School Essays (Examples)

School Voucher System
School voucher grants by the governments serve the purpose of improving educational standard of the children who belong to low-income families. This system is aimed to provide school tuition that can be paid to both public and private schools. The inspiration behind school vouchers system is to present to parents an open choice of educational institutions and approaches for their children. Another idea behind this system is to pressurize public schools to compete with the private schools and provide a better educational culture for their students. In the United States of America, the first school-voucher program was instituted in 1990 in Milwaukee, Wis., that was funded by the state. Later in 1995, a federal bill was proposed to set up pilot school-voucher plans in twenty six cities ("school vouchers").

However, school vouchers (also known as opportunity scholarships) have been a hot issue since their system's inception. According to the…

School Counseling
Professional School Counseling

Until recently school counseling was more of a byword because most believed that the position could be filled by any qualified teacher, and, generally, it was. Teachers would get a master's degree in guidance or vocational counseling, and be considered able to work as a school counselor. The reason for this was that counselors in schools were not seen as a person who needed to deal with the emotional issues of the students (they had parents, pastors or an outside counseling specialist for that), a school counselor was supposed to act only as a guidance vehicle. This meant that the counselor had a broad knowledge of colleges, admission criteria, and assessments that would help the student achieve a better overall placement upon leaving high school. But the utility of the school counselor position is much greater than that.

Looking at the common usage of the word counseling it…

School Finance Aguilar v Felton
EDUCATION AND RELIGION

The Aguilar et al. v Felton et al. Case of 1985

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 allowed for the reimbursement of the salaries of public employees teaching in parochial schools (LII, 2012). These selected teachers provided instruction to low-income children with special needs. A group of taxpayers filed a case, claiming that the program created an excessive entanglement of church and state. It thus violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. In a 5-4 decision in 1985, the Supreme Court, in 473 U.S. 42 or Aguilar et al. v Felton et al., invalidated the New York plan (LII).

Majority Opinion by Justice William rennan

The supervision used by New York City created excessive entanglement between the government and religion (LII, 2012). Advancing religion may not have been its primary effect, but their close interaction produced that result.…

School Overcrowding
Curriculum

Brady, K.P, Balmer, S., & Phenix, D. (2007). School -- Police Partnership Effectiveness in Urban Schools: An Analysis of New York City's Impact Schools Initiative. Education and Urban Society, 39(4), 455 -- 478.

his article is about safety in schools, especially in the schools of teenagers, such as middle schools and high schools. he article begins by stating a number of reasons or factors that have contributed to the increased violence in schools, particularly over the past two to three decades. he authors propose that one of the factors contributing to increased youth violence in schools is due to overcrowding. Brady et al. present statistics from past empirical studies as part of the review section of their article, and then they proceed with their own study of this theory in New York City schools, public mostly, but private schools are also taken into consideration.

Brady et al. propose partnerships among schools…

School Improvement Plan
This study presents a final proposal for a school improvement plan with feedback provided from the principal, school improvement team members, as well as other stakeholders. The members of the school improvement team are the principal, guidance counselor, teachers, librarian, community members, parents, teacher's union representatives, and a resource teacher.

Creation of the School Improvement Plan

The creation of the school improvement plan has been enabled through collaborative efforts between all team members and stakeholders in the school by obtaining feedback from those team members and other stakeholders. The school improvement plan is inclusive of specific goals including: (1) effective instruction; (2) promotion of a positive school climate and culture; and (3) effective community and family empowerment.

Effective Instruction

The goal for effective instruction involves implementation of the Model Curriculum provided by NJDOE, which will serve to ensure adequate integration of the Core Common Standards with the NJCCCS. Both formative and summative…

This is through facilitating effective curriculum planning; use of substantive research-based practice in implementing adequate and aligned curriculum, and efficient coordination of the curricular. Other techniques include use of technology and promotion of creative, critical, and problem solving things.
Lack of sustaining an instructional program conducive for the professional and learning development of the students might also come into play in the low confidence levels and low accountability ratings. According to the element or competency 005, "the principle knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain an instructional program and a campus culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth." This is through integration of the retention theory and motivation program for addressing the role and obligation of the stakeholders. The organization should integrate techniques such as student services and activity programs to fulfill academic, sound theories, and effective technology for telecommunications and information systems with the aim…

trenton.k12.nj.us). The Board of Education "…shall ensure the acquisition and installation of blocking/filtering software" (www.trenton.k12.nj.us).
(d) Determine if a formal investigation is warranted or not. At this point, there does not seem to be justification for a formal investigation. This is a problem that should be reviewed and solved in house. Launching a formal investigation gets the media into the picture and stirs rumors that can be damaging to the school's reputation.

(e) hat steps (by a timeline) should be taken in order to investigate the allegations? First, the principal needs to learn if filtering software was in that computer. Second, assuming the principal has cleared his efforts with legal counsel, the department chair, Ms. Paulson, the principal, his assistants and a representative from the superintendent's office should meet within 2 days of the allegations. Third, the day after the above-mentioned meeting, several students from that class should be interviewed informally by…

School Emergency Plan
How would you, as principal, gauge the success of this plan?

