DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR RUBRICS Assignment 1: Description of the Community, Work Setting, and Writer’s Role—actual or perceived – Week 1 Objective 2 15% of the course grade During Week 1, begin Chapter 1 of the research project, which should be entitled “Chapter 1: Purpose of the Research Project.” This chapter begins with three components, which should be entitled, “Description of the Community,” “Work Setting,” and “Role.” The description of the community should provide the location’s demographic information with references. Include factors that relate to the problem. It should not name a community but should indicate its location, for example, “an inner-city neighborhood in a New England state” or “a rural county in a Southeastern state.” In the “Work Setting” you will describe the site. Again, do not name the facility. Refer to it as “the school,” “the organization,” or some other generic term that you deem appropriate. Describe any factors that make this setting unique. Be sure to discuss factors relevant to the problem. Do not cite any sources that would reveal the identity of participants in this research project. In the “Role” clarify exactly what you do at this site.. In other words how is it that a researcher would be able to solve or positively impact the problem that you
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identify? Be sure to apply guidelines formulated by the American Psychological Association (APA) regarding citations in text, reference list entries, and writing style. Your instructor will provide feedback on your Assignment 1 submission. Revise your work according to the suggestions and corrections provided. When you submit Assignment 2, include the revised Assignment 1 material followed by the new Assignment 2 material in one document. When you submit Assignment 2, you must include the revised Assignment 1 material. Assignment 1 Rubric Element Not Met Met Exceeded Description of the Community Few details are offered so that the description fails to present a clear picture of the community. Sufficient details of the community are present to provide a clear picture of it. The description of the community is complete with such items as population, education levels, ethnic makeup, employment opportunities, income levels, family status, and general quality of life. Description of the Work Setting Few details are offered so that the description fails to present a clear picture of the work setting. Sufficient details of the work setting are present to provide a clear picture of it. The description of the work setting is complete with such items as the type of facility involved, the number of students and others at the facility, the credentials of the staff, the age and condition of the facility, the quality and quantity of resources available, and the availability and application of technology. Description of the Role Few details are offered so that the description fails to present a clear picture of the writer’s role. Sufficient details of the writer’s role are present to provide a clear picture of it. The description of the writer’s role is complete with such items as job title, primary responsibilities, secondary responsibilities if any, membership in professional organizations, and applicable involvement in the community. Confidentiality of Project Participants The text or citations offer evidence that might reveal the identity of the project participants. Neither the text nor citations offer evidence that might reveal the identity of the project participants. Neither the text nor citations offer evidence that might reveal the identity of the project participants.

Chapter 1: Purpose of the Research Project

 Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor’s Name

Date

Chapter 1: Purpose of the Research Project

Description of the Community

The community is a deep neighborhood in the State of Minnesota. It is one of the best places to live in Minnesota. Living in the neighborhood offers residents a dense suburban feeling and many people own their homes (Carney & Morales, 2022). The community possesses a lot of coffee shops, restaurants, and parks where residents can rest. The Neighborhood has a total population of about 4, 869 people. Regarding racial diversity, 77% of the neighborhood population are Whites, African Americans are about 12%, Hispanics are 4%. Asians and two more races are 3%, American Indian or Alaska natives make up 1% of the population. In many American States, Whites make up the majority of the population (Carney & Morales, 2022).  Similarly, the majority in the community are Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Alaska natives, respectively.

Educational levels are distributed as follows: 29% of the people hold a Master’s degree and higher, 40% of them have bachelor’s degrees, and 22% of the population hold some college or associate’s degree. People who hold a high school diploma or equivalent are few compared to other categories (Census.gov., 2020). The median household income for the community is $51,370, which is significantly below the national average at $ 62,843. 11% of the households earn less than $25,000 annually. Additionally, 12% earn between $25-$44k, 13% earn between $45-$74k, 30% earn between $75-$149k, and 34% earn $150k and above annually. The disparity between the household incomes is wide as indicated by the data (Census.gov., 2020). In terms of real estate, the community record a median home value of $440, 424 and a median rent of $ 1,313.

About 70% of the population own their homes or houses and only approximately 30% rent houses. About 47.54 are male population while 52.46 are female. More than 80% of the people are employed (Census.gov., 2020). Approximately, 89.64% do white-collar jobs while only 10.36% are employed in blue-collar jobs. The proportion of Self-employed, those employed in private companies, government workers, and those in for-profit companies include 12.57%, 61.99%, 11.85%, and 13.6% respectively. The general quality of life in the community is average. It is among the most populous metro area in the list of best places to live in Minnesota state (Census.gov., 2020). It has a well-managed infrastructure compared to other neighborhoods. Hospitals are good and there are many of them within the area.

