Expert Contacts:
Mr. Sunderland - Professor of Education at UC
Mrs. McDaniel - Anderson High School Counselor
Mr. Quinn - ODE Fiscal Director
Mr. Vander Meer - Nagel Assistant Principal
Mr. Cooper - Financial Aid Specialist at XU
Mr. Everett - Director of Financial Aid at XU
Mr. Sinkovich - Community Outreach and Student Support Coordinator
Mrs. Schlosser - Nagel PTA president
Mrs. Benassi - Accounting Supervisor of the Forest Hills Treasurer
Email to Dr. Sunderland
Dear Dr. Sunderland,
Hi my name is Dana and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. We are doing a project in social studies that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. I have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. I got your contact information from the UC website. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about education in the modern world.
1) What would the world be like if there was no proper form of education? What does an education provide to people in our society?
2) How are methods of education getting better year by year?
3) What are some problems with education in America? What is being done to fix some of these problems or what do you think should be done to provide a better education to our country.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to me at your earliest convenience. You can contact me at [email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf (and Leah Grabowski)
Dr. Sunderland's Response:
Thanks for your interest and questions. You are right to be thinking about these questions at this time as American education is under attack as our "empire" falls apart. As Rome fell, scapegoats were looked for to answer the question: "Who is to blame for the loss of our power?" Now, the schools, particularly the public schools are the target for the lion's share of the blame for divisiveness in our country, the loss of the wars in Iraq, and the spread of hopelessness caused by an expanding recession. Rather than look for the reasons in the actual causes, a scapegoat makes it easier.
To go to your questions: 1) There is no "proper" form of education, despite what Jefferson and others state. Education flows from the person outward to our society, providing each person, if they are inspired, with a hope for themselves and for others, a hope that people, together, can overcome ignorance and delusion and find happiness and gentleness.
2) our methods are scary: standardized testing, competitiveness, and the ranking of students and tracking them into boring experiences called, "education." Understanding service learning, the caring for those in greatest need, actions that support compassion, are all in a minority. Our world is made up of 2-3 billion people who live on a dollar a day. Our education does not include them and we all suffer from our ignorance.
3) The key problems in American education is that teachers and students are under bitter attack. Students are told that they are stupid, and teachers are fired for their students' low test scores. Schools are no longer places where blacks and whites can get to know each other and racism is flourishing. Students must wake up to change these conditions:Occupy your schools, take a stand for integration, feed the poor in your community, and find three friends who care for you and work together.
Email to Mrs. McDaniel
Dear Mrs. McDaniel,
Hi my name is Dana. My classmates Emily, Leah , Megan, Kate, and I are doing a project in Miss Place's class that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. We have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. I got your contact information from the Forest Hills website. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about financial aid in the district.
1) How does Forest Hills provide for families who cannot meet the economic needs for school?
2) About how many people does Forest Hills support? How do you pay for these services?
3) What are the requirements for being eligible to receive financial aid?
4) Would you like to change anything about this process?
We would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to us at your earliest convenience. You can contact us at[email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf, Emily Favorito, Megan Hess, Leah Grabowski, and Kate Seibert
Email to Ms. Curry
Dear Ms. Curry,
Hello, my name is Leah and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. My classmate Dana and I are doing a project to see if we could fix ancient Roman problems using modern solutions, resources, knowledge, and tactics. Our topic is on how the lack of and high prices of education affected people. We found your contact information on the Ohio Department of Education site and were wondering if you would be able to answer a few questions to help us enhance our knowledge so we could attempt to solve the Roman problem? We had a few questions about financial aid for schools.
1.) How do the FAFSA program and C.S.S Profile calculate how much financial aid students are eligible to receive? What factors come into play?
2.) Where does the money that these programs provide families with come from?
3.) How much does it cost to fill out a C.S.S. Profile or FAFSA application?
4.) How much money can students receive from these financial aid programs?
5.) What are some struggles about the program, if there are any? Would you change anything about it if you could?
6.) What are some other ways families and students can be provided with financial aid for school?
