Reaganomics and its effects on pricing and participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County public high schools

Problem: This research proposes to examine the effects of Reaganomics on pricing and participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. Subproblems: The first subproblem is to examine the effects of Reaganomics on pricing in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. The second subproblem is to examine the effects of Reaganomics on participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. Hypotheses: The first hypothesis is that Reaganomics has resulted in price increases to the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. The second hypothesis is that Reaganomics has decreased the percentage of the regular paying sector participating in the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools.

The effect of dual -language instruction on academic achievement as measured by the SAT: An evaluation of the "International Studies Program" of Miami -Dade County Public Schools

This study investigated the influence that receiving instruction in two languages, English and Spanish, had on the performance of students enrolled in the International Studies Program (delayed partial immersion model) of Miami Dade County Public Schools on a standardized test in English, the Stanford Achievement Test, eighth edition, for three of its sections, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Computations, and Mathematics Applications.^ The performance of the selected IS program/Spanish section cohort of students (N = 55) on the SAT Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Computation, and Mathematics Application along four consecutive years was contrasted with that of a control group of comparable students selected within the same feeder pattern where the IS program is implemented (N = 21). The performance of the group was also compared to the cross-sectional achievement patterns of the school's corresponding feeder pattern, region, and district.^ The research model for the study was a variation of the "causal-comparative" or "ex post facto design" sometimes referred to as "prospective". After data were collected from MDCPS, t-tests were performed to compare IS-Spanish students SAT performance for grades 3 to 6 for years 1994 to 1997 to control group, feeder pattern, region and district norms for each year for Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Computation, and Mathematics Applications. Repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's tests were calculated to compare the mean percentiles of the groups under study and the possible interactions of the different variables. All tests were performed at the 5% significance level.^ From the analyses of the tests it was deduced that the IS group performed significantly better than the control group for all the three measures along the four years. The IS group mean percentiles on the three measures were also significantly higher than those of the feeder pattern, region, and district. The null hypotheses were rejected and it was concluded that receiving instruction in two languages did not negatively affect the performance of IS program students on tests taken in English. It was also concluded that the particular design the IS program enhances the general performance of participant students on Standardized tests.^ The quantitative analyses were coupled with interviews from teachers and administrators of the IS program to gain additional insight about different aspects of the implementation of the program at each particular school. ^

Special milk program evaluation and national school lunch program survey /

"FNS-167."

The national school lunch program : a progress report.

"June 1952."

Fixing America's School Lunch Program: Local Issues, National Challenges, and Global Perspectives on Possible Solutions

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has undergone profound changes since its establishment in the 1930s with a primary goal of feeding undernourished school children. Today, the program is under scrutiny for its negative impact on student health and environmental unsustainability. This project investigates the origins of the NSLP, the current status of the program, and opportunities for reform. In view of the program's deficiencies, much can be learned by studying other relevant models for school lunch, such as those used in Italy and France. While recognizing the political realities and budgetary constraints public schools currently confront, the Business Plan applies these lessons in its proposals for rethinking the school lunch program at one Denver public school.

Facts about USDA commodities for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

"FNS-251."

Administrative guidance for verification of national school lunch, breakfast and special milk applications.

"Education is everyone's future."

School segregation and educational performance in a multicultural society: The case of Miami -Dade County, Florida

One of the most important goals of American educational institutions over the past 47 years has been the desegregation of pubic schools. This goal reflected the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools are inherently unequal and deny segregated minority students equal educational opportunities as mandated by the United States Constitution. This study examined the extent, nature, and causes of segregation in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the effects of segregation on the educational performance of minority students. ^ Research questions were analyzed using demographic data from the United States Census Bureau, the Metro-Dade County Planning Department, the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the United States Department of Education, and the Miami Dade County Public Schools. The extent of residential and school segregation in MiamiDade County was measured using the Dissimilarity Index. Historical and sociological literature were analyzed to explain the causes of school segregation, the socioeconomic characteristics of segregated minority students, and the relationship between school segregation and equal educational opportunities. A causal-comparative research method was chosen because it is the most appropriate method to compare the educational performance of minority students in segregated schools with the educational performance of minority students in desegregated schools. ^ The results of this study demonstrates that there is a high degree of residential and school segregation in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Furthermore, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools are characterized by a high degree of socioeconomic segregation. This is significant considering that the socioeconomic status of a student's peers is, after the student's family background, the most influential factor in determining academic performance. Clearly, schools and other social institutions must continue efforts to throughly desegregate the school district and improve minority student academic performance. A racially and economically desegregated school system would constitute an important component in Miami-Dade County's efforts to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. ^

An evaluation of a curriculum response to the State of Florida mandate for computer literacy at a large comprehensive high school in Dade County, Florida

Minimum Student Performance Standards in Computer Literacy and Science were passed by the Florida Legislature through the Educational Reform Act of 1983. This act mandated that all Florida high school graduates receive training in computer literacy. Schools and school systems were charged with the task of determining the best methods to deliver this instruction to their students. The scope of this study is to evaluate one school's response to the state of Florida's computer literacy mandate. The study was conducted at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, located in Dade County, Florida. The administration of Miami Palmetto Senior High School chose to develop and implement a new program to comply with the state mandate - integrating computer literacy into the existing biology curriculum. The study evaluated the curriculum to determine if computer literacy could be integrated successfully and meet both the biology and computer literacy objectives. The findings in this study showed that there were no significant differences between biology scores of the students taking the integrated curriculum and those taking a traditional curriculum of biology. Student in the integrated curriculum not only met the biology objectives as well as those in the traditional curriculum, they also successfully completed the intended objectives for computer literacy. Two sets of objectives were successfully completed in the integrated classes in the same amount of time used to complete one set of objectives in the traditional biology classes. Therefore, integrated curriculum was the more efficient means of meeting the intended objectives of both biology and computer literacy.