Work Setting

The setting or workplace is a high school that serves grades 9 to 12 within the selected community. The school was built in 1925 to meet community-academic demands due to growing populations in Minnesota. Between 2020 and 2021, the school has about 1, 637 students. The school is a highly rated, public school in the State of Minnesota (The Annie Foundation, 2022). About 61% of the students are at least proficient in reading and 49% in Mathematics. Currently, there are 425 students in 9th grade, 421 students in the 10th grade, 402 in the 11th grade, and 384 in the 12th grade. Although the school is diversified, the majority of the students are Whites. To explain further, about 55.8% of the students are Whites, 21.7 are Blacks, 16.0 are Hispanics, 3,9 are Asians, and 1.5 % are two or more races. White students are still the majority in most American schools (The Annie Foundation, 2022). Additionally, the American Indian/Alaska Natives are only 1.0% and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders are only 0.1%. In general, there is 44.2% minority enrolment in the school.

In terms of students’ gender, females make 48% while males are 52%. Furthermore, some students are economically disadvantaged within the school. Some of them depend on the free lunch program and others on the reduced-price lunch program (U.S.News., 2022). About 38% of the students are economically disadvantaged. Out of the total students enrolled, 30% are dependent on the free lunch program and 8% on the reduced-price lunch program. The workplace has 78 teachers who are full-time workers. Therefore, student to teacher ratio is 22:1. The average teacher salary is $70,548 annually. About most of both students and parents feel that teachers provide engaging lessons (The Annie Foundation, 2022). Approximately 77% of students and parents agree that teachers care about students. In an interview with both parents and students, 79% of them agree that most students in the school participate in clubs and organizations.

The majority of students participate in sports and dances; about 38%. Also, pep fests, homecoming, and spirit week are practiced by 21%, 13%, and 13% of students respectively. Students’ performance vary based on several factors such as ethnicity, household income, ability to afford food, and others (U.S.News., 2022). Graduation rates are more than 80%. Minority groups make the largest group of students who fail to graduate for one reason or the other. The school is ranked better among others both in the state of Minnesota and nationally.

Role of the Researcher

The researcher is a school counselor at the above-described school. The school counselor is a licensed/certified educator whose responsibility is to improve students’ success for all learners by designing and implementing comprehensive and efficient school counseling programs (Wilder, 2018). Children, adolescents, and young adults need support and guidance to deal with academic social, and personal issues to help them achieve their goals. The School counselor, therefore, owes students lots of responsibilities to ensure they succeed. One of the responsibilities of the school counselor is to listen, assess, and take action about concerns regarding academic, social, and emotional problems (Wilder, 2018). It is the researcher’s responsibility to help students through scholarship or job application processes.

The school counselor also helps students by mediating conflicts among their peers, among students and teachers, and/or parents. The researcher helps students improve their mental status through referral, recommendations, or parental education. The professional maintains academic standards and performance goals set by the organization and the government (Wilder, 2018). The school counselor identifies the causes of the achievement gap in schools and develops effective ways of closing the gap. To be a school counselor, one must complete a master’s degree at minimum in psychology, school counseling, or social work. The researcher obtained the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification, the National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) certification, ASCA, and the State of Florida Department of Education (DOE) Division of Certification (Wilder, 2018). The researcher is also a certified member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

In summary, the community of this study is a neighborhood in the State of Minnesota. The setting is a well-ranked school located within the described neighborhood. Both the community and the setting exhibit a diversified place where many ethnic groups interact. The school has a counselor whose responsibility is to ensure the academic, social, and emotional success of all students.

References

Carney, K. & Morales, A. (2022). Mind-boggled by Minnesota Demographics. https://www.minnesotademographics.com/

Census.gov. (2020). Quick Facts. Minnesota. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/MN

The Annie Foundation. (2022). K–12 Public School Enrollment in Minnesota. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/1793-k-12-public-schoolenrollment#detailed/2/any/false/2048,574,1729,37,871,870,573,869,36,868/any/3793

U.S.News. (2022). Best Minnesota High Schools. https://www.usnews.com/education/besthighschools/minnesota/rankings

Wilder, C. (2018). Promoting the role of the school counselor. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, 45(2), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/15566382.2019.1646085