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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup February 4, 2016:
Supremes: Jedi knights in the sky over Harrisburg?
With
Democrats in control, the high court might force changes to property tax
focused school funding.
York Daily Record Opinion by Charlie Bacas, Guest Writer12:47 p.m. EST February 3, 2016
Charlie Bacas
retired as co-owner of a software tool company, was formerly chief of staff to
the state House Majority Leader, has lived in York City for 50 years and is a
Democrat.
As Pennsylvania’s
toxic state budget impasse, now more than 200 days old, careens into this 2016
election year, it is clear that the people of Pennsylvania are in need of a
squadron of Jedi knights to come swooping in on their X-wing fighters to rescue
them. Hold that thought: only now
picture those Jedi knights in the robes of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices,
because I’m here to tell you that the X-wing fighters are already in the sky
over Harrisburg and that there’s every likelihood that the funding of public
schools in Pennsylvania – the crux of the on-going budget battle – could well
feel the impact of a stunning Supreme Court decision sometime later this year.
"The legislation passed
the General Assembly unanimously."
SB880: Pa. pushes back
graduation-test requirement
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis, HARRISBURG BUREAU. Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — 4:20 PM EST
HARRISBURG - Gov.
Wolf signed a bill Wednesday that would delay for two years the use of
high-school graduation exams, thus allowing time to study whether such tests
should be a requirement. The bill would
make the 2018-19 school year the earliest the state could administer the
so-called Keystone Exams, which have been marked by logistical and cost issues
and criticized as being overly burdensome on school districts. "While we should have high academic and
educational standards in the commonwealth," Wolf said, the state needs to
look at Keystone alternatives. "My
administration is currently engaging teachers, administrators and students,
community leaders, stakeholders and advocates from around the state to develop
a comprehensive school accountability system that will support schools and help
Pennsylvania students succeed," he said.
Governor approves delay
for Keystone exams in Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON FEBRUARY 3, 2016
The Keystone exams
are officially on the back burner.
Gov. Tom Wolf on
Wednesday signed into law a plan to delay the controversial high school
requirement for Pennsylvania students. The
tests in algebra, biology, and literature were created in 2009. They were intended to show colleges and
employers that a Pennsylvania high school diploma is backed up by high academic
standards. But critics say some schools didn't have the resources to prepare
students for exams, re-dos, and cumbersome alternative assessments.
Wolf called the
tests "flawed" and pointed to the Legislature's unanimous support for
postponing the graduation requirement.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/90719-governor-approves-delay-for-keystone-exams-in-pa
VIDEO: Wolf signs bill to
delay the implementation of the Keystone Exams
The PLS Reporter Author: Alanna Koll/Wednesday, February 3,
2016 Video runtime: 1:54
Governor Wolf signed
SB 880 into law which delays the state's end-of-course tests, known as Keystone
Exams, until the 2018-19 school year.
Keystone Exam graduation requirement delayed
Graduation requirements to be
determined by district leaders, not state officials
Keystone Exams, however, will
still be a part of district assessments
Centre Daily Times BY
BRITNEY MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com
February 3, 2016
A bill signed by the
governor Wednesday morning is taking weight off the shoulders of some local
school district administrators, teachers, students and parents. Superintendents said it’s allowing graduation
requirements to be determined by school leaders, instead of state officials,
and saving taxpayers money in the meantime.
Senate Bill 880 delays the graduation requirement associated with the
Keystone Exams for two years, until the 2018-19 school year. The Keystones are a set of tests for
secondary school students that measure algebra, biology and literacy, and are
intended to prepare students for college and the workforce.
Pennsylvania scores low on
national report card
Doylestown Intelligencer By Gary Weckselblatt, staff writer Posted: February 3, 2016 6:00 am
If Pennsylvania was
a student, it would be held over for summer school.
The commonwealth
received an overall grade of D in a report released Tuesday by the Network for Public Education titled
"Valuing Public Education: A 50 State
Report Card." With a
grade-point average of 1.5, Pennsylvania tied for 27th place with Delaware,
Michigan and Utah in the bottom half of the rankings. "We think the report is very
comprehensive," said Mark Miller, a member of NPE's board of directors and
the committee that put together the 31-page report. "The government is
always looking to evaluate school teachers and everyone else. From our
viewpoint, this report is what would be best for every student." Iowa, Nebraska and Vermont had the highest
GPA of 2.5, a solid C. Mississippi, with a 0.50, scored lowest, though seven
other states also received an F. The
NPE, which has campaigned against high-stakes testing, the privatization of
public education and charter schools, was started in 2013 by its president,
Diane Ravitch.
