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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for February
3, 2015:
Big for-profit schools, big
donations: the influence of charter schools on Pennsylvania politics
Upcoming Basic Education Funding Commission hearings
scheduled in Montgomery County and Dauphin County
PA
Basic Education Funding Commission website
Thursday, February 5, 2015, 10 am Montgomery County, Central Montco Tech
HS, 821 Plymouth Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Thursday, February 26, 2015, 11 am Dauphin County, location TBA
Thursday, February 26, 2015, 11 am Dauphin County, location TBA
“There's absolutely no guarantee that
"charterizing" York or any other school district will pay off for
students. There is plenty of evidence
that charters, on the whole, perform no better than public schools. And
charters create their own set of problems, as vulture capitalists swoop in,
looking to make easy money by grabbing a steady flow of state education
dollars.”
York's school crisis and the
push for charters: PennLive editorial
Editorial By PennLive Editorial
Board on February 02, 2015 at 2:07 PM, updated February 02, 2015
at 3:24 PM
York school leaders are desperately
fighting the state receiver's push to put all of the city's schools in
the hands of a profit-making charter school company. The intense battle has raised doubts
about the law that allows the state to take over a troubled school district.
The state's takeover law does override the tradition of leaving
school matters to local control, but in some extreme cases, outside
intervention is necessary. Here in Pennsylvania, it has been done in only
four of the state's 500 districts. And experience in Harrisburg has shown
that the state takeover law is a potentially valuable tool that's worth
keeping.
“According to a PennLive analysis of
donations on Follow The Money, a campaign donation database, charter school
advocates have donated more than $10 million to Pennsylvania politicians over
the past nine years.”
Big for-profit schools, big
donations: the influence of charter schools on Pennsylvania politics
Penn Live By Daniel
Simmons-Ritchie | simmons-ritchie@pennlive.com Email the
author | Follow
on Twitter on February 02, 2015 at 11:20 AM, updated February 02,
2015 at 3:13 PM
It's no secret that Harrisburg is a hive of lobbyists, each
representing industries and interests that spend millions to persuade state lawmakers
to bend laws in their favor. But perhaps
what makes the charter-school lobby unique among the pack, says State Rep.
Bernie O'Neill, a Republican from Bucks County, is its ability to deploy
children to its cause. In 2014, O'Neill
experienced that first hand after proposing changes to a funding formula that
would affect charter schools. Parents and children stormed his office and
barraged him with calls and emails. "They
were calling me the anti-Christ of everything," O'Neill said.
"Everybody was coming after me."
In recent years, as charter schools have proliferated -
particularly those run by for-profit management companies - so too has their
influence on legislators. In few other places has that been more true
than Pennsylvania, which is one of only 11 states that has no limits on
campaign contributions from PACs or individuals.
“Three principals of the Bala
Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group have contributed $250,000 to a
relatively new political committee that will support state Sen. Anthony
Williams' Philadelphia mayoral campaign.”
Williams' backers invest
$250K in independent effort
WHYY Newsworks DAVE DAVIES OFF MIC A BLOG BY DAVE DAVIES FEBRUARY 2, 2015
A critical question about Philadelphia's mayor race has been
answered. The three pro-school choice businessmen who put an eye-popping $5
million into state Sen. Anthony Williams 2010 campaign for governor are back
for more, investing in an independent effort to help put Williams into the
mayor's office. Three principals of the
Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group have contributed $250,000 to
a relatively new political committee that will support Williams' mayoral
campaign. The effort could give Williams an edge over candidates struggling to
raise money under the city's contribution limits.
York mayor, state lawmakers
meet with Gov. Tom Wolf about York City School District
By Candy Woodall |
cwoodall@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on January 30, 2015 at 4:20 PM, updated January 30, 2015 at 4:50 PM
on January 30, 2015 at 4:20 PM, updated January 30, 2015 at 4:50 PM
York officials left a meeting with Gov. Tom Wolf feeling
certain the new state executive and his team have made the fate of the city
school district a priority. Mayor
Kim Bracey and Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York, met with Wolf on Tuesday, and
members of the York County delegation met with him on Wednesday. Whether the York City School District should
remain in receivership, be converted to charter schools or follow a new plan to
financial and academic success was discussed.
"It was clear his team is well versed on the city school district
and they're ready to move forward and move swiftly to rebuild the
district," Schreiber said.
SRC, expand number of Phila.
charters now
POSTED: Tuesday, February 3, 2015, 1:08 AM
Philly.com Opinion By Mike Turzai Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) is speaker of the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives. mturzai@pahousegop.com
I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Mahsaan Wearing and Derrick Brockington, two Pennsylvania high school seniors who are anything but typical teens. During a visit to Mastery Charter School's Shoemaker Campus in West Philadelphia, a bipartisan delegation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives met the smart, polite, and enthusiastic pair, who are eagerly getting ready to enter college next year at Penn State and Millersville University.
