Posts tagged PDE
Lehigh Carbon Community College seeks Northwestern Lehigh to partner in early graduation program
Apr 27th
The recent Morning Call article below caught my attention for several reasons – most notably for providing me with a few more tidbits of information to the 6-seconds of a PR blurb (yes – literally!) mentioned at our school board meeting held on April 14th at Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC).
Due to the brief mention of this topic, I had to do some of my own “digging” to actually see and understand this initiative further. Here are some of the links from Google that you may find helpful as well:
- Skills Commission.org
- www.skillscommission.org/boardexaminationproject.htm
- www.skillscommission.org/press_2-17-10.htm
- National Center On Education And The Economy
At first glance, I’m pleased to “read” we’re not taking a leap of faith into an unknown pool just yet. A quick review of our graduation requirements, curriculum and block scheduling does not appear to provide sufficient “time” for this to occur by the end of 10th grade presently. I’m eager to “hear” and learn more in the coming weeks ahead. I’ll keep you posted…
Go from 10th grade to college at LCCC?
School pushes Northwestern Lehigh to join new national early grad program.
Lehigh Carbon Community College wants to be part of a national pilot program that would allow academically eager and able 10th-graders to skip their last two years of high school and go right into a college classroom.
LCCC would like the Northwestern Lehigh School District to be its partner in an early-graduation program, modeled on those in Europe, that fast-tracks high school students with the skills to enter college early.
The program also would help students who want to go to college but still need to work on their skills.
”What a lot of schools are responding to is they know they have students who the current program doesn’t help — students who are bored at that level and students who just don’t have a clue,” said Susan Sclafani of the National Center on Education and Economy, who will be setting up early-graduation programs in eight states, including Pennsylvania.
Northwestern Lehigh isn’t sure it wants to be a guinea pig.
”It’s still under discussion,” said Interim Superintendent Brad Cressman.
Commentary: The reporter (or editor) should have performed a thorough proofread on this article (see below) – especially given the “educational” aspect of this topic…don’t you agree?
would set up a and those who pass would receive a high school diploma and could enroll at a two- or four-year college. Students could also opt to stay in high school and prepare for admission at a selective college.The National Center said the program The center is looking for 10 to 20 schools in Pennsylvania to ”see if it works as well as we anticipate,” said Sclafani. Schools in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont will also participate.
Efforts to offer high schoolers a spot in college courses isn’t all that radical, with many students taking community colleges credits that transfer to a four-year college.
Started in 2007, LCCC’s PA Academy for the Sciences, Arts and Advanced Technologies provides college-bound, academically superior students a chance to earn transferrable college credits. However, the PA Academy classes usually isolate high school students into their own classes.
Under the Board Examination System, Northwestern Lehigh students would take classes with LCCC’s general student population.
Source: Devon Lash. “Go from 10th grade to college at LCCC.” The Morning Call April 24, 2010
Senate Education Committee amends and approves SB 1192
Apr 21st
Today the Senate Education Committee, by a 9-1 vote, approved SB 1192, a bill that would take the place of the current Education Empowerment Act, which is due to sunset on June 30. The only “no” vote was recorded by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon).
Two amendments, one introduced by the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Jeff Piccola, the committee chair, makes substantive changes to the measure.
The Piccola amendment removes the term “adequate yearly progress” and replaces it with “academic performance target” to keep in it in line with potential changes made to NCLB by Congress. The amendment also changes the names of the different achievement levels to “warning,” “accountability level 1,” ” accountability level 2″ and “accountability level 3.” Schools or districts that miss academic performance targets for one year would be put on “warning” status. Schools or district that miss academic performance targets for two or three consecutive years would be put on Accountability Level 1 status. Those that miss academic performance targets for 4-8 consecutive years would be classified in Accountability Level 2. Districts or schools missing academic performance targets for nine or more consecutive years would be placed in Accountability Level 3. Schools and districts would only be identified in Accountability Levels 1, 2 or 3 if they miss academic performance targets in the same subject by the same subgroup for consecutive years.
School directors in a district that is identified as in warning and above would have to complete a 30-hour board training program on a number of issues within nine months of designation. Newly elected directors would have to complete the program within nine months of election.
Districts in Accountability Level 3 would be governed by a 3-member statewide academic accountability board which would be appointed by PDE. The Accountability board would be responsible for developing a district improvement plan, and for approving the district’s annual budget, employment or termination of a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal or assistant principal, approving collective bargaining agreements and approve any issuance or refinancing of debt. Elected school districts would continue to run the day-to-day operations of the district. If the school board does not comply with orders from the accountability board, the district or school is penalized through a loss of subsidy in the amount of $5,000 per day for the first violation and $10,000 per day for a subsequent violation.
A second amendment, sponsored by Sen. Andy Dinniman, was approved as well. This amendment would limit the no strike provision in the bill to only districts in Accountability Level 3 status and would remove the exemption from the Prevailing Wage Act, the Separations Act and the Steel Procurement Act from charter schools formed under the bill.
What’s next – The bill now goes to the floor; it is likely to be sent to the Appropriations Committee prior to a floor vote.
Source: PSBA Office of Governmental and Member Relations, April 20, 2010
Making the Grade – PDE announces availability of District and School Report Cards
Apr 8th
Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE) has announced that, in compliance with No Child Left Behind Act, the 2008-09 District and School Report Cards are now available online at http://paayp.emetric.net/. PDE states report cards are an important source of information about achievement, accountability, other academic indicators and highly qualified teachers.
A copy of Northwestern Lehigh School District’s reports are listed below:
District AYP Performance Report
- Northwestern Elementary
- Weisenberg Elementary
- Northwestern Lehigh Middle School
- Northwestern Lehigh High School
First Draft of Common Core State Standards Initiative is Released
Mar 13th
The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the first official public draft of the K-12 standards as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Standards and supporting documents are located at www.corestandards.org, or may be viewed below:
- Standards Introduction
- Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies & Science
- Appendix A – Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards
- Appendix B – Illustrative Texts
- Appendix C – Samples of Student Writing
- Standards for Math
- Appendix – Designing High School Courses for Mathematics
The NGA and CCSSO are accepting public comments until Friday, April 2, 2010.
Last year, Pennsylvania joined the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). The State Board said it will conduct a thorough and public vetting of the standards. The adoption process will begin this spring with an independent study that compares Common Core with the state’s existing standards framework in reading and math. Following completion of the alignment study, the board will hold a series of public roundtables to gather feedback and suggestions for successful implementation.
In addition, the board will invite written comment from education stakeholders, policymakers and the public. Any action on adoption would likely occur during the summer or fall of 2010, and be preceded by two weeks of written public notice. It also clarified that the public comment period established by the CCSSO and the NGA is independent from and precedes the state-level public comment period that will occur alongside the board’s consideration of Common Core.
Source: PSBA’s Office of Governmental and Member Relations, Legislative Report – March 12, 2010
