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
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 April 15, 2014:
More PA parents taking
children out of standardized tests
PSBA
members in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware Counties - save the date
PSBA
Buxmont Region 11 and Penns Grant Region 15 Combined Region/Legislative Meeting
-- Thursday, May 15, at William Tennent High School
- Buffet dinner/registration, 6 p.m. ($8 charge for
dinner) - Program, 7:30 p.m. -- Minority Senate Education Committee Chair
Hon. Andy Dinniman will introduce guest speaker Diane Ravitch, author and
education historian, and former Assistant Secretary of Education. Retiring House Education Committee Chairman
Paul Clymer will also be honored for his long time (1981) public service.
More area parents are
taking children out of standardized tests
In Pennsylvania, they must cite religious reasons
By
Lydia Ann Stern For the York Daily Record/Sunday
News 04/13/2014 10:06:25 PM EDT
As PSSA testing goes
into its final turn, preparing for future assessments is just beginning,
especially for parents who are deciding to practice their legal rights. More parents were approved to opt their
children out of taking the PSSA this year than last. Tim Eller, spokesman for the Pennsylvania
Department of Education, said there were 498 students across the state who
opted out of the math and reading PSSA exams, a 52 percent increase from 2012. For the science exams, 149 students were
opted out in 2013, an increase of 7 students from 2012. Eighty-nine students
opted out of the writing exam last year. For the Keystone exams, 74 students
opted out from algebra I and 80 students from both biology and literature in
2013. Under Pennsylvania law, parents can opt their
children out of testing if they find "the assessment in conflict with
their religious belief." Parents are required to review, at least once,
the test their child would be taking. They must sign a confidentiality
agreement stating they will not disclose any of the questions.
Testing resistance movement
exploding around country
The testing resistance
movement is growing rapidly around the country and parents are opting out their
children from high-stakes standardized tests in most states. What do test
reformers want to accomplish? Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, explains in this
post. FairTest, or the National
Center
Retrial set in Philly charter
school fraud case
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Monday, April 14, 2014, 2:41 PM
The retrial of
Philadelphia charter school founder Dorothy June Brown on federal fraud charges
is scheduled to start Sept. 8. U.S.
District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick set the date after conferring with
lawyers Friday. Gregory P. Miller, one
of Brown's lawyers, is involved with a criminal trial in Camden that may
continue into June. Brown, 76, faces
charges of defrauding the four charter schools she founded of $6.5 million and
then engaging in a conspiracy to cover it up. After five weeks of
testimony, and seven days of deliberations, jurors in January acquitted the
veteran educator on six counts and deadlocked on the remaining 54.
Jurors said afterward
the panel was split 9-3 in favor of convicting Brown.
By Karen Langley /
Post-Gazette Harrisburg
Bureau April
14, 2014 11:30 PM
Acting education secretary
discusses funding formula
By John Kopp, Delaware County Daily
"Both PSP and PennCAN are
polarizing organizations, viewed by some as supporting charter schools at the
expense of traditional public schools."
More voices urge action in district dispute
More voices urge action in district dispute
Inquirer Philly School
Files Blog by Kristen Graham MONDAY,
APRIL 14, 2014, 5:31 PM
Two local
education-reform organizations have filed papers asking the state Supreme Court
to act quickly on the School Reform Commission's request to affirm it has broad
powers to impose work-rule changes. The
Philadelphia School Partnership and PennCAN (Pennsylvania Campaign for
Achievement Now) on Monday filed an amicus curiae - friend of the court - brief
with the high court. PSP and PennCAN, in the brief, noted the organizations are
"deeply concerned that the ongoing and annually-worsening city school
budget crisis - and the intractable labor disputes that always accompany it -
will continue to erode the state of public education in Philadelphia ."
"It would be refreshing to see
PSP and PennCAN working with educators to ensure that all of our children have
access to nurses, counselors, librarians and classroom supplies," PFT
president Jerry Jordan said."
School reform groups support SRC bid to nix teacher seniority
School reform groups support SRC bid to nix teacher seniority
THE PHILADELPHIA School
Partnership and PennCAN, two controversial education-reform groups, want the
state's highest court to decide whether the School Reform Commission can impose
work-rule changes on teachers. The two pro-school-choice
organizations sought the review in an amicus brief filed yesterday with the
state Supreme Court.
Radio Times: School
violence in Philadelphia
WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane TUESDAY, APRIL 15
Hour 1 Guests: Linda Cliatt-Wayman, Otis Hackney
Violence at Bartram High School in Southwest
Philadelphia has shaken up the city. After a video went
viral showing students assaulting a staff member, the school’s chaotic climate
has received a lot more attention. But Bartram isn’t the only school
struggling with safety issues. Massive budget cuts in schools across the city
have led to significantly smaller staffs supporting and supervising larger
numbers of students. Today we’ll talk about school violence, what’s behind it
and how to make schools safe. Our guests are two Philadelphia high school principals who have
confronted violence in their own schools — OTIS HACKNEY, the Principal of
South Philadelphia High School and LINDA CLIATT-WAYMAN, Principal of Strawberry
Mansion High School.
