Funding schools ‘by the numbers’ – or how to make 140 students disappear

10-03-2011

Commentary by Anna Martin/Thoughts on Public Education

Anna Martin is a hybrid teacher at a middle school in the South Bay.

In August, with the first day of school quickly approaching, as I worked on our school’s master schedule I began to wonder about whether my district office needed a refresher in basic math facts. It all started with the number 109. This number, according to the district, was the number of sixth graders that were going to show up on the first day of school. The problem was that our data system had a different number in mind: 249. 249 – 109 = 140. This simple calculation showed a gap of 140 children between the projection of the district and what the data system listed as currently enrolled students who had attended fifth grade at our district’s schools in the previous year – and would be coming to us on the first day! (more...)

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Funding schools ‘by the numbers’ – or how to make 140 students disappear

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