Week+One+Part+3+and+4

Week One Part 3 The concepts of Equality, Equity and Adequacy are being closely examined to determine what is fair and just for students.

// Equality implies that ////  e  //ach student in each school should receive the same amount of money to fund their education. Examples include “Robin Hood” and Per Pupil expenditures for each district. // While equity guarantees //each student in each school should receive the same access to the same educational resources. Providing the same opportunities for a Free Appropriate Education may require special education or 504 services for students. // Adequacy pr //ovides the needed funding for students to achieve on comparable levels with students across the state//. // No Child Left Behind provides some adequacy funds through AYP initiatives. Other students may need Title I support to bridge the educational achievement gap in Math and Science. While all of these terms have their variations as to what is needed for students the question remains, “What is equitable, adequate and necessary for ALL students to achieve?”

Week One Part 4

In this age of accountability with standardized testing, pay for performance and budget deficits the District Improvement Plans are utilized to justify expenditures and regain the confidence of constituents and taxpayers. The management of federal, state and local funds is paramount in the operation of most cities/town’s largest employer-the local school district. Everyone watches intently to see how their tax dollars are spent for the education of the local children. Positive results are expected and sometimes demanded in student achievement. The Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) Goal and Desired Result listed on the PBMAS portion of the District Improvement Plan involve increasing each Cohort’s Graduation Rate through Credit Recovery and Drop-Out Prevention Initiatives that provide additional support for students and tutorials for test preparation. For AISD the SCE desired results include ACCESS (Austin Community Collaboration to Enhance Student Success) with key funding sources from Title I and SIP ARRA funds. Additional funding will be provided through Title IIA, Title III, Title V funds and 21st Century grants. For Waxahachie Independent School District (WISD), the Desired goals are 1) to prepare a viable curriculum, 2) manage and further develop of financial resources, 3) recruit, retain personnel and provide professional development, 4) maintain facilities and conduct an audit of facilities and quality programs, 5) enforce policies to provide a safe and orderly environment and 6) family engagement. All goals will be funded with one or more funding sources which include Title I, II and III, ARRA, Technology, and State and Local funds. Similar to most districts AISD and WISD include student achievement initiatives and state and federal funding sources in their District Improvement Plans. However differences are in the details of the two plans. WISD’s plan is more specific stating 6 major goals and the strategies used to achieve the goals. AISD’s plan is more general and has ACCESS as the umbrella that encompasses all academic, and community programs.