EDU 5103 – Educational Governance & Policy Fall 2005
Professor Kevin McGuire, Ph.D.
Text:
The School Law Handbook: What Every Leader Needs to Know
By William C. Bosher, Kate R. Kaminski, Richard S. Vaca
The Key Work of School Boards
By The National School Boards Association ( www.asbj.com )
Course Description per Graduate Bulletin, St. John’s University, 2004 – 2006
An analysis of the school community context in considering board policies and the development of working relationships with community members setting and considering standards, accountability, pressure groups, and political ideologies; the interaction of the school system and its political environment in the development of policy.
Assignments:
Group Project – Policy Change/Board of Education/Professional Development
Reflections:
The course focused on the role that the Board of Education plays in creating policies for their district. We were asked to brainstorm and come up with 5 different individual ideas that could be a possible topic to use for a policy change. Individual then shared their ideas and a group topic was agreed upon to use as a policy change exercise. The group I worked with for this project decided on an evacuation policy. It seemed timely with the attacks of 9-11 and the possible threat of an intruder in a building. We considered how the new policy should include the community as well as the school district. Changing or creating a policy seems like quite a simple task at first, however, it becomes difficult when several groups are involved. The key to success is thoroughly researching your topic and involving the stakeholders as much as possible to create a policy that is realistic and effective.
Class notes: