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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for February
18, 2015:
Contentious debate over
Philly charter expansion comes to a head Wednesday
Education Voters of PA holding public forums on school funding
Details/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Contentious debate over
Philly charter expansion comes to a head Wednesday
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY FEBRUARY 17, 2015
It's one of the essential questions of urban education. If you
can give some children a better opportunity, but you potentially undermine the
system as a whole, what should you do?
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission has been weighing
this as it's considered 39 applications for new city charter schools that, if approved,
could vastly alter how the city educates its children. For months the question has roiled the city's
educational landscape, revealing deep philosophical divisions between those who
call for systemic reform and those fearful of exacerbating existing inequities.
Is Bill Green misreading the
state's charter law?
Citypaper By Daniel
Denvir Published: 02/17/2015
In an article in today's Inquirer, School Reform
Commission Chair Bill Green is quoted as saying that the charter school law
"appears to require us to approve applications" for new charters if
they meet requirements. What Green seems
to be implying seems not quite right. I've tweeted at him, to no avail, in an
effort to clarify matters. Here's the
deal. The charter law provisions that are being reimposed on the city by
Republican legislators articulate certain criteria that school boards must use
to evaluate charter applications — but the law also clearly states that
districts can use other criteria as well.
Candidates say no to new
charter schools
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 12:16 AM
FOUR CANDIDATES in the mayor's race are urging the School Reform
Commission to just say no to new charter schools. Democratic hopefuls James Kenney, Lynne
Abraham, Nelson Diaz and Doug Oliver all signed on to a letter yesterday from
the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools calling for the SRC to
reject all 39 applications ahead of its vote today on the applications. The
only Democratic candidates for mayor who haven't endorsed the letter are state
Sen. Anthony Williams, a vocal charter supporter, T. Milton Street and the Rev. Keith
Goodman.
The letter cites the financial impact new charters would have
on existing schools.
"Even one new charter is one additional cost that the
district has no real plan or the budget to cover," states the letter, also
signed by Council President Darrell Clarke, Councilman Wilson Goode Jr. and
several at-large Council candidates.
In mayor's race, all but one
want charter-school applications nixed
CHRIS HEPP, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED:February 18, 2015, 1:08 AM
Five of six Democratic mayoral candidates have called for the
School Reform Commission to reject 39 charter-school applications to be
considered on Wednesday. Only State Sen.
Anthony H. Williams, long a charter-school champion, voiced no opposition to
the vote. "A blanket moratorium on
charter expansion makes a nice headline, but it's really just a political
solution to an education problem," Williams said in a prepared statement.
"We need solutions that make sense for our children, first and
foremost." Four candidates - former
mayoral aide Doug Oliver, former Common Pleas Judge Nelson A. Diaz, former City
Councilman James Kenney, and former District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham -
supported a moratorium on adding more charters; the city currently has 84.
The mayoral candidates, their
kids, and a Philly education
Education is on the front burner of Philly’s mayoral election,
so get to know where your candidates stand. Do they favor charter schools or
public schools? Where do or did their own kids go to school? How do they see
the view the education crisis? Not all
of their platforms have been solidified yet, especially when it comes to how
the city will fund a full recovery of the school system. But we’ll continue to
aggregate the details here in an easy-to-read way as they emerge.
PSP Opinion: A Plea to the
SRC: Evaluate Each School on Its Individual Merits
Inside Take: Charter
schools aren’t a monolith. We should stop talking about them as though they
are.
Philly Mag Citified BY KRISTEN FORBRIGER | FEBRUARY
17, 2015 AT 1:55 PM
Kristen Forbriger
is public affairs director at the Philadelphia School Partnership and executive
committee member of PhillyCORE Leaders.
At Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School in South Philly, students are offered majors in music and visual arts and every kid participates in ballet weekly. About half of its student body is middle class and white. At the other end ofBroad Street ,
in North Philly, at the Multi-Cultural Academy charter school, there is no
ballet. By design, there are very few extracurriculars available at all. The
school’s model is “no-nonsense, academics-focused.” The student body is nearly
all black and about 80 percent of the students are low-income. These two schools could hardly be more
different. Yet they are often lumped together—with 84 other schools in Philadelphia —for a simple
reason: they are both charter schools. We could just as easily do the same
exercise with district schools (how much do Masterman and Bartram have in
common?). This is why I can’t make sense of the labels “pro-charter” or
“pro-district” (for the record, I am pro-good school).
At Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School in South Philly, students are offered majors in music and visual arts and every kid participates in ballet weekly. About half of its student body is middle class and white. At the other end of
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/02/17/plea-src-evaluate-school-individual-merits/#8Cz0QvITAACZu6z1.99
PCCY Opinion: Inside Take:
New Charters Should Be Unacceptable to All
Donna Cooper: “No
child should be harmed so another child can be helped.”
Philly Mag Citified BY DONNA COOPER | FEBRUARY
12, 2015 AT 9:30 AM
Donna Cooper is
executive director of Public
Citizens for Children and Youth. She formerly served as a cabinet-level
policy adviser to Gov. Ed Rendell.
Conditions in theSchool
District of Philadelphia Harrisburg
are still unpacking their boxes, the School Reform Commission must decide
whether to approve new charter schools and what cuts to impose on traditional
schools to pay for charter expansion.
Conditions in the
While there are thousands of families who have good reason to
love their local schools and teachers, the share of satisfied families is
shrinking, as each year goes by. But there is also no question that most
schools need urgent attention. Families who have lived in Philadelphia for generations are rightfully
frustrated and impatient with the slow pace of improvement. The same goes for
the recent influx of young families, who have neither the income nor the
inclination to send their children to private school.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/02/12/philadelphia-charter-schools-unacceptable/#XA1Wz4HdRq25GsMJ.99
Inquirer opinion By Amy Brown and Anissa Weinraub POSTED: February
18, 2015, 1:08 AM
Amy Brown is member of
the critical writing program faculty at the University
of Pennsylvania (brownae@sas.upenn.edu) and Anissa
Weinraub ( anissa.weinraub@gmail.com)
is an English and theater arts teacher in the School District of Philadelphia
The problem of educational inequity and school failure is much bigger than teachers and schools: It has to do with access to health care, healthy food, steady employment and a reliable income, early-childhood education, and clean water and air, among other factors. Given this amalgamation of social issues, increasing the number of charter schools will not solve any ofPhiladelphia 's problems. In a just world, public schools would provide
a free, excellent, equitable, and holistic educational environment for all
children. In Philadelphia ,
it is more important that we use our resources to achieve this goal, rather
than develop more charters to compete with public schools. Therefore, the
School Reform Commission should not approve more charter schools at this time. As former SRC member Joseph Dworetzky has
noted, the district loses $5,500 per student for each transfer to a charter
from public school, and $10,000 per student for each transfer from a parochial
or independent school. At a time when the district is already operating with a
severe budget deficit, it cannot risk losing more money or resources.
The problem of educational inequity and school failure is much bigger than teachers and schools: It has to do with access to health care, healthy food, steady employment and a reliable income, early-childhood education, and clean water and air, among other factors. Given this amalgamation of social issues, increasing the number of charter schools will not solve any of
A promising type of charter
Inquirer opinion By Richard D. Kahlenberg and Halley Potter
POSTED: February 18, 2015
Richard D. Kahlenberg
( kahlenberg@tcf.org) and Halley
Potter ( potter@tcf.org) are fellows
at the Century Foundation and the coauthors of "A Smarter Charter: Finding
What Works for Charter
Schools
Today,Philadelphia 's
School Reform Commission is slated to decide the fate of 39 charter-school
applications. Charter schools, which are
publicly funded but privately run, are contentious so emotions are running
high. Supporters claim charter schools offer exciting alternatives for students
trapped in failing schools, and opponents suggest charters offer false hope and
drain money from traditional public schools.
The research on outcomes for charters is mixed, with some performing at
very high levels, others proving disastrous, and most doing about as well as
traditional public schools. It's time to move beyond the debate over whether
charters are good or bad to focus on what types seem most promising.
Today,
Gov. Wolf's ways? Not the
norm in Pa.
