Action Research Progress Status

Action Research Project Title: Hispanic Forum

Blog URL:  http://www.angierichardactionresearch.blogspot.com/

Number of AR Project Documented Hours: 28 preparation, 3 hours for the Forum itself

                                                                         Total: 31 hours

AR Project Summary (at least 250 words):

The Hispanic Forum is an exciting project that is going well so far. I planned the first meeting over a couple of weeks. I had 5 separate meetings for a total of 10 meeting hours. I spent 18 total hours on prep work – including research, printing, copies, flyers, schedules, PowerPoint presentations, etc. The meeting was held on September 12 from 6:00 – 8:30 pm. In total, 24 parents showed up to the meeting. At the meeting we covered several items. Each student had a copy of their schedule and last year’s final report card. We took the parents on a tour of the school and showed them where their child spends their time during the day. It was amazing to see how interested these parents were in seeing the classrooms their child spends their days in. We also had charged laptops available for parents to use. We walked them through the steps of signing up for Parent Connect. Parent Connect is an online resource that allows parents to monitor their child’s grades, attendance, and discipline. Parents have single click access to email teachers, counselors, and principals. It is an amazing program that keeps communication lines open for all members involved in their child’s education. The PowerPoint presentation for the parents covered school procedures, school discipline (ISS, OSS), dress code, schedule changes, clubs and organizations, and ways for the parents to become involved in Klein Oak High School. We provided Spanish speaking contact information for each department so parents would know exactly who to call for any issues. When the meeting was over, we had a survey to ask for feedback. Surprisingly, these parents wanted even more information. We have a second Hispanic Forum scheduled for December. In the meantime, I am compiling information for each child whose parent(s) attended the Hispanic Forum. I will be evaluation whether or not the parental involvement had a positive effect on the ESL student’s academic performance, discipline, and attendance.

324 words

Action Research Project UPDATE

I organized the first Hispanic Forum. It went very well. We had 24 parents show up! We had laptops charged and ready for parent use. We had Spanish speaking staff members helping parents create account accounts on Parent Connect so they can monitor their child's grades, attendance, and discipline online. I received some amazing feedback and even requests for future meetings. So excited!

Week Five Notes

This course has been invaluable. As a debate teacher, I was excited to see this course was a research class. Once we started, I quickly realized how different action research was from traditional research. The processes taught in this course were very helpful in identifying what I needed to focus on in my action research project.

From the beginning of this course, I was introduced to real life action research projects. By studying what others have done, I was able to define for myself what action research is really all about. Principal Donnan Stoicovy (Dana Text) is my new, unexpected hero. I was inspired by all that this woman was able to achieve with planning and dedication. It was enlightening to read about the successes as well as the difficulties she experienced throughout this process. I would have loved to have seen an interview with Ms. Stoicovy as well as the other examples in the Dana text.

In examining this course, I must mention the blogs, discussion forums, and weekly web conferences. All three of these have been immensely useful. I didn’t have any prior experience with blogs and now I am proud to call myself a blogger! The discussion forums provided consistent feedback from a variety of sources. As far as the weekly web conferences, all I can say is thank you Dr. Abshire. She was amazing and patient. She made sure to thoroughly cover any question anyone had. She also made it seem like every question was a good question – even if she had already previous answered it. This course was very enlightening and I am excited to start implementing my action research project.

Week Four Observations

Dr. Abshire said I didn't  need to repost the plan since it is pretty much the same as the one posted in  my Week 3 blog entry. The only change was to find ten Spanish speaking teachers rather than five Spanish speaking teachers and five ESL certified teachers. The reason for this change was to avoid too much work for each participating teacher. Since ESL certified teachers don't necessarily speak Spanish, they wouldn't be any help in bridging the communication gap in order to get these parents involved.

I am very excited about this project and would love to have any suggestions from any of you!

Action Research Template - Week 3

Action Planning Template
Goal: Find out the effects of parental involvement on ELL student performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Hold forum for Spanish Speaking parents. Goals: 1. Assign Spanish speaking mentor to each parent(s). 2. Inform parents of opportunities for school involvement. 3. Encourage parents to attend school functions, communicate with teachers, etc. 4. Ask questions about parent needs and desires.	Angie Richard Supervisor: Joyce Wells Five Spanish speaking teachers Five ESL certified teachers PTO	August 2012	Handouts listing dates of school functions. Contact information for parents – English and Spanish versions. Ask PTO to attend and provide refreshments	Question/Answer session at close of forum. Follow up phone call and/or email evaluating forum. Request suggestions from Spanish speaking parents.
Gather grades, attendance, and discipline records for all students whose parents were involved in the forum.	Angie Richard Supervisor: Joyce Wells Attendance: Jennifer Carpe Discipline: Various Assistant Principals Grades: Registrar and Counselors	August/September 2012	Computer to access records	Compiled for future comparison to results from action research plan.
Compile attendance records of parents at various school functions. Document amount of parental contact with mentor, teachers, principals, and counselors.	Angie Richard Supervisor: Joyce Wells Mentors Counselors Principals	August 2012 – January 17, 2013	Computer to access and compile records/results	Compiled for future use in evaluating effects of parental involvement.
Gather end of semester data of all ESL students – grades, attendance, and discipline. Separate results of ESL students with parental involvement from ESL students without parental involvement.	Angie Richard Supervisor: Joyce Wells Counselors Principals	January 17, 2013	Computer to access and compile records/results	Compare results to determine what, if any, effect parental involvement has on ESL student performance. Compile suggestions on how to help Spanish speaking parents become involved in their child’s education.