benchmark – comparison paper: unified and k-8/union high school

Strategic planning occurs within the established governance and structure of K-12 education. A meaningful strategic plan cannot be developed without a clear mission, vision, and goals that are known and understood by all participants in the strategic planning process. Further, an effective strategic plan cannot be developed without the engagement and support of a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, an effective educational leader can analyze the governance and structure of K-12 educational institutions including both internal and external frameworks and the leadership practices required in these areas. 

This assignment concerns unified, union high school, and K-8 school districts. Assume that all districts have distinct attendance boundaries, are led by a superintendent, and are governed by a publicly-elected governing board that is required to make all decisions in public meetings. The districts abide by all pertinent state laws and are funded by the state at a set amount per student.

A unified school district serves kindergarten through grade 12. In some cases, the district may also sponsor a preschool on a campus (PK-12). The district administrative structure includes a superintendent and, depending on the size of the district, there also will be additional administrators to oversee areas such as curriculum, human resources, special education, and facilities. The superintendent also supervises school principals.

An elementary district serves students in kindergarten through grade 8 and may also include a preschool (PK-8). The administrative structure is similar to a unified district in that the total enrollment of the district drives the size of the administrative structure. Elementary schools are held accountable for student achievement on annual state-regulated assessments, with particular attention paid to reading achievement for third graders.

A union high school district serves students in grades 9-12. The administrative structure is driven by the student enrollment. Because high schools are generally larger than elementary schools, individual schools often include assistant principals. Districts that serve high school students (unified or union) are held accountable for their graduation rates, dropout rates and student achievement on annual state-regulated assessments.

General Requirements:

 Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

• Refer to the Topic 2 assignment “Benchmark-Connecting a Philosophy of Education with K-12 Historical Events.”
• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for specific guidelines related to doctoral level writing. The Manual contains essential information on manuscript structure and content, clear and concise writing, and academic grammar and usage.
• This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
• You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Directions:

Part 1

Present a revised version (2,250-2,550 words total) of the paper “Benchmark-Connecting a Philosophy of Education with K-12 Historical Events” that makes improvements in the caliber of the writing and incorporates instructor feedback regarding content and writing. Include the following in your submission:

1. A reflection (250-300 words) that provides a bulleted list of the changes you made to the paper and discusses your revision process including how you incorporated your instructor’s feedback into the revised version. Similar to an abstract, this section will receive its own page following the title page and preceding the introduction to the paper.
2. The revised paper that incorporates instructor feedback; clarifies the thesis statement and solidifies supporting arguments; edits for grammar, spelling, and punctuation; adjusts word choice to display professional and scholarly language; and adjusts sentence structure for improved readability.

Part 2

Write an additional 1,500-2,000 words that compares governance and structure between a unified school district and a K-8 or union high school district. Include the following in your paper:

1. A comparison of the governance and structure between a unified school district and a K-8 or high school district. (Benchmarks C7.2: Analyze the governance and structure of K-12 educational institutions including both internal and external frameworks and the leadership practices required in these areas.)
2. A discussion of what common leadership practices are required for successful strategic planning.
3. A discussion of how your philosophy of education will support the stakeholder relations practices necessary for success in a diverse district. (Benchmarks C7.3: Examine the stakeholder relations practices that are necessary to sustain the diverse learning infrastructure of K-12 education.)