“Tuition free online
public schools” are not free.
They take
significantly more of your local tax dollars than it costs them to educate
their students, accumulating large balances of excess funds, spending your
local tax dollars on advertising and corporate bonuses while achieving
lackluster academic results. Only one of
12 Pennsylvania
Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1650
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, teacher
leaders, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 education advocacy
organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Delco Times Heron’s Nest
Blog by Phil Heron, Editor Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Delco Times 'Live From the Newsroom' webcast tackles
the PSSA test tonight at 7:00 pm
They very well may be
the four most-feared letters in education.
No, we’re not talking
ABC’s. We’re talking PSSA.
In case you missed it,
the results are out from the most recent round of state standardized testing.
And the news is not good.
Here in Delaware County
So what does it all
mean? A lot of people talk about PSSAs, some believe entirely too much emphasis
is placed on them and that districts now are literally “teaching to the test,”
and failing to offer a more well-rounded education.
The districts themselves
don’t have much choice. They are mandated to meet certain AYP levels or face
the consequences, which could include funding cuts.
We’ll be talking about
the PSSAs tonight on our live-stream Internet broadcast, ‘Live From the
Newsroom.’ We’ll be joined by Larry Feinberg, a school board member in
Haverford and leader of the Keystone State Education Coalition. We’ll also be
joined by Dan McGarry, an assistant superintendent in Upper Darby School District
And I want you to get
involved.
Have a question about
the PSSAs? Do you think entirely too much is being made of them? How would you
suggest districts be held accountable? Email me your question or comment to editor@delcotimes.com and I will put it to our
panel tonight. Upper Darby parents, are you
happy with the new realignment plan? If not what would you like to see the
district do instead?
You can also join us
live tonight at 7 (click
here for link to tonight’s live webcast) at DelcoTimes.com when we tackle the issue of
PSSA test scores. Get involved. Join the conversation!
Capitolwire:
Under The Dome 09/25/2012
To increase education funding, PA Budget Sec’y Zogby weighing
'weighted' funding approach.
Budget Secretary Charles Zogby recently said
Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration wants to increase education funding and has
directed the Department of Education to look toward a “weighted” student
funding formula. “We’d like to be able to put more into basic education, but
again, as the governor said, we’ve got to be able to live within our means,”
said Zogby, who served as Education Secretary under Gov. Tom Ridge. The latest
budget and policy guidelines, as well as last year's guidelines, directed the
education department to consider weighted student funding as a new way to fund
schools. The weighted student funding approach bases funding on the number of
students, with extra funding or “weights” based on per pupil needs, which
include free or reduced-price lunch, special education, English language
learners, and others. For more regarding that approach and what others think
about it, CLICK HERE (paywall) to read a story from Capitolwire
Staff Writer Kevin Zwick.
CHARTER SCHOOL REFORM: Charter
Advocates Urge Passage of Reform Legislation
Over 300 students,
parents and educators from charter and cyber charter schools throughout Pennsylvania
“And
though everyone has his or her own agenda, all sides seem to agree that topping
the list of priorities this fall will be changes in the way charter schools are
regulated. That is a key part of the governor's effort to create
taxpayer-funded alternatives to traditional public schools.”
CHARTER SCHOOL REFORM: Major issues may languish in brief
legislative session
And though everyone
has his or her own agenda, all sides seem to agree that topping the list of
priorities this fall will be changes in the way charter schools are regulated. That
is a key part of the governor's effort to create taxpayer-funded alternatives
to traditional public schools.
"We came very,
very, very close to getting charter reform," Gov. Corbett said last week.
"And now, we need to get that done."
It is an issue that
was left over from budget negotiations this past summer.
During those talks,
the governor had pushed for a measure giving the state a larger role in
regulating charter schools. He wanted to create a state commission to authorize
new charters, taking that power from school boards.
A compromise fell
apart just hours before Corbett signed the budget.
But the governor has
said he is optimistic his administration and legislators can finish work on the
measure in the next few weeks.
