Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
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administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers,
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officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, education
professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies,
professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails,
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for
August 25, 2014:
Ed Leaders
Twitter Chat, Tue 8/26 8pm, on PA Basic Education Funding Commission’s work!
Use #PAEdFunding
Tweet
from Pa School Boards Asn @PSBA Aug 22
Ed Leaders Twitter Chat, Tue 8/26 8pm, on PA Basic
Education Funding Commission’s work! Use
#PAEdFunding
Our View:
Looking for school funding ideas
Maybe the folks just over the state
line — or even a few states away — have a better idea when it comes to
providing adequate funding of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is in sour
company when it comes to states unable to provide a formula for stable
education funding — we’re one of three, according to the nonpartisan Education Law Center
This PA Senate site lists commission
members and includes news releases, audio/video
PA Basic
Education Funding Commission Website
"Districts have the next week to report any inaccuracies
before contractors start updating the content online. Results from 2013 show nearly 73 percent of
public schools received a 70 or higher on a 100-point scale."
State tries to
improve its rollout of school profiles
By Megan
Harris Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014, 12:01 a.m.
Almost a year since the state bungled its disclosure of school performance profiles,Pennsylvania
Almost a year since the state bungled its disclosure of school performance profiles,
Email practices
for Pennsylvania
By Bill Schackner / Pittsburgh
State agency employees in Pennsylvania
"Allentown
School District
Pennsylvania won't delay using student
scores to evaluate teachers
U.S. education secretary held out the
option, but here it's the law.
By Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call 11:32 p.m. EDT, August 22, 2014
Pennsylvania won't delay using student test scores to
evaluate teachers, despite U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's surprise announcement Thursday that
states can do so.
This fall, for the first time, teachers across the state
are set to receive evaluation scores that are based partially on their
students' performance on standardized tests taken in the 2013-14 school year. The state has no plans to delay using test
scores for teacher evaluations because it's included in a 2012 state law,
Department of Education spokesman Tim Eller said.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAIR
& OPEN TESTING (FAIRTEST) REACTION TO EDUCATION SEC. ARNE DUNCAN’S PROPOSAL
TO POSTPONE TEST-BASED TEACHER RATINGS BY ONE YEAR
Submitted by fairtest on August 21, 2014
Today's announcement that the U.S. Department of Education will
consider proposals from states to delay test-based teacher evaluation reflects
belated recognition of the growing movement against standardized exam overuse
and misuse. It is a sign that national politicians are starting to pay
attention to constituents who are saying "Enough is enough" to
testing overkill.
Unfortunately, the Obama-Duncan proposal fails to address the
real problems. It only offers to suspend testing consequences for educators,
not for students and schools, even though all education stakeholders are
scheduled to be evaluated by the same, unproven new exams. And, it offers
a delay of only one year, when even the Gates Foundation proposed two years.
DeLissio, students to rally
for additional funding for Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22 – On Thursday, Aug. 28 at 6
p.m. a rally will be held at Cook Wissahickon School. The purpose of the rally
is to continue to focus on the need for new revenue for the School District of
Philadelphia – and to demand that the state legislature put in place a
statewide fair funding formula and identify a sustainable funding stream for
public education.
Organized by Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio, D-Montgomery/Phila., the
rally will be held in the school yard of Cook Wissahickon at 201 E. Salaignac
St. in Philadelphia. If weather does not cooperate, the rally will move into
the school cafeteria. Speakers at the
rally will include students who live in or attend schools in the 194th
Legislative District.
Schools facing
more restrictions on snack foods
Students will find healthy snacks when they go back to
school, thanks to new rules.
By Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call 10:03
p.m. EDT, August 23, 2014
There's nothing yummier than a
carton of veggie juice to wash down your whole grain Rice Krispies Treat,
right? Students are about to find out as
tighter federal regulations kick in on snack foods in school cafeterias.
Sweetened teas and greasy chips have gone the way of the one-room schoolhouse,
and in their place, students will find healthier beverages and lower-calorie
snacks when they return to classes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Smart Snacks in School rules limit snacks to 200 calories and 230 milligrams of
sodium. Total fat must be less than 35 percent of the snack's calories. The snack restrictions come after most
schools already have made significant changes to lunches, such as serving grilled
cheese on whole wheat bread and making a fruit or vegetable mandatory for the
flat meal price.
Now, students in grades K-12 will
see tweaks to a la carte and vending machine offerings in districts that hadn't
already met the new requirements.
By Madeline R. Conway / Pittsburgh
Julie King, a second-grade teacher
at Pittsburgh Colfax K-8, is returning to the classroom this year with new
goals in mind for her students. After
the students arrive today, Ms. King will focus on helping them read more
fluently out loud. She’ll incorporate songs, poetry and partner reading into
her daily instruction and monitor her students’ progress along the way. Teaching her students to read is just one
part of Ms. King’s job, but according to Brian Smith, Pittsburgh Public
Schools’ executive director of strategic priorities, it’s critical. A child’s
third-grade reading level is a key predictor of later academic success, and as
the school district strives for more of its students to read proficiently by
third grade, it’s refocusing efforts on the literacy of its youngest students.
Experts urge
later start times for students in higher grades
Hormonal changes, sleep cycle affect teens’ performance
By Stephanie McFeeters / Pittsburgh
Sipping a java chip Frappuccino en
route to her first day of ninth grade Friday, Ahmani Johnson said she was
excited to begin high school but annoyed that she had to wake up so early.