I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Mahsaan Wearing and Derrick Brockington, two Pennsylvania high school seniors who are anything but typical teens. During a visit to Mastery Charter School's Shoemaker Campus in West Philadelphia, a bipartisan delegation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives met the smart, polite, and enthusiastic pair, who are eagerly getting ready to enter college next year at Penn State and Millersville University.
While that may not strike man y as atypical, it's
actually extraordinary considering the obstacles Mahsaan and Derrick have been
able to overcome. Like many of their
neighborhood friends, both students were initially placed in their traditional
neighborhood schools. Trouble was, those schools, like many in the School
District of Philadelphia, were failing to educate students.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20150203_SRC__expand_number_of_Phila__charters_now.html#cHChWrm8T6vHSr2Y.99
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20150203_SRC__expand_number_of_Phila__charters_now.html#cHChWrm8T6vHSr2Y.99
“The letter, which asks applicants to
respond by tomorrow, has created some confusion among charter operators,
according to Bob Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of
Public Charter Schools.”
SRC seeks to delay vote on Philly
charter applications
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903 POSTED: Tuesday,
February 3, 2015, 3:01 AM
THE SCHOOL Reform Commission wants to push back the deadline to
vote on dozens of charter applications. The
SRC sent letters on Friday to 30 groups who submitted 39 applications to the
Philadelphia School District in November, asking applicants to sign a waiver to
postpone the deadline from Feb. 21 until June 1 due to the high number of
applications.
"This is a voluntary request," district spokeswoman
Raven Hill said. "For those who don't agree to it, we would have to vote
[this month]. Otherwise, we would have until June 1."
Hill noted that some of the schools do not plan to open until
2016. The financially strapped district
accepted charter applications for the first time in several years as a
requirement of the Philadelphia cigarette tax.
Storify: #FairFundingPA
Monthly Chat
Pennsylvania's major education leadership organizations
come together on Twitter at 8 p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month to discuss
the need for fair, predictable basic education funding and other important
issues impacting public schools. This story captures our Jan. 2015
#FairFundingPA chat.
“The emotions and call to action that
surfaced at that meeting are what is needed not just in Pottstown, but in
Perkiomen Valley, Spring-Ford, Boyertown and Daniel Boone, and throughout
Pennsylvania, to protect our schools.”
Mercury Editorial: Change in
schools’ fair funding demands citizen action
Pottstown Mercury Editorial POSTED: 02/03/15, 2:00 AM EST
An editorial by The Daily News reprinted here Monday made a strong
case for a fair schools funding formula in Pennsylvania, a cause which we have
championed repeatedly over the past year.
Pennsylvania is one of only three states that does not have a
comprehensive school-finance formula to distribute state money to local school
districts, the editorial stated, quoting a study by Pew’s Philadelphia Research
Initiative. The study explains the
dilemma that is playing out in schools in Pottstown and similar districts in
urban areas or low-income towns.
That dilemma -- having fewer education dollars despite a higher
tax burden on homeowners -- was the topic of a joint meeting last week between
Pottstown school and borough officials, and the result was a challenge to wage
a grassroots effort for change.
Fair education funding advocate Lawrence Feinberg said change
would not come easily. Feinberg, a school board member in Haverford and one of
11 circuit riders for the Campaign for Fair Education Funding,
described the effort to put some sort of sense to Harrisburg’s method for
funding public schools as “pushing a rock up a hill.” “You need 26 senators and 103 House members
to agree to get legislation to the governor’s desk,” Feinberg said.
OP-ED: Make a difference
locally — run for school board
York Dispatch Op-Ed By
SHELLY MERKLE, Superintendent York Suburban School District POSTED:
02/02/2015 11:02:47 AM EST
Education is certainly making the headlines in Pennsylvania.
Nowhere is this more true than in York County.
Now is the time for every local citizen to ask, "What can I do to
make a difference in public education?" The answer is simple. Run for your
local school board.
As we welcome a new governor with deep roots in York County,
there is a very real sense of optimism that he will be the one to make a difference
in public education in Pennsylvania. Can Gov. Wolf correct the inequities of
the current funding formula? Will he intervene with the crisis in the School
District of the City of York? Should we expect any answers to the pension
crisis? Many folks will sit back and cheer on Gov. Wolf from the sidelines.
Many will offer advice and even advocate for their positions. Still others will
sit back and see what happens.
