Keystone State Education Coalition

Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

Friday, March 28, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for March 28, 2014: Backlog of PA PlanCon reimbursements to school districts has grown to $1.2 billion

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3250 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

The Keystone State Education Coalition is pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public Education. Are you a member?

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for March 28, 2014:

Backlog of PA PlanCon reimbursements to school districts has grown to $1.2 billion

Radnor School Board passes opposition to charter school bill

Main Line Media News By Richard Ilgenfritz Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Radnor school officials this week joined a number of other areas school districts opposing a proposed state law that could make major changes to how charter schools are created and governed in Pennsylvania. Radnor board of school directors approved a resolution Tuesday night asking the members of the Pennsylvania House and Senate to “return debate to the education committee to reform the law so that it would no longer transfer authority for taxpayer dollars to unelected individuals on boards of trustees of colleges and universities.”

http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2014/03/26/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc5332dae6332f5422794242.txt?viewmode=default

Backlog of PlanCon reimbursements to school districts has grown to $1.2 billion

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review By Matthew Santoni Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 9:00 p.m.
As Pittsburgh-area school districts plan their budgets for the next school year, any that have built or renovated schools in the past few years will have a big question mark: Will this be the year the state resumes reimbursing them for construction projects? Since 2012, there has been a moratorium on applications for the state's Planning and Construction Workbook, or PlanCon, process. More than 350 school districts that applied before then await compensation for projects under construction or completed. “Our application that triggers payment is sitting on an administrator's desk somewhere,” said Jan Klein, finance director for the Mt. Lebanon School District, which is awaiting $1.8 million in state reimbursement and will be owed $643,000 more next year. A report the state compiled in May put the estimated backlog of payments at $1.2 billion for 354 projects statewide, said Timothy Eller, spokesman for the Department of Education.

http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/alleghenyneighborhoods/alleghenyneighborhoodsmore/5822638-74/districts-state-district#axzz2xB2OgI83

"The first of these reasons lies in the fact that the State will owe the Western Wayne School District $1,250,800 by the end of this school year with the addition of another $687,821 in the 2014-2015 school year. ….The second reason for the budget shortfall is found in the mandated pension contributions for District employees. This next budget will see an increase of approximately $700,000 in pension costs, raising the District’s contribution rate from

16.9% to 21.4%"

Western Wayne School District Budget Realities

The Western Wayne School District recently held its annual Preliminary Budget meeting. At this meeting our auditors also delivered the District’s annual financial report. Both the preliminary budget presentation and the audit report paint a very bleak picture of the Western Wayne School District’s current financial situation. Further, we believe that our current stark financial situation was not created locally. Please read on for an explanation. The reason that the preliminary budget and audit presentations coincided was because the Board of Education felt compelled (for the first time in many years) to seek to raise taxes beyond the state mandated index, this year set at a maximum increase of 2.1%. Because of our dire financial situation, the Board is seeking two referendum exemptions that allow us (if granted) to raise taxes above the index, placing the estimated tax increase at 6.01%. In real dollars, this translates to an increase of $91 per $100,000 of assessed value for each property in the Western Wayne School District.

http://www.westernwayne.org/Lists/District%20Announcements/Attachments/108/2014%20Budget

Tapping the talent: Reviving the governor’s schools is good for Pa.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial March 28, 2014 12:00 AM

For 35 years, thousands of Pennsylvania’s most promising high school students attended the state’s eight Governor’s Schools of Excellence, intensive, five-week, residential programs in the arts and sciences — and they didn’t have to pay for any of it.

The schools counted successful alumni in all walks of life, many of whom recall fondly the value of living and studying on a college campus with similarly talented, driven classmates at a formative age. In 2009, though, the schools were eliminated, victims of a state budget crisis. Although some universities offered comparable programs in subsequent years, most of those charged students thousands of dollars, thus altering the applicant pool.

Slowly, the official governor’s schools are making a comeback. Last year, the Governor’s School for Science reopened at Carnegie Mellon University and, this summer, a school for agricultural sciences will be housed at Penn State and one for engineering and technology will operate at Lehigh University.

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/2014/03/28/Tapping-the-talent/stories/201403270137#ixzz2xFjDDmyY

"The district opened its budget season with a $13.2 million deficit, which it attributed to a projected $5.7 million spike in charter school expenses, a $4.6 million rise in bond payments, a $4.3 million increase in health care costs and a $2.9 million jump in pension costs."

Allentown School Board approves 74 teacher cuts

One director says all the district can do is 'effectively manage the disaster.'

By Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call 11:17 p.m. EDT, March 27, 2014

Allentown School Board voted 5-4 Thursday to eliminate 74 teaching positions, dealing another blow to a faculty that says its already decimated by budget cuts. The 74 teaching positions, along with 26 other district jobs set to be eliminated, will save the district about $5 million and push the five-year total to more than 450 jobs eliminated by the district. Because few teachers are expected to retire at the end of this school year, it's likely that the 74 job cuts will result in at least some layoffs, teachers union President Debbie Tretter said. The cuts will not eliminate any district programs. But they will reduce teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels, including traditional classroom teachers, special education teachers, English-as-a-second-language teachers and intervention specialists.

Divided Allentown School Board signs off on 100 cuts, including 74 teachers

By Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times on March 27, 2014 at 9:17 PM

A split Allentown School Board signed off tonight on plans to eliminate 100 positions, including 74 teachers, despite objections from district employees and members of the public. "I don't see how you can let a single teacher go," said city resident Ken Heffentrager. "The school district is atrocious. It's a laughingstock when it comes to the dropout rate." The job cuts are expected to save $5 million at a time when the district faces a $10.6 million deficit assuming a 3.2 percent tax increase or a $13.2 million deficit without a tax hike. This marks the fourth straight year of staff reductions, Superintendent Russell Mayo said, and would bring the total number of lost positions over that time to 466.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2014/03/divided_allentown_school_board.html#incart_river

SRC budget relies on $440 million that's not assured

KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Friday, March 28, 2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Thursday, March 27, 2014, 9:28 PM

PHILADELPHIA The Philadelphia School District is forecasting a budget of $2.8 billion next year - a figure that is up from this year's $2.4 billion outlay, but calls for $440 million in new money that the district is not assured of getting from the city or the state. Still, the budget would provide only what Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. called the basics for school reform. Acknowledging there were some risks involved in its forecasting, the School Reform Commission on Thursday night adopted a "lump sum" budget statement that projects slightly better conditions in city classrooms for 2014-15.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140328_SRC_adopts_budget_that_relies_on__440_million_that_s_not_assured.html

Philly schools facing $320 million deficit

SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903 POSTED: Friday, March 28, 2014, 3:01 AM

FOR THE SECOND straight year, the Philadelphia School District is staring at a more than $300 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1. That's according to a lump-sum budget adopted last night by the School Reform Commission, which lays out broad projections of revenue and expenses. The forecast anticipates $2.8 billion in expenses, with $2.5 billion in revenues, leaving a deficit of $320 million. "Based on our current financial picture, we are still left without adequate funding to provide even the most basic services for our students," SRC chairman Bill Green said. "We are again in a position to ask for additional funding."

