Funding will help drive quality and accountability in Pennsylvania charter schools The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) announced today that it has received a $1.14 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The three-year grant was made with the goal of expanding efforts to drive quality and accountability in Pennsylvania charter schools, and [...] More »
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, enlightened leadership, and strong authorizers. None of this is surprising, and with the exception of the strong authorizer, everyone is [...] 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 »
Rock Center Special Correspondent Chelsea Clinton visits Central Falls, R.I., where a public school and charter school have formed a unique partnership to better serve their students. Rather than compete with one another, a group of public school teachers are working with teachers from The Learning Community charter school to devise programs that have already raised [...] 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 »
Joined by Philadelphia education, business and philanthropic leaders, Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced today that he and other education leaders have signed a historic agreement to increase the number of high-performing schools in the City. The Philadelphia Great Schools Compact unites the mayor, school district and charter school leaders in a bold, collaborative plan to focus [...] More »
The December 2 issue of the Morning Call contained an article on a “report” announced to have been released on November 25 in which 26 school superintendents from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Pike counties blasted charter schools. We have read the original document, the press release, and the story and have found there are [...] 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 »
West Chester, PA — The Pa Senate Education Committee voted today to include into a key education bill (SB 1) much of what was in charter school reform bill SB 904, and to move SB 1 to the full Senate for consideration. SB 1 previously contained proposals focusing only on Opportunity Scholarships and Educational Investment [...] More »
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools applauds Governor Tom Corbett for addressing the Commonwealth’s need for public education reform. The Governor has made it clear that providing Pennsylvania K-12 students with public school choice is one of his top priorities. The reforms supported by Governor Corbett, which reflect companion bills in the Pennsylvania Senate [...] More »
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has been awarded $38 million through the United States Department of Education’s Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program. The states winning the Striving Readers Grant are: Pending legislative approval, the program is projected to span five years with matching awards each consecutive year. Pennsylvania was one of 35 states that [...] 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 »
The following is a letter sent to The PA Department of Education Director of Budget and Fiscal Management, Barbara Nelson, concerning a recent development at the May 24th summit between Charter School CEO’s and the PA Department of Education. In the overflowing room, the Department verbally explained to the Charter School community that a charter [...] 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 »
Gov. Corbett and Mayor Nutter headline Boys Latin Charter School first graduation in West Philadelphia this past Monday. “In many ways you – the first graduating class – are the founders of your school,” Corbett told the 79 young men who received their diplomas before a cheering audience of parents, friends, and supporters who packed [...] More »
by Michelle Rhee As we work to improve our neighborhood public schools, we also have to expand the educational choices available to children and families. Pennsylvania must make it easier for good public charter schools to expand in the state. Charter schools are public schools, but they operate with more freedom than traditional schools and [...] More »
According to the Washington Times and the Washington Post, a new study from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that in the 2008-09 school year, 1.4 million students across the country attended public charter schools, up from 340,000 a decade earlier. NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley called the rising enrollment [...] More »
“What you are doing here needs to be reported to all the people of Pennsylvania so that they can understand what can be accomplished if there’s a vision, if there’s a commitment, and if there’s determination and if there’s choice,” Corbett said to students who filled the bleachers in the CCCS gymnasium. “Because that’s what [...] More »
Senate Bill 904 is a tremendous step in the right direction, not only for charter schools, but for all public education in Pennsylvania. It legitimizes the charter school option as a fundamental part of the fabric of public education in Pennsylvania; removes political shackles from high quality charter school operators; and provides fair, transparent, and [...] More »
PHILADELPHIA – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the Department of Education to pay the Philadelphia-based Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School $1.3 million the School District of Philadelphia had previously refused to pay the charter school. Last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Education affirmed that the School District of Philadelphia had no authority [...] More »