Commonwealth Education Organization
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- School Choice / Vouchers
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| *January 23, 2012 CELEBRATING SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK "This year, leaders at the state level should hear the cries of the families they represent and continue moving toward more school choice in 2012 by expanding options such as school vouchers, tax credits, education savings accounts, and online learning. It’s not a conservative issue or a liberal issue, Republican or Democrat. Ensuring that our children have the best education possible is an American issue, and it’s one that the country should get behind." >>read more>> |
| *January 19, 2012 EDUCATIONAL CHOICE IN PA HAS EXPANDED IN PAST 20 YEARS "School choice is advancing in Pennsylvania, even as a public school voucher plan remains stuck in legislative limbo. As the New Year dawns over the state Capitol, lawmakers and lobbyists are geared up for another fight over the creation of a public school voucher program aimed at providing educational options for the children of low-income families who are enrolled in failing public schools." >>read more>> |
| *January 15, 2012 SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM, EARNED INCOME CREDIT CAP BOTH ON TABLE "Although, the Senate's voucher proposals may be less likely than an expanded EITC program to pass in the House, they remain viable options until the end of the legislative session." >>read more>> |
| *January 15, 2012 LA ONE OF 4 STATES THAT SUBSIDIZES SCHOOL AID "In 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the use of state tax dollars to help pay tuition at private and parochial schools does not violate the First Amendment’s required separation of church and state." >>read more>> |
| *January 13, 2012 VICTORY FOR SCHOOL CHOICE IN INDIANA "Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program is perfectly constitutional. That, in a nutshell, was the ruling issued by Marion County Superior Court Judge Michael Keele today in Meredith v. Daniels. The trial court rejected every legal claim brought by the plaintiffs—who are supported by both state and national teachers’ unions—against the program, and it ruled in favor of both the state and two parents who have intervened in the lawsuit in defense of the program." >>read more>> |
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January 12, 2012 kids.'" |
| December 31, 2011 REPUBLICANS FOR MONOPOLY “Unions played their usual false tune that vouchers steal money from public schools, though what they really fear is that vouchers would break their monopoly control over public education. Under the voucher bill, public schools would come out ahead financially since they would be educating fewer students while still receiving local property tax revenues for kids in their district who attend private schools on vouchers.” >>read more>> |
| December 2011 A FUTURE AND A HOPE A discussion of some of the great school choice initiatives that have passed around the country this year. >>read more>> |
| December 2, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE IN PA IS CURE FOR DISASTER "Lawmakers in the Keystone State can no longer be paralyzed by politics and special interests. It's time to stop the leaky pipe that is failing our kids. The longer they procrastinate, the more taxpayers will be forced to throw good money after bad. School in Pennsylvania is the sure fix to stop the state's flood of disaster that is the current public education system." >>read more>> |
| November 15, 2011 WHY 2011 IS THE YEAR OF THE SCHOOL VOUCHER "(T)he push toward vouchers is coming from a new breed of reform-minded politicians from both parties. Once a taboo subject, vouchers are now talked about openly on the campaign trail, and politicians are hiring reformers to run high-profile school systems." >>read more>> |
| November 15, 2011 CONGRESS BACKSLIDES ON SCHOOL REFORM “Teacher accountability and parent choice are the most important aspects of any education reform legislation. They are critical to determining what success should look like and to creating a mechanism for remediation when those standards aren’t met. There is not nearly enough within this new bill to ensure that schools are made to answer for their performance. Nor is there enough to ensure that parents have the ability to protest a failing school with their feet.” >>read more>> |
| November 10, 2011 FORSTMANN'S NOT SO LITTLE IDEA "For years, no more frustrating belief has existed in American domestic politics than the possibility of giving inner-city children a better education. Against the public-school monopoly, sustained forward movement has seemed impossible. That may be changing. This year at least 13 states passed some form of school-choice legislation." >>read more>> |
