Archives for category: Pennsylvania
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As Philadelphia Schools Die, Governor Corbett Goes Kayaking

By dianeravitch
August 11, 2013 //
4

This just in from a retired Pennsylvania school superintendent:

“Beyond Belief!

“On the August 9 front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools makes a desperate last minute plea for adequate funding to give his city’s school children some semblance of equal educational opportunity.

“And the state and city leadership response is similar to the legend of Nero fiddling while Rome is burning.

“Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett is pictured below the Philadelphia school crisis story in the same page one issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer taking a kayak trip, obviously Pennsylvania’s top political priority.

“The Pennsylvania legislature—the largest body of its kind in the USA— sleeps through this tragic episode in its comfortable (or is it racist?) belief that quality education for some of the state’s poorest children is not of their concern.

“The politically appointed School Reform Commission allegedly overseeing Philadelphia’s public schools continues down its clueless road of ineptitude.

“Elected Philadelphia city officials vehemently argue with each other about who is right and who is wrong about what to do while doing nothing.

“All of this is a national disgrace and should be the basis of a civil rights court lawsuit.

“Pathetic episodes of political incompetence are all too common these days in our nation. And this one has the potential to negatively impact the lives of many thousands of innocent children and the future of Philadelphia for years to come.”

Joseph P. Batory
Former Superintendent of Schools, Upper Darby, PA
Philadelphia, PA

Categories Budget Cuts, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

ALEC Has a Stranglehold on Pennsylvania Legislature

By dianeravitch
August 6, 2013 //
8

Jodi Hirsh of Pittsburgh writes that ALEC has forty members in the Pennsylvania legislature, and many hold key positions. ALEC is the voice of major corporations, who oppose any sort of government regulations.

She writes that:

“House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, Senate Judiciary Chair Stewart Greenleaf, and House State Government Chair Daryl Metcalfe, as well as the Republican chairs of the Health, Veterans’ Affairs, Educational, Game & Fisheries, Consumer Affairs, Ethics, Commerce, Labor & Industry, State Government, Education, and the Senate’s Law & Justice committees, have all been participants in the organization.”

She says that “If ALEC has its way, Pennsylvanians can look forward to losing paid sick days and minimum wages, forcing schools to teach climate denialism, repealing the capital gains and estate taxesto help the very wealthy, and privatizing education, Medicare, and Medicaid. What kind of state would Pennsylvania become if ALEC’s agenda were fully actualized? Not one that many of us would like to live in.”

ALEC is meeting Wednesday in Chicago for its 40th annual conference. Usually, its meetings are held in remote, luxurious resorts. Chicago is an odd choice for an organization that is at the epicenter of the attack on American public education and on unions, among other issues.

 

 

Categories ALEC, Pennsylvania

Pa Supt: State Funding Is Criminal Negligence

By dianeravitch
July 24, 2013 //
17

At a discussion of equity and excellence in education in Pennsylvania, John Sarandrea, the superintendent of the Néw Castle district, said:

“I don’t have any problems saying this, because it’s true: Poor kids are getting the shaft right now,” he said to loud applause from the audience.

“How can you possibly not invest in these children early, knowing what will be the outcome if you don’t?” Sarandrea wondered. “It’s negligence. It’s criminal.”

The state has cut nearly a billion dollars from the school budget in the past three years, while giving out corporate tax breaks and opening charter schools. The most successful charter operator–who manages the Chester Community Charter School–is Governor Corbett’s biggest campaign contributor. Vahan Gureghian has made millions managing and supplying his charter school. The local district, meanwhile, has gone bankrupt.

William Hite, the superintendent of the cash-starved Philadelphia district, said a new state funding formula was needed:

“He said any formula for distributing state aid should consider the number of students who live in poverty and are learning to speak English. Hite said Philadelphia has a larger share of those students than any other district in the state but has less money to spend to educate them.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Releases Some Findings on Cheating

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2013 //
20

Apparently in response to Daniel Denvir’s article accusing the state of Pennsylvania of dragging its feet on an investigation of cheating on state tests, the state released some information.

