This week during the web conference the subject of a template for the Three-year Professional Development Plan arose. Jaime Alvarez-Calderon and I agreed that the task would be a lot more straight forward if a template was available. As the discussion continued we decided that the best approach would be to create a chart to illustrate our intended activities. The next major topic of discussion involved the PISE form. There was confusion about whether to use the PISE stand alone document or the PISE/ETLISE combo form. Dr. Attaway provided clarification on the matter. After her explanation it was clear that in my case, because I am a Education Administration major, I needed to use the PISE document instead of the combination form so as not to confuse myself.

Action Research Project Report Draft

 

 

 

The More We Get Together: Including Parents in the Tutorial Setting

 

Israel Taylor Jr.

 

Robert E. Lee Elementary

 

Port Arthur Independent School District

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Note

 

            Israel Taylor Jr., Science and ESL Specialist for 3^rd grade, Robert E. Lee Elementary, Port Arthur Independent School District.

            Correspondences concerning this article should be addressed to Israel Taylor Jr., Science Specialist, Robert E. Lee Elementary, 3900 10^th Street, Port Arthur, TX 77640. Email: itaylor@paisd.org.

Needs Assessment

            For the 2011-2012 reporting period, the Robert E. Lee elementary campus did not meet the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements because of a .02 drop in the Reading achievement within the Hispanic student population. Upon analyzing the data on the 3^rd grade first 6 weeks Reading and Mathematics Benchmark examinations for 2012-2013, my colleagues and I discovered that only 44% of the Hispanic students and only 50% of African American students mastered the Benchmark at the 75% or greater level. We, as a 3^rd grade team, tried to pinpoint what instructionally had occurred. Our best summation was that district wide reading monitoring had shifted this past year as well as a new math curriculum had been introduced during the previous year. Our 3^rd grade reading and math comprehensive scores had been in the 80% or above percentile for a number of years on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Now we are preparing our students for the more rigorous State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). It will be imperative that our Hispanic student population master the new state assessment and show growth in order for our campus to meet the AYP requirements. African American students need to be monitored so as not to experience a similar drop in their scores. When we held conferences with parents, they overwhelmingly expressed their concern that their students were also experiencing difficulty with homework assignments and that they were sometimes at a loss to assist them. Many stated that they themselves did not always understand the verbose passages that have become the norm on Mathematics and Reading assignments. In most instances we suggest that the students attend tutorial sessions to improve their skills. However, at the end of the day, parents would still be in a difficult position when assisting their children with homework completion. This realization is what lead me to exploring and developing the question: How would the inclusion of parents in the tutorial process effect student achievement?    

Objectives and Vision of the Action Research Project

            Our vision is that all 3^rd grade students, including Hispanic and African American students, will increase their reading and mathematic comprehensive skills to the 85% or greater percentile by the fourth 6 weeks District Benchmark Assessments. The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of including parents in the tutorial process to inspire greater student achievement in mathematics and reading.

Review of the Literature and Action Research

            The vision of increasing student achievement by increasing parental involvement is well documented. Previous research found evidence that higher parental involvement contributes to an increase in a child’s perceived level of competence (Gonzalez-DeHass, Willems, and Holbein, 2005). The more a student realizes that we (teachers, students, and parents) are working as a team, the more they will strive for success. Richard Louv reiterated the words of George J. McKenna III, “Ideally, a parent would be present in every classroom everyday” (Louv, 1999).

***This section will be expanded to include more references***

 

Articulate the Vision

            I shared my action research idea with my grade level team members first to get their input and discuss the feasibility of the idea. After discussing the proposal and refining the approach, I developed the tutorial plan. Next, I presented the plan to my principal for his approval. Once he had listened to my proposal and studied the plan, he gave me permission to present the idea to the 3^rd grade parents at our fall Open House meeting.

            At the Open House, I introduced the new tutorial model to the parents during the break out session. A Power Point presentation was shown that highlighted the 2011-2012 AYP report and the framework of the new STAAR assessment. The information was explained to the parents because this year is the first year that their children would be subjected to a state assessment. Copies of the first 6 weeks district benchmark examinations where provided along with their students scores.

Manage the Organization

            The Parental Inclusion tutorial program was conducted by the 3^rd grade Math and Reading Instructors. Materials that were utilized came from on-hand resource materials to avoid incurring any additional costs. We selected materials that were consistent with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) that were being taught for that time period. Using our 3^rd grade student population subgroup monitoring spreadsheets, we identified the Hispanic and African American students most in need of the modified tutorial sessions. Once identified, conferences were scheduled to reiterate the purpose of the program, discuss the student’s current abilities, and explain the timeframe and length of the sessions. Parents that wished to participate with their students were signed up for the program.