| November 07, 2011 THOSE TRAPPED IN FAILING SCHOOLS NEED HELP “It didn't take long, however, for the legislation to come under attack, mainly from those ideologically opposed to the voucher program. But for all their bluster, voucher opponents can't seem to deal with two basic questions that voucher supporters are attempting to address: Would you send your child to a school where failure and mayhem are the rule? And what is your plan to immediately help a third-grade student trapped in such a violent, failing school, whose future is slipping away day by day?” >>read more>> |
| School Choice CER’s Interactive Map-a guide to understanding how to make the education sun shine in your state. The CER Education Map provides a unique and compelling look at how the states are doing in providing the critical policy ingredients necessary for effective schools to serve all children. Though individual states may — like real weather patterns — have varying forecasts, the sunny spots are few and far between. Each state has been given an grade for each of several components, and those grades collectively factor into an overall grade and general education weather forecast for that state. As states adopt new policies and programs, the grades may change. >>read more>> |
| November 2, 2011 EDUCATOR NOT ALWAYS VOUCHER ADVOCATE “Rhee once opposed vouchers but changed her stance she became chancellor of the Washington (DC) public school system in 2007. “I'm not going to say to these parents, 'Just give me five years to fix the system,' because their kid doesn't have that time," (said) Rhee… 'My job is not to protect and preserve the district that's been doing a disservice to kids. My job is to make sure kids are getting a good education, and I'm agnostic as to where that's happening.' “ >>read more>> |
| October 30, 2011 VOUCHER CRITICS ARE MISLEADING THE PUBLIC “Critics like to contend the data on vouchers are incomplete or inconclusive…Yet most vouchers analyses conclude their impact is difficult to tease out because programs are so small and the competing monopoly, traditional public schools, so intractable, notes Jay Greene, one of the nation's foremost education researchers. Of the nine best studies -- those using the research ‘gold standard’ of random assignment -- all but one demonstrate significant positive academic benefits from vouchers. (The 10th did not find any difference.)” >>read more>> |
| October 29, 2011 VOUCHERS BEAT STATUS QUO “The state's public education establishment bristled at the state Senate's passage Thursday of a school choice bill that would enable at least some kids to escape some of the worst schools in the commonwealth. They offered no alternative other than the status quo, however, and contended that ever more state funding somehow would make more effective the failed schools at issue.” >>read more>> |
| October 29, 2011 SCHOOL VOUCHERS: FOR SOME, IT’S A CONCERN ABOUT SAFETY “Pennsylvania’s public education system needs help. Every day that passes without enacting meaningful school choice legislation that empowers parents and gives them access to more educational options, countless students slip through the cracks from a future full of hope to a future full of despair….Thousands of children statewide cannot afford to spend another year trapped in a violent, failing school.” >>read more>> |
| October 26, 2011 SCHOOL COMPETITION RESCUES KIDS “For years, American education from kindergarten through high school has been a virtual government monopoly. Conventional wisdom is that government must run the schools. But government monopolies don't do anything well. They fail because they have no real competition.” >>read more>> |
| October 18, 2011 FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: SCHOOL CHOICE INEVITABLE “Both men said they believe school choice should encompass not only vouchers to help students attend another private or public school of their choosing, but also expanded charter programs and better evaluations to help teachers perform effectively. (All of which are similar to Gov. Tom Corbett's ed plan.)” >>read more>> |
| October 12, 2011 CHOICE, CHARTERS, VOUCHERS PUSHED BY GOVERNOR CORBETT “The plan includes changes for charter schools, new teacher evaluations and an expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which provides tax credits to businesses offering scholarships.” >>read more>> |
| October 9, 2011 FOR PARENTS, SCHOOL CHOICE IS EASIER THAN BALLOT INITIATIVES “The late Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman, who was the godfather of the modern school-choice movement, observed that the public schools teach ‘a set of values and beliefs that constitute a religion in all but name.’ The current system, he said, forces parents ‘to pay to have their children indoctrinated’ in the public schools. School choice allows children to escape this indoctrination, saves parents the trouble of overturning unpopular policies through initiatives, and forces the government to think twice about politicizing public education.” >>read more>> |