On the surface the Emergency Response and Crisis Management Plan for Dunn School appears quite thorough. Comparing it to an emergency response plan on the FEMA website it is lacking some potential eventualities. In any event, until the plan has been tested, one cannot know -- a principal or a school board member or any one -- how effective it will be. For example the Dunn School takes pains to point out where teachers are to take their students, which hallway to use, which way to turn, how to exit the building, and that is all good.

But those directions are always in place in a school based on the possibility of a fire. Every school in the United States has a fire drill, and has directions in place in the event of a fire. But we are living…

School Delinquency Prevention Program
Delinquency prevention is an initiative that was introduced into the United States system of justice in 1974, with the aim of protecting the rights of errant juveniles, and preventing them from continuing criminal activities into adulthood. Greenwood (2008) points out that a good crime-prevention program is one that incorporates policies that work to ensure that the participants are molded to become more responsible, law abiding adults. In his view, before any crime prevention program is designed, empirical studies should be carried out to determine the various risk elements that the youth in that particular area are likely to face. This would help in developing a risk-specific prevention program that would "reduce crime much more cost-effectively than any of the other approaches that have been tried - including tougher sentencing" (Greenwood, 2008, p.4).

Outlining the Forms of Delinquent Behaviors to be Prevented

This is the first and most fundamental step…

School bullying was never considered as a real social problem until 1980's. The recent escalation in School bullying has gained attention of the masses throughout the world. Several suicide and homicide cases were highlighted by media where bullying was found to be an important factor involved. Out of 37 shooting events in different schools, nearly two third of the shooters were found to be victims of bullying in their life but not particularly in schools. However, the cases where the shooters had been a victim of bullying in a school, the tormented experience was found to play an important role in motivation for the attack. (Dake, Price, & Telljohann, 2003)
Why do children bully?

In this research paper, an interview was conducted from a professional psychologist having expertise in this field. She herself was witness to several bullying cases in her early life. According to her, most of the teenagers who are…

Abstract A 2017 school progress report indicates that the Langford Community Academy has below average student attainment, and has not yet achieved the Chicago Public Schools “Healthy CPS” status. Reading growth is also below the national average, although the school is above average in mathematics growth. The Langford Community Academy also has a Level 2 rating by Chicago Public Schools, indicating the need for support at the academic, social, and financial levels. Collaboration with parent-teacher organizations, school administration, community leaders, and student government will all help facilitate needs-based change.
Collaboration
“When teachers engage in high quality collaboration that they perceive as extensive and helpful, there is both an individual and collective benefit,” (Ronfeldt, Farmer, McQueen, et al, 2015, p. 475). Collaboration is the cornerstone of success. Ronfeldt, Farmer, McQueen, et al (2015) identify multiple types of collaboration in education including collaboration among teachers with regards to classroom management, instructional strategies, curriculum, and assessments. At…

Abstract Schools, businesses, and communities come together for the benefit of the schools and families in the neighborhood. This collaboration assists in creating a place for the students and families to thrive and achieve more in school and in other fields. The Anna R. Langford Community Academy endeavors to provide the students with the tools they require in order to succeed in their education. The school also seeks assistance from the organizations and businesses in the community. There are numerous businesses that surround the school and the Englewood neighborhood, but not all the needs of the community have been met and supported. The community service that is proposed in this paper will be completed by the middle school students of Anna R. Langford Community Academy. This proposal will touch on three areas within the community. These areas include tutoring in reading for the students with difficulty, running art shows for the…

Before our new principal started two years ago, I considered transferring. Two of my colleagues had also left over the previous year. Morale was generally low, parents complained a lot, and I heard rumors in the community about our school. We were the brunt of jokes, but I felt powerless to do anything about it because I was not in a position of leadership or in any position to tell our principal that something needed to change in order to improve the culture of the school. Thankfully, the former principal moved out of state and the position was soon filled with a transformational leader that has radically turned around our school’s culture. The result has been improved student outcomes, improved teacher retention and job satisfaction, and a greater engagement with the community. Now, when the old jokes about our school resurface, people almost always react with, “Yeah but you should…

Improvement Plan The school selected for this particular paper is Anna R. Langford Community Academy. Vision and mission statements are beneficial for school in regard to providing a general idea of the direction they want to take and what they wish to be, Imperatively, vision and mission statements put in place clear anticipations and standards for the entire school community, and aid the school in attaining mutual goals. Specifically, a vision statement is a shared expression of the school’s ambitions.
Vision Statement
Anna R. Langford Community Academy will engage every student in a rigorous, well-rounded instructional program and will graduate every student prepared for success in college, career and life.
Evaluate the Vision
There are a number of strengths of the vision statement. To begin with, the school’s vision statement is clear and can be understood by all involved stakeholders. In addition, the statement itself is succinct enough and therefore can be easily remembered. The…

Bishop Shanahan High School, a Catholic co-educational secondary school of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is committed to sustaining excellence, provides a strong spiritual life, and challenging academic and rich extracurricular programs. The school currently finds itself coasting in an unfamiliar territory since it has been setting the standards for academic achievement for public and private education. The current issue facing the school is the decline in SAT scores in standardized testing due to the increase in class size and the reduction of track levels and personalized support systems. The issue emerged following the decision by the school’s administration to adopt drastic cost-cutting measures because of the decline in enrollment across the Archdiocese. Enhancing student SAT scores in standardized testing is an area that requires improvement at Bishop Shanahan High School. Currently, the school is addressing this issue through backtracking some of the cost saving strategies adopted by the administration, which…

