Qualitative research tends to use small samples to examine a problem instead of using large samples as in quantitative research. With fewer people in the sample, it is important for the participants to be information-rich informants. With that in mind, consider the strengths and weaknesses of purposeful, convenience, and random sampling approaches in qualitative research. Then, assume you are an automobile manufacturing executive tasked with increasing sales in your state. You wish to do a qualitative study to obtain the perspective of sales personnel regarding an incentive program you implemented at a few dealerships that quantitatively proved to be successful. What sampling approach would you use to identify and select the 12-15 information-rich personnel from the target population? What eligibility criteria would you use in addition to being sales personnel in a dealership of this manufacturer in the given state? What logistic difficulties would you anticipate in drawing your sample? Explain your answers.
Topic 4 DQ 2
Assessment Description
Assume you wish to study the influence of high school principals’ leadership styles and academic achievement in their schools in your state. How would you sample 12-15 potential participants for a single case study using convenience sampling and purposeful sampling? What factors would make you choose one approach over the other? Why? What logistic difficulties could you expect in drawing the sample?
It is important as a school leader to have a working knowledge of the court systems in your state so that you are aware of how and where legal issues are addressed. Legal issues may come your way and a school leader that is informed and knowledgeable of the process that will occur and which courts will likely have jurisdiction will help you navigate the questions you may have.
Follow these steps:
Research your state’s court system. You can do an internet search by typing in your state’s name and the term “state courts” into a search engine. Remember to use official court websites as others may not have reliable information. Find an issue in your state that is a legal requirement that the courts have ruled on and is of interest to you. Summarize the issue/requirement in a presentation. Identify the court that made the ruling and explain how the case moved from the local level to the state level as well as the parties involved. Next, find an issue/requirement that is educational related that had to be heard by the Supreme Court. As you summarize this issue/requirement, trace the path it took from the local court to the Supreme Court.
Now create a presentation. Your presentation can be a PowerPoint or a Prezi, which is compiled of 8-10 slides (not including the cover or reference slide). When your presentation is complete, post it to the discussion board. Make sure that you respond to your classmates in a way that promotes the discussion. Ask for clarification from their posts if needed, or compare/contrast their state’s court systems with yours
Understanding your state’s court systems and laws are very important for a school leader, but you must have a clear understanding of the statutes and case laws that work together to help everyone understand the best way to resolve legal issues that leaders face in today’s schools. It is important for leaders to understand that the law is not a static situation, but that it is constantly evolving. When a statute is passed by a governing body, its guidance for school leaders is limited until it is interpreted by the courts. This interpretation comes in the form of case law. It is important for a school leader to understand how case law impacts the governing of the schools and the administration of the rights of stakeholders of schools including, but not limited to, students, employees, parents, and community members. For this discussion, you should choose either the First Amendment or the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (page 26 in your text) as the basis for your reply.
Follow these directions:
Describe what the chosen amendment says about our rights as U.S. citizens. Find two examples of case law that apply to educational institutions that have helped to define how the rights guaranteed by that amendment have been interpreted by the courts. Discuss implications of the chosen case law and how it relates to school leaders. Research resources (at least 3) that a school leader can use for better understanding in order to comply with the Amendment chosen. Post these resources, along with their links, in the Discussion Board.
Discussion 2
Emergency Management Scenario
Directions
School administrators have a responsibility to keep everyone safe. Read the scenario and in the Discussion Board, answer the questions at the end.
During the passing time between classes at Eisenhower High School, there was a fight between two special education students. Student “X” pulled a knife on Student “Y” and cut the students arm to the point severe bleeding took place. Student “X” continued the attack, but thankfully other students were able to disarm Student “X.” The principal of Eisenhower High, Mr. Smart, takes pride in being proactive in his school and his faculty and staff know the law well, so he was very concerned at the findings of his investigation of this incident.
