Name:

INTRODUCTION: DAY ONE

You are the parent of a child in the Detroit Standardized Testing High School
(DST). There are 1,600 students in the school, even though it was designed to fit
at most 1,000 people. There are lots of other problems at the school including
large class sizes and low graduation rates.
The Department of Education (DOE) doesnt have plans to make any changes at
DST. So, a group of parents formed a Parent Action Committee (PAC) to demand
a high-quality education for their children and for their community. The PAC is
determined to get the DOE to break DST into two smaller schools that will be
better for their children.
As a member of the PAC, you will need to help your group come up with a
proposal to present to the DOE for the changes that should be made.
The two Unit Questions that you will need to answer are:

How many students should be put into each of the two new
schools?
How much money should each school spend per student?

You can have a different number of students at each school, and can spend a
different amount of money per-student at each school. In addition, there will be
many correct answers to the Unit Questions. This means that you will need to
come up with the best and most fair correct answers to these questions.
At the end of this unit, you will need to:
1) Submit a proposal with your answers to the
Unit Questions explaining why your answers are
the best and most fair answers.
2) Present your proposal, as a group,
to a committee of DOE officials.

Name:

DESIGNING YOUR SCHOOLS: DAY ONE

First, your group needs to name your two new schools.

School X

School Y

Name of
School

Second, you need to determine:

1) the total number of students that should be in each school
2) the number of low-income students that should be in each school
This information will help you to answer the questions from above:

There are a total of 1,600 students.

There are a total of 1,236 low-income students.1

School X and School Y need to each have at least 400 students.

School X can have a maximum of 1,000 students because of the size of their
building.

School X needs to have at least 600 low-income students.

( continued on next page )

According to its website, 77% of Western International High Schools students are considered
economically disadvantaged.


Name:
DESIGNING YOUR SCHOOLS: DAY ONE, continued

Please discuss the following questions with your group for the next five minutes;
we will then have a short discussion as a class:

Studies show that there is a strong relationship between poverty and

academic achievement. What do you think this statement means?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Why do you think that schools with mostly low-income students might have
lower graduation rates?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Because of the strong relationship between poverty and academic achievement,
schools with many students from low-income families often spend extra money to
support their students. This extra funding is spent on things like hiring more
teachers to create smaller class sizes, running after-school tutoring programs, and
buying more computers, books, calculators and equipment. As a result, the per
capita spending (the amount spent per student) is sometimes higher at these
schools.

Name:
DESIGNING YOUR SCHOOLS: DAY ONE, continued

As you decide how to split up the students from DST, think about what is best and
most fair for all of the students. Is it better to have one large school and one small
school? Should the schools have similar amounts of students? Is it better to put all
of the low-income students together?
You must make a careful decision remember, if you cant explain why your
proposal is the best and most fair way to split up DST, the Department of
Education will deny your proposal.
School X

School Y

School name
(from page 2)
Total # of students
Total # of low-income
students

Explain how you chose the total number of students to place in each school. Why
did you split up the students in this way?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Explain how you chose the total number of low-income students to place in each
school. Why did you split up the students in this way?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Name:

THE CONSTRAINTS: DAY TWO

Now that you have determined how to split up the students into your two new
schools, it is time to begin thinking about your proposal for the amount of money
to spend per student at each school. Here is the important information you need to
consider:
TOTAL FUNDING

The amount of money spent on both schools together can be at most

$20,800,000.

PER-STUDENT FUNDING

According to a local city law, all schools:

Must spend at least $4,000 per student.
Can spend at most $20,000 per student.
GRADUATION RATES

If a school wants to make sure that 100% of its students graduate, the
Department of Education has calculated that the school needs to spend at
least $15,000 per student.

In addition to this base of $15,000, schools need to spend extra money to

support their low-income students. For every one low-income student that a
school has, the total per-capita spending goes up by $15.

For example, if a school has 20 low-income students, it would need to spend an

additional $300 ($15/student 20 low-income students) on all students. If this
school wanted a 100% graduation rate, it would need to spend $15,300 per
student.
YOU TRY: If a school has 700 students, and 500 of them are low- income,
how much money will it cost the school to have 100% of its students graduate?