If you are wiling to contact us back, please feel free to do it at your earliest convenience and contact us back at [email protected]. Thank you so much for your time, as it is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Leah Grabowski and Dana Middendorf
(Ms. Curry no longer works in her position so we set up a phone call during lunch with Jim Quinn who works in the same office as she did. here is our interview and notes on his information:)
Interview with Mr. Quinn:
Dear Mr. Vander Meer,
Hi my name is Dana and I am on team 7-5. My classmates Emily, Leah , Megan, Kate, and I are doing a project in social studies that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. We have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about truancy in the district.
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy?
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren’t?
We would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to us at your earliest convenience. You can contact us at [email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf, Emily Favorito, Megan Hess, Leah Grabowski, and Kate Seibert
Mr. Vander Meer's Response:
Dana
I will be glad to help you but I think I have a person who can help you even more. His name is Phil Sinkovichand he works at the board of education. Come see me tomorrow and I will get you in touch with him.
Mr. V
Ms. Asbach/ Mr. Cooper:
Dear Ms. Asbach,
Hello. We are in the seventh grade at Nagel Middle School. Currently we have been working on a project in social studies involving the problems of Ancient Rome. The problem we have been researching is the high price and lack of education in Ancient Rome. One of the solutions we researched to solve the problem was the idea of financial aid. We researched the topic some but had a few questions to ask of you.
1. How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
2. What are the requirements for receiving financial aid?
3. Who funds the financial aid program? Is the university providing the money?
4. Is there a limit to how many students you can provide financial aid for?
5. Are their any limitations to the education provided for the student because they receive financial aid?
If there is any other information that you believe is important for us to know about financial aid we would greatly appreciate it. Please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Thank for your time,
Emily Favorito & Megan Hess
Response:
Dear Ms. Favorito & Ms. Hess,
My name is Emmett Cooper, I am an Assistant Director of Financial Aid for Xavier University. I am willing to address your questions. If you should have additional questions, I will assist to the best of my ability.
Sincerely,
Emmett Cooper
1. How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
At Xavier University, the financial aid program works the same for all students whether they are privileged or underprivileged. The process is identical. Students submit the application for admission. If they have been selected for admission, they will be awarded a merit based scholarship based on their performance in high school. The student will need to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Here they will be evaluated on their financial need. The amount of need based aid depends on the results of the FAFSA. Generally, a lower FAFSA number translates into a larger amount of need based aid.
Additionally, we do have special programs for underprivileged students to help them afford college. On such program is the TRIO program. For you convenience, I have attached a link to the Xavier’s Trio program website. http://www.xavier.edu/sss/eligibility.cfm
2. What are the requirements for receiving financial aid?
There are two types of financial aid, merit and need. The requirements for receiving merit based aid are derived from evaluating the high school GPA and the results from test scores, ACT and/or SAT. The requirements for receiving need based aid are determined by evaluating the FAFSA results.
3. Who funds the financial aid program? Is the university providing the money?
The financial aid program is funded through a variety of sources. Xavier University and the Federal Government are the largest sources of financial aid funding at Xavier University.
4. Is there a limit to how many students you can provide financial aid for?
There isn’t a limit to the number of students who are eligible to receive financial aid. However, certain aid types have a limited amount of funding. Once the funds have been depleted for a particular year, we are no longer able to award it to any additional students.
5. Are there any limitations to the education provided for the student because they receive financial aid?
At Xavier, over ninety (90) percent of the students receive some type of financial aid. There aren’t any limitations to the education provided for students because they receive financial aid. They take the same classes and have the same opportunities as students who are not receiving financial aid.
Phone conversation with Mr. Everett:
How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
Eligibility determined by economic circumstances
Meeting with Mr Sinkovich:
Dear Mr. Sinkovich,
Thank you so much for taking the time to come in and answer a few questions I have about truancy! Here are some questions my classmates and I have come up with:
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren't? Justify/ explain your answer.
4) Is there a certain age group that is more truant than others? Do some regions have a larger truancy rate than others?
5) If you could propose a plan to bring the truancy rate down to zero, what steps would you suggest?
6) Has the number of students being caught with an unexcused absence from school escalated or descended over the past few years? Why do you think this is happening?
Thanks again for your time. We are very excited to speak with you! See you on Friday!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf ( and Leah Grabowski)
Questions for Interview:
1)About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren't? Justify/ explain your answer.
