1. Governing and Administering Public Education
Chapter 7
Governing and Administering Public Education

2. Educational Roles at Different Levels of Government
Federal
State
Local
Sets broad goals & priorities
Funding and support to states & local districts
Legal decisions
Establishes local districts
Raises & distributes tax money to local districts
Sets curriculum guides & teacher standards
Implements local, state and national policies
Major responsibility for day-to-day operations of schools, including staffing, funding, and instructional concerns

3. A Typical School Board Member
Male (60%)
White (86%)
Over 40 (82%)
College-educated (67%)
High-income (64% over $50,000/year)
Parent of a child in district (57%)
Conservative (55%)

4. Responsibilities of Local School Boards
Policy
Staffing
Employee Relations
Fiscal Matters
Student Concerns
Curriculum and Assessment
Community Relations
Intergovernmental Requirements

5. Superintendents’ Roles
Management of personnel
Curricular and instructional leadership
Administrative management
Overseeing district’s day-to-day operations

6. Principals’ Roles Managing day-to-day school operations
Instructional leadership
Differences by level of school
Secondary: seen as general managers
Elementary: seen as leaders in curriculum and instruction

7. Types of Community Involvement in Schools
Community Participation
Advisory committees (Site-based Decision Making) to neighborhood school or local school board
Community Education
Schools partner with community agencies to offer social & educational programs to a wide variety of people.
Community Control
Elected council shares power with school board
Charter schools

8. State Level Players and Their Roles in Education Decisions
Governor
Education budget recommendations
Appoint state education officials
State Legislature
Nature and level of state taxes for schools
Taxing powers of local districts
What may be taught, length of compulsory school attendance

9. State Level Players and Their Roles in Education Decisions (cont’d.)
State Board of Education
Vary widely by state
State Department of Education
Collects and disseminates school statistics
Monitors districts’ implementation of state educational policies
Chief State School Officer
Heads the State Department of Education
Chief Executive of State Board of Education

10. National Perspectives
US Department of Education (ED)
Began in 1867 as Office of Education
Cabinet-level status in 1979
Secretary of Education
Manages ED
Advocates for specific agendas
National School Organizations
National School Boards Association
Council of Chief State School Officers
Education Commission of the States

11. No Child Left Behind
2002 Reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)
Goals
Improve low-performing schools
Hold states and districts accountable through annual testing in reading & math
More federal influence than ever before
Concern about un-funded mandates

12. Private School Statistics
Eleven percent of U.S. students attend private schools. Of those:
49% attend Catholic schools.
16% attend nonreligious, independent schools.