Action Research Update

My action research project goal is to determine if the campus climate can be improved by allowing the teachers to voice their concerns and opinions regarding the schedule. When I sent my initial blind survey to assess the campus climate, I was surprised to see that the overall climate average was higher than what I thought it would be (which would lead me into a new project if I was actually an administrator- why is the climate rated so high when we have so many grouchy people?). I then sent my second survey which gave the teachers and staff opportunities to comment on different areas. I was so excited to see that people really opened up and were honest. My administrator gave me the go ahead to send the survey and collect all the data. So, the survey came from me, not administration, and I think that really helped people open up. I have compiled the surveys and handed them over to my administrator. We have planned a day to sit down and dig in to the schedule for next year. I still need to sit down with each grade level, between now and the meeting with my administrator, and get their input. Our biggest challenge is the PE rotation schedule. I plan to ask each grade level their two preferred times, then try to work around everyone. We also have to consider our RtI pullout. The RtI teacher will be meeting with us to discuss the schedule. We are hoping to have more time slots for her to pull kids. Right now, she is limited in the amout of kids she can get to. The purpose of our meeting is not only to create the new schedule, but also to look at our teachers and possibly move some around.

 

School and Community Relations Presentation

School and Community Relations Week 4

Title of Family-School-Community Partnership Project

Parent Meetings Revamped

I. Data-Evidenced Student Need

We are a Title I district with many students performing below grade level as shown in our istation reports, weekly assessments, unit assessments and benchmark scores. Our parental involvement is very low.

II. Benefits for Student Achievement

Research shows that student achievement levels are higher when parents are involved and/or supportive. If we can reach more parents to build relationships and give them information regarding what is going on in their child’s classroom and how to help at home, we can directly impact student achievement.

III. Proposed Activities/Strategies

Draw in the parents with a student performance or open-house type setting, then incorporate the informational pieces that we want to share with parents.

IV. Proposed Process for Planning and Implementation

I will present my plan to the faculty and staff, then ask for suggestions. After suggestions are considered, we would need to meet again and discuss exactly what these meetings will look like. If we do them on the same night, we would need to have multiple meetings in order to accommodate the parents with children in multiple grade levels. Our 2nd and 3rd grade teams also work as partners. We would need to allow time for parents to visit each teacher’s classroom.

V. What You Want from Your Audience

The teachers are the ones that are going to have to be prepared to present information at the meetings so they have got to be supportive and onboard. I also would like for there to be collaboration all the way around. The teachers need to be involved in the process (own it) for them to ‘buy in’ and make the meetings successful.

https://sites.google.com/site/kerigrimsley/home

http://kgrimsleyactionresearch.blogspot.com/

Action Research Update

Last week I finished gathering and printing my online surveys. I gave a copy to my administrator to look over. Our next step is to sit down and discuss the information gathered through the surveys. I will be taking a day to spend with my administrator to accomplish this.

School and Community Relations Week 3: Evaluation Process

Describe the evaluation process that you will use to assess the outcomes of the proposed family-school-community partnership.

My goal is to increase the number of parents who attend grade level informational meetings by incorporating them with Open House or a student performance since more parents seem to attend those meetings. We use sign in sheets for every meeting we have. I will be comparing parental attendance numbers from this year (when the two types of meetings were not merged) with next years numbers (when the two types of meetings will be merged. I will also gain teacher opinion through a survey. I want to know how successful they feel the new meetings have been and if they feel they have better informed parents because of the new meetings.

What are the measurable goals that you have established for the proposed family-school-community partnership? What criteria will you use to determine if the partnership has met those goals?

We have low parental attendance at informational meetings and high parental attendance at Open House or PTO meetings when the kids perform. By merging the two types of meetings into one, I feel that it is difficult to set a goal. I hope the number of parents who attend the new merged meetings will represent at least 80% of the grade level’s population. I will measure this by using the sign in sheets and counting the number of kids that were represented. I can then compare the data with the data for each type of meeting from the previous year. I also hope that the data will show a positive impact on student achievement for those students whose parents attend. I can measure this by looking at their grades and talking with the teachers to see if they feel the students are performing better after the meeting. Another area that needs to be looked at is parent/teacher communication. Hopefully, by getting more parents to school, our staff can begin to foster relationships with parents, in turn making them feel more comfortable coming to school and supporting us at home.

How do you envision using the data that will be generated from the evaluation process?

I hope the increase is significant and I plan to report back to my faculty after we have had the meetings during the next school year. I will share with them the percentages of the previous year’s meetings and the percentages from the new meetings. If we receive positive increases and I feel that is a valid argument to continue the combined meetings.