4) Is there a certain age group that is more truant than others? Do some regions have a larger truancy rate than others?
5) If you could propose a plan to bring the truancy rate down to zero, what steps would you suggest?
6) Has the number of students being caught with an unexcused absence from school escalated or descended over the past few years? Why do you think this is happening?
Interview notes:
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
Dear Mrs. Schlosser,
Hello, my name is Leah and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. My classmates and I are doing a project to see if we could fix ancient Roman problems using modern solutions, resources, knowledge, and tactics. My topic is on how the lack of and high prices of education affected people. I found your contact information on the Nagel PTA directory. I was wondering if you, as president of the PTA, would be able to answer a few questions about fundraising to help me enhance my knowledge which would help me solve the Roman problem?
1.) What kind of fundraisers does the PTA hold to help raise money for the school?
2.) What does this money for the school go to?
3.) About how many fundraisers a year do you have? How much money do they raise?
If you are wiling to contact me back, feel free to do it at your earliest convenience and contact me back at[email protected]. Thank you so much for your time, as it is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Leah Grabowski
Response:
O.K. Leah ... I am finally getting around to answering your questions! Thanks for being so patient :)
We have several ways that we raise money for the PTA at Nagel --
Game on a Thon, Kroger Cards, Target Red Cards, On Line magazine subscriptions, Brick Sales, Box Tops, Scholastic Book Fair, Dodgeball Tournament, Bookstore Profit, Spiritwear Sales Profit, Buffalo Wild Rings Fundraiser, Nagel @ Night Ticket Sales, and Football Game and Track Meet Concessions
The fundraiser that we publicize the most is the Game-on-a-thon but we work hard to communicate with Nagel families other small ways that they can help raise money for the school, like buying a Kroger gift card and using it to buy your groceries -- then 2% of the amount you put on that card goes back to Nagel. Or collecting the box tops and turning them in for .10 per box top back to the school.
All of the above bring in money that help support the PTA -- the largest fundraiser that we do is the Game-on-a-Thon -- the others bring in much smaller amounts that all add up to roughly $20-$25,000 per school year -- The Game-on-a-Thon has brought in about $19,000 for the last two years.
The money that the PTA raises through all of these projects goes to support much of the programming and special events that happen at Nagel. We pay for:Celebration Day - end of year fun day, Honors Dessert, Nagel @ Night, and Mini-Grants -- this is when teachers apply to the PTA for money to buy certain items for their classroom or grade level -- we try to make sure that any purchases we make through the PTS benefit as many Nagel students as possible and that the things we buy STAY at Nagel -- they are not disposable.
For the last two years most of the money we have raised, after we cover all of our expenses, has gone to improvements made to the Learning commons -- roughly $15,000 last year and we hope to do that again this year! The administration hopes to build a seating area and provide more technology options to the Learning Commons area.
Hopefully this answers all of your questions ... please feel free to call me ANYTIME if you have any other questions of you need clarification -- 349-7797 -- happy to chat with you more about any of this anytime :
Good luck -- hope this helps ...Mrs. Schlosser
Email to Ms. Benassi:
Ms. Benassi,My name is Megan Hess and I am a student on 7-5 at Nagel Middle School. My peers and I have been participating in a project in which we look for current solutions for Ancient Romes problems. The issue we have been looking into is high price of education. It would be greatly appreciated if you would be willing to answer a few questions about Forest Hills accounts.
1) Can you identify a specific department or program that Forest Hills School District spends the majority of their budget on?
2) Is there a particular facet that is suffering more than others because of budget cuts
3) Beyond your professional position how would the result of the upcoming levee influence your personal views of Anderson Township?
4) Approximately how much money is the Forest Hills School District currently using to function?
5) Has Forest Hills devised a plan of what action they will take if the levee does not pass? If so, please explain the adjustments that will be made.
6) Can you please describe your solution to an ideal budget?
7) What do you see for Forest Hills School District in the future from a financial stand point?
