Lancaster County School District: Fill & Download for Free

I’m a retired teacher who taught in some challenging city schools. I understand the frustrations and many complex layers involved in teaching. Concerning pay based on student test scores, the answer is not simple. Here’s a humorous look at the issue:Absolutely the Best Dentist - BY JOHN S. TAYLORThis originally appeared on the Web site, American Association of School Administrators. The original link is no longer active but it was a guest column that appeared in June 2000. John Taylor is superintendent of the Lancaster County School District, P.O. Box 130, Lancaster, S.C. 29721. E-mail: [email protected] dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me. And, at 52, I've still got all my teeth.When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the state’s new initiative to help him succeed in his work. I knew he'd think it was great."Did you hear about the new state program to measure the effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said."No," he responded. "How will they do that?""It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14 and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average and Unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. It will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said. "Poor dentists who don’t improve could lose their licenses to practice in South Carolina.""That's terrible," he said."That's not a good attitude," I told him. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?""Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry.""Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me.""Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don’t all work with the same clientele? So much depends on things we can’t control."For example," he went on, "I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper-middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don’t bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem and I don't get to do much preventive work."Also, many of the parents I serve have allowed their kids to consume way too much candy and soda from an early age, unlike more-educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay."To top it all off," he continued, "so many of my clients have well water that is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"On the Defensive"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. I couldn't believe my dentist would be so defensive. He does a great job."I am not!" he protested. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most.""Don't get touchy," I said."Touchy?" he said. His face had turned the color of a beet. From the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth."Try furious," he raged. "In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average or worse. My more-educated patients who see these ratings may believe this so-called state rating actually is a measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I’ll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?""I think you are overreacting," I said, turning to some printed material about the new statewide accountability program. "'Complaining, excuse making and stonewalling won't improve dental health.' That was straight from a leading member of the DOC.""What's the DOC?" my dentist asked."It's the Dental Oversight Committee, a group made up mostly of laypersons to ensure dentistry in this state gets improved," I explained."Spare me," he said. "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won’t buy it," he said with hope.Help at HandThe program still sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?""Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes.""That's too complicated and time consuming," I said. "Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure.""That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said."Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you.""How?" he asked."If you're rated poorly, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly."You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? Big help.""There you go again." I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all.""You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score on a test of children’s progress without regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."Legislative RescueI just shook my head sadly, but he had started to brighten. "I'm going to write my representatives and senator," he said. "I'll use the school analogy--surely they will see the point."He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger--the same sort of look I’ve seen in the mirror a lot lately.John Taylor is superintendent of the Lancaster County School District, P.O. Box 130, Lancaster, S.C. 29721. E-mail: [email protected]

Here are the school districts in Los Angeles. I hope this helps.Primary and secondary[edit]ABC Unified School DistrictActon-Agua Dulce Unified School DistrictAlhambra Unified School DistrictAntelope Valley Union High School DistrictArcadia Unified School DistrictAzusa Unified School DistrictBaldwin Park Unified School DistrictBassett Unified School DistrictBellflower Unified School DistrictBeverly Hills Unified School DistrictBonita Unified School DistrictBurbank Unified School DistrictCalabasas school district, see Las Virgenes Unified School DistrictCastaic Union School DistrictCentinela Valley Union High School DistrictCharter Oak Unified School DistrictClaremont Unified School DistrictCompton Unified School DistrictCovina-Valley Unified School DistrictCulver City Unified School DistrictDowney Unified School DistrictDuarte Unified School DistrictEast Whittier City School DistrictEastside Union School DistrictEl Monte City School DistrictEl Monte Union High School DistrictEl Rancho Unified School DistrictEl Segundo Unified School DistrictGarvey School DistrictGlendale Unified School DistrictGlendora Unified School DistrictGorman Joint School DistrictHacienda La Puente Unified School DistrictHawthorne School DistrictHermosa Beach City School DistrictInglewood Unified School DistrictKeppel Union School DistrictLa Cañada Unified School DistrictLancaster School DistrictLas Virgenes Unified School DistrictLawndale Elementary School DistrictLennox School DistrictLittle Lake City School DistrictLong Beach Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Nietos School DistrictLowell Joint School DistrictLynwood Unified School DistrictManhattan Beach Unified School DistrictMonrovia Unified School DistrictMontebello Unified School DistrictMountain View School District (Los Angeles County)Newhall School DistrictNorwalk La Mirada Unified School DistrictPalmdale School DistrictPalos Verdes Area Unified School DistrictPalos Verdes Peninsula Unified School DistrictParamount Unified School DistrictPasadena Unified School DistrictPomona Unified School DistrictRedondo Beach Unified School DistrictRosemead School DistrictRowland Unified School DistrictSan Gabriel Unified School DistrictSan Marino Unified School DistrictSanta Monica-Malibu Unified School DistrictSaugus Union School DistrictSouth Pasadena Unified School DistrictSouth Whittier School DistrictSulphur Springs School DistrictTemple City Unified School DistrictTorrance Unified School DistrictValle Lindo Elementary School DistrictWalnut Valley Unified School DistrictWest Covina Unified School DistrictWestside Union School DistrictWhittier City School DistrictWhittier Union High School DistrictWilliam S. Hart Union High School DistrictWiseburn School DistrictPost-secondary[edit]Los Angeles Community College DistrictLong Beach Community College DistrictCerritos Community College DistrictEl Camino Community College DistrictRio Hondo Community College DistrictMt. San Antonio Community College DistrictCitrus Community College DistrictAntelope Valley Community College DistrictPasadena Area Community College DistrictGlendale Community College DistrictSanta Monica Community College DistrictSanta Clarita Community College DistrictCompton Community College DistrictExternal links[edit]Los Angeles portalSchools portalLos Angeles County Office of EducationLos Angeles County Office of Education - School Districts

It's a judgment call. There are various things that affect the decision about what leads the news, but here are some questions that go into the thought process:How many people (especially if they're my readers, viewers or listeners) will be affected by this and how much will it affect them?How close is this to me? (That's critical for a small-town newspaper that covers local news, but completely irrelevant for a global publication like The Economist.)Do I expect readers will find it interesting even if it's not very important?Is it something that I find interesting?I publish a small-town newspaper. My coverage area is five municipalities that are in one school district at the western end of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Usually, anything the school board does will be more important to me than something a municipal government does. That's because the school board's actions affect nearly all of my readers, whereas a municipal government's action affects mostly the people who live in that municipality.Since I'm the editor, publisher and owner of the newspaper, I decide what's worthwhile to report on. At larger newspapers, you would have a city editor, a world and nation editor, a business editor, a sports editor, etc., all making decisions on what deserves to be covered.