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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup February 5, 2016:
Walton Family Foundation, patron saints of charter
school funding, backing off on cyber charter support
RSVP Today for One of EPLC’s Education Policy Forum
Series on Governor Wolf’s 2016-17 State Budget Proposal
Thursday, February 11, 2016 – Harrisburg
Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - Philadelphia
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - Pittsburgh
"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 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.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
for 2013, 2014 and 2015
A score of 70 is considered passing. No PA cyber charter has achieved a score
of 70 in any year. Additionally, most cybers never made AYP under No
Child Left Behind during the period 2005 thru 2012.
Here are the 2013, 2014 and 2015 SPP scores for Pennsylvania
School 2013
2014 2015
Achievement House
CS 39.7 37.5 44.8
Agora Cyber CS 48.3 42.4 46.4
ASPIRA Bilingual CS 29.0 39.0 38.4
Commonwealth Connections Academy CS 54.6 52.2 48.8
Esperanza Cyber CS 32.7 47.7 31.7
Solomon Charter School
Inc. 36.9 N/A N/A
Susq-Cyber
CS 46.4 42.4 45.5
"Cyber charter is not a
“tuition-free public education.” Your tax dollars are spent on an education
that is under-performing. After all, the marketing and lobbying budget for
cyber charters is also paid by you and me."
Reprise March 2015: Pa.
The Phoenix
Reporter By State Sen. Sean Wiley, Guest Columnist POSTED: 03/19/15
Schools that teach.
A very basic concept, yet one that has more complicated layers — with one layer
costing about $426 million annually. Gov.
Tom Wolf’s budget included a new $1 billion cumulative investment in education
as well as a four-year commitment of $2 billion in new money for basic education,
special education and Pre-K. The governor focused on “schools that teach”
because “for our children to succeed tomorrow, every child must have access to
a great education, and teachers must have the resources they need to deliver a
great education.” Students and
families have the choice of the type of education they want: traditional public
school, tuition-based school, charter school, cyber charter school or a hybrid.
I am an avid supporter of public education and I believe in innovation. I strongly
believe we should use tools and mechanisms to educate each student in the way
that is best for that child. I am not proposing abolishing methods that can
reach children; rather, I believe it critical that we hold education providers
to heightened standards of accountability and equity and feel it only fair as
taxpayer’s dollars are at issue.
There are many
challenges that school districts must overcome. One of those obstacles is the
staggering cost of cyber charters.
July 2015 PSBA Special Report: The Critical Need for Charter School
Gov. Tom Wolf asking for
$90 million more for preschool programs
Penn Live By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
February 04, 2016 at 2:51 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf plans
to ask the General Assembly to invest another $60 million into state funding for preschool programs in 2016-17 on top
of $30 million more that he didn't get in this year's unfinished budget. At an event in Philadelphia on Thursday, Wolf made a pitch
to try to gain support for this proposed investment that would raise the
current state funding for preschool programs of $166.5 million to $256.3
million next year if fully realized. An
increased investment of that size would allow 14,000 more children access to
preschool, based on information released by the Wolf Administration
earlier this year. "We have a
choice in Pennsylvania .
We must choose a path that funds our schools, eliminates our deficit, and puts Pennsylvania back on
track," Wolf said. "I believe that Pennsylvania should be among the many states
that provide universal pre-kindergarten for children and I will work to make
this a reality."
Visiting Philly school,
Wolf says he'll seek $60 million more for early childhood education
WHYY Newsworks BY KATIE COLANERI FEBRUARY 4, 2016
With this year's
budget still sitting on the table in Harrisburg ,
Gov. Tom Wolf says next year, he wants to increase spending on early childhood
education by $60 million. That's on top
of the $60 million he asked for in the current year's budget. The partial
deal he signed in December provides $30 million for early childhood
education. Wolf said his new proposal
would cover the costs of enrolling about 14,000 more Pennsylvania children in pre-K. But what about the fact this year's budget
still isn't completed? The governor is assuming the state will have a budget in
place by June — just in time for next year's deadline. "I understand you cannot just throw
money at education or any problem and hope to come to a good result," he
said. "But you can't keep taking money away from something this important
and expect to get to a good place."
10 numbers
behind Pennsylvania
Editorial: A road map for
the schools
When those big, fat
school tax bills begin landing in mailboxes in a few months, they won’t go down
any easier knowing that Pennsylvania
schools are doing a rather poor job, at least according to an organization
known as the Network for Public Education.
