District Administration - June 2007 - (Page 17)

New Survey Reﬂects Attitudes Tied to Student Boredom THE FACT THAT A GROWING number of students are bored and disengaged in schools might be common knowledge, but a recent report from Indiana University’s High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) oﬀers a more illuminating picture of the perceptions that shape their apathetic outlook. For starters, the report found that nearly one in four high school students has considering dropping out of high school at some point. “The fact that this many students have considered dropping out of high school makes the numbers of dropouts that we actually see across the country … not surprising,” said Ethan Yazzie-Mintz, HSSSE project director for the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP). When asked to list the reasons (researchers assumed there must be more than one) why they considered dropping out, a whopping 60 percent of respondents said they did not see value in the work they were being assigned. Other reasons for dropping out included family issues (42 percent), getting a job (35 percent), the feeling that no adults in the school cared about them (24 percent), and that the work was too easy (19 percent). Interestingly, the majority of respondents said they go to school only because they fear the consequences of not going— 58 percent agreed with the statement that they went to school “because it’s the law.” Only 39 percent agreed that they went to school because of what they learn in their classes, and 73 percent said they went to high school so they can go to college. It is worth noting, however, that 70 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “I am engaged in school.” Perhaps they aren’t engaged nearly enough. “I think schools deﬁnitely need to pay a lot more attention to what students are thinking and the reasons why they’re dropping out,” says Yazzie-Mintz. The complete survey of 81,500 students in 110 schools is available at ceep. indiana.edu/hssse. HARSH FEEDBACK Students were given the opportunity at the end of the survey to expand on their answers. Here are some of their remarks. When I said I go to school because of my teachers, it’s only for the one to two teachers that care. This school promotes grades and success very much but not at all developing individuality or being a good person. I don’t think this school promotes extracurricular activities enough. These surveys are pointless because you guys will do nothing even if there is a problem. Experts Stress Parent Involvement SCHOOL LEADERS LEARNED IN April at the Council of Urban Boards of Education’s annual Issues Forum why it’s more important than ever to create effective parent engagement programs. Jeana Preston, the program director of the California Parent Center at the San Diego State University Research Foundation, said that school districts need to get away from the haphazard approach to bringing families into the fold. For a more in-depth look, please refer to this issue’s feature story on community partnerships. Grant Gives Charleston Nurses a Boost ALL OF CHARLESTON COUNTY S.C.) SCHOOL DISTRICT’S www. ccsdschools.com) eighty schools boast improved health services and nursing care for their students, thanks to a federal Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant of more than $8.3 million over three years, awarded to the district in 2002. Intended to help at-risk students in schools with high poverty levels, the grant funded a pilot implementation of HealthOﬃce, a school medical software program by Healthmaster that oﬀers computerized automatization services to school nurses so they can spend more time treating students and less time ﬁ lling out and ﬁ ling paperwork for Medicaid reimbursements. Before implementing the software, CCSD nurses were losing nearly 70 percent of their student care time doing paperwork, but with HealthOﬃce nurses are now spending almost 90 percent of their time with students. HealthOﬃce is now implemented in all CCSD schools, and the grant’s funds— coupled with the district’s success—have increased the number of nurses from 22 to 37. —Ken Royal June 2007 17 www.DistrictAdministration.com http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse http://www.ccsdschools.com http://www.ccsdschools.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Security Update
Technology Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Admistrator Profile
District Profile
Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards
Action Teams
RE-Construction
Professional Development for the New Century
Multimedia LIT
New Products
Leadership Books
Problem/Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Supervisor's Opinion
Professional Opinion
Research Corner
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - June 2007