The Founding Council of Good Schools Pennsylvania was instrumental in launching our efforts in 2001... Learn more >
History
Powerful Roots, Strong Future
Good Schools Pennsylvania was launched in 2001 to remedy the fact that educational opportunity across the Commonwealth was significantly unequal, largely due to an inequitable state funding mechanism. While other states made progress challenging similarly unequal funding formulas through their courts, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court rejected the couple of lawsuits brought before it.
In order to turn the tide for Pennsylvania's kids, Good Schools Pennsylvania joined with the Public Education Network, the National Council of Churches, and the Children's Defense Fund, to launch an aggressive grassroots Campaign to build a statewide consensus for the need to increase the funding and quality of public schools in Pennsylvania, and to hold the state lawmakers accountable for improving the way Pennsylvania funds and supports public education.
Vital to the establishment of Good Schools Pennsylvania was the original founding council. The founding council of Good Schools Pennsylvania was comprised of representatives from organizations that had made significant commitments to mobilize their constituencies to become advocates for improved education for all children.
At the time of Good Schools Pennsylvania's formation, the voices of citizens who wanted great public schools -- not only for their own children, but for all children-- was fragmented regionally and unorganized. Additionally, too few citizens understood the legacy of school funding in the Commonwealth, or how state policies affected the quality of schools at the local level.
With generous funding from several foundations, Good Schools Pennsylvania hired organizers in critical regions of the state to mobilize citizens of all ages to become engaged in the movement for school funding and education reform. Among the constituents who have stood with us are students and retirees, clergy and lay leaders, parents and teachers, school board members and superintendents, and business and civic leaders. Everyone has a stake in making high quality public education accessible to all!
Accomplishments
Good Schools Pennsylvania, with support from our partners, has made great strides since our inception in 2001. Most notable are:
- Coordinating 40 days of vigils and rallies in 2003, as more than 5,000 citizens from all regions of Pennsylvania demonstrated their expectation that public education would be a priority in the coming Rendell administration.
- Over the past four years, the General Assembly and Governor Rendell have invested more state funding toward public education.
- Pennsylvania also came off the very short list of states (nine!) making no investment in early childhood education.
- In 2005, Good Schools formed a collaborative with the Education Law Center and the Education Policy and Leadership Center to steer the Pennsylvania School Funding Reform Campaign, with the goal of identifying champions for school funding reform among the grassroots, the media, business leaders and legislators.
- In 2006 the General Assembly and Governor Rendell took the first steps toward fixing Pennsylvania's school funding formula by authorizing the first statewide costing-out study.
The Need Continues
While our accomplishments have been significant, there is still work to be done to ensure all children in the Commonwealth receive a high-quality education. Check out our Action section to see what you can do.