According to the
NPE’s latest report, “Valuing Public Education: A 50 State Report Card,”
schools in the commonwealth earned an overall grade-point average of 1.5 (on a
four-point scale). That translates into a solid D, a grade few if any kids want
to bring home to mom and dad. The state tied for 27th place among the states,
along with Delaware , Michigan
and Utah . The highest score,
achieved by Iowa, Nebraska and Vermont, was only 2.5, a C, which tells us that
schools everywhere have a lot of room for improvement. Eight states received a
grade of F. Interestingly, in
one of the six criteria used to grade each state (and the District of Columbia)
— “Spend Taxpayers Resources Wisely” — Pennsylvania received a D. Apparently,
financial resources are available in many school districts but are being
wasted. The state also received a D for “Resistance to Privatization” (charter
schools) and a big one, “Chance for Success.” Pennsylvania received a C for “No High
Stakes Testing” and “Professionalism of Teaching.” The testing grade indicates
that, as controversial as mandated tests are, the problem could be much worse. In coming up with its grades, NPE did not
score states against each other but rather ranked them “against the values we
hold and research supports.”
Seven months later,
optimism on Pennsylvania
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON FEBRUARY 5, 2016
Pennsylvanians may
be fed up with the state budget impasse, but the people sitting at the
negotiating table aren't betraying any such disgust. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is set to give his
budget proposal next week for the upcoming fiscal year — even as the
current year's spending is the subject of tense talks with the GOP-led
Legislature. But Wolf said he feels good
about progress made toward a bipartisan budget deal last year, even though the
agreement collapsed just before Christmas.
"I'm really proud of that. Yes, I'm a little frustrated that it
didn't reach my desk, but that frustration, that sense of frustration, is more
than offset by a sense of achievement and accomplishment with the good things
we accomplished in promoting that compromise," he said. Dave Reed, the state House's GOP leader,
echoed Wolf's sanguine outlook. The major issues at stake with budget talks
have bedeviled lawmakers for decades, he reasoned.
Gov. Tom Wolf's 2015
campaign finances
York Daily Record by Flint L. McColgan,
fmccolgan@ydr.com4:24 p.m.
EST February 4, 2016
Campaign finance reports
for local elections shouldn't take much longer than a couple of hours to
sort through once you get the documents. But a statewide election, especially
one for governor, is a beast of a different kind. So, I offer you this, my data
dump of all noteworthy contributions contained in Gov. Tom Wolf's annual
campaign finances for the entire 2015 year.
This year followed the 2014 election, so every one of these
contributions were made while a campaign was not going on. I will sort through this and present you a
polished story later, but this condenses the 421 PAGE REPORT into
its base essentials for all political enthusiasts to munch on while I work. You
can view the entire document at the bottom of this page. I bold any single
contributions that are more than $10,000. Some contributors may have also
crossed that threshold but through multiple contributions, so I'll be looking
for those as I continue to look at the data.
"Since 2007, King Frack
has distributed more than $8 million in campaign funds to various political
campaigns. The king gave more than
$660,000 to support the campaigns of leaders such as House Speaker Mike Turzai,
and the House Republican campaign committee.
He gave more than $846,000 to support Senate President Joe Scarnati,
Majority Leader Jake Corman, and the Senate Republican campaign committee."
Letter to the Editor: How
King Frack rules Harrisburg
Delco Times Letter
by Albert Eelman, Chadds Ford POSTED: 02/04/16, 10:19 PM EST
To the Times:
By Alex Rose,
Delaware County Daily
MEDIA COURTHOUSE
>> Finances are beginning to look up for the perpetually underfunded
Chester Upland School District, according to the managing director of
consulting firm Public Financial Management.
“Things have changed substantially since (December) to the benefit of
the district,” said Dean Kaplan during a status hearing before Delaware County
President Judge Chad Kenney on Thursday.
The district was facing a $26.5 million structural deficit and a
negative fund balance of $50 million at the end of 2015, said Kaplan, but the
state Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf were able to agree on a temporary budget
that injected an additional $100 million into schools. It was not the $337
million in additional funding the governor wanted, but it was enough to keep
Chester Upland and other districts that rely on state funding afloat.
Suit: Main
Line school district way too taxing
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, STAFF WRITER. Updated: FEBRUARY 4, 2016 — 5:26
PM EST
A suit filed by a
Main Line attorney argues that the Lower
Merion School
District Lower Merion
spokesman Doug Young said the district carries a nearly $56 million fund
balance, with more than $45 million of that committed to paying for pensions,
retirement benefits, and capital projects.
Ridley celebrates School
Director Recognition month
Delco News Network by Leslie Krowchenko Digital First Media Correspondent
Published: Wednesday, February
03, 2016
RIDLEY >> The
Ridley School Board celebrated School Director Recognition month a day after
its traditional Jan. 31 ending with a visit from Pennsylvania State Rep. Leanne
Krueger-Braneky (D-161). Describing
education in Delaware
County
District's teacher vacancy
problem persists; sub fill rate inches up
the notebook by Dale Mezzacappa
February 4, 2016 — 7:02pm
Midway into the
school year, the School District ’s teacher
situation is still a mess.