CHARTER SCHOOL REFORM: State Rep Clymer: No movement on charter school bills over summer
But at least one top House GOP leader said
little has been accomplished since the proposal reached the doorstep of
becoming law in late June.
Philadelphia schools have progressed since state takeover, report
says
By Kristen A. Graham Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: Tue, Sep.
25, 2012 , 8:37 AM
Even taking into account the possible effects of
a cheating scandal that has rocked the city, the Philadelphia School
District
The district "has shown steady, systemwide
improvement in the overall quality of education," according to the
Accountability Review Council, an independent body established when the School
Reform Commission was created in late 2001.
….Later in Monday's meeting, the nonprofit Research
for Action presented its findings on the district's Renaissance schools -
failing district schools turned around either as district-run Promise Academies
PA
Cyber, other area schools fail to meet state standards
Beaver Timesonline Posted: Monday,
September 24,
2012 5:38 pm
By Bill Utterback butterback@timesonline.com |28 comments
Four days after the
Midland-based Pennsylvania
Cyber School
PA Cyber students from third
through 12th grades missed 18 of 19 state-determined targets in mathematics and
11 of 19 targets in reading, according to Department of Education figures. PA
Cyber students failed to reach any of 13 math targets for students between
sixth and 12th grades.
Hearing
date set for York
City School
District
The state education
department has set a hearing for Oct. 17 regarding the possibility of declaring
York City School District
The district requested the hearing to
contest the idea of having the state appoint someone to create a plan for
turning the district’s finances around.
The hearing is set for 9
a.m. at the education department, according to spokesman Tim Eller. However,
there’s a chance the whole thing could be handled through legal documents and
briefs filed in advance, instead of verbal arguments.
“This
Friday, the PIIN (the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network) education task
force is holding a press conference at 3:30PM
in front of the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill, where the movie is premiering.
It is scheduled right after school so that parents can zip over with their
children and will only last 30 minutes. If you are in the area, please plan to
come and tell the media why “I’m not Maggie Gylenhaall, but I play her in real
life.”
I’m Maggie Gylenhaall, And So
Are You
Yinzercation Blog — SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
“I’m not Maggie Gylenhaall, but I play her in
real life.” That’s a message being promoted by organizations, many like our
grassroots movement, furious with the release this Friday of the Hollywood film, “Won’t Back Down.” The movie stars
Gylenhaall as a mother struggling to change the school her daughter attends,
working with a sympathetic teacher played by Viola Davis. The fictional pair
illustrates the frustration many parents and teachers feel about the very real
problems facing public schools, particularly in low-income neighborhoods around
the country.
But the movie puts the
wrong target in its crosshairs. Our public schools are staggering under years
of chronic under-funding and inequitable distribution of resources.
……OK.
So I’m not really Maggie Gyllenhaal. (Too bad, actually, since she is terribly
cute.) But we all play her in real life. And when real parents and real
teachers work together, we are incredibly powerful. So here’s a fantastic
opportunity for us to tell the world about how Pittsburgh
This
Friday, the PIIN (the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network) education task
force is holding a press conference at 3:30PM
in front of the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill, where the movie is premiering.
It is scheduled right after school so that parents can zip over with their
children and will only last 30 minutes. If you are in the area, please plan to
come and tell the media why “I’m not Maggie Gylenhaall, but I play her in real
life.”
Don’t
Mess with Texas
Diane Ravitch’s Blog September 25, 2012
This report from Texas describes a growing revolution against testing. The schools are up in
arms: 77% of the school boards enrolling 86% of all Texas Houston
Now a
group known as “Moms Against Drunk Testing” has joined the fray. (website: http://tamsatx.org/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamsatx )
They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore. Last year, the
state cut the school budget by $5.4 billion, while handing a fat contract to
Pearson for $468 million. Meanwhile the state wants more and more and more testing.
High schools with top 40 highest
SAT scores in southeast Pa.