There were several issues that concerned Mr. Smart about this incident. First, one of the school’s teachers, Mrs. Wright, had been informed by another student that Student “X,” an emotionally impaired special education student, might have a weapon in their possession. Because the student who reported the possible weapon was not thought to be credible, Mrs. Wright did not take the report seriously. She decided not to report this because it was at the start of the class, and she did not want to leave her class without supervision. By the time class ended, Mrs. Wright had forgotten about the possible weapon.
To make matters worse, this incident occurred between classes at the end of the hallway where there are only two classrooms, and there was no adult supervision present. Hallway supervision is one area that was a constant struggle between the principal and the faculty and staff. Mr. Smart had urged the faculty and staff to monitor student activity in the hallway. However, when the incident occurred, one teacher had gone to the restroom and the other was at his desk preparing for the next class. Because of the normal noise in the hallway, no adult responded to the incident until well after it had ended. In fact, no staff members knew about the incident until the student came into class with a severe bleeding arm.
When Mr. Smart was alerted to the incident, he immediately took action to isolate Student “X” in a secure, supervised area and to get medical attention for Student “Y.” After making sure Student “Y” received medical treatment, Mr. Smart thoughts turned to his concern for what liability there might be for the district, teachers, and himself.
In your Discussion Board post please responses to the following:
What potential liability does the school district face due to this incident? What potential liability does Mr. Smart and his faculty face due to the incident? Based on Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirement for a school to have an Emergency Management plan, what responsibility does the school have for the safety of their students? Would it have been legally permissible for school personnel to search Student “X” based on the report of a fellow student? Why or why not? What should have been done differently in this scenario by the principal and the faculty to prevent this incident from occurring or to limit school district liability?
Discussion 3
Religion in Schools
Directions
As the principal of a small town school, Oak Middle School (a public school housing grades 6-8), you have been approached by an organization named “Professional Athletes Against Drug Abuse.” This group has offered to send well known professional athletes to your school to give an assembly encouraging students to be “drug free.” A day before the assembly, you receive a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) telling you that this group’s main goal is to convert children to Christianity. You immediately contact “Professional Athletes Against Drug Abuse” to express your concern; they assure you that their goal is strictly to urge students to remain drug free. You accept their explanation and allow the assembly to take place. When the assembly begins, it quickly becomes apparent that you have been duped and that the ACLU letter was right. The professional athlete speaking to the students encourages them to turn away from drugs and to turn to Jesus. During the assembly students receive a very strong evangelical message and are strongly encouraged to meet with the professional athlete again that evening at a local church to be “born again.” You were understandably very upset, but you allow the assembly to continue to its conclusion.
Please respond to the following questions:
What should you do after the assembly? Do you personally or the school district have any legal liability due to allowing this assembly? How does the Lemon Test apply to this circumstance? How does the principle of government neutrality apply in this case? Are there any circumstances under which this assembly or one like it could have been held on public school property? Have you created an open forum? Explain the legal principles behind your decision-making process. As you read your classmates’ posts begin a conversation about the administration of the Lemon Test and if it would or would not have changed this assembly situation. What could have been done to prevent this situation?
There are no school leaders that are exempt from dealing with emergency issues in their schools. Emergencies can happen at any time and they can be caused either naturally or by humans. Recent issues have involved school shootings, tornadoes, floods, and medical outbreaks. A forward-thinking school leader is cognizant of these and other potential issues and prepared to deal with them by making quick and accurate decisions.
Directions:
For this assignment, imagine that you are on your school districts Emergency Management committee. You have been asked to research emergency management for K-12 systems as well as examine federal, state, and local emergency management requirements/systems and submit your findings to the committee. The chair of the committee has asked you to write a 3 to 4 page (not including cover or reference page) proposal describing the different systems you found and the impact they had or will have on the school systems as well as what would be your recommendations to make your school district, students, teachers, and staff safer.
The essay should:
Describe the different Emergency Management systems. Summarize local, state and federal emergency management requirements. Address the impact different systems had or will have on the school system. Discuss your recommendations of K-12 Emergency Management to the committee.
