Ethan Demme

Thoughts and Policy for Building a Better Pennsylvania

Are we still “A Nation at Risk” after 30 years?

Thirty years ago the Reagan administration released a ground breaking report called “A Nation at Risk”. 30 years later, what has changed and are will still a nation at risk. The Fordham institute took at look and talked with Bill Bennett about what has changed and what still needs to be done.

Watch this video looking back on the release of “the single most influential document in the history of American education.”

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Thirty years ago, A Nation at Risk sounded alarm bells on the state of our nation’s education system. Since this pivotal paper was issued, what has changed in American education and American society—and what still needs to happen?

Watch former U.S. education secretary William J. Bennett, eminent author, social and political commentator, talk about our schools, our culture, our past three decades, and our future.


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h/t The Fordham Institute

Study: Homeschool Students Sleep Better

Interesting article about sleep habits for students in high school, it turns out that getting up later is better for teens and that homeschool students who do get up later learn better. Read the full story at the National Jewish Health website.

Research supports later start times for high school

DENVER, CO – March 6, 2013 — In the first study of its kind, researchers have determined that teens who are homeschooled benefit from healthier sleep habits than those who go to most private and public schools. The findings provide additional evidence of teens’ altered biological clocks and support an argument for starting traditional high school later in the morning.

“We have a school system that is set up so that the youngest children, who are awake very early in the morning, start school latest, and our adolescents, who need sleep the most, are being asked to wake up and go to school at a time when their brains should physiologically be asleep,” said Lisa Meltzer, PhD, a sleep psychologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, and lead author of the study.


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Asenath Andrews “You don’t need shoes, you need wings” #SXSWedu

I had the privilege of seeing Asenath Andrews speak this year at #SXSWedu in Austin Texas. She is an inspiration and an ongoing reminder that all children should have the opportunity to succeed. Watch the video and/or scroll down to see some of the nuggets I tweeted during her speech.

Keynote: Asenath Andrews – SXSWedu 2013 from SXSWedu on Vimeo.

Students First – Pennsylvania Report Card

Yesterday Students First published a State-by-State analysis and report card that looks solely at education policy environments and provides a road map for schools’ success. From the press release.

Sacramento, CA. – Today, national education reform advocacy organization StudentsFirst published its first-ever State Policy Report Card, a new tool for improving student achievement that doesn’t look at individual or school-wide test scores or teacher effectiveness, but instead gauges how well each state’s education policies are serving students and schools.

“The most powerful way to improve student achievement from outside the classroom is to shape policy and implement laws at the state level that govern education,” said StudentsFirst CEO and Founder Michelle Rhee. “That is why our report card focuses singularly on the education policies in place in each of our states. And when we look solely at policy, it’s clear that we have a long way to go toward improving our education system in America.”

The report raises serious questions about whether states’ education laws and practices are contributing to student success. Nearly ninety percent of states received less than a “C” grade on the State Policy Report Card, and no state earned higher than a “B-“.

Pennsylvania scored a D and currently ranks 19th among the other states. Click on the image to view the full report.

Pennsylvania has made great strides when it comes to considering and enacting policies that will impact the success of the education system and increase student achievement. Pennsylvania has adopted meaningful educator evaluations that will identify excellent teachers and principals. Pennsylvania has always tied consistent ineffectiveness to potential dismissal and with new evaluations that measure an educator’s impact on student achievement, the state can develop and maintain an effective workforce that will have the greatest impact on students. Pennsylvania has also recently enacted the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program aimed at helping low-income students attending low-performing schools. The Commonwealth has also embarked on a mission to update the state’s antiquated charter school law and should consider including better authorizing and accountability structures for all charters. These policies will all have meaningful impacts on students, and the state should continue enacting policies that put students first.

The report card from Students First has bipartisan support from PA Lawmakers. The Patriot News reported these comments from Rep Aument and Rep Boyle.

Two lawmakers who have been briefed in advance about the group’s report card saw value to it. Rep. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, who authored the educator evaluation system legislation, said he thinks the report card should be used as a map for education reform.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Philadelphia, called it “a thoughtful, well-researched tool” that should help lawmakers “work toward creating policies that give parents more information, reward good teachers, and force government to spend tax dollars wisely.”

It’s good to see student focused organizations such as Students First and Pennsylvania lawmakers who are willing to talk about the issues facing Pennsylvania students and put ideas for real reform on the table.

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