JOHN BAER, DAILY
NEWS POLITICAL COLUMNIST POSTED:February 18, 2015, 12:16 AM
I PICTURE Tom Wolf in front of his bathroom mirror in the 1850s
house his great-great-grandfather built in Mount
Wolf , York
County , asking, "What can I do
for Pennsylvania
today?" Then maybe bolting down a couple of Red Bulls before jumping
into his Jeep and heading off to the Capitol.
I mean, ya gotta wonder, right? The
guy seems charged on a caffeinated high.
Lancaster-Lebanon IU bringing
health care in-house
Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 has a new plan to cut
health care costs, and employees are expected to love it. And because the plan involves putting a
doctor’s office right in the IU headquarters and offering free care, they
probably will. Based in the Burle Business
Park New Holland Avenue , the
IU is an education service agency that provides products and services to public
school districts, private schools, pre-schools, adult learners and others. The IU is believed to be the first Lancaster County
Three York
County Supt. Eric Eshbach and Central York Supt. Michael Snell all
appeared before the committee on behalf of the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators. According to
copies of their testimony, Deisley testified with a Delaware County
One budget scenario
could include the elimination of dozens of employees and cuts to programming.
By CHRISTINA TATU Pocono Record Writer Posted Feb.
17, 2015 @ 12:59 pm
If Stroudsburg School District officials don't raise taxes or take money from the fund balance, the district could face the elimination of dozens of employees and further cuts to programming, said Superintendent John Toleno. The school board, however, has asked Toleno to come up with a balanced 2015-16 budget that doesn’t use fund balance or raise taxes. Toleno will present such a scenario at Wednesday night’s 7 p .m. school board meeting in the high school cafeteria.
If Stroudsburg School District officials don't raise taxes or take money from the fund balance, the district could face the elimination of dozens of employees and further cuts to programming, said Superintendent John Toleno. The school board, however, has asked Toleno to come up with a balanced 2015-16 budget that doesn’t use fund balance or raise taxes. Toleno will present such a scenario at Wednesday night’s 7 p .m. school board meeting in the high school cafeteria.
According to the preliminary budget approved on Jan. 21, the
district is facing a deficit of about $7 million going into 2015-16.
EASD could drop math, science
graduation requirement
By Jacqueline
Palochko Of The Morning Call February 17, 2015
Expense pushes EASD to consider change to four-year math,
science graduation requirement
The Easton
Area School
District
Propel and Chatham
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette February 18, 2015 12:00 AM
Many urban schools struggle with the desire to have a
diversified group of teachers and the reality that many colleges and
universities prepare few teachers of color.
Now Propel Charter Schools ,
where about 70 percent of students are minorities, and Chatham University
The result is the Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps, which offers
the chance for 10 future teachers to earn a master’s degree for free and do a
one-year teaching apprenticeship at Propel. They also will receive a $12,000
stipend and health benefits. Those who complete the program must teach for two
years at Propel, where the starting salary now is $40,000 a year.
District wants to expand
popular trauma-training classes
the notebook By Paul Jablow on Feb 17, 2015 04:49 PM
With training courses filled as soon as they are made available,
the School District of Philadelphia and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are seeking ways to expand
opportunities for teachers and other personnel to learn about trauma-informed
care. “Classes fill within a day of the e-blast I send out,” says
Jody Greenblatt, the Stoneleigh Fellow in charge of coordinating training
courses for the District. “We have
waiting lists for all the courses.” To date, almost 200 teachers, counselors and other personnel
have taken at least one course on a trauma-informed
approach to school behavioral health, which shifts the focus from
“What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Another 105 are enrolled in
the courses, taught by the Institute for Family Professionals (IFP) in Fort Washington United Way .
Suzanne O’Connor, education manager at United Way , said, “We are exploring new
opportunities for partnerships and additional support to expand our reach in
this area.
Parent advocate prioritizes
fight for adequate funding
Rebecca Poyourow,
Notebook member
the notebook By Shannon Nolan on Feb 17, 2015
12:06 PM
Notebook member Rebecca Poyourow is an active parent at
Cook-Wissahickon Elementary.
It was the districtwide budget cuts in the spring of 2011 that
led Philadelphia
parent Rebecca Poyourow to start reading the Notebook. “When I was scrambling to find out
information about the District and about public education politics in the state
when the budget cuts hit, the Notebook] was the obvious place to go,”
Poyourow, 46, said.
