Changing Policies: Changing Policies in Schools
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WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
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WHY SHOULD YOU WORK TO CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
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WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
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WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHANGING POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
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HOW DO YOU CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
When the Watsons came to Perryville High School for their eldest son’s first scheduled parent conference of ninth grade, they found something that neither ever saw in a school when they were students. In the hallways on every floor, as well as in the cafeteria, there were vending machines offering soda.
Rita Watson was a hospital nutritionist, and her husband, Mel, was an athletic trainer who worked with the football and baseball teams at the local university. They had always provided a healthy diet for themselves and their two sons, and had taught their children good eating habits. Both of them were well aware of the rise in childhood obesity – it was more and more visible on the streets of Perryville these days – and they knew that soda was a major contributor to that rise. They felt that the high school – which, after all, offered health classes that taught students about good nutrition – should not be offering kids drinks that could be bad for them.
They returned from the conference with a glowing report of their son’s progress, and the beginnings of a plan. As they researched the issue of soda and snack machines in high schools, they found that their presence was all too common. They also found that schools made a lot of money from contracts with soft drink companies – money that paid for extracurricular activities, supplies, and equipment. While the Watsons were supportive of these activities – both of their sons were athletes – they felt strongly that the school should be safeguarding students’ health, not encouraging unhealthy habits.
The couple set out to change the school policy on vending machines. They wanted them either removed from the school, or to offer only foods and drinks that contributed to, rather than harmed, children’s health. Aware that they had an uphill battle on their hands – Perryville High made over $50,000 in contracts and soda sales every year – they enlisted their friends and determined to keep at it until they were successful.
Sometimes school policies, like those that allow vending machines that sell unhealthy foods, can be harmful to students’ health or education. Sometimes, schools or school systems lack policies that would benefit students in particular ways. Sometimes their policies, formal or informal, are discriminatory or abusive of students’ rights. Parents, students, or concerned citizens often find themselves wanting to change school or school system policies…and many do. This section looks at what kinds of issues school policies might cover, and what it takes to change policies in a school system.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
When the Community Tool Box was conceived, this section was meant to deal specifically with changing school policy to encourage healthy behaviors among students and discourage unhealthy ones. Since then, it has become obvious that the issue of school policy change is far too broad to confine to a single topic. We’ve therefore tried to include a range of possibilities to consider, of which health promotion is only one.
In the U.S., the variation among school systems – from state to state, from community to community, even from school to school – is enormous. There are obvious differences in size – many rural schools have fewer than 10 students a class, while some urban and suburban schools in large cities have thousands of students – but the variation doesn’t stop there. Looking at public schools alone, there are comprehensive and specialized high schools; charter schools; technical and trade high schools; magnet schools; alternative schools for students who can’t function in a standard classroom setting; and community-run schools, to mention only a few.
This section focuses on public schools. While private school policies are subject to change from parents and students as well, they present a different situation. Because students pay to attend, and the schools are financially dependent on parents’ good will, and because they aren’t subject to many of the state rules and regulations that public schools are, private schools are usually much more willing than public schools to bend rules, make exceptions, and change policy when asked to by parents.
The ways in which these schools are organized and run vary as much as their purposes. Some are relatively independent: what goes on in the school is largely determined by the principal and teaching staff. Some involve parents as partners in planning and implementing both curriculum and school management. Some, unfortunately, have to be concerned with student violence, and feature metal detectors and police patrols. Some have strict dress codes – sometimes to the point of requiring uniforms – others have none. Some are devoted to academics, and to sending as many students as possible to top-ranked colleges; others seem much more concerned with sports or other extracurricular activities. By and large, schools mirror the educational philosophy and attitudes of the people in their districts.
All of these schools have policies regarding everything from academic and curriculum requirements to the scheduling of lunches. System-wide policies are generally decided upon by the local school committee, while policies unique to a particular school are often set and implemented by the school staff.