Name:

IS IT POSSIBLE? DAY TWO

Karim Scott is one of the parents on the PAC. He has come up with a proposal for
the new schools:
Total students
Low-income students
Per-student funding

School X
900
800
$17,500

School Y
700
436
$6,500

Your task is to determine if his plan is feasible (which is a fancy way of saying
possible).
TOTAL FUNDING
How much money would be spent on School X?
How much money would be spent on School Y?
How much would be spent on both schools combined?
Does Karims plan fit the States total funding constraint? How do you know?
__________________________________________________________________
MINIMUM PER-STUDENT FUNDING
Does Karims plan fit the States minimum per-student constraint? How do you
know?
__________________________________________________________________
MAXIMUM PER-STUDENT FUNDING
Does Karims plan fit the States maximum per-student constraint? How do you
know?
__________________________________________________________________

Name:
IS IT POSSIBLE? DAY TWO, continued

100% GRADUATION RATE

Based on Karims plan, determine how much money each school would have to
spend
1) per-student to have a 100% graduation rate
2) in total to have a 100% graduation rate
School X:
Per Student:

In Total:

School Y:
Per Student:

In Total:

How much would it cost for both schools together to have a 100% graduation rate?

Do the schools have enough money to spend to have a 100% graduation rate?
How do you know?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Name:
IS IT POSSIBLE? DAY TWO, continued

As one of the parents on the PAC, do you like Karims proposal? Do you think it
would be a good proposal to submit to the Department of Education? Explain your
answer.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Imagine that you are part of the Department of Education. Would you accept or
reject Karims proposal? Explain your answer.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Name:

FUNDING YOUR SCHOOLS: DAY THREE

Yesterday we learned that Karim Scotts plan for the two new schools would not be
feasible. Today it is your turn to try to create a funding proposal for your schools
that fits all of the constraints.
Start by filling in the first three rows in the table below with your information from
page 4. Then choose (by making a reasonable guess) an amount of per-student
funding for each school. Remember you can choose different amounts for each
school.
School Name:
Total # of students:
Total # of low-income students:
Proposed Per-Student Funding:

Now you need to determine if your proposal fits each of the following constraints:
TOTAL FUNDING:

MINIMUM PER-STUDENT FUNDING:

Name:
FUNDING YOUR SCHOOLS: DAY THREE, continued

MAXIMUM PER-STUDENT FUNDING:

100% GRADUATION RATE:

Look back at the four constraints from above. Is your proposal feasible? How do
you know?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
If your proposal is not feasible, try with different per-student funding
amounts until youve found a way to have as many of your students graduate
as possible while staying within the constraints.

10

Name:

IS IT POSSIBLE? PART II (DAY THREE)

The minimum amount that it will cost a school to make sure that 100% of its
students graduate is $15,000 per student (more if a school has low-income
students). Remember, you cant spend more than $20,800,000 on both schools
combined.
Imagine, just for now, that there are no low-income students at DST. Your task for
today is to answer this question:
If there were no low-income students at DST, is it be possible to split the
students into two schools so that each school has a 100% graduation rate?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
We know that DST actually has 1,236 low-income students is there any way for
your two schools to each have a 100% graduation rate? How do you know?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

11

Name:

FROM CONSTRAINTS TO INEQUALITIES: DAY

FOUR
Your task today is to write algebraic inequalities to represent the four
constraints.
First, in the space below, use words to describe how you would determine if a
proposal (an amount of per-student funding for each school) would be possible (fit
the constraint).

TOTAL FUNDING

PER-STUDENT MINIMUM

PER-STUDENT MAXIMUM

Second, choose two different variables (one for each school), and describe what
each variable represents:
Variable 1: ________ represents ________________________________________
Variable 2: ________ represents ________________________________________
Third, write algebraic inequalities for each of the constraints using your two
variables.

TOTAL FUNDING

PER-STUDENT MINIMUM
School X:
School Y:

PER-STUDENT MAXIMUM
School X:
School Y:

12

Name:
FROM CONSTRAINTS TO INEQUALITIES: DAY FOUR, continued

Yesterday we discovered that there is not enough money in the budget for the
schools to have 100% graduation rates. In 2014, the average graduation rate for
Detroit public schools was 71.05%. The members of the PAC have decided that
their new schools should be higher than the city average, so they agree on a goal of
a 75% graduation rate for your schools.
In order to write the algebraic inequality for a 75% graduation rate, follow these
steps:
Steps:
1. Determine how much it
would cost per-student at
each of your schools to
have 100% of the students
graduate.
2. Divide the number of
students at each school by
the schools cost perstudent for a 100%
graduation rate (#1 from
above).
3. Multiply #2 (from
above) by 4/3 (this is called
the inverse of which is
the fraction that is
equivalent to 75%).
4. If 75% of the 1,600
students from DST
graduate from their new
schools, how many total
students will graduate?

5. To write the inequality

for a 75% graduation rate,
use your answers from #3
as the coefficients for your
variables, and the total
number of students from
#4 as your maximum.