Pennsylvania
schools struggle to plan for 2016-17 without state budget
Trib Live BY ELIZABETH
BEHRMAN | Wednesday,
Feb. 3, 2016, 11:00 p.m.
Bart Rocco,
superintendent of the Elizabeth Forward School District, doesn't know how he's
going to make payroll in April. The
district received about $7 million in emergency funds from the state in early
January, but if legislators don't agree on a budget soon, Rocco predicts his
district will be out of money again in about two months. That prospect makes writing a budget for next
school year more daunting than usual, he said.
“It's extremely challenging,” Rocco said. “It makes it extremely
difficult to operate our business when the state legislature doesn't come to
the table and give us some help.” School
districts are required under state law to submit their finalized budgets for
the 2016-17 school year by June. But because the annual budgets are largely
based on what districts received the previous year, the budget impasse has left
district leaders with many unanswered questions as they attempt to make
projections for next year.
“It's a
double-whammy,” said Steve Robinson, spokesman for the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association. “They worked in the dark before. Now they're working in the
pitch dark.”
Lawmakers need to breach
party and mend public education woes
Delco Times Letter
by Douglas Carney POSTED: 02/03/16, 9:58 PM EST
Douglas Carney, AIA, MBA,
School Board Member and Treasurer, Springfield School District; Public Citizens
Concerned for Youth, Board Member; CarneyD@email.chop.edu.
To the Times:
Last Thursday
evening my school board passed our budget for next year as required by ACT 1 in
Pennsylvania. That is right; before the state has passed a budget for this year,
we are compelled to pass our local budget for next year now! And believe it or
not, my suburban district is one of the lucky ones. Thanks to this seven-month budget stalemate,
Pennsylvania state government begins 2016 without a full budget, leaving the
short and long term needs of every school – and every student — in serious
question. In the short term, the partial
spending plan recently signed by Gov. Tom Wolf will provide about 40-45 percent
of the desperately needed FY 2015-2016 funding for schools and human services,
but only enough to stave off closures and further cuts for a few months
especially in the poorest districts. The deadlock has forced many districts to
borrow emergency funds, sadly wasting money on interest payments.
Reed: Prospect of two
budgets won’t put off rest of House GOP agenda
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Wednesday,
February 3, 2016
At a Tuesday press
availability, House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) said a two-budget
scenario won’t preclude his chamber from working on other important issues
while fiscal issues remain unresolved. There’s
now less than a week before Gov. Tom Wolf gives his FY 2016-2017 budget address
to a joint session of the General Assembly on February 9th and
the prospects of the legislature working on completing two budgets at once are
getting stronger and stronger with each passing minute. “I think we now have to operate on a couple
of different parallel tracks,” he said. “Obviously, we want to finish 15-16, if
we want to get into 16-17, then we have a broader legislative agenda as well
and we have a couple of things upcoming that are non-budget related that we’re
going to be taking a look at.” Rep. Reed
noted one highest priority will be votes on the House floor to legalize medical
marijuana, an event that could occur as soon as the House returns to session in
March following its annual round of budget hearings.
Turzai: The compromise
budget Gov. Wolf called 'garbage'
Inquirer Opinion By
Mike Turzai Updated: FEBRUARY
4, 2016 — 3:01 AM EST
Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny)
is the speaker of the Pennsylvania
A more than $13 billion increase in state taxes over two years: That's what Gov. Wolf demanded ofPennsylvania families
and businesses almost a year ago. His budget proposal would have increased the
state income tax by 21 percent and the sales tax by 10 percent, while expanding
the latter to include day care, senior care, and financial and legal services. In contrast, the legislature presented its
fifth straight on-time budget to the governor on June 30, calling for $30.2
billion in spending, a 3.3 percent increase over the 2014-15 budget. It
included $370 million in additional spending on education yet did not raise
taxes. Keep in mind that the general rate of inflation was less than 1 percent
in 2015, so that level of spending growth was not easy to ask of many members
of the legislature. At the same time,
the legislature passed historic public pension reforms to reduce long-term
costs to the commonwealth as well as liquor privatization, which would have
increased annual state revenues without raising taxes on people or businesses.
A more than $13 billion increase in state taxes over two years: That's what Gov. Wolf demanded of
Gov. Wolf on Gov. Wolf
York Daily Record by Flint L.
McColgan, fmccolgan@ydr.com6:59
p.m. February 3, 2016
The Democratic Pennsylvania governor from
York County reflects on his first year in office.
