Mott Hall II

Policy

Consultants

A Webquest Written by

Dean De Los Santos

Introduction

You have seen the paper on the floor. You’ve smelled the bathrooms, noticed the bags outside of lockers. You’ve heard noise as classes are changing, noticed students out of dress code. You’ve seen kids using wrong stairwells and witness accidents in the playground. It’s time to do something about it. You are Policy Consultants to Dean De Los Santos. As Policy Consultants, you will research and analyze the problem of students not following the Habits of Mott Hall II and you will help create a new policy to help our school become a better place to attend.

Task

A policy is an action intended to deal with a problem. As Policy Consultants, you will work together to research and create policies to alleviate the problem of students not following the Habits of MHII students. You will present your findings and policy suggestions in a PowerPoint presentation to Dean De Los Santos.

Process

Using the Public Policy Analyst Method, you will:

1. Gather evidence from surveys and interview members of the MHII community, including students, teachers, and administrators.

2. Identify the causes of the problem

3. Use the MHII Handbook to evaluate the current school policies regarding proper conduct.

4. Develop Possible Solutions

5. Decide on those solutions that would be both feasible and effective.

6. You will compile all of the information gathered, both formal and informal and present it in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.

7. Implement your solutions!!!

Resources

 For background, you will visit the following websites.

Public Policy ANALYST

https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppac/ppae3.html

Strategies to USE as POLICY ANALYSTS

The Prince System * Political Strategies * How to Describe the Your Policy

NYC Dep. Of Education Discipline Code

http://www.nycenet.edu/parents/PDFs/DisciplineCode.pdf

STUDENT DRESS CODES:

Constitutional Requirements and Policy Suggestions

http://www.modrall.com/articles/article_13.html

School Safety Patrol

http://www.saferoads.com/safety/community_schoolsafety.html

School Discipline

http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest078.html

Evaluation

This rubric may be used for self-assessment and peer feedback. How prepared you are to present to Ms. De Los Santos and Ms. Moss, our principal will be based upon the following evaluation scale:

A - Exemplary: 45-50 points
B - Proficient: 40-44 points
C - Partially Proficient Incomplete: less than 39 points Needs to be resubmitted

PowerPoint Rubric

ACTIVITY	Exemplary	Proficient	Partially Proficient	Incomplete	POINTS
Research	6 points Notes indicate group members accurately researched varied information sources, recorded and interpreted statements, graphics and questions and evaluated alternative points of view.	4 points Notes show group members recorded relevant information from multiple sources of information, evaluated and synthesized relevant information.	2 points Notes show group members misinterpreted statements, graphics and questions and failed to identify relevant arguments.	0 points Notes show group members recorded information from four or less resources, and ignored alternative points of view.
Introduction	3 points The introduction presents the overall topic and draws the audience into the presentation with compelling questions or by relating to the audience's interests or goals.	2 points The introduction is clear and coherent and relates to the topic.	1 point The introduction shows some structure but does not create a strong sense of what is to follow. May be overly detailed or incomplete and is somewhat appealing to the audience.	0 points The introduction does not orient the audience to what will follow. The sequencing is unclear and does not appear interesting or relevant to the audience.
Content	8 points The content is written clearly and concisely with a logical progression of ideas and supporting information. The project includes motivating questions and advanced organizers that provide the audience with sense of the project’s main idea. Information is accurate, current and comes mainly from * primary sources.	6 points The content is written with a logical progression of ideas and supporting information. Includes persuasive information from *primary sources.	4 points The content is vague in conveying a point of view and does not create a strong sense of purpose. Includes some persuasive information with few facts. Some of the information may not seem to fit. *Primary source use is not always clear.	0 points The content lacks a clear point of view and logical sequence of information. Includes little persuasive information and only one or two facts about the topic. Information is incomplete, out of date and/or incorrect. Sequencing of ideas is unclear.
Text Elements	3 points The fonts are easy-to-read and point size varies appropriately for headings and text. Use of italics, bold, and indentations enhances readability. Text is appropriate in length for the target audience and to the point. The background and colors enhance the readability of text.	2 points Sometimes the fonts are  easy-to-read, but in a few places the use of fonts, italics, bold, long paragraphs, color or busy background detracts and does not enhance readability.	1 point Overall readability is difficult with lengthy paragraphs, too many different fonts, dark or busy background, overuse of bold or lack of appropriate indentations of text.	0 points The text is extremely difficult to read with long blocks of  text and small point size of fonts, inappropriate contrasting colors, poor use of headings, subheadings, indentations, or bold formatting.
Layout	3 points The layout is aesthetically pleasing and contributes to the overall message with appropriate use of headings and subheadings and white space.	2 points The layout uses horizontal and vertical white  space appropriately.	1 point The layout shows some structure, but appears cluttered and busy or distracting with large gaps of white space or uses a distracting background.	0 points The layout is cluttered, confusing, and does not  use spacing, headings and subheadings to enhance the readability.
Citations	6 points Sources of information are properly cited so that the audience can determine the credibility and authority of the information presented. All sources of information are clearly identified and credited using MLA citations throughout the project.	4 points Most sources of information use proper MLA citation, and sources are documented  to make it possible to check on the accuracy of information.	2 points Sometimes copyright guidelines are followed and some information, photos and graphics do not use proper MLA citations.	0 points No way to check validity of information.
Graphics, Sound and/or Animation	3 points The graphics, sound and/or animation assist in presenting an overall theme and make visual connections that enhance understanding of concept, ideas and relationships. Original images are created using proper size and resolution, and all images enhance the content. There is a consistent visual theme.	2 points The graphics, sound/and or animation visually depict material and assist the audience in understanding the flow of information or content. Original images are used. Images are proper size, resolution.	1 point Some of the graphics, sounds, and/or animations seem unrelated to the topic/theme and do not enhance the overall concepts. Most images are clipart or recycled from the WWW. Images are too large/small in size. Images are poorly cropped or the color/resolution is fuzzy.	0 points The graphics, sounds, and/or animations are unrelated to the content. Graphics do not enhance understanding of the content, or are distracting decorations that create a busy feeling and detract from the content.
Writing Mechanics	6 points The text is written with no errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.	4 points The text is clearly written with little or no editing required for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.	2 points Spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors distract or impair readability. (3 or more errors)	0 points Errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, usage and grammar repeatedly distract the reader and major editing and revision is required. (more than 5 errors)
Teamwork	6 points The group documents how members brainstormed, discussed, assumed roles and solved problems. Provides evidence that group members helped one another, shared ideas, developed and evaluated their finished product(s). The project is clearly a group effort.	4 points The group documents how members divided tasks, shared the workload and managed problems in a way that advanced the group goal.	2 points The group occasionally helped one another but required teacher assistance to resolve differences. One person documents that he/she did most of the work and/or problems were not managed in a way that advanced the group goal.	0 points The group required teacher assistance with dividing tasks and resolving differences. Few people contributed their fair share of work.
TOTAL POINTS					/50

* Primary sources can include original letters and diaries, personal observations, interviews, first-hand accounts, newspaper articles, magazine articles, journal articles, Web pages, audio recordings, video productions and photography.

Standards

This web quest focuses on the following English Language Arts Standards:

E1c Reads and comprehends information materials.

E3a Participate in one-to-one conference with the teacher.

E3b Participate in group meetings.

E4b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

This web quest focuses on the following New York State Standards:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction.

Conclusion

Many are called, but the chosen are few. As MHII Policy Consultants, you have taken on a great responsibility. Your well thought out policies will give students a voice and help our beloved Mott Hall II. You will leave a mark on our school for years to come!