Manage Operations

            The 3^rd grade team members, utilizing our student subgroup monitoring spreadsheets, identified Hispanic and African American students that scored between 50% and 70% on the first 6 weeks Reading and Mathematics District Benchmark examinations. These students served as the target population for the research. The targeted groups were the focus of the study after disaggregating the 2011-2012 AYP data. They will need to show growth in their abilities to ensure an “Acceptable” rating on the upcoming report for 2012-2013. Students that scored below 50% would participate in our in-school Tier 3 Response To Intervention (RTI) program to better build their skills toward becoming grade level appropriate. Another factor that we considered were students of parents that had expressed concerns with assisting their children with homework. All parents were surveyed to determine the best two days for the hour-long sessions. The teachers did not want the sessions to be too time consuming so as not to discourage attendance.

Respond to Community Interest and Needs

            The Parent Inclusion tutorials have allowed each participating student to receive one-on-one assistance during the sessions. During regular instructional time this is not possible. Some of the students that participated have 504 status and require reading assistance or have more individualized instructional needs. The tutoring sessions also provided the teachers with the opportunity to model strategies that they employ in the classroom. After the commencement of the tutorial program information spread word-of-mouth amongst the parents. We subsequently  added some students to the program who’s parents had initially been reluctant.

 

 

 

Reference

Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., Willems, P. P., Holbein, M. F. Examining the relationship between        parental involvement and student motivation. Educational Psychology Review 2005; 17:99-123.

Louv, R. (1999). The good enough parent: How to increase parent involvement in the schools.      SparkAction. Retrieved on January 28, 2013. Retrieved from http://sparkaction.org/node/73.      

The research project has been moving slowly since school has begun. The proposed instrument that was to be used to measure student reading progress, the TPRI, may still be dropped for 3rd grade use district wide. Upper administration is considering using the STAAR Readiness as the assessment tool of choice. I am anticipating full implementation of the STAAR Readiness instrument. My grade level members and I have already conducted the beginning of the year STAAR Readiness fluency assessment. Our district is suffering financially because of budget cuts and I feel the most economical instrument will be the one that is adopt. I do feel that the research will be beneficial because our school and district did not meet the AYP requirements this past year and we are all redoubling our efforts to monitor each students’ progress. Everyone is determined that our school will exceed the requirements this year. My grade level members have been helpful in assisting in this project. If it is well conducted, the monitoring will provide valuable information on all our students. In any case, which ever instrument the district decides to move forward with, I am prepared to proceed.

I'm really excited to see that I have followers. Thank y'all for joining. We survived the planning phase of the Action Research. I'm not sure about the TK20 submissions though. No word from my principal about changes in the assessment instrument. Thats a good thing. I cannot activate my plan until school starts but everything is in place. Hope all is well for everyone else.

On this past week, I met with my principal in his office and discussed the Action Research Plan utilizing the SIP/PIP template version I have developed to illustrate how the research would be conducted. During our meeting on the previous week, the possibility of changes within the 3^rd grade instructional team had been mentioned. I was told that the changes were no longer a concern and that all the 3^rd grade teachers would remain in their current assignments. I was pleased with this decision because all of my team members are onboard with the research plan. We had also discussed that district administrators where thinking of eliminating the TPRI instrument altogether and moving to a new monitoring system. As of yet, he had not received a definite answer from administration as to the fate of TPRI or what the possible replacement could be. My supervisor reviewed and agreed with the plan as it is. He suggested no changes at this time. We concluded it would be best to wait on a firm decision from administration on the direction they would take.

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool

Identify Concerns that must change (look to the future)
(Assign points to concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Increase 3^rd grade student reading comprehension levels to 80% or higher.

2. Increase 3^rd grade student passing rate on the STAAR assessment.

3. Meet Campus wide AYP requirements.

Identify Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)
(Assign points to affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Administrative and Teacher commitment.

2. TPRI (beginning, middle, and end of year) monitoring and Reading 6 weeks benchmark assessments.

3. RTI instruction for students scoring below 80% on Reading benchmark assessments.

SMART Recommendations that must be implemented:
(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)
(Assign points to recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations to implement.)

1. Student achievement will increase on 6 weeks benchmark assessment to 80% or better.

2. Teachers will disaggregate Reading benchmark data jointly to develop RTI strategies.

3. Utilize student Reading improvement Tracking spreadsheets.


EVALUATE – Specifically and Often
(Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1. TPRI (B, M, EOY) Reading data.

2. Reading benchmark assessment data.

3. STAAR Reading assessment data.

On yesterday I found out about several changes on campus. Two teachers are changing districts and one decided to retire. Staff may be internally moved around. The district may also do away with the TPRI instrument that I was shaping my research around. I'll I can do is wait and see what is going to happen. One positive thing is that I will be included on the interview panel during our search for new teachers.