Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1850
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, 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 at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
For March 1, 2013 : Education Law
Center
Roebuck Seeking Co-sponsors for
Comprehensive Charter and Cyber Charter School
Cuts Roll In as Time Runs Out
No Last-Minute Deal; Spending Reductions Won't Touch Deficit's Biggest
Drivers
Wall Street Journal By DAMIAN
PALETTA and JANET
HOOK February
28, 2013
The federal government enters a controversial new
phase of deficit cutting Friday, as an automatic trigger begins slicing budgets
in some areas while leaving programs such as Medicare and Medicaid—among the
largest drivers of future debt—largely untouched. The $85 billion in so-called sequester cuts
push Washington
“It will be, Mr. Obama said Wednesday night,
more of a “tumble downward” than a quick descent into budgetary nightmare.
“It’s conceivable that in the first week, the first two weeks, the first three
weeks, the first month, a lot of people may not notice the full impact of the
sequester,” Mr. Obama told a group of business officials.”
Many Steps to Be Taken When ‘Sequester’
Is Law
New York Times By MICHAEL D. SHEAR Published: February 28, 2013
WASHINGTON — At some point on Friday (no one will say precisely
when), President Obama will formally
notify government agencies that an obscure process known as sequestration is in
effect, triggering deep, across-the-board budget cuts that will force federal
spending to shrink. At that moment,
somewhere in the bowels of the Treasury Department, officials will take offline
the computers that process payments for school construction and clean energy
bonds to reprogram them for reduced rates. Payments will be delayed while they
are made manually for the next six weeks.
When would
school districts be affected? Would any school districts be affected right away? So what will the cuts actually mean in districts? What about
early-childhood education programs?
Sequestration and Education: 12
Frequently Asked Questions
Education Week Politics k-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on February
26, 2013 6:18 PM
Now that sequestration, that looming, scary, Inside-the-Beltway
possibility, is finally upon us, what does that mean for states and school
districts? Here's a rundown:
EITC: Welfare for the rich? Private
school tax credit programs expanding
At a time when government budgets at all levels are under enormous
strain, families and businesses are struggling and federal agencies are facing
dramatic across-the-board spending cuts, you would think lawmakers would be
careful about spending public money. So it may surprise you to learn that in a
growing number of states, legislators are setting aside public money to pay for
private school tuition — and rich people are benefiting.
It’s a school choice option known as tuition tax credits (or private
school tax credits or student tax credits or scholarship tax credits and a few other
things too.) Whatever they are called, these tax credits are essentially
alternatives to vouchers, which give public funds to families so their kids can
attend private schools.
"Without an accurate, fair, and transparent system for calculating
and distributing education dollars, we're going to have a very difficult time —
as public school parents, as taxpayers, as business leaders — knowing if our
state is providing an adequate amount of resources to match student and
district needs," said Education Law Center Executive Director Rhonda
Brownstein. "In other words, is the right amount of money going to the
right place — and can legislators and the public see it? In Pennsylvania
PA One of Only Three States Without
an Education Funding Formula
The statewide, non-profit organization examined how each of the 50 states
calculates and distributes education dollars. The report shows that Pennsylvania is in the minority when
it comes to basic budgeting practices used by most states.
Public hearing - Cyber
Charter Funding Reform
Thursday, March
14, 2013 10:00 AM Room 140 Main Capitol
Here’s some background on these two bills:
Charter and Cyber Charter Funding Reforms Proposed
Charter and Cyber Charter Funding Reforms Proposed
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai’s website 1/25/2013
PDE Files Request for NCLB Waiver
PSBAFeb. 28, 2013
PSBA
Today the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) filed a request with
U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) for flexibility from certain requirements
of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). An overview of the application is posted on PDE’s
website.
Capitolwire.com Under The Dome™ Thursday,
February 28, 2013
(PAYWALL)
Plenty of debate during Education
Department’s House budget hearing.
Whenever the Department of Education has a budget hearing, you can bet
there will be plenty of discussion and debate, and Wednesday’s House
Appropriation Committee budget hearing was no exception. State lawmakers and
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis tangled during the hearing over the way $90
million in new basic education funding is parceled out;CLICK HERE to read Capitolwire Bureau Chief Peter L.
DeCoursey’s story about that. Another lawmaker, Rep. Matt Bradford,
D-Montgomery, said after years of short-changing education funding to step up
pension funding, now Gov. Tom Corbett is partially reversing that equation to
short-change both. Tomalis defended what he said were the governor’s efforts to
reform and fund both. CLICK HERE to read DeCoursey’s report on that debate.
And Tomalis also went on the offensive during the hearing, asking House
Democrats: if you support your districts getting federal one-time grants for
reading and improving student performance, why is the governor’s one-time
grant, Passport for Learning, wrong for being one-time money? CLICK HERE to read DeCoursey’s story about that.