She recalled an article on the Notebook website
that year which clinched her decision to become a member of the nonprofit:
about the move to make Martin
Luther King
High School
Pa. court sets rules for
release of home addresses under Right-to-Know Law
Penn Live By The Associated
Press on February 17, 2015 at 5:03 PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A Pennsylvania court says government
agencies can't release anyone's home address under the Right-to-Know Law
without first making the person aware their address has been requested and
giving them a chance to fight it. A
divided Commonwealth Court
on Tuesday ruled in favor of the state's largest teachers' union and against
the Office of Open Records in a case that began more
than five years ago. The court majority
says the Right-to-Know Law gives people the ability to claim that disclosure of
information about them might put their personal security at risk, but doesn't
spell out a meaningful way for that to happen.
A dissenting judge says the decision succumbs to unfounded
fears and cripples the open records law.
Testing Resistance &
Reform News: February 11 - 17, 2015
Fairtest Submitted by fairtest on February 17, 2015 -
1:05pm
The "spin" on today's first story may be a bit ahead
of the curve. But the testing resistance and reform movement is making
significant progress, as this week's clips from half of the nation's 50 states
clearly demonstrate. To win even more tangible victories, we have to ratchet up
the pressure on policymakers at the federal, state and local levels to
significantly reduce testing overuse and end high-stakes standardized exams.
White House Denounces GOP
Schools Bill
Huffington Post Posted: 02/13/2015 1:10 pm
EST Updated: 02/13/2015 4:59 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday pushed back against
House Republicans who want to limit the federal government's role in education. In a new report, the White House said a GOP
House education bill would be a "huge step backward" and
"virtually eliminate accountability" in making sure federal education
money helps impoverished communities.
"After an economic crisis that hit school budgets and
educators hard, we cannot just cut our way to better schools and more
opportunity," the report states.
Last week, Republicans on the House Education Committee pushed
through a bill that would leave it to states to decide how to improve failing
schools and would replace several federal programs with a single, flexible
local grant program. The legislation was considered an update to the bipartisan
No Child Left Behind law signed in 2002 by President George W. Bush.
The White House counters that the legislation would enable
states to divert federal education dollars to unrelated projects like prisons
and sports stadiums.
"The district is required to pay TFA a
$5,000 annual fee per recruit, most of which comes from a $90 million grant
awarded to the district in 2009 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
That money – designated for programs that improve teacher effectiveness in Memphis
Diane Ravitch's Blog by dianeravitch February 17, 2015
Teach for America
is reducing its corps members in Memphis ,
according to Chalkbeat.
"The organization is projecting placements of 110 new
recruits in Memphis-area schools during the 2015-16 school year, down from 185
last year....
"TFA’s presence has not been without controversy. While
school administrators in Memphis
have struggled to find and keep qualified math and science teachers to work in
some of its lowest-performing middle and high schools, local hiring of young, mostly
white TFA members coincided with layoffs of many older black teachers amid
significant budget cuts. "Local
teachers’ union officials have maintained that TFA recruits aren’t qualified
and equipped to teach students in low-income environments.
Pro Choice
With Republicans
resurgent, school vouchers are back
The Economist Feb 14th 2015 | MILWAUKEE
ON THE desk of Zeus Rodriguez, the president of St Anthony
School in Milwaukee ,
a mini Republican primary is underway. A signed photograph of Scott Walker, the
governor of Wisconsin ,
competes for space with snaps of Rand Paul and Jeb Bush—all three of them
presidential hopefuls. St Anthony’s is popular among conservatives because it
has more pupils taking advantage of government-funded vouchers than any other
private school in America .
The local neighbourhood was once populated by German and Polish
Catholics but is now home to the Hispanic sort. Almost all pupils speak Spanish
at home; most are also poor. Yet 95% of the first two classes of high-school
students from St Anthony’s have graduated and more than 90% have gone on to
college. All this, for a cost to taxpayers of just $7,500 per pupil; Milwaukee ’s public
schools, by contrast, spend a whopping $13,000.
