My Investigation Into Legal and Ethical Principles for Curriculum Specialists by Leslie Milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y Leslie Bayouth-Milford Legal and Ethical Principles -- EDG 6305 en-us 2018-11-23 03:41:40 UTC 2024-12-12 21:52:45 UTC hello@padlet.com Professional Perspective leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/321511065 My professional perspective would be to work as a curriculum specialist for a school district.  I am planning to receive my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Angelo State University in December 2019.  I would eventually like to follow up with my Masters in Counseling as I am planning to move to a small town and a the job prospects for a curriculum specialist are somewhat limited in smaller communities. I am currently a secondary classroom educator with 20 years of experience and a curriculum writer for San Angelo ISD.]]> 2019-01-17 01:17:36 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/321511065 Legal and Ethical Top 5 According to a High School Administrator leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/321516759 I visited with Dr. Jason Skelton, principal of Lake View High School in San Angelo, Texas, regarding current legal and ethical issues he faces as a high school administrator. 

#1 Educational intuitions continually battle with issues arising from the protection of their students concerning the release of personal information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974.  As an administrator, one instructs their educators of the laws involving FERPA and student confidentiality.
 
#2 One procedure that Lake View High School recently modified included the policy of notifying school personnel to direct outside parties with questions concerning students to Dr. Skelton before speaking with the individuals.  He will then decide if the educator or instructional personnel can visit with the outside party based on the situation.  The policy revision protects not only the private information of the students but also Lake View faculty in that if one should speak without going through the proper channels, the educator may not be protected by district attorneys should something happen. 
 
#3 One instance involving FERPA occurred when a father came to school to pick up his children as the two parents were going through a contentious divorce.  In this instance, the school feared that the parent might flee with the children and law enforcement was contacted.  However, since there was not a judgment preventing the parent from taking the children, the school had to release the children into the custody of the parent.  When school administration called law enforcement, the district believed the children were in imminent danger; therefore, the justification to call in law enforcement was substantiated for what the district considered a bad situation.
 
#4 One essential job component that curriculum specialists must utilize on the job is FERPA as student right to privacy affords confidentiality of student records which includes demographics.  A district cannot release information without consent by parents to entities outside of the school such as results from assessments or grades.  Curriculum specialists could use the data to create standardized assessments to utilize in districts with similar demographics which they would not know without the release of a portion of the private information of the students.
 
(J. Skelton, personal communication, January 17, 2019)
]]> 2019-01-17 01:52:15 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/321516759 ESSA and Graduation Rates leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322434832 A blog published last fall in Education Week discussed a study concerning the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), federal education guidelines, and when high school graduation rates require governmental intervention (Gewertz, 2018).  When the graduation rate at secondary schools that fall below a certain level, federal law requires mediation.  However, if rates of completion remain above passing yet hover around 80%, the academic institutions are not obligated to seek help from the government and students do not acquire the necessary educational skills necessary for scholastic success (Gewertz, 2018). 
 
Gewertz, C. (2019). Why ESSA misses hundreds of low-graduation-rate high schools. [online] Education Week - High School & Beyond. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/2E6CfDD 
]]> 2019-01-19 22:36:16 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322434832 ESSA and Accountability leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322449612 While secondary schools across the nation seek to improve learning for their students, additionally they must maintain a prescribed rate of graduation to prevent government intervention to not commit educational negligence toward those enrolled within the district.  The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandates that instructional institutions which fall below 70% graduation rates require federal intervention.  Moreover, if a school district remains at a certain completion rate, the district should evaluate if the students are receiving adequate services or if the educational curriculum should be adjusted to develop a higher quality academic environment.  I chose this topic after reading Catherine Gewertz's blog in Education Week as I am a curriculum writer and I teach high school seniors.  I believe students should be held accountable for their learning just as school districts should deliver a viable, quality curriculum and identifying potential risks early enough so that students can recover and succeed without becoming at-risk for failure or dropping out.

Gewertz, C. (2019). Why ESSA misses hundreds of low-graduation-rate high schools. [online] Education Week - High School & Beyond. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/2E6CfDD 
]]> 2019-01-20 04:07:09 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322449612 Changes in Status and Performance Over Time for Students With Specific Learning Disabilities leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322518367 While investigating the Porter Henderson Library at Angelo State University, I found an article that examines the performance of students with disabilities in regard to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and student accountability. 

Tindal, G. & Anderson, D. (2019). Changes in status and performance time for students with specific learning disabilities.  Learning Disability Quarterly, 42 (1), 3-16. doi: 10.1177/0731948718806660]]> 2019-01-20 19:54:56 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322518367 More Than a Quarter of Schools Could Be Flagged as in Need of Improvement Under ESSA, Experts Say. leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322523774 Last December, Education Week published the government and experts will scrutinize a blog detailing the educational institutions due to their below average testing scores.  In the blog, Klein labeled the schools as Additional Targeted Schools as the institutions need additional support assisting students to meet academic goals (2018).  States and districts plan according to add resources for struggling students based upon the level of support they need.  Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandates that educational institutions make a plan to raise student achievement scores yet if student results do not go up within a few years, then a different plan is put into place (Klein, 2018). 

Klein, A.  (2018).  More than a quarter of schools could be flagged as in need of improvement under ESSA, experts say. [online] Education Week. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/2CyEADo ]]> 2019-01-20 20:47:32 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322523774 Texas and the Every Student Succeeds Act leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322538381 The attached resource outlines the plans the Texas Department of Education submitted to the U. S. Department of Education to raise academic achievement scores to align with the Every Student Succeeds Act guidelines. (Every Student Succeeds Act, n.d.).

Every Student Succeeds Act (n.d.) in Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2FNUA80]]> 2019-01-20 23:16:59 UTC https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322538381 ESSA and Accountability leslie_milford https://padlet.com/leslie_milford/lwvc1ygnto4y/wish/322542926 The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is essential as the law mandates accountability systems and educational planning for school districts across the nation. ESSA is essential to the educational system as the results from state assessments drive instructional programs by dictating what students know and the content that they are not mastering.  The districts emphasize their attention on the growth of scores focusing on subpopulations such as special education and English language learners so that these students are also meeting state standards.  Moreover, since student subgroups are not well defined, meaning a learner’s status as a special education student fluctuates given the criteria assessed, ESSA makes assumptions for all students that are inequitable for students of special needs (Tindal & Anderson, 2019).
Federal and state law has implemented provisions to raise the accountability ratings for the districts in Texas through an agreement with the US Department of Education.  The document outlines goals for districts which thereby allows curriculum writers to create a blueprint to enhance learning and offer intervention strategies for struggling students to achieve necessary goals (Every Student Succeeds Act, n.d.). Moreover, as a curriculum specialist, I could track the previous scores of struggling students among different subpopulations and create remediation strategies to offer help before state and local assessments.  Additionally, I could offer intervention strategies to the educators in my district to also help with raising content mastery and assessment scores.  


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