Gov. Tom Wolf had
his share of frustrations in his first year as Pennsylvania's chief executive,
but he also said he's had his share of accomplishments. The Mount Wolf Democrat spoke with the York
Daily Record editorial board, along with other editors from USA Today network
newsrooms in central Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon. Here are the biggest takeaways.
"Sure,
gridlock is unpopular -- which is why Wolf's approval rating is 33 percent. But
most voters rightly blame the state's problems on the legislature, which has an
approval rating of just 15 percent. That makes the governor arguably the most
popular political figure in Harrisburg -- which is kind of like being the best
player on the Phillies right now. Things can only get better. For both."
Attytood: #ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion: Wolf doing a good job
Attytood: #ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion: Wolf doing a good job
Philly Daily News
Attytood Blog by by Will Bunch
Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — 3:37 PM EST
There's a thing that
pops up Twitter from time to time under the hashtag,#ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion....a
way for folks to express their undying love for Nickelback or the movie Ishtar.
Well, here's mine: I think Tom Wolf is doing a good job after one year as Pennsylvania 's governor. I know this is an unpopular opinion because
the pollsters tell me that the first-term Democrat has a low approval rating --
pretty close right now to where it was for his predecessor Tom Corbett, who in
2014 was unceremoniously voted out of office by the people. With the state
unable to pass a real working budget during 2015, and with school districts and
non-profits facing continued uncertainty over how much money they'll get from
Harrisburg and when it might come, that's hardly a surprise. According to one
recent poll making the rounds, the
governor's current approval rating is at 33 percent. In that case, We...Are...The 33 Percent. I've been thinking about Wolf and his performance
as governor not just because of the new polls but because he
came out this week and said he would call for a $200 million 2016-17 boost in
state education aid -- even as Harrisburg
continues to bicker over how much schools will ultimately get in the current
year. Some would -- and did -- say it's a little nuts to call for increasing a
budget you haven't fully passed in the first place. I prefer to call it chutzpah...and
I like it.
Gov. Tom Wolf calls for $200 million more for schools
next year; This year's funding still unresolved
Continuing a
pro-education message that got him elected, Gov. Tom Wolf wants to give schools
a $200 million funding increase next year.
But the amount of funding the increase would be added to remains
unclear, as the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature have
yet to agree on a final budget for the current school year. In January, after a protracted budget
stalemate, Wolf signed a partial state budget of $23.4 billion. The move brought
temporary financial relief to school districts and other agencies that depend
on state funds to operate. In Lancaster County Reading on Tuesday. He will give his full
budget proposal next Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Harrisburg .
Like Wolf's taxes? Send
the state a check for $1,420, Sen. Scott Wagner says: Wednesday Morning Coffee
Penn Live By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
February 03, 2016 at 8:24 AM, updated February 03, 2016 at 8:26 AM
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Because we know you to be erudite, well-informed types, you've no doubt seenlast week's Franklin & Marshall poll, finding that a majority of Pennsylvanians (52 percent) blame the Republican-controlled General Assembly for the state's seemingly endless budget saga.
Because we know you to be erudite, well-informed types, you've no doubt seenlast week's Franklin & Marshall poll, finding that a majority of Pennsylvanians (52 percent) blame the Republican-controlled General Assembly for the state's seemingly endless budget saga.
"Poppycock," says Sen. Scott Wagner. Or
at least that's what we'd imagine Wagner would
say if he were a merely a figment of Charles Dickens' imagination - rather than an actual Dickens character come to life. In an an email to supporters last week, the
outspoken York County Republican says the F&M poll got it backwards: It's Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, not the Legislature,
who is to blame for the impasse that now threatens to trample the roll out of
the administration's next budget on Feb. 9.
Bill seeks to give schools
options for making up lost days
Many students who rejoiced
in the wake of the recent blizzard that kept them out of school for
days might find themselves stuck in a hot classroom at the end of the
school year to make up for them. A House
bill sponsored by Reps. Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion; Seth
Grove, R-Dover; and Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York Township,
among others, seeks to offer school districts more options when it
comes to rescheduling cancellations forced on them by weather and other
emergencies. “The recent
snowstorm brought back memories of the 2014-15 school year, which stretched
into early summer because of the harsh winter that preceded it,” Saylor
stated in a press release. “House Bill 158 would give school superintendents
some flexibility as they try to avoid adding an inordinate number of days to the
end of the school calendar.”