By Erin Richards of
the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel February 13, 2015
School choice advocates have requested the names, addresses,
phone numbers and grade levels of every student enrolled in 30 different public
school districts, gearing up for a marketing campaign should lawmakers lift the
enrollment cap on Wisconsin's statewide voucher program.
But what School Choice Wisconsin sees as a legal way to augment
its mailing list, public school supporters see as a legal affront on personal
privacy. The issue is prompting some
district leaders to revisit options for limiting the release of student data,
including reminding parents of their ability to opt out. "While the district must comply with the
request required by law, I find it difficult to believe that this was the
intended purpose of the (open records) law," Green Bay Area School
District Superintendent Michelle Langenfeld wrote in a letter to parents this
week, informing them of the data request.
Public screening:
Standardized - Lies, Money, and Civil Rights: How Testing is Ruining Public
Education
Church of the Redeemer,
Wednesday, February 25, 7-9pm 230 Pennswood Road, Bryn Mawr, Parish House,
Assembly Room
The Redeemer Moms will follow up with a Q & A session with
parents who have been researching this topic for over a year. All are welcome
and invited to bring a friend. RSVP by Feb. 23 to Cheryl Masterman.
Stop the Push Out
In Pittsburgh ,
students of color are 2.5 times more likely to be suspended than white
students. Four out of every ten black students are suspended at least one time.
And suspension is just one of the policies, practices, and procedures that
“push out” students, making them less likely to graduate – a serious, and life
altering outcome that feeds the “school to prison pipeline” and
disproportionately impacts students of color and those with disabilities. [Beyond Zero Tolerance, ACLU report, 2013] After meeting with parents all over the city,
the Great Public Schools (GPS) Pittsburgh
coalition has made school push-out one of its primary areas of focus. GPS is
partnering with the Education
Law Center
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 5:30 PM Dinner, 6PM Meeting
Sci-Tech Academy (107 Thackeray
Ave. , Oakland
Sci-Tech Academy (
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in Lancaster County Tuesday, March 17,
at 7:00 pm at Millersville University
Education Voters of PA and the Millersville University
Education on Location program will be co-hosting a forum about public school
funding in Lancaster County on Tuesday, March 17, at 7:00 pm at Millersville University ,
the Lehrer Room in the Bolger
Conference Center
This event is free and open to the public. It will give Lancaster
County residents the opportunity both to learn more about how state funding
issues impact their own school districts and to learn about how they can make a
positive difference for their schools and communities by advocating for a state
system of funding schools that is fair, adequate, and predictable and will
provide all students with an opportunity to learn.
Panelists for the forum include:
Dr. Brenda Becker, Hempfield Area SD, Superintendent
Dr. Bob Hollister, Elanco SD, Superintendent
Dr. Mike Leichliter, Penn Manor SD, Superintendent
Dr. Tim Shrom, Solanco SD, Business Manager
Ms. Idette Groff, Conestoga Valley SD, School Board Member
Mr. Tim Stayer, Ephrata Area SD, School Board Member
Ms. Susan Gobreski, Education Voters of PA
Dr. Brenda Becker, Hempfield Area SD, Superintendent
Dr. Bob Hollister, Elanco SD, Superintendent
Dr. Mike Leichliter, Penn Manor SD, Superintendent
Dr. Tim Shrom, Solanco SD, Business Manager
Ms. Idette Groff, Conestoga Valley SD, School Board Member
Mr. Tim Stayer, Ephrata Area SD, School Board Member
Ms. Susan Gobreski, Education Voters of PA
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in York :
Wednesday, March 25th, 6:30pm to 8pm at the York Learning
Center 300 E. 7th Avenue , York
This forum will give York County residents the opportunity both to learn more about how state funding issues impact their own school districts and to learn about how they can make a positive difference for their schools and communities by advocating for a state system of funding schools that is fair, adequate, and predictable and will provide all students with an opportunity to learn.
This forum will give York County residents the opportunity both to learn more about how state funding issues impact their own school districts and to learn about how they can make a positive difference for their schools and communities by advocating for a state system of funding schools that is fair, adequate, and predictable and will provide all students with an opportunity to learn.
