Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006–07

Appendix B: Common Core of Data Glossary

Items in boldface are defined in this glossary.

A-F | G-J | K-L | O-S | T-Z

American Indian/Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

Asian/Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Samoa, and other Pacific Islands.

Black: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as Haitian or Negro can be used in addition to Black or African American.

Bureau of Indian Education schools and districts: A school or district that is directly funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (formerly Bureau of Indian Affairs), U.S. Department of the Interior.

elementary/secondary education: Programs providing instruction, or assisting in providing instruction, for students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1 through 12, and ungraded programs.

full-time equivalent (FTE): The amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position and computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the time normally required for a full-time position.

guidance counselors: Professional staff assigned specific duties and school time for counseling students and parents, addressing learning problems, evaluating student abilities, and assisting students in career and personal development.

Hispanic: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

instructional aides: Staff members assigned to assist a teacher with routine activities associated with teaching (i.e., activities requiring minor decisions regarding students), such as monitoring, conducting rote exercises, operating equipment, and clerking. Includes only paid staff (i.e., excludes volunteer aides).

instructional coordinators and supervisors: Persons who supervise instructional programs at the school district or subdistrict level, including educational television staff; coordinators and supervisors of audiovisual services; curriculum coordinators and in-service training staff; Title I coordinators and home economics supervisors; and staff engaged in the development of computer-assisted instruction. School-based department chairpersons are excluded.

instructional support staff: Instructional coordinators and supervisors and instructional aides.

kindergarten: A group or class that is part of a public school program and is taught during the year preceding first grade.

librarians: Professional staff members or supervisors assigned specific duties and school time for professional library services activities. These include selecting, acquiring, preparing, cataloging, and circulating books and other printed materials; planning the use of the library by students, teachers, and instructional staff; and guiding individuals in the use of library books and material maintained separately or as part of an instructional materials center.

library/media staff: Professional staff members who are assigned specific duties and school time for professional library and media service activities. Includes library/media specialists and support staff.

local education agencies (LEAs): Those agencies at the local level whose primary responsibility is to operate public schools or to contract for public school services.

LEA administrative support staff: Staff members who provide direct support to LEA and school administrators, including secretarial or other clerical staff, and persons whose activities are concerned with support of the teaching and administrative duties of the office of the principal, department chairpersons, and central office administrators.

other support staff: Staff who serve in a support capacity and who are not included in the categories of central office administrative support, library support, student support, or school administrative support (e.g., data processing staff; bus drivers; and health, building, equipment maintenance, security, and cafeteria workers).

prekindergarten student: A student who is enrolled in a group or class that is part of a public school program taught during the year or years preceding kindergarten, excluding Head Start students, unless Head Start is part of an authorized public education program of an LEA.

public school: An institution that provides education services and has one or more grade groups (prekindergarten through grade 12) or is ungraded, has one or more teachers to give instruction, is located in one or more buildings or sites, has an assigned administrator, receives public funds as primary support, and is operated by an education agency.

school administrators: Staff members whose activities are concerned with directing and managing the operation of a particular school. These include principals, assistant principals, and other assistants; and persons who supervise school operations, assign duties to staff members, supervise and maintain the records of the school, and coordinate school instructional activities with those of the education agency, including department chairpersons.

student membership: Annual headcount of students enrolled in school on October 1 or the school day closest to that date. In any given year, some small schools will not have any students.

teacher: A professional school staff member who instructs students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1 through 12, or ungraded classes and maintains daily student attendance records.

ungraded: A class that is not organized on the basis of grade grouping and has no standard grade designation. This includes regular classes that have no grade designations and special classes for exceptional students that have no grade designations. Such a class is likely to contain students of different ages who, frequently, are identified according to level of performance in one or more areas of instruction rather than according to grade level or age level.

White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.