- See more at: http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/#sthash.8Zq5pkdE.dpuf
Even with those cuts and a tax hike, Bethlehem Area schools
would be $3 million short.
By Adam Clark,
Of The Morning Call +11:13 p.m. EDT, April 14, 2014
Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bethlehem-schools-0414-20140414,0,2528233.story#ixzz2ywvgUeRz
By on April 14, 2014 at 10:01 PM
The Nazareth
Area School Board tonight
further trimmed its proposed 2014-15 $73.8 million budget, but it still calls
for a property tax hike. Taxes are now
slated to rise 2.3 percent compared to
an estimated 3.6 percent increase proposed in January. That increase proposal had
exceeded the maximum allowed by the state and likely would have gone to voter
approval.
Penn Manor OKs 2.75% annual
average pay hikes for teachers
BY ELAINE J. JONES | Correspondent Posted: Monday, April
14, 2014 10:45 p.m.
Penn Manor school board on Monday approved a three-year
teachers’ contract that will increase salaries an average of 2.75 percent each
year while changing some healthcare and other benefits. About 11 members of the Penn Manor Education
Association attended the meeting in support of the new contract, effective July
1 when the current two-year contract expires.
There is no perfect solution
to preventing school violence
By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 14, 2014 11:49 PM
If there's one thing
school safety experts agree on, it's this: There is no perfect solution to
preventing school violence. "The
good news is that schools are actually getting much better at preventing
violence, but the bad news is we will always have incidents that slip through
the cracks because you are dealing with human behavior," said Kenneth
Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services in Cleveland . In the wake of last week's mass stabbings at Franklin Regional High School
Editorial: Make schools stop
‘passing the trash'
Delco Times Editorial
POSTED: 04/14/14, 11:09 PM EDT |
When teachers or coaches
are charged in incidents involving sexual relationships with students, it’s
disturbing on a number of levels, not the least of which is the potential that
the offenses go unreported and could occur again. Part of that potential is the reality that
schools can allow educators to quit quietly and get hired at another school
without their past known. To combat that
risk, state Sen. Anthony Williams, D-8 of Philadelphia ,
has sponsored a bill to combat this practice, mockingly referred to as “passing
the trash.” The Senate passed Senate Bill 46 last year. In the House, state
Rep. David Maloney, R-130 of Boyertown, has authored a similar bill, House Bill
2063, that would require public and private schools in Pennsylvania, and their
independent contractors, to conduct a thorough employment history review prior
to offering employment to any applicant for a position involving direct contact
with children.
Children's Literacy
Initiative Names New Executive Director to Drive an Expanded Vision
Submitted by cli on Mon,
04/14/2014 - 14:21
April 11, 2014,
Philadelphia, PA – With an organizational focus clearly fixed upon raising its profile
within targeted groups of key, national, decision-makers, the Children's
Literacy Initiative (CLI), which trains teachers to achieve literacy education
for children in high-poverty, high-minority school districts, by the third
grade, today announced that it has completed an intensive national search for a
new executive director, and has named Joel Zarrow, Ph.D. to the position.
Downingtown to purchase
upgraded iPads for students
By Ginger
Dunbar, Daily Local News 04/13/14,
6:21 PM EDT
EAST CALN — Incoming students at the Marsh Creek Sixth Grade
Center will use an iPad Air with the curriculum at an additional $110,000 cost
to the district. The Downingtown Area
School board members previously approved to purchase 1,100 iPads for up to
$420,000. The administration requested that the district purchase the iPad Air
version instead of the iPad 4.
The purchase change raised the cost of the contract to $530,000
for the 2014-15 school year.
Two Springfield
Delco Times POSTED: 04/14/14, 10:52 PM EDT |
Carolyn Dumaresq, the
acting state Education Secretary, formally recognized the academic achievements
of a pair of Springfield
schools Monday. Dumaresq presented the Springfield Literacy
Center and E.T. Richardson
Middle School Springfield
Literacy Center
attained a score of 93.4 percent — the highest score in the Springfield School District E.T. Richardson Middle School
With Time Running Out, Arne
Duncan Discusses His Lengthy To-Do List
Education Week Politics K-12
Blog By on April
14, 2014 7:23 AM
In the waning years of
the Obama administration, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sees several important and
difficult priorities ahead of him, he told Education
Week in a wide-ranging 30-minute
interview. Chief among them: The transition to new standards and tests, the
debut of new teacher evaluations tied to test scores, and the costly drive to
expand preschool.
