Shawnee Mission School District

hands as she gets to school. “Man, why can’t they cancel school today?” [Y/N] manage to say. “It’s so freaking cold!” She adjusted her hat and scarf as she snuggles inside the many layers of clothes. Nobody attempts to try and drive their cars as the roads were too treacherous. Continuing to carry her legs over the 1ft of snow, she walks pass children jumping about and running around in front of their house. It was very clear from their excitement that they have a day off of school. The older…

This interview was conducted to discover and examine the myriad administrative duties and responsibilities of organizational leaders. I interviewed Mr. Dan Phipps, who is the Athletic Director for Muscatine Community School District. He is also the Dean of Students. This double role makes for an extremely busy day. As it turned out, he has served in the military. He was a sergeant in the Marine Corp, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. I started the interview by asking about the hiring and…

educators of diverse students. To begin, the author addresses the issue of gap closing and explains its importance. Through comparisons between urban and suburban districts, the author expands upon the topic of “facing the achievement gap.” After laying out the facts of the achievement gap, the author proposes a few strategies that school districts and communities could use to close this gap. Ultimately, the author feels, diversity must be embraced, for “the implementation of sound,…

The Lower Merion School District provided laptop computers to high school students as part of a one to one program. The program allowed the students to bring home a laptop computer provided by the school district. Unbeknownst to the students or their parents the laptop computers were all programed with spyware that gave the school district access to the computers’ webcam. The goal of the one to one program was to increase the connectivity between home and school for students. The access to…

relationships and an environment that would support instructional growth thru observation, conversation, mentoring and reflection. The incremental decisions were the considerations that were considered regarding staff workload, personal reactions and school organizational procedures. In an effort to create a professional learning…

Urban schools are most always portrayed in a negative light. Such is the case in the movie called Stand and Deliver which takes place in a high school in East Los Angeles during the 1980’s. This movie is based off a true story about a teacher by the name of Jaime Escalante, played by Edward Olmos, who worked diligently with a group of roughneck students because he thought that every student has the potential to learn. He believed that if the students and teacher had enough “Ganas” or motivation…

SCHOOL BUDGET A school budget is the breakdown of a school’s financial plan. A school districts budget will have several different components. A school’s budget will reflect all expenditures, which is money spent on a particular thing. Big expenditures in a school budget would be salaries for personnel, students, and instruction. When discussing School budgets, one of the most frequently asked questions is where does the money come from? “According to the National Center for Education Statistics…

or activity similar to their non-disabled peers, especially for school districts receiving federal funding. In other words, Section 504 students are entitled to the same resources and treatment whether it pertains to an academic, nonacademic, or after school activity. The school has a responsibility to provide these students with a 504 plan that list accommodations and helpful learning strategies to facilitate classroom or other school activities. In…

Urban schools districts in Illinois are facing challenges due to components such as size, high poverty rates, diverse communities and limited resources (Netzel &, Eber, 2003) In addition to this, the lack of effective discipline systems in urban schools districts often leads to difficulties in educating large number of students in urban communities. Waukegan School District, is an urban district in Illinois and is addressing efforts to meet the needs of students at risk of behavioral problems…

treated the same as others. School funding in Iowa is one of these instances. Currently, there are schools in Iowa that are not getting the same amount of funding as others. The amount of funding that some school districts get per student has been significantly higher than others since 1971. With this money, they are able to give their students items like iPads. Meanwhile, classrooms in Davenport…