Investigation of escape and negative student behaviors related to Florida state high stakes test preparation in Miami-Dade County Public High Schools

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between pressure to perform on state mandated, high-stakes tests and the rate of student escape behavior defined as the number of school suspensions and absences. The state assigned grade of a school was used as a surrogate measure of pressure with the assumption that pressure increased as the school grade decreased. Student attendance and suspension data were gathered from all 33 of the regular public high schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The research questions were: Is the number of suspensions highest in the third quarter, when most FCAT preparation takes place for each of the 3 school years 2007-08 through 2009-10? How accurately does the high school's grade predict the number of suspensions and number of absences during each of the 4 school years 2005-06 through 2008-09? The research questions were answered using repeated measures analysis of variance for research question #1 and non-linear multiple regression for research question #2. No significant difference could be found between the numbers of suspensions in each of the grading periods nor was there a relationship between the number of suspensions and school grade. A statistically significant relationship was found between student attendance and school grade. When plotted, this relationship was found to be quadratic in nature and formed a loose inverted U for each of the four years during which data were collected. This indicated that students in very high and very low performing schools had low levels of absences while those in the midlevel of the distribution of school performance (C schools) had the greatest rates of absence. Identifying a relationship between the pressures associated with high stakes testing and student escape behavior suggests that it might be useful for building administrators to reevaluate test preparation activities and procedures being used in their building and to include anxiety reducing strategies. As a relationship was found, it sets the foundation for future studies to identify whether testing related activities are impacting some students emotionally and are causing unintended consequences of testing mandates.

Investigation of Escape and Negative Student Behaviors Related to Florida State High Stakes Test Preparation in Miami-Dade County Public High Schools, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between pressure to perform on state mandated, high-stakes tests and the rate of student escape behavior defined as the number of school suspensions and absences. The state assigned grade of a school was used as a surrogate measure of pressure with the assumption that pressure increased as the school grade decreased. Student attendance and suspension data were gathered from all 33 of the regular public high schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The research questions were: Is the number of suspensions highest in the third quarter, when most FCAT preparation takes place for each of the 3 school years 2007-08 through 2009-10? How accurately does the high school’s grade predict the number of suspensions and number of absences during each of the 4 school years 2005-06 through 2008-09? The research questions were answered using repeated measures analysis of variance for research question #1 and non-linear multiple regression for research question #2. No significant difference could be found between the numbers of suspensions in each of the grading periods nor was there a relationship between the number of suspensions and school grade. A statistically significant relationship was found between student attendance and school grade. When plotted, this relationship was found to be quadratic in nature and formed a loose inverted U for each of the four years during which data were collected. This indicated that students in very high and very low performing schools had low levels of absences while those in the midlevel of the distribution of school performance (C schools) had the greatest rates of absence. Identifying a relationship between the pressures associated with high stakes testing and student escape behavior suggests that it might be useful for building administrators to reevaluate test preparation activities and procedures being used in their building and to include anxiety reducing strategies. As a relationship was found, it sets the foundation for future studies to identify whether testing related activities are impacting some students emotionally and are causing unintended consequences of testing mandates.

Sexual harassment of Miami-Dade County Public School students by school personnel

The purpose of this research was to assess the type and extent of sexual harassment of Miami-Dade County Public School (M-DCPS) students by school employees. In addition, the school system's existing procedures for handling such harassment were investigated, including students' awareness of and willingness to follow such procedures.^ Over 500 seniors from fourteen high schools around the county completed surveys which asked them to indicate whether or not they had received training on the topic of sexual harassment, whether or not they were aware of their school's policy on sexual harassment, whether or not they would feel comfortable reporting an incident of sexual harassment, whether or not they had experienced various forms of sexual harassment, and if they had been harassed, whether or not they reported the incident to a school official.^ Results indicated that sexual harassment of M-DCPS students by school employees is widespread, and the procedures that are currently in place to deal with this harassment are ineffective. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the sample population indicated that a school employee had sexually harassed them; however, only four percent (4%) reported the incident to a school official. Responses indicated that this discrepancy exists because few students have received any training, few are aware of their schools' policies, and few are comfortable with the existing reporting procedures. ^

Risk factors and associations for hepatitis C infection among Hispanic/Latino intravenous drug users in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Hepatitis C infection (HCV) continues to disproportionately affect Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Hispanic/Latino intravenous drug users (IDUs), because of their risky injection and sexual behaviors, are prone to HCV infection and rapid transmission of the virus to others via several routes. With a prevalence rate of approximately 75% among IDUs, it is imperative that transmission of HCV be prevented in this population. This study aims to examine the associations between demographic, injection and sexual risk factors to HCV infection in a group Hispanic/Latino IDUs in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Preliminary unadjusted results in this sample reveal that age (OR=4.592, p=0.004), weekly injection (OR=5.171, p=0.000), daily injection frequency (OR=3.856, p=0.000) and use of a dirty needle (OR=2.320, p= 0.006) were all significantly associated with HCV infection. Being born outside the U.S. was significantly negatively associated with HCV infection (OR=0.349, p=0.004). Additionally, having two or more sex partners in the past three months (OR=0.472, p=0.014) was negatively associated with HCV infection. After adjusting for all other variables, older age (AOR=7.470, p=0.006), weekly injection (AOR=3.238, p=0.007) and daily injection frequency (AOR=2.625, p=0.010) were all significantly associated with HCV infection. Being born outside the U.S. (AOR=0.369, p=0.019) was a significant protective factor for HCV infection, along with having two or more sex partners in the past three months (AOR=0.481, p=0.037). When analyzing the significant variables in a backward regression model, having 2 or more sex partners in the past three months was not significant at the p