Miami School District Negotiation Case Study
Miami School District Negotiation
MGT/445
July 14, 2014
Miami School District Negotiation
Miami is a growing city with the need to provide the best education possible for the increasing number of students. As the demographics in Miami change, and the student enrollment rises, the need to restructure the boundaries of the school districts became an important issue. The Miami school district hired outside sources to redraw the current boundaries to make room for the increased enrollment. The redrawn boundaries were to be submitted to the board for the next school year.
Redrawing boundaries will cause a dramatic change in the student demographics, and the parents are very concerned and have many objections. The school board has listened to these concerns, and now must find a way to explain and educate all the stakeholders of the issues being faced. There will be some parents who will see this as an advantage, to allocate resources in the most efficient manner, and others who will find fault with the decision as they may cause inconvenience or disruption to the students currently enrolled. The quality of the education provided will be one of the most important issues, and the concerns of the parent and stakeholders have been …show more content…
taken into consideration. The effects of the changes and how they impact student’s social lives, the travel times to and from school and property values are also of concern to parents. These issues and the economic and cultural boundary concerns will all be addressed in this paper.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the person or organizations that may lose or gain from the success or failure of a project (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2010). The concerns of the parents are valid, but they are not the only stakeholders involved. The stakeholders involved in the Miami School District rezoning plan also include the students, the school board, the teachers and the taxpaying homeowners of each district. The indirect stakeholders affected by the decision may include vendors, the local business community and neighbors. Traffic concerns, as well as bus routes, may affect the local city planning committee.
Quality of Education
Quality of education should be the most important concern facing both the school board and the parents of the student body. Parents are concerned that the high quality they expect will change if students are forced to go to a different school. The new boundaries will cause some students to leave their current school with familiar teachers and friends and be placed in a new environment. The time spent adjusting to a new school is time lost in learning. The Miami school district must assure both parents and students that the educational requirements are the same throughout the district. The state of Florida has rigorous standards for teachers and statewide certifications. Confirming that all teachers are board certified by the state of Florida should help alleviate some concerns.
Travel Time
The parents and students will be most affected by these boundary changes, and the school board members need to appreciate fully how it may affect daily lives. Parents who work will have more concerns as the rerouting of travel has to be added into already busy mornings. How far away the new school is from their home may be an issue for afterschool activities and sports. In the case of families with many children the changes in grade schools, middle schools, and high schools could disrupt jobs, carpools and activities. These activities are especially important for high school student in pursuit of college scholarships.
Commuting for longer times has been shown to have an effect on health and wellbeing. Students who can walk to school have the extra benefit of exercise as well as options for after school activities.
Commuting and time management is a concern for entire families. The school board needs to reassure parents that any extra time commuting will be worth the improvements in education. Studies have shown that overcrowding in schools leads to poor test results due to inadequate teacher time (Tran, 2011). The rezoning of boundaries will even out and make classroom sizes more manageable allowing a better quality of education and better student: teacher ratios.
Social Effects on Student 's Lives
The social ramifications on students’ lives may be traumatizing. Different school, separation from friends and a struggle to understand the new culture of their school can all lead to students withdrawing and grades dropping. Moving can affect a child’s development (Phillipot, 2014) and put them at risk of delayed emotional development. They may feel anxious and even angry about changing schools. There are academic challenges associated with changing school which could lead to a child being held back and affecting their social or peer group. These changes could cause hardships for students, especially if the transfer is to a lower income neighborhood school with less discipline, or to a higher income neighborhood school leaving the student feeling inadequate. The cultural and social atmosphere at school is critical to a student 's social development. Schools tend to resemble the surrounding culture, and the parents ' opinion of some schools may be preconceived as a negative influence. The acceptable behavior at one school could be completely different at another. With this in mind, the school board will have to be prepared for a struggle and remind parents that if they are dissatisfied with the school their child is assigned to they do have options. They can be agents for change, or they can put their child in private school, home school or charter school.
Property Values
Quality schools attract buyers and increase property values. This also affects lower quality school neighborhoods, bringing property values down. Families may feel forced to move to keep their child in a desired school. The school board must realize that a quality school is a priority for families buying real estate. To make the best of this situation, the Miami School District needs to provide high-quality education in all schools and work to ensure that the standards are uniform throughout the district. Crossing Economic and Cultural Boundaries
The issues surrounding economic and cultural boundaries is a slippery slope for the school board. They must do everything within their power to appreciate the cultural differences and norms among the stakeholders. Failing to understand the culture of a party during a negotiation is a mistake with huge consequences (Chang, 2006). Having like-minded cultures together can be a positive for students but could also be considered stereotyping. This negative connotation applied to specific groups can be considered as unethical or morally inappropriate because the students are being judged on their social class or culture (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2010). The Miami School District can address this issue and remind parents of the positive influences being exposed to other cultures has on a student. The school board can offer cultural diversity classes to all students and parents as part of the realignment project.