Any information your would be able to provide us with would be greatly apprieciated. Thank your so much for your time, Megan Hess
Response:
1) The department that Forest Hills spends the most on is instruction (salaries, benefits, supplies and equipment for regular K-12 instruction) Salaries and benefits are the largest expenditures for the district
2) Classroom size, extra work loads for non teaching staff, the general morale of the employees because they are doing more with less and at times feeling overwhelmed
3) I, (as an employee, a resident, a parent of graduates and a grandparent of students), would be very disappointed in our community for not supporting such an important aspect of our community
4) Our General Fund appropriations for this year are approx. $75,800,000.00. Not all of this will be spent but it will be close.
5) If there is a specific plan, I am not a part of those decisions
6) The ideal budget would be to have enough teachers, etc. to have quality education, well kept facilities, salaries and benefits in line with other districts of similar size
7) I see excellence suffering if we do not have the support through levies from our community because the state will keep cutting back on their support. I think we will lose quality teachers to districts where the community supports education or to private industry. The community will suffer as far as property values are concerned and the overall perception of what this are is like.
Mrs. McDaniel - Anderson High School Counselor
Mr. Quinn - ODE Fiscal Director
Mr. Vander Meer - Nagel Assistant Principal
Mr. Cooper - Financial Aid Specialist at XU
Mr. Everett - Director of Financial Aid at XU
Mr. Sinkovich - Community Outreach and Student Support Coordinator
Mrs. Schlosser - Nagel PTA president
Mrs. Benassi - Accounting Supervisor of the Forest Hills Treasurer
Email to Dr. Sunderland
Dear Dr. Sunderland,
Hi my name is Dana and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. We are doing a project in social studies that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. I have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. I got your contact information from the UC website. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about education in the modern world.
1) What would the world be like if there was no proper form of education? What does an education provide to people in our society?
2) How are methods of education getting better year by year?
3) What are some problems with education in America? What is being done to fix some of these problems or what do you think should be done to provide a better education to our country.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to me at your earliest convenience. You can contact me at [email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf (and Leah Grabowski)
Dr. Sunderland's Response:
Thanks for your interest and questions. You are right to be thinking about these questions at this time as American education is under attack as our "empire" falls apart. As Rome fell, scapegoats were looked for to answer the question: "Who is to blame for the loss of our power?" Now, the schools, particularly the public schools are the target for the lion's share of the blame for divisiveness in our country, the loss of the wars in Iraq, and the spread of hopelessness caused by an expanding recession. Rather than look for the reasons in the actual causes, a scapegoat makes it easier.
To go to your questions: 1) There is no "proper" form of education, despite what Jefferson and others state. Education flows from the person outward to our society, providing each person, if they are inspired, with a hope for themselves and for others, a hope that people, together, can overcome ignorance and delusion and find happiness and gentleness.
2) our methods are scary: standardized testing, competitiveness, and the ranking of students and tracking them into boring experiences called, "education." Understanding service learning, the caring for those in greatest need, actions that support compassion, are all in a minority. Our world is made up of 2-3 billion people who live on a dollar a day. Our education does not include them and we all suffer from our ignorance.
3) The key problems in American education is that teachers and students are under bitter attack. Students are told that they are stupid, and teachers are fired for their students' low test scores. Schools are no longer places where blacks and whites can get to know each other and racism is flourishing. Students must wake up to change these conditions:Occupy your schools, take a stand for integration, feed the poor in your community, and find three friends who care for you and work together.
Email to Mrs. McDaniel
Dear Mrs. McDaniel,
Hi my name is Dana. My classmates Emily, Leah , Megan, Kate, and I are doing a project in Miss Place's class that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. We have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. I got your contact information from the Forest Hills website. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about financial aid in the district.
1) How does Forest Hills provide for families who cannot meet the economic needs for school?
2) About how many people does Forest Hills support? How do you pay for these services?
3) What are the requirements for being eligible to receive financial aid?
4) Would you like to change anything about this process?
We would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to us at your earliest convenience. You can contact us at[email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf, Emily Favorito, Megan Hess, Leah Grabowski, and Kate Seibert
Email to Ms. Curry
Dear Ms. Curry,
Hello, my name is Leah and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. My classmate Dana and I are doing a project to see if we could fix ancient Roman problems using modern solutions, resources, knowledge, and tactics. Our topic is on how the lack of and high prices of education affected people. We found your contact information on the Ohio Department of Education site and were wondering if you would be able to answer a few questions to help us enhance our knowledge so we could attempt to solve the Roman problem? We had a few questions about financial aid for schools.