Use APA Style for formatting, citations, and references.
As a leader within the school, you are often asked to organize a committee to support your school’s goals. Your principal has asked you to set up a committee consisting of teachers, parents, and community business partners. The committee will evaluate your school’s prior year’s budget plan and make the necessary budget cuts to meet the future cutbacks requested by the district school board and superintendent for the future school year.
Directions
Open the Budget Worksheet.( Attached)
Review the funds listed. The school board and superintendent have indicated the funds listed are the only ones that may be cut for the future school year.
Do your research now so that you can explain each fund to the committee and which school services and stakeholders are being affected by the listed fund areas if there is a major cut to this fund area.
The school board and superintendent requested your school’s budget be reduced by $14,000.00 for the future school year. You and your committee will review each fund listed in the worksheet, then make the $14,000.00 cut, then indicate the new adjusted proposed budget in column D in the budget worksheet.
(Fill in column D of worksheet read instructions above )
In addition to the budget worksheet, you will create a 3- to 5-page executive summary for the school board and superintendent.
The executive summary will include the following headers and content:
A. Introduction: Explain the committee’s goal.
B. Committee: As the leader, you will need to select from your school, parents, and community business leaders for those members who will work on your school’s committee. List the members of the team you think a leader would and include the following information: -School association (parent, teacher, or community business partner) -Diversity (information about the diversity of your committee) -Demographics (explain how your committee is representing the actual demographics of your school’s community)
C. Strategic Approach: What strategy did you, the leader, of this committee use to move the committee through the process for fund reduction? Include the following: -The definition of each fund related to your school. -The process used for identifying each fund area suggested for reduction. -Objections and feedback from the committee. -The final selection process used to identify the final proposed funds for reduction.
D. Justify each fund selected by your committee for reduction. In your justification, include the following: -Why did the committee select this fund? -What was the tally of votes for/against this fund reduction? -What were the concerns within the committee for this proposed fund reduction? -Who or what services will be affected by this fund reduction? -What alternative funding sources have been researched to replace this fund reduction? -How will this fund reduction be announced to the stakeholders?
E. Provide a timeline with the following key dates: -Committee meeting schedule. -Fund selection milestones. -Final vote for selected fund reductions. -Executive summary and budget submission. -Stakeholder’s notified and public announcement. -Implementation date for new budget. -Committee future meeting schedule to research and locate alternative funding sources.
Discussion 4 Topic: Aspects of designing a School Budget
Imagine that you have been asked to be on a panel of school administrators at a national conference. Your panel is presenting information on what you see as “hot topics” regarding the design process and the strategies used to maintain a K–12 school budget.
Use these articles as a starting point for your research:
Ezarik, Melissa. (2019, July 25). 5 strategies for balancing the budget while preserving instruction. DA District Administration. https://districtadministration.com/5-strategies-for-balancing-the-budget-while-preserving-instruction/
Griffith, M. (2005). School finance litigation and beyond [Policy brief]. Education Commission of the States. http://ecs.org/clearinghouse/60/26/6026.pdf
Thro, W. E. (1994, May). Judicial analysis during the third wave of school finance litigation: The Massachusetts decision as model. Boston College Law Review, 35(3).
Zdroik, M. (n.d.). Prepare for budgeting. Skyward. https://www.skyward.com/discover/educator-newsletter-blog/november-2016/prepare-for-budgeting
Feel free to find additional articles in the Library or from the internet that you can use as well. Your task is to use the articles to form an outline of your presentation. The outline should contain your main talking points concerning the design, implementation, and maintenance of a K–12 budget, as well as, a brief summary of each point. Post your response to the Discussion Board.