Kenney launches meetings
with school principals
Mayor Kenney has placed
education front and center in his administration
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Staff Writer. Updated: FEBRUARY 4, 2016 — 1:08
AM EST
Todd Kimmel just
pocketed something he never imagined he'd possess: the mayor's cellphone number
and personal email address. Kimmel,
principal of Hackett Elementary in Kensington, was part of a group of city
principals who sat down with Mayor Kenney after school Wednesday at City Hall,
the first in a regular series of meetings Kenney plans to hold with school
leaders. During his mayoral
campaign, Kenney said that if elected, he would regularly seek out the wisdom
of rank-and-file educators who know their schools and communities best. He said
he hopes to meet every Philadelphia School District principal, either hosting
them at City Hall or meeting with them in the community. Kenney has placed education front and center
in his administration, vowing to move toward universal prekindergarten and to
institute 25 community schools, packing buildings with social, emotional, and
recreational resources.
After Wednesday's
meeting, Kenney praised the principals, calling them "good, hardworking,
committed public servants."
Study: Philly Support for Public Schools Is on the
Rise
Residents pay an
above-average portion of their income to keep schools in business.
Phillymag/Citified BY JOEL MATHIS | FEBRUARY
3, 2016 AT 3:49 PM
There is a
perception in some circles that the City of Philadelphia has been less
than generous when it comes to public schools. But maybe it’s time to
rethink that view.
A new report from Temple
University’s Center on Regional Politics suggests the city has dramatically
boosted its financial support for schools in recent years — and that the
city’s oft-impoverished residents are carrying a heavier-than-expected tax
burden as a result.
The study, "How Well Does Philadelphia Support Its Public
Schools? A New Perspective," avoids concluding that the city
"does more than it gets credit for doing." But it highlights
important data:
- Philadelphia's financial contribution to
public schools grew by nearly 28 percent between 2011 and 2014.
(Citified noted this
dramatic boost last year.) The average Pennsylvania school
district saw its local support rise just 7 percent during the same time
period; only two of the state's 499 districts saw a bigger proportional
increase.
- In a comparison with 20 other big U.S.
cities, Philadelphia ranked eighth in its share of local tax dollars
dedicated to education — roughly 29 percent. "Memphis, Fort Worth,
Nashville, and Chicago had rates very close to Philadelphia's," the
study's authors wrote. "Dallas, Pittsburgh and Boston topped the list
with rates around 34% or more."
- Similarly, the city sits in the middle
of the pack — 10th — in a comparison of per capita local spending on
schools. The city spent $666 per citizen on public schools.
- Thanks to the city's deep poverty, however, that
spending was a bigger burden on local citizens: The city spent $30.87 on
local schools for every $1,000 that its residents earned — ranking Philly
fifth in that measurement.
What's more, those
figures in the last three bullet points all come from 2011. They don't take
into account the city’s efforts since then.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2016/02/03/philadelphia-support-for-public-schools-is-rising/#2RRMQdGrYOJ8IVsq.99
Ed Voters' Gobreski named
to head mayor's push for community schools
the notebook by Dale Mezzacappa
February 3, 2016 — 9:51am
Susan Gobreski,
director of Education Voters PA, will join the Mayor's Office of Education as
community schools director. Mayor Kenney
will make the announcement today. Gobreski
is a longtime public education advocate who, at Education Voters PA, has
advocated for fair and adequate state education funding. Kenney has said that he wants to create 25
community schools in Philadelphia -- schools that serve
as neighborhood hubs, offering health, social, recreational, civic, and
cultural services to families and children. Community schools rely
heavily on establishing partnerships with organizations and service providers
to operate within school buildings. The
concept has shown some success in other cities, including Cincinnati, and has
been enthusiastically embraced by Kenney, City Council President Darrell
Clarke, and the teachers' union as a counter strategy to closing traditional
neighborhood schools and expanding charters.
But there is no single blueprint. Part of Gobreski's task will be to
define exactly what a community school in Philadelphia looks like and how
to make each one responsive to its particular neighborhood.
Kenney taps education
activist to lead development of community schools in Philly
WHYY Newsworks BY AARON MOSELLE FEBRUARY 3, 2016
Philadelphia Mayor
Jim Kenney has appointed a second education activist to help implement his
schools agenda. On Tuesday, Susan
Gobreski was named community schools director. It'll be her job to oversee the
expansion of the concept, which aims to make school buildings neighborhood hubs
for education, but also things such as medical care, social services and
cultural programs. Kenney wants to
create 25 community schools by the end of his first term. "Susan's
longstanding commitment to improving our city's schools coupled with her expertise
in community engagement made her an obvious choice for this role," said
Kenney in a statement. Before joining
Kenney's team, Gobreski was executive director of Education Voters of
Pennsylvania, a nonprofit created, in part, to push politicians to improve
public schools.
