Define and provide two examples of each of these concepts in school finance:
Equality – Means that every student has the right to a free public education where all students have access to the same type of resources and programs. All students should have an equal chance of getting the same type of education no matter where they live.
Ex. Students from a poor district should have the same resources to understand the curriculum as students from a wealthy district. If the wealthier district has a math intervention teacher, then the poorer district should also have a math intervention teacher.
Ex. Students from a poor district should have resources available like computer labs as wealthier districts.
Equity – means the system is fair and responds to the needs of individuals. What this means is that the district should be able to help each student depending on their needs.
Ex. Economic Disadvantaged Students should have tutoring and intervention help as needed.
Ex. Sub-groups have different needs. For example, if a Hispanic sub-group needs extra help with math, then the district should provide the help they need. The help should meet the needs of each group and it needs to be individualized according to the student needs.
Adequacy – means the school district receives financial support sufficient to meet state accreditation standards.
Ex. Teacher salaries should be sufficient to meet the state standards across the state.
Ex. Textbooks should be available to all districts regardless of their financial status. All students should have access to textbooks.
Reflection:
Reflection:
I have learned how equity, equality and adequacy all affect school finance. Each of these words play a unique and vital part of ensuring schools is equal across the state. Being adequate helps fund each district the same and allows them to meet state standards. This has helped me understand how each district funds teacher salaries and textbook expenses. With equity, districts must meet the needs of all individual students. This part allows each sub-group to have clear and defined help for all sub-groups and students. All students have a right to get extra help for all students, especially economic disadvantaged and students of less fortunate homes. Giving equity allows students to have access to all available help as needed. The last part is equality, which means all students have the right to a free education where they have access to the same types of resources and programs as other students. This equality gives all students the same access as other students across the state.
I have learned many things about these definitions and it seems that I understand how they work individually. By including these in our school finance section, we are able to reach all students in all areas of the population whether they are in districts that are wealthy or districts that are poor. These definitions put things into perspective by allowing me to understand how the districts work in conjunction with the state.
