Showing posts with label SIG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SIG. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

PA Ed Policy Roundup for December 31, 2013: Happy New Year. Every member of the PA House of Representatives will face re-election in 2014. Do you know where your Rep. stands on public education?

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3060 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?



Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania
WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio runtime 52:01


Keystone State Education Coalition
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for December 31, 2013:
Happy New Year.  Every member of the PA House of Representatives will face re-election in 2014.  Do you know where your Rep. stands on public education?


“Although there is massive international demand for places at U.S. schools, overseas students still only account for 6% of the student body, and the proportion of children at private high schools has fallen below 10%. This means that the resounding majority of college students are educated in U.S. public high schools. Somehow or another, our “underperforming” public schools fill the pipeline for our exceptional colleges.”
Where the World Comes to School
Language Magazine December 2013
After the results of the latest international comparisons of educational achievement (PISA) are released early this month, recriminations will no doubt be ringing throughout schools until they close for the holidays. Different factions will skew the results to prove, whatever their point may be, and teachers will bear the brunt of any criticism. However, these tests are a snapshot measure of educational achievement in a limited area at the age of 15 and take little account of the overall socio-economic situation in which the students live.
Whatever the results of these tests, American education is more in demand than ever, believe it or not. More and more international students are prepared to pay exorbitant fees to attend our universities and colleges (see p.55) with little hope of being able to work in their new-found home. Universities don’t excel without excellent students. Although there is massive international demand for places at U.S. schools, overseas students still only account for 6% of the student body, and the proportion of children at private high schools has fallen below 10%. This means that the resounding majority of college students are educated in U.S. public high schools. Somehow or another, our “underperforming” public schools fill the pipeline for our exceptional colleges.

14% of city’s early childhood ed programs are “high quality”
While Philadelphia lacks high-quality early education programs all across the board, some neighborhoods need more of these high quality programs than others do, according to a report.
Technically Philly By Juliana Reyes / STAFF December 30, 2013
While Philadelphia lacks high-quality early education programs all across the board, some neighborhoods need more of these high quality programs than others do, according to a report.
Only 14 percent of Philadelphia’s more than 2,000 early childhood education programs are high quality, according to an analysis by Azavea and the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. “High quality” refers to ratings given by state and regional associations like DVAEYC and the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

Corbett considered one of 2013's biggest political losers: column
By Robert J. Vickers | rvickers@pennlive.com  on December 30, 2013 at 4:26 PM
The same day Tom Corbett appeared to abandon his hard-fought attempt to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery – possibly for political reasons – the poll-weary governor was ranked as one of 2013’s biggest political losers by a weekly magazine read by Washington insiders
The National Journal ranked Corbett, who’s public approval rating has languished for months and has even seen his popularity among commonwealth Republicans suffer significantly, along with President Barack Obama, disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as one of the seven biggest losers of the year.

The Biggest Political Winners and Losers of 2013
Chris Christie, Bill de Blasio, and an Arkansas House member head the list of political winners in 2013.
National Journal By Josh Kraushaar December 30, 2013
For a year after a presidential election, 2013 proved to be filled with significant political developments—from President Obama's second-term struggles over his health care law, messy Republican divisions between the establishment and the grassroots, and, on a lighter note, the antics of a colorful New York City mayoral race and a South Carolina congressional election pitting Mark Sanford against Stephen Colbert's sister.  Some politicians, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, saw their stock rise. Others, like red-state Democratic senators, began 2014 increasingly concerned about their political futures. Here's our National Journal list of the biggest political winners and losers of the year.

Politically Uncorrected: Raising Kane in Pennsylvania
PoliticsPA Written by Dr. G. Terry Madonna and Dr. Michael Young December 30, 2013
As one year ends and another begins, one thing is crystal clear: some particular Cain was raised in Keystone state politics this past year; and the particular Kane to which we refer was one Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s new Attorney General. By any measure Attorney General Kane has become in less than a year Pennsylvania’s reigning political star. Interest in her is intense while speculation about her future political plans runs the gamut from a possible late entrance into the 2014 governor’s race to a future challenge to incumbent U.S. Senator Pat Toomey.