Discussion 5 Topic: Current Financial Trends in Education
When certain areas are not covered in the budget or when a school budget falls short of funds, a current trend in schools today is having parents purchase school supplies, uniforms, and to pay fees for textbooks, clubs, and athletics. In today’s current educational environment, this is not an ideal situation and this requirement can be difficult for some families. Look into what your local policies are regarding families providing school supplies, textbooks, uniforms, club or athletic fees, or any other parent funded requirement and then answer the following questions:
How does your local school district handle this matter as it relates to fees, supplies, and textbooks for all families? Is there a distinction between socioeconomic classes? Does your local school district make accommodations for families that cannot afford fees and supplies? If so, what are they? Are these accommodations confidential? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) calls for a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities. Should that apply to school supplies and other school fees? Does your school district offer funding assistance for supplies and activities for students with disabilities? As a lead teacher, what policies and procedures would you implement in your school if you were to look at the current financial trends and wanted to ensure all students had the supplies and material necessary to be successful?
Discussion 6 Topic: Future Trends of a Virtual Learning Environment.
Your current board of education members wish to explore and understand more about virtual education, and the future of education concerning quality, delivery, and financial aspects. Due to the recent virus epidemic, there is the possibility that a virtual learning environment will be the new normal.
Contemplate this scenario: Your district’s school board is struggling with the board of education which has some questions and concerns about implementing and funding virtual education. As with many boards, several members are from the private sector and their knowledge of how learning, especially virtual learning, takes place is limited. The teacher’s union also has issues and questions about the virtual learning environment and how it will be administered. Your PTO (parent/teacher organization) has asked you to present a short discussion on this topic. Your audience will be teachers, community members, the school board, and the superintendent. Consider how you will discuss the issue. Research current and possible future trends regarding virtual education and post to the questions below:
What implications does this learning environment have for the future of education as well as the staff and teachers? What are the implications for student achievement? What would be the possibility of a blended learning environment where both virtual and in-person classes could be held? How does a virtual learning environment impact school finances?
There are times, as educational leaders, that may seem as if you have no control over the circumstances that you or your teachers may face — for example, poverty. There are situations where students from financially stressed homes may not have the means to participate fully in a school program. On a deeper level, they face struggles and stress that other students may not face. This can impact school performance on many levels.
Directions:
As the readings have made you aware, there are different funding formulas for federal, state, and local education funds. As an educational leader, you will be charged with the task of budget maintenance and requests for many different aspects of your school.
Imagine you are at an administration’s meeting with the District Strategic Planning Team that is responsible for the allocation of personnel and funds to each school in the district. Your school is in a transitional neighborhood in your school district. Your school district is a suburban district usually thought to be home to the upper-middle class. In your school’s geographical location, however, many previously owner-occupied homes are now rentals and two large apartment complexes have become Section 8 and Housing Authority properties. Both Section 8 and Housing Authority housing programs are governmentally funded programs. Your free and reduced lunch has changed from 15% to 70% of your school population in the past year alone. The number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch is indicative of the change in the socioeconomic status of the neighborhood.
In this meeting with the District Strategic Planning Team, your funding requests are up against other needed requests from other schools in the district. You are competing with other schools for a limited amount of funds. As funds seem to be in short supply and everyone believes they have a strong and valid need, you will want to research and support each point in your request for funds.
In the state where you live, research local, state, and federal funding formulas and explain how your school receives funds each year and create a 10- to 15-slide PowerPoint® presentation, that includes the following:
Introduction slide.
Describe your school to the district officials. Make sure you include the history as well as the characteristics of the local community, the student population, and the staff.
List and explain your budget requests based on the research gained from the funding formulas.
Use information from your reading — both textbook resources and outside research —to justify and support your request for equitable and adequate funding (remember to use APA citation for your references).
Explain how your budget is affected by local, state, and federal guidelines.
After you have completed the readings, and before reviewing your classmates’ responses, add your initial post that fully answers the Discussion Board topics(s). Your initial post should be supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources. This initial post and your additional responses to classmates should occur over multiple days throughout the unit week. Refer to your discussion rubric for specific grading criteria.
Topic: Comparing tools used to the administering of a K-12 school budget.