Although I have not experienced a weather-related disaster that resulted in deaths at a school, I was present during a flash flood that caused several people—staff, students, and teachers—to suffer minor injuries. The event catalyzed the community into action. The existing emergency management plan was fairly detailed and yet it was not taken seriously enough by school administrators to have in place the requisite resources or protocols. More importantly, staff and teachers were not being trained properly. The main way to prevent and minimize casualties due to a weather-related event is through preparation and planning, with leadership, communication, and coordination the number one priorities. Schools are often heralded as the community hubs for safety, serving as shelters during weather emergencies. Yet as Stalker, Cullen & Kloesel (2015) point out, schools are also filled with “high concentrations of people that cannot respond quickly,” a situation that is exacerbated when teachers and staff…

Leadership in School CounselingScenario 1As highlighted by Mary, ASCA competencies are important given that they have contributed to her strengths through identification of life experiences. According to American School Counselors Association (2019), ASCA competencies define behaviors and mindsets that students and professional counselors must meet in the school counseling program. The said competencies also ensure that school counselors have relevant skills that come in handy in emotional development and academic performance. In the present post, I would describe some of my Mary Hopkins strengths as being able to collaborate. Collaboration with other staff, teachers, administrators, and families is important in counseling programs given that it helps in student success and achievement (ASCA, 2019). Another strength that Mary has is the ability to use evidence-based practices in education. Utilizing evidence-based counseling techniques and theories in school setting enhances emotional development and promotes academic development (ASACA, 2019). Further, my colleague has the…

Shelter in Place – Lockdown With school shootings becoming a disturbingly commonplace occurrence across the country and the potential for other dangerous events to occur at any time, identifying effective strategies to protect students and faculty has assumed new importance and relevance today (Williams, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the shelter-in-place plan developed by a security consulting firm, including three specific areas that were viewed as especially valuable as well as three areas of the plan that require improvement. In addition, an assessment concerning the extent to which the shelter-in-place plan provides a concise description of the steps that should be followed in the event of emergency situations is followed by a discussion concerning what types of circumstances would require the activation of the shelter-in-place plan in a school or workplace setting. Finally, a discussion concerning the types of problems that might arise and…

In 2018, there were a total of 113 people who had been killed or injured in school shootings (Katsiyannis, Whitford, & Ennis, 2018). It is indicated that there have been more people who have been injured due to mass shootings in the United States in the past 18 years than those injured in the entire 20th century. This indicates that school shootings are no longer isolated occurrences but rather they form a part of a deadly epidemic that should be addressed. The best way to address this epidemic is to uncover its underlying root causes. There are numerous shootings that take place in American schools and shooting will only become a mass shooting if four or more people are killed. This number does not include the shooter. There has been a steady rise in the number of school shootings since 1979. In the 1980s the overall death toll from the…

Behavior Matrix: Common Area Observation
Lacy Elementary School focuses on creating a safe learning environment for all students through an emphasis on school discipline. Based on the school’s policies, students are required to demonstrate positive behaviors in the classroom and within the school setting including cafeteria. The need for such behaviors is attributable to their link to the overall wellbeing of all students and academic performance. However, cases of inappropriate behaviors by students have started to rise, especially in the cafeteria. This paper focuses on addressing these cases of inappropriate behavior in the cafeteria and how special situations impact the overall learning environment. The discussion includes an analysis of observations made on different aspects of the students’ inappropriate behavior within the school environment. The development of this behavior matrix is geared towards enhancing student discipline and promoting positive behaviors within the school environment.
Part 1 – Profile of a Special Situation
Elements of…

No Child Left Behind is an inherently flawed policy because it unites what are essentially two diametrically opposed educational philosophies. These philosophies are based on the ideas of Adler on the one hand and Holt on the other (Koonce, 2016). The philosophy of Adler is that public schools should promote a democratic approach to education in the sense that all students adhere to and follow a uniform curriculum and standards. This standard curriculum is evident in No Child Left Behind. However, Holt’s philosophy is also evident in that the policy also views every child as a unique individual with his or her own special needs, which means that every student who is struggling should receive special attention to help him or her reach objectives. These two philosophical approaches are more opposed than they are aligned, and to combine the two is to present a drain on resources that most schools…

Structurally The school’s departments have their own heads and the principal is subject to the dictates of the state. However, the previous principal used a democratic leadership style, and the current principle is more authoritarian in approach. This leaves many of the older teachers feeling out of touch with the administration, though the younger teachers are accepting of the new principal’s style of leadership—especially since the principal has enacted changes in the classroom that the younger teachers approve of.
The action plan, structurally speaking, therefore has to address the manner in which the principal and the teachers work together to achieve the mission of Baker High. In order to get everyone on the same page, the principal should communicate more effectively with the teachers and embrace a more democratic leadership style so that they can feel as though their voices are being heard. Since teachers are the backbone of the school, it…