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140328_Philly_schools_facing__320_million_deficit.html

Philly school principals rally at City Hall with hat in hand

JENNY DEHUFF, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER DEHUFFJ@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5218 POSTED: Friday, March 28, 2014, 12:16 AM

ABOUT 50 principals from schools throughout the city came to City Council's front door yesterday with a plea for more school funding. The principals, hailing from local elementary, middle and high schools, crowded the fourth-floor hallway outside Council chambers with a united message to Philadelphia's legislative body. "I stand here with my colleagues having just voluntarily voted to take a pay cut so that there is more money coming into our schools for our children," said Chris Lehmann, founder of the Science Leadership Academy in Center City. "As the stewards of the children of the city, we urge City Council to now do their part and make the money available so that our schools do not have to choose between having a librarian or a science teacher or a gym teacher or an art teacher. "The children of Philadelphia deserve a world-class education, and we need City Council to fund our schools so that we can give our children the education they so richly deserve," he added.

Stewardship

Practical Theory blog by Chris Lehmann Posted on March 28, 2014

Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, PA.

Several weeks ago, I voted in favor of a contract that took me from a 12 month employee to a 10 month employee – even though I know that I’m going to work for much of the summer. The contract also now has me paying more for health care and all in, it will mean that I see about 15% less in my paycheck every week. I voted for it, not because I really am excited to make less money, but because it was the responsible thing to do in the midst of a massive budget crisis. If we are to make the case that we, as principals, are the responsible stewards of the education of the children of Philadelphia, then we have to be willing to lead and make sacrifices for the sake of our children. I am proud to say that the contract passed with overwhelming support from principals. Today, many of those same administrators went to City Council to ask our council members to end the political squabbling and make the hard decisions to put the children above the politics and fund our schools.

http://practicaltheory.org/blog/2014/03/28/stewardship/

Helen Gym among 10 in country honored by White House for community organizing work

by thenotebook on Mar 27 2014 Posted in Latest news

Helen Gym, a staunch public education advocate and founder of Parents United for Public Education, will be one of 10 community leaders to be honored by the White House as a Cesar E. Chavez Champion of Change. Named after the Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist, the honor goes to those "who have committed themselves to improving the lives of others in their communities and across the country. At the core, all of our honorees represent the values and steadfast determination of Cesar Chavez to organize ourselves for a more just tomorrow," said a White House release. Gym, the first editor and a current opinion blogger for the Notebook, is being recognized for her work in education and her work with Asian American and immigrant communities in Philadelphia.

http://thenotebook.org/blog/147048/helen-gym-be-honored-white-house-community-organizing-work

Building an Effective School Board

A new report finds school board members with a background in public education are not better informed than their colleagues.

The Atlantic by EMILY RICHMOND MAR 27 2014, 12:17 PM ET

When it comes to the decisions that most directly affect the business of public education and what happens in classrooms, few people are as influential—and often as unacknowledged—as local school board members. Indeed, a new report from the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute suggests the makeup of local school boards can have a measurable effect on student achievement. The report is part of a joint project between Fordham and the left-leaning Center for American Progress looking at how school governance influences education reform. The findings are based on a 2009 survey of more than 900 school board members in districts across the country. Board members were asked about their level of experience and backgrounds, their awareness of their district’s fiscal picture and top challenges, and their personal political leanings.

Before I jump into the findings, my usual caveat: Surveys are subjective, and the questions that are asked are as important as the answers. At the same time, surveys offer a snapshot in time, rather than a complete or definitive portrait.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/building-an-effective-school-board/359707/

Pennsylvania's Mt. Lebanon and Lower Moreland school districts recognized on these lists…

NSBA and CDE name 2013-2014 top 10 digital school districts

NSBA School Board News Today by Alexis Rice March 27th, 2014

The tenth annual Digital School Districts Survey were by CDE and NSBA

Top-ranked school districts have been announced in the tenth annual Digital School Districts Survey by theCenter for Digital Education (CDE) and the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The survey showcases exemplary school boards’ and districts’ use of technology to govern the district, communicate with students, parents and the community, and improve district operations. This year’s recognition goes to school districts for their expanding use of innovative technologies district-wide as well as in the classroom.

http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2014/03/nsba-and-cde-name-2013-2014-top-10-digital-school-districts/

Preview: Public Schools for Sale?

Moyers & Company March 26, 2014

Public education is becoming big business as bankers, hedge-fund managers and private-equity investors are entering what they consider to be an “emerging market.” As Rupert Murdoch put it after purchasing an education technology company, “When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the US alone.” Diane Ravitch says the privatization of public education has to stop. As an assistant secretary of education under the first President Bush, she was an advocate of school choice and charter schools and supported the No Child Left Behind initiative of the second President Bush. But after careful investigation, she changed her mind, and has become, according to Salon.com, “the nation’s highest profile opponent” of charter-based education. On this week’s Moyers & Company, she tells Bill Moyers, ”I think what’s at stake is the future of American public education. I believe it is one of the foundation stones of our democracy: So an attack on public education is an attack on democracy.”

http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-public-education-for-sale/

The Pennsylvania PTA 105th annual statewide convention April 4-6, 2014, at the Radisson Valley Forge/King of Prussia.

Pennsylvania PTA Harrisburg, Pa. March 21, 2014

Delegates from local PTA units, councils, and regions throughout the state will gather to give direction to the State PTA on issues of resolutions, bylaws, and timely topics being addressed around education and child advocacy. The convention format will include a Diversity Leadership Conference, a Town Hall Meeting on Suicide Awareness and Prevention, twenty (20) workshops on timely issues, networking time with other delegates, an exhibit hall, a Reflections Gallery showcasing student artwork, and the opportunity to hear keynote speakers and representatives from the National PTA and other statewide partnering organizations from Pennsylvania. Complete details for registration may be obtained at the Pennsylvania PTA website at www.papta.org.

http://www.papta.org/cms/lib6/PA07000425/Centricity/Domain/41/Press_Release_Convention_2014.pdf

Education Debate - Pittsburgh, April 8

by Yinzercation March 20, 2014

Please mark your calendars now and plan to be a part of this event:

Democratic candidates for Governor of Pennsylvania
Tuesday, April 8^that Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 515 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15206

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/education-debate/

Sign up for weekly Testing Resistance & Reform News and Updates!

