How Is The School a Social Institution?

School is first and foremost a social institution

-established organization

-that has an identifiable structure

-a set of functions for preserving and extending social order

-primary function-to move young people into the

mainstream of society

I. School Districts

A. School districts – a state-defined geographical area assigned responsibility for public instruction within its primaries

1. 1996-1997 academic year, there were 88,223 public schools serving a total of 45,953,018 students preK-12.

2. 3-states Florida, Texas, and California account for 1/3 of the 100 largest school districts

B. Types of Schools

1. public school

a. magnet

b. charter

c. alternative

d. vocational or trade

e. rural

f. suburban

g. urban

2. private and independent schools

nonprofit, tax-exempt institutions governed by boards of trustees and financed through private funds

How is Public Schooling Organized in the United States?

What Are Some Schooling Alternatives?

How Are Schools Administered?

Highlights of the Education Improvement ACT (NCLB)?