| October 4, 2011 EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: A PROMISING WAY FORWARD ON SCHOOL CHOICE “More than 200,000 children across the country now benefit from private-school choice options such as tuition tax credit programs, vouchers, online learning, and now, Education Savings Accounts. But millions more are assigned to public schools that fail to meet their needs. ESAs provide a promising path forward and are broadening the school choice landscape in vital ways.” >>read more>> |
| October 4, 2011 THE PROMISE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION VOUCHERS “In the fraught arena of school reform, few policy proposals have been more contentious than vouchers. In allocating taxpayer dollars to children whose parents want them to leave failing public schools to attend private and parochial institutions, voucher programs have drawn the ire of teachers' unions and church-state separatists, as well as these groups' political allies. And yet, despite discord and setbacks, vouchers seem to be experiencing a resurgence, specifically those programs targeting students with disabilities, says Marcus Winters, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute.” >>read more>> |
| October 1, 2011 THE LATEST CRIME WAVE: SENDING YOUR CHILD TO A BETTER SCHOOL "Only in a world where irony is dead could people not marvel at concerned parents being prosecuted for stealing a free public education for their children." >>read more>> |
| September 29, 2011 FAILURE’S ROOTS IN SCHOOL OR POVERTY? "The only way to close the achievement gap is for parents to get involved, Perry thinks, by moving their children to successful schools. 'If you are a failing school, I think you should be shut down,' he said, either by the elimination of funding or by allowing students to leave. 'You're leaving (students) behind by leaving them in failing schools.' " >>read more>> |
| September 1, 2011 PA NEEDS TO EMULATE INDIANA’S SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN “When we spend vast sums keeping kids in schools where education is not occurring we are wasting scarce monetary resources and the children’s time. An immoral act if there ever was one. By letting parents choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, the goal of a better education is closer to being realized. It is now up to Pennsylvania to step up and make it happen.” >>read more>> |
| August 29, 2011 MORE SCHOOL CHOICE THAN EVER “Step by step, educational options are expanding for students around the nation. Each new school year will hopefully bring with it even greater options for school choice, ensuring that all families can look forward to each academic year with the assurance that their child will be receiving the best education possible.” >>read more>> |
| August 29, 2011 THOUSANDS LEAVE PUBLIC FOR PRIVATE INDIANA SCHOOLS “Weeks after Indiana began the nation's broadest school voucher program, thousands of students have transferred from public to private schools, causing a spike in enrollment at some Roman Catholic institutions that were only recently on the brink of closing for lack of pupils.” >>read more>> |
| Fall 2011 THE PUBLIC WEIGHS IN ON SCHOOL REFORM “Public education has rarely been far from the national headlines over the past year. Efforts to limit teachers’ collective-bargaining rights led to mass protests in several states. The enactment of voucher programs renewed the debate over the role of private school choice in American education. Meanwhile, the first significant budget cuts in recent memory forced public school districts to tighten their belts in unprecedented ways.” >>read more>> |
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August 18, 2011
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| August 8, 2011 THE IMPACT OF OHIO’S VOUCHER PROGRAM ON PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE "In 2005 Ohio's legislature enacted the Educational Choice Scholarship program (EdChoice), which provides vouchers to students in chronically underperforming schools, allowing them to attend private and religious schools. Matthew Carr, a research fellow in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, evaluates the effects of the EdChoice voucher program on the academic performance of traditional public schools. Specifically, he investigates how exposure to the threat of losing students to the voucher program affected standardized test performance in traditional public schools." "The Impact of Ohio's EdChoice on Traditional Public School Performance," Cato Journal, Summer 2011. |