For one thing, it
has nearly 184 teacher vacancies, more
than twice the number at this time last year. Though the company hired to provide
substitute service is gradually improving its daily “fill rate,” it is still
struggling to reach the levels it promised last summer when it
was retained by the School Reform Commission. Throughout January, Source4Teachers had daily
“fill rates” ranging from 35 to 45 percent. On most days, it was above 40
percent. But Source4Teachers had
promised a 70 percent fill rate in September and a 90 percent fill rate by
January. Spokesman Owen Murphy said that
the company is ratcheting up its hiring for Philadelphia and said that the fill rate for
Thursday was 57 percent. The Notebook could not immediately
confirm that number with the District. If
that number is is accurate, that means Source4Teachers has finally
reached the fill-rate level that the District mustered when it
handled the substitute pool. That performance, officials said,
was poor enough to lead to the outsourcing in the first place.
Leaked audio: Manheim Township
The Manheim Township
Gerrymandering, Citizens United divide nation
Morning Call Opinion
by Martha
Machado South
Whitehall Township
The Jan. 29 headline
shows how disgusted Pennsylvanians are with Harrisburg. They
blame not only the Republican-controlled Legislature but also Gov. Wolf. The
same can be said about our nation, and blame goes to the GOP-controlled Congress and President Obama. The polarization of our country is bringing
our democracy to a halt and destroying our nation. This began with Ronald Reagan's trickle-down, voodoo
economics and then continued with Citizens United and gerrymandering. Citizens
United gave the rich and powerful the power to control our legislators into
voting for their agendas, not for all the people, thus potentially wiping out
the middle class. Gerrymandering has given our legislators safe districts so
they no longer have to listen to and do the best for their constituents. If we
want to fix our state and nation, we have to repeal Citizens United and draw
straight district lines to stop gerrymandering. As the rich get
richer and our middle class disappears, we will continue to flounder. You can't
have a good economy if people can't afford to buy anything. As Henry Ford said, "Coming together is
a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is
success."
This is actually what America
In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called on
lawmakers and the public to take a number of steps "to change the system
to reflect our better selves" for "a better politics." The
top item on that list was to end partisan gerrymandering: "we have to
end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can
pick their voters, and not the other way around," Obama said. In most states, state legislatures draw the
district boundaries that determine how many delegates the state sends to the
U.S. Congress, as well as the general partisan make-up of that
delegation. State legislatures are partisan beasts, and if one party is in
control of the process they can draw boundaries to give themselves a numeric
advantage over their opponents in Congress.This process is called gerrymandering.
Vote Jerry Mandering
OneVirginia2021
Published on Jan 18, 2016 YouTube runtime: 1:24
Ok…we’ll admit it.
Jerry Mandering isn’t a real political candidate.
The team at OneVirginia2021 created this video to highlight the absurdity of the process behind having elected officials draw their own lines to their advantage – a manipulative practice known as “gerrymandering.”
The team at OneVirginia2021 created this video to highlight the absurdity of the process behind having elected officials draw their own lines to their advantage – a manipulative practice known as “gerrymandering.”
"that in some cases the
differences were substantial enough to raise concerns about whether scores on
the exam — the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
test — are valid and reliable enough to be used for teacher evaluations or
school accountability decisions."
Report: Kids who took Common Core test online scored
lower than those who used paper
Five
million students took the new Common Core exam known as PARCC last year,
most of them by logging onto a computer. But about one in five took the
exam with paper and pencil, and those students — who tested the
old-fashioned way — tended to score higher than students who took the tests
online, according to Education
Week. It’s not clear whether the
score differences were due to the format of the testing, or due to differences
in the backgrounds of the students who took the two different types of test,
according to the Feb. 3 Education Week report. But the publication reported
that in some cases the differences were substantial enough to raise concerns
about whether scores on the exam — the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers test — are valid and reliable enough to be used for
teacher evaluations or school accountability decisions. As Ed Week reporter Benjamin
Herold wrote: In December, the Illinois state board of
education found that 43 percent of students there who took the PARCC
English/language arts exam on paper scored proficient or above, compared with
36 percent of students who took the exam online. The state board has not sought
to determine the cause of those score differences.
School Counselor Week: Access to School Counselors in
PA Schools
Center for Education
Evaluation and Policy Analysis FEBRUARY
4, 2016 ~ DR. ED FULLER
Download a PDF of
the issue brief here:
CEEPA Issue Brief 2016-1_Access to Counselors in Pennsylvania_Ed Fuller
CEEPA Issue Brief 2016-1_Access to Counselors in Pennsylvania_Ed Fuller
K-12 school
counselors work in elementary, middle, and high schools to help improve student
cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes such as grades, enrollment in challenging
courses, socio-emotional health, personal development, and college- and
career-readiness, including enrollment in post-secondary institutions of
education.[1] They also promote equity in student
outcomes and assist in the development of healthy and supportive school
climates.[2] Indeed, a growing body of research
concludes school counselors are crucial to student outcomes, including both
socio-emotional health and academic success.
