Group: _______________________

Intro: Educational Financing Project Day 1

Educational Funding is a commonly raised political issue. You hear about it all the time on the news,
especially recently with Detroit Public Schools. Detroit Public Schools faces such a large deficit, such
that without some major changes, they will not be able to function come April. However, Detroit
Public Schools is a drop of water in a large bucket when it comes to educational financing issues in the
U.S.

1) How do you think school districts receive their funding?

2) What would we need to know to figure out whether there are disparities in school
funding in Southfield?

Please discuss the following question with your group. Reporters, be prepared to share your
groups thoughts!

3) “Studies show that there is a strong relationship between poverty and academic
achievement.” What do you think this statement means?

4) You will find data centered around funding of some Michigan schools per pupil from
2005-2014 and their makeup on the attached data sheet. You will
a. Create 1 of the 4 models of the data comparing the amount of money spent per
pupil over time in predominately black schools versus white. You and your group
will be assigned what model you are in charge of. There is a sample made with
sample data on your data sheet.
i. Model 1: Comparing in the timeframe of 2005-2008
ii. Model 2: Comparing in the timeframe of 2008-2012
iii. Model 3: Comparing in the timeframe of 2012-2015
iv. Model 4: Comparing the funding of one district (of your choice) from
2005-2015
Group: _______________________

Once you have created your models answer the following questions INDIVIDUALLY. Once you are all
finished, come together as a group and discuss them.

5) What is the domain of your graphs?

6) What is the range of your graphs?

7) Why were these values chosen to be the domain and range in this case?

8) Describe the trend shown in each graph in terms of your variables and write one
conclusion that could be made from this data.

9) Describe what the end behavior of the graph suggests will happen if the trend continues.
Does this make sense? Why or why not?

10) Are there any relative extrema? If so, identify them and explain what they mean related
to school context.

You are asked by the Department of Education (DOE) to come up with a plan to find a way to alleviate
predominately white schools in better off areas from receiving more funding due to property taxes,
than predominately black schools where the property taxes are lower. You must support your proposal
with a prediction table and graph that will demonstrate the results of your plan. A set of possible
resolutions to the problem is provided to you on your tables. You will choose one of the 5 different
alternatives for equalizing funding across all schools. A rubric is attached to this sheet to let you know
how you will be evaluated

11) Reason for making proposal (explain what this means to your group/why it is important):

12) Proposal (Write out a short description of what you are proposing):

13) Potential Problems with proposal:

14) Prediction data and graph (make sure these are neat and ready to be displayed on your
proposal board).
Group: _______________________

Proposal
A strong proposal will provide:
1) Rationale for why there needs to be a change, using data to support it.
2) A well laid out proposal, explaining a strong action plan to remedy the current problems.
3) Data and a model demonstrating the predicted per pupil funding with your proposal.

10 7 5 0 Total
Proposal There is well Proposal Rationale is No rationale for
Rationale laid out rationale provides provided but is the proposal is
for the proposal, rationale but is weak and does provided.
using data to lacking in not use data to
support it. reasoning/ data. support it.
Data/ Model There is There is There is No data or
reasonable, well reasonable predicated data model for
labeled predicted data but the model predicted
predicted data accompanied and data do not funding per
accompanied with a model for correspond. pupil provided.
with a model for the proposal but
the proposal. data is not well
labeled/ easy to
read.
Proposal Proposal Proposal Proposal Proposal does
(x2) addresses addresses some addresses not address
common common common issues and does
funding issues funding issues funding issues to not have a
and proposes a and a semi- a short extent clearly laid out
strong plan to strong plan to but is lacking in plan of action.
remedy the remedy the details on how
current issues. current issues. to remedy the
problem.

Proposal Score: /40

Group: _______________________

Collaboration
10 7 5 0 Total
Group Contract Contract Contract No group
Contract addresses all of addresses 3 or 4 addresses 1 or 2 contract
Creation the following: of the of the submitted.
roles, following: roles, following: roles,
responsibility, responsibility, responsibility,
consequences, consequences, consequences,
hiring/firing, hiring/firing, hiring/firing,
and attendance. and attendance. and attendance.
Group All members One member Two members Three of more
Contract follow the does not follow do not follow members of the
Adherence established established the rules or one group do not
rules. rules. member follow the rules.
repeatedly does
not follow the
rules without
consequence.
Group Roles All members One member Two members Three of more
followed their did not follow did not follow members of the
roles and helped their role in the their role and group do not
each other when group. repeatedly did follow their role.
necessary not follow their
role without
consequence.
Group All members All but one of Members did Members did not
Collaboration worked well, the members not communicate,
(x 2) discussed worked well, communicate work together
challenges and discussed challenges and nor did they
worked to challenges and completed work work well
complete them. worked to individually. individually.
complete them.
Collaboration Score: /50

Presentation
10 7 5 0 Total
Group: _______________________

Mathematical The group The group The group No key features

Language backs up their discusses some discusses 1 key are addressed.
proposal by key features of feature but does
discussing key the predicted not make a
features of the data/ model but connection
predicted data/ does not back to the
model. For address some proposal.
instance, major features.
discussing
trends, extrema,
key features,
etc.
Professionalism All students are Students are Students are Students are not
prepared and somewhat clearly not prepared, flow is
present their prepared but prepared and lacking and 1
proposal with there is a clear the flow is group member
poise. Everyone break in flow in lacking. 2 runs the entire
in the group the information. group members presentation.
contributes. 1 group do not
member does contribute
not contribute.
Presentation Score: /20

Proposal

Collaboration

Presentation

Total

Reflection Questions

1) What are your thoughts about this project?

