Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1979

Thesis Director

Gerhard C. Matzner

Abstract

The purpose of this field study was to develop a comprehensive, codified policy manual for the Edwards County Community Unit School District #1. Until the field study was completed, the district's policy manual was very sketchy and next to impossible to find a particular item since it lacked a proper coding system, page numbers, and index.

The problem was to point out to the Board of Education the advantages of written policies and the need for a comprehensive, codified policy manual in their district. The study goes into a short narrative on the advantages of written policies and the need for a proper policy manual in the district.

The bulk of the paper is devoted to the procedures used in the Edwards County district in developing a new and properly codified policy manual. Briefly, these procedures involved:

  1. The selection of a board policy project director and the criteria used in his selection.
  2. The formation of a policy committee, its purpose and the selection of its members.
  3. The establishment of the project objectives and the setting of limitations.
  4. The basis for the selection of the Educational Policies Service of the National School Boards Association policy format and codification system.
  5. The establishment of a time line within reasonable limits.
  6. Procedures used in the search of source documents with a list of the source documents used in the project.
  7. Procedures used and reasons for the preparation of rough drafts.
  8. System used for preparing the final version.
  9. The mechanics of the entire project and the systems finally used.
  10. The procedures to be used for presenting and the ultimate adoption of the policy manual to the Edwards County Board of Education.

With the project completed and put together, the author makes a procedural recommendation on how to keep the policy manual up-to-date and points out the necessity for doing so. He then goes on to summarize the project and draw his conclusions.

The field study contains appropriate appendixes such as a bibliography of related literature, an introductory letter to the policy committee, committee agendas, and the completed Board Policy Manual of the Edwards County Community Unit School District #1 containing over three hundred policy entries. The document is large, and represents many months of preparation and work. The result is a comprehensive, codified board policy manual for the Edwards County district which will be functional for Edwards County. This in itself is proper justification for the project.

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