While the primary duties of counselors involve working directly with
students, many counselors also serve as testing coordinators and perform other
additional duties that have historically not been associated with the job of
counselor.[3] Unfortunately, these additional
roles dilute the amount of time counselors can spend with individual students
in the role of counselor. Further, the rapid increase in the number of
economically disadvantaged students and the number of students desirous of
entering post-secondary education have also placed additional demands on the
time and attention of counselors. For
school counselors to effectively assist students, the American Association of
School Counselors recommends a maximum ratio of 250 students for every
full-time counselor. Moreover, research suggests that reducing the
student-counselor ratio has positive effects on a variety of student outcomes[4].
In this brief, we
examine student access to school counselors by analyzing the schools that have
school counselors and the ratio of students to counselors in schools. Before
reviewing the results of our study, we provide a brief review of the research
that has established the impact of counselors on various student outcomes.
This is how Bernie or
Hillary wins: The speech that would seal the nomination
We're days from New Hampshire
Salon.com by BERTIS DOWNS
THURSDAY, FEB 4, 2016 07:57 AM EST
Both Hillary Clinton
and Bernie Sanders have decided to start talking about the state of
K-12 public education in recent weeks. This is a very positive, if
overdue, development, with both of them questioning the efficacy and priority
of charter schools in the national dialogue on educating our children; and
Sanders recently proposing a new, equity-focused approach to funding education
in the United States. Still, the
candidates’ words don’t seem to resonate with many
of the largely untapped public education parents and teachers who are
in search of a candidate. Neither candidate really has a grasp on the varied
and complex issues that have to be addressed when considering the changes and
reforms our schools and children truly need. Let’s help their campaigns
by outlining the speech that at least one of them ought to give — and soon. Which campaign wants
to lay claim to public schools supporters? Easy. Whoever embraces these
ideas first. Just imagine:
Ed. Dept. Kicks Off
Process for Writing Every Student Succeeds Act Rules
Education Week By Alyson Klein on February
3, 2016 10:13 AM
Attention, teachers,
principals, state chiefs, civil rights advocates, district superintendents,
board members, and others who care about federal K-12 policy: The U.S.
Department of Education wants your help in crafting regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act. Specifically, the Education Department wants
nominations for a "negotiated rulemaking" committee, according to a notice slated to be published
in the Federal Register Thursday. (More on just what
"negotiated rulemaking" means below).
Under ESSA, the department must use this process for three different
areas of the law: standards, assessments, and
"supplement-not-supplant" (a financial portion that deals with how
federal dollars can be used relative to local spending).
The department
will appoint at least one representative from each of these groups to the
"negotiated rulemaking" committee: state administrators and state boards of education; local
administrators and local boards of education; tribal leadership; parents and
students (including historically disadvantaged kids); teachers; principals and
other school leaders (including charter leaders); paraprofessionals; the
civil rights community (including representatives of students with
disabilities, English-language learners and others); the business community;
and federal administrators.
Participation in Louisiana
US News and World
Report By Lauren
Camera Feb. 3, 2016, at 5:25 p.m.
Students who won
publicly funded vouchers to escape their failing public schools and enroll
in private schools are doing worse academically than those who weren't awarded
vouchers and remained in low-performing schools. That's the startling new finding from a working paper that
analyzed Louisiana 's
private school voucher program. The team
of researchers from University of California, Berkley, Duke University, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that attendance at a private school
significantly lowered students' math, reading, science and social studies
scores, and, in particular, it increased the likelihood of a failing score by
24 to 50 percent. The negative
impacts, the paper notes, are consistent across income groups, geographic
areas, and private school characteristics, and are larger for younger children. "These results suggest caution in the
design of voucher systems aimed at expanding school choice for disadvantaged
students," the researchers wrote.
Let's talk about science: Space Station visible Friday
night (Pittsburgh
Post Gazette By Dan
Malerbo, Buhl Planetarium & Observatory February 4, 2016 12:00 AM
If the weather
cooperates, go outside and look up at the sky Friday night. You will get a
great opportunity to see the International Space Station. It will be seen as a
steady white pinpoint of bright light moving slowly across the sky. All you
need to view the orbiting outpost are your eyes and a clear view of the
horizon. The ISS will be visible Friday
night for about six minutes, starting at 6:08:47 p.m. It will move from the
west-southwest to the northeast. The station will be only 10 degrees above the
west-southwest horizon when it first becomes visible, but it will reach a
maximum elevation of 63 degrees at 6:12 p.m. in the northwestern sky. When the
ISS disappears at 6:15 p.m., it will be only 10 degrees above the northeastern
horizon.
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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