Kenney picks activist to
be his community schools director
Inquirer Staff Report Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — 8:41
AM EST
Mayor Kenney on
Tuesday appointed public education activist Susan Gobreski to the new position
of director of Community Schools in the Mayor's Office of Education. In a statement, the mayor's office said
Gobreski will oversee the expansion of community schools in Philadelphia. Besides educating
children, community schools are supposed to be hubs for a range of community
services, including health care and social welfare. In her most recent position, Gobreski was
executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania and Education Voters
Action Fund. The mayor's office said
Gobreski "has spent the last decade directing policy development,
community outreach campaigns, and other initiatives to support and strengthen
public education." She also has
served as president of Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania Advocates and was
Pennsylvania state director and national campaign director for the League of
Conservation Voters. Gobreski, who is
completing a master's degree in Urban Education Policy at Temple University, is
married and has three children. One is in college and the other two attend
Philadelphia public schools.
Philly Commission outlines
$60M-a-year pre-K plan
Report: Philadelphia’s
potential is held back without high-quality pre-K accessible to all.
the notebook by Fabiola Cineas
February 3, 2016 — 3:54pm
The mayor’s
commission on universal pre-kindergarten released a draft report that cites a
$60 million annual price tag and makes it clear that unprecedented public and
private cooperation will be necessary to reach a goal of providing a
high-quality experience to all eligible students. The 17-member commission,
comprised of educators, early childhood education experts, and city officials,
was tasked with drafting a plan for high-quality universal pre-kindergarten in
Philadelphia. The draft
report comes after months of digging into scientific research on child
development and the effects of high-quality early education. The commission,
approved by voters last spring, studied similar pre-K expansion efforts across
the country and spoke with parents, child care workers, and community members.
"With the backing of the
Turkish government, Amsterdam also has focused on a network of about 150
publicly funded U.S. charter schools started by Gulen's followers. State and
federal authorities have probed some of the schools amid allegations of
financial mismanagement and visa fraud, though no criminal charges have been
filed."
Poconos-based Muslim cleric's lawyers want US suit
backed by Turkey tossed
Morning Call by MICHAEL RUBINKAM February 3, 2016
Attorneys for a
reclusive Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania asked a federal judge
late Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims he orchestrated human rights
abuses in his native Turkey, denouncing it as “pure political theater” by the
Turkish government. Turkey is believed
to be funding the U.S. civil suit against Fethullah Gulen as part of a
crackdown on the cleric and his movement by President Recep Erdogan. The suit contends Gulen ordered sympathetic
police, prosecutors and judges in Turkey to target members of a rival spiritual
movement critical of his teachings. His
lawyers called it a baseless accusation.
“This lawsuit is pure political theater and a misuse of American
judicial resources. It is the brainchild of the Turkish government and part of
a broad campaign to silence Mr. Gulen, one of the strongest voices for peace
and moderation in the Muslim world,” the attorneys said in a filing Wednesday
night.
"The results are, in a word, sobering.
The CREDO study found that over the course of a school year, the
students in virtual charters learned the equivalent of 180 fewer days in math
and 72 fewer days in reading than their peers in traditional
charter schools, on average.
This is stark evidence that most online
charters have a negative impact on students' academic achievement. The results
are particularly significant because of the reach and scope of online charters:
They currently enroll some 200,000 children in 200 schools operating across 26
states. If virtual charters were grouped together and ranked as a single school
district, it would be the ninth-largest in the country and among the
worst-performing. Funders, educators,
policymakers, and parents cannot in good conscience ignore the fact that
students are falling a full year behind their peers in math and nearly half a
school year in reading, annually. For operators and authorizers of these
schools to do nothing would constitute nothing short of educational
malpractice."
Walton Family Foundation:
We Must Rethink Online Learning
Education Week Commentary By Marc Sternberg & Marc Holley Published Online: January 26, 2016
Marc Sternberg is the director of education
giving at the Walton Family Foundation. Marc Holley is the foundation's
evaluation-unit director. Education Week receives
grant support from the foundation for news coverage of issues related to school
choice.
By its very
definition, innovation will always lead to some failed starts. And when that
innovation involves educating children, it's especially important to learn from
mistakes and adjust quickly.
The Walton Family
Foundation has invested more than $385 million in creating new charter schools
over more than two decades to seed educational innovation and improve U.S.
education at scale. The foundation has allocated a small fraction of that
investment—about $550,000—to virtual charter schools, which teach full-time
students exclusively online. We remain
strong believers in creating educational options and opportunities. We have
provided startup dollars to about a quarter of the charter schools in the
United States, all with the goal of creating opportunity for high-needs
students, and we recently committed to investing another $1 billion over the
next five years to expand access to high-quality educational choices. In recent
years, we have hoped that online charter schools could provide a lifeline for
some students. But while we were enthusiastic about supporting online education
entrepreneurs, our first priority is always making sure that students are
served well.
