"Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends" is a new data analysis that examines enrollment trends during the last four school years (2019-2023). Over the last four school years (2019-20 to 2022-23), charter schools have gained more than…

Utilizing longitudinal data from the national Schools to Watch (STW) program, this paper examines school demographic characteristics and teacher ratings of the implementation of STW criteria in STW schools and schools that have applied but have not yet been designated as a STW. The STW program was established by the National Forum to Accelerate…

Historically, Pennsylvania has struggled to integrate its public schools, especially with much of the racial diversity concentrated in urban regions. Starting in the 1960s, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) was the state's enforcing body to combat school desegregation, but since the early 1980s, when it comes to education, the…

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) press release, in which the Governor outlined his budget priorities for 2014-2015, the Governor's plan includes the Expanding Excellence Program. If enacted and funded, this initiative would "provide competitive funding to schools that have attained a 90 or higher on the School…

This study sought to identify the attitudes that principals held regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities, and the relationship between their attitudes and their placement recommendations for children with autism and to identify the relationship between specific demographic factors and attitudes toward inclusion and placement. A…

In a comprehensive study of two-hundred fifty homeschooling families in urban, rural and suburban areas of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the researcher examined all aspects of the instruction, materials and curricula employed by the families in a ten-year longitudinal study from 1998 through 2008. The researcher conducted interviews and…

This book demonstrates through case studies and expert analyses the impressive educational gains children can make when the best educational research, policy, and practice are aligned. This volume is a valuable resource to aspiring leaders, educational researchers, and current practitioners and a must-read for anyone who cares about the public…

Recently there has been a resurgence in demand for citizen participation in public school decision-making. To directly assess the degree of this phenomenon, 30 public school districts were selected from Pennsylvania (excluding Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), based on a random sample, for a citizen attitude measurement questionnaire that yielded 320…

Now that the State Board of Education has adopted new regulations requiring all Pennsylvania school districts to develop a strategic plan, it seems useful to describe the role of demographic information in that planning process. This Pennsylvania Educational Policy Studies (PEPS) report provides a rationale for considering information regarding…

THE PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION REPORTS ON THE STATUS OF RACIAL BALANCE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS WELL AS ON THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S PROGRESS TOWARD INTEGRATION. THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR ALL THE SCHOOLS, EMPLOYEE ASSIGNMENT POLICIES, AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND BUILDING CONDITIONS ARE DISCUSSED. ORGANIZED HUMAN RELATIONS EMPHASES WERE…

THIS REPORT STEMS FROM AN EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AND PRACTICES IN THE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ONE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE CONSISTED OF COMMUNITY LEADERS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL. THE FIRST SECTION OF THE REPORT DESCRIBES THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S INTEGRATION POLICY AND CONTAINS…

This report, compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, offers an overview of education in Pennsylvania from the past through the present with future projections. Extensive use of data in the form of tables and graphs is used to analyze the three main sections of the book: demographic trends, basic education, and higher education.…