Just remember whenever you hear a governor or other politician boasting about test scores that they have no idea (and neither will you) whether the gains were produced by mindless test prep (where students learn how to guess the right answer), by teaching to the test (where teachers abandon their professional ethics), or by cheating (by teachers or principals or students or superintendents or the state education department).

In a high-stakes environment, the pressure to raise scores renders them meaningless. See “Campbell’s Law.”

Categories Campbell's Law, Pennsylvania, Testing, U.S. Department of Education

Daniel Denvir: Pennsylvania Covering Up Major Cheating Scandal

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2013 //
7

Daniel Denvir, crack investigative journalist in Philadelphia, reports that the state has dragged its feet on an investigation of a major cheating scandal.

Despite evidence of high rates of erasures, the state has done nothing and refuses reporters’ requests for information.

Denvir writes:

“Over the last two years, inquiries were closed or altered with little explanation, and state and school administrators refused to answer basic questions about the investigations’ nature or methods. Some schools were left to investigate themselves. Only a handful of administrators and one teacher have been publicly held to account.

“It’s dragging on at an incredibly slow pace compared to investigations elsewhere,” says Bob Schaeffer, public-education director at FairTest, an organization critical of high-stakes testing. “And it makes you wonder: What’s going on?”

“The Notebook and, to a lesser extent, the Inquirer have covered each turn in this story. But despite continued questions, few answers have been forthcoming. “Some people probably want this story to go away,” says Notebook editor Paul Socolar. “Some people may think it has gone away because there hasn’t been a lot of information coming out about what actually happens. That’s not for lack of effort. We’re not getting a lot of information from the authorities about what they found out in their investigations.”

“After all, politically, the state would have a great deal to lose by prosecuting cheaters. Some of the most damning evidence of cheating has come from Philadelphia, a district run by the state since 2002, and from charters, including a Chester school run by a prominent leader in Pennsylvania’s self-described school-reform movement who is a backer of Gov. Tom Corbett. But more than that, bubble tests have become the high-stakes centerpiece of American public education; when the scores are tainted, it could throw an entire way of running schools into question.

“Given the scope of the issue and the lack of action since, it appears Pennsylvania is covering up one of the country’s largest cheating scandals — and doing so in plain sight.”

The pursuit of ever higher scores, Denvir reports, has produced not only massive cheating, but also intensive test prep, narrowing the curriculum, unjust firings and school closings.

Categories Closing schools, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Jeff Bryant: “No Excuses” for Abandoning Kids and Public Schools

By dianeravitch
July 13, 2013 //
9

Jeff Bryant of the Education Opportunity Network congratulates Arne Duncan for saying that there was “no excuse” for states that fail to fund their schools.

Jeff was quick to point out that the “no excuse” mantra is customarily used by Duncan and other corporate reformers to blame teachers for low test scores.

It is refreshing to hear the same rhetoric directed at governors and legislatures that abandon their responsibility to fund public schools.

Bryant writes:

“In his statement to the Pennsylvania officials overseeing the Philadelphia mess, Duncan urged, “We must invest in public education, not abandon it.”

“So yes, “No excuse.”

“When valued neighborhood schools are shuttered with no more justification than a press release, there’s no excuse.

“When public school administrators are forced to cut learning opportunities that keep students safe, healthy, engaged, and supported. No excuse.

“When teachers and parents have to speak out to prevent larger and larger class sizes…

“When students walk out of school because their favorite subjects and teachers are cut…

“When whole communities have to turn out into the streets to protest the plundering of the common good…

“No excuse. No excuse. No excuse!”

Categories Accountability, Arts Education, Budget Cuts, Class size, Curriculum, Pennsylvania

Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia?

By dianeravitch
July 13, 2013 //
36

A new survey shows that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any of the nation’s 10 largest cities.

28% of the city’s people are poor, as are 39% of its children. The national child poverty rate is 23%.

