Thomas S. Stone Elementary located in Prince George’s County School District, is experiencing the implementation of a new initiative mandated by the state of Maryland called America’s Choice. The goal of America’s Choice new curriculum is crafted to make the teachers and students more accountable in raising student’s test scores in order to make AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). More than half of our students are illiterate and many don’t speak English. This research paper will explore the philosophical and psychological foundations, socioeconomic factors, curriculum design approach, curriculum development approach, aims, goals and objectives of curriculum development, the strategies used for implementation and the evaluation criteria and issues.
Introduction:
The Merriam dictionary defines initiative as: “The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task.” In addition, initiative can be looked as a leading step and action or change in a school’s curriculum development and implementation. Thomas S. Stone is in the middle of a diverse community and the students are a reflection of that diversity. Our school population consist of 50% Hispanic, 45% African American, 3% Caucasian, and 2% Asian or other. Our school has been a failing school for the past 6 years according to the MSA (Maryland State Assessment) that is directly aligned to the standards of the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Act. Two years ago district officials stepped in and replaced the principal and the curriculum framework in efforts to meet the testing requirements outlined by the federal government.
Socioeconomic Factors
Thomas S. Stone social factors reflect the educational deficit occurring in our nation now. “Excuses a...
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... have failed because of interpersonal insensitivity, ethnic or racial bias, or political naiveté.” 300 Many of our children failed the 2009 reading MSA because many of the questions asked dealt with farm animals or situations that these children haven’t had the experience to connect to. Our under privilege children are not considered when these evaluation tools are crafted. Manu issues result from the lack preparation and research to our diverse student’s personal background.
Conclusion
I believe that our school initiative can work if all of the components of the action plan are executed properly. Effective communication is the ingredient missing out of our recipe to increase our test scores. Based on our approaches and strategies the students will be able to acquire the skills needed to conquer any hurdle, as an educator I must believe in their progression.
If it was not apparent enough that America’s education system is failing, Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation” openly explains to us about the truth. America, for being the richest country, is behind in the educational standpoint. America needs to rethink their standards when it comes to education. America is more focused on corporate earning than educating our youth. The author of “Idiot Nation” makes the reader think about how America is viewed in the world. The purpose of Michael Moore’s essay is to point out what is wrong with this nation and also give the reader the motivation to actually do something about the situation at hand. Moore is trying to make readers aware of where we send our children. The author is trying to shock readers with the facts to do something to improve the American education system.
Furthermore, Chapter 15 begins to explain educational inequality. In the United States, education is available but not to every child in the same way. Different social-classes means different schools, instructions, criteria, rates, and times. In addition to class differences, races and ethnics unfortunately play a role in educational achievement. For example, in general, African Americans, Latino/a’s, and Native Americans usually do worse in school than white or Asian American students
“More than one million High School students fail to graduate high school each year. This not only affects the individual and his or her education but also takes a toll on society and the economy”.-Unknown. Today’s education cap affects society in many ways. Education is one key element that is needed throughout everyday life. It is needed for critical thinking, problem-solving, and great independent decision making in our lives. Without education, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with one another or make something out of ourselves. So we might ask ourselves how can we make education better for us and the future generations? In the book “Smartest Kids in the World”, Amanda Ripley gives an explanation of the difference between the education system in U.S. and in countries like Finland, Poland, and South
Our experiences with social class help define and shape our expectations for education, it’s potential and its power. How is it fair that education is provided for all different economic backgrounds and financial circumstances, but yet not everyone is able to use the education system to its full advantage? For instance, in Mike Rose’s “Blue Collar Brilliance”, his mother to quit school to provide for her family, due to their financial circumstance. Most students choose to go off to the military or workforce because they understand that continuing their education is extremely expensive. Gerald Graff, author of “Hidden Intellectualism”, discusses the difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts”. Graff focuses on how smarts can take countless forms and even be hidden. Take the case of, the gap between the upper-class, and the middle and working class. There are far more obstacles facing the lower classes, such as financial worry, compared to the upper-class.
Why do children graduate high school without fully understanding concepts that relate to the core subjects of Math, English, Science, and History? Because education is unequal in America. Sociologist Doctor James W. Loewen and award winning writer Jonathan Kozol agree that classism is to blame. Loewen also believes that history textbooks take some of the blame for the student’s ignorance of inequality within education, while Kozol believes it is ignorance from well educated people that are two blame. Although Loewen and Kozol are correct in citing classism as a problem in the education system, little is acknowledged about a solution.
