Title:
School Rankings – Influencing From The Community

Word Count:
450

Summary:
School Rankings are considered by many different groups. Parents and students use the data provided in a report of School Rankings to determine which school the students should attend. Most parents don’t want to send their kid to a school that has a low-performance level. Looking at these reports can help them see which schools are doing well and which ones are not. Administrators of schools and their districts can use School Rankings in order to see how their school measures...

Keywords:
San Jose Schools, Patricia Hawke

Article Body:
School Rankings are considered by many different groups. Parents and students use the data provided in a report of School Rankings to determine which school the students should attend. Most parents don’t want to send their kid to a school that has a low-performance level. Looking at these reports can help them see which schools are doing well and which ones are not. Administrators of schools and their districts can use School Rankings in order to see how their school measures up to others around them, or to other schools that have the same demographics, characteristics, ethnic groups, or socioeconomic backgrounds. State boards of education look at School Rankings to compare how the schools throughout their states are doing, and then look at how they measure up against other states’ schools.

Other groups that may look at School Rankings are community organizations or business leaders. These groups may want to make a cash donation or award a grant to a particular school, and examining School Rankings is a good, easy way to determine which school needs the monetary support these groups can give.

Oftentimes, schools that are high in School Rankings gather the most attention from these outside agencies. High-performing schools and those with innovative, successful programs often benefit from their high placement in School Rankings; they can receive cash rewards for their high achievements and dedication to excellence in education. It is of great interest to these schools to keep their place at the top of the School Rankings, as they will benefit from extra money in their coffers. Extra money means they can hire better-qualified teachers, purchase additional supplies from printers to pianos, and that money also ensures the continuation of the programs that have helped them achieve such a high placement in the School Rankings.

But what about the schools who fall to the bottom end of School Rankings? How can their ranking help them? While I’m not suggesting that schools should try to fail, receiving a low spot on the list can help them out. Their struggles just may draw the attention of various community organizations (such as churches or rotary-type clubs) and business leaders (from small business owners to multi-million dollar corporations). Schools that find themselves at the bottom of School Rankings find themselves in desperate need for assistance; not just in new program implementation and student support, but financially as well. In fact, in order for either of these steps to be undertaken with any amount of success, money is necessary. Groups that are interested in helping out schools that sit low on School Rankings can find out which schools they are, and help them as they are able and see fit.