Negotiation
To effectively negotiate the school districts plan to redraw the school boundaries, they will need a strategy that looks at stakeholder concerns based on travel, culture, ethics and student impact. Ensuring a quality education for every student, regardless of school attended, is the top priority. An integrative strategy will give both the stakeholders and the school district leaders a chance at a win-win solution. The school district must present a plan, so everyone understands the need for rezoning, even if they don 't fully accept the potential outcome.
The school district will need to hold a public meeting, allowing everyone to voice their concerns and be prepared to address these issues.
A good defense and a solid presentation with comparisons to other districts who 've rezoned will strengthen their plan. There will be some dissent among parents and other taxpaying citizens, but the school district must accept these concerns as valid but hold true to what is best for the district as a whole. There will some wins and some losses, but proper planning and a united board will help smooth the way for implementation of the plan. There may not be a perfect solution, but understanding negotiations and how each issue is to be addressed can lead to a mutually satisfactory
decision.
Ethically and culturally the school district must be provided training so they can fully appreciate why the different groups have concerns. Schools serve a variety of populations whose interests may differ. The Miami school district must keep as its primary concern the education and well-being of the students. Although school districts are government agencies and are subject to regulation, they have a responsibility to protect the rights of all students within the laws governing public schools. Respect for everyone’s civil and legal rights will lead to cultural sensitivity within the school board. The Miami school district knows they are not going to make everyone happy. But by focusing on the service being provided and a plan that is culturally and ethically strong, they can provide great education to all students.
Conclusion
This negotiation plan using an integrated strategy based on all stakeholder 's concerns reveals many issues facing the district. There is not an easy solution and there will never be a completely harmonious decision as the subject of education for children is fraught with emotion. But by using a win-win strategy to convince everyone that the redrawing of the districts school boundaries is the best solution for all students. The integrative strategy will facilitate the opportunity to bring a valuable benefits package to the stakeholders even though the goals of the stakeholders and the school district are not equally limited (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2010).The analysis of the parents’ concerns, the reasoning that necessitates rezoning and a comparison to other school district showing the benefits of rezoning are all tools needed to negotiate a winning solution.
References
Chang, L.C. (2006, November). Differences in negotiation between different cultures. The Journal of Human Resources and Adult Learning, (), 135-140. Retrieved from http://www.hraljournal.com/Page/18%20Lieh-Ching%20Chang.pdf
Lewicki, R.J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D.M. (2010). Negotiations (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Philpott, S. (2014, July). Can moving often affect a child 's development?. Mom & Me, (), 1-2. Retrieved from http://mom.me/parenting/5006-can-moving-often-affect-childs-development/
Tran, C. (2011, January). Effects of overcrowded classrooms. Eduction Space 360, (), . Retrieved from http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/effects-of-overcrowded-classrooms-5-5757/
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MGT/445
July 14, 2014
Miami School District Negotiation
Miami is a growing city with the need to provide the best education possible for the increasing number of students. As the demographics in Miami change, and the student enrollment rises, the need to restructure the boundaries of the school districts became an important issue. The Miami school district hired outside sources to redraw the current boundaries to make room for the increased enrollment. The redrawn boundaries were to be submitted to the board for the next school year.
Redrawing boundaries will cause a dramatic change in the student demographics, and the parents are very concerned and have many objections. The school board has listened to these concerns, and now must find a way to explain and educate all the stakeholders of the issues being faced. There will be some parents who will see this as an advantage, to allocate resources in the most efficient manner, and others who will find fault with the decision as they may cause inconvenience or disruption to the students currently enrolled. The quality of the education provided will be one of the most important issues, and the concerns of the parent and stakeholders have been …show more content…
taken into consideration. The effects of the changes and how they impact student’s social lives, the travel times to and from school and property values are also of concern to parents. These issues and the economic and cultural boundary concerns will all be addressed in this paper.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the person or organizations that may lose or gain from the success or failure of a project (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2010). The concerns of the parents are valid, but they are not the only stakeholders involved. The stakeholders involved in the Miami School District rezoning plan also include the students, the school board, the teachers and the taxpaying homeowners of each district. The indirect stakeholders affected by the decision may include vendors, the local business community and neighbors. Traffic concerns, as well as bus routes, may affect the local city planning committee.
Quality of Education
Quality of education should be the most important concern facing both the school board and the parents of the student body. Parents are concerned that the high quality they expect will change if students are forced to go to a different school. The new boundaries will cause some students to leave their current school with familiar teachers and friends and be placed in a new environment. The time spent adjusting to a new school is time lost in learning. The Miami school district must assure both parents and students that the educational requirements are the same throughout the district. The state of Florida has rigorous standards for teachers and statewide certifications. Confirming that all teachers are board certified by the state of Florida should help alleviate some concerns.
Travel Time
The parents and students will be most affected by these boundary changes, and the school board members need to appreciate fully how it may affect daily lives. Parents who work will have more concerns as the rerouting of travel has to be added into already busy mornings. How far away the new school is from their home may be an issue for afterschool activities and sports. In the case of families with many children the changes in grade schools, middle schools, and high schools could disrupt jobs, carpools and activities. These activities are especially important for high school student in pursuit of college scholarships.
Commuting for longer times has been shown to have an effect on health and wellbeing. Students who can walk to school have the extra benefit of exercise as well as options for after school activities.
