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EDC 102H Context Reports F09

Investigating Rhode Island Schools - 2009

Assignment
For the past few weeks, we have been reading Jonathan Kozol's description of several public school
systems across the country. Given the conditions we have read about elsewhere, it is natural to ask about
the conditions inside schools here in Rhode Island. For this assignment, we will investigate local schools,
their districts, and their surrounding community to try to understand the conditions in public schools
closer to home. We will base our conclusions on facts that we can gather from various sources. To
understand what might be happening "behind the scenes" within a school or district, we will need to
formulate questions and seek out evidence that helps answer those questions. To be successful, you must
examine relevant social, political, and institutional factors, understand how these factors relate and decide
they interact to influence the nature of education in our schools. In the spirit of Kozol's work, our guiding
question for our investigative work will be:

To what degree do schools in Rhode Island provide equitable opportunities for their students?

The assignment is described in more detail here: Context Report Assignment

Useful Resources
We have been writing papers about school systems, aka "Context Reports," here on URITK for two years
before this year. Here are some suggested courses, questions and previous reports that you may use to
help in your research.

On the Web
These websites feature data collected about the area's communities, districts, and schools:

Information That Works

Kids Count
US Census Data

District Maps
Using Google Earth, I put together some maps showing the school district and the zip codes located in the
region.

Cranston
Pawtucket

Questions and Resources Located by Students in Previous Classes

In previous years, we worked together to brainstorm questions and assemble resources for each section of
the context report.

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EDC 102H Context Reports F09

Questions we should answer about our community.

Questions we should answer about our district.
Questions we should answer about our school.

Context Reports from Previous Years

The context reports from 2007 and 2008 are still here. Please use them as references!

2007 Context Reports

2008 Context Reports

Step 1: Research School Districts and Their Communities

Pawtucket Schools
Community Data - 02860
Community Data - 02861
District Data - Pawtucket - Assessment
District Data - Pawtucket - Accountability
District Data - Pawtucket - Sources of Funding
District Data - Pawtucket - Expenditures
District Data - Pawtucket - Demographics
District Data - Pawtucket - Performance
Cranston Public Schools
Community Data - 02910
Community Data - 02905
Community Data - 02907
Community Data - 02921
Community Data - 02920
District Data - Cranston - Assessment
District Data - Cranston - Accountability
District Data - Cranston - Sources of Funding
District Data - Cranston - Expenditures
District Data - Cranston - Demographics
District Data - Cranston - Performance
Scituate Public Schools
Community Data - 02857
District Data - Scituate - Assessment
District Data - Scituate - Accountability
District Data - Scituate - Sources of Funding
District Data - Scituate - Expenditures
District Data - Scituate - Demographics
District Data - Scituate - Performance

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EDC 102H Context Reports F09

Step 2: Draft Shared Portions of the Context Report: District and

Community Descriptions

Community Description of Cranston

Community Description of Pawtucket
Community Description of Scituate
District Description of Cranston
District Description of Pawtucket
District Description of Scituate

Step 3: Research Schools

F09 School Research - Iain

F09 School Research - Briana
F09 School Research - Chris
F09 School Research - Makayla
F09 School Research - Cara
F09 School Research - Shaina
F09 School Research - Virginia
F09 School Research - Emma
F09 School Research - Hannah
F09 School Research - Samantha
F09 School Research - LaurenM
F09 School Research - LaurenT
F09 School Research - Kristin
F09 School Research - Shasha
F09 School Research - Allie
F09 School Research - Jaime

Step 4: Draft School Descriptions

F09 School Description - Iain

F09 School Description - Briana
F09 School Description - Chris
F09 School Description - Makayla
F09 School Description - Cara
F09 School Description - Shaina
F09 School Description - Virginia
F09 School Description - Emma

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EDC 102H Context Reports F09

F09 School Description - Hannah

F09 School Description - Samantha
F09 School Description - LaurenM
F09 School Description - LaurenT
F09 School Description - Kristin
F09 School Description - Shasha
F09 School Description - Allie
F09 School Description - Jaime

Step 5: Prepare Context Reports for Publishing

You are required to include citations in APA format for the information that you decide to include in your
report. You should use Zotero to collect and post all citations!

Step 6: Use our Context Report to Answer the Question: Are RI Schools
Equitable?

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