Socy 101 High School Context Paper – Revised 3/17/22 Name _________________________
Directions: In this paper, you will provide a description of your high school and school district using Common Core Data from the National Center for Education Statistics. If you attended a private high school, completed your high school in another country or were homeschooled, please let me know at least 10 days before the assignment’s deadline. I have included a table to help you organize the high school demographic data. However, you must reference and describe the information in paragraph form. You will also examine your high school’s webpage to determine how accessible it is parents and guardians from various backgrounds. Please type this as a double spaced paper. Number your pages. Make sure your name appears on first page. Upload as a Word document to the Assignments folder.
Introduction
Identify the name and location of your high school. Describe the academic program you completed at this school. Briefly describe what I will be reading throughout the paper.
High School Demographics
Find your high school using this website: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/index.asp
Discuss the following characteristics:
Characteristic
Quantitative Response
Total number of students in grades 9 through 12.
The number of students who are free lunch eligible.
The number of male and female students.
Male students =
Female students =
The student/teacher ratio.
The number of students in each racial/ethnic group.
American Indian/Alaskan Native =
Asian =
Black =
Hispanic
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander =
White =
Two or More Races =
Percent of students in the largest racial/ethnic group. (You will need to do some math to get this answer)
How might these demographics influence your ability to interact with people from different backgrounds?
School District and Peer School Districts’ Finances
Find your school district using this website. Be sure to specify the state.
https://nces.ed.gov/edfin/search/search_intro.asp
Click on the “more” link. This table will present the student revenue, expenditures, and characteristics. Be sure to select “Fiscal” to report the following:
· Revenue per student: Total revenue
· Which source provides the most revenue to the school district (federal, local or state)?
· Current expenditures total per student
· Instructional expenditures
· Characteristics: The number of ELL students (English language learners)
· Which school districts in the state are similar to your school district? List them by name and location. [Removed 3/17/22]
Community Demographics
You can get the community information from this link: https://nces.ed.gov/Programs/Edge/ACSDashboard type in the name of your school district.
From the district demographic dashboard, report on the following:
· For children in the public schools, the percent of families with income below the poverty line
· The percent of children who speak English only
· The median household income of parents with children in public school
· The percent of female householders with no husband present
· The highest level of education for parents with children in public school
What are the implications for the types of social and cultural capital that students in your district possess?
School’s Image on the Internet
Find the webpage for your high school.
· Describe the school characteristics that are promoted on the main webpage.
· Discuss whether there is a portal for parents to check their child’s grades, schedule meetings with teachers, and interact with school personnel in the language of their choice.
· Does your high school offer an international baccalaureate program? If so, how are students selected to participate? If not, what college preparation programs are available?
· Describe the information provided regarding assistance with post-secondary activities (e.g., college, military, career planning).
· Is there an option to translate the webpage information into different languages?
Parent Liaison/Advocacy Groups
According to the high school’s website, is there a parent liaison/advocacy group? If yes, whom does it serve? How do parents join? If not, what impact does that have on sharing information and engaging in advocacy? Conclusion
Quantitative data and professionally constructed webpages cannot adequately describe the everyday experiences of students attending the school. What is missing from the data that you presented? How might a sociologist discover those interactions? How similar were your high school experiences to students’ experiences at Southern California High School (SCHS) described in Ochoa’s (2013) book? Be explicit.
My high school is Reading Senior high school