Event Plan Evidence has shown that involving parents for college selection and career guidance is fruitful for a brighter future of their children. Involving parents is valuable since they help their child in considering options for career development and influence the way the child has to make transitions from high-school to college, their career determination, exploration, consideration, and self-belief (Oomen, 2016). The school counselors help the parents to create an impact on their child’s prospective exploration in various ways, such as skill acquirement, safety from undesirable experiences, increasing rational thinking, improving character development, strengthening personal accountability and accomplishment of parents’ personal goals. Studies have also shown that students themselves were affirmative of the positive effects of school counselors in helping them gain career guidance thorough organization of career days and conferences along with the direction of occupational guidance information for making intelligent decisions (Amoah, Kwofie & Kwofie, 2015).
This paper discusses a…

Today, the 30,600 residents of the Englewood community in eastern Chicago are faced with some daunting challenges in providing their children with the high-quality educational services they need to succeed in the 21st century (Tu, 2016). The vast majority of the residents of this densely populated community are low-income minority members, and the violent crime rate is among the nation’s highest. Against this backdrop, identifying opportunities to improve the educational opportunities for Englewood’s young learners represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, this paper provides a demographic analysis of the Anna R. Langford Community Academy in Chicago’s Englewood community, followed by a narrative analysis of these data. Finally, a discussion concerning the implications of the demographic analysis is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues for the residents of Englewood in the conclusion. 1. Demographic Data Report:
Relevant demographic data for the Anna R.…

Synthesis Matrix Article 1: Gray, Kruse, Tarter, et al. (2016)
Article 2: Mintzes, Marcum, Messerschmidt, et al. (2013)
Article 3: Peppers (2015)

Type and purpose
Purpose is testing the role of institutional supports on PLCs in a low-income school district. Empirical and quantitative method uses surveys but not an experimental design.
Purpose is to explore effect of sustained PLCs on self-efficacy in science teaching; using mixed methods including a non-equivalent control group experimental design
Qualitative (narrative ethnography using interviews); Purpose to assess teacher perceptions before and after implementation of PLCs
Hypothesis and research questions
Enabling school structures, collegial trust, and academic emphasis will all be linked to strong PLC, and all three of those variables will also correlate with each other.
Do PLCs improve elementary science teacher self-efficacy? The authors hypothesize the affirmative in accordance with social learning theory.
Exploratory (no hypothesis); Questions related to how to best design and implement PLCs, and whether they promote teacher professional development.
Population and sample
Aggregate…

Introduction The educational structure of America can be described as readily available, profoundly imbalanced and structurally separated. It also implores average teaching techniques. This progressive analysis of social and structural reforms on education in the United States is part of the larger nationwide dialogue on education. In the 19th century, including the American Revolution as well as the Great Depression eras, public schooling was fundamentally influenced by conservative concepts. The republican prospect entreated the education sector to develop a structure which was centered on molding a sovereign and socially adept individual who would maintain a republican society. This structure developed the present public learning centers (Labaree, 2012).
School Reforms
The republican concept of schooling centered on fostering sovereignty in people and benefiting everyone. The key mandate of the institution was to foster the nation’s vision in the incoming generations by advocating for personal free will which will also benefit the society. Such a…

The TED Talk I watched was “Do schools kill creativity?” by Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson is a creativity expert challenging how schools educate children. He is a champion of radical rethinking of school systems and aims to cultivate creativity through acknowledgement of multiple kinds of intelligence. The TED talk was filmed in February 2006 and the link to watch is: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity. The reason why I chose this TED talk in particular aside from its popularity, is the realization that traditional-centered schools can kill creativity in students. Students are supposed to learn, but in a way that is motivating and inspiring. When schools stick to a traditional ideology and adopt traditionalist strategies, they tend (to the detriment of students), create an environment where the focus is on high grades and not innovation and creativity. Creativity is the main means of achieving new ways of thinking and branching out in other intelligences. For…

Miguel is a full-time online student, a full-time employee, and a father. He finds that he is constantly struggling with balancing all of his responsibilities and is trying to figure out a way to manage his time wisely. He is only in his third class and has already submitted assignments late. Trying to complete his assignments has been stressful and when he does manage to submit his work on time, he is working on it up until the last minute. Miguel has a three-page paper to write for his class tonight. He just sat down to work on it at 9:00 p.m. He had hoped to take the instructor’s feedback from last week and use it to improve his work on this assignment; however, because it is so late, he already feels that he won’t have time to submit his work at the level of quality the professor is looking for.…

Practice 5 - Encouraging the Heart According to Kouzes & Posner (2017), encouraging the heart means recognizing the individual contributions of others to the community, as well as celebrating the values and victories of the community. From an educational standpoint, this is particularly meaningful regarding the principle of positive reinforcement. Quite simply, if people experience a positive reward, including verbal praise for their excellence, this creates the desire to replicate the praised action. Teaching can often be a very lonely activity, and students do not always recognize excellence in teaching until long after they graduate. It is incumbent upon principals to take an active interest in teachers who are using effective and innovative learning strategies. Sitting in on classes, asking students about what and how they are learning, and showing appreciation for teacher input and knowledge are all ways to recognize and reward good teaching. So can end-of-the-year faculty awards and…