That's "a lot of
change in a short amount of time—none of it easy," he said in an April 11
interview in his Washington
office. But if states and the federal government are able to navigate over a
mountain of political and policy challenges, he said, then the result will
"change education forever in some pretty extraordinary ways."
Teachers: A Call to Battle
Education Week Living in
Dialogue Blog By on April 12, 2014 12:07 PM
We just wanted to teach.
When I was drawn to
teach in Oakland, I saw a chance to give students the chance to do hands-on
experiments, to answer their own questions, and explore the natural world. On
field trips to the tide pools I found out some had never even been to the
Pacific Ocean, an hour's drive from their homes. I did not enter teaching
to prepare students for tests. I wanted my students to think and reason for
themselves. We teach the children of the
middle class, the wealthy and the poor. We teach the damaged and disabled, the
whole and the gifted. We teach the immigrants and the dispossessed natives, the
transients and even the incarcerated. In
years past we formed unions and professional organizations to get fair pay, so
women would get the same pay as men. We got due process so we could not be
fired at an administrator's whim. We got pensions so we could retire after many
years of service. But career teachers
are not convenient or necessary any more. We cost too much. We expect our hard-won
expertise to be recognized with respect and autonomy. We talk back at staff
meetings, and object when we are told we must follow mindless scripts, and
prepare for tests that have little value to our students.
NPE Call for Congressional
Hearings on Testing
Network for Public Education April
10, 2014 NPE Call for Hearings
On March 2, 2014, The
Network for Public Education issued a call for congressional hearings on the
overuse and misuse of testing in our public schools.
Together, we have managed to catch the attention of members of Congress.
We created a Twitter Storm that sent out over 20K tweets and reached 400K
people via social media while trending #1. We flooded the offices of Congress
with phone calls from concerned constituents. We continue to bring attention to
the plague of over-testing and the media has taken notice!
For the next part of our
campaign, we are asking our Friends & Allies to print out and mail a copy
of this
letter to the offices of our friends at Institute for America ’s Future in Washington D.C.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth
(PCCY) will Host an Education Funding Forum in Delaware County on May 7th
On May
7th, PCCY will host a forum that discusses the state of school
funding in Delaware
County 501 Bywood Avenue ,
Upper Darby PA 19082 from 6:30pm-8pm.
Attendees will get a budget update from Sharon Ward of the Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center , hear from School Board members representing
Upper Darby, William Penn, and Haverford
School Districts
Please
RSVP by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OjFpJwTHnZwRqh0Q5Tdp0KHYaI1Jg0XNvGpmeYMmIyA/viewform
PSBA Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill
May 5-6, Mechanicsburg & Harrisburg
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leading Pennsylvania political analyst, will discuss the legislative landscape in his usual lively and informative style. Just added -- How to Be an Effective Advocate -- Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Larry Feinberg, Roberta Marcus and Tina Viletto on how to successfully support your issues. On day two, participants will start with a breakfast at the Harrisburg Hilton and then hit the ground running with visits to legislative offices in the State Capitol. Space is limited so register early. Click here for more details and to register online.
May 5-6, Mechanicsburg & Harrisburg
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leading Pennsylvania political analyst, will discuss the legislative landscape in his usual lively and informative style. Just added -- How to Be an Effective Advocate -- Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Larry Feinberg, Roberta Marcus and Tina Viletto on how to successfully support your issues. On day two, participants will start with a breakfast at the Harrisburg Hilton and then hit the ground running with visits to legislative offices in the State Capitol. Space is limited so register early. Click here for more details and to register online.
Pennsylvania Governor's
School for the Agricultural Sciences
Deadline to Apply: April 25, 2014
When: July 13 to August 9, 2014 Penn State
University
PGSAS provides a broad
overview of the diverse fields of agriculture and natural resources. Interested
high school students and their parents should review this website to learn more
about requirements and the application process.
Pennsylvania Governor’s
School for Engineering and Technology
Application must be
postmarked by April 18, 2014.
July 20, 2014 - August
2, 2014 Lehigh University | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania
Governor’s School for Engineering and Technology (PGSE&T) is a two-week
summer residential program for talented high school students of science and
mathematics. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and hosted
by the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science at Lehigh
University, PGSE&T offers an enrichment experience in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) and emphasizes cooperative learning and hands-on
laboratory experiences.
Educating the Voter: A Forum on Public
Education featuring Democratic gubernatorial candidates - April 30th 6:00 pm
Phila Central Library
Presented by Committee of Seventy, Congresso and
Philadelphia Education Fund
Wednesday,
April 30, 2014 at 6:00PM
Join Democratic gubernatorial candidates Katie McGinty, Tom Wolf, Allyson Schwartz and Rob McCord for a discussion on public education.
Please
click here to
register.
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.
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
Tuesday, April 29th,
12-4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14th,
1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
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.
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