MCCC To Hold Info Sessions For Aspiring Educators‏

Blue Bell, Pa.—From pre-k to high school, teachers play an integral role in shaping students’ lives. And for decades, Montgomery County Community College’s Education programs have helped prepare teachers for the task. That preparation starts with an innovative curriculum that keeps pace with industry trends and transfer standards.

The College will hold information sessions on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. for prospective students and their families to learn about MCCC’s education programs. Sessions will be led by MCCC Education faculty in room 101 of the Advanced Technology Center at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell.

During the info sessions, participants will get a taste for what it’s like to be an education major at MCCC, and faculty will discuss job prospects in the education industry. Participants will also learn about MCCC’s three Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree programs in education—Education in the Early Years: Birth Through Grade Four, Education in the Middle Years: Grades Four through Eight, and Secondary Education.

All three of MCCC’s programs align with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) certification requirements and transfer seamlessly to programs at four-year colleges and universities. Regardless of the program, all MCCC Education students take Introduction to Education (EDU 100), which allows them to observe different classrooms at a variety of grade levels and to learn about certification options and requirements.

To learn more about MCCC’s Education programs, visit http://www.mc3.edu/academics, then select Areas of Study, followed by Social Sciences.

Ringgold High School Latest To Be Rocked By Sex Scandal

A trail of months-old text messages, followed by a police investigation that discovers an inappropriate relationship between an educator and a student: It’s a story line that’s becoming all too familiar.

At Plum High School, police have charged two teachers with crimes involving students. At Norwin High School, an investigation is ongoing after what were described as inappropriate text messages were found between a teacher and a student.

It unfolded again Thursday in the Ringgold School District, where police announced they had filed charges against a former guidance counselor for allegedly having sex with a high school football player.

Rostraver police said Lianne Danko, 33, of Rostraver, was charged with three counts of institutional sexual assault.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/05/21/Police-to-file-charges-against-Ringgold-guidance-counselor/stories/201505210175

Lancaster Ranked No. 1 Place To Be A Teacher In The U.S.

Education majors who graduated from Millersville University this month don’t have to look far to find an awesome place to work.

Lancaster is the best city in the country to be a teacher, according to a South Carolina-based data analysis and scholarship search company.

GoodCall created its list of the top 10 places to be a teacher based on average annual teacher salary, available teaching jobs, teaching jobs per capita, high school graduation rates, cost of living and amenities. It used data from the U.S. Census, Indeed.com, the National Center for Education Statistics, and WalkScore.com.

The average teacher salary for Lancaster is $60,370, and there were 70 teaching jobs available as of May 6, according to GoodCall. Those figures refer to public and private schools in the city, according to Carrie Wiley, GoodCall’s public relations manager.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-ranked-no-place-to-be-a-teacher-in-the/article_030e8894-faff-11e4-91c5-9b05a2f2a6f8.html

Facing $4.9M Deficit, York City Schools Still Looking To Grow

Map of , United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Required to adopt a balanced budget by June 30, York City School District officials are cobbling together a proposal with two major pieces of the financial puzzle missing.

First, it’s still unclear whether New Hope Academy Charter School will be forced to close — a scenario that could send an influx of students and money to the district.

And, the teacher’s union has not agreed to new collective-bargaining agreement with the district, which adopted a financial recovery plan that depends significantly on workforce savings achieved through wage and benefits reductions during the next five years.

Nonetheless, district administrators are proposing to move forward with plans to add and expand programs.

Read more:  http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_25520609/facing-4-9m-deficit-york-city-schools-still

Mapping Poverty: Wealthiest And Poorest School Districts In Pennsylvania

Pottstown School District

24% of children in poverty

Estimated Total Population: 22,617
Estimated Population 5 to 17 years old: 3,560
Estimated number of children 5 to 17 years old in poverty: 861

If you click on this link, you can access a map of Pennsylvania at the bottom of the article and by clicking on your school district, you can see the results as demonstrated above for Pottstown School District:  http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/mapping-poverty-wealthiest-and-poorest-school-districts-in-pennsylvania/article_53d4e55a-9810-11e3-8d0a-001a4bcf6878.html

The map is able to be enlarged or shrunk as you see fit (works like Mapquest).  The names of cities and towns are behind the colors, you can see them which will help you find what you are looking for.   Again, make sure you use the map at the bottom of the article, not the one at the top.  Happy hunting!

State School Subsidy For Reading District Tells Only A Partial Story

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The number looks enormous.

$117 million.

That’s how much the Reading School District will get from the state in the coming school year in basic education funding, the main channel through which state funds flow to local school districts.

It is by far the largest total of any district in Berks County and ranks the third-largest in the state, behind only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=497613

For At Least 20 Years, Interlocking Problems Have Plagued Wilkinsburg Schools

Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the Wilkinsburg School District, almost half of students don’t graduate.

A third of students have been involved in incidents that threatened school safety.  On state tests, 86.4 percent of 11th graders aren’t proficient in math and 68.3 percent aren’t proficient in reading.

The district is hemorrhaging students to charter schools.  It borrowed $3 million for general operating expenses and has furloughed about 80 teachers in the past three years.

Some residents are taken aback when asked for their assessment of the district, seeing it as self-evident that the district has already fallen off the cliff.

“Honestly, it’s too far gone,” said Wilkinsburg resident Stephanie Shea.  “Code blue happened a while ago.  At this point, it needs to be totally dismantled.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/for-at-least-20-years-interlocking-problems-have-plagued-wilkinsburg-schools-691087/#ixzz2VpYDUujs

Pottsgrove Parent: French Teacher Can’t Speak French

Location of Lower Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has rejected a complaint filed against district administrators by the parent of a Pottsgrove High School student who argued the district has been negligent in ensuring that the school’s French teacher knows the language well enough to teach it.

In the complaint and in conversations with a reporter, Tony DiPaolo said he had tried for five months to work with the district’s administrators to resolve the issue, particularly when the teacher in question went on leave and the opportunity to find a native language speaker presented itself, but he met resistance and bureaucracy every step of the way.

In the end, “I had no choice,” he said.  “This not only affects my son, but all the other students who think they are being taught proper French.”

DiPaolo is multi-lingual.  His parents are Italian and spoke Italian in the home.  That home was in Montreal and Dipaolo attended a private school there staffed by instructors from France.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130429/NEWS01/130429239/pottsgrove-parent-french-teacher-can-t-speak-french#full_story