Daily postings
from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1500
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy
organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
FOLLOW THE VOUCHER MONEY:
According to latest campaign reports, pro voucher Students
First PAC shoveled $1.1 million in out of state money to local Pennsylvania
Second
Friday Pre-Primary filing covering receipts and expenditures from 3/6/12 through 4/9/12
A total of $250,000 was received
during the reporting period from Betsy Devos’ American Federation for
Children (AFC) on 3/27/12 . Contributions to local candidates
totaling just over $528K were recorded during the period. This is in addition to $590K spent during the
reporting period from 1/2/12
through 3/5/12 ,
when AFC contributed $1 million.
How Do We Improve Public Schools? Take Away Their Funding,
Terrorize Teachers, and Send Kids Somewhere Else (According to lawmakers)
Rock the Capital Guest Posting
By Elizabeth Walters, April 17, 2012
How can we improve
public education for our children?
The answers to this
question–and the perspectives on the current quality of public education in the
United States–are as varied and individualized as the 55 million students who
attend public school in this country. Recently, legislators in Louisiana
Posted: Wed, Apr. 18, 2012 , 3:01 AM
19 top Phila. schools to add students in September
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
Nineteen top Philadelphia Franklin
Learning Center
The expansion "lets
the city of Philadelphia know that the School District of Philadelphia is
investing in the growth of high-quality, high-performing school options,"
Penny Nixon, the district's chief academic officer, said at a news conference
Tuesday at Girls High.
Harrisburg School
District
Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 , 11:41 AM
Kindergarten,
art and music programs likely will be cut, and the school district will have to
look at instituting a pay-to-play system for athletics to cover next year’s
budget hole, said Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney.
OPTING OUT IN NEW YORK
With Test Week Here,
Parents Consider the Option of Opting Out
New York Times By HITEN
SAMTANI April 16, 2012 , 2:29 p.m.
While thousands of New York New York
APRIL 16TH, 2012
Opting Out in New Jersey
Will Richardson
Just wanted to share
that next week while thousands of New
Jersey
In NY, Tutoring
for state tests Surges With Fight for Middle School Spots
By ANNA M. PHILLIPS / The New York Times
As their parents sat anxiously in a
waiting room, five children were sharpening their test-taking skills in a
tutoring center in TriBeCa, underlining words that might hold clues to the
answers and crossing off the illogical multiple-choice options intended to trip
them up. For homework, there were more practice problems.
The tutoring business has come a
long way from Stanley Kaplan's basement in Brooklyn ,
and test-preparation courses for college or private school admission are
practically a rite of American education. But in New York City
The students in the Manhattan
ALEC Sharpens Focus on Jobs, Free Markets and Growth — Announces
the End of the Task Force that Dealt with Non-Economic Issues
(Washington ,
D.C. April 17, 2012 —David
Frizzell, Indiana State Representative and 2012 National Chairman of the
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), issued the following statement
today on behalf of ALEC’s Legislative Board of Directors:
At a Brooklyn
School
The New York Times By
ANNE BARNARD and DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN
Published: April 17, 2012
The classroom at
Intermediate School 318 in Williamsburg , Brooklyn , was filled on Tuesday with the thumping and
clattering of a half-dozen high-speed chess matches, played with a rambunctious
energy more reminiscent of a hockey game than of Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue. The school’s conquering heroes — its chess
players — were blowing off steam. On Sunday, in Minneapolis Manhattan and Thomas Jefferson in Alexandria , Va.
The victory burnishes
what is already a legend in the chess world. At I.S. 318, more than 60
percent of the students come from families with incomes below the federal
poverty level.
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETS
Here are more than 400 articles since
January 23rd detailing budget cuts, program cuts, staffing cuts and
tax increases being discussed by local school districts
The PA House Democratic Caucus has been tracking daily press coverage on
school district budgets statewide:
http://www.pahouse.com/school_funding_2011cuts.asp?utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pahouse.com%2fschool_funding_2011cuts.asp&utm_campaign=Crisis+in+Public+Education
REMEMBER TO VOTE! TUESDAY, APRIL 24th
Tuesday,
April 24 is Primary Election Day
in Pennsylvania
Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. Click here to find your polling place. During the Primary, registered members of the
Republican and Democrat parties are eligible to vote to nominate the candidates
that will represent their party on the ballot in the November General Election. ALL
voters will be required to show a photo ID before voting at a polling place in
the November 2012 Election. Click here for
more information on the new Voter ID law.
Stand Up for Public Education!
East Penn Education Forum on April 25th
7:00 – 9:00 pm
What’s at Stake? Discover how high-stakes testing and funding
cuts are impacting our kids and schools.
Hosted by: East Penn Invested Citizens (EPIC), Salisbury Parent Advisory,
Allentown Parent Groups and a coalition of Lehigh Valley Parents
Where: East Penn Administration Building School Board Meeting Room, 800 Pine Street
Details and Registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3372006763/efbnen
Has your board considered this draft resolution yet?
PSBA Sample Board
Resolution regarding the budget
Please consider bringing this sample resolution to
the members of your board.
http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/state-budget/Budget_resolution-02212012.doc
PA Partnerships for
Children – Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The governor’s budget plan cuts funding for proven
programs like Child Care Works, Keystone STARS and the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship
program, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance
Program. These are among the most cost-effective
investments we can make in education. Gov. Corbett’s budget plan also runs counter
to a pledge he made when he ran for governor in 2010. He acknowledged the
benefits of early childhood education and promised to increase funding to double
the number of children who would benefit from early learning opportunities.
We need your help to tell lawmakers: if you cut
these programs – you close the door to early learning! Click here to tell your state legislators to fund early childhood education programs
at the same level they approved for this year’s budget.
Education Voters PA –
Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process,
but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in
standing up for our priorities. Last year, public outcry helped prevent
nearly $300 million in additional cuts. We heard from the Governor, and
we know where he stands. Now,
we need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our
schools?
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