Fairtest - The National Center for Fair and Open Testing

http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001JF17rFyDmDZqLD3kq33imU1aL3aHTrD18LQ9y4-5yRl6gTN_d8IXrfQq5MG1OIy3IBWSrYAeJgim8up-BluI2JJqKnlYKyxNYNf3ZEKBNDS_qJncU8kKkENUlbpeuDj7Fs71QES9Xu8JUVciGtfwCXy8WYvbAnw-Xb-JE0fezxOpQvkGKWxDEA%3D%3D

PSBA nominations for offices now open! Deadline April 30th
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. Complete details on the nomination process, links to the Application for Nomination form, and scheduled dates for nominee interviews can be found online by clicking here.

How the Business Community Can Lead on Early Education

Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

Join business and community leaders to learn about how you can help make sure every child arrives in kindergarten ready to succeed. On April 29th, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey will host a forum featuring business leaders from around the country talking about why they’re focused on early childhood education and how they have moved the needle on improving quality and access in their states.

Featured Speakers

Jack Brennan, Chairman Emeritus of The Vanguard Group
Phil Peterson, Partner, Aon Hewitt and Co-Chair of America’s Edge/Ready Nation
And more to be announced!
Date & Time Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | 5-7 PM

Registration begins at 5 PM; program from 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Location Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

10 North Independence Mall West Philadelphia, PA 19106

Registration: http://worldclassgreaterphila.org/worldclasscouncilforum

PILCOP Special Education Seminars 2014 Schedule

Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia

Wrongs and Remedies: Discrimination Claims, Other Claims, and Compensatory Education

Tuesday, April 29th, 12-4 p.m.

Settlements

Wednesday, May 14th, 1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

http://www.pilcop.org/know-your-childs-rights1314/

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Below is an alphabetical list of the 2014 Gubernatorial Candidates and links to information about their plans, if elected, for education and arts/culture in Pennsylvania. This list will be updated, as more information becomes available.

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Network for Public Education's Pennsylvania Friends and Allies:

@the chalkface http://atthechalkface.com

Angie Villa Art & Education http://www.angievillaartwork.blogspot.com

Keystone State Education Coalition http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/

Parents United for Public Education http://www.parentsunitedphila.com

Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/statealliance/home.cfm

Philly Teacherman http://phillyteacherman.blogspot.com/

Raging Chicken Press http://www.ragingchickenpress.org/

SUDA http://www.standupdemandaction.org

Yinzercation http://yinzercation.wordpress.com

Thursday, March 27, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 27: Principal of the Year: Slay the testing beast

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

The Keystone State Education Coalition is pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public Education. Are you a member?

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for March 27, 2014:

Principal of the Year: Slay the testing beast

State gives school districts more time for spring Keystone exams

By Barbara Miller | bmiller@pennlive.com on March 26, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Pennsylvania school districts are getting an extension on when they can give Keystone exams this spring, due to the unusual number of snow days this winter. The state Department of Education announced Tuesday it is extending the testing window for Keystones, just as it did for PSSA tests. Keystone tests are given in algebra I, literature and biology. After a survey of school districts, the state said it will add a week to the Keystone testing window, which will now be May 12-30. The state previously added a week to the PSSA testing window. For math and reading, it had been March 17-28, and is now March 17-April 4, with a makeup period April 7-11.

The writing testing period is now March 31-April 11, extended a week from the previous April 4 deadline. The make-up period will be April 14-25. The changes mean School Performance Profiles will now be released to the public Sept. 24.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/03/state_gives_school_districts_m.html

PSSA tests: Schools aim to stay positive, reduce anxiety

Weather had an effect on test preparations, schedules

York Daily Record By Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1 on Twitter 03/25/2014 09:17:06 PM EDT

On Monday, students at Northeastern Middle School held a pep rally to celebrate all things academic, from honors achievements to character education accomplishments. Students wore their school colors, orange and black, and competed in games like office-chair relays for a coveted trophy made out of plungers. "It's about building our school community and our school spirit," Principal Michael Alessandroni said. In part, it was also a chance for the kids to scream for an hour and 45 minutes, to let out any stress they might have been feeling and have a bit of a "brain break," he said. Because Tuesday, it was test time.

http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25417351/pssa-tests-schools-aim-stay-positive-reduce-anxiety

Slay the testing beast

Standardized tests are out of control; let's stand together to fight them off

Post-Gazette Opinion by GREG TARANTO March 26, 2014 12:00 AM

I am the principal of an award-winning middle school in Canonsburg. We have been designated as one of 350 “schools to watch” nationwide, not for our test scores, which are very good, but instead for the ways in which we engage the “whole child.” This means we surround strong core academics with quality arts programs, technology education, physical fitness, wellness and extracurricular opportunities such as athletics and jazz band. Normally my school is alive with student-work displays, posters, inspirational sayings and images. My seventh-grade teams recently completed a cross disciplinary unit on mythology and the rooms were proudly filled with student work. This included material from Investigation of a Mythological Character (research in English and social studies), Student-Created Myths and Movie Proposal PowerPoints and Prezis (creative writing in language arts) and Hypothetical Future Offspring of the Gods Projects (genetics in science). But not this week — because one of the many ugly heads of the student-testing monster is test security. Pennsylvania System of School Assessment testing security requires that “… all materials on the walls that relate to tested content, including motivational posters” are to be covered. So this week, a testing week, all of these amazing projects are hidden or removed. Even a poster that says, “Expect the Best” has been covered because testing rules say such a poster might “spark” a student’s imagination during testing.

