Module 4 Interaction Project

John Doe POS 111

Interaction Project

Interaction Project

John Doe

POS 111

John Doe

American Government Interaction Project

According to the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), local

school boards originated in the thirteen colonies through town meetings. The purpose of school

boards is the same today as it originally was: “to provide local citizen control over public

education” (CASB). As a junior in Lamar High School, I chose to interact with a governmental

body that directly affects my education, the Lamar School District Re-2 School Board. This

board affects me on a daily basis through making policy for my school, personnel decisions and

funding. I also chose to attend this meeting because the district has been given a bully

prevention grant and some changes have been made across the district, including a weekly

homeroom to discuss topics related to bullying and monthly activities sponsored by the

committees. I was interested to hear the report of the high school committee about all that has

been done and what they have planned. I also felt it was important to see what other types of

things that a school board deals with at the meetings.

I attended the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the school board on February 12,

2018. I was able to access the proposed agenda on the Lamar School District website, which

was posted a few days before the meeting (Lamar School District). The meeting began with a

roll call of board members and approval of the meeting agenda. After correspondence, visitors

were given the opportunity to speak to the board. This allowed anyone who was not on the

agenda to speak with the board. Although there was nobody who spoke at this meeting in this

meeting, it is a good opportunity for individuals to voice concerns or comments to the board.

The next part of the meeting involved reports by different groups. The first person to

present information to the board was the head of the food service for the district. They are

beginning a new program to feed meals to district students in the after school program at the

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Hope Center. The Hope Center provides after school and alternative education programs for the

district. The school district has been providing a snack for the participants, but funding is

available for providing the students dinner and meals on Fridays.

The next report was by students and teachers/coaches of the Lamar High School Bullying

Prevention Committee. The Lamar School District received a Bully Prevention grant through the

Colorado Department of Education (CDE). As part of the grant, each school is required to

implement bullying prevention curriculum and have a committee made up of students and staff

to plan activities. The committees are required to have a kick-off activity as well as other

activities from the student voice. Members of the committee reported about the kick-off week

activities which included a BBQ during the school day and a dodgeball tournament during the

evening. They stated that many teachers had doubts having a dodgeball tournament as part of a

bully prevention program. They divided students into teams randomly so that they did not form

their own teams with friends. There was excellent participation and it was a successful event.

The BBQ was held on the front grass at the high school and all students had lunch together and

were fed hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and cookies. The lunch was prepared by school board

members, Rotary Club members, Zonta Club members and volunteer parents. Other successful

projects that the Bullying Prevention Committee has recently done include having the

homerooms make valentine cards to distribute to local nursing homes, the hospital and

businesses. The members of the committee invited other students to help deliver the cards

around town on the Friday before this school board meeting. The cards from the students were

well received in the community.

Another group that presented at the board meeting was the Lamar High School DECA

students who attended a conference in New York. This was the first time the LHS DECA

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program was able to attend this conference, which was approved by the school board in a

previous meeting. The students discussed the fundraising activities that they did to raise the

money to attend the conference, including a golf tournament. The students also showed a Power

Point presentation of the places they were able to go and the sessions they attended. Each

student took turns discussing a different slide.

The next part of the meeting involved the board completing the yearly evaluation for the

superintendent. Because this was done in an executive session, the audience was required to

leave the board room.

Under new business, there were several field trip requests approved, personnel matters,

and grant information. When students will travel overnight or over 200 miles round trip, the

school board policy states that school board approval is required prior to the trip

(https://sites.google.com/lamarschools.org/district/district/policies/section-j?authuser=0).

Among the field trips that were approved were middle school Gifted and Talented students to

Legislative Day in Denver, Lincoln Alternative School students to a conference in Eads, the high

school DECA students to the state conference, and the high school knowledge bowl team to the

state meet in Fort Collins. When individuals are selected for employment, the recommendations

must be approved by the school board. The board also reviews individuals retiring and

resigning. Contracts that were approved during this meeting included the superintendent and the

transfer of the high school vice principal to the principal position.

When I chose to go to the school board meeting, I was not sure what to expect with parts

of the agenda. The agenda was posted online a few days prior to the meeting, so I knew what

would be covered, but I did not know what kind of discussion they would have about each item.

