Nevada Schools: Clark County SD 101: From Governance to Performance

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest school system in California and the second largest in the country. With nearly 700,000 students to serve, it should not be a surprise that this school district faces many challenges on a daily basis. Check out these 10 issues the Los Angeles Unified School District must cope with in order to bring the highest possible quality of education to its thousands of students every day.

Diversity

According to Wikipedia, the student population in the Los Angeles Unified School District is a highly diverse one. The enrollment breakdown consists of 73 percent Hispanic students, 11 percent African-American students, nine percent white students and four percent Asian American students. The diversity of the population presents unique challenges for the district, as it strives to provide the same standards of education to students with broad backgrounds.

Overcrowding

Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District have been traditionally overcrowded, with concerns about the situation dating back decades. In an effort to relieve some of the crowding issues, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) reports that the district has built 130 new school buildings over the past decade for a cost of more than $19 billion. Most notable is the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, which is the most expensive public school built in America. The money invested appears to be paying off, as test scores for students in the less crowded facilities appear to be on

When it comes to the education of our country’s children, there are many choices today. Whether a child has high academic potential, special needs, or an eye on a career track, schools across the country are ready to answer the call. Take a look at three categories of schools that strive to serve a select segment of our student population today.

Blue Ribbon Schools

In 1982, the Blue Ribbon School program was established by Terry Bell, the Education Secretary at the time. The purpose of the program was to raise the public school system to a new level by recognizing schools across the country that achieved high levels of performance and improvement. Now dubbed the National Blue Ribbon School Program, the system continues to draw attention to outstanding elementary, middle, and high schools in both the public and private sectors.

In order to be eligible for Blue Ribbon status, the Department of Education’s website states that schools must demonstrate one of the following:

• Outstanding academic performance, through standardized assessment test scores in math and reading
• Outstanding improvement in academic performance, again exemplified by state assessments in math and reading

Exemplary improving schools must also demonstrate a student population where at least 40 percent comes from disadvantaged backgrounds. Both public and private schools must follow similar performance criteria, but the nomination process is slightly different between the two. Public schools are nominated by a number of offices, including the Chief State School Officer,

The New York City Department of Education oversees the largest school district in the United States. This system has been responsible for the public schools in all five city boroughs for the past four decades. It is one of the few school systems in the country that is controlled by the city's mayor rather than an appointed school board. In addition to being the largest school network, it is also one of the most segregated in the country, which leads to numerous challenges in ensuring the many students in the system that come from a huge range of backgrounds all receive the same opportunities and education within the city limits.

How it Started

According to Wikipedia, the New York City Department of Education started in 1969. At that time, the mayor of the city, John Lindsay, organized the department of education to oversee high schools, while 32 individual school boards managed all the elementary and middle schools. This system continued in this manner until 2002, when full control of the school system was given to the city's mayor.

The Board of Education became the Panel for Education Policy – an office managed by 12 members appointed by the mayor. The Panel for Education Policy was responsible for 10 regions created by the mayor and took the place of the 32 districts that had been in place previously. Those regions were short-lived, however. In 2007, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, the regions were completely dissolved; instead,

Parent volunteers have long played a vital role in public schools. From serving on the PTA to planning the class party, parents that give of their time, energy, and talents are often responsible for making the public school system what it is for the students. However, few parents who immerse themselves in class volunteer projects realize the far-reaching benefits those few hours provide. Check out these ten ways parental involvement improves school performance for students and schools.

Positive Early Start

Parents are the first teachers which children have, according to a report in the Tahlequah Daily Press. This gives parents the unique opportunity to positively influence students before the first school bell ever rings. By tackling those early learning issues head-on, parents are also better prepared to get involved with their children’s schooling once they head off to public schools.

“There is an obvious difference in children who have participated in activities from an early age,” Susan VanZant, the principal at Greenwood Elementary School in Oklahoma, told the Daily Press. VanZant added that the advantages can continue if parents remain in contact with the teacher throughout their child’s schooling.

“The teacher is always the first go-to person, especially with questions about curriculum,” VanZant explained. Teachers can also be the best contact for questions about discipline, behavior, and social issues unless another school employee is specifically appointed for this purpose. For example, Greenwood