1.) How do the FAFSA program and C.S.S Profile calculate how much financial aid students are eligible to receive? What factors come into play?
2.) Where does the money that these programs provide families with come from?
3.) How much does it cost to fill out a C.S.S. Profile or FAFSA application?
4.) How much money can students receive from these financial aid programs?
5.) What are some struggles about the program, if there are any? Would you change anything about it if you could?
6.) What are some other ways families and students can be provided with financial aid for school?
If you are wiling to contact us back, please feel free to do it at your earliest convenience and contact us back at [email protected]. Thank you so much for your time, as it is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Leah Grabowski and Dana Middendorf
(Ms. Curry no longer works in her position so we set up a phone call during lunch with Jim Quinn who works in the same office as she did. here is our interview and notes on his information:)
Interview with Mr. Quinn:
- School funding is primarily based on a share where there is a combination of local, state and federal funds
- Combination of funding
- Local funds come through property tax
- Some school districts have local income tax, but most don’t
- The state portion of funding comes from a complicated formula based on the number of kids in a school district, property value in the school district and how many kids in the district require special services/needs
- Kids with special needs get a little bit more funding
- Only a small portion of money comes from federal funds
- In a nutshell, locals provide 45% of the funding for our schools, give or take a little
- The other state funds provide 45%
- Finally, the last 10% is in the form of federal funds
Dear Mr. Vander Meer,
Hi my name is Dana and I am on team 7-5. My classmates Emily, Leah , Megan, Kate, and I are doing a project in social studies that requires us to use modern information to “go back in time” and solve some of the problems in the ancient Roman Empire. We have chosen to attempt to solve the problem of high price of education. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about truancy in the district.
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy?
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren’t?
We would greatly appreciate it if you could get back to us at your earliest convenience. You can contact us at [email protected] . Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf, Emily Favorito, Megan Hess, Leah Grabowski, and Kate Seibert
Mr. Vander Meer's Response:
Dana
I will be glad to help you but I think I have a person who can help you even more. His name is Phil Sinkovichand he works at the board of education. Come see me tomorrow and I will get you in touch with him.
Mr. V
Ms. Asbach/ Mr. Cooper:
Dear Ms. Asbach,
Hello. We are in the seventh grade at Nagel Middle School. Currently we have been working on a project in social studies involving the problems of Ancient Rome. The problem we have been researching is the high price and lack of education in Ancient Rome. One of the solutions we researched to solve the problem was the idea of financial aid. We researched the topic some but had a few questions to ask of you.
1. How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
2. What are the requirements for receiving financial aid?
3. Who funds the financial aid program? Is the university providing the money?
4. Is there a limit to how many students you can provide financial aid for?
5. Are their any limitations to the education provided for the student because they receive financial aid?
If there is any other information that you believe is important for us to know about financial aid we would greatly appreciate it. Please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Thank for your time,
Emily Favorito & Megan Hess
Response:
Dear Ms. Favorito & Ms. Hess,
My name is Emmett Cooper, I am an Assistant Director of Financial Aid for Xavier University. I am willing to address your questions. If you should have additional questions, I will assist to the best of my ability.
Sincerely,
Emmett Cooper
1. How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
At Xavier University, the financial aid program works the same for all students whether they are privileged or underprivileged. The process is identical. Students submit the application for admission. If they have been selected for admission, they will be awarded a merit based scholarship based on their performance in high school. The student will need to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Here they will be evaluated on their financial need. The amount of need based aid depends on the results of the FAFSA. Generally, a lower FAFSA number translates into a larger amount of need based aid.
Additionally, we do have special programs for underprivileged students to help them afford college. On such program is the TRIO program. For you convenience, I have attached a link to the Xavier’s Trio program website. http://www.xavier.edu/sss/eligibility.cfm
2. What are the requirements for receiving financial aid?
There are two types of financial aid, merit and need. The requirements for receiving merit based aid are derived from evaluating the high school GPA and the results from test scores, ACT and/or SAT. The requirements for receiving need based aid are determined by evaluating the FAFSA results.
