From the Delco Times
Do not abandon commitment to education
Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:37 AM EST
By JEFFREY G. VERMEULEN Times Guest Columnist
I want to make sure Pennsylvania is able to produce the most highly skilled, best trained and appropriately educated work force. While I appreciate that the commonwealth is in tough economic times, we must look beyond the present and invest in the future of Pennsylvania’s children by making basic education funding a top policy priority. And that means we must keep a promise made last year by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to meet state funding targets for school districts by 2013-2014.
This unparalleled goal, and the investment of $275 million in basic education, was a momentous first step to improve Pennsylvania’s education funding system. It could not have been achieved without the broad bi-partisan support of the legislature.
Our policymakers came together to ensure Pennsylvania’s children were provided with increased resources aimed at improving student achievement — the key to ensuring Pennsylvania’s future economic success.
For example, 46,000 new students received tutoring or other remediation, nearly 2,000 more children are enrolled in pre- or full-day kindergarten programs, and 312,000 students are in new courses such as foreign language and advanced math and have the most up-to-date curriculum and hands-on learning tools for science.
When I look at this progress, I am thankful for this historic action but I also recognize our work is not over yet. If Pennsylvania abandons the goal of adequate and equitable school funding for all, we are failing to uphold the commitment we made to Pennsylvania’s children.
Without increased state support for our schools, teachers and students, the academic progress we’ve made in recent years will be jeopardized. Class size will expand, at-risk children will have fewer opportunities to boost achievement levels, textbooks will not be replaced, science labs won’t contain modern equipment and there will be fewer advanced class offerings.
Tough decisions will have to be made by school boards and superintendents as they seek to preserve valuable student achievement programs and recognize the financial capabilities of their local taxpayers.
The commonwealth needs to maintain its momentum on closing the funding adequacy gap for public education by making another solid investment in school districts in the 2009-10 budget and by continuing to use a school funding formula that takes into account student enrollment, district size, poverty and English proficiency.
Sure, times are tough. Spending is down. For the first time in years, Pennsylvania is experiencing a steady job loss. There is no doubt we are immersed in an economic crisis, the likes of which we have not seen in decades. But there is no greater investment during difficult economic times than in the preparation of the commonwealth’s future work force.
By ensuring that our future work force is adequately prepared to meet the challenges of a 21st century economy, we can help stimulate the economic growth of Pennsylvania in the months and years to come.
Education is an investment that contributes to the direct economic success of individuals, benefits the economy, and attracts and supports business. In fact, investments in pre-K-12th-grade education are one the most effective tools a community can utilize in order to promote economic development.
Work-force development and constant training is a critical human capital process concerned with identifying future needs, developing a productive work force, examining the skills of employees at all levels, and determining both strengths and skill gaps.
Work-force development and training can prepare today’s work force for tomorrow’s challenges. Thus, to meet the economic challenges of the future, Pennsylvania’s school districts must be provided with the resources they need today. Let’s be sure that Pennsylvania is at the forefront of the movement to build the intellectual capacity of our young people to meet the challenges of the future.
Jeffrey G. Vermeulen is president of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Summer School for the Teachers
From the BCCT.
Teachers eager for workplace experience
There were more applicants for the program than money to fund it.
By JOHN ANASTASI
The Bucks County Intermediate Unit and Bucks County Workforce Investment Board want to expand a summer program that places teachers in local businesses and nonprofit agencies connected to the subjects the educators teach.
The “Educator in the Workplace” program received 300 applications but could only place 10 teachers last year due to finances. The two organizations devoted $5,000 to the program, which covered the $500 stipend given to each educator.
“There was an amazing response from teachers in Bucks County,” said JoAnn Perotti, the IU’s strategic planning and communications director.
The program helps teachers gain some hands-on experience in the fields and subjects they teach, said Perotti. For instance, a Pennsbury social studies teacher interned at the David Library of the American Revolution and a Bucks County Technical High School cosmetology teacher worked at a local hair salon.
Ultimately, the program is designed to better prepare students to enter the workforce since their teachers can return to the classrooms with ideas to incorporate into their lessons.
“It gives them a better idea of what the business world is looking for,” Perotti said.
It also gives the teachers better connections with the fields they teach.
Lori Salley, the cosmetology teacher who interned at Wiggle Worms Children’s Hair Salon in Northeast Philadelphia, recently had the salon owner speak to her class. Sharon Vetter, who interned at the David Library, had her class do research at the Upper Makefield foundation.
“I can see it expanding and expanding,” Perotti said of the program. “It gives teachers the opportunity to see the real world outside and how it relates to the classroom.”
The program is only limited by the money it takes to pay the teachers. During a meeting of the workforce investment board, Perotti said the teachers seem more eager to receive their Act 48 credits than the $500 stipend. Pennsylvania’s Act 48 mandates that public school teachers obtain a certain number of continuing education credits per year.
Work board member Clark Shuster, CEO of the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce, suggested eliminating the stipend if the teachers care more about the Act 48 credits than the $500. That, he said, would open up the program to more teachers. The board and IU will continue to study that possibility, officials said.
Workforce investment board executive director Liz Walsh said she’d like to see the program begin to target industries that are growing in Bucks County — particularly biosciences and alternative energy.
Teachers eager for workplace experience
There were more applicants for the program than money to fund it.
By JOHN ANASTASI
The Bucks County Intermediate Unit and Bucks County Workforce Investment Board want to expand a summer program that places teachers in local businesses and nonprofit agencies connected to the subjects the educators teach.
The “Educator in the Workplace” program received 300 applications but could only place 10 teachers last year due to finances. The two organizations devoted $5,000 to the program, which covered the $500 stipend given to each educator.
“There was an amazing response from teachers in Bucks County,” said JoAnn Perotti, the IU’s strategic planning and communications director.
The program helps teachers gain some hands-on experience in the fields and subjects they teach, said Perotti. For instance, a Pennsbury social studies teacher interned at the David Library of the American Revolution and a Bucks County Technical High School cosmetology teacher worked at a local hair salon.
Ultimately, the program is designed to better prepare students to enter the workforce since their teachers can return to the classrooms with ideas to incorporate into their lessons.
“It gives them a better idea of what the business world is looking for,” Perotti said.
It also gives the teachers better connections with the fields they teach.
Lori Salley, the cosmetology teacher who interned at Wiggle Worms Children’s Hair Salon in Northeast Philadelphia, recently had the salon owner speak to her class. Sharon Vetter, who interned at the David Library, had her class do research at the Upper Makefield foundation.
“I can see it expanding and expanding,” Perotti said of the program. “It gives teachers the opportunity to see the real world outside and how it relates to the classroom.”
The program is only limited by the money it takes to pay the teachers. During a meeting of the workforce investment board, Perotti said the teachers seem more eager to receive their Act 48 credits than the $500 stipend. Pennsylvania’s Act 48 mandates that public school teachers obtain a certain number of continuing education credits per year.
Work board member Clark Shuster, CEO of the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce, suggested eliminating the stipend if the teachers care more about the Act 48 credits than the $500. That, he said, would open up the program to more teachers. The board and IU will continue to study that possibility, officials said.
Workforce investment board executive director Liz Walsh said she’d like to see the program begin to target industries that are growing in Bucks County — particularly biosciences and alternative energy.
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