Now we know from reformers that poverty is no “excuse” for low test scores, but we also know from the reality-based world that low income is highly correlated with low test scores. If you want to learn more, read Richard Rothstein’s “Class and Schools,” or google Helen Ladd’s “Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence.”

Thus, it makes no sense to strip the city’s schools of the arts, physical education, librarians, guidance counselors, social workers, and every other support personnel. These children desperately need a good education.

The state of Pennsylvania has a constitutional obligation to educate its children.

And the state thus far has cynically told Philadelphia to extract more taxes from its impoverished population. That is worse than no answer. That is negligence of a high order.

When the next election comes round, the people of Pennsylvania should hold accountable those who inflicted harm on the state’s most vulnerable children.

Categories Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Poverty

President Obama, Please Read This

By dianeravitch
July 9, 2013 //
33

This teacher in Pennsylvania wonders why President Obama is turning his back on the calamity facing students in Philadelphia.

Please send his comment to the White House. After years of budget cuts and layoffs, isn’t it time for action? The Obama girls attend a wonderful school with small classes, experienced teachers, arts, physical education, science labs, a library: shouldn’t everyone?

The teacher writes:

“I teach in suburban Philadelphia in a district which is managing to survive with cutbacks in programming and hiring under Governor Corbett, but my wife teaches in Philadelphia and is experiencing firsthand the devastating impact of the state and city leaders seriously shortchanging public education. In September she currently expects to return to a school with no assistant principal, no counsellor, no nurse, no aids, no librarian, and fewer teachers.

“While I expect the kind of indifference exhibited by our tea party Governor and legislature to public education, I am struck by the almost total dropping of the ball by our President and the Democrats on the issue of saving our schools, especially on behalf of the constituency which worked and voted for their reelection. Is this because the President and those around him making education policy have been bought off by the same education “reformers” who own Governor Corbett?

“I got my answer when I watched the “cutting edge classrooms” town hall for students which was sponsored by the Obama administration on June 6 after the President announced his plan to put more technology in our nations classrooms. Here is the link: whitehouse.gov/show-and-tell. This was billed as the National Show and Tell on connected classrooms. The host was a spokesperson for something called EdSurge and at approximately the 24 minute spot of the presentation she tells the assembled students that she wants them to believe she has a magic wand which could solve any problem in their schools and she invites responses. It is then that a student from Philadelphia explains that her district has a 300 million dollar deficit, that teachers and counselors are being laid off and that she wishes the magic wand would be used by the Obama administration to fix this crisis caused by, what the student refers to as the “Doomsday budget.”

“Incredibly the total response from the spokesperson is to say: okay, Philadelphia wants more funding for its doomsday “project”. That’s it. That’s all she wrote.

“As you said in your letter to the Education Secretary it is a national disgrace to allow the public schools to die, but as long as leaders are more beholden to the technology companies than the students, technology, not learning is what we will get.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Education Industry, For-Profit, Obama, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Privatization

Governor Corbett to Public Schools: Sorry.

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
10

Governor Tom Corbett passed a budget that shows his disdain for public education, I.e., the future of the state.

Philadelphia got the back of his hand. The burden of paying down the debt created by the state’s own School Reform Commission (which reforms nothing) will be placed on the working class, while big corporations skip away with no responsibility.

One plan, says columnist Will Bunch, is to turn the schools into chicken coops, where nothing happens but bare bones academics because everything else was stripped away by layoffs.

Blogger Yinzercation says the budget doesn’t reach the funding levels of 2008-09.

This governor and legislature and business community don’t care about the children or the future of the state. They would not do to their own children what they are doing to other people’s children.

Categories Budget Cuts, Pennsylvania

Letter from a Pennsylvania Student: Stop the Keystones!

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2013 //
27

A reader sent this letter written by her 14-year-old daughter. She should become active in the opt-out movement. She should contact Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson “At the Chalkface.”

Mother and daughter: resist. Join with others. Don’t let them destroy your education in the name of “accountability.” Hold the Mindless Testing Fanatics accountable.