More Susquehanna Valley families choosing to opt out of PSSA testing

Parents: “Standardized tests not accurate picture of child’s potential”

WGAL UPDATED 6:28 PM EDT Mar 25, 2014 (video runtime 2:34)

Lancaster County Opt Out

Lancaster County Opt Out was designed with parents in mind. No one knows what’s best for a child moreso than a parent, and we are embarking to teach each and every parent what their options are when it comes to education. What if we told you that the entire standardized test industry is making money off of your child’s scores? What if we told you that the teachers can’t teach how they know best? What if we told you that your child’s teacher could be evaluated based on your child’s performance? All of these claims are true. Now, what if we told you that it’s your right to opt your child out of these tests… to show the government that we won’t let our children be pawns in this governmental game? Well, that is also true. Read more on our website to find out how!

http://lancastercountyoptout.com/

"Hughes said the money set aside for education would include reinstating the charter-school-reimbursement line item eliminated by the Corbett administration and provide money for a new basic-education funding formula."
Lawmaker to propose Marcellus Shale tax to raise $ for schools

SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903 POSTED: Thursday, March 27, 2014, 3:01 AM

A STATE lawmaker from Philadelphia said he has a plan to generate $375 million for local school districts without costing taxpayers a dime. Sen. Vincent Hughes, minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said yesterday that he would introduce legislation to impose a 5-percent severance tax on natural-gas drilling in the state's Marcellus Shale region. By 2020, Hughes said, the tax would generate more than $1 billion for education. "Given the status of what's going on in our schools, we need a much more aggressive funding plan put in place," Hughes told the Daily News. He is scheduled to announce the legislation today at a rally outside the Philadelphia School District's headquarters.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140327_Lawmaker_to_propose_Marcellus_Shale_tax_to_raise___for_schools.html

More taxes for schools? Philly's unlikely champion

WHYY Newsworks by KIMBERLY HAAS MARCH 26, 2014 (audio runtime 4:50)

The importance of funding for public education is not lost on the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the eleven-county region’s business advocacy organization that promotes growth and economic development. Its president and CEO Rob Wonderling spoke with WHYY’s Dave Heller on the chamber’s efforts to improve public education in the region, and the Philadelpha School District in particular, including a surprising support of more taxes for schools.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/66266-more-taxes-for-schools-philly-has-an-unlikely-champion?linktype=hp_topstory

Pittsburgh school district ends '13 with $20.8 million surplus

By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette March 26, 2014 11:19 PM

Pittsburgh Public Schools ended 2013 with an operating surplus of $20.8 million, official year-end figures showed Wednesday night. A $9.86 million operating deficit had been forecast when the calendar year budget was approved. When this year's budget was being put together, a surplus of $2.38 million was anticipated, but the final amount turned out to be significantly larger. The surplus was large enough to leave a nearly $103.2 million unreserved fund balance at the end of 2013. One of the reasons the district is in better financial shape than expected a year ago is the earned income tax collections -- they were about $14 million higher than budgeted in 2013. The amount collected was $9.3 million more than in 2012, an increase of 9.2 percent. In addition, real estate transfer tax collections were up about $3.9 million over the budgeted amount. The transfer taxes, which totaled $10.9 million, were higher than they have ever been.

"The teaching cuts, a cost-saving measure, are officially being attributed to a decline in enrollment, one of the reasons Pennsylvania school districts can legally lay off teachers."

Allentown School Board to vote Thursday on teacher cuts

School board to vote Thursday night on cuts; 26 other jobs at risk.

By Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call 9:31 p.m. EDT, March 26, 2014

The Allentown School Board is scheduled to vote Thursday night on the district's proposal to eliminate 74 teaching positions. If approved, the teaching cuts, along with 26 other job cuts introduced earlier this month, would push the total jobs slashed to more than 450 over the past five years. By eliminating 100 positions, the district would save more than $5 million, helping offset a $13.2 million deficit in its preliminary budget. Under the Pennsylvania School Code, a school board resolution is required for eliminating teachers, district spokeswoman Kimberly Golden Benner said. The other positions — 12 clerical workers, 10 paraprofessionals and four administrators — can be eliminated without a formal resolution, according to the district. The teaching cuts, a cost-saving measure, are officially being attributed to a decline in enrollment, one of the reasons Pennsylvania school districts can legally lay off teachers. The district says its enrollment has dropped from 18,504 in 2006-07 to 17,006. District projections show a further decline to 15,577 by 2018-19.

Adding a 13th grade could help students prepare better for their next steps, postsecondary commission chairman Rob Wonderling says

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on March 26, 2014 at 6:24 PM

For some high school students, the thought of attending a 13th grade may make them cringe.

But Gov. Tom Corbett's appointed commission that studied the future of postsecondary educationin Pennsylvania spent time mulling over the value of adding that extra grade.

Granted that notion would break from tradition, but Rob Wonderling, the president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce who chaired that commission in 2012, said it could be time for Pennsylvania to consider this change.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/03/adding_a_13th_grade_could_help.html

Giving Up on 4-Year-Olds

New York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD MARCH 26, 2014

A new report released by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, examining the disciplinary practices of the country’s 97,000 public schools, shows that excessively punitive policies are being used at every level of the public school system — even against 4-year-olds in preschool. This should shame the nation and force it to re-evaluate the destructive measures that schools are using against their most vulnerable children.

Black students, for example, are suspended at three times the rate of white students. Minority children with disabilities fair worst of all; the race effect is amplified when disability comes into the picture. More than one in four minority boys with a disability — and nearly one in five minority girls — receive an out-of-school suspension. Students with disabilities make up 12 percent of the student population, but 25 percent of those are either arrested or have their disciplinary cases referred to the police.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/opinion/giving-up-on-4-year-olds.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

Republican governors wrestle with unpopular Common Core education standards

PBS Newshour BY BILL BARROW, ASSOCIATED PRESS March 24, 2014 at 10:44 AM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More than five years after U.S. governors began a bipartisan effort to set new standards in American schools, the Common Core initiative has morphed into a political tempest fueling division among Republicans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce leads establishment voices — such as possible presidential contender Jeb Bush — who hail the standards as a way to improve student performance and, over the long term, competitiveness of American workers. Many archconservatives — tea party heroes Rand Paul and Ted Cruz among them — decry the system as a top-down takeover of local schools. The standards were developed and are being implemented by states, though Common Core opponents argue that President Barack Obama’s administration has encouraged adoption of the standards by various parameters it set for states applying to get lucrative federal education grants.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/republican-governors-wrestle-unpopular-common-core-education-standards/

The lost opportunity of the Common Core State Standards

Kappan Magazine By Kevin G. Welner Phi Delta Kappan April 2014 vol. 95 no. 7 39-40

Until we focus on closing opportunity gaps, the Common Core will be part of the problem, and its potential benefits will never be realized.

http://www.kappanmagazine.org/content/95/7/39.full.pdf+html

Does School Board Leadership Matter?

