Keepers of Creation Church
Problem(s):
Abuse through the over crowding of classrooms/schools:
Example of how school districts "Milk" the system:
Under the current systems, ADA is paid for each student attending a school. School Districts plan and build schools to meet anticipated enrollment.
· An elementary school is planned and built for a capacity of 400 students. Corners are cut to save money and the facility is equipped with only a single set of restrooms for boys and girls. The school is then filled with eleven hundred students, put on year round sessions and given a budget for the original 400 students.
o The District has successfully turned the new school into a "Money Factory". The District receives ADA for 1100 students from a school that was built at the cost of a 400 student capacity school.
o The District provides only requested, books, supplies and janitorial services.
o Principals, who are educators but often poor business persons, are badgered and harassed to keep their costs down and to stay within budget.
o Students are expected to use restrooms during recess and lunch even when there are no towels, toilet paper, soap or doors on stalls.
o Vandalized restrooms are common and often locked to penalize all students for the vandalism of a few.
There is no incentive for the District to build more schools to meet the needs of the children and there is monetary incentive to "Pack" schools for the ADA.
Solution: The
State should provide a monetary penalty for each student over the capacity of the School.
·
The
State should withhold the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) paid to the District for each
student over the capacity of any school
Related Issue - Year Round Sessions: Year Round Sessions would not be a bad idea if all children attended school year round with breaks of no more than two weeks between quarters.
The problems with current year round schemes are:
· students only attend school for three sessions with long breaks between sessions
o long breaks lead to long review periods at the beginning of each session which allows less time for new instruction
· families may have students on different tracks making family vacations difficult
· teachers often have to move their materials into storage to make room for the incoming teacher
· no preparation time is allowed for set up and tear down of rooms which means a teacher must take her own time or instructional time to prepare or tear down her room
· students from other schools may be in very different places in their curriculum from the year round school
· year round schools usually have one or more "Migrant" teachers who are expected to keep all of their materials on a cart and to move from one classroom to another among sessions or even in a single day.
· The State should have a single curriculum for the entire state and a single schedule for all schools within the state.
· some teachers and students must migrate from room to room
o inadequate storage facilities for teaching materials
o rooms must be decorated and taken down prior to each semester
o insufficient preparation time to plan and/or prepare materials for instruction
o endless In-Service Sessions when teachers could better use the time for preparation
· Flight of the Brightest and the Best Teachers
o Scripted Learning Curriculum such as "Open Court Reading"
§ Scripted Learning Curriculum demands that teachers follow a script for instruction.
§ all teachers at a grade level must be on the same page on the same day at the same time
§ the program demands that teachers just move forward with instruction despite confusion or no understanding by English only or by Bilingual students
§ Vocabulary is de-emphasized and limited to about ten words per week (400 words per year)
§ in twelve years a student will acquire only 6000 words
§ Teachers are sometimes forbidden from expecting more vocabulary and dictionary work even if the words come directly from the current "Reader" story
§ Scripted Programs take all of the "Art" spontaneity, creativity and joy from teaching
Related Issue -
Insufficient Restroom Facilities
· Restroom Attendants should be stationed in all restroom facilities while the restrooms are available.
o It is cheaper to pay restroom attendants than to pay plumbers and painters to repair vandalism to restrooms and facilities
§ Restroom attendants could:
§ provide security against vandalism
§ check stalls prior to a student's entry and after the student leaves the stall
§ provide security against bullies and/or sexual harassment
§ notify custodial staff when supplies are needed
§ replace needed supplies to free custodial staff from the task
§ supervise the students to ensure cleanliness of the facility
§ encourage appropriate restroom activity and courtesy
§ reduce loitering and horseplay
§ provide security against spills and overflows spreading to classrooms or to other parts of the building
· All restroom stalls should be equipped with doors that lock for privacy. Children should not be expected to use a toilet in front of their peers. ( I used a teacher's restroom in a Junior High School and was appalled that there was no door on the stall. The stall was clearly visible from the entry door of the restroom and students passed in the corridor on a routine basis.)
· Sanitary Napkins and waste disposal containers should be provided for all female students above fourth grade
· Soap, Towels and single spout facilities should be provided with hot and cold water mixed for the washing of hands
o there are faucets that shut off automatically if pressure is released
Related Issue -
Insufficient Text Books/Materials
· Insufficient Text Books and/or Support Books such as Encyclopedia - several class sets/computer versions, Thesaurus and Dictionary for each Child
o ADA and Text Book Allowances provide sufficient funds for each child to have a text book for use during the year
§ State Law holds parents of students liable for excessive wear, loss or destruction of Books
§ All books should be numbered to correspond with a student's classroom desk number
§ Books may be assigned at the beginning of the year and collected when a child leaves the school or ends the school year
§ Books may be taken home for extra study/review and for homework assignments
§ (some schools will not allow students to take books home)
o Some Districts purchase books but only issue them if schools make a request.