See which public high schools in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania
What do SAT, ACT scores
really mean?
The big news in the world of college entrance
exams — that would be the SAT and the ACT — is that the scores from the high
school class of 2012 were disappointing.
Newly released reading scores on the SAT hit a four-decade low, and writing
scores edged down too, while math scores were essentially unchanged from last
year. SAT average scores have declined by 20 points since 2006, when the
test was revised to include a writing section.
Behind the SAT numbers
Source: College Board. The Washington
On average, high school seniors’
SAT scores increase as students’ household income increases, according to 2012
data released by the College Board. Read
related article.
Five-year-olds put to the test as
kindergarten exams gain steam
(Reuters)
- With school in full swing across the United States
President Obama
interview for Education Nation — transcript
Here’s the transcript of an interview that
President Obama gave to NBC News and that was aired on Tuesday during the
network’s 2012 Education Nation Summit. Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney also gave an interview at the summit, which you can read here.
During the interview Obama says something that
many critics say we don’t hear nearly enough from him: “Part of the problem
we've got is we've got a very diverse country. Compared to some — these smaller countries, where all the kids
are coming to school pretty well prepared, they're not hungry, they're not poor
— in our country, we — you know, we've got poor kids and we've — some kids who
have deep troubles at home. And — and that affects performance.”
Here’s the transcript of the Obama interview
with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, provided by NBC News/Education Nation:
Mitt Romney at Education
Nation — transcript
Here’s a transcript of Gov. Mitt Romney talking
on Tuesday with NBC News anchor Brian Williams about education at the network’s
“Education Nation” Summit in New York
Highlights include a segment when an audience member
points out a poll which shows that New York City
Here’s the whole transcript from NBC News / Education Nation:
Back to school: How parent involvement affects
student achievement (At a glance)
Center
for Public Education August 2011
It may be one of the
least controversial statements in American education: Parent involvement can
make a difference in a child’s education. The conflict can come, though, on how
to define that involvement. Do all the PTA meetings, take-home flyers and Back
to School nights actually generate increases in student achievement? The Center
for Public Education examined the research and found that creating a
partnership between parents and schools focused on academics truly does have
significant impact on student achievement.
Building One Pennsylvania 2012 Statewide Public Meeting
Promoting sustainable, inclusive
and economically prosperous communities
Saturday, October 13, 2012 10 am to 11:30 a.m. (doors open at 9:30
for registration)
Declining
local tax bases, aging infrastructure, unfair state and federal policies are
undermining our communities. It's time to stand together to support our
diverse, middle class communities.
Join
local elected, faith and civic leaders from across Pennsylvania
·
Reduce our local
property tax burdens
·
Invest in our schools
·
Redevelop our
infrastructure while creating local jobs
·
Promote more balanced
housing markets
The
event is free but you must register in advance to reserve your seat. Register
at www.buildingonepa.org or by emailing name, title, organizational
affiliation, address, phone and email to info@buildingonepa.org. To defray the cost of the event, we are
accepting donations. Suggested donation: $5-$10.
Public Forum in Delaware
County
Thursday, Sept. 27th at 1pm Media Borough
Hall Community
Center ; 3rd &
Jackson , Media ,
PA
The SEPA Budget Coalition will join with
Family and Community Service of Delaware County and PathWays PA to host a forum
on the state and federal budgets. Experts from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Click here to RSVP.
2012 PASA-PSBA
School
Registration is Now Open! Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/
Registration is Now Open! Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/
alt="Article Tools" class=article-tools v:shapes="_x0000_i1025">
The reason that standardized-test results tend to be so uninformative
and misleading is closely related to the reason that these tests are so popular
in the first place. That, in turn, is connected to our attraction to—and the trouble
with—grades, rubrics, and various practices commended to us as "data
based." The
common denominator? Our culture's worshipful regard for numbers. Roger Jones, a
physicist, called it "the heart of our modern idolatry ... the belief that
the quantitative description of things is paramount and even complete in
itself."