This Discussion Board focuses on tools and techniques used in administering a K–12 budget. As a grade level leader, you will have to have a working knowledge of the tools used to make sure that your budget is adequately funded in all areas. Use these websites as you compare the tools used by two different systems.
The first site is:
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Special education funding in Washington state.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). School finance tools. https://dese.mo.gov/financial-admin-services/school-finance/calculation-tools
Upon review of these two websites, pick one similar tool from each site, as well as one tool that is relevant only to that particular state, and answer the questions below:
What elements were common between the two similar tools? Did you notice any differences in the tools that were only relevant to that particular state? Were there any unique tools from the two sites that stood out to you and why? What were the tools used in both states that you would feel comfortable using today if you were in charge of that budget?
Discussion 2
After you have completed the readings, and before reviewing your classmates’ responses, add your initial post that fully answers the Discussion Board topics(s). Your initial post should be supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources. This initial post and your additional responses to classmates should occur over multiple days throughout the unit week. Refer to your discussion rubric for specific grading criteria.
Topic: Pay-for-Performance
You are a lead teacher of a high school that just received an award for being a top distinguished school from your state. Several teachers approach you about the possibility of getting a pay increase for all of their hard work. You tell the teachers that you will certainly see what you can do, but you know the budget is set for the upcoming year. The next day, you receive a call from a school board member that wants you to explore and give them a better understanding of performance pay in schools, with the intent of moving forward with a plan for performance/merit pay.
You know as an educational leader that this topic is one that certainly needs further review. Your school board is struggling with the pay-for-performance issue. As with many boards, several members are from the private sector where pay is usually tied to performance. The teacher’s union also questions the move based on concerns about how pay levels will be determined. You have been chosen to give a short presentation on the topic. Your audience will be teachers, community members, the school board, and the superintendent.
Consider how you will discuss the issue. Research current trends in pay-for-performance, merit pay, and career ladders. As you respond to this discussion, answer the following questions:
What implications do these have for the future of educators? What are the implications for student achievement? What would be the implications for your school’s budget? What are the pros/cons of pay-for-performance?
Discussion 3
After you have completed the readings, and before reviewing your classmates’ responses, add your initial post that fully answers the Discussion Board topics(s). Your initial post should be supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources. This initial post and your additional responses to classmates should occur over multiple days throughout the unit week. Refer to your discussion rubric for specific grading criteria.
Topic: Understanding School Funding:
There have been several school funding programs over the years that have gained attention in the educational community because of how they succeeded and the difficulties they presented when they were implemented. As an educational leader, you will be expected to have a firm understanding of these programs and how they can have a positive impact on your school budget that you wish to implement.
There will be those in your community who come to you with questions about the school budget and to have a better understanding of where the funding comes from. How will you explain these programs and funding formulas to someone who is not familiar with the budgeting process?
For this discussion, suppose you are a lead teacher of a public school and you have the task of writing an article on school budgets for your local newspaper. This will provide you a forum to get the correct information out to the public and hopefully end any misinformation.
After reading the articles linked below, post a 300- to 500-word opinion piece that explains the initial intent of the documents, your role in promoting the success of a school’s budget, and the state and federal functions you must address in your budget. Support your thoughts with references and citations.
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn
U.S. Department of Education. (2019). Fiscal year 2019 summary and background information.
U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Education budget prioritizes students, empowers parents, saves taxpayer dollars. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-budget-prioritizes-students-empowers-parents-saves-taxpayer-dollars
unit 1 assignment: Tools and Techniques for School Budgets
Purpose:
For this assignment, you have been directed by the superintendent to compare the tools and techniques that could be used in administering a school’s budget and report based on what you believe to be the best choice for your district. There are many different types of tools a school system can use. For example, a district can use a simple Excel document or even use a contracted company to have a more complex budget. The choice is theirs.
Directions:
In your chapter readings, the provided websites, and with your own research, identify and describe three different tools and techniques that can be used in administering a K–12 budget.