Most school systems and schools are hierarchical – they have a clear (at least to themselves) chain of command, and you have to follow that chain in order to communicate with the system. In the U.S., the links in that chain are usually (from the top down):
- School Committee
- Superintendent of Schools
- Assistant Superintendents
- Other system-wide administrators (coordinators of curriculum, athletics, special education, business, physical plant)
- Principals
- Teachers and other professional employees (nurses, guidance counselors and school psychologists, coaches)
- Support and custodial staff
Each of these levels is one you might have to deal with in attempting to change school policy. (See Tool #1for a more detailed description of “the players.”)
In addition to whatever difficulties the system hierarchy might offer, there is the fact that most public school teachers and other non-administrative employees are unionized, a circumstance that can complicate (or, occasionally, make easier) a change initiative. The change you’re seeking might – or might appear to – conflict with the union contract, for instance, or might require a union member’s job description to change (a circumstance that would require union negotiations). Given the two factors of the management hierarchy and the union, advocates are often faced with the possibility of having to move the whole of a large and resistant bureaucracy in order to affect change.
There are alternatives. Some schools are relatively independent, and can make decisions without having to go through several layers of school system. Some unions are willing to make compromises in the service of better outcomes for students. Often, if the policy change in question relates only to a particular school, and if it’s not momentous, the principal or faculty can make the change quietly, without fanfare or bureaucratic hassle.
There are many situations where a major policy change initiative like that described in this section simply isn’t necessary. If you can accomplish your purpose – placing a crossing guard at a dangerous intersection, or opening the school gym in the late afternoon for community use – by simply explaining to the principal why it’s important, and offering to help make it possible, then that’s the way to go. If the change is small, reasonable, and doesn’t involve any major disruption of the school or the system, you can probably make it happen in a very low-key way. Even some major policy changes can be easy if the need for them is obvious. Don’t organize the community for a minor request – the simpler you can make things, the better.
In general, however, the School Committee is responsible for setting policy, and the Superintendent for carrying it out. Although the two advise and consult with each other, system-wide policy changes usually have to be approved by the School Committee, but that usually means that they must have the approval of the Superintendent as well, since most Committees value the Superintendent’s advice. If you can convince the Superintendent that change is necessary, it will probably happen, though perhaps not always as quickly as you’d like.
That doesn’t always mean that administrators and teachers will go along. In Philadelphia in the 1960’s, a Superintendent was hired to shake things up in a less-than-stellar school system. He instituted, with the support of the School Committee, a number of reforms that actually spoke to improving education in the district...but the teachers essentially ignored them. By a combination of foot-dragging and outright defiance, they were able to frustrate most of the Superintendent’s plans, and he was gone within a fairly short time. If he had involved the teachers in planning, the situation might have been different, but the reality is that policy change was instituted, and nothing happened anyway.
The Watsons wanted to eliminate vending machines or change their contents. What kinds of school policies might you want to change? The list is almost endless – and there is often someone who wants a change exactly opposite from the one you want. A short list of possibilities:
- Institute a no-smoking policy in the school system (for teachers and administrators as well as students).
- Serve healthy food in the cafeteria, and eliminate food that is only empty calories or actively bad for kids’ physical and mental development.
- Change the discipline system (to be more rigorous, less rigorous, student-generated, to involve parents, etc.).
- Address school prayer (eliminate it; institute a moment of silence; reinstitute school prayer – philosophies vary).
- Institute or revamp a health or sex education curriculum.
- Change the dress code.
- Beef up or change the academic content for students at various levels.
- Add ESL (English as a Second or Other Language) or bilingual programs for a growing immigrant population.
- Change sexual harassment policies to better protect students and staff.
- Change policies on student use of school computers.
- Change policies toward Channel 1 and other advertising during the school day.
- Tighten or loosen the requirements for participation in extracurricular activities.
- Change the limits of students’ freedom of speech in school newspapers.
More.
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