The American Education System has been a core component to the development of generations since it became a public system in the 1870s. Since then more rules, higher expectations for some, and even lower expectations for others have been added to the original structure. In recent years, many debates have surfaced over whether the American education system is failing. Too few they believe the American Education System is on the right track. Most researchers however have shown statistics that it is in fact slowly declining as new acts and regimens are added. It has been on a downward spiral for years and citizens have been watching it happen, the lack of government funding, acts like the No Child Left behind Act, focus in the wrong places, and the curriculum set up is acting as a deterrent for success.
The documentary “Dropout Nation” shows how difficult it is for students who live in poorer communities to receive a good education and graduate high school. Students and teachers are interviewed in this documentary to show that these students are intelligent but are not able to graduate due to their circumstances. These examples help explain the concepts learned in chapter 10 about social institutions and how it is affected by politics, education, and religion.
Some people may believe that education all over the United States is equal. These people also believe that all students no matter their location, socioeconomic status, and race have the same access and quality of education, but ultimately they are wrong. Throughout history, there has been a huge educational disparity between the wealthy and marginalized communities. The academic essay “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Jean Anyon, an American critical thinker and researcher in education, conveys that depending on the different economic backgrounds students have, they will be taught in a specific way. He reveals that the lower economic background a child has then the lower quality their education will be and the higher their economic background is the higher quality their education is. Anyon’s theory of a social ladder is extremely useful because it sheds light on the
Education is an integral part of society, school helps children learn social norms as well as teach them how to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. These schools have lower test scores and high dropout rates. In Trenton Central High School West, there was an 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds and are often from low income families. There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial reasons to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and further teacher education, urban schools can be transformed and be better equipped to prepare their students for the global stage.
An effective school leader possesses skills to create, implement, evaluate, improve and share a staff development plan. I met with Ben Rhodes, Sandy Creek Middle School’s principal, to interview him on the specific elements of his yearly staff development plan. We began with the design process focusing on the district and school goals. District goals include improving literacy across the content areas in reading and writing, Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC). Guaranteed and Viable Technology (GVT), and Closing the Achievement Gap (Equity in Excellence). Using a variety of assessments to focus on specific needs, Ben Rhodes and Mary Sonya, our Pupil Achievement Specialist, examined CSAP, Explore, MAP, and RAD data. They use the Colorado Growth Model to help guide them to determine if students have made adequate yearly progress. Together, they created the plan that included the district goals mentioned above as well as continuing to include new technology skills, information on special education changes with Response to Intervention (RTI), maintaining current staff implementation of literacy goals and a new goal of raising achievement in math.
Income inequality in the United States is directly correlated with education decline over the past 40 years. People with lower incomes tend to have less opportunities for a good education than those with higher incomes. American education, when compared to other nations, has dropped dramatically due largely to a rise in income inequality since the 1970s. Not only has economic inequality lead to academic decline and disparity, but academic disparity has also tended to lead to further economic inequality. Because of this, improving the American education system can effectively decrease the income gap. If done correctly, the usage of an alternative school model, specifically the private school model, rather than the usual public school model can reduce economic inequality.
Social class is a determinant used to define where a family stands in terms of salary and socioeconomic status. However, it is used to determine what will be offered to the family, for example, the type of school that each child will attend. But what it does not determine is the success of that student’s education attainment. Money can buy a college education yet, it will not buy literacy.
The CIP plan is separated into specific sections, and the AIT team reviews and the CIP plan to determine PD topics. The purpose of this Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) is to communicate the goals, strategies, and actions a school is taking to improve academic achievement and school climate. The plan is written to inform a variety of stakeholder audiences including, district and school leadership, family and community members, state and federal education agencies. The intention of the school’s CIP is to show progress on the level of teaching and learning of the students in the school. The school’s CIP provides an outline for examining instructional concerns in the school that has not made adequate progress in student’s achievement. Consequently, the school’s continuous improvement plan emphasizes the achievement in the core academic subjects and the strategies used to teach them, followed by professional developments to ensure that students are accomplishing
Palardy, G., and R. Rumberger. Does Desegregation Matter?: The of Social Composition on Academic Achievement in Southern High Schools. N.p.: University of North Carolina, 2005. Print.
One of my responsibilities as a school leader is to monitor the implementation of the Title I program. For three years, I developed the Targeted Assistance Plan for our school and communicated this plan to all stakeholders. Targeted Assistance Program is a good supplemental program, but it doesn’t benefit our entire population. Last year, I proposed to the ILT team to pursue School – Wide program. I led the team in implementing the requirements and organizing all the documents for each component of the Title I School Wide Program and presented it to the panel of evaluators. With our collaborative effort, our school was confirmed to transition to School Wide