Back to School

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

New York Times OP-ED COLUMNIST

In Honor of Teachers

By CHARLES M. BLOW, Published: September 2, 2011

Since it's back-to-school season across the country, I wanted to celebrate a group that is often maligned: teachers. Like so many others, it was a teacher who changed the direction of my life, and to whom I'm forever indebted.

A Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll released this week found that 76 percent of Americans believed that high-achieving high school students should later be recruited to become teachers, and 67 percent of respondents said that they would like to have a child of their own take up teaching in the public schools as a career.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/opinion/blow-an-ode-to-teachers.html?_r=2&ref=charlesmblow

 

National standards won't help, won't work

Washington Post By Jay Mathews, Published: September 4

Despite my many bets to the contrary, the movement for national learning standards still lives. More than 40 states (including Maryland, but not Virginia) plus the District have enlisted. They are executing plans for instruction in all grades and, eventually, common assessments in math and English language arts.

It sounds great. But it won't help and won't work. Such specific standards stifle creativity and conflict with a two-century American preference for local decision-making about schools.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/national-standards-wont-help-wont-work/2011/09/01/gIQAzfpD2J_story.html

 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Philadelphia Inquirer PhillyDeal$ Blog Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano

Real estate rebound floats PSERS pension fund

The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Pension Fund (PSERS) earned 20% returns on its real estate portfolio in the year ended June 30, for the first annual profit on its $10 billion in property investments since 2007, Alan Van Noord, chief investment officer of the $50 billion fund, said today

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/PA-Teachers-10B-real-estate-posts-first-profit-since-07.html#ixzz1Wslie58A 
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

 

Troubled Schools Try Mimicking the Charters

New York Times By SAM DILLON, Published: September 6, 2011

In the first experiment of its kind in the country, the Houston public schools are testing whether techniques proven successful in high-performing urban charters can also help raise achievement in regular public schools.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/education/06houston.html?_r=1&ref=education

 

 

Charles Zogby was nominated by Governor Tom Corbett to be Secretary of the Budget on January 18, 2011.  The Secretary of the Budget is responsible for the preparation of the Governor's budget and for its implementation after legislative enactment. He is also responsible for maintaining the commonwealth's accounting, payroll, debt issuance and financial reporting systems and programs.  Prior to his nomination, Zogby served as the Senior Vice President of Education and Policy for K12 Inc, an online school curriculum developer and provider.  Before that, Zogby served the commonwealth as the Secretary of Education under Governors Ridge and Schweiker from 2001 to 2003, and as the Director of Governor Ridge's Policy Office from 1995 to 2001.

 

An Interview with Charles Zogby: About Privatization

Education News March 2008

http://www.educationnews.org/articles/an-interview-with-charles-zogby-about-privatization.html

 

In Pennsylvania, most teachers rejected Gov. Corbett's urging of pay freezes in face of budget cuts

Published: Monday, September 05, 2011, 8:13

By CHARLES THOMPSON, The Patriot-News 

If you have a child in one of the midstate's public schools, there's a good chance your kid's teacher isn't getting a pay raise this year.  Statewide, that isn't the case.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/09/in_pennsylvania_most_teachers.html

PSBA's List: Pa. schools adopting a wage freeze

http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=1767

Vouchers? Put it into law

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

We are faxing copies of this powerful Beaver County Times editorial on voucher legislation to all members of the General Assembly today.  Use these links for contact info to call your  State Senator or State Rep. and ask them if they have seen it. 

Vouchers? Put it into law

Beaver County Times Editorial Posted: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:00 am 

Democrats in Harrisburg ought to make state Rep. Jim Christiana put his legislation where his mouth is.  At a hearing last week on a school-choice bill the Beaver Republican is pushing, Christiana said the legislation was about letting parents decide where their children could go to school.  That's a commonplace sentiment. But saying something and actually doing it is a different matter altogether.

"The amendment is basic: Any school that participates in the choice program must admit every child who applies — no ands, ifs, or buts. No screenings; no testing; no exceptions for physical or mental disabilities; no exceptions for athletic ability; no limits on class size; no excuses about not enough physical space to accommodate every child: The parents want the kid in, the kid gets in.
That’s not too much to ask of private, parochial or religious schools. After all, every public school in Pennsylvania operates under those conditions."

Read the full editorial here:

http://www.timesonline.com/opinion/editorials/put-it-into-law/article_cb995c3d-624c-580f-b277-a810f628f62c.html

PA Senate Education Committee 8/25/11 Public Hearing on Charter School Legislation SB 904

On Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:00 AM Hearing Room 1, North Office Bldg. the Senate Ed Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill No. 904/Charter School legislation

According to the Education Law Center, new charter school bills before the General Assembly (S.B. 904 and H.B. 1348) would repeal Pennsylvania's current charter school/cyber charter school law in its entirety and replace it with language that permits the unfettered expansion of charter schools throughout the state, reduces accountability, and effectively removes all local control of charters, while continuing to redirect millions of dollars of public funding away from traditional public schools – when charters have been shown, on the whole, not to improve student performance any more than traditional public schools and in many charters, students have fared worse.