Commuting and time management is a concern for entire families. The school board needs to reassure parents that any extra time commuting will be worth the improvements in education. Studies have shown that overcrowding in schools leads to poor test results due to inadequate teacher time (Tran, 2011). The rezoning of boundaries will even out and make classroom sizes more manageable allowing a better quality of education and better student: teacher ratios.
Social Effects on Student 's Lives
The social ramifications on students’ lives may be traumatizing. Different school, separation from friends and a struggle to understand the new culture of their school can all lead to students withdrawing and grades dropping. Moving can affect a child’s development (Phillipot, 2014) and put them at risk of delayed emotional development. They may feel anxious and even angry about changing schools. There are academic challenges associated with changing school which could lead to a child being held back and affecting their social or peer group. These changes could cause hardships for students, especially if the transfer is to a lower income neighborhood school with less discipline, or to a higher income neighborhood school leaving the student feeling inadequate. The cultural and social atmosphere at school is critical to a student 's social development. Schools tend to resemble the surrounding culture, and the parents ' opinion of some schools may be preconceived as a negative influence. The acceptable behavior at one school could be completely different at another. With this in mind, the school board will have to be prepared for a struggle and remind parents that if they are dissatisfied with the school their child is assigned to they do have options. They can be agents for change, or they can put their child in private school, home school or charter school.
Property Values
Quality schools attract buyers and increase property values. This also affects lower quality school neighborhoods, bringing property values down. Families may feel forced to move to keep their child in a desired school. The school board must realize that a quality school is a priority for families buying real estate. To make the best of this situation, the Miami School District needs to provide high-quality education in all schools and work to ensure that the standards are uniform throughout the district. Crossing Economic and Cultural Boundaries
The issues surrounding economic and cultural boundaries is a slippery slope for the school board. They must do everything within their power to appreciate the cultural differences and norms among the stakeholders. Failing to understand the culture of a party during a negotiation is a mistake with huge consequences (Chang, 2006). Having like-minded cultures together can be a positive for students but could also be considered stereotyping. This negative connotation applied to specific groups can be considered as unethical or morally inappropriate because the students are being judged on their social class or culture (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2010). The Miami School District can address this issue and remind parents of the positive influences being exposed to other cultures has on a student. The school board can offer cultural diversity classes to all students and parents as part of the realignment project.
Negotiation
To effectively negotiate the school districts plan to redraw the school boundaries, they will need a strategy that looks at stakeholder concerns based on travel, culture, ethics and student impact. Ensuring a quality education for every student, regardless of school attended, is the top priority. An integrative strategy will give both the stakeholders and the school district leaders a chance at a win-win solution. The school district must present a plan, so everyone understands the need for rezoning, even if they don 't fully accept the potential outcome.
The school district will need to hold a public meeting, allowing everyone to voice their concerns and be prepared to address these issues.
A good defense and a solid presentation with comparisons to other districts who 've rezoned will strengthen their plan. There will be some dissent among parents and other taxpaying citizens, but the school district must accept these concerns as valid but hold true to what is best for the district as a whole. There will some wins and some losses, but proper planning and a united board will help smooth the way for implementation of the plan. There may not be a perfect solution, but understanding negotiations and how each issue is to be addressed can lead to a mutually satisfactory
decision.
Ethically and culturally the school district must be provided training so they can fully appreciate why the different groups have concerns. Schools serve a variety of populations whose interests may differ. The Miami school district must keep as its primary concern the education and well-being of the students. Although school districts are government agencies and are subject to regulation, they have a responsibility to protect the rights of all students within the laws governing public schools. Respect for everyone’s civil and legal rights will lead to cultural sensitivity within the school board. The Miami school district knows they are not going to make everyone happy. But by focusing on the service being provided and a plan that is culturally and ethically strong, they can provide great education to all students.
Conclusion
This negotiation plan using an integrated strategy based on all stakeholder 's concerns reveals many issues facing the district. There is not an easy solution and there will never be a completely harmonious decision as the subject of education for children is fraught with emotion. But by using a win-win strategy to convince everyone that the redrawing of the districts school boundaries is the best solution for all students. The integrative strategy will facilitate the opportunity to bring a valuable benefits package to the stakeholders even though the goals of the stakeholders and the school district are not equally limited (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2010).The analysis of the parents’ concerns, the reasoning that necessitates rezoning and a comparison to other school district showing the benefits of rezoning are all tools needed to negotiate a winning solution.
References
Chang, L.C. (2006, November). Differences in negotiation between different cultures. The Journal of Human Resources and Adult Learning, (), 135-140. Retrieved from http://www.hraljournal.com/Page/18%20Lieh-Ching%20Chang.pdf
Lewicki, R.J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D.M. (2010). Negotiations (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Philpott, S. (2014, July). Can moving often affect a child 's development?. Mom & Me, (), 1-2. Retrieved from http://mom.me/parenting/5006-can-moving-often-affect-childs-development/
Tran, C. (2011, January). Effects of overcrowded classrooms. Eduction Space 360, (), . Retrieved from http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/effects-of-overcrowded-classrooms-5-5757/
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