| August 1, 2011 THE POOR ARE NOT POOR BECAUSE THE RICH ARE RICH Star Parker discusses the importance of education and school choice in improving the economic levels of Blacks in American society. >>read more>> |
| July 19, 2011 TWO NEW STUDIES SHOW BENEFITS OF SCHOOL CHOICE “As the debate on school choice continues in PA, a couple recent studies highlight the benefits of school voucher programs in the U.S. and internationally.” >>read more>> |
| July 13, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE—BUT NOT FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN KIDS IN NYC “Despite progress in many places, New York City children, many of them African-American, may not be able to return to charters or start in them anew in the fall due to a lawsuit instituted against the NYC’s Department of Education by what would seem to be a tragically ironic twosome: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).” >>read more>> |
| July 5, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE “But choice is essential to driving reform because it erodes the union-dominated monopoly that assigns children to schools based on where they live. Unions defend the monopoly to protect jobs for their members, but education should above all serve students and the larger goal of a society in which everyone has an opportunity to prosper.” >>read more>> |
| July 1, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE MAKES HISTORY-MORE STATES ENACT, EXPAND SCHOOL CHOICE IN 2011 THAN EVER BEFORE “More states have passed school voucher or scholarship tax credit legislation in 2011 than ever before, according to an analysis by the American Federation for Children—the nation’s voice for school choice.” >>read more>> |
| July 1, 2011 NORTH CAROLINA EMPOWERS FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS “North Carolina becomes the eighth state to enact a private school choice program for children with special needs. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah also offer programs—benefiting more than 26,000 children in the 2010-2011 school year.” >>read more>> |
| June 30, 2011 OHIO’S DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF SCHOOL CHOICE PRAISED BY NATION’S ORIGINAL VOUCHER ORGANIZATION “With two expanded school choice programs and one new program, Ohio joins a true education reform revolution....‘Ohio’s bold reforms will ensure that school choice grows in the state until every family has the freedom to choose how to educate their child, and until every child receives an effective education that prepares him or her for success in life,’ said Enlow.” ( President and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice). >>read more>> |
| June 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE: LEGISLATION STATE BY STATE “This memo summarizes and analyzes private school choice legislation introduced in 2011 across the nation. School choice programs provide opportunities for students to access a quality education and allow parents to choose the education they determine is best for their children.” >>read more>> |
| June 26, 2011 WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER SIGNS HISTORIC SCHOOL CHOICE EXPANSION INTO LAW “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker today signed into law the largest expansion to the state’s school choice programs in history. The expansion will benefit thousands of children from the state’s low- and middle-income families and sends a strong signal to the nation that educational equality is possible with strong leadership from state legislators and executives.” >>read more>> |
| June 27, 2011 BOTTOM LINE: VOUCHERS CAN HELP NEEDIEST CHILDREN “The truth is those opposed to vouchers appear to care more about adults than these underprivileged children. Why else would they support a status quo where we spend almost $20,000 per student in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and less than 53 percent of kids in failing districts score proficient in reading and math on the PSSA in 2009-10? These kids can’t wait another year — they need to be rescued now.” >>read more>> |
| June 24, 2011 CORBETT GEARS UP FOR PUSH ON SCHOOL VOUCHERS “Corbett's effort to win approval for vouchers, taxpayer-paid documents that parents could use to send their children to private or parochial schools, is the first major effort in the state House and Senate in more than a decade.... Christiana's bill would make school vouchers available to low-income children who attend the lowest-performing 5 percent of Pennsylvania schools.” >>read more>> |