Panelists for the forum include:
Dr. Emilie Lonardi, West York SD, Superintendent
Dr. Scott Deisley, Red Lion Area SD, Superintendents
Mr. Brian Geller, Northeastern York SD, Director of Operations
Mr. Troy Wentz, Hanover Public SD, Business Manager
Mrs. Ellen Freireich, York Suburban SD, School Board Member
Mr. Eric Wolfgang, Central York SD, School Board Member
Dr. Scott Deisley, Red Lion Area SD, Superintendents
Mr. Brian Geller, Northeastern York SD, Director of Operations
Mr. Troy Wentz, Hanover Public SD, Business Manager
Mrs. Ellen Freireich, York Suburban SD, School Board Member
Mr. Eric Wolfgang, Central York SD, School Board Member
Guest Panelist: Mr. Jim Buckheit, Executive Director, PA
Association of School Administrators
Moderated by: Ms. Susan Spicka, Education Voters of PA
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in Cumberland
County : Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 pm at
the Grace Milliman Pollock
Performing Arts
Center 340 North 21st Street
This forum will give Cumberland County residents the opportunity both to learn more about how state funding issues impact their own school districts and to learn about how they can make a positive difference for their schools and communities by advocating for a state system of funding schools that is fair, adequate, and predictable and will provide all students with an opportunity to learn.
This forum will give Cumberland County residents the opportunity both to learn more about how state funding issues impact their own school districts and to learn about how they can make a positive difference for their schools and communities by advocating for a state system of funding schools that is fair, adequate, and predictable and will provide all students with an opportunity to learn.
Panelists for the forum include:
Mr. Richard Fry, Big Spring SD, Superintendent
Mr. John Friend, Carlisle Area SD, Superintendent
Dr. Mark Leidy, Mechanicsburg Area SD, Superintendent
Ms. Christine Hakes, Camp Hill Area SD, Business Manager
Mr. Matt Franchak, school board member, East Pennsboro SD, School Board Member
Guest Panelist: Mr. Dave Patti, President and CEO, Pennsylvania Business Council
Moderated by: Ms. Susan Spicka, Education Voters of PA
Mr. Richard Fry, Big Spring SD, Superintendent
Mr. John Friend, Carlisle Area SD, Superintendent
Dr. Mark Leidy, Mechanicsburg Area SD, Superintendent
Ms. Christine Hakes, Camp Hill Area SD, Business Manager
Mr. Matt Franchak, school board member, East Pennsboro SD, School Board Member
Guest Panelist: Mr. Dave Patti, President and CEO, Pennsylvania Business Council
Moderated by: Ms. Susan Spicka, Education Voters of PA
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
PSBA 2015 Advocacy Forum
APR 19, 2015 • 8:00
AM - APR 20, 2015 • 5:00 PM
Join PSBA for the second annual Advocacy Forum on April 19-20,
2015. Hear from legislative experts on hot topics and issues regarding public
education on Sunday, April 19, at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg. The next
day you and fellow advocates will meet with legislators at the state capitol.
This is your chance to learn how to successfully advocate on behalf of public
education and make your voice heard on the Hill.
·
Schedule of Events
·
Day One –PSBA headquarters
·
10 a.m. — Early Bird Arrival and Registration
·
10:30-12 p.m. — The State Education Agenda
The chairman of the Senate and House Education Committees will share their perspectives on the education agenda for the 2015-16 session of the General Assembly. Speakers: Senator Smucker, chairman, Senate Education Committee; and Representative Saylor, chairman, House Education Committee
The chairman of the Senate and House Education Committees will share their perspectives on the education agenda for the 2015-16 session of the General Assembly. Speakers: Senator Smucker, chairman, Senate Education Committee; and Representative Saylor, chairman, House Education Committee
·
Noon-1:15 p.m. — Welcome Lunch
·
1:00-12:15 p.m. — Special Welcome and
Introduction: Nathan Mains, PSBA Executive
Director and William LaCoff, PSBA President
·
12:30-1 p.m. — Speaker: Diane Ravitch, nationally known education
historian, policy analyst and author of Reign of Error.
·
1:15-2:00 p.m. — Education Priorities will be
discussed with the Education Secretary Pedro
Rivera
This session provides the latest information on the governor’s proposed state funding plans, the pension crisis and the latest on special education.