I have attended two school board meetings prior to this one. I attended part of one as an

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elementary student to observe for a project. The second school board meeting that I attended

was when I was in eighth grade. I had attended Colorado Close-Up with three other gifted and

talented students. As mentioned before, student trips that are overnight trips must have prior

approval by the school board. Because they approved the trip and the funding, we gave a report

about the experience. When I went to the first two meetings, I was not required to stay for the

whole meeting so I had not seen what goes on throughout the entire meeting. When the board

went into executive session to discuss the superintendent’s evaluation, the only individuals

allowed in the board room were the board members and the superintendent. Prior to attending

this meeting, I did not realize that the audience would have to leave the room while the board

was in executive session.

What I did expect was that the board would go through the agenda items, discuss them,

and make a decision about what to do. In fact, most of the meeting went according to how I had

thought it would. Each agenda item was discussed and voted on.

As mentioned, I have attended school board meetings two times prior to this meeting. I

have also attended a Lamar City Council meeting once as part of a school project. The city

council meeting was similar to the school board meeting in that they had an agenda to follow and

had items to discuss and make decisions about. The main difference between the two entities is

what they govern. The school board makes decisions about the schools, personnel, facilities,

curriculum, and many other things related to the running of a school district. The city council

deals with things from the city light and power plant, to the running of the swimming pool, to

street maintenance, and many other items dealing with the municipal government.

I had a positive experience interacting with my school board. They were very welcoming

to members of the audience but were also serious about the job they were there to do. Because I

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live in a small town, the members of the school board are my neighbors. I see many of them

around town and at school functions. The school board members volunteer their time to be on

this decision-making body and are there to do a job that they have chosen to take on. I found it

to be very informative and I have a better understanding of the role our school board plays in the

school district. If the opportunity or the need arises for me to

This interaction experience ties into the course in several ways. The school board is a

government entity that operates on the local level, making decisions for all aspects of the school

district. School board members are volunteers and are elected by the voters in the district. “An

important foundation to the American system of government is our participatory political culture

in which the people are afforded many different opportunities to participate in their government”

(https://ccco.desire2learn.com/d2l/le/content/201942/viewContent/20671878/View). Running

for, and serving on the school board is an important way that individuals can get involved on the

local level. Attending and voicing an opinion on issues by contacting the members of the board

are also very important ways citizens can get involved without running for the board. According

to the 2008 American National Election Study, fifty-five percent of the individuals surveyed had

attended a city council or a school board meeting. Of those who believe that they have a say in

the government, sixty-nine percent have attended city council or school board meetings

(Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, page 215).

An important part of interacting with the government involves being informed of the

issues and voting for the elected officials who represent us. However, participation rates vary

depending on the election. During the 2012 presidential election fifty-nine percent of the adult

population vote, whereas local level elections draw a lot fewer voters, often under ten percent of

eligible voters (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, page 216).

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What I have learned about the democracy from this interaction is that it takes

participation by individuals at all levels of government to make democracy work. If we do not

have people willing to serve in the elected positions, the democratic process does not work.

People have many different reasons why they run for office. Some individuals want to give back

to the school district, some want to make a difference with children, and some have something

they would like to see changed, among other reasons. When I looked into the backgrounds of

the members of the school board, two are retired teachers and two have spouses who worked for

the district so they have an idea of the workings of the district. Four members have their own

businesses which is an advantage with the financial responsibilities of the board.

Another conclusion that I made about democracy because of this interaction is that we as

citizens also need to do our part and participate. I was disappointed to see the low average of

voter turnout for local elections, which are elections that can come down to a few votes. We also

should use the opportunity to contact our representatives if we have thoughts on issues or

concerns. As I reach the age of voting, I am encouraged to participate in the democratic process.

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References

CDE. (n.d.). School Bullying Prevention and Education Grant Program. Retrieved February 25,

2018, from https://www.cde.state.co.us/mtss/bullying/bpeg

CASB. (n.d.). Colorado Association of School Boards. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://www.casb.org/domain/54

Edwards III, G.C., Wattenberg, M.P., & R.L. Lineberry, (2014). Government in America:

People, politics, and policy (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Lamar School District Re 2 Board of Education. (2018, February 12). Board of Education

Regular Session. Retrieved from

https://sites.google.com/lamarschools.org/district/district/board-minutes-agendas