Thursday, October 20, 2011

The Ever Increasing Burden on America’s Public Schools

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Heard Jamie Vollmer speak at the opening session of the PSBA/PASA School Leadership Conference yesterday.  Take a look at this link to his list of the things other than reading, writing and 'rithmetic that public schools are expected to do….LAF
The Ever Increasing Burden on America's Public Schools
By Jamie Robert Vollmer
America's public schools can be traced back to the year 1640. The Massachusetts Puritans
established schools to: 1) Teach basic reading, some writing and arithmetic skills, and
2) Cultivate values that serve a democratic society (some history and civics implied).
The founders of these schools assumed that families and churches bore the major responsibility for raising a child.
Gradually, science and geography were added, but the curriculum was limited and remained focused for 260 years.  At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, politicians, academics, members of the clergy, and business leaders saw public schools as a logical site for the assimilation of immigrants and the social engineering of the citizens—and workers—of the new industrial age. They began to expand the curriculum and assign additional duties.
That trend has accelerated ever since

House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Clymer and State Auditor General Jack Wagner are among those who have indicated that they plan to participate in this event.

RSVP for Bucks County PTO Legislative Forum on 10/27

Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM Warminster, PA

William Tennant High School, 333 Centennial Road, Warminster, PA 18974
Please RSVP at: http://buckslegislativeforum.eventbrite.com/
(the above is a corrected link)
Pennsylvania has passed a state budget that cut over $900 MILLION from public education, and as the new school year begins we're starting to see the effects of these cuts on our kids and our communities.  Especially now, we need our legislators to make public education a priority to help strengthen our troubled economy and ensure a brighter future for all Pennsylvanians!
All public education stakeholders are invited to this special event.  Join us on Thursday, October 27th at William Tennent High School in Warminster from 7PM to 10PM for an evening with key state legislators from Bucks County.  Every legislator representing the Bucks County school districts is invited to attend and discuss their positions on public education and take questions from audience members.
Talking about our priorities with our elected officials and hearing their views on issues that are important to the community is a vital part of democracy!   Don't miss this important conversation!

Chester County League of Women Voters to Hold Forum on Public Education, Friday October 21, 7 – 9 pm

West Chester Patch By Jake Speicher
The League of Women Voters of Chester County will host a panel on public education on Friday, October 21, from 7-9 p.m at the East Goshen Township building.

Education Voters Video Contest - DEADLINE 10/30

Education Voters Institute of Pennsylvania (EVI) is conducting a video project to highlight both the impact of cuts to critical programs that serve kids, and the importance of education to our communities and our economy.

Posted at 04:21 PM ET, 10/19/2011

Report documents charter school growth

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss
Six school districts across the country now have at least 30 percent of their public school students enrolled in charter schools — with Washington D.C. at No. 2 on the list. And 18 systems have more than 20 percent of their students attending charters, according to a new report.

ESEA Markup Paused Due to Sen. Paul Procedural Objection

 Alyson Klein   | 
UPDATED
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., employed a rarely used procedural move to put the brakes on the Senate education committee's consideration today of a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, saying that lawmakers hadn't had enough time to digest the bill.


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