Too Many Laws Helmet laws and medicine safety caps could follow the adage “good intentions, bad results” because people make certain assumptions about safety when they see someone wearing a helmet. They think, as John Stossel (2009) shows in the video, that a cyclist wearing a helmet knows what he is doing. Drivers think they do not have to be as mindful of the cyclist, if he has on all the cycling gear: clearly, he is experienced. These kind of assumptions are wrong and dangerous. Requiring people to wear helmets when they cycle or assuming that medicine is safely stored in a bottle with a safety cap can lead to bad results in this manner.
The potential unintended consequences of installing a traffic signal at an intersection in a school zone are numerous: (a) it could irritate drivers who are used to a regular flow of traffic at that intersection, and the…

Pay for Performance Plan Designing a pay for performance plan for teachers is inherently challenging. The outputs for teachers are students, and their educational attainment. It is difficult to quantify educational attainment at the best of times, and because each student is different it can be difficult to specifically identify the role that an individual teacher has on aggregate student performance. The three elements of an effective pay-for-performance plan are efficiency, equity and compliance. Efficiency and equity are both challenging for teachers because of the inherent difficulty in measuring their outputs. There are no efficient and equitable measures. Standardized test scores can be efficient, but they are problematic because they do not directly measure the quality of the teaching, or the students' ability to grasp and apply concepts. Student bodies can vary significantly from school to school, so there is also no equitable way to evaluate teacher performance across an entire…

Awesome Power of the Principal In my school setting, I can see some of the principal traits described by Fullan (2010) in our principal: there is a focus on instruction and the need to personalize education—but only to a limited extent. Fullan (2010) argues that this focus needs to be deep and that the principal needs to be obsessed with it, making sure that every student is getting results. In my school, the principal talks about the importance of this objective but does not really provide teachers with help or tools to make it happen. The principal is more of the type of person who says the right things but when it comes to backing up words with action he is MIA.
Fullan’s discussion of “ready, fire, aim, change, savvy” resonates with my own thinking regarding change and the planning of my IIP. I feel that Fullan (2010) is absolutely correct, especially…

School Change Projects
A New Kind of PTA

Sometimes the most effective changes in a system come about through the simplest changes. Perhaps a better way to phrase this same idea is that sometimes the most effective changes in a system comes at the most basic level. This is the kind of change that I propose for my district, although it is not the same kind of back-to-basics plan that is still sweeping across the American educational landscape.

This suggestion does not touch on the issue of how basic the curriculum should be, although curricular reform is (of course) one of the central questions for every educational professional since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind act. ather, the changes that I would like to see instituted in my district are a greater participation of parents and other family members in the students' educational lives. This is a simple idea that…

Schools in the 21st century are very different from the one-room schoolhouses that once dotted the American landscape. Today a single school can house thousands of students at various grade levels and many schools integrate the latest technologies into their curriculums. With this being understood, it will be interesting to see how school curriculum will change in the future. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how schools will change in the future as it pertains to technology. The discussion will also focus on the introduction of schools as social anchors, that are both moral and purposeful.
Schools of the future

Indeed technology will continue to play a large role in schools of the future. Educators will continue to incorporate technology into the curriculum. According to Caldwell and Hayward (1998) "schooling at the upper secondary level will become more complex and diverse, with multiple providers; combined with advances made possible by…

Utilization of the data and collection of the data should be one of the main aims of the policy makers. The data can be used by the policymakers in order to develop the policies and implement these in order to make sure that improvement can be ensured (Basch, 2011, p. 9).
3. One of the main roles that can be played by the policy makers includes reviewing the policies that have already been designed for the schools. How these previous policies have played roles in an improvement of academics of the children, their environments and their health are important parts of the review by the policymakers. It is important that funding is collected for the issues that affect health and academics of children.

4. The policymakers should make sure that the importance of school-based health clinics that can play roles in looking after the needs of the students.

Great levels of differences…

From the school staff perspective, the identification badges would be a useful instrument to recognize who is a student and who is a teacher. Additionally, somewhat related to the identification purpose, as well as to the security perspective that one parent has mentioned, the staff can easily recognize who is actually meant to be on school grounds and who isn't. If we consider the global terrorist threat, this is a highly important argument.

On the other hand, as the parent has mentioned, security and safety measures on school premises need to have a limit somewhere, otherwise we risk having a reminder of concentration camps, where number identification tags were used. As the parent has asked, where can we draw the line?

From the parents' perspective, wearing a badge may be an additional form of security and safety on school grounds, but it also may be considered a measure that will give way…

othe values
Moal chaacte, that is, having couage, being pesistent, dismissing distactions and so on in pusuit of the goal.

These ae attempts to define ethics by descibing actions, and faily specific constellations of actions at that. Fedeich Paulson, a 19th centuy philosophe of ethics, defined ethics as a science of moal duty (1899).

Almost 100 yeas late, Swenson also used the concept of study in defining ethics, saying that it included the systematic study of concepts such as ight and wong. Othe eseaches note that the idea of systematic study is common in dictionay definitions of ethics, with the Ameican Heitage Dictionay focusing on thee elements: " the study of moal philosophy, the ules of a pofession (o moe boadly the chaacte of a community), and moal self-examination (Soukhanov, 1992).