Group: _______________________

2) What are the most important math skills you learned?

3) What math concepts that were covered in this project do you still find difficult?

4) Was this project interesting and relevant to you? If so, explain why.

5) Do you feel better informed about educational financing as a result of this project?

6) Name one major thing you took away from this project.

I originally implemented this project during my student teaching (2015-2016) at Southfield

Lathrup High School, in Southfield, Michigan. Southfield Lathrup is no longer around as the district
merged their two high schools due to budget and enrollment issues. Southfield Lathrup had grades 9-12. I
Group: _______________________

implemented this lesson with my 11th grade Algebra II/ Trigonometry students. This year, during my first
year of teaching in Boston Public Schools, I adapted this project to be centered around incarceration rates,
by race, due to drug charges. I used this project as an introduction to key features in polynomials and
making connections across representations (graph, table, situation, etc.) in both classes. However, this
year, I implemented the project with my 12th grade Precalculus students in a 9-12 inclusion setting. This
project connects to multiple facets I included in my initial stance and video assignment of quality
teaching. It connects to the following qualities: creating a supportive, inclusive environment which values
diversity, collaboration within the classroom, making math meaningful, real-life connections, and
reflection.

This project goes hand in hand with creating a supportive environment in which students are able
to reflect on their lives, sharing their thinking in a comfortable setting, and using math to make sense of
the world. McBee (2007) emphasizes the value in “having a caring adult in students’ lives who takes the
time to get to know them, show an interest in their circumstances, just listen to them and their concerns,
and communicate high expectations for them is one factor consistently reported in the literature on
resilience” (p. 34). As stated in my initial stance, part of my goal as a math teacher is to empower students
to recognize the power of knowledge and how it can affect their everyday lives. The inspiration for this
project came from the fact that I was teaching 11 th graders who would be directly affected by the merging
of high schools. They did not get the opportunity to graduate from the high school they started at and had
conflicting reasons, in their own minds as to why the school was closing. Prior to the project, I heard
comments such as: “Our test scores aren’t high enough”, “we have too many fights”, etc. It broke my
heart to watch students blame themselves for the school closing, hence, the idea for the project was born.

This project also hits on the important idea of reflection, applying logic to situations, and drawing
from experience as stated by Dewey (1933). Dewey expressed that “A genuine enthusiasm is an attitude
that operates as an intellectual force” (p. 226), when speaking about the importance of attitudes and
skilled method when engaging in critical thinking. Providing students with concrete data, articles, and a
space to talk about a specific event affecting all of them not only connects to caring as stated above, but
also connects to the idea that students will be more invested and have the “readiness” (p. 227) Dewey
speaks about to learn and engage in thinking.

The rubric of this project provided students with a clear outline of the mathematical,
collaborative, and presentation expectations. Fenstermacher and Richardson (2005) states that “successful
teaching is understood exclusively in the achievement sense” (p. 189) meaning students must have a clear
understanding of what is expected from them and what they are trying to achieve. The rubric makes this
clear for students as it outlines the key mathematical goals and “high expectations” (McBee, 2007, p. 34).
These high expectations required students to analyze a situation, and choose from a series of real
proposals on how to react. It did not give students one clear solution path, but rather left them to make
decisions on their own and engage in careful thought and analyzation. Dewey states that there is a
‘primitive credulity,’ a natural tendency to believe anything that is suggested unless there is overpowering
evidence to the contrary” (218). Through this project, students were forced to think more deeply about,
and investigate further, to challenge their ideas on the subject, before making judgements. The rubric also
drew on the high leverage practice of “implementing norms and routines for classroom discourse and
work” (Teaching Works, 2015) through the development of a group contract prior to implementation, as
well as a clear collaboration rubric students were evaluated with.
Group: _______________________

Focus Question
1) How might I better adapt this project for students who may learn differently (i.e. with technology,
explicit examples, etc.) as stated in my initial stance? (Teaching Works, #4)

References

Dewey (1993). Why Reflective Thinking Must be an Educational Aim. How We Think: A Restatement of
the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Education Process. 212-228

Fenstermacher, G., & Richardson, V. (2005). On making determinations of quality in teaching. The
Teachers College Record, 107(1), 186–213.

McBee, R. H. (2007). What it means to care: How educators conceptualize and actualize caring. Action in
Teacher Education, 29(3), 33–42.

Teaching Works. (2015). High-leverage practices. Retrieved from http://www.teachingworks.org/work-of-

teaching/high-leverage-practices