See ELC's summary and analysis here: http://www.elc-pa.org/charterreformanalysis.html

Last week former Senator Rick Santorum was quoted as saying that early childhood education programs are the government's attempt to "indoctrinate your children". 

Just about everyone else seems to have a different opinion of such programs.

Investing in early learning will spur economic growth

Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, August 9 2011 Commentary by Joan L. Benso

WHILE PRESIDENT Obama and congressional leaders work to hammer out future spending plans, we cannot lose sight of what is needed to strengthen America's work force and get Pennsylvania's economy growing again. Though early learning advocates (including my organization, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children) have been saying for years that investing in early childhood education is a fiscally responsible way to reduce deficits and generate long-term gains for children and taxpayers, it bears repeating.

http://www.timesleader.com/opinion/commentary/Investing_in_early_learning_will_spur_economic_growth_COMMENTARY_Joan_L__Benso_08-08-2011.html

Education Week Published Online: August 9, 2011

In Common Core, Little to Cheer About

COMMENTARY By Andew C. Porter

The United States has long resisted a national curriculum, but that's changing. More than forty states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands have signed on to adopt a set of voluntary curriculum standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/08/10/37porter_ep.h30.html?tkn=TYPFs%2B5eaCVID%2FpCcM%2FaCAmn%2FVrm9T3wXVoL&cmp=clp-edweek

School Board Members – Interested in Advocating for Public Education at the Federal Level?

Consider serving in NSBA's Federal Relations Network Program; applications are due by September 2^nd. For more info and an online application see this link at PSBA:

http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/advocacy-services/frn.asp

Senator Piccola's office has issued this list of Accomplishments & Activity of the Senate Education Committee 2010-2011 Legislative Session

http://piccola.org/education/pdf/2011/edcomm2011.pdf

Voucher Contributions/ Budget Cuts/ Performance Pay/ Common Core

Voucher opponents, proponents donated heavily to candidates

By Brad Bumsted and Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Monday, April 25, 2011

HARRISBURG -- Two main combatants in the clamor over whether to use public dollars for private schooling donated a combined $8.3 million to legislative and gubernatorial candidates, state campaign finance records show.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association, which opposes school vouchers, spent $1.9 million last year. Students First, the leading proponent of them, spent $6.4 million, although $3.4 million went to an unsuccessful candidate for governor, state Sen. Anthony Williams, in the Democratic primary.

Read more: Voucher opponents, proponents donated heavily to candidates - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_733805.html#ixzz1KWxBSBFi

 

William Penn facing tough decisions with budget cuts

Published: Monday, April 25, 2011

By LAURA WISELEY , Delco Times Correspondent

LANSDOWNE — William Penn School District officials are weighing nearly $4 million in budget cuts — including the elimination of about two-dozen staff positions — as it faces an "unprecedented" $9 million budget gap for the 2011-12 school year.  Gov. Tom Corbett last month announced sweeping cuts to state education funding that eliminate the accountability block grants that fund full-day kindergarten programs in the district, as well as the Education Assistance Programs that fund district tutoring programs.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/04/25/news/doc4db4cec7d091e471452303.txt?viewmode=default

Schools' arts programs threatened by budget cuts

Published: Sunday, April 24, 2011, 12:00 AM

 By DAVID N. DUNKLE, The Patriot-News 
Add it up, and it's not a pretty picture for the arts as public school districts prepare to tackle one of the toughest budget seasons in memory, facing the prospect of cutting thousands or even millions of dollars from their 2011-12 budgets.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/schools_arts_programs_threaten.html#incart_mce

More schools assess fee to play sports

Levies on students due to tight budgets

Monday, April 25, 2011

By Anya Sostek and Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

High school sports are an integral part of many Western Pennsylvania communities. But increasingly, they're coming with a price tag.  In its preliminary budget passed earlier this month, the Seneca Valley school board approved a $75 fee for students per athletic activity, not to exceed $225 per family. Wednesday night, the West Mifflin school board voted to delay hiring coaches for fall sports while it investigated similar "pay-to-play" fees.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11115/1141730-455.stm#ixzz1KWuy5UtR

Programs seek teacher pay system that works

Monday, April 25, 2011

By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On the surface, the concept is simple: Pay teachers based on their performance.

As a practical matter, the idea is so complex that many such systems come under criticism for being unfair or unproven to improve the quality of education for children.

But there is no shortage of people trying to find a performance pay system that works.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11115/1141780-298.stm#ixzz1KWvZJGHY

A Trial Run for School Standards That Encourage Deeper Thought

New York Times, By FERNANDA SANTOS, Published: April 24, 2011

In three years, instruction in most of the country could look a lot like what is going on at Hillcrest, one of 100 schools in New York City experimenting with new curriculum standards known as the common core.

Forty-two states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have signed on to the new standards, an ambitious set of goals that go beyond reading lists and math formulas to try to raise the bar not only on what students in every grade are expected to learn, but also on how teachers are expected to teach.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/nyregion/100-new-york-schools-try-common-core-approach.html?ref=education

Take action here asking your State Senator to Oppose SB1

Take action here to oppose PA's billion dollar education cuts