Instead of attending a school board meeting I watched the televised 2014 debate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction between the Republican candidate Sherri Ybarra and Democratic candidate Jana Jones. The following is a summary on what was discussed, and what my thoughts were on it.
One of the hot topics that was discussed during the debate was the fact that Idaho students are graduating from high school, but are lacking the skills and are unprepared for going into the workforce. Sherri Ybarra stated that she believes that Idaho needs new standards regarding this topic. Jana Jones on the other hand brought up the idea of focusing more on an intervention program. From how Jones described the intervention program, to me it sounded very familiar to Response to Intervention, otherwise known as RTI. I believe that RTI is a wonderful idea that can be used in all instruction. With RTI students can receive immediate help with what they need rather than struggling through school graduating without the knowledge and skills that are necessary in today’s workforce. Jana Jones
…show more content…
Jones pointed out that not too long ago schools were asking for levies to go towards buying new and better equipment and for improving programs that were already in place. Now levies are being used for simply keeping the schools open and the busses moving. She also pointed out that the state is currently not distributing the education budget equally out to the schools and that this needs to be fixed one way or another. Ybarra on the other hand stated that how money is being spent, where it is going, and if it is being used effectively needs to be looked at closely and thoroughly before any changes are made to the budget, or before asking for more funding from the government. Ybarra also stated that she believes that ultimately it is the job of the legislature to decide on where the state funding goes and what it is spent
School funding is a recurring issue in the modern era. Debates ranging from give schools more money, to get rid of the system in place and reform a new idea have been plaguing the world over the years. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed in 2009, provided more than $100 billion in education aid to offset budget cuts..” (School Finance). Later, “Congress provided an additional $10 billion in 2010 to avert mass teacher layoffs (Education Week, "Total Recovery Act")” (School Funding). These numbers are just a sample of the struggles in school funding, that is costing a ton of money to keep afloat. “There are many ways schools fund varying from state to state and even school to school. Income taxes, corporate taxes, sales taxes, and other fees provide 48 percent of the elementary and secondary school funds. 44 percent of local districts draw money from local property taxes. The federal government makes up approximately 8 percent of state education budgets. These funds are a dealt out on a per-student basis, and categorically to ensure enough resources for each special program or facility” (School Funding). These funds play a huge role in every student's education, either positive or negative. The three main areas that need to be addressed in the school budget are extracurricular funding, building and equipment maintenance, and last but not least staff funding.
—. "Cuts to education hurt Gov. Jennifer Granholm's education legacy." The Associated Press, Decemeber 8, 2010.
Mayor Mike Duggan has recently added his voice to the many others in regards to asking for state help for Detroit Public Schools. While he observed some schools that were properly maintained, he noted that conditions in some schools would “break your heart” including issues with heating and severe water damage that prevented children from using the gymnasium. Duggan’s tour came to a quick and early end, however. Many schools were closed in early January due to teacher sick-outs as a form of protest to what teachers call “deplorable conditions for them as well as students.” These protests are in direct response to the building conditions, pay cuts, and the recent plan by Governor Snyder. In addition, the school system is projected to run out of funds in April. Duggan encouraged the state to help fix Detroit schools. Of the districts ninety-seven s...
Response to Intervention (RtI) is a framework based off the problem solving method that integrates assessment, and targeted instruction, within a multi-tiered intervention system. Implementation of RtI in schools is crucial to identify which students need additional intervention that will help increase their literacy skills, and prevent them from falling behind. RtI is based off multi-leveled tiers that are each categorized by the intensity of the intervention that is being used. The RtI framework is also used as a valued tool in monitoring and improving student behavior in the classroom through a model known as Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS).
Budget cuts are a menace to schools and children it limits potential and closes the gate around the arts not allowing our children to experience everything they can. School should be place where our children can learn be creative and have fun, they should be enjoying their stay. Just like Barry it should be a sanctuary that allows them to forget all the problems at home and have fun in
In my opinion, the application of the early intervention theory will have the best chance of helping the United States break free of the harm that the current criminal justice is doing to our society. The early intervention approach primarily focuses on saving the children. This theory concentrates on the child and the juvenile. “Early intervention involves placing children at risk for criminal future into programs early in life, so as to prevent them from developing into a juvenile or adult criminal.” (Kubrin & Stucky, 2013, p. 276). As discussed with criminology classmates, “younger children are more malleable than adults, so it is easier to correct their behavior than it is to correct the behavior of an adult person”. (Classmates group discussion,
With this many students, both state and federal representatives have made efforts to adopt reforms designed to make a solution to the funding inequality. The disproportion of funds first and foremost effects the amount of programs offered to children that vary from basic subjects such as: English, Math, and Science. This created the motivation to improve the quality of education for low-income neighborhoods by targeting resources other than property taxes and redirecting the states budgets. The goal the school districts all shared was the need to increase instruction, add after school activities, promote a well-rounded education, physical innovations to facilities and classrooms, and to update the academic resources. The popular demand that the funding to public education needs to correspond throughout all the school districts. Wealthy tax payers often argue that a region that depends on property taxes is the “American way.” This argument derives from the ideology that American success relies on perseverance and hard work, but if the playing field is uneven the higher born student has an advantage. “High property taxes—the burdens and perverse incentives they create, the rage they generate, the town-to-town school funding inequities they proliferate—…represent an endless New England nightmare…” (Peirce and Johnson, 2006). In the attempt to
Up until 1968 there was little complaint on what the Texas Legislature and Texas Education Agency had to say about school finances. It was in 1968 that San Antonio’s Independent School District (SAISD) filed the first lawsuit against the state; this particular lawsuit was filed because SAISD felt the fundin...