Nation’s charter schools aren’t growing as fast as
once thought (but here’s where they’re growing fastest)
The National
Alliance of Public Charter Schools estimates in a new report that 2.9 million
children now attend U.S. charter schools, up 9 percent from the last school
year. Take that with a grain of
salt: The same organization estimated a year ago that
enrollment had already reached 2.9 million, a figure that turned out to be
off by a couple hundred thousand students. So in 2015, charter school
enrollment didn’t grow by 14 percent, as the National Alliance (and The
Washington Post) reported, but by closer to 7 percent.
Lincoln High teacher Anthony
Yom worked in virtual obscurity until the news last week that one of his
students was among only 12 in the world to slay the Advanced Placement Calculus
exam with a perfect score.
Los Angeles Times by Steve
Lopez Contact Reporter February 3, 2016
Yom, as the students
call their Lincoln High calculus teacher, is at the blackboard with marker in
hand. He can't be stopped. Left to right he works, light on his feet,
flicking out triangles, stacking towers of numbers, turning Room 754 into a
gallery of cave art. And here's the
really impressive part: Every student is
locked in. There's no daydreaming or goofing. Twenty-five
youngsters watch and listen as a smiling Anthony Yom takes his pre-calculus
class on a right-angle trigonometry thrill ride through a maze of sines and
cosines, out to prove that three squared plus five squared is going to equal H
squared, or the world is off its axis. "I
am done teaching," Yom finally says before starting students on their own
problem-solving missions. "You need to get to work now." As they dig pencils into paper, Alexis Pong,
a sophomore, tells me it's challenging work, but fun, too. And she has this to
say about Yom's way: "He challenges
us to the max, so we do better on tests."
Yom is 35, has been teaching at Lincoln since he was 24, and still looks
young enough to run for class president.
Dad: My state now requires 11th graders to take the
SAT. Not my daughter.
A
number of states are now mandating that all high school juniors take a college
admissions test — the SAT or the ACT, depending on the state — as the
standardized exam used to meet federal “accountability” requirements. And it
appears that more states will follow suit in what could be a big change in the
nation’s standardized testing landscape.
Education
Week reports that the U.S. Department of Education has given
seven states permission to use the ACT or the SAT for federal accountability
purposes, with Arkansas , Wisconsin
and Wyoming using the former, and Colorado , Connecticut , Maine and New
Hampshire using the latter. (Colorado had been using
the ACT — which overtook the SAT as the most popular college admissions test in
2012 — but just changed to the SAT.) There
are several reasons driving the change. Most states have in
the past five years adopted the Common Core State Standards, or standards that
are similar, and introduced new standardized exams that are used to evaluate
students, teachers and schools. These newly designed Core-aligned standardized
tests have been controversial in many places, and their online administration
has been difficult. The ACT and the newly designed SAT, which is debuting in
March, are said to be aligned to the Core.
Does it make sense
to require juniors to take a college admissions test for federal accountability
purposes? Proponents say yes, especially for states in which college readiness
is an important marker of academic achievement. But critics say that not
all high school students are aiming to go to college, and using a test for one
purpose when it is designed for another is a bad idea. Here’s a post from
one father in Connecticut
who is refusing to allow his daughter to take the SAT for federal
accountability purposes. He is Jonathan Pelto, a former Democratic Party member
of the Connecticut House of Representatives who now provides commentary on
politics and public policy at his blog, “Wait, What?” A
longer version of this post appeared on that blog, and I am publishing it
with permission.
Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights 2-4-16
Testing Resistance & Reform News: January 27 -
February 2, 2016
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on February 2, 2016 - 1:00pm
Mounting grassroots
pressure is beginning to force state and local policy makers to take advantage
of their new flexibility under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act to roll
back standardized exam overuse use and misuse. FairTest's basic goals
remain unchanged: many fewer tests; no high-stakes; support for better
assessments.
This seminar is
designed to address disciplinary issues. The presentation will include
disciplinary rights of students not yet identified for special education
services or 504 plans; the disciplinary rights of students with IEPs and 504
plans, and an advocate’s view of assisting families with truancy issues. Tickets range from $50 (webinar) to $200 (private attorneys),
and there is a "Pay What You Can Option" so that no one is turned
away from this important program.
