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
PA Senate Education Committee
Public
hearing on non-partisan school board elections
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Why Non-Partisan School
Posted on April 12, 2012
School board elections are
non-partisan in 47 states.
In its October 2010 Legislative
Platform, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association “supports legislation calling for the nonpartisan
election of school directors” (Section G, #3).
PA Senate Bill ( SB 327 ) is a
bill that would take the office of school board director off the primary
election ballot in Pennsylvania
Posted: Thu, Apr. 26, 2012 , 3:00 AM
Inquirer Opinion By Christopher
Moraff
Last week, Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal signed the nation’s most expansive school voucher program into law.
Since the GOP sweep of statehouses in 2010, similar measures have been
introduced by the legislatures of more than 30 states — including Pennsylvania
Few doubt that there is a crisis
in America
PA
Primary Results Mixed for Education
Yinzercation Blog — APRIL 25,
2012
The primary results are in and
it’s a mixed bag for public education.
The
plan: Travesty or opportunity?
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa on
Apr 24 2012
It is a new day, a bold
experiment, an opportunity for innovation.
Or, it is a travesty, the end of
public education as we know it, a cynical right-wing ploy. Not to mention a new
twist on the decision a decade ago, for which the District has little to show,
to turn over schools to education management organizations.
Sixty-four closed school
buildings. A skeletal central office. “Achievement networks” of affiliated
schools, at least some led by current District educators, perhaps by
universities, that operate on performance contracts. More charter schools and
charter networks. Renegotiated, or abrogated, labor contracts.
Posted: Wed, Apr. 25, 2012 , 5:30 AM
BLOWING
UP THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
BY KRISTEN A. GRAHAM Inquirer
Staff Writer
THE REALITIES are ugly, leaders
said Tuesday - the Philadelphia
School District
"What we do know through lots
of history and evidence and practice is that the current structure doesn't
work," School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos said. "It's not
fiscally sustainable and it doesn't produce high-quality schools for all
kids."
So, at the SRC's direction, Chief
Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen announced a plan that would essentially blow
the district up and start with a new structure.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
The
day that Helen Gym socked it to...the Philadelphia
No I wouldn't put you on because
it really did, it happened just this way/The day Helen Gym socked it to the
Philadelphia S.R.C:
- “I
believe in the possibility of school transformation and the role that
community and parent voices play in concert with schools and districts. I
believe in the value of the public sphere and the responsibilities it owes
to the most marginalized of communities -- our immigrant students, special
needs populations, and young people struggling with disciplinary issues.
- I
believe in choice options that co-exist to supplement, not destroy, a
public school system. I believe in real, creative innovation in our
classrooms, not the "drill-and-kill" test prep replicated in too
many of these “high-performing” charters you tout. I believe in a vision
of schools that is aspirationally led rather than deficit-based. Your
focus on the bottom brings everyone down.
- I
believe our communities have always been there to pick up the pieces after
administrations of hubris pass on. And I believe our public schools are
worth fighting for.”
National resolution
against high-stakes tests released
A national resolution protesting
high-stakes standardized testing was
released Tuesday by a coalition of national education, civil rights and parents
groups, as well as educators who are trying to build a broad-based movement
against the Obama administration’s test-centric school reform program.
This is the latest in a series of recent
initiatives taken around
the country by academics, educators, parents and others to protest the use of
student standardized test scores for high-stakes decisions, including teacher
and principal evaluation, student grade promotion and high school graduation.
The Keystone State
Organizations and individuals are encouraged to publicly endorse it
(see link below). Organizations should modify it as needed for their local
circumstances while also endorsing this national version.
PBC School Board votes to oppose FCAT
A petition against
standardized testing is making its rounds across the nation and the Palm Beach County
School District is the first in Florida Texas
Education Talk Radio: At the Chalkface
Listen
online; One hour talk show dedicated to education.
SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 9am
Hosts
Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson cover the biggest issues in education, from standardized
testing to No Child Left Behind.
If
you want a text reminder
send "CHALK" TO THE NUMBER 60193."
Audio
clips of prior shows are available too.
Stephen Krashen Pulls the Rug Out From Under the
Standards Movement
Some Comments on Paul Farhi's "Flunking the Test"
Guest post by Stephen Krashen.
…….Poverty is, in fact, the issue. While
American students' scores on international tests are not as bad as critics say
they are, they are even better when we control for the effects of poverty:
Middle-class students in well-funded schools, in fact, score at or near the top
of world. Our average scores are respectable but unspectacular because, as
Farhi notes, we have such a high percentage of children living in poverty, the
highest of all industrialized countries. Only four percent of children in
high-scoring Finland
The implications of this fact are enormous: It
means that the "problem" of American education is not ineffective
teaching, not teachers' unions, not lack of national standards and tests, and
not schools of education: It is poverty.
Books
Will Soon Be Obsolete in the Public Schools
Thomas Edison published in The
New York Dramatic Mirror in July 1913
Yoctometers and yettameters!!!
Is this going to be on the test?
Need an excuse not to
get any work done for awhile? Click on
any object for more info.
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
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?
Is there a place to get a breakdown of how pro and anti-voucher legislative candidates did in Pennsylvania? How many of the candidates funded by Student First and other wealthy benefactors won their primary?
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