Social Work Agency Policy Change - Research Paper Example

Social Work Agency Policy Change Introduction Anaheim Union High School, a school found in Anaheim, California, is the subject of the analysis for the social work agency for policy change. The institution is rated the second largest in the Orange county and it occupies Buena Park, Stanton, La Palma and Anaheim Cypress, covering a distance of about 46 kilometres. It also accommodates students speaking of 49 different languages and specifically from 21 universities all round the world. Anaheim High School District is also rated as the third largest employer since it employs more than 3,000 people. It has 21 other branches of campuses which enable the community around to benefit from about $257 million emanating from the improvements aimed at the Anaheim High School District. In spite of the institution being the government property, it is really profiting and benefiting the community and government as a whole since it provides employment to the people and the pay is also good among other lucrative benefits and advantages the employees enjoy. The school has got several awards for academic excellence. Some campuses have been recognized by the department of education in California among the best performing campuses. Others earned gold and silver medals in the awards during the World Reports for top performing high schools in the world. The mission of the institution is that the institution is a partnership with the staff, students, parents and the whole community who corporate to provide the high quality and well-rounded educational program in an environment that is safe and that nurtures learning in order to promote high expectations among all the students and employers. In addition, learning the most current skills which would help them in the critical thinking and solving problems in a more rational manner also adds up as a key objective. History Anaheim High School District started in 1898 in the city of Anaheim situated in California in the United States. It is a public school and thus owned by the government. It is rated as the third oldest high school in the orange county and it is also the oldest among the most comprehensive schools. The institution begun with James Guinn as the head of the school who only offered diploma subjects and the first student graduated in 1880 with a diploma from a high school. The final examination was administered orally since it was the requirement as all the members of the public were invited for entertainment. It was in 1878 when the central school was constructed following the winning of government bond of construction of a school by Guinn and the classes begun in 1998 officially. However, in 1901 the school was outgrown and raised a bond of about $12,500 to build a school which is currently called the Lincoln Ave. This became the third constructed school, which was followed by the Santa Ana and Fullerton. Students were sent to the Mognolia and Loara were being taken to the Anaheim High School. The Anaheim High School District was established due to the high demand of parents seeking for authority of sending their children to the Anaheim High School. This lead to the addition of space and the voters approved a bond of $105,000 in 1911 thus the Lincoln Ave and Citron. The first students, seventeen in number, graduated in 1912. By then the buildings were constructed in the Greek styles, but later on an auditorium was constructed from a collection of bonds amounting to $175,000. Gymnasium, auto shop, a science building which was more modern and a shop for the machine were also constructed alongside the auditorium in 1920. The school was one of the things that the community took pride in especially when a swimming pool was opened in 1924 and it was the only swimming pool in Orange County. The library and the auditorium, which cost about $500,000 were regarded the finest buildings in the community and the pride of the community as well. In the 1940s a new swimming pool was constructed which replaced the former swimming pool which was rendered unsafe by the earthquake in 1936.The most recent buildings which are also the most new buildings were constructed in 2008 in the most modern style. The exam policies for the Educational Service for testing were incorporated from the United States. There were also around 110 serving teachers. Programs Among other programs, there is a program improvement. The state is required for implementing the accountability in the whole state of the progress of the yearly adequately and it has to achieve its targets. Following the No Child Left Behind Act, all the institutions, districts and states are supposed to demonstrate a remarkable in the improvement of the academic success. The program is regarded as the Title I improvement program. All the schools that fail to achieve the target of the adequately yearly progress in the same area of examination for example English language or science for a maximum of two years consecutively will be graded as the area of program improvement. The schools that are selected to undertake this program will undertake some of the exercises which are a government requirement for the period of time that the schools would last in the program. The government also offers an alternative to the parents transfering their children to schools which have not been selected among the schools which would undertake the program improvement. There are also supplemental educational services that are offered. The program of improvement has to offer choices of the public schools and also supplemental educational services. The supplemental educational services mostly include provision of teaching services which are free of charge and the main Language used in tutoring is English and it can also be mathematics for the students who are intending to proceed with their further studies. The parents are provided with a list containing schools that they should choose for their students. The program is supposed to improve the performance of the schools and students who are weak at performance. Another program is the campaign of H measure which incorporates several volunteers of the community of Anaheim High School, Union District who worked to raise a bond of $249 million, which was to be used to make critical repairs to the distorted campuses and also to introduce modern buildings in order to enhance the modern learning environment which was so much admired all round. The campaign was voted in by the parents, teachers, politicians, retired workers, employees and the entire community of the Anaheim High School Union District. However, the bond raised in the campaign would ensure the improvement of security throughout the campuses, improvisation of the modern furniture of the classrooms, infrastructure and the technology of the campuses. The architects were to be hired to make sure that the structures are designed accordingly; the plans would later pass through the division of the state architects to be approved. The approval of the plan could also take about 2 years before construction is begun. There were also two major projects involved. These major projects include renovating two of the campuses to look modern and also accompanied by the structuring of the parking lots. Following the success of the measure H, a citizen committee was created to ensure that the work is done and delivered satisfactorily. A management body will also be hired to track all the construction work and to ensure that the work is done satisfactorily and as intended. The projects are