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute by Arnold F. Shober and Michael T. Hartney

Foreword by Dara Zeehandelaar and Amber M. Northern

http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2014/Does-School-Board-Leadership-Matter/Does-School-Board-Leadership-Matter-EMBARGOED.pdf

NSBA comments on Fordham Institute’s new school leadership report

NSBA School Board News Today by Lawrence Hardy March 26th, 2014

A new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute concludes that school districts whose school board members are focused on student achievement are more likely than others to “beat the odds” academically — that is, to perform better than the demographics and financial conditions of their students would suggest. The report, “Does School Board Leadership Matter?” is a follow-up to the 2010 report “School Boards Circa 2010: Governance in the Accountability Era,” a joint project of Fordham Institute, the National School Boards Association (NSBA), and the Iowa School Boards Association. As with the earlier report, NSBA says that — while the new study makes a valuable contribution to the field of school board research — some of its findings are based on questionable assumptions.

http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2014/03/nsba-comments-on-fordham-institutes-new-school-leadership-report/

The Pennsylvania PTA 105th annual statewide convention April 4-6, 2014, at the Radisson Valley Forge/King of Prussia.

Pennsylvania PTA Harrisburg, Pa. March 21, 2014

http://www.papta.org/cms/lib6/PA07000425/Centricity/Domain/41/Press_Release_Convention_2014.pdf

Education Debate - Pittsburgh, April 8

by Yinzercation March 20, 2014

Please mark your calendars now and plan to be a part of this event:

Democratic candidates for Governor of Pennsylvania
Tuesday, April 8^that Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 515 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15206

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/education-debate/

Sign up for weekly Testing Resistance & Reform News and Updates!

Fairtest - The National Center for Fair and Open Testing

How the Business Community Can Lead on Early Education

Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

Featured Speakers

Jack Brennan, Chairman Emeritus of The Vanguard Group
Phil Peterson, Partner, Aon Hewitt and Co-Chair of America’s Edge/Ready Nation
And more to be announced!
Date & Time Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | 5-7 PM

Registration begins at 5 PM; program from 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Location Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

10 North Independence Mall West Philadelphia, PA 19106

Registration: http://worldclassgreaterphila.org/worldclasscouncilforum

PILCOP Special Education Seminars 2014 Schedule

Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia

Wrongs and Remedies: Discrimination Claims, Other Claims, and Compensatory Education

Tuesday, April 29th, 12-4 p.m.

Settlements

Wednesday, May 14th, 1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

http://www.pilcop.org/know-your-childs-rights1314/

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Network for Public Education's Pennsylvania Friends and Allies:

@the chalkface http://atthechalkface.com

Angie Villa Art & Education http://www.angievillaartwork.blogspot.com

Keystone State Education Coalition http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/

Parents United for Public Education http://www.parentsunitedphila.com

Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/statealliance/home.cfm

Philly Teacherman http://phillyteacherman.blogspot.com/

Raging Chicken Press http://www.ragingchickenpress.org/

SUDA http://www.standupdemandaction.org

Yinzercation http://yinzercation.wordpress.com

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for March 26, 2014: NY Times & Philly Inquirer Editorials - Testing is not teaching; is it a runaway train?

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

The Keystone State Education Coalition is pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public Education. Are you a member?

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for March 26, 2014:

NY Times & Philly Inquirer Editorials - Testing is not teaching; is it a runaway train?

New York Times Editorial: The Trouble With Testing Mania

New York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Published: July 13, 2013

Congress made a sensible decision a decade ago when it required the states to administer yearly tests to public school students in exchange for federal education aid. The theory behind the No Child Left Behind Act was that holding schools accountable for test scores would force them to improve instruction for groups of children whom they had historically shortchanged.

Testing did spur some progress in student performance. But it has become clear to us over time that testing was being overemphasized — and misused — in schools that were substituting test preparation for instruction. Even though test-driven reforms were helpful in the beginning, it is now clear that they will never bring this country’s schools up to par with those of the high-performing nations that have left us far behind in math, science and even literacy instruction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/opinion/sunday/the-trouble-with-testing-mania.html?_r=1&

Inquirer Editorial: Take emphasis off state tests

POSTED: Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 1:08 AM

Parents are right to protest the oversize emphasis placed on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams when so many schools are poorly funded. Robin Roberts says her three children won't be taking the PSSAs with the rest of the students at Philadelphia's C.W. Henry Elementary School. "If it's so important for us to do well on these tests, why are they not setting us up to succeed?" asked Roberts. It's a good question. You can't expect much success on standardized tests when students don't even have basic supplies. The Philadelphia School District is still operating with a deficit. A fund-raising drive was held just to provide pens, crayons, and paper to students. The state allows students to opt out of the PSSAs for religious reasons. But if enough parents follow Roberts' example, maybe Gov. Corbett and the legislature will make it a higher priority to increase funding not just for Philadelphia, but for schools across the state.

Fed Ed's testing tyrants

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Opinion By Michelle Malkin Sunday, March 23, 2014, 9:00 p.m.

Have you had enough of the testing tyranny? Join the club.

I'm not against all standardized academic tests. The problem is that there are too many of these top-down assessments, measuring who knows what, using our children as guinea pigs and cash cows. College-bound students in Orange County, Fla., for example, now take 234 standardized diagnostic, benchmark and achievement tests from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Now pile on the latest avalanche of federal pilot testing schemes tied to the Common Core racket. When they're not preoccupied with getting ready for existing tests, including the ACT, PSAT, revamped SAT, American kids will be busy testing new tests. And because Common Core mandates computerized administration and because the tests incorporate bandwidth-hogging videos and graphics, school districts across the country must spend gobs of time and money on test preparation.

http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/5795196-74/testing-tests-common#axzz2x3m89Ums

Resistance to standardized testing growing nationwide

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS March 25 at 3:39 pm

Every week a nonprofit organization called the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, which is dedicated to ending the misuse and abuse of standardized testing (and is better known as FairTest) sends out an e-mail with a list of stories from around the country about resistance to high-stakes tests among teachers, students and parents. This week’s blast — which includes stories from New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Illinois, Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts –makes an important point, saying:

Anyone who still believes that the resistance to testing misuse and overuse is confined to a few big cities and “liberal” activists, should click through this week’s news clips. In fact, testing protests are spreading across “deep red” states” such as Alaska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. And “conservative” commentators are speaking out against standardized exam overkill.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/25/resistance-to-standardized-testing-growing-nationwide/

March 24-31 Call Congress and Demand Hearings on Abusive Testing #TESTHearingsNow

The Network for Public Education

On March 2, 2014, The Network for Public Education issued a call for congressional hearings into the overuse and abuse of tests in our schools. Will Your Senator or Representative Join Us?