Hill (2004) offes a 'definition' that is mainly pactical but also incopoates some theoetical content. They believe that ethical analysis is both…

Schools and Education
Over the last several years, the field of education has been facing tremendous challenges. This is because of shifts in how they address a host of issues and there are changing demographics of students. These are all signs of broader social implications which are having an effect on individual performance and their ability to adapt with a variety of situations. (Rury, 2013)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Rury (2013) who said, "e live in a time of considerable social and political turmoil, marked by economic uncertainty that has directly touched the lives of millions of Americans. Deep divisions and critical problems, as a range of issues are debated fervently, extending from economic policy, to poverty and inequality. If there is anything everyone seems to agree upon it the growing importance of education for the future. ithout expanding our present knowledge and abilities, it is unlikely…

For school retention, the major reason for support of this was academic achievement. If the child does not meet the set benchmarks for performance, the decision-making panel simply agreed to retention of the student. There was no formal assessment system for this decision process.
These results were supported by the result of the study conducted by Hong and audenbush (2006)

who found that student achievement were used in state and district schools to decide social promotion vs. school retention instead of formal systems of assessment of student performance. According to these findings, the schools that used academic achievement as the main criterion for social promotion did not bother to understand how the decision affected the student for who the decision was being made and the other students in general. The findings of these authors showed that these were very important aspects in the general performance of the school itself and the…

School Choice
Throughout the nation the American public has clamored for school change and reform. One of the alternatives that has moved to the forefront of the arena is the ability of parents to choose the public school that their children will attend without geographic boundaries and mandates.

Experts continue to debate whether or not school choice ability will force the hand of the public school system to make the desired changes. Some believe that parents having the ability to move their children to the school of their choice will force all schools to improve to compete, while others think it will harm the economically disadvantaged schools with little benefit to the then overcrowded wealthy schools. This paper presents a research proposal that addresses the question of school choice. This might include the choice to choose a different public school, choose to home school, and choose private school or another choice.

The paper…

School-to-Work Programs
Every school board now offers school-to-work (STW) programs, which are designed to meet the needs of a large portion of today's students - those who are work-bound as soon as they graduate high school. Many of these programs allow students to enroll as apprentices and accumulate hours and experience towards a qualifying certificate in a specific profession while earning credits towards their high school graduation diploma, as well.

While advocates of such programs argue that they give additional relevance and meaning to the educational process as a whole and give students real opportunities to make connections between theory and actual practice, opponents believe that these types of programs are pervasive and prevent students from receiving a thorough and valuable education.

This paper supports the opposing viewpoint of school-to-work programs, arguing that education that concentrates on job training results in graduates who are less adaptable and less able to change occupations without…

School esponse to Student Suicide: Postvention
The emotional impact on family and friends following an adolescent suicide - and the school's response to a suicide - has not been the subject of the same level of intense research as have: a) the causes of suicides; and b) programs to prevent suicides. However, there is now an emerging body of solid research on what protocol a school can put into place, to be more prepared in the unfortunate circumstance of a teen suicide. Indeed, on the subject of tragedy, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many schools and communities re-tooled their crisis/response plans for dealing with such threats. And yet, in many ways, the sudden, inexplicable death of a student can cause serious psychological ramifications to fellow students on a part with the shockwaves following an attack by terrorists. And hence, this paper analyzes literature that is…

It raises the need for both written and verbal communication skills to reach an optimum level that can persuade and cajole.
It is believed by many experts that this economic role will become more important in future years and that in order to achieve the status of superintendent, a candidate will have to display some experience or education in that field to ensure board members that he or she is capable of representing the district well (Thomas, 2002).

With Administrators, Staff and Teachers

School superintendents face a new level of issues when dealing with these three groups of employees, and it is very important how the man or woman in that position communicates layoffs, curriculum changes, school closures, firings, or an order to re-apply for their jobs, as has been done now in a significant number of districts around the country.

One of the superintendent's first priorities is to get out of the…

Granted, she was fortunate that Goldenberg is a noted school change advocate and author. However, if he had not been at the school, she may have been able to find someone else well versed in reform. The important element is collaboration with others who have a knowledge base.
The other important aspect of this article was the example of how the teachers were involved and the results that came from this change. Based on the increased scores of the students, it is easily recognized that there was a fundamental change in the teachers' instruction. Lastly, this article showed that not all changes end in "happy ever after" results. Unfortunately, the changes were not continued from one generation of teachers to the next.

There are a few elements that are missing in this article. The first is what happened to Sullivan and her involvement with this school change. Did she leave, and…

The NCLB Act (2002) stresses the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics of performance. The Open Group (2003) in defining the need for integration says that the data captured in SIF "are subsequently moved through state information systems to be used.
Federal, state and local dependence on the quality and availability of education data to inform decision-making has never been higher as funding to the school level based on NCLB benchmarks and measure adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirements" (Open Group 2003).