Video of February 27th PA
House Appropriations Committee Budget Hearing for the Department of Education
Video Runtime: 3:15:59
Jeffrey Clay, the PSERS executive director,
made the point more emphatically.
"No one thing solves the problem," Clay said. "And the big issue here is we just need more money because we've been shorted, shorted, shorted, shorted. We've been underfunding the system for more than a decade and we continue to do so."
"No one thing solves the problem," Clay said. "And the big issue here is we just need more money because we've been shorted, shorted, shorted, shorted. We've been underfunding the system for more than a decade and we continue to do so."
Published: Thursday, February 28, 2013
Delco Times By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Making newly hired school and state employees
enroll in a 401(k)-style plan would not seriously affect Pennsylvania's two
largest traditional pension funds, so long as a new plan is adequately funded,
administrators told lawmakers Wednesday.
"Any plan has to be well-structured and well-funded," Dave Durbin, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
As part of a package of wide-ranging pension reforms, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett advocates requiring newly hired state and school be enrolled in a plan in which they would contribute at least 6.25 percent of their salary and the state would provide a 4 percent match.
"Any plan has to be well-structured and well-funded," Dave Durbin, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
As part of a package of wide-ranging pension reforms, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett advocates requiring newly hired state and school be enrolled in a plan in which they would contribute at least 6.25 percent of their salary and the state would provide a 4 percent match.
Looming federal cuts an added burden
for Pa.
Press Release House Education Minority Chairman James Roebuck HARRISBURG
State Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., Democratic chairman of the House
Education Committee, said today that automatic federal funding cuts due to take
effect Friday only would intensify the huge impact that Pennsylvania's deep
education funding cuts already have had on schools and students – particularly
in the state’s poorest communities. The
U.S. Department of Education has announced that the sequestration cuts caused
by inaction in Congress could hit neediest students the most, cutting $725
million from federal education grants that help to serve nearly 23 million
students in high-poverty areas of the country, Roebuck said.
PA's Senators diverge on
sequestration
WITF Written by Mary
Wilson, Capitol Bureau Chief | Feb 26, 2013 8:19 PM
2013-14 Corbett Budget Shorts
Education
Council for the Advancement of Public Schools February 2013
The new state budget plan presented by Gov. Tom Corbett in February calls
for an additional $90 million to the basic education subsidy but is still light
years away from September 2010 when economic stimulus funds of $800 million
were provided by the federal government. A proposed Passport for Learning block
grant, which wouldn't become effective until 2014-15, would require the sale of
state liquor stores, a plan that has already been defeated twice.
Which pieces of the closings plan
did the Philly SRC seem most concerned about?
by thenotebook on Feb 28 2013 by Bill Hangley
Jr. and Dale Mezzacappa
At three days of hearings on school closings, members of the School
Reform Commission raised significant questions about several of the District’s
school-closing proposals, most in response to points raised by students,
parents, community members, and in some cases, principals of the affected
schools. As the March 7 vote nears, we are providing a summary of some of the
issues that SRC members seemed most interested in.
By Colin McEvoy
| The Express-Times on February 28, 2013 at 8:50 PM
For the fourth time in eight years, the Allentown
School Board on Thursday unanimously rejected an application to
establish a new engineering charter school in the city. Board members previously
expressed concerns about whether the group is associated with a controversial
movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. But Superintendent Russell
Mayo recommended the charter be rejected not because of any ties to
that movement, but due to concerns about its curriculum, budget and lack of
community support.
By Colin McEvoy
| The Express-Times on February 28, 2013 at 9:36 PM
The Allentown
School Board tonight voiced support for Gov. Tom Corbett's plans to
increase education funding by privatizing state liquor stores. The board voted 7-1 to send the state a
resolution in support of the governor's plan, which could give the Allentown
GSA? No Way Keystone State
School District
Americans United for Separation of Church and
State Feb 28,
2013 by Simon
Brown in Wall
of Separation |
It’s ironic that when Congress was debating the Equal Access Act,
conservatives were the ones really pushing for the law. They were eager to see
students form Christian clubs, and it’s incredible that they didn’t realize the
law makes it easier for everyone to create a club – including those the
Religious Right finds offensive. Most
government bodies do everything in their power to avoid lawsuits, but some do
things so foolish that they seem to be begging someone to sue them. One entity
that apparently welcomes the prospect of a long and costly legal battle is the
governing board of the Chambersburg Area School District
in Pennsylvania
Recently, the board voted 5-4 not to allow a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
club at Chambersburg
Area Senior
High School
Jeff Gelles: The digital divide
persists
JEFF GELLES, INQUIRER
BUSINESS COLUMNIST Thursday, February 28, 2013 , 7:44 AM
The teens in Brian Cohen's math classes love to use SketchUp 8 for 3D
modeling. They design their dream houses, then dive into the algebra and
geometry problems their own imaginations create. OK, so what's the surface area of the living
room walls? How much would it cost to wallpaper them? How much air volume is
there in the den? You have to know if you want to heat it. SketchUp 8 runs smoothly on any of the 33
refurbished ThinkPads, circa 2010, that Cohen raised funds to buy for his
classroom. But woe to the student who takes that math work into the school's
computer lab, outfitted with Apple iMacs built when George W. Bush was in the
White House - not so long ago in people years, but seriously aged in digi-time.