First, call your Representatives and Senators during the week of March 24, 2014 and ask them to hold formal Congressional Hearings into the overuse and abuse of tests in our schools! You can find the contact information for your Senators and Representatives here!!

http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/

Testing Resistance & Reform News: March 19 - 25, 2014

Fairtest - The National Center for Fair and Open Testing March 25, 2014

Anyone who still believes that the resistance to testing misuse and overuse is confined to a few big cities and "liberal" activists, should click through this week's news clips. In fact, testing protests are spreading across "deep red" states" such as Alaska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. And "conservative" commentators are speaking out against standardized exam overkill.

http://www.fairtest.org/testing-resistance-reform-news-march-19-25-2014

"Let’s look at education from a parent’s perspective. Imagine showing up the first day of school and hearing: “this is your child’s teacher. He or she isn’t very good, but we’re giving him or her another year to improve; the school thinks that’s best for the teacher. We’re sorry, but you’ll just have to suck it up.” I can’t believe anyone would find this acceptable for their children. Why do we accept it for anyone’s child?"

Senator Mike Folmer: Putting Students and Parents First

Senate Education Committee Majority Chairman Mike Folmer March 25, 2014

I recently read an article that issued a “loud call for work on taxes; school funding.” I hope this effort includes listening carefully to students and parents. When I became chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Dinniman (Democratic Chair from Chester County) and I held public hearings designed specifically to listen to students, and their wants, needs, and expectations for their education. Our Chester County and Lebanon hearings were excellent. Unfortunately, at our third hearing, held in Harrisburg, I believe someone decided to “educate” the students in advance as one was so familiar with school funding formulas she knew more than most Senators. The same thing happens at my annual Senator for a Day Student Government Seminar. Students are well versed on the Commonwealth’s education budget but some have little or no knowledge of our Constitutional republic or its history. I suppose one could say these students were informed about current events, while cynics say they’re being indoctrinated by adults with a vested interest in the outcomes. Either way, it’s both curious and troubling to think children could be used to advance a political agenda.

http://www.senatorfolmer.com/2014/03/25/putting-students-and-parents-first/

A closer look at the District's legal argument to the Pa. Supreme Court

the notebook by Paul Socolar on Mar 24 2014

School District lawyers, in their Monday petition to the state Supreme Court, argue that by law they do not have to negotiate with the teachers' union on such issues as hiring practices, layoffs, prep time, and contracting out. The state takeover law exempts these "non-mandatory" areas from collective bargaining, the lawyers say. They ask the court to affirm that the District can unilaterally implement new rules and practices in those areas, even while continuing to bargain with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers on other contract issues. The PFT plans to fight this argument in court.

http://thenotebook.org/blog/147040/districts-legal-argument-pa-supreme-court

Panel to monitor Coatesville schools

The Pa. Human Relations Commission says it will check the district after the texting scandal.

MICHAELLE BOND, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER POSTED: Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 1:08 AM

The state's civil rights commission will be monitoring the Coatesville Area School District to make sure it keeps its promises to be more transparent and equitable in the wake of the texting scandal that showed the district needs help being both, the commission said in a report Monday.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which has been in touch periodically with district administrators since September, recommended the district hold more cultural events for students and the community, use social media and other means to communicate with district residents, and hire someone solely to make sure the district treats everyone equally.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20140325_Panel_to_monitor_Coatesville_schools.html

Spring-Ford gets update on Spring City hybrid learning initiative

By Frank Otto, The Mercury POSTED: 03/24/14, 5:54 PM EDT |

LIMERICK — Well into year two of Spring City Elementary School’s re-branding as a hybrid learning center, its principal and staff provided the Spring-Ford Area School Board with a glowing look into the efforts there. “When we looked at the group in third grade, prior to the hybrid model, to now, with the hybrid model, we saw increases in both literacy and math,” in the last year, said Spring-Ford Director of Curriculum Keith Floyd. “Off the top of my head, we had a 23 percent growth in our students moving from either below basic, basic, or proficient into the advanced range in mathematics from that third and fourth grade year...so we are seeing increases across the achievement levels.” Such growth seems to be typical at Spring City and three teachers as well as the school’s principal, Mitchel Edmunds, turned out to the board workshop meeting last week to express their satisfaction with the new education style.

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140324/spring-ford-gets-update-on-spring-city-hybrid-learning-initiative

Parkland School District looking at $7 million budget gap

Maximum tax hike allowed would come up short, district officials say.

By Margie Peterson, Special to The Morning Call 11:26 p.m. EDT, March 25, 2014

Parkland School District is locked into holding any property tax increase this year to 2.1 percent, but it is projecting expenses for 2014-15 to rise about 6.29 percent. The district anticipates projected revenues of $145.4 million and expenditures of about $152.7 million. A lot can change between now and when the final spending plan is approved in June, district officials say.

The latest budget calculations call for using as much as $4.5 million of the district's $23 million fund balance to help plug the budget gap, according to John Vignone, director of business administration.

Easton Area School Board denies charter school application

School directors say Strong Foundation's curriculum was same as the district's.

By Jacqueline Palochko, Of The Morning Call 10:38 p.m. EDT, March 25, 2014

The Easton Area School Board denied an application for a charter school because its curriculum was not different than what the school district offers, school directors said. The board rejected the Strong Foundation Charter School's application by a 7-0 vote Tuesday night because the district already offers students a STEAM curriculum — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — which is what the proposed school would have specialized in. Board members said they felt the Strong Foundation Charter School coalition did not provide a detailed curriculum. Only School Directors Michelle Price and William Rider spoke before the vote, both saying they didn't see a difference in the charter school's curriculum.

Saucon Valley eying sixth no-tax increase budget

By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times March 25, 2014 at 10:06 PM

Saucon Valley School District Superintendent Sandra Fellin is recommending a zero tax increase budget for the sixth year in a row. Tonight, Fellin updated the board on her efforts to bridge a $450,004 budget gap. Thanks to more accurate budget figures, the hole in the $41.6 million spending plan has been reduced to $144,931, she said. Fellin told the board she wants to not replace two retiring teachers - one from the elementary and one from the middle school - and tap the district savings account to balance the budget. "(That's) six years in a row without cutting programs and supporting the district as we always have," said Fellin, who plans to retire this summer.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2014/03/saucon_valley_eying_sixth_no_t.html#incart_river

Quakertown starting full-day kindergarten for at-risk kids

Bucks County Intelligencer By Amanda Cregan Correspondent March 25, 2014

Quakertown Community School District is launching full-day kindergarten as a pilot program.