The first budget item that should be decreased is military. As of the 2015 discretionary spending budget of $1.11 trillion, 54%, or $598.5 billion, is being spent on militaristic use. The reason for this budget change is because all this money being spent on the military can be used to improve other areas with a much lower budget, such as education, and medicare and health. Another budget item that should be increased is education. In 2015, 6% of $1.11 trillion, or $70 billion, was allocated for education. There have been many budget cuts to education where programs were being cut from schools. Without programs, such as music or art, students won’t get the chance to experience programs that can further add to their skill sets. In addition, without money, schools won’t be able to provide adequate education to their students, thus leading to the possibility of students doing poorly in school without the motivation.
Response to intervention, also known as RTI, is a process to aid students’ progress throughout their academics to the best of their ability. This process tries to address any learning problems or difficulties starting at a younger age. When teachers and parents are able to address any learning problems of the students during the first few years of their education, the students can be provided the best instruction in addition to intervention for their individual needs.
Proper school funding is one of the keys to having a successful school. Americans believe that funding is the biggest problem in public schools. School improvements revolve around funding. There needs to be funding not only in the successful schools but also the schools that aren’t doing as well. In documentary, Waiting for Superman, it talks about how smaller class sizes will help students. Funding is what will help the smaller class sizes. State funding mechanisms are subject to intense political and economic scrutiny (Leonard). Studies have shown that funding is inversely related to accreditation levels (Leonard). School funding needs to be increased, but there must be accountability as well.
To fix Illinois’ funding issues isn’t about trying to tweak the formulas and making fixes so that political power between different regions in Illinois can be temporarily equalized. To fix Illinois’ education system, financial power needs to be taken from politicians and special interests.
Under the pressure of budget cuts, many educational institutions have no choice but to reduce professional teaching staff and increasing class size. However, this short-sighted solution can pose a threat to a school’s future. The consequence could be lower graduation rates and declines in enrollment. Traditionally, the state funding is set by a “quota formula” in which the Central Office dictate the number and types of positions that schools are to receive. According to the report on CPS Budget in the Fiscal Year 2014 (FY2014), the former quota formula “created disproportionate impacts, where one extra student coming or going could mean the difference in a full teacher position gained or lost”. In improving the budgeting system, in the FY2014,
Supporters of budget cuts for Wisconsin expect that their will be similar results if Wisconsin schools employ a similar strategy. Also, budget cuts have been shown to cause schools to reduce spending in areas outside of teaching practices, such as more fuel efficient bus routes and reducing paper usage by utilizing technology in the classroom (Coleman, Walker & Lawrence 4). The increased fuel efficiency and reduced paper usage not only save money, but are better for the environment as well. Furthermore, reducing paper use leads to the modernization of schools, and integrates technology as a more efficient and effective alternative to using massive amounts of paper. In addition, in an article for the magazine USA Today, Charles Murray, who has a Ph. D. in political science, asserts the increased government funding “does not have any credible evidence for a positive effect” on education. He claims that most of the government spending on education is wasted, and spending less would make the school systems more efficient without decreasing quality of education (Murray 2). Supporters of budget cuts believe that spending less money on schools will encourage them to use the little money they have more effectively, leading to less money wasted and smarter, more efficient
Continuing, the topic of school funding is obviously an extremely controversial topic that is being debated right now. But, it is important to look at what the possible outcomes of these protests could potentially be. The way that it is looking now, it doesn’t seem that teachers are going to be backing down from their requests. This is surprising considering that even participating in a walkout could have gotten many educators fired from their jobs. However, because of the shortage of teachers, it is extremely unlikely teachers will get fired because there is no one to replace them. This is what Amy Johnson was talking about when she said, “We have nothing to lose.” But, it’s difficult to see where the money to fund all the pay raises and schools