3. Who funds the financial aid program? Is the university providing the money?
The financial aid program is funded through a variety of sources. Xavier University and the Federal Government are the largest sources of financial aid funding at Xavier University.
4. Is there a limit to how many students you can provide financial aid for?
There isn’t a limit to the number of students who are eligible to receive financial aid. However, certain aid types have a limited amount of funding. Once the funds have been depleted for a particular year, we are no longer able to award it to any additional students.
5. Are there any limitations to the education provided for the student because they receive financial aid?
At Xavier, over ninety (90) percent of the students receive some type of financial aid. There aren’t any limitations to the education provided for students because they receive financial aid. They take the same classes and have the same opportunities as students who are not receiving financial aid.
Phone conversation with Mr. Everett:
How does financial aid program work for underprivileged students?
Eligibility determined by economic circumstances
- Can be compared to the free lunch program
- More money made the less money received by the program
- How financial aid works is pretty universal throughout the United States
- Your finanacial situation needs to be severe enough to make it into the program (based upon income)
- Comes from taxpayers money
- The university and other sources pay for the rest
- Students that receive financial aid must be working toward a degree and have a major so that Xavier can insure that they are doing something with their education
Meeting with Mr Sinkovich:
Dear Mr. Sinkovich,
Thank you so much for taking the time to come in and answer a few questions I have about truancy! Here are some questions my classmates and I have come up with:
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren't? Justify/ explain your answer.
4) Is there a certain age group that is more truant than others? Do some regions have a larger truancy rate than others?
5) If you could propose a plan to bring the truancy rate down to zero, what steps would you suggest?
6) Has the number of students being caught with an unexcused absence from school escalated or descended over the past few years? Why do you think this is happening?
Thanks again for your time. We are very excited to speak with you! See you on Friday!
Sincerely,
Dana Middendorf ( and Leah Grabowski)
Questions for Interview:
1)About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
2) What are some punishments for truancy
3) How does truancy affect school performance? Is there a notable or comparable difference in grades between students who are regularly active in school rather than those who aren't? Justify/ explain your answer.
4) Is there a certain age group that is more truant than others? Do some regions have a larger truancy rate than others?
5) If you could propose a plan to bring the truancy rate down to zero, what steps would you suggest?
6) Has the number of students being caught with an unexcused absence from school escalated or descended over the past few years? Why do you think this is happening?
Interview notes:
1) About how many students are caught being absent from school? How thoroughly is truancy monitored in the district?
- Anderson= 307 total truant days
- Turpin= 541
- Nagel= 380
- Total= 1228
- If you move and do not show up at a new school, you are truant
- Only 2 suspension from truancy
- If truant 5 days in a row, 7 in a month, or 11 in a school years= contact parent and go to court= state law= Ohio revised law
- Taken many students to court= 25 times a year, where in the city of cincinnati schools= maybe 100 court cases Difference between districts is not a lot between similar districts, different schools (like Cincinnati Public school) probably have a lot higher truancy rate, probably have 5 people who do his job
- Parents are normally aware- problem in family support
- When there’s truancy, there are normally other things happening with that student as well (drugs, fighting, etc.)
- ½ day or less=Saturday school=first offense, second offense=multiple sat schools, parent contact, court referral, suspension, expulsion
- Full day=2 sat schools
- 2nd offense= same as ½ day
- Grades go down
- Get zeros
- Truancy normally isn't only problem= also see behavior a lot are connected
- Correlation between coming to school and how you do in school
- High school
- Relationships with students
- Need a good experience
- Learn something, feel involved, doing good
- Parent support = awareness
- Random
- Difference between districts is not a lot between similar districts, different schools (like Cincinnati Public school) probably have a lot higher truancy rate, probably have 5 people who do his job
Dear Mrs. Schlosser,
Hello, my name is Leah and I am a seventh grader at Nagel Middle School. My classmates and I are doing a project to see if we could fix ancient Roman problems using modern solutions, resources, knowledge, and tactics. My topic is on how the lack of and high prices of education affected people. I found your contact information on the Nagel PTA directory. I was wondering if you, as president of the PTA, would be able to answer a few questions about fundraising to help me enhance my knowledge which would help me solve the Roman problem?
1.) What kind of fundraisers does the PTA hold to help raise money for the school?