This session provides the latest information on the governor’s proposed state funding plans, the pension crisis and the latest on special education.
·
2:00-2:30 p.m. — Federal Education Update:
NSBA
Director of National Advocacy Services Kathleen Branch will join Director of Federal Programs Lucy Gettman from NSBA, to speak about federal advocacy.
Director of National Advocacy Services Kathleen Branch will join Director of Federal Programs Lucy Gettman from NSBA, to speak about federal advocacy.
·
2:30-3 p.m. — Social Media Training (Speakers
to be announced)
·
3-3:15 p.m. — Break
·
3:15-3:45 p.m. — Grassroots Advocacy: How to
be an Effective Advocate
Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Shauna D’Alessandro, school director from West Jefferson Hills SD and PSBA Allegheny Region 14 director, and Mark B. Miller, board vice president of Centennial SD and PSBA BuxMont Region 11 director.
Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Shauna D’Alessandro, school director from West Jefferson Hills SD and PSBA Allegheny Region 14 director, and Mark B. Miller, board vice president of Centennial SD and PSBA BuxMont Region 11 director.
·
3:45-4:15 p.m. — Legislative Update and Lobby
Day Coordination
PSBA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs John Callahan will walk you through legislative issues and priorities that might be addressed the next day during legislative visits by members.
PSBA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs John Callahan will walk you through legislative issues and priorities that might be addressed the next day during legislative visits by members.
·
4:15-5 p.m. — Roundtable Discussion
Network with your fellow board members before visiting your legislator
Network with your fellow board members before visiting your legislator
·
5:00-5:15 p.m. — Break
·
5:15-6:30 p.m. — Dinner Buffet
Enjoy a legislative discussion on the 2015-16 budget and appropriations with Senator Browne
Enjoy a legislative discussion on the 2015-16 budget and appropriations with Senator Browne
·
6:30 p.m. — Adjourn
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Seeks Campaign Manager
Campaign for Fair Education Funding February 2, 2015
The Campaign for Fair Education Funding seeks a campaign
manager who is a strategic thinker and an operational leader. This position
could be filled by an individual or firm. The manager will lead the day-to-day
operations of the campaign and its government relations, communications,
mobilization and research committees and work in partnership with the campaign
governing board to set and implement the campaign’s strategic direction.
Sign-up for weekly email updates from the
Campaign
The Campaign for Fair
Education Funding website
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Thorough and Efficient: Pennsylvania
Education Funding Lawsuit website
Arguing that our state has failed to ensure that essential
resources are available for all of our public school students to meet state
academic standards.
Sign up for National School Boards Association’s Advocacy Network
Friends of
Public Education http://p2a.co/nsbac
Register
Now! EPLC 2015 Regional Workshops for School Board Candidates and Others
The Education Policy and Leadership Center, with the
Cooperation of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), will
conduct A Series of Regional Full-Day Workshops for 2015
Pennsylvania School Board Candidates. Incumbents,
non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to
participate in these workshops.
Pittsburgh Region Saturday, February 21, 2015 – 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120
Harrisburg Region Saturday, March 7, 2015– 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Philadelphia Region Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
NPE 2015 Annual Conference – Chicago
January 4, 2015 NPE 2015 Annual Conference, NPE National Conference
Early-bird discounted Registration for the Network for
Public Education’s Second Annual Conference is now available at this address:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/network-for-public-education-2015-annual-conference-tickets-15118560020
These low rates will last for the month of January.
The event is being held at the Drake Hotel in downtown
Chicago, and there is a link on the registration page for special hotel
registration rates. Here are some of the event details.
There will be a welcoming social event 7 pm Friday night,
at or near the Drake Hotel — details coming soon. Featured speakers will be:
§
Jitu Brown, National Director – Journey
for Justice, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Network for Public
Education Board of Directors
§
Tanaisa Brown, High School Senior, with
the Newark Student Union
§
Yong Zhao, Author, “Who’s Afraid of
the Big Bad Dragon?“
§
Diane Ravitch in conversation with
§
Lily Eskelsen Garcia, NEA President and
§
Randi Weingarten, AFT President
§
Karen Lewis, President, Chicago Teachers
Union
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