CLE credit is
available for attorneys licensed in Pennsylvania that attend the seminar in
person.
Questions? Contact Michael at mberton@pilcop.org or call 267.546.1303.
Details/Speakers//Tickets:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/discipline-truancy-and-more-tickets-20037983147
The Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center will host its Annual Budget Summit
on Thursday, March 3, 2016 9:00 - 3:30 at the Hilton Harrisburg
PA Budget and Policy Center website
Join us for an in-depth look at the Governor's 2016-17 budget proposal, including what it means for education, health and human services, and local communities. The Summit will focus on the leading issues facing the commonwealth in 2016, with workshops, lunch, and a legislative panel discussion. Space is limited, so fill out the form below to reserve your spot at the Budget Summit.
PA Budget and Policy Center website
Join us for an in-depth look at the Governor's 2016-17 budget proposal, including what it means for education, health and human services, and local communities. The Summit will focus on the leading issues facing the commonwealth in 2016, with workshops, lunch, and a legislative panel discussion. Space is limited, so fill out the form below to reserve your spot at the Budget Summit.
Thursday, March 3,
2016 Hilton Hotel, Harrisburg Pennsylvania
The event is free,
but PBPC welcomes donations of
any size to help off-set costs.
PSBA call for volunteers: ESSA Study Group; Respond by
Feb. 5th
On March 2 and 3,
the Pennsylvania School Boards Association will convene an ESSA Study Group to
examine the federal statute and provide recommendations on how best to
implement the law in Pennsylvania . The
group will include four workgroups to draft a white paper for submission to PDE
and the General Assembly. The group will divide their work into the
following areas:
- Schools identified as falling in to the
“bottom 5%”
- Assessment
- Teacher Evaluation
- Charter school issues and solutions
The ESSA Study Group
will be chaired by PSBA President Kathy Swope and each subgroup will be led by
a team of co-facilitators.
Each subgroup will
consist of:
- 10 school directors
- 3 superintendents (1 rural, 1 suburban
and 1 urban)
- 3 school principals (1 HS, 1 MS and 1
elementary)
- 2 representatives from district staff
(business manager, guidance, curriculum, etc.)
- 2 representatives from other public
education groups (EPLC, PASA, charter school, etc.)
- Support/content experts as identified
Our two-day meeting
will take place at the Harrisburg Hilton beginning at 10 a.m. on March 2 and
concluding at approximately 2 p.m. on March 3. PSBA will provide all
participants with a travel stipend, all meals and overnight accommodations.
Please send an email
stating your interest in serving to PSBA Executive Director Nathan G. Mains (nathan.mains@psba.org)
by this Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. Selected group participants will
be notified next week.
PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATION
POLICY FORUM
"Southeastern Region Forum Series"Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Networking and Coffee - 9:30 a.m. Program - 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Networking and Coffee - 9:30 a.m. Program - 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
SUBJECT: Governor
Wolf's Proposed Education Budget for 2016-2017
SPEAKERS:
An Overview of
the Proposed 2016-2017 State Budget and Education Issues Will Be Provided
By:
Representative of
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Ron Cowell, President, The Education Policy andLeadership Center
Ron Cowell, President, The Education Policy and
Statewide and
Regional Perspectives Will Be Provided By:
Donna Cooper,
Executive Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director, Education Law Center
Dr. George Steinhoff, Superintendent, Penn Delco School District
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director, Education Law Center
Dr. George Steinhoff, Superintendent, Penn Delco School District
One or more
representatives of other statewide and regional organizations are still to
be confirmed.
RSVP
for Southeastern Forum on-line at
EPLC PENNSYLVANIA
EDUCATION POLICY FORUM
"Capital Region Forum Series" Thursday, February 11, 2016
Continental
Breakfast - 8:00 a.m. Program - 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Harrisburg
Hilton Hotel - Two North Second Street Harrisburg, PA 17101
SUBJECT: Governor
Wolf's Proposed Education Budget for 2016-2017
SPEAKERS:
An Overview of
the Proposed 2016-2017 State Budget and Education Issues Will Be
Provided By:
Representative of
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Ron Cowell,
President, The Education Policy and Leadership
Center
Statewide and
Regional Perspectives Will Be Provided By:
Dr. Brian Barnhart,
Executive Director, Lancaster-Lebanon IU #13
Thomas Gluck,
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units
Representatives of other statewide and regional organizations are still to be confirmed.
Representatives of other statewide and regional organizations are still to be confirmed.
While there is
no registration fee, seating is limited and an RSVP is required.