also believed to create job opportunities for the community members and thus a significant fraction of the members of the society will be able to get job employment. The administration of the Anaheim High School Union District undertakes several steps to ensure that there is maximum transparency in the project they are undertaking. Such steps include; first, creating an oversight committee which is basically comprised of the citizens to ensure that the work is done appropriately as it had been intended. A pre-citizens committee was established to ensure that all the steps are undertaken without any delay or corruption. This ensured total transparency and passage of the information concerning the details of the projects and the far the project has gone. There is also a website which provides all the information and the updates of the projects. Structure and culture The leadership of the institution is diverse. There are principles for each school and also there are managers for each of the departments such as the information desk, the board of trustees, the business services, the counsel of the district, special services offered to the youths, educational services, human resources, the commission of the personnel, the public information officer and the superintendent. There is the main principle that is in charge of all the institutions. The institution also works in partnership with the city of Anaheim, the city of La Palma, the city of Stanton, Cypress and the city of Buena Park. The decision making of the institution is mostly by the government and also the board members. The administration has made sure to create a learning environment which caters for all the learners. By constructing the finest and the most modern buildings of the 21st century, constructing a swimming pool and also provision of modern technology, the institution has provided a learner friendly environment which is ideal for success. Modern technology, modern furniture and buildings are the most required of the modern institutions. This has credited to the success of the Anaheim High School Union districts since some of its schools have been able to win gold and silver medals during the worlds annual reports of excellence. Some of its campuses have been rated among the best.The members of the staff have really committed to their work. They have been motivated the learners to excel and thus some of the three campuses have been rated as the best in the whole world. The staff members are very much motivated by the government by offering them a good pay and enjoying other lucrative opportunities. The government has also ensured that the institution benefits the members of the community in the surrounding environment by proving them with job opportunities and thus the parents are able to bring their students to the schools and also support both the teachers and their children which attributes to the success of the school. Policy change Anaheim Union High School acknowledges that to match with its objectives and programs previously highlighted, it needs to alter is a way of conducting its activities. This is only possible through amending the existing policies which would best work for the good of Anaheim Union High School. The policy change advocated in this section pertains mainly to the expansion of existing educational services as well as the introduction of non-existing ones. It will be known as the Parent-Student-Teacher Triangle policy. This policy change will seek to improve the performance of students (thus the school as a whole) by bringing together teachers, students, and parents in understanding the essentials that have to be met in achieving such. First, the Parent-Student-Teacher Triangle policy will seek to integrate the parent into the teacher-student relationship. In previous or normal circumstances, the role of education is played mainly between the teachers and their students. However, this policy will alter this culture and involve the parent in understanding their children’s needs, thus providing a platform for providing them with the best resources possible. The idea of this amendment is that the parent is usually in a better position to understand their children than teachers are. Due to this reason, they can help identify children’s major problems or weaknesses and work together with teachers in resolving them. Secondly, the Parent-Student-Teacher Triangle policy will seek to improve the connection between the three parties. This is because if children, parents, and teachers develop a mutual relationship in which every party perceives of the other as an ally rather than as a superior party, developing education at the school will be guaranteed. Concisely, the idea is to do away with the notion created by students that teachers and parents are imposed on them from the top down. As such, they will not fear them, but will create a friendly environment which will benefit all of them equally. For instance, the students will not feel threatened to learn; rather, they will develop self-motivation to learn. This is only possible if an environment that supports such is created, thus the mediation of the Parent-Student-Teacher Triangle policy. Third and very important to this course, the three parties highlighted by this policy change will have to decide what resources are needed to assist in bettering of the school’s system. This part of the policy will be more of an amendment to existing strategies. As Anaheim Union High School is a government-sponsored, it normally relies on government-provided resources. This is not only limited in some ways, but also affects the school curricula when delay such disbursement of funds occurs. As such, it will be the role of teachers to guide students on identifying what they require most. The teachers will in turn inform the parents who will apply any possible means of providing the requirements. The potential way of acquiring the required resources from the proposed and/or approved bonds earlier mentioned. In this way, all the three parties will have participated in acquiring the resources needed for better dissemination of education at this school. The final element introduced by this policy amendment will be having an internal rating strategy for the students. This implies that rather than rely on the rating procedure and tests provided by the education regulations, Anaheim Union High School will have an independent strategy. This proposed strategy will utilize internal tests with standards that are similar to the grading tests offered by the education regulations. The idea of utilizing an internal testing and grading procedure presents two advantages; first, the students will be prepared to undergo the education regulation’s grading tests in advance. This means that they will not panic when its time is due. The second advantage is that both teachers and parents will be aware of what to expect as the grade for every student. This can help in that it can help to tell where some sort of improvement is required. To reduce the risk of change resistance and/or opposition, this policy will be explained to all the involved parties before it is implemented. At the end of it all, there will be an all-round policy that will attract the least opposition from parents, teachers, or the students, and most importantly an efficient and more effective Anaheim Union High School. References Blewett, J., Lewis, J., & Tunstill, J. (2007, January). “The Changing Roles and Tasks of Social Work: A Literature Informed Discussion Paper”. Social Care Institute for Excellence. Read More