All of these many requirements for reporting the performance of learning programs upward through district, municipal, and state and federal levels is to benchmark the effectiveness of teaching programs, adherence to and compliance with NCLB measures of success, and ultimately to define which schools will continue to receive state and federal funding for their programs, or conversely, those schools that will be audited as a result of their…

The court easily could have come to a contrary result, given that it denied most of the allegations of the plaintiff, other than the specific contention that the nature of this specific advertising was particularly inconsistent with state educational statues and school board policy. Even the plaintiff conceded that advertising in the form of school vending machines, yearbooks, sports scorecards, etc. had long been tolerated in schools, and would continue to be tolerated.
Question 2: What guidelines may administrators who are considering potential educational uses of commercially driven Internet technology draw from the above opinion?

The guidelines for school administers regarding advertising thus remain blurry. Video advertising is acceptable, but not the type of video advertising on Channel One. Regarding Internet advertising, it would seem that using the Internet to research material on websites where advertising may appear would be analogous to the permissible practice of taping programs from the television…

here are variations on these four schools but, in essence, these four schools dominate the field. hese four schools are: Marxist, Kenyesian, Monetarist, and neoclassic.
he Marxist school is built upon the theories and writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. hese gentlemen believed that all economic societies go through a period of development wherein different economy systems are used beginning with a form of primitive communism through feudalism, capitalism, and then eventually ending in pure communism. he economy of the Soviet Union was based on the theories of Marx and Engels and, as a result of the failure of that government it has fallen out of favor among modern day economists.

he decline of Marxism seemed to served as an impetus for the remaining major economic schools to re-examine their positions. In the last two decades of the twentieth century the schools began to build a consensus. his consensus has…

School Students Community
Designing an Ideal School Students Community

What is needed to be in the new high school and why?

The proposed high school should cater to the needs of students, academically and otherwise. This is important for a well-rounded development of every student. Firstly, the high school should provide opportunities for students to pursue their personal interests such as knitting or carpentry or just about anything else instead of forcing them to choose from a given set of options. This will help to build their skill and will also give them the confidence needed for higher education. A warm and inviting climate, more interaction with nature and extensive opportunities to learn and explore are vital for a model high school.

Likes and dislikes of students

Most high school students will be between 14 to 18 years of age and this is an important developmental stage for them. They are in their adolescence where…

School Personnel Functions
Personnel functions and their relationship to moving an instructional agenda forward

Ultimately, a school's reputation lies in the hands of its teachers. Hiring, training, and retaining highly effective personnel to give instruction in the classroom must be the cornerstone of any effort to improve education at a school. Without good teachers to impart instruction, the best textbooks, goals, and procedures will not be meaningful. Teaching, however, is a skill as well as a gift, and the administration can strive to support teachers with specific programming efforts.

Hiring and assignments

The first step in creating a more effective educational environment is hiring new teachers that support the mission and values of the school. Given that teachers are likely to be a part of the educational environment for some time, it is essential that teachers are 'on board' with the principal's agenda. ecruiting top candidates from high-quality colleges and universities and being open…

School Choice & the Social Construction of School Quality
In this article, Jennifer J. Holme explores how parents, who re-locate their homes for getting access to "higher quality" schools for their children, approach their choice of school. The author also seeks to understand the beliefs of such parents about what constitutes a "good and a "bad" school. Her research consists of interviews with forty-two selected parents who had used their financial resources to buy homes in school districts where they thought the best schools were located. The research reveals that the decisions of most parents in selecting or rejecting schools for their children are not based on knowledgeable information about the quality of schools and their choice is almost always based on information gathered from other parents in their social networks consisting of "high status," "high income" parents. The author concludes from her research that the parents give more credence…

School of Social Work
Applying for Scholarships

There are a number of careers available in the world today, and the majority of them require an advanced degree in college. In order to obtain the proper education and reach their goals, many students find it necessary to apply for a variety of scholarships. This letter concentrates on obtaining scholarships so that I can continue my education in the field of Social Work, as I have a strong desire to work with children and families in urban communities.

In order for me to continue my education, I must receive financial assistance. I am the father of four children, three of which are newborn triplets, and am the sole supporter of my family. My wife is currently unable to work due to our recent additions, but continues to provide emotional support in my educational endeavors.

My interest in helping others is rooted in my childhood, where as…

Below are the results of the survey:
1. Inadequate number of student spaces - 28,800 (64%)

2. Too many faculty spaces not being used - 7,650 (17%)

3. Inadequate attempts to keep students without decals from occupying spaces - 6,750 (15%)

4. Dim marking lines-1,800 (4%)

As you can see from the above information, a disproportionate amount of individuals attribute the parking inconvenience to simple lack of spaces. The university can easily rectify these results by renovating current parking garages to accommodate more parking, create space to develop more parking, or enhance the public transportation system on campus. Figure 3 below indicate that the latter option may be very viable in regards to cost over the long-term.

Figure 3: Effect of Potential Improvements to Public Transportation

Members of the FID community were asked about their feelings towards public transportation; individuals were able to check more than one category:

Increased perceptions of safety 4,932 (28%)

Improved cleanliness 852 (5%)

Reduced…

Then, each program is measured in terms of how well it can perform in a given environment. Based on this test called the fitness measure, the fit programs are selected for the next generation of reproduction. This process is continued until the best solution is determined. (Koza, 1992).
The advantages of genetic programming is that it is an evolving process based on the tested process of natural selection and evolution. This also uses parallel processing and so it can produce more accurate results within a short period of time. Due to these advantages, it is used in many real-world applications.