She writes:

“Thank you for speaking up about these high stakes graduation exams. My 14 year-old daughter was required to take Algebra 1 this year (in 8th grade) and to take a first attempt at passing the new Pennsylvania, Keystone Exam. We live in the high achieving, suburban Philadelphia school district of Lower Merion, and have been extremely happy with our district until the Common Core Sate Standards and Keystone exams affected her this year. We know other children & families who feel much the same way.

“After day 1 of the exam, she came home a ball of stress. As a way of letting out her feelings, she wrote the essay below. At the end, she writes that she will never take a Keystone again, but unfortunately, that may be impossible. As I am sure you are aware, districts need to create projects for students who opt out or fail repeatedly. We have no idea what these projects entail. She is hoping that her essay will be published as a post. Thank you for considering giving her a voice.”

STOP KEYSTONES ONCE AND FOR ALL

My Story

By Jordyn Schwartz

Today I have experienced one of the most confidence breaking and mind troubling obstacles in my entire life; the Algebra 1 Keystone exam for the State of Pennsylvania. When I sat down to take this standardized test, I did not know what I was getting myself into. My math teacher had been preparing us for this test, but even with all that drill and practice, my mind could not take it all in. The first 14 questions took me over 10 minutes each when I was trying to solve the unfamiliar equations, long word problems, and words I didn’t even know how to pronounce. I was telling myself that I was going to be fine until all of the stress overwhelmed my body. I was frustrated. “I should know this,” I thought. I wasn’t even half way done when they announced that there were only 10 minutes remaining. I only completed my first set of grueling questions, and still had another set of them and 2 short answer sections containing at least 6 more questions each. I wouldn’t get help from a,b,c or d with these.

At that moment, my mind broke down. I was telling myself that I was stupid, and that these kinds of tests make me feel like I don’t know anything. After hours of work, I still had so much more. It is extremely difficult to continue concentrating at the same intense level as you did when you first started. I was sick and tired of looking at those same boring Algebra problems.

I am an A average student all around, and score advanced on PSSA’s. But I couldn’t even read the next problem without all of those discouraging thoughts spiraling in my mind. I tried telling myself to pull through, but I found myself not caring anymore, and just wanting to circle some letter. I did that for two or three questions and stopped. I dropped my pencil on my desk, tried taking some deep breaths, and thought of ripping my booklet into shreds. I poked holes in my booklet with my pencil, and started squeezing my hands tightly as if I was going to explode. I was that angry, outraged, fuming. I felt so incredibly frustrated that these stupid test companies don’t care what they are doing to the students of our country. All they want is the money, and the worst part is, nothing is being done to stop them. Why don’t the politicians making my generation the most over tested in history try the tests for themselves? I bet most of them would fail or do poorly. I mean, if smart, educated people don’t do well on these tests, than what do they show?

These Keystone tests are breaking kids down, making us feel dumb and not want to learn, instead of making us want to enjoy the wonders and greatness of education. I know that when most people in my grade hear the words, standardized testing, no one is jumping up and down with excitement. I am an 8th grade student in the Lower Merion School District: a district known for their excellent education. When kids here are complaining about how difficult it is for us to take these tests, who knows what kids in struggling school districts are experiencing. Why should these tests be a graduation requirement for high school?

After my big meltdown from the frustration of not knowing how in the world to do these problems, I didn’t continue my test. I told the guidance counselor I couldn’t take it any more, and how it made me feel horrible inside. Although I kept calm on the outside, on the inside I was bomb about to explode. I was holding back my tears. I bet many other kids felt this same way, even if it wasn’t as strongly as I felt. I will tell you one thing, I am never taking one of those tests again. No test shall ever make me feel as low and deflated as I did today. I don’t care what alternative project I have to do in exchange for the Keystone test. Let me be exempted. No one should experience what I have experienced today. Standardized testing needs to be stopped.

Categories Pennsylvania, Students, Testing
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