§ Some site administrators are afraid to order sufficient books for students because they are worried about artificially low budgets constraints
§ Some students are required to share books among two or more classmates or to leave their books for the next class of students (some junior high schools have as many as six classes of students share the same set of books)
§ shared books are respected less by individual users because none feel "Ownership and Responsibility"
§ shared books may not be taken home for additional review/study or for homework assignments
o Each child needs a Thesaurus and a Dictionary for daily use and to use at home
§ The key to learning and to reading comprehension is understanding the meanings of all of the words in context. One word in English may have many meanings. ( the word "call" has 22 meanings in English) Meaning is often determined by context.
§ Native English Only Students need to learn increasing volumes of vocabulary for their routine studies. Vocabulary lists are insufficient for a student's needs. All Students, English Only and Bilingual Students may learn new words on an equal footing.
Related Issue: Bilingual
Education
Required age for mandatory attendance of Public School should be 3 years of age to 18 years of age.
· English Only and Bilingual Students have very little spoken language at age three
o All students could be taught in English and learn to speak English prior to entering elementary school on an equal footing
§ Requiring two additional years of early education would be cheaper and more cost effective than continuing Bilingual Programs, remediation, special Titles and the cost to Society of school dropouts and criminal incarceration of illiterates
Related Issue -
Insufficient Schools Supplies
· Teachers and students need basic materials to work in class each day. Teachers spend long hours preparing supplementary materials to review and to further illustrate information provided by text materials. The Art of Teaching requires teachers to tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of all students.
o Teachers need chalk boards, chalk, computers, copy machines, scanners, projection equipment, phones and all of the things that you would expect to find in any well stocked business office
§ Teachers need uninterrupted instructional periods
§ announcements, fliers, visits and demands from the administrative office, PTA and others should be limited to before class or after the instructional day has ended
§ assemblies should be scheduled outside of instructional periods
§ pep rallies, Spirit and Pride Assemblies etc should be scheduled outside of instructional time
·
Related Issue
- Reduced Janitorial Services
o School Administrators and Districts are often "Penny Wise and Pound Foolish". Custodial Staff is often cut to the bone allowing remaining custodians only about 20 minutes or less to completely clean a classroom. Custodians have only enough time to make a quick pass with a broom and to empty trash cans. Chalk boards are cleaned once a week and chalk dust accumulates on sills.
§ Everything in the classroom gets covered with chalk.
§ Computers and other equipment suffer from serious chalk dust contamination.
§ Teachers and students who suffer from breathing disorders are put at risk
o Custodians are often the "Security" of a school after hours.
§ custodians often prevent vandalism because of their presence and because they know all of the kids in the neighborhood
o Custodians often make minor repairs to plumbing before the problems require expensive professional plumbers.
o Custodians clean up graffiti which prevents gangs from staking out territory or making the school a gathering place for gangs.
o Immediate cleaning of graffiti prevents additional vandalism and gang wars when other gangs paint over gang symbols.
o Dirty schools are hot beds for the spread of germs.
o Dirty schools are depressing for the Community, Teachers and for Students.
Related Issue -
Deteriorating Facilities Due To Deferred Maintenance
o Crowded schools are often subject to more vandalism and neglect of facilities. Deferred Maintenance often becomes deterioration. Bare wires and falling ceilings must be dealt with immediately. Holes in floors and flooding are issues that must be addressed without delay to avoid more serious problems. Lead pipes and lead paint are still problems in some of America's Schools.
Related Issue - Schools
built on toxic sites
o It is shocking that some American Schools have been built on known hazardous waste sites.
o Heavily lobbied State Legislators have even made original polluters immune from prosecution for cleanup of the sites. Many laws now require present owners to clean up the toxic sites even though the original polluter is known.
§ Some Districts bought property with full knowledge that the sites were toxic but they accepted the seller's assurances that the sites were "safe".
His Eminence The Metropolitan/Archbishop
Dr. Chief
 |
Alexander Swift Eagle Justice
D.D., Ph.D., J.D. -Theologian, Academician
Metropolitan/Archbishop and Member of the Imperial Holy Orthodox Synod of the Holy Orthodox Church of All Russia and Appointed Chief Patriarch for United States of America - California, Mexico and for ALL Latin American Countries.
Metropolitan/Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Native Americans and President of the College of Bishops of the Mexican National Catholic Church
Metropolitan/Archbishop of the Holy Orthodox Native American Catholic Archdiocese and Chief Patriarch of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Holy Orthodox Native American Catholic Church
Bishop of The National Pentecostal Overcoming Churches of the World Inc. View Certificate
(AKA - Keepers of Creation Church)
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