| June 21, 2011 THESE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: SCHOOL VOUCHERS ARE PENNSYLVANIA’S ONLY CHOICE “While not a panacea, school choice has proved a worthy alternative. Nearly every empirically based study shows that school choice programs increase academic achievement for students and improve public schools through competition. No study has ever shown harmful effects to scholarship recipients or public schools.” >>read more>> |
| June 21, 2011 CORBETT OPEN TO VOUCHER COMPROMISE TO GET LEGISLATION PASSED “Gov. Tom Corbett wants to see a school voucher program enacted by June 30 and would support a compromise to scale the program back to two years from the four years he wanted, his spokesman said Monday.” >>read more>> |
| June 20, 2011 NEXT TWO DAYS WILL DETERMINE OUTCOME OF SCHOOL CHOICE BATTLE “State Rep. Curt Schroder introduced legislation Monday that allows every child — including home-schoolers — to be eligible for a $5,000 voucher for tuition at a private or parochial school. The bill would not determine the value of the voucher based on the student’s district and would not restrict voucher eligibility based on income, which differentiates it from similar proposals unveiled this year.” >>read more>> Related article: June 20, 2011 PA HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS-SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATES TOUT SCHRODER BILLS AS SENSIBLE ALTERNATIVES TO SENATE BILL 1 “A school failing in its mission is failing all kids, not just those from low-income families,” said Schroder. “House Bill 1679, known as the Failing Schools Student Rescue Act, is a broad-based school choice bill that would offer a $5,000 voucher to all students who attend or live within the attendance boundaries of a persistently low achieving school. Unlike Senate Bill 1, which establishes income limits for voucher eligibility, my legislation ensures all students attending a failing school would receive a school choice option.” >>read more>> |
| June 17, 2011 WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE PASSES BUDGET EXPANDING NATION’S OLDEST SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM “The budget’s school choice provisions will give the MPCP—the nation’s oldest private school choice program—the broadest participation of any voucher program in the country. A study conducted early this year by a professor at the University of Minnesota showed that students participating in the MPCP, which was enacted in 1990, graduate at rates that are 18 points higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools. It is also estimated that the MPCP will save Wisconsin taxpayers more than $50 million this fiscal year, according to an exhaustive evaluation of the program conducted late last year.” >>read more>> |
| June 16, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE: 42 STATES CONSIDER SCHOOL VOUCHERS, SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDITS IN 2011 “If these bills pass, millions of children would have the opportunity to attend the private schools of their parents' choice, demonstrating historic momentum for the popular educational choice movement.” >>read more>> |
| June 16, 2011 A SCHOOL CHOICE FIRST IN NORTH CAROLINA “Should the bill become law, North Carolina parents of students with special needs can claim an independent tax credit for expenses related to private school tuition and other educational services. Specifically, those families can receive a non-refundable tax credit worth up to $6,000 annually.” >>read more>> |
| May 12, 2011 PASS SENATE BILL ONE NOW Philadelphia Fox 29 General manager Patrick Paolini voices his opinion on Senate Bill One. >>read more>> |
| May 6, 2011 INDIANA’S GREAT EDUCATION LEAP “School choice is gaining new momentum, and one of the biggest political breakthroughs came this week in Indiana. Governor Mitch Daniels signed legislation Thursday that includes far-reaching reforms in teacher assessment and tenure, as well the most ambitious voucher program in memory.” >>read more>> OVERVIEW OF INDIANA SCHOOL CHOICE BILL “HB 1003 establishes a new school voucher program, expands Indiana’s preexisting tax credit scholarship program and institutes a tax deduction for families with children homeschooled or already enrolled in private school.” >>read more>> |
| May 5, 2011 THE NECESSITY OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN PENNSYLVANIA “Far too many children are trapped in failing schools. Only 21 out of 355 schools in the Pittsburgh region have 90% or more of fifth-graders proficient in both reading and math. 30% of fifth-graders cannot read at their grade level, and similarly 30% cannot do math at grade level. Underperforming schools do not only affect families with school-age children; they affect the whole region and state.” >>read more>> |
