Local and State Involvement in American Education

Schools as Bureaucracies.
School System Web Sites.
School Districts and School Boards.
Historical Foundations of School Boards.
Contemporary Schoolboards.
National School Boards Association.
Principals.
The Superintendent of Schools.
Financing the Schools.
The Superintendent of Schools.
State Department of Education Web Sites.
Controls and Influences.
Federal Involvement in American Education.
The Land Grant College Act of 1862.
The United States Office of Education.
Patterns of Federal Influence.
Federal Control of Education: Summary.
Post-Modern Trends and Their Implications for the Local, State, and Federal Control of Schools.

For background on Max Weber and the idea of a bureaucracy visit the following sites:

Max Weber
http://www.utoledo.edu/~ddavis/weber.htm

Max Weber on Bureaucracy
http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y64l09.html

Good sites to learn more about issues involving school administrators include:

National Association of Elementary School Principals
http://www.naesp.org/

National Association of Secondary School Principals
http://www.nassp.org/

Information on school leadership at the state level is available at the following web site:

The Council of Chief State School Officers
http://www.ccsso.org/

Links to State Department sof Education can be found at:

Links to State Education Agenicies
http://www.ccsso.org/seamenu.html

The home page to the United States Department of Education can be linked to at:

United States Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/

National School Boards Association

The National School Boards Association represents the interest of local school boards from across the country. As lobbying group, it tries to influence national educational policy by representing school board perspectives before federal government agencies and with other national organizations that affect education. It also provides important information and services to Federation Members and school boards throughout the country. To learn more about the National School Boards Associaition, visit their web site at:

National School Boards Association
http://www.nsba.org/
 

School System Web Sites

Nearly every major school system in the country has a web site. Visiting the web site for your local district can provide you with invaluable information of all sorts. You may also like to look at other school districts from across the country. Listed below are addresses for the five largest school districts in the United States.

New York City Public Schools
http://www.nycenet.edu/

Los Angeles Public Schools
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/

Chicago Public Schools
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/

Miami-Dade County Public Schools
http://dcps.dade.k12.fl.us/

Broward County Public Schools
http://www.browardschools.com/main.htm
 

The Parent Teachers Association

The National Parent Teachers Association was founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers. It is the oldest and largest volunteer association in America concerned with education and the needs of children. Throughout its history, the PTA has consistently been concerned with the improvement of local schools and the welfare and health of children. Itserves an important role in local and national politics, while promoting projects that encourage parents to actively participate in their children's education.

You can visit the National Parent Teachers Association online at:

National Parent Teachers Association
http://www.pta.org/index.stm
 

NetQuest #7
Finding Schools Online

Yahoo provides a search engine that will link you to thousands of school webs sites in the United States, as well as around the world. Choose a school that is of interest to you (one you went to or one you might like to teach in) and see if it has a web site.

Yahoo School Directory
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/K_12/Schools/