It plays a profound role in data mining and virtual reality, in every field ranging from finance to gaming. Specialized computer programs can retrieve data from large databases with a lot of precision and speed. These programs can also be used to identify relationships among this data and express them in…

They predict age and gender variations relate to bullying concerns. Of the 25 cartoons implemented in the study, two depict characters with different shades of skin color where skin color appeared to be an issue. One cartoon relating to sexual orientation was not used in several countries. Smith et al. report Olweus to assert bullying to be characterized by the following three criteria:
1. It is aggressive behavior or intentional "harmdoing"

2. which carried out repeatedly and over time

3. In an interpersonal relationship characterized by an imbalance of power. (Smith et al., 2002, p. 1120)

In their study, Smith et al. (2002), participating researchers in the 14 countries to completed the following

1. Listed and selected bullying terms as well as social exclusion in the applicable language.

2. Used fundamental focus groups with participating children to confirm usage and extensive comprehensive of terms.

3. Using cartoons, sorted tasks to describe ways terms relating to bullying…

These issues of professionalism and innovation seem to be a major problem in many public schools in America. In recent years these issues have come to light as teachers have been disciplined and even fired for their interactions with students that have been unprofessional and even criminal at times. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to act professionally and when they fell to do so the ability of students to excel academically is also compromised.
The aforementioned authors also mention the lack of innovation that often occurs as a result of using democratic methods. One of the reasons why school choice is even an issue is because the curriculums that have been implemented in public schools lack variety. Part of the reason for this lack of innovation has to do with bureaucracy and government mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act. This particular act stifles innovation because many teachers…

Her point is to get support for her views, and she did, because three months after she wrote this piece there was a rally at the State Capitol in Austin where 5,000 people called for school choice in front of the Capitol building. Therefore, her words helped people make up their minds and seek action from their legislators. However, she failed to convince the legislators, who did not even address school choice during the 2007 legislative session (Editors). Either this means that the legislators are not listening to the will of the people, or that her rhetoric failed to gain their support.
The media has certainly picked up this issue, and it is an issue all around the country, not just in Texas. The Milwaukee school district has had a voucher system like this for over sixteen years, and it has proven to be a money saving plan for taxpayers,…

Transportation

Students who are bussed to a larger school can use the time to be productive; reading, homework, etc.

1.5-2 hours per day of commuting is unacceptable for students and will eat into their family and work time.

Opportunities

A larger school will provide greater opportunity for social networks, sports, music, drama, and more extracurricular activities.

Loss of community will make the younger students uncomfortable as well.

Academics

A larger school will provide greater academic opportunities for the HS students in preparation for university; there are more resources available.

The student to teach ratio will change and the students will be part of just another large classroom.

Thus, the question really comes down to potential. Neither side can equivocally state that the future of the students will be better or worse; there are arguments for both as well as the possibility that the solution will be quite positive for some, not so positive for others. Clearly, there needs to…

, 1999). In many areas of the country this may be very accurate.
Another problem that comes into the picture where obesity in children is concerned is that many parents must work very long hours today to pay bills and have money for what their family needs (Mokdad, et al., 1999). ecause of this, many children are latchkey kids and are not watched as closely by their parents as they used to be (Mokdad, et al., 1999). Children used to come home from school and go and play with others, but many now live in neighborhoods where this is unsafe or where there are no children their age so they remain inside watching TV or playing video games and snacking on whatever is available (Mokdad, et al., 1999).

If there is healthy food in the house this is often not a problem, but many households are full of potato chips, candy, soda,…

School Counseling in a Multicultural Society: An Overview
More and more diversity is becoming the buzzword in society at large and within educational facilities across the nation. As the population in the United States continues to become increasingly diversified and representative of individuals from varying ethnic, socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, educators are realizing an increased need for attention to the specific needs of diverse student populations.

The need for multicultural competencies development among school counseling professionals has recently been acknowledged by the American Psychological Association (1992) and the American Counseling Association (1995) whose ethnical standards dictate that school counselors should achieve a certain level of multicultural competence prior to embarking on a professional career in student counseling.

Despite the acknowledgment of a need for increased awareness and training to ensure a positive student/counselor relationship, there is little evidence that much is being done in the way of establishing a core set of standardized…

The lack of self-respect in particular characters in the play, like Lady Sneerwell and Joseph, sends the message that some people have higher priorities than self-respect. Lady Sneerwell's deep desire to gain Charles to marry her leads her to a chain of unrespectable acts of intrigues and backbiting, in the process, conspiring with equally dubious characters like Joseph and Snake who also follow selfish and destructive agendas of their own. Forming a derogatory School for Scandal all alone speaks against self-respect as against all of those perpetuating that School. While it seems outwardly pleasurable to prey on other people's mistakes, misfortunes and weaknesses, perpetrators of scandals and hypocrisy do not gain the superiority they want among themselves. Lady Sneerwell, Sir and Lady ackbite, Mrs. Candour and Joseph may share a common objective of destroying relationships and reputation but this destructiveness does not build them up in the real sense, but…