Green, possible SRC chief, gives views on schools
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Monday, December 30, 2013, 8:21 PM
Is Bill Green interested in becoming chair of the School Reform Commission?
Sources say he is a finalist for the job; Green is mum on the subject.  But the current city councilman is clear in his view that the Philadelphia School District is failing far too many children, and change must come quickly.  "Eliminating all the bad seats in the School District is a concept I think is important to pursue," Green said Monday. "There are tens of thousands of kids in underperforming schools."

Gym, class hero
Philly Daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2013, 3:50 PM
That’s what happens when you develop a rep as perhaps Philadelphia’s preeminent public agitator. Relentless, whip-smart, meticulously prepared and utterly fearless, [Helen] Gym—a private citizen who works without the heft of any meaningful institutional support—has managed to build herself one of the city’s largest bully pulpits.
And bully she does. Her foes are “hilarious and dishonest.” Education reformers are “corporate raiders” and “party shills.” Columnists she disagrees with are operating a “Corbett PR flack machine.” And that’s just a sample of a 10-day run on Gym’s Twitter feed. She’s equally relentless when face-to-face with her targets.
I'm looking forward to reading the entire piece by Patrick Kerkstra, which -- based on the headline -- delves into the possibility that Gym might run for mayor in 2015, which will be upon us sooner than we realize. Look, it's ridiculous that Philadelphia has never had a woman as mayor, but electing a fierce, never-held-public-office advocate for public education would say so much more than just that. It also fair to say that she'd be a super long-shot -- Philadelphia has always elected machine-tied members of the Boys Club because they've rigged things so it's hard not to.

Some chafe at charter school’s low pay for tutors
Service model getting wide use
Boston globe By James Vaznis  GLOBE STAFF   DECEMBER 30, 2013
Match Charter School in Boston makes it clear: A year as one of its tutors is a lot of work.
“Think med school. Think military. Think your toughest semester in college,” according to a Q&A on the school’s website. “Corps members are virtually always ‘on-call’ to help students succeed academically.”
But a dispute over the minimal pay for long hours of public service offers a rare glimpse into labor unrest at a charter school, where workers usually make less than their peers in traditional public schools and rarely belong to a union. Questions about tutors’ pay come as programs like Match proliferate in such places as Denver, Houston, and Chicago, and as Boston public schools expand their own intensive tutoring efforts.  For years Match billed the year of tutoring volunteerism — nearly 10-hour school days and additional duties at night — as an opportunity to give back and gain a true sense of what it is like to work in an urban school. For their efforts, the tutors, who are mainly recent college graduates, were paid a $7,500 annual stipend and received free housingBut in an abrupt switch last summer, after recruiting this year’s 153-member tutoring force, Match decided to make them paid employees, at $8 an hour, the state’s minimum wage.  Tutors ended up seeing little of that increase in their pay checks because Match also decided to start charging them $5,500 annually for housing and stopped reimbursing them for health insurance.

“Given the amount of money that was put in here, the return on investment looks negligible at this point. I don’t know how you can interpret it any other way.”
U.S. Ed Dept. pours $43 million into reform program with questionable results
The Answer Sheet BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 30 at 8:59 am
The U.S. Education Department is pouring $43 million more in federal funds into a program that is aimed at improving the lowest-performing schools but has had highly questionable results.
The department announced last weekthat seven states would receive more than $43.4 million through the School Improvement Grants program: Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin (see each state award below).

Women in the legal profession                            33.3%
Women medical doctors and surgeons              34.3%
Women in the teaching profession                      76%
Why Is the Teaching Profession the Target of Reform?
Russ on Reading Blog by Russ Walsh Monday, December 30, 2013
Could it be that the teaching profession is under attack, in part, because it is a largely female profession?
Over the past few weeks, several things have coalesced in my mind to make me ask why teachers are the target of education reform.
First at my office Christmas party for staff of the Education Department at Rider University, it was pointed out to me, as gifts were exchanged, that I was the only male at the party. Then Frank Rich wrote a column in the New York Times called “Waiting for Wonder Woman” about the absence of major action roles in Hollywood with the woman as the central hero. Finally, I watched the DVD of the movie “The Hunger Games” and on reflection I had to note that in this advanced game of “Survivor” the women (young girls) were given no quarter for being female. Would it take a dystopian universe to bring about true equality for women?
Women dominate the teaching profession. Women are still fighting for equality and even in the movies only seem to achieve it in a dystopian fantasy. Could it be that the teaching profession is under attack, in part, because it is a largely female profession?