On them, SketchUp 8 is too new to load.
Education Week Charters and Choice Blog By Katie Ash on February
28, 2013 6:42 PM
Students in charter schools in Massachusetts outperformed their
regular public school counterparts in reading and math in the state, and
students in charter schools in Boston
experienced significantly higher learning gains in reading and math than
students in regular public schools in the city, says a new study released by Stanford University
FYI, no, I
am not related to Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP.….
“There are
lessons here not just for KIPP, but also for our district counterparts in the
communities we serve. School districts can adopt elements of our most
successful schools by giving principals more autonomy to establish healthy
school cultures and to expand the school day to include more time for learning
math and reading without having to sacrifice the other core subjects or the
co-curricular classes”
How Cage-Busting is Paying Off for
KIPP
Education Week Rick Hess Straight Up Blog By Guest
Blogger on February 27, 2013 11:01
AM
Guest blogging
this week is Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP.
For me, cage-busting is a way of life... unfortunately, according to my
wife. When Dave Levin and I created the first KIPP program in Houston
with 47 fifth grade students at Garcia
Elementary School
MAP OF STATES PULLING BACK FROM
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
Education Views Blog Posted by Donna
Garner Education Policy Commentator EducationViews.org on February 28, 2013
This map dated
2.26.13 shows the many states that are pulling back from the Common Core
Standards. Legislators in Alabama today are holding a public hearing on HB 254
(companion bill SB 190) that would repeal Alabama
How much will your school district spend on materials for the Common
Core?
New State Academic Standards Are
Said to Require $56 Million Outlay for New
York City
New York Times By AL BAKER Published: February 28, 2013
It will cost about $56 million to buy new textbooks and other materials
to help New York City
Experts: Add Counselors, Not Armed
Teachers, to Boost
School
Education Week Rules for Engagement Blog By Nirvi Shah on February 27, 2013
5:16 PM
A panel of school safety, climate, and security experts quizzed by a
House committee today largely agreed that schools need more counselors, better
communication between adults on campus and students, and additional, thoughtful
emergency planning.
One thing they don't need, according to the experts: Teachers carrying
guns to class.
PhilaSoup March 2013 - Sunday Get
together
Sunday, March 3, 2013
from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST) Philadelphia , PA
Teachers Institute of Philadelphia , University of Pennsylvania
3417 Spruce Street , Philadelphia , PA 19104
Philasoup is a monthly microgrant dinner meant to bring
innovative and dynamic Philadelphia-area educators together, highlight the great
work they are doing and fund some terrific projects. The vision for PhilaSoup
is to be a monthly microgrant dinner that starts and ends with educators but is
an access point to education for the whole city.
For more info and RSVP: http://philasoupmarch2013.eventbrite.com/
PSBA officer applications due April
30
PSBA’s website 2/15/2013
Candidates seeking election to PSBA officer posts in 2014 must file an
expression of interest for the office desired to be interviewed by the PSBA
Leadership Development Committee.
This new committee replaces the former Nominations Committee. Deadline
for filing is April 30. The application shall be marked received at
PSBA headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked by the deadline to be
considered timely filed. Expression of interest forms can be found online
at www.psba.org/about/psba/board-of-directors/officers/electing-officers.asp.
Edcamp Philly 2013 at UPENN
May 18th, 2013
For those of you who have never gone to an
Edcamp before, please make a note of the unusual part of the morning where we
will build the schedule. Edcamp doesn’t believe in paying fancy people to come
and talk at you about teaching! At an Edcamp, the people attending – the participants
- facilitate sessions on teaching and learning! So Edcamp won’t
succeed without a whole bunch of you wanting to run a session of some kind!
What kinds of sessions might you run?
What: Edcamp Philly is an"unconference" devoted
to K-12 Education issues and ideas.
Where:University
of Pennsylvania
Where:
2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on
Advocacy and Issues
April 6, 2013 The Penn Stater Convention Center Hotel; State College, PA
Strategic leadership, school budgeting and advocacy are key issues facing today's school district leaders. For your school district to truly thrive, leaders must maintain a solid understanding of these three functions. Attend the 2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on Advocacy and Issues to ensure you have the skills you need to take your district to the next level.
April 6, 2013 The Penn Stater Convention Center Hotel; State College, PA
Strategic leadership, school budgeting and advocacy are key issues facing today's school district leaders. For your school district to truly thrive, leaders must maintain a solid understanding of these three functions. Attend the 2013 PSBA Leadership Symposium on Advocacy and Issues to ensure you have the skills you need to take your district to the next level.
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