Patch Poll: Should PA School Districts Revoke Charters of Underperforming Charter Schools?

Not one cyber charter school in the state and fewer than one-third of 'brick-and-mortar' charter schools made Adequate Yearly Progress last year.

Charter schools have been touted as a way for students to escape underperforming local public schools ever since Pennsylvania passed legislation in 1997 establishing them as a independent public schools. Cyber charter schools followed in 2002. One of the key selling points used by charter schools has been that their students outperform their public school counterparts. But according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, historical data indicate that a consistently lower percentage of charter schools make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) than traditional public schools. Last fall, the state Department of Education implemented a new way of determining whether charter schools have met student achievement milestones for AYP under the …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Grading the State Budget on Education

A TEACH (Tell Everyone All Cuts Hurt) representative takes a look at the state budget priorities.

Hey, Taxpayer, While you were out trying to avoid heatstroke this summer, your state government actually did something. The Pennsylvania Legislature passed another one of those pesky budgets determining exactly what your taxes have bought you this year.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind paying taxes if I get a good return on my investment. And what better investment than our children, our future? I’m speaking, of course, about public education. So was this a good return? Let’s see: GOOD NEWS PA. BUDGET PASSED HIGHER THAN GOVERNOR WANTED: Last year, the Legislature cut $818 million from public schools—especially the poorest ones. This year, the Gov. Tom Corbett wanted $94 million in additional cuts, but instead the Legislature voted…

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Letter to the Editor: T.E.A.C.H. Co-Founder Takes on Corbett's Budget

'There's money to be made shortchanging kids' educations,' letter writer says.

For the second straight year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed massive education budget cuts. For the second straight year, Corbett has proposed massive cuts to colleges, universities and K-12 public schools. For the second straight year, Corbett has proposed the state do less for its citizens and more for big business. Why?  It’s all about profits. There’s money to be made shortchanging kids’ educations.  States throughout the country spend the majority of their budgets on schools. On average, states spend about 40 percent of their tax revenues on K-12 and colleges, according to The National Association of State Budget Officers. That’s some $400 billion every year. Pennsylvania comes in somewhat below the national average with …

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Letter to the Editor: Is Gov. Corbett Education's 'Caped Crusader?'

T.E.A.C.H. representative asks a Jimmy Olsen question: 'If public schools are broken, why not fix them?'

Superman, where are you? Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim tells us America’s waiting for a caped crusader to solve our education crisis. We regular Joes just aren’t up to the task. Well, look up in the sky, it’s a bird ... it’s a plane ... no, it’s a Republican governor!  Fresh from slashing $860 million from public schools budgets, Gov. Tom Corbett has swept in to finish the job of “saving” Pennsylvania’s school kids with his new education proposals.  Just in the nick of time, too. This year alone, Pennsylvania’s public schools have increased class sizes, stopped tutoring those children who fall behind, eliminated electives like music and art, stopped replacing crumbling textbooks or outdated computers, started charging fees to participate in …

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