Pediatricians feel her pain about the sleep loss. The American Academy of Pediatrics announced
today that it is recommending that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m.
or later, drawing on research that points to teenagers’ need for 8½ to 9½ hours
of sleep and evidence that delaying school start times is an effective way to
mitigate the detrimental effects of chronic sleep loss.
Delco district
at ground zero in state Senate battle
TOM FITZGERALD, INQUIRER POLITICS WRITER LAST
UPDATED: Sunday, August 24, 2014, 1:09 AM POSTED: Sunday, August 24,
2014, 12:11 AM
John Kane, a plumbers' union leader
and Democrat running for state Senate, was knocking on doors on both sides of Thorndale Road Aldan , Delaware county Republican Aldan , big things are at stake. Democratic strategists believe Kane can carry
this Delaware County-based district in November, considering its recent voting
trends and Tom Wolf's big lead over Gov. Corbett, the Republican incumbent. And
if they can win here, they have a shot at re-taking the state Senate for the
first time in two decades.
Saucon Valley
teachers make new contract proposal, district rejects it
Some teachers would receive more than 5 percent raises
each year under the union's proposal.
By Jacqueline Palochko, Of The
Morning Call 8:30 p.m. EDT, August 24, 2014
The Saucon Valley Education
Association made a move Sunday afternoon to try to resolve the nearly
three-year impasse over a contract for teachers, but the school district didn't
budge.
The union gave the district a
four-year contract proposal that called for $900,000 less in salaries than the
teachers' previous offer. But after a more-than-two-hour meeting at the
district's offices the day before school starts, the district would
"absolutely not" approve the offer, solicitor Jeff Sultanik said. Neither side expressed optimism Sunday after
the meeting that the dispute will end soon. Union representatives said the
teachers have no current plans to strike.
The union's new proposal gave every
teacher a raise of at least 2 to 2.75 percent each year during the contract.
The union previously had sought a three-year contract that included at least 3
percent raises each year for the district's 170 teachers.
A school
system’s stunning standardized test schedule for 2014-15
Classes for the 2014-15 year began
for students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth largest district
in the country, on Monday, Aug. 18. And so did student standardized testing.
Yes, it’s time not only for class
but also for a new slew of standardized tests in Miami and everywhere else in
the country — and this year, more of these exams are expected to be given
to students than ever so that kids be assessed and so can their teachers, and
their principals, and their schools and their districts. Thanks to then Gov. Jeb Bush well over a
decade ago, the state of Florida
Here is the published
testing schedule by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. If your system
has a testing calendar that boggles the mind, send it to me or publish it in
the comments:
On September 17, 2014 the Education
Law Center will hold its annual event at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker
Building to celebrate Pennsylvania’s Education Champions. This year, the event
will honor William P. Fedullo, Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association;
Dr. Joan Duvall-Flynn, Education Committee Chair for the Pennsylvania State
Conference of NAACP Branches; and the Stoneleigh Foundation, a Philadelphia
regional leader on at-risk youth issues.
Pennsylvania Arts Education
Network 2014 Arts and Education Symposium
The 2014 Arts and Education Symposium will be
held on Thursday, October 2 at the State Museum
of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA. Join us for a daylong convening of
arts education policy leaders and practitioners for lively discussions about
the latest news from the field.
The Symposium registration fee is $45 per person.
To register, click
here or follow the prompts at the bottom of the page. The Symposium will include the following:
Register Now – 2014 PAESSP
State Conference – October 19-21, 2014
Please join us for the 2014 PAESSP State Conference, “PRINCIPAL
EFFECTIVENESS: Leading Schools in a New Age of Accountability,” to be
held October 19-21 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh,
Pa. Featuring Keynote Speakers: Alan
November, Michael Fullan & Dr. Ray Jorgensen. This year’s conference will provided PIL
Act 45 hours, numerous workshops, exhibits, multiple resources and an
opportunity to network with fellow principals from across the state.
PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference (Oct. 21-24) registration forms now available online
PSBA Website
PSBA Website
Make plans today to attend the most talked about education
conference of the year. This year's PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference promises to be one of the best with new
ideas, innovations, networking opportunities and dynamic speakers. More details
are being added every day. Online registration will be available in the
next few weeks. If you just can't wait, registration
forms are available online now. Other important links are available
with more details on:
·
Hotel
registration (reservation deadline extended to Sept. 26)
·
Educational
Publications Contest (deadline Aug. 6)
·
Student
Celebration Showcase (deadline Sept. 19)
·
Poster
and Essay Contest (deadline Sept. 19)
Slate of candidates for PSBA
offices now available online -- bios/videos now live
PSBA Website August 5, 2014
PSBA Website August 5, 2014
The slate of candidates for 2015 PSBA officer and at-large
representatives is now available online.
Photos, bios and videos also have been posted for each candidate.
According to recent PSBA Bylaws changes, each member school entity casts one
vote per office. Voting will again take place online through a secure,
third-party website -- Simply Voting. Voting will openSept. 9 and
closes Oct. 6. One person from the school entity (usually the board
secretary) is authorized to cast the vote on behalf of the member school entity
and each board will need to put on its agenda discussion and voting at one
of its meetings in September. Each person authorized to cast the school
entity's votes will be receiving an email in the coming weeks to verify the
email address and confirm they are the person to cast the vote on behalf of
their school entity.
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