| May 3, 2011 THE EVIDENCE IS IN: SCHOOL VOUCHERS WORK “Research gathered by Greg Forster of the Foundation for Educational Choice … says that ‘every empirical study ever conducted in Milwaukee, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Maine and Vermont finds that voucher programs in those places improved public schools.’ “ >>read more>> |
| April 25, 2011 THE RESURRECTION OF SCHOOL CHOICE “Easter Monday is a good day to celebrate a resurrection story – in this case, the resurrection of a movement to rescue children trapped in failing public schools.” >>read more>> |
| April 21, 2011 SUPREME COURT’S WISE DECISION FAVORS ARIZONA SCHOOL CHOICE “The ACLU’s cartoonish and ominous depiction of the Arizona system inaccurately paints it as an underhanded method of funneling government money to religious schools. But there is a clear, obvious, nonreligious public policy reason for state lawmakers to approve the tuition tax credit plan: It helps Arizona children receive the best education, tailored just for them, at a fraction of the state’s cost of educating them at public schools.” >>read more>> |
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April 4, 2011 |
| March 31, 2011 KASICH SIGNS BILL TO LIMIT UNION BARGAINING RIGHTS “It prevents unions from negotiating wages but not health care, sick time or pension benefits. It also eliminates automatic pay increases and bans strikes.” >>read more>> |
| March 30, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE: A REAL TEST AWAITS That’s really what school choice is about -- giving kids a chance to learn in a safe environment with good teachers, so they can go on to achieve that success. Some day, people will “look back” on how today’s politicians responded to this crisis. What grade will they deserve? >>read more>> |
| March 30, 2011 INDIANA HOUSE PASSES NATION’S LARGEST VOUCHER BILL The Indiana House of Representatives today passed legislation that would become the nation's broadest voucher program, allowing low- and middle-income families to use taxpayer funds to send their children to the private school of their choice. >>read more>> |
| *March 23, 2011 A WIN-WIN SOLUTION: THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON SCHOOL VOUCHERS "This report collects the results of all available empirical studies using the best available scientific methods to measure how school vouchers affect academic outcomes for participants, and all available studies on how vouchers affect outcomes in public schools. Contrary to the widespread claim that vouchers do not benefit participants and hurt public schools, the empirical evidence consistently shows that vouchers improve outcomes for both participants and public schools." View PDF |
| March 16, 2011 COLORADO SCHOOL BOARD ENACTS VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM, MAKES HISTORY “On Tuesday night the Douglas County R-1 Board of Education unanimously approved a wide-ranging set of reforms that expand school choice, including the adoption of a groundbreaking program that will provide publicly-funded "choice scholarships" to cover or defray private school tuition.” >>read more>> |
| September 6, 2010 JOURNAL: ‘SCHOOL VOUCHER BREAKOUT’ “The Wall Street Journal on Monday declared back-to-school week as ‘an encouraging season for education reform.’ The editors pointed to an unlikely “bipartisan political breakout on vouchers” in Pennsylvania.” >>read more<< |
| August 23, 2010 THE TRIUMPH OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN NEW ORLEANS “Over the past five years, New Orleans has turned tragedy into triumph. It has quickly become the most market based school district in the country. The state of Louisiana took over most of the schools in the district and turned them into successful charter schools. “ >>read more<< |
| August 18, 2010 EDUCATIONAL EQUITY HITS 2 MILLION CHILDREN MARK AS REFORMERS DEMAND RENEWED ACTION “Studies from reputable scholars and researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that...equity can indeed be achieved by passing strong charter school and school choice programs. Research indicates that school choice has raised standards in public schools, increased student graduation rates, stimulated performance pay for teachers, and increased parental demands to close failing schools.” >>read more<< |
| August 11, 2010 NEW RESEARCH: PARENTS, REGARDLESS OF INCOME, KNOW WHETHER THEIR SCHOOLS ARE GOOD OR NOT “Parents of all socioeconomic, educational and ethnic backgrounds are accurately judging school quality based on student achievement, contradicting the contention that poor parents aren’t that aware of the academic quality of their local schools.” >>read more<< |
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Commonwealth Education Organization . 3830 Saxonburg Blvd. Cheswick , Pa. 15024 . (412) 967-9691
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