The kindergarten registration period, from April 7 to April 10, is for district children who are 5 or who turn 5 on or before Aug. 31. The registration process begins by making an appointment either through the district’s website —http://www.qcsd.org/Page/292 — or by calling 215-529-2023. While a parent or guardian is busy filling out paperwork, a group of elementary teachers will pre-screen the child for full-day kindergarten, designed to help those who need more than a half-day of instruction. “We have numerous students who move on to first grade who aren’t ready for first grade,” interim Superintendent William Harner said, adding full-day kindergarten will be offered in communities showing the greatest need. The program is voluntary, and offered at no cost. Busing also is provided. Because Quakertown Borough has the district’s largest population of low-income families, school officials predict that one full-day kindergarten class will be at Quakertown Elementary School while the second would be at a location yet to be determined and based on the pre-screening. School district officials say low-income children may be the most at risk of falling behind academically. Some may have poor vocabulary skills while others are learning English as a second language, officials said. And some families are led by a single parent or are struggling with severe financial or medical issues or other family-survival priorities, said Richland Elementary Principal Kathy Winters.

http://m.theintell.com/news/local/quakertown-starting-full-day-kindergarten-for-at-risk-kids/article_4f29a923-9caa-538d-ac1f-4702335ff364.html?mode=jqm

Cyber charter schools competing for students

Scranton TImes-Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL (STAFF WRITER) March 16, 2014

Each morning, Ricky Molner walks down the stairs of his Blakely home to his father's real estate office. The high school junior sits down in a quiet corner and opens his laptop. It's time for school. Ricky is one of a growing number of students leaving traditional school settings in search of flexibility. More than 2,800 students from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties were enrolled in cyber charter schools in the 2012-13 school year, according to the latest state data. The total number of area cyber charter school students is larger than the student population at more than half the districts in the region, including Valley View, where Ricky would attend if he was not enrolled in Commonwealth Connections Academy.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/cyber-charter-schools-competing-for-students-1.1650277

Can Lawyers Save Philly’s Schools? Bill Fedullo Thinks So.

Chancellor of the Philly Bar talks about equal education and why law firms need to sponsor public schools.

Philadelphia Magazine BY JOEL MATHIS | MARCH 25, 2014 AT 5:30 AM

Bill Fedullo isn’t necessarily anybody’s idea to be the savior of Philly schools. He’s an attorney, one of the city’s best-known and most-powerful — and in January,he was inaugurated as chancellor of the 13,0000-member Philadelphia Bar Association. But it’s from that perch that he’s made saving city schools a priority. He talked with Philly Mag recently about why he has undertaken the crusade and what lawyers can do to support public schools.

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/03/25/bill-fedullo-can-philly-lawyers-save-citys-schools/

Doomsday in the District

Penn Alumni in the Fight for Philly's Schools

The Pennsylvania Gazette 27 Feb 2014

BY TREY POPP with additional reporting by Dave Zeitlin | Photography by Candace diCarlo

From the mayor’s desk to the principal’s office, from grassroots parent activists to teachers aiming to transform instruction and assessment, from the superintendent’s seat to a boldly reimagined vocational academy, here are the stories of Penn alumni trying to carry out the increasingly embattled mission of public education in Philadelphia.

http://thepenngazette.com/doomsday-in-the-district/

PIAA boss Lombardi doesn't think charter schools belong in sports business

York Dispatch By KEITH GROLLER(Allentown) Morning Call 03/23/2014 05:15:25 PM EDT

….."We're going to address charter schools," he said. "We've been asked by the state's oversight committee to address charter schools at an upcoming meeting. We think they are a problem. And the problem is that the public schools have to fund them. Public schools have to fund their own athletic program and then another athletic program and sometimes they have to compete against the same school they're funding." Lombardi believes that charter schools should not be in the sports business. "Those kids should be playing at their public school of residence, the same as the home-schoolers and it's equal treatment," Lombardi said. "I don't know where it's going to go. The legislature's athletic oversight committee will have a hearing coming up and they've asked us to be a part of that. We welcome a seat at the table to have that discussion."

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/localsports/ci_25400431/piaa-boss-lombardi-doesnt-think-charter-schools-belong

Indiana Drops Common Core

MARCH 24, 2014 STEPHANIE BANCHERO WALL STREET Journal (paywall)

Indiana’s governor on Monday signed legislation withdrawing the state from the Common Core, making it the first to officially dump math and reading standards that have been adopted by nearly all the states. The law directs the state board of education to create its own learning goals before July 1. “Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers, and are uncommonly high,” Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, said in a statement.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579459703654483212

Open the floodgates? Indiana becomes first state to scrap Common Core

FoxNews.com Published March 25, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana has become the first of 45 states to opt out of the national education standard known as Common Core, and critics of the controversial K-12 program say the move could "open the floodgates" for others to follow. Growing criticism over costs imposed by the program, as well as fears that by setting a national education standard, the program has already begun dictating curriculum, has made Common Core an increasingly polarizing issue. Although the program has both Republican and Democrat supporters, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence predicted his state will be the first of many to rethink participation. "I believe when we reach the end of this process there are going to be many other states around the country that will take a hard look at the way Indiana has taken a step back, designed our own standards and done it in a way where we drew on educators, we drew on citizens, we drew on parents and developed standards that meet the needs of our people," Pence said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/25/indiana-becomes-first-state-to-drop-common-core-standards/?intcmp=latestnews

“There’s kind of a belief in a town like Montclair that the more we test, the more we can be sure that our teachers are delivering a quality curriculum,” says Michelle Fine, a City University of New York psychology professor who is a member of the parent group Montclair Cares About Schools. “I think that’s magical thinking.”

