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Recent Happenings...Toured the Commonwealth Connections Academy in Harrisburg, a tuition-free public cyber school giving students the flexibility to learn at home with a curriculum that meets state education standards. Visited the Walter Palmer Charter School Spent time at the Steelton-Highspire High School to observe The Salvation Army's "Bridging the Gap Between Youth and Community Services," a program which serves at-risk youth ages 12 to 18 and is designed to provide support and skills they need to keep their lives on track. Named to Governor-Elect Corbett's transition team on education to assist with the development of his administration, particularly regarding the transition of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In the News…December 7, 2010 – KYW News Radio: Charter School Debate Heating Up November 30, 2010 – The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa., N.J. legislators blast loss of charter aid Looking Ahead – Goals of the Education Committee
Happy Holidays to You and Yours
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News & Views...Education Committee Wraps Up Busy Two-Year Agenda We convened an unprecedented number of public hearings on a range of topics, many of which will be the impetus for action in the upcoming legislative session. We held twenty-eight public hearings throughout the state and tackled controversial topics, such as teacher strikes and contracts, school consolidation, and student data privacy concerns. For the first time, this Committee also held three days of hearings to examine the Rendell Administration's education budget, to scrutinize every spending level for every initiative. One of the Committee's accomplishments I am most proud of involved the
advancement of new end-of-course statewide testing requirements, known as the We successfully advanced more than fifty pieces of legislation throughout the two-year session, many of which began the conversation on issues which have not been debated for decades. I look forward to carrying this momentum into the next Administration. For a complete listing of the Committee's accomplishments, visit www.piccola.org. School Choice – the Focus for the Future
Governor-elect Corbett and his team recognize that school choice can save the taxpayers of this Commonwealth money, reduce dropout rates, and give students a chance to be competitive globally. It's time we make choice a reality for children and parents and my Committee will be working to do just that in the near future. |
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in Philadelphia and participated in a school choice rally with a number of
charter school advocates (to view the footage from this rally visit my
website). 
Keystone Exams. Another important milestone was last month's historic override
of Governor Rendell's veto of the omnibus school code bill, HB 101. This
legislation was the result of months of hard work by both chambers, and
contained a long list of educational initiatives positively impacting public
education.
That's
why in 2011 the Senate Education Committee will be working to develop a school
choice initiative that will increase education options for all students and
assist those who are fed up with failing schools. We need to recognize that
"one size doesn't fit all" when it comes to educating students, for they all
require different means of learning. School choice in the form of opportunity
grants, or vouchers, enhancements to the state's Education Improvement Tax
Credit (EITC) Program, and the expansion of charter and cyber charter schools –
are elements that will improve Pennsylvania's school choice climate.