13

School X

School Y

Name:

GRAPHING YOUR INEQUALITIES

Start by writing your groups algebraic inequalities for each of the four constraints:
1. Total Funding: _________________________________________________
2. 75% Graduation Rate: ___________________________________________
3. School X
Minimum: ____________________________________________________

Maximum: ___________________________________________________

4. School Y
Minimum: ____________________________________________________

Maximum: ___________________________________________________

YOUR TASK
Each person in your group should choose one of the four inequalities from above.
Make a graph of your assigned inequality. (Note: Each member of your group
should use the same scale on their graphs, so your group will need to make this
decision before you can begin graphing).
Then use your graph to find 5 ( x,y ) combinations that make your inequality
TRUE and 5 ( x,y ) combinations that make your inequality FALSE, and write
them below:
TRUE

14

FALSE

Name:

15

Name:

FROM FOUR GRAPHS TO ONE: DAY FIVE

Your task for today is to graph all of your algebraic inequalities on one graph.
When you are done with your graph, locate the Feasible Region (the area that all
four inequalities share).
Please make sure that your graph is very neat and accurate.
INEQUALITIES:
1. Total Funding: _________________________________________________
2. 75% Graduation Rate: ___________________________________________
3. School X
Minimum: _________________________________________________

Maximum: _________________________________________________

4. School Y
Minimum: _________________________________________________

Maximum: _________________________________________________
You can copy this information from Page 14.

16

Name:

17

Name:

FEASIBLE COMBINATIONS: DAY FIVE

We will now work to answer Unit Question #2: How much money should each
school spend per student?
You can spend at most $20,800,000 on both schools combined.
Each school needs to spend at least $4,000 per student and at most $20,000
per student.
Your goal is to have a 75% graduation rate.
Think about which ( x,y ) combinations on your graph will allow you to meet all of
the constraints from above. Then choose three combinations from your graph that
you will consider as possible answers to the unit question. Hint: choose points
near the line for your 75% graduation rate inequality.
For each combination you choose, answer the following questions:
1. How much money will be spent on each school, and on both schools
combined?
2. What percentage of students will graduate from the two schools? How many
students will graduate from both schools combined?
Combination #1:
Money spent on School X:

Money spent on School Y:

Money spent on both schools combined:

Value from Step 2 on Page 14:
School X:

School Y:

Percent of Students graduating from both schools combined:

To find this quantity, use your answers from the previous question as coefficients for your variable, and
set it equal to 16r2. Then substitute your combination values for x and y, and solve for r.

Number of Students graduating from both schools combined:

Multiply r from the previous step by 1600.

18

Name:
FEASIBLE COMBINATIONS: DAY FIVE, continued

Combination #2:
Money spent on School X:

Money spent on School Y:

Money spent on both schools combined:

Value from Step 2 on Page 14:
School X:

School Y:

Percent of Students graduating from both schools combined:

Number of Students graduating from both schools combined:

Combination #3:
Money spent on School X:

Money spent on School Y:

Money spent on both schools combined:

Value from Step 2 on Page 14:
School X:

School Y:

Percent of Students graduating from both schools combined:

Number of Students graduating from both schools combined:

19

Name:

PORTFOLIO WRITE-UP: FINAL DAY

PART I : FUNDING YOUR SCHOOLS (70%)

Your task is to answer the Unit Questions and to convince the Department of
Education that your proposal is the best and most fair solution to the problem.
STEP 1: Describe the current situation at DST and the Unit Questions you will
answer. Include a description of the constraints that you were given.
STEP 2: Describe in detail the process of how answered each of the Unit
Questions. Make sure to include the math you used at each step of the process
(including writing and graphing algebraic inequalities, finding (x,y) combinations
inside the Feasible Region, finding the (x,y) values at the corners of the Feasible
Region, and testing (x,y) combinations. Make sure to include the combination
you are choosing as your answer for Unit Question #2.
STEP 3: Based on your answer for Unit Question #2, explain how much money the
two schools will spend in total, and how many students will graduate from each
school. How do you know that this combination is the best possible choice for
your group to make? What other combinations did you consider? Why didnt you
choose those as your final answer?
* Make sure to include and refer to your graph.
PART II: REFLECTION (30%)

The School Funding Project

What are your thoughts about this unit? What were the most important math skills
that you learned? What math skills did we cover that you dont feel good about?
Was the story (about the schools) interesting? How did it affect your interest in the
project, and your ability to learn the math involved?
Math Class
How was this summer for you as a math student? How have your feelings about
learning math changed at all since the beginning of the summer? What is the most
important math skill you have learned in math class this summer? What is the most
important non-math skill (life skills, social skills, general academic skills) that you
have learned in math class this summer? Do you feel prepared for math classes
next year?
20