Improvements in Public Education
1598 Camarillo Street
Anaheim, California
818.432.2465
Dear City Councilman Roberts:
I appreciate speaking with you and the Anaheim City Council about the formal proposal for improving the standard of education in Anaheim public schools. In response to your interest in our company, I am submitting this formal proposal to provide an outline of our services to your city regarding future educational plans after the failure of the Anaheim Union High school District to improve the standards in failing schools.
This proposal outlines the benefits of having Winston Educational Trust to propose future plans to better the educational system in public schools in the city of Anaheim. We could help with plans for the correct allocation of funds, changes in the educational material and teaching plans and also help the city get in touch with the parents directly so the current problems can be solved.
I’ll give you a call next week to answer any questions you have about this proposal.
Sincerely,
President
Winston Educational Foundation
CONTENTS
PAGE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.1
INTRODUCTION1
Background1
Company2
History2
Technological Benefits..2
DISCUSSION SECTION..2
CONCLUSION3
REFERENCES4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pouring money into failing schools will not solve the problem. Rather it would increase the ineptness of the teachers as well as the system who get paid a lot more than the national average. Any change in the public education is possible only through basic changes in the way kids are being taught. Testing the teachers for efficiency, constant review of the syllabus, special programs for the English learners as well as the disadvantaged kids are some of the proposals that could change the current public education system in Anaheim, California. Since not all of the schools are failing, teachers and other officials from the more successful schools could be transferred to the failing school to turn it over.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this proposal is to offer the city of Anaheim alternatives for future educational plans to improve the public education system in the city. The new proposals would help the city improve the education system without turning the public schools into charter schools or privatizing them. It also includes proposals to improve the system without pumping any more money into it.
Background
The Anaheim school district has a total of 21 public schools. Out of the 21 schools 14 schools are failing. The students from these 14 schools have a high percentage of students who are identified as socio-economically disadvantaged. The California Policy Center has stated that the average performance index for the public schools in the city is 777, compared to the acceptable limit of 800 as targeted by the city (No City, 2014). Although the public schools have been receiving millions of dollars of federal funding there have been not a lot of improvement in the failing schools or the educational levels of the kids attending these schools. Funds have also been specifically allocated for improving the infrastructure of the schools. There also have been calls for turning the public schools into charter schools or privatizing them .
Company History
The Winston Educational Foundation has been a family held company for over 50 years. We have been in the educational field in different capabilities and have helped a lot of city schools as well as private schools all over the country to improve their educational standards. Ournon-profit wing has also been working with the socio-economically disadvantaged kids by providing them free courses and other infrastructure to help them excel not only in education but also other extra-curricular activities. We send out employees on regular training programs around the world to update ourselves on the existing programs and how they could be successfully implemented in different schools in America. Highly qualified consultants are always available to help with any needs the customers might have.
Benefits
Customers working with our company benefit on many levels. We have staff who can train the teachers as well as implement changes in the school on a long term. We also have consultant engineers and architects in the company who could suggest changes to the existing infrastructure without having to spend too much money. Since we are a small company, we focus on one client at any given time and take up projects only when the current project is over. Profit is not our goal as our goal as a large part of our company is being supported by donations from our founders as well as other people interested in improving the country's educational system. We also ask for only a minimal fee that would cover the operating costs and help pay the special consultants we would be bringing in for specific projects.
DISCUSSION
Contrary to the claims that 14 schools are chronically failing in the Anaheim School districts are the performance of the schools that had been marked as high failures. Eight of Anaheim schools have come under the california Gold Ribbon Schools (Full text, 2014). This is a new state department initiative that honors outstanding schools. Oxford Academy has been ranked as number one in the orange County as well as the state of California for its outstanding performance in English and Math. Some of the public schools have been named as the best high schools in the country for preparing its students towards college education. The community still believes in the school board as it approved Measure H through overwhelming support (Larsen, 2015). All these show that there is little need for converting these schools into charter schools and moving towards bringing in private players. Although there have been calls from the parents for more charter schools in the district instead of public schools, once the schools show signs of improvement they would change their minds. The current problem with the schools seems to be the low morale among the teachers and the lack of proper understanding between the teachers and the students. Many of the students come from socio-economically disadvantaged homes where English is not necessarily the first language. In such cases, the teachers should be well versed in handling students who are trailing behind due to the language problems. Our staff and consultants help train the teachers on how to handle such students and make learning easier for the students as well as the teachers. We also help design the school curriculum in such a way that it does not affect the regular curriculum but adds to it. Importance is not only given to math and science but subjects such as arts and other practical courses as well in an effort to get the kids ready for life after school.
The existing funds from measure H can also be used well to improve on the infrastructural facilities at the school. The kitchen, canteen and the playgrounds are the most in need of repairs and money should be allocated to them first (Update, 2015). Since we charge a nominal fee for consultancy, a lot of money can be saved that can be used for other purposes such as buying computers and other playing gear for students. Most importantly the parents must be brought into the decision making process as after the kids they are the biggest stakeholders. Bringing them into the decision making process by forming a committee would help them change their minds about stopping funding and changing them into charter schools. Improving the educational level of the students as well as honing their skills in visual arts , sports, music and theatre would help in creating well rounded future citizens who are an asset for not only the county and the state but for the country as a whole. The main components of our work includes”
Consultancy for infrastructure projects in the school
Additional support for funding as well as training students in extracurricular activities
Creating a better rapport between the teachers, students, parents, the school district as well as the city.
CONCLUSION
Winston Educational trust has worked with many schools before to improve the educational level in public schools and has a high success rate. Shutting down schools or turning them into charter schools is not the solution to help failing schools. Rather the existing faults in the schools must be analyzed and improved on. We help you do this as we also care for the future of the students in the school.
REFERENCES
No city subsidy for Anaheim high schools. (12 Sept, 2015). Retrieved From: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-682148-failing-city.html.
Larsen, Larry. (10 Dec, 2015) Public Schools in Anaheim Actually Work.Retrieved From: http://voiceofoc.org/2015/12/larsen-public-schools-in-anaheim-actually-work/.
Update on Measure H from Superintendent Matsuda. (24 Feb 2015). Retrieved from: http://new.auhsd.us/district/index.php/update-on-measure-h-from-superintendent-matsuda.
Anaheim School District. (2016). Retrieved from: https://www.acsd.us/?page_id=23.
Full Text of Measure H. Anaheim Union High School District. (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/user_upload/elections/gen2014/measures/8503.pdf.
Gold Ribbon Schools: California Department of Education. (2015). Retrieved from: http://new.auhsd.us/district/media/files/Gold%20Ribbon.pdf.
