requests must be received no later than August 15
PSBA website 6/1/2012
All school directors and school board secretaries who are eligible to vote and who do not plan to attend the association's annual business meeting during the 2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in Hershey, Oct. 16-19, may request an absentee ballot for election purposes.
The absentee ballot must be requested from the PSBA executive director in accordance with the PSBA Bylaws provisions (see PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, J-Q.). Specify the name and home mailing address of each individual for whom a ballot is requested.
Requests must be in writing, e-mailed or mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA Headquarters no later than Aug. 15. Mail to Executive Director, P.O. Box 2042, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 or e-mail administrativerequests@psba.org.

NSBA Federal Relations Network seeking new members for 2013-14
School directors are invited to advocate for public education at the federal level through the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. The National School Boards Association is seeking school directors interested in serving on the Federal Relations Network (FRN), its grass roots advocacy program that brings local board members on the front line of pending issues before Congress. If you are a school director and willing to carry the public education message to Washington, D.C., FRN membership is a good place to start. 
Click here for more information.
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