A very few citizens will go so far as to make a real difference
— at the local level — by running for school board. There is no better way to
impact your local community than through service as a member of your local
school board.
“She is the co-founder of Parents United
for Public Education, a Philadelphia organization of parents who advocate
for basic resources in public school classrooms and classroom investments, as
well as a board member of Asian Americans United. Gym is also the founder and
former editor of the independent publication Philadelphia Public School
Notebook.”
Penn grad and city activist
to run for City Council
The Daily Pennsylvanian By BRYN FERGUSON February 2,
2015
Public education and Asian-American activist and 1993
College and 1996 GED graduate Helen Gym will run in the Democratic City
Council at-large elections that will take place Nov. 3, according to the
Philadelphia City Paper. Gym’s decision
to run comes just five days after Councilman Jim Kenney announced his
resignation from city council on Jan. 20 in order to run for mayor. With
an empty seat, at least one new at-large Council member will have to be elected
this year. Local news outlets have
speculated that the pool of twelve candidates that were running for city
council would grow after Kenney’s resignation, given the open seat. Gym was
specifically named as a likely candidate.
Gym has had a long career in social activism and in 2014 was named one
of the 75 most influential people in Philadelphia by Philadelphia
Magazine.
Who’s involved in the Read!
by 4th campaign
The list of campaign supporters is long.
the notebook By Paul Jablow and Shannon Nolan on
Feb 2, 2015 02:21 PM
Memoranda of understanding have been signed by four dozen
organizations, detailing what they will do to support three of the main goals
of the READ! by 4th initiative – boosting school attendance, reaching out to
parents, and preventing summer learning loss. Among the organizations involved
are the American Reading Company, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the city’s
Department of Recreation, and the Maternity Care Coalition, as well as other
city departments, museums, civil rights groups, and civic and philanthropic organizations.
Two groups, Public Citizens for Children and Youth and the
Urban Affairs Coalition, led the campaign planning phase. Now there is a
coordinating organization, the Free Library of Philadelphia; a lead corporate
sponsor, Wells Fargo; and a lead media sponsor, iHeartMedia.
Scholastic study: Choosing
books builds love of reading
Trib Live By Kellie B. Gormly Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, 9:00 p.m.
Tarreau Simpson, 11, says he likes to read action and adventure stories, poems and haikus and sports stories. But don't try to dictate what he reads. “I like to have my own opinion,” says Tarreau of the North Side as he enjoys a reading group for youths at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Allegheny branch. Lavontae Sanders, 12, agrees. If pushed to read a book, “I wouldn't really read it,” the North Side resident says. Many children and adults agree with the results of a recent Scholastic Corp. study, which suggests that students in middle and high school who have time to read books they choose themselves are more likely to read frequently for pleasure. In the survey, 91 percent of kids ages 6 to 17 say they're more likely to read a book if they pick it out.
Tarreau Simpson, 11, says he likes to read action and adventure stories, poems and haikus and sports stories. But don't try to dictate what he reads. “I like to have my own opinion,” says Tarreau of the North Side as he enjoys a reading group for youths at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Allegheny branch. Lavontae Sanders, 12, agrees. If pushed to read a book, “I wouldn't really read it,” the North Side resident says. Many children and adults agree with the results of a recent Scholastic Corp. study, which suggests that students in middle and high school who have time to read books they choose themselves are more likely to read frequently for pleasure. In the survey, 91 percent of kids ages 6 to 17 say they're more likely to read a book if they pick it out.
Erie schools celebrate
district, public education
By Erica Erwin
814-870-1846 Erie Times-News February 2,
2015 12:01 AM
The Erie School District wants to shine a light on the positive
things that happen in its schools -- and thank the community that supports it. The second annual We Love Erie's Public
Schools Week, a campaign aimed at boosting pride and showcasing urban public
education, starts today with the awarding of more than $10,000 in mini-grants
to schools throughout the district for various art projects. "A lot of the education news that's
coming out is about funding, about charter schools, about the financial
challenges of the state and the financial challenges of urban school districts
like ours," said Matthew Cummings, the district's director of
communications. "This week gives us an opportunity to celebrate the things
that are really important and the things that set public education in the city
apart from many of our peers."
The Partnership for Erie's Public Schools, a nonprofit
foundation that supports and raises funds for the district, is sponsoring the
weeklong effort.
See the full list from PDE here:
Chester County schools rank
in top 5 in SAT scores
West Chester Daily
Local By Michael P. Rellahan, mrellahan@dailylocal.com, @ChescoCourtNews on
Twitter POSTED: 02/02/15, 1:53 PM EST
Two public high schools in Chester County were ranked in the
top five schools in the state with highest average SAT scores, according to
figures released recently by the state Department of Education. The figures show that Conestoga High School,
in Berwyn, and the Downingtown STEM Academy, in the borough, were ranked third
and fourth respectively of the schools surveyed in the rankings. The average SAT score combines the test’s
reading, writing and mathematics scores.