2.) What does this money for the school go to?
3.) About how many fundraisers a year do you have? How much money do they raise?
If you are wiling to contact me back, feel free to do it at your earliest convenience and contact me back at[email protected]. Thank you so much for your time, as it is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Leah Grabowski
Response:
O.K. Leah ... I am finally getting around to answering your questions! Thanks for being so patient :)
We have several ways that we raise money for the PTA at Nagel --
Game on a Thon, Kroger Cards, Target Red Cards, On Line magazine subscriptions, Brick Sales, Box Tops, Scholastic Book Fair, Dodgeball Tournament, Bookstore Profit, Spiritwear Sales Profit, Buffalo Wild Rings Fundraiser, Nagel @ Night Ticket Sales, and Football Game and Track Meet Concessions
The fundraiser that we publicize the most is the Game-on-a-thon but we work hard to communicate with Nagel families other small ways that they can help raise money for the school, like buying a Kroger gift card and using it to buy your groceries -- then 2% of the amount you put on that card goes back to Nagel. Or collecting the box tops and turning them in for .10 per box top back to the school.
All of the above bring in money that help support the PTA -- the largest fundraiser that we do is the Game-on-a-Thon -- the others bring in much smaller amounts that all add up to roughly $20-$25,000 per school year -- The Game-on-a-Thon has brought in about $19,000 for the last two years.
The money that the PTA raises through all of these projects goes to support much of the programming and special events that happen at Nagel. We pay for:Celebration Day - end of year fun day, Honors Dessert, Nagel @ Night, and Mini-Grants -- this is when teachers apply to the PTA for money to buy certain items for their classroom or grade level -- we try to make sure that any purchases we make through the PTS benefit as many Nagel students as possible and that the things we buy STAY at Nagel -- they are not disposable.
For the last two years most of the money we have raised, after we cover all of our expenses, has gone to improvements made to the Learning commons -- roughly $15,000 last year and we hope to do that again this year! The administration hopes to build a seating area and provide more technology options to the Learning Commons area.
Hopefully this answers all of your questions ... please feel free to call me ANYTIME if you have any other questions of you need clarification -- 349-7797 -- happy to chat with you more about any of this anytime :
Good luck -- hope this helps ...Mrs. Schlosser
Email to Ms. Benassi:
Ms. Benassi,My name is Megan Hess and I am a student on 7-5 at Nagel Middle School. My peers and I have been participating in a project in which we look for current solutions for Ancient Romes problems. The issue we have been looking into is high price of education. It would be greatly appreciated if you would be willing to answer a few questions about Forest Hills accounts.
1) Can you identify a specific department or program that Forest Hills School District spends the majority of their budget on?
2) Is there a particular facet that is suffering more than others because of budget cuts
3) Beyond your professional position how would the result of the upcoming levee influence your personal views of Anderson Township?
4) Approximately how much money is the Forest Hills School District currently using to function?
5) Has Forest Hills devised a plan of what action they will take if the levee does not pass? If so, please explain the adjustments that will be made.
6) Can you please describe your solution to an ideal budget?
7) What do you see for Forest Hills School District in the future from a financial stand point?
Any information your would be able to provide us with would be greatly apprieciated. Thank your so much for your time, Megan Hess
Response:
1) The department that Forest Hills spends the most on is instruction (salaries, benefits, supplies and equipment for regular K-12 instruction) Salaries and benefits are the largest expenditures for the district
2) Classroom size, extra work loads for non teaching staff, the general morale of the employees because they are doing more with less and at times feeling overwhelmed
3) I, (as an employee, a resident, a parent of graduates and a grandparent of students), would be very disappointed in our community for not supporting such an important aspect of our community
4) Our General Fund appropriations for this year are approx. $75,800,000.00. Not all of this will be spent but it will be close.
5) If there is a specific plan, I am not a part of those decisions
6) The ideal budget would be to have enough teachers, etc. to have quality education, well kept facilities, salaries and benefits in line with other districts of similar size
7) I see excellence suffering if we do not have the support through levies from our community because the state will keep cutting back on their support. I think we will lose quality teachers to districts where the community supports education or to private industry. The community will suffer as far as property values are concerned and the overall perception of what this are is like.