More than a dozen states are trying out new tests meant to free school kids from the tyranny of multiple-choice exams

Aljazeera America by Neil deMause @neildemause March 25, 2014 6:30AM ET

MONTCLAIR, N.J. — This upscale, racially diverse suburb isn’t the first place you’d expect to see a pitched battle break out over school reform. In recent years, Montclair has become a frequent landing site for middle-class families looking to recreate Manhattan’s Upper West Side on a lawn-bedecked hilltop. It is home to New Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary as well as a healthy slice of The New York Times’ editorial staff and is, as one resident puts it, the place you flee to “so you don’t have to fight school wars anymore.” Yet the last few months have seen everything from shouting matches at school board meetings to subpoenas leveled at parents for allegedly leaking new standardized tests online. The tests were imposed, over parent and teacher protests, by a new district superintendent who declared them necessary to prepare Montclair schools for an even bigger change: the new multistate standardized tests being prepared by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/25/new-school-testsdontmakethegrade.html

Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word

New York Times By MOTOKO RICH MARCH 25, 2014

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Amid a political push for government-funded preschool for 4-year-olds, a growing number of experts fear that such programs actually start too late for the children most at risk. That is why Deisy Ixcuna-González, the 16-month-old daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, is wearing a tiny recorder that captures every word she hears and utters inside her family’s cramped apartment one day a week. Recent research shows that brain development is buoyed by continuous interaction with parents and caregivers from birth, and that even before age 2, the children of the wealthy know more words than do those of the poor. So the recorder acts as a tool for instructing Deisy’s parents on how to turn even a visit to the kitchen into a language lesson. It is part of an ambitious campaign, known as Providence Talks, that is aimed at the city’s poorest residents and intended to reduce the knowledge gap long before school starts. It is among a number of such efforts being undertaken throughout the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/us/trying-to-close-a-knowledge-gap-word-by-word.html?ref=education&_r=0

The new extremists in education debate

Washington Post Answer Sheet blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS March 25 at 7:00 am

A member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Andrew Brenner, wrote a post on his blogunder this headline: “Public education in America is socialism, what is the solution?” He wrote in part: Parents send their children to public schools throughout the United States, to school districts funded by taxation. Most of the tax revenue comes through property and income taxes, which are funded through a combination of local tax levies, as well as state and federal tax dollars. Public school districts are governed by local school boards, state school boards, combined with various state and federal regulations. Socialism, defined on Wikipedia, “is a social and economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy.” That seems to summarize our primary education system. Public education in America is socialism. It is owned and cooperatively managed by the public. The shocking thing isn’t that Brenner doesn’t understand democracy or socialism. It’s that there are plenty of other people too, as Jeff Bryant explains in this post, who won’t seem to believe in allowing public education to be democratically governed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/25/the-new-extremists-in-education-debate/

Understanding the Propaganda Campaign Against Public Education

Moyers & Company March 25, 2014 by Diane Ravitch

This post first appeared on Diane Ravitch’s blog. She will be appearing on Moyers & Company this weekend.

A few years ago, when I was blogging at Education Week with Deborah Meier, a reader introduced the term FUD. I had never heard of it. It is a marketing technique used in business and politics to harm your competition. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. The reader said that those who were trying to create a market-based system to replace public education were using FUD to undermine public confidence in public education. They were selling the false narrative that our public schools are obsolete and failing. This insight inspired me to write Reign of Error, to show that the “reform” narrative is a fraud. Test scores on NAEP are at their highest point in history for white, black, Hispanic and Asian students. Graduation rates are the highest in history for these groups. The dropout rate is at an historic low point.

http://billmoyers.com/2014/03/25/understanding-the-propaganda-campaign-against-public-education/#.UzKXPngOLs4.twitter

NSBA President urges U.S. House of Representatives to invest in public education

NSBA School Board News Today by Alexis Rice March 25th, 2014

On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, National School Boards Association (NSBA) President David A. Pickler testified on education funding issues before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. Pickler was the only witness selected from the K-12 community to address specifically the funding needs of America’s public schools. In his testimony, Pickler, a 16-year member of the Shelby County Board of Education in Memphis, Tenn., spoke on challenges confronting public schools, including the impact of federal budget sequestration on schools, issues concerning competitive grant programs, and the need for the federal government to fully fund Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2014/03/nsba-president-urges-u-s-house-of-representatives-to-invest-in-public-education/

The Pennsylvania PTA 105th annual statewide convention April 4-6, 2014, at the Radisson Valley Forge/King of Prussia.

Pennsylvania PTA Harrisburg, Pa. March 21, 2014

http://www.papta.org/cms/lib6/PA07000425/Centricity/Domain/41/Press_Release_Convention_2014.pdf

Education Debate - Pittsburgh, April 8

by Yinzercation March 20, 2014

Please mark your calendars now and plan to be a part of this event:

Democratic candidates for Governor of Pennsylvania
Tuesday, April 8^that Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 515 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15206

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/education-debate/

Sign up for weekly Testing Resistance & Reform News and Updates!

Fairtest - The National Center for Fair and Open Testing

How the Business Community Can Lead on Early Education

Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

Featured Speakers

Jack Brennan, Chairman Emeritus of The Vanguard Group
Phil Peterson, Partner, Aon Hewitt and Co-Chair of America’s Edge/Ready Nation
And more to be announced!
Date & Time Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | 5-7 PM

Registration begins at 5 PM; program from 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Location Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

10 North Independence Mall West Philadelphia, PA 19106

Registration: http://worldclassgreaterphila.org/worldclasscouncilforum

PILCOP Special Education Seminars 2014 Schedule

Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia

Wrongs and Remedies: Discrimination Claims, Other Claims, and Compensatory Education

Tuesday, April 29th, 12-4 p.m.

Settlements

Wednesday, May 14th, 1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

http://www.pilcop.org/know-your-childs-rights1314/

Register Now! EPLC’s 2014 Education Issues Workshops for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters

EPLC’s Education Issue Workshops Register Now! – Space is Limited!
A Non-Partisan One-Day Program for Pennsylvania Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff and Interested Voters

Thursday, March 27, 2014 in Philadelphia,PA

http://www.eplc.org/2014/01/register-now-eplcs-education-issues-workshop-for-legislative-candidates-campaign-staff-and-interested-voters/

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Network for Public Education's Pennsylvania Friends and Allies:

@the chalkface http://atthechalkface.com

Angie Villa Art & Education http://www.angievillaartwork.blogspot.com

Keystone State Education Coalition http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/

Parents United for Public Education http://www.parentsunitedphila.com

Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/statealliance/home.cfm

Philly Teacherman http://phillyteacherman.blogspot.com/

Raging Chicken Press http://www.ragingchickenpress.org/

SUDA http://www.standupdemandaction.org

Yinzercation http://yinzercation.wordpress.com

Keystone State Education Coalition

Pages

Friday, March 28, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for March 28, 2014: Backlog of PA PlanCon reimbursements to school districts has grown to $1.2 billion

Thursday, March 27, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 27: Principal of the Year: Slay the testing beast

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for March 26, 2014: NY Times & Philly Inquirer Editorials - Testing is not teaching; is it a runaway train?

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