Anthony Cody’s most widely read post of 2013….
Common Core Standards: Ten Colossal Errors
Education Week Living in Dialogue Blog By Anthony Cody on November 16, 2013 6:18 AM
A recent book described the "Reign of Errors" we have lived through in the name of education reform. I am afraid that the Common Core continues many of these errors, and makes some new ones as well.  The Business Roundtable announced last month that its #1 priority is the full adoption and implementation of the Common Core standards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is likewise making a full-court press to advance the Common Core. Major corporations have taken out full-page ads to insist that the Common Core must be adopted. Many leading figures in the Republican party, like Jeb Bush, have led the charge for Common Core, as have entrepreneurs like Joel Klein. And the project has become a centerpiece for President Obama's Department of Education.

Happy New Year – another loop around the sun
Pictures of the year 2013: space
Awesome pictures published by The Telegraph


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.

January 24th – 26th, 2014 at The Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia
EduCon is both a conversation and a conference.
It is an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.

DELAWARE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT - GOOGLE SYMPOSIUM 2014
FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014
The DCIU Google Symposium is an opportunity for teachers, administrators, technology directors, and other school stakeholders to come together and explore the power of Google Apps for Education.  The Symposium will be held at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit.  The Delaware County Intermediate Unit is one of Pennsylvania’s 29 regional educational agencies.  The day will consist of an opening keynote conducted by Rich Kiker followed by 4 concurrent sessions. 

NPE National Conference 2014

The Network for Public Education November 24, 2013
The Network for Public Education is pleased to announce our first National Conference. The event will take place on March 1 & 2, 2014 (the weekend prior to the world-famous South by Southwest Festival) at The University of Texas at Austin.  At the NPE National Conference 2014, there will be panel discussions, workshops, and a keynote address by Diane Ravitch. NPE Board members – including Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimson, and Julian Vasquez Heilig – will lead discussions along with some of the important voices of our movement.
In the coming weeks, we will release more details. In the meantime, make your travel plans and click this link and submit your email address to receive updates about the NPE National Conference 2014.

The National School Boards Association 74th Annual Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans
The National School Boards Association 74th Annual Conference & Exposition will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.  Our first time back in New Orleans since the spring of 2002!
General Session speakers include education advocates Thomas L. Friedman, Sir Ken Robinson, as well as education innovators Nikhil Goyal and Angela Maiers.
We have more than 200 sessions planned! Colleagues from across the country will present workshops on key topics with strategies and ideas to help your district. View our Conference Brochure for highlights on sessions and focus presentations.
·                             Register now! – Register for both the conference and housing using our online system.
·                            Conference Information– Visit the NSBA conference website for up-to-date information
·                             Hotel List and Map - Official NSBA Housing Block
·                             Exposition Campus – View new products and services and interactive trade show floor
Questions? Contact NSBA at 800-950-6722 (NSBA) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST

Join the National School Boards Action Center Friends of Public Education
Participate in a voluntary network to urge your U.S. Representatives and Senators to support federal legislation on Capitol Hill that is critical to providing high quality education to America’s schoolchildren

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Ten PA Schools to Share $6.9 Million in Federal SIG Funds/US DOE also announces grants to cover AP test fees for low-income students


“Only public schools, operated by school districts with elected school boards are open to all children and fully accountable to all taxpayers.”
Baruch Kintisch, Director of Policy Advocacy, Education Law Center, in testimony before the PA House Democratic Policy Committee, July 17, 2012

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1600 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

