Located in the Northwest Valley, Kelsey Unified School District provides education to upwards of 71,000 students from Kindergarten to 12th grade. In a city whose population is 625,000, Kelsey Unified is the sole public-school district. Kelsey Unified School District employs over 4,500 and is made up of 98 properties. Included in those 98 properties are the elementary schools of which there are 66 with a total of 32,954 students, 20 middle schools with 15,165 students, and 11 high schools that have a total of 22,925 students.
In this paper we will describe and analyze the communication variables and the framework of the teachers as well as the administration, the students and their parents, as each of these are who make up Kelsey Unified School District. This paper will also take an in depth look at the communication methods of the school district including the methods of communication that are employed to communicate with the staff internally, the methods used for external communication with parents and the community of Kelsey, as well as the effectiveness of that communication for all the involved parties.
Included in the Kelsey Unified School District (KUSD) is Kelsey Elementary School. Kelsey Elementary School is made up of Kindergarten through Fifth Grade and presently has an active enrollment of 500 students from various cultures and backgrounds. There are currently nineteen teachers which breaks down in the following way: In the Kindergarten classroom, there are three teachers. There are four teachers in the First Grade classroom, followed by three teachers in the Second Grade classroom, three teachers in the Third Grade classroom, three teachers in the Fourth Grade classroom, and three teachers in the Fifth Grade Classroom. Along with the teachers, there are also teachers’ aides in each of these classrooms, enabling students to get one on one attention should they require it, and provide the teachers with additional support.
The recognized stakeholders are the Parents. The parents are afforded the ability to access their students grades and openly communicate with their student’s teachers through advanced technology. Kelsey Unified also provides the community of Kelsey with the assurance that the school and the district prides itself in that it puts the children of the community first and foremost. They make the children’s future a priority. They know that a signigcant amount of these students lives are spent in school and they want to make a positive impact on these childrens lives. KUSD encourages parents to come and experience the classroom environment so they can see that environment is a positive and inspiring one.
The Kelsey Mission Statement is clear. “Kelsey Elementary, in partnership with families and the community, is dedicated to the growth and development of each student in a positive learning environment that will contribute to each student’s lifelong learning in a changing society” They are proud that they are able to offer their students a newly remodeled computer lab, media center, and choir room. Elementary education plays a highly significant role in the social integration of children. They are extremely dedicated to the growth and the positive development of every student, providing a nurturing and positive environment that encourages a lifelong dedication to learning.
The students at Kelsey Elementary can participate in many special events such as science fairs, spelling bees, as well as music classes. They boasted an impressive list of extracurricular programs such as orchestra and chess club. Kelsey Elementary is an institution that is forward thinking and they are proud to offer a positive setting that will ensure that each student is equipped with what they need to have a successful future. There are counseling services for the students, there is a lunch program they are provided, and there is a liaison between the school and the community on staff.
You can find embedded links on the Home Page of the Kelsey Elementary website. These can link parents to a variety of things such as the school library where they can view the library catalog. They are also able to access their students grades and test scores. Kelsey Elementary believes that this integrates the parents in a new way and allows them to feel very involved in the educational lives of their children.
In the past, communication between the school and parents was heavily handled by the United States Postal Service. This has proven to be problematic and caused issues due to mishandling so in its place is a new and impressively advanced method. Parents can now easily connect using the newest in communication technology, in fact, various techniques are used.
Kelsey Elementary provides the parents of each student with a “Family Handbook”. The handbook opens with their Mission Statement and what their goals are. These goals include, providing a safe, positive learning environment, and to encourage an atmosphere of open communication. The handbook also clearly lays out policies and guidelines. There are strict guidelines on attendance and conduct. It conveys what is expected in homework and gives information about report cards.
Group think would the perceived theoretical perspective. Group think is defined as a way of deliberating that group members use when their desire for unanimity overrides their motivation to assess all available plans of action. (West & Turner, 2010, p. 252)
At Kelsey Elementary, the Principal, the teachers, and their supporting faculty put forth a lot of effort to assure that they are all striving towards the same goal with the same dedication so that they are clearly united. They want to show off the united group that they are. There are times when conflicting opinions can cause some conflict, but they all agree that unity is critical as they have the eyes of children on them always. They know they need to lead by example.
In the elementary school setting, many considerations must be made when deciding what form of communication is used. Some communication requires extra caution due to its private contents, content that is protected by state and federal laws. The casual communication of course can be passed on without such restrictions. Communications of an academic nature are vastly different than those of other organizations.
A corporate organization will tend to have a downward communication structure where all messages are passed down from top management to the entry level employees whereas, schools often display a horizontal communication structure, this is where messages flow across functional areas at a given level of an organization. (Papa, Daniels, & Spiker, 2007, p. 55)
The communication between the school, its teachers, its staff and parents and their students’ need to be open and clear. They communication should be constant. These people play a very significant role in a student’s life, working side by side with the parents is what will set the student up for good communication skills of his own. Education will always be present in a child’s life and teachers and other faculty will leave lifelong impressions on children for generations to come. Education is not a tangible item or a good of any kind, but is invaluable.
Kelsey Elementary School Home Page
West, R., & Turner, L. (2010). Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application (4th ed.). Boston MA: McGraw-Hill.
Papa, M. J., Daniels, T. D., & Spiker, B. K. (2007). Organizational Communication: Perspectives and Trends (5th ed.). [vitalsource.com]. http://dx.doi.org/ISBN-13: 9781412916844
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