Overall, six of the county’s 21 public high schools had average SAT
scores that ranked in the top 50 high schools in the state.
“To those who doubt that we have a
crisis, I say: Enroll your child in one of the failing schools to which we
relegate the poor and the disenfranchised. You will quickly change your mind.”
A School Crisis? Yes
New York Times Letter by Eva Moscowitz JAN. 30, 2015
The writer, a former chairwoman of the New York City
Council’s Education Committee, is the founder and chief executive of Success
Academy Charter Schools.
To the Editor: Re “Cuomo
Cites School Crisis; Data Suggest Otherwise” (news article, Jan. 24):
Some critics claim that the education crisis that Gov. Andrew
M. Cuomo has rightly called out is just a myth: You report that they say “it
would be hard to justify describing the situation in New York as a crisis,
unless persistent mediocrity itself were a crisis.” This reminds me of the
difference between a recession and a depression: A recession is when your
neighbor is unemployed; a depression is when you are. Similarly, whether you believe that our
school system is in crisis may depend upon whether you are forced to send your
child to a failing school, which the crisis-deniers plainly do not do.
Closing
Education Gap Will Lift Economy, a Study Finds
New York Times By PATRICIA COHEN FEB. 2, 2015
Study after study has shown a yawning educational achievement
gap between the poorest and wealthiest children in America. But what does this
gap costs in terms of lost economic growth and tax revenue? That’s what researchers at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth set
out to discover in a new study that concluded the United
States could ultimately enrich everybody by improving educational performance
for the typical student.
Obama Budget Seeks Boosts for
Early Ed., High Schools, Technology
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on February
2, 2015 6:00 AM
President Barack Obama may not have many allies left in the
newly GOP-dominated Congress—but he's still planning to ask lawmakers for a
sizable increase for the U.S. Department of Education in his fiscal
year 2016 budget request. The
request, being formally unveiled Monday, includes big hikes for teacher
quality, preschool development grants, civil rights enforcement, education
technology, plus a new competitive-grant program aimed at helping
districts make better use of their federal and local K-12 dollars. The administration also is seeking big
spending bumps for programs that have proven unpopular with Republicans in
Congress, such as the School Improvement Grant program. Overall, the president wants a total of $70.7
billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Education, an
increase of $3.6 billion, or a 5.4 percent hike over 2015 levels.
White House budget: Obama
seeks budget bump for education
Washington Post By Lyndsey Layton February
2 at 11:31 AM
President Obama’s education budget seeks new funds to provide
for students at both ends of the spectrum — early childhood and community
college — as well as an increase in the money spent to educate low-income K-12
children and funds to launch a new version of his “Race to the Top” competitive
grants, this time aimed at reinventing high school. The president is seeking $70.7 billion in
discretionary funds for education, a 5 percent increase over the 2015 budget of
$67.1 billion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/02/02/obama-seeks-budget-bump-for-education/
NSBA Supports Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA)
The
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the main federal law supporting
public schools, is intended to hold states, school districts, and schools more
accountable for improving the academic performance of each student regardless
of economic status, race, ethnicity, proficiency in English, or disability.
First enacted in 1965, ESEA was scheduled for reauthorization in 2007. Instead,
various provisions have been extended through congressional appropriations
legislation. Full reauthorization is needed to correct its flaws and improve the
school accountability framework. Please read our issue brief for more
about ESEA and NSBA’s support for its reauthorization. - See more at: http://nsba.org/advocacy/federal-legislative-priorities/elementary-and-secondary-education-act-reauthorization-esea#sthash.pFjIdmh1.dpuf
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Seeks Campaign Manager
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.
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Sign-up for weekly email updates from the
Campaign
The Campaign for Fair
Education Funding 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
PILCOP: Children with
Emotional Problems: Avoiding the Juvenile Justice System, and What Does Real
Help Look Like?
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia Tuesday, February
17, 2015 1:00 -- 4:00 P.M.
This session will help you navigate special education in order
to assist children at home not receiving services, those in the foster care
system or those in the juvenile court system. CLE and Act 48 credit is
available. This session is co-sponsored
by the University of Pennsylvania School of Policy and Practice, a Pre-approved
Provider of Continuing Education for Pennsylvania licensed social workers. Click here to purchase tickets
NPE 2015 Annual Conference –
Chicago April 24 - 26 – Early Bird Special Registration Open!
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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