These daily emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Pennsylvania is slated to receive $487,964 under this grant program
US Dept. of Education announces $21.5 Million in Grants Awarded to 43 States to Cover Fees Charged to Low-Income Students for Taking AP Tests
ED.GOV AUGUST 1, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of more than $21.5 million in grants to 43 states to cover all or part of the fees charged to low-income students for taking Advanced Placement tests.  Based on the anticipated number of test-takers and other factors, the grants under the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program are expected to be sufficient to pay up to $38 per Advanced Placement exam for as many as three exams per student.
"Advanced Placement participation is an important element in creating a college-going culture in our high schools," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "AP courses help students develop the study skills, critical reasoning and habits of mind that prepare them for the transition to college. They give students—particularly first-generation college-goers—the confidence that they can successfully handle college-level work."

PA Department of Education Press Release August 01, 2012
Ten PA Schools to Share $6.9 Million in Federal Funds to Initiate Reform 
Harrisburg – Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis today announced the award of $6.9 million in federal School Improvement Grants to 10 of Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing schools.
Pennsylvania has a rich educational history and is home to some of the best and brightest school leaders, educators and students; but unfortunately there are too many schools that have a history of persistently failing to provide their students with a quality education,” Tomalis said.
“The intent of the School Improvement Grants is to allow low-performing schools to implement innovative educational initiatives that meet the needs of the students they serve and ensure their students receive a world-class education,” Tomalis said.
“I applaud the leadership of these schools for acknowledging the challenges they face and seeking an opportunity to reform their educational programs.”

Below is the list of grantees, the reform model that will be implemented and the award amount for the 2012-13 school year:

Albert Gallatin Area School District, Fayette County
Albert Gallatin High School
, Transformation, $1,008,323

Corry Area School District, Erie County
Corry Area High School
, Transformation, $787,864

Greater Johnstown School District, Cambria County
Greater Johnstown Middle School, Transformation, $989,459

Lebanon School District, Lebanon County
Lebanon High School
, Transformation, $816,133

Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia County
Grover Cleveland School
, Restart, $1,385,140

William Penn School District, Delaware County
Aldan Elementary School, Transformation, $438,700

York City School District, York County
Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School, Closure, $116,116
Hannah Penn Middle School, Closure, $118,237
McKinley Elementary School, Transformation, $563,000
William Penn High School, Transformation, $730,710

Posted: Thu, Aug. 2, 2012, 5:39 AM
Consultant: Philadelphia district needs to close 29 to 57 schools
By Kristen A. Graham Inquirer Staff Writer
Six months into its study of the troubled Philadelphia School District, a global management firm has made public its extensive, game-changing analysis and recommendations for how the system should proceed to overhaul operations and avoid insolvency.
Among the suggestions in the 118-page document, being released Thursday: The district should close between 29 and 57 schools in the next five years. It should be much more selective about charter school growth, which in the last decade has given Philadelphia families more educational options - but at a staggering cost to the district.
It should pursue massive changes in the next teachers' contract, not just reforming the salary and benefits structure but disconnecting seniority from layoffs and possibly extending the school day and year.
Thomas Knudsen, the district's chief recovery officer, stressed that the Boston Consulting Group Inc. was hired to survey the education system and recommend a way out of the district's current financial and academic troubles, with an emphasis on decentralization.

Data suggests Ohio Internet-based education isn't living up to the hype
Cinncinnati CityBeat BY GERMAN LOPEZ · AUGUST 1ST, 2012
…….The for-profit e-schools are a sham and a fraud against children,” Ravitch wrote in an email to CityBeat. “They don’t provide a good education and they rip off taxpayers. The only reason they exist is because of campaign contributions to politicians.”
Ravitch’s claim is supported by a 2011 report by Innovation Ohio on Ohio’s biggest e-schools, which concluded fundraising, not good academic results, is keeping e-schools alive.
The report used the examples of David Brennan and William Lager. Brennan operates the Alternative Education Academy in Toledo, and Lager runs Columbus’ Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), the largest e-school in Ohio. Between 2001 and 2010, Ohio Republicans received nearly $4 million in campaign contributions from Brennan and Lager, according to the report. In 2009 and 2010 alone, Brennan donated more than $412,000 to Republicans and $9,420 to Democrats.  During the same time period, Lager donated $129,488 to Republicans and $62,000 to Democrats.
The Innovation Ohio report took a close look at the seven for-profit statewide e-schools in Ohio, which host 90 percent of students that attend e-schools. The other 10 percent is made up of localized e-schools.