Write a 3- to 4-page paper that describes and compares three different tools for administering a K–12 budget of your choice. As you compare the different tools, be sure to address the cost, technology requirements, the skill level of the user needed, as well as the products produced by the tools/programs that you have chosen.
Your completed paper will follow these guidelines:
Use APA Style for formatting, citations, and references. Includes an introduction with a clearly identified thesis. Relates content of the paper to the central theme or thesis. Includes a concluding paragraph that links the content of the essay and synthesizes the intended thesis statement.
Web Resources
Chen, G. (2020, February 14). An overview of the funding of public schools. Public School Review. https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/an-overview-of-the-funding-of-public-schools
National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Chapter IV education equity in the states. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/inequalities/chapter4.asp
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Special education funding in Washington state.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). School finance tools. https://dese.mo.gov/financial-admin-services/school-finance/calculation-tools
Renee Center for Education Research & Policy. (2012). Smart school budgeting: Resources for districts. ttps://www.renniecenter.org/sites/default/files/2017-01/SmartSchoolBudgeting.pdf
Innovation in education may mean new and unique ideas and practices that expand students’ imaginations and pushes frontiers of their knowledge and understanding. It means finding ways you can, being willing and flexible to adjust what you teach and how you teach to keep your students engaged and excited to learn. It is also creating a safe place for them to make mistakes, take risks, and ask questions. Articulate your philosophy behind curricular decisions that are innovative and globally oriented. your work should be at least 500 words and should be a personal reflection on personal exp[erience or others’ experiences.
References
1. Guo, Y. (2006). Why Didn’t They Show Up? Rethinking ESL Parent Involvement in K-12 Education. TESL Canada Journal, 24(1), 80 – 95. doi:https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v24i1.29
This article inquires into “Why don’t they show up at school?” The absence of ESL parents from school is often misinterpreted as parents’ lack of concern about their children’s education. However, many ESL parents indicated that they cared passionately. Instead of assuming that ESL parents do not care, educators need to understand the barriers that hinder some parents from participating in their children’s education.
2. Juvonen, J., Le, V., Kaganoff, T., Augustine, C., & Constant, L. (2004). Whole-School Reform Models. In Focus on the Wonder Years: Challenges Facing the American Middle School (pp. 98-111). Santa Monica, CA; Arlington, VA; Pittsburgh, PA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2004/RAND_MG139.sum.pdf
This text is concerned with innovations and programs designed to improve student outcomes and addresses other perceived problems at the middle school level. The following questions are addressed in this reading: (1) What are the major reform efforts at work in the middle school? (2) What are their goals and primary features? and (3) Do the reform show promise for addressing the challenges middle schools face today?
3. Hoover‐Dempsey, K., Walker, J., Sandler, H., Whetsel, D., Green, C., Wilkins, A., & Closson, K. (2005). Why Do Parents Become Involved? Research FIndings and Implications. The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 105-130. doi:10.1086/499194. JSTOR, JSTOR www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/499194
This article inquires into “Why do parents become involved in children’s education?” Based on this review, the authors offer suggestions for (1) research that may deepen understanding of parents’ motivations for involvement and (2) school and family practices that may strengthen the incidence and effectiveness of parental involvement across varied school communities.
4. Pilegaard, M., Moroz, P., & Neergaard, H. (2010). An Auto-Ethnographic Perspective on Academic Entrepreneurship: Implications for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(1), 46-61. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25682383
This paper offers insight into (a) how socio spatial contexts may be structured to better evaluate the entrepreneurial facilitation process and (b) why academic entrepreneurship in the social sciences and humanities may differ from that in the hard sciences. The findings illustrate the importance of bridging innovation using twin skills to balance research and commercial goals, and the need for codifying knowledge capacities and creating new or changing existing institutional structures to legitimize and facilitate entrepreneurial activity. The research also demonstrates the great value of auto-ethnographic techniques to bring fresh insight to the study of entrepreneurship
