Local School District Policies - Los Angeles Unified School District - Essay Example

Policies in schools usually act as guidelines to stakeholders therein. These policies elaborate on the repercussions of any person who violates them. They usually act as a guideline to students, parents and teachers as they accomplish their responsibilities. Local school districts in United States have policies that address various issues. This includes bullying amongst students, student absenteeism and homeless or transient students. (Fowler, 2008) This paper will deal with policies in Los Angeles Unified school district that address the above issues. This paper will explain how the policies are communicated to faculty, parents and students. This also includes how they are monitored and implemented. There is a further elaboration on how the community values influence these policies. This paper shows how as an individual, I would ensure enforcement of the policies. Finally, the paper will elucidate changes that I would make to each policy and the reasons why. Analysis of Los Angeles Unified school district shows that it has a policy that deals with absenteeism. This policy states that no student should bully the other irrespective of the class they are attending, age, performance etc. Any student found guilty of bullying another is subject to one week suspension and later expulsion if he or she continues with the behavior. The school also has a policy that states that all stake holders’ actions within the school should strive to enhance the safety of the students. In this policy, the school administrators state that drivers have to avoid reckless driving more so when having students aboard. In this case, the drivers are not allowed to drive while drunk. Any of them violating this policy is subject to being suspended from work for a period of one month. Another policy in the school deals with absenteeism. This policy states that students have to attend all classes unless they have a valid reason. (Chaddock, 2000) Any student who fails to attend five classes within a term without a good reason should not be allowed to sit for examinations. In this case, a student who violates the policy will be fined a minimum of $100. This school also has a policy that states that transient or homeless students should inform the school administration about this issue so that they can get relevant support. These policies are communicated by the administrators to faculties through both soft and hard copies. In most cases the administrators send them as email attachments to the faculty heads. Sometimes they are printed and posted to various faculties. In rare cases they are communicated through open forum meetings with faculty heads. Parents get to know of these policies through emails and parents day meetings. In most cases, the policies are communicated to students through emails and printed copies if they ask for them. (Dwyer and Warger 1998) Research related to Los Angeles Unified school district shows that these policies are implemented and also monitored though some of them to a lesser degree. The policy related to bullying is implemented because the school administrators in the year two thousand and seven suspended two senior students. They were found guilty of bullying a junior student. This policy is also monitored by teachers looking out for any signs of bullying amongst students. The policy related to student safety is highly implemented in different sectors. It has been quite evident when buildings are put up within the school compound. Administrators always ensure that these buildings comply with the government safety policies. This includes using fire resistant materials, putting in place fire exits etc. This policy was also implemented in the year two thousand and six. This was through suspension of a school driver who was found driving while drunk. It is not often monitored but once in a while administrators outsource experts to check on safety of school buildings. (Fred and Allan 2006) The policy concerning absenteeism is not highly monitored. This is because teachers tend to forget to check for the roll call of students present during lessons. Sometimes the students just have to write their names and sign. Some of them simply write and sign for their absent friends. This makes it hard for teachers to track absent students especially in classes that students are many. The policy related to homeless to transient students is highly implemented. This is through helping this group with some of basic needs and also extra tuition for transient students. There are various ways through which community values influence these policies. The society in United States is currently structured in such a way that children have too much freedom. They are no longer very responsible and answerable to parents and teachers. This has adversely affected the policy related to absenteeism. The society highly values safety of children and educates them through various means. This has positively affected the policy related to safety. Parents currently don’t have much time with their children. They value their jobs and careers and don’t have enough time to guide and counsel their children. This has negatively affected the policy against bullying in schools. (Howell, 2002) As a school administrator, I would ensure that these policies are enforced and changed by putting in place very tough measures for any person who violates them. I would ensure that consistent monitoring of stakeholders is carried out. For instance, any school driver found driving while drunk should be expelled and not just suspended. This would make them to adhere to the policies. The current policy does not have tough measures attached to violators and therefore the stakeholders may not even care much. Students who miss three and not just five classes without a good reason should not just pay $100, but $300 and any repeat to such behavior should warrant expulsion. This is considering the fact that absenteeism has become quite rampant in United States leading to poor grades among students. As a school administrator, I would enforce the policy related to bullying by first sensitizing students to report any signs or cases of bullying within the school. I would assure them of confidentiality in this matter. Any student who would be found guilty of bullying another would be subject to immediate expulsion without any compromise. This would make students never to attempt such uncouth behavior. As a school administrator, I would ensure that these policies are clearly communicated to stakeholders through open forums. Through this venture, none of them would feign ignorance concerning the policies. (Fowler, 2008) In conclusion, school policies act as guidelines to stakeholders as they carry out their responsibilities therein. Los Angeles Unified school district has policies related to bullying, absenteeism, student safety and homeless or transient students. Some societal values have adversely affected these policies. Others have positively affected them. As a school administrator I would change the policies in such a way that tough measures are taken against any one that violates them. This would also play a very big role in the overall enforcement of the policies. This would also include regular monitoring of all stakeholders within the school to. This will ensure that they adhere to enacted policies. Read More