Teacher union boss bends to school reform winds
Chicago Tribune by James B. Kelleher Reuters
6:44 p.m. CDT, July 31, 2012
DETROIT (Reuters) - In the maelstrom of criticism surrounding America's unionized public teachers, the woman running the second-largest educator union says time has come to collaborate on public school reform rather than resist.  Randi Weingarten, re-elected this week for a third term as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with 98 percent of the vote, wants her 1.5 million members to be open to changes that might improve public schools.

2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-19, 2012
Registration is Now Open!
Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA
www.psba.org/workshops/school-leadership-conference/

As of July 23, content on EdMedia Commons is viewable to nonmembers.
National Education Writers Association Website
If you're a visitor, welcome! We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy clicking around the site. EMC membership is still restricted to members of the Education Writers Association. Interested in EWA? Learn how to join here.

PA EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program FAQ
PA Department of Community and Economic Development

Details on Act 85 of 2012, PA’s new EITC 2.0 Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit “Supervoucher” Program.

Pennsylvania’s "Failing Schools" List For the 2012-2013 school year.
Here the list of low achieving schools released by PDE last week

 

EPLC’s 2012 Arts and Education Symposium: Save the Date, Thursday, October 11

Education Policy and Leadership Center
Please mark your calendars and plan on joining EPLC, our partners, and guests on October 11 in Harrisburg for a full day of events.  Stay tuned to aei-pa.org for information about our 2nd Arts and Education Symposium.  Scholarships and Act 48 Credit will be available.  Outstanding speakers and panelists from Pennsylvania and beyond will once again come together to address key topics in the arts and arts education and related public policy advocacy initiatives.  This is a networking and learning opportunity not to be missed!

http://www.aei-pa.org/


PSBA 2013 Officer Candidates Slated
If you are not planning to attend the October Leadership Conference and would like to vote for any of these candidates please see the absentee ballot information below and note the August 15 deadline for absentee ballot requests
At its May 19 meeting at PSBA Conference Center, the PSBA Nominating Committee interviewed and selected a slate of candidates for officers of the association in 2013.
They are:
Marcela Diaz Myers, Lower Dauphin SD, Dauphin County
President (automatically assumes the office of president)
Jody Sperry, Conneaut SD, Crawford County
President-Elect
Richard Frerichs, Penn Manor SD, Lancaster County
President-Elect
Mark B. Miller, Centennial SD, Bucks County
First Vice President
Larry Breech, Millville Area SD, Columbia County
Second Vice President
Edward J. Cardow, Chichester SD, Delaware County
Second Vice President

Absentee ballot procedures for election of PSBA officers
Absentee ballot requests must be received no later than August 15
PSBA website 6/1/2012
All school directors and school board secretaries who are eligible to vote and who do not plan to attend the association's annual business meeting during the 2012 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in Hershey, Oct. 16-19, may request an absentee ballot for election purposes.
The absentee ballot must be requested from the PSBA executive director in accordance with the PSBA Bylaws provisions (see PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, J-Q.). Specify the name and home mailing address of each individual for whom a ballot is requested.
Requests must be in writing, e-mailed or mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA Headquarters no later than Aug. 15. Mail to Executive Director, P.O. Box 2042, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 or e-mail administrativerequests@psba.org.

NSBA Federal Relations Network seeking new members for 2013-14
School directors are invited to advocate for public education at the federal level through the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. The National School Boards Association is seeking school directors interested in serving on the Federal Relations Network (FRN), its grass roots advocacy program that brings local board members on the front line of pending issues before Congress. If you are a school director and willing to carry the public education message to Washington, D.C., FRN membership is a good place to start. 
Click here for more information.