May29
PRESS RELEASE FROM SENATOR TEPLITZ Teplitz Calls for Costing-out Study of ‘Flawed’ Charter School Funding Formula HARRISBURG, May 29, 2013 — As school districts continue to struggle with tighter budgets, state Sen. Rob Teplitz said a thorough examination of the charter school funding formula is needed to address spending inequities. Teplitz has introduced a resolution directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct […] More »
May03
Commonwealth Connections Academy’s state-winning Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) team placed second in the country at the 2013 National RWDC engineering competition on April 20, topping 26 teams from other states and territories. CCA was the sole cyber charter school to qualify and participate in this year’s National Competition, and is also the only […] More »
Apr25
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Mar19
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 »
Feb06
An antiquated charter school law in need of updates led to a fall in national rankings released recently by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). More »
Oct02
After the 2011-2012 results for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) scores were released, the contrast between traditional district schools and charter schools is striking. A higher percentage of charter schools achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) statewide. In Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the percentages of charter schools that made AYP were much greater than the traditional district schools in those cities. More »
Sep06
More families in Pennsylvania will have access to public school choice as school begins for the 2012-2013 year. Nine new charter schools will join the existing 167 charter schools statewide More »
Aug29
During the recent rash of negative publicity about charter schools in Philadelphia, a vital fact has been lost: the fact that most charter schools in Philadelphia are operating at the highest standard of ethical conduct and providing children with a safe learning environment, high quality educational opportunities, and options for a brighter future they would […] More »
Jul02
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 »
May15
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 »
Apr19
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) understands the tremendous financial challenges that the Commonwealth is confronting and supports the Governor’s effort to rebuild Pennsylvania’s commitment to strong fiscal responsibility and good stewardship of public resources. But, we also believe that the initially recommended cuts to public education in the proposed state budget are […] More »
Apr18
WEST CHESTER, PA (April 18, 2011) — The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) and the PA Families for Cyber Charter Schools applaud state lawmakers who drafted legislation aimed toward reforming charter school law (HB 1348). Representatives Thomas Killion, Tony Payton, and Jim Marshall have taken a bipartisan lead to serve the best interests […] More »
Apr15
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools strongly supports the vigorous investigation of any persons or organizations suspected of misuse of public funds. If warranted, prosecution should be aggressive and, if found guilty, those convicted should be penalized to the full extent of the law. Fraud in any public school undermines the integrity and credibility […] More »
Apr12
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 »
Apr08
The following letter was sent yesterday to the Governor’s office in protest of an over-reaching change to state law to defund Charter Schools by the School District of Philadelphia. Dear Governor Corbett, The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is calling for a quick and ill-conceived change in state law that would cut charter school funding […] More »
Apr06
WEST CHESTER, PA (April 6, 2011) — The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) is reviewing data from charter schools across the state in an effort to determine why some charter schools are excelling and why others are not. Data released from Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) today on performance […] More »