HARRISBURG, Pa., May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Governor Tom Corbett today announced that Ronald J. Tomalis will leave his post as Secretary of Education on May 31 to become Special Adviser to the Governor on Higher Education. Tomalis, who has been with the administration since January 2011, will be responsible for overseeing, implementing [...] More »
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Secretary Tomalis may be stepping down. Click Here for Story More »
Presently, it is parents who decide to enroll their children in cyber schools (or other schools). Parents should make such decisions: They know best what’s best for their children. I don’t think government – any government – should interfere with these rights – ever. This will be my guiding principle whenever the General Assembly deliberates [...] More »
The Senate on Tuesday voted to send legislation to Gov. Tom Corbett that would establish a 15-member commission to develop a special education funding formula to replace an archaic one that is more than two decades old. HB 2 defines three levels for special ed funding for all public schools – traditional, cyber charter, and brick and [...] More »
Ask your Member of Congress to Support More Federal Funding for Public Charter Schools! Four public charter school champions in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking support for an increase in federal funds for the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP). Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Tom Petri (R-WI), Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Duncan Hunter (R-CA) [...] More »
In response to the PCPCS cyber charter members’ “Get to Know Us” campaign, State Representative Seth Grove recently toured the Achievement House Cyber Charter School in Exton. “Representative Grove spent two hours touring our facility, meeting with much of our staff, and asking a lot of questions,” said AHCCS CEO Dr. Tim Daniels. “It was [...] More »
PCPCS issued the following response to State Rep. James Roebuck’s report on charter and cyber charter schools that was clearly drafted in the interests of maintaining the status quo and destroying real choice for parents. Representative Roebuck acknowledges that the study focuses on only a very few charter schools and very specific situations. Furthermore, the report [...] More »
Recap House Education Committee Hearing on Devastating Cyber Charter Legislation On Thursday, March 14, the House Education Committee held a hearing on proposed legislation that, if passed, will negatively impact the future of every Pennsylvania cyber charter school. Links to the bills and testimony follow: Committee(s): House Education Committee Meeting type: Public hearing Subject: Cyber charter school [...] More »
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) is incredibly disappointed that the House of Representatives has chosen to bow to special interest groups over the well being of the children of this state. In failing to pass SB 1115, the House rejected three years of work by people who have been sincerely and passionately dedicated to crafting legislation that increases accountability for charter schools and provides better quality educational options for our children. More »
Fourth-grader Karson Hair of Mechanicsburg, who came with an army of students from Commonwealth Connections Academy, also was ready with a reason why it was important to keep the charter school movement thriving."For some kids, the right school is public school and that's right for them but you can't just throw every child into a public school and think they are going to be successful because some kids need better education and cybercharter schools are going to give them that education," Karson said. More »
Now is the time to act on legislation which embodies national best practices designed to create and nurture high quality charter schools. The following tenants are encompassed in SB 1115 and need to be in the final legislation. More »
West Chester, PA – The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools expresses profound disappointment in the failure of the Senate to act on Senate Bill 1115 which passed the House yesterday with comprehensive charter reform amendments. The encouraging action by the House represented an imperfect, but long overdue update of the charter school law that [...] More »
1. Some charter school have questioned school district backing out federal stimulus money from the Social Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) and the Education Jobs Fund (EduJobs) on their 363 calculation. It is PDE’s position that ANY federal portion of BEF, including SFSF and EduJobs, should be considered state funds for the purpose of the 363 [...] More »
Harrisburg PA: Pennsylvania State Senator Jeffrey Piccola speaks to the Senate about the success and role of charter schools in serving the most at risk children in the state, specifically in the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Watch the video below (approx. 14 min). More »
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools is profoundly disappointed that State Rep. Mike Fleck served as a mouthpiece for special interests seeking to destroy charter schools and eliminate parental choice. Rep. Fleck’s legislation is disingenuous and shows incredible disrespect for the intelligence of legislators and Pennsylvania taxpayers. It talks about reform but protects the [...] More »
Visit www.ChildrenPA.com and take two minutes to let your legislator know you want to see an independent authorizer in Pennsylvania. After more than 14 years of operation and experience in Pennsylvania and from educators in 39 other states, we know what makes for high-performing charter schools – dedicated teachers, involved parents, individualized attention, exceptional curriculums, [...] More »
The U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP) has just announced two new Non-State Educational Agency (Non-SEA) grant competitions for 2012. Applications for both competitions are due June 6, 2012. The CSP’s Non-SEA Planning, Program Design, and Implementation competition (84.282B) provides grants directly to public charter schools so they can plan, design, and complete [...] More »
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools is very pleased to report that on April 3, 2012 the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the March 4, 2011 decision of the Secretary of Education which previously awarded the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partner Charters School $1,253,225.82 in its enrollment cap dispute with the School District [...] More »
On Tuesday March 27th, PCPCS Board President Lawrence Jones testified before the Philadelphia City Council Education Committee on behalf of Charter Schools and the ever expanding role they play in revolutionizing public education in Philadelphia. Specifically Mr. Jones testified about the historical friction between charters and the District that may be addressed through open discussions [...] More »
On February 15th 2012, PCPCS President, Lawrence Jones, testified before the PA Senate Education Committee against House Bill 1973, a bill that would severely defund Cyber Charter Schools in Pennsylvania. More »
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a Proposed Regulation titled “Determination of Government Plan Status.” This regulation would force states to prohibit charter school teachers from participating in state retirement plans. Presently, every single state that authorizes charter schools either requires or permits charter school participation in the state’s retirement system. Therefore, this regulation would [...] More »
After 14 years of operation and experience in Pennsylvania and from educators in 39 other states, we know what makes for high-performing charter schools – dedicated teachers, involved parents, individualized attention, exceptional curriculums, enlightened leadership, and strong authorizers. None of this is surprising, and with the exception of the strong authorizer, every one is identical [...] More »
The results are in: The majority of PA residents support public school choice. The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools in partnership with Susquehanna Polling and Research recently conducted a statewide survey to determine how taxpayers view charter and cyber charter schools. The survey results indicate that residents across the Commonwealth recognize the value of [...] More »
The following is a transcript of the testimony of Lawrence F. Jones, President of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools, given to the the PA House Education Committee in Philadelphia on Thursday July 28th. Good afternoon Chairman Clymer, Chairman Roebuck, members of the Education Committee, members of the legislature, and audience members. My name is Lawrence F. [...] More »
“I don’t see how the success of a program like this threatens a traditional K-12 district,” Tomalis said. “What you see in this building is what public education should really be about.” The education secretary was at [the Lincoln Elementary Charter School in York] shoulder-to-shoulder with Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, a Republican representing a portion of [...] More »