RSVP for
Harrisburg Forum on-line at
PSBA New School Director Training Remaining
Locations:
- Scranton area — Feb. 6 Abington Heights SD, Clarks Summit
- North Central area —Feb. 13 Mansfield University, Mansfield
PSBA New School Director
Training
School boards who will welcome new directors after the election should
plan to attend PSBA training to help everyone feel more confident right from
the start. This one-day event is targeted to help members learn the basics of
their new roles and responsibilities. Meet the friendly, knowledgeable PSBA
team and bring everyone on your “team of 10” to get on the same page fast.
- $150 per
registrant (No charge if your district has a LEARN Pass. Note: All-Access
members also have LEARN Pass.)
- One-hour lunch
on your own — bring your lunch, go to lunch, or we’ll bring a box lunch to
you; coffee/tea provided all day
- Course
materials available online or we’ll bring a printed copy to you for an
additional $25
- Registrants
receive one month of 100-level online courses for each registrant, after
the live class
Register here: https://www.psba.org/2015/09/new-school-director-training/
Save
the Dates for These 2016 Annual EPLC Regional State Budget Education
Policy Forums
Sponsored
by The Education Policy and Leadership
Center
Thursday, February
11 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. - Harrisburg
Wednesday, February 17 - 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania )
Thursday, February 25 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. -Pittsburgh
Wednesday, February 17 - 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -
Thursday, February 25 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. -
Invitation
and more details in January
Attend the
United Opt Out Conference in Philadelphia February 26-28
United
Opt Out: The Movement to End Corporate Reform will hold its annual conference
on Philadelphia from February 26-28.
Save the Date | PBPC Budget Summit March
3rd
Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center
The
2015-2016 budget remains in a state of limbo. But it's time to start thinking
about the 2016-17 budget. The Governor will propose his budget for next year in
early February.
The
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will hold our annual Budget Summit on
March 3rd. Save the date and join us for an in-depth look at
the Governor's 2016-17 budget proposal, including what it means for education,
health and human services, the environment and local communities. And, of
course, if the 2015-2016 budget is not complete by then, we will also be talking
about the various alternatives still under consideration.
As in
year's past, this year's summit will be at the Hilton Harrisburg. Register today!
PASBO 61st Annual
Conference and Exhibits March 8 - 11, 2016
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
PenSPRA's Annual Symposium, Friday
April 8th in Shippensburg, PA
PenSPRA,
or the Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association, has developed a
powerhouse line-up of speakers and topics for a captivating day of professional
development in Shippensburg on April 8th. Learn to master data to
defeat your critics, use stories to clarify your district's brand and take
your social media efforts to the next level with a better understanding of
metrics and the newest trends. Join us the evening before the
Symposium for a “Conversation with Colleagues” from 5 – 6
pm followed by a Networking Social Cocktail Hour from 6 – 8 pm.
Both the Symposium Friday and the social events on
Thursday evening will be held at the Shippensburg University Conference
Center. Snacks at the social hour, and Friday’s breakfast and lunch is
included in your registration cost. $125 for PenSPRA members and $150 for
non-members. Learn more about our speakers and topics and register today at
this link:
The Network for Public Education 3rd
Annual National Conference April 16-17, 2016 Raleigh , North Carolina
The
Network for Public Education is thrilled to announce the location for our 3rd
Annual National Conference. On April 16 and 17, 2016 public education advocates
from across the country will gather in Raleigh, North Carolina. We chose Raleigh to highlight the tremendous
activist movement that is flourishing in North Carolina. No one exemplifies
that movement better than the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who will be the
conference keynote speaker. Rev. Barber is the current president of
the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the National NAACP chair of
the Legislative Political Action Committee, and the founder of Moral Mondays.
2016 PA Educational
Leadership Summit July 24-26 State College
Summit Sponsors:
PA Principals Association - PA Association of School Administrators
- PA Association of Middle Level Educators - PA Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development
The 2016
Educational Leadership Summit, co-sponsored by four leading Pennsylvania education associations,
provides an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and
instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together at a quality venue in
"Happy Valley."
Featuring Grant
Lichtman, author of EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education,
Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (invited), and Dana
Lightman, author of POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have...
Create the Success You Want, keynote speakers, high quality breakout
sessions, table talks on hot topics and district team planning and job alike
sessions provides practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and
discussed at the summit before returning back to your district. Register and pay by April 30, 2016 for the
discounted "early bird" registration rate:
Interested in letting our
elected leadership know your thoughts on education funding, a severance tax,
property taxes and the budget?
Governor Tom Wolf,
(717) 787-2500
Speaker of the
House Rep. Mike Turzai, (717) 772-9943
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
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