Since the irvingtonschools.wordpress.com blog is not set up to accept comments, I'll comment here on "head count":
"We have a total of 310 employees, including 180 teachers. 2011-12 enrollment = 1756 2012-13 projected enrollment = 1740 (as presented at BOE meeting)
One employee for every 6 students."
You clearly live in a different universe (well, a different state for sure). Our local school district claims "Adult School serving 7000 adult students in 44 locations. 7000 Students, K-12. 400 Certificated teachers, librarians, administrators 200 Classified staff"
That's 17.5 students/teacher (not counting the adult school students) and 11.7 students per staff member (again not counting adult school students).
Numbers may not be comparable, as your district may not have counted the librarians and administrators in with the teachers.
FWIW, I found the 2010 numbers for my district in CT.
402 FTE general ed teachers 62 Special Ed 38.2 Instructional Specialists (I'm wondering if library/media goes there) 29.2 Administrators 44.6 Counselors/Social Workers/Psychologists
5897 students
*****
Last week I was out in the Bay Area and visited a couple of schools on the trip. While test scores are high at the schools I visited, I was left feeling a bit of disquiet which I'm not up to describing here right now. Basically, the disparity between school course offerings/staffing and the surrounding luxury gives me pause. The large donations (~$1000/kid) expected by the educational foundations go to supporting the continuance of some programs, but I wonder if that leaves other things by the wayside.
Basically, the disparity between school course offerings/staffing and the surrounding luxury gives me pause.
I'm not a fan of huge funding disparities like the ones that exist in CA & here.
Not least because parents in my town wouldn't be voting in such high taxes if some of that money had to go to other people's children. (I'm serious about this; I think David Putnam's research nailed this down empirically.)
Beyond that, however, the entire system of rich little towns being built on predominantly-white schools doesn't sit well with me (AND I am absolutely convinced that these schools have significant - and unrecognized - problems that stem from the sociology and legal context in which they develop).
I'm curious when the laws re: parent fundraising changed in CA.
When we lived there, parents couldn't fundraise specifically for their local school. There were pretty strict rules about that - although I do recall the actors in our local school hosting a big fundraiser...not sure whether the school got to keep all of the money?
I believe that in CA the approach is to fundraise for a non-profit organization that just happens to use all its funds to support a local school. The organization is usually called something like a Parents' Club.
There---no fundraising for public schools, just like in NY.
Since the irvingtonschools.wordpress.com blog is not set up to accept comments, I'll comment here on "head count":
ReplyDelete"We have a total of 310 employees, including 180 teachers.
2011-12 enrollment = 1756
2012-13 projected enrollment = 1740 (as presented at BOE meeting)
One employee for every 6 students."
You clearly live in a different universe (well, a different state for sure). Our local school district claims
"Adult School serving 7000 adult students in 44 locations.
7000 Students, K-12.
400 Certificated teachers, librarians, administrators
200 Classified staff"
That's 17.5 students/teacher (not counting the adult school students) and 11.7 students per staff member (again not counting adult school students).
Numbers may not be comparable, as your district may not have counted the librarians and administrators in with the teachers.
FWIW, I found the 2010 numbers for my district in CT.
ReplyDelete402 FTE general ed teachers
62 Special Ed
38.2 Instructional Specialists (I'm wondering if library/media goes there)
29.2 Administrators
44.6 Counselors/Social Workers/Psychologists
5897 students
*****
Last week I was out in the Bay Area and visited a couple of schools on the trip. While test scores are high at the schools I visited, I was left feeling a bit of disquiet which I'm not up to describing here right now. Basically, the disparity between school course offerings/staffing and the surrounding luxury gives me pause. The large donations (~$1000/kid) expected by the educational foundations go to supporting the continuance of some programs, but I wonder if that leaves other things by the wayside.
Basically, the disparity between school course offerings/staffing and the surrounding luxury gives me pause.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of huge funding disparities like the ones that exist in CA & here.
Not least because parents in my town wouldn't be voting in such high taxes if some of that money had to go to other people's children. (I'm serious about this; I think David Putnam's research nailed this down empirically.)
Beyond that, however, the entire system of rich little towns being built on predominantly-white schools doesn't sit well with me (AND I am absolutely convinced that these schools have significant - and unrecognized - problems that stem from the sociology and legal context in which they develop).
I'm curious when the laws re: parent fundraising changed in CA.
When we lived there, parents couldn't fundraise specifically for their local school. There were pretty strict rules about that - although I do recall the actors in our local school hosting a big fundraiser...not sure whether the school got to keep all of the money?
I believe that in CA the approach is to fundraise for a non-profit organization that just happens to use all its funds to support a local school. The organization is usually called something like a Parents' Club.
ReplyDeleteThere---no fundraising for public schools, just like in NY.