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.

Lessons from Week 2

This week was very enlightening. I enjoyed reading about real life examples of action research projects. I learned that it is crucial to have a specific focus that is relevant to your campus or situation. In addition, you need to have measurable evaluations in place. You must also be careful to create an action research plan that is not too large and is able to be adequately completed within your set time frame.

Blog Uses For Educational Leaders

Blogs are a very efficient means of communication for educational leaders. Administrators can use blogs to gain insight and suggestions from staff members. Teachers can use blogs to encourage student contributions to a class discussion or project. Professional learning communities can be aided by the use of blogs. All members of the PLC would be able to comment and reply to posts from other members. Teachers and administrators can create blogs to share upcoming events and provide a forum to get feedback and/or comments. The simplicity of using blogs makes the possiblities endless.

Action Research - What and How?

Action research is a newer form of action based educational research. Traditional educational research relied on research and input from experts unrelated and unfamiliar with the specific campus. Action research, however, relies on the knowledge from professionals directly involved with the school and the issue being researched. By gathering information and research from individuals with an active knowledge of the issue, the school gains the most relevant and up to date facts and information. In  addition, change is most likely to be implemented and supported if the members have an active role in creating the resolution. Action research can involve any number of school issues. From professional learning communities to leadership teams, the possibilities are endless. There are numerous benefits of conducting action research. Avoiding teacher and professional isolationism is a huge benefit. Many teachers want to manage their own classroom and never associate with other professionals. Action research encourages all professionals to work together to implement positive changes needed to improve education. Another benefit is that administrators will often become role models for teachers and staff. By modeling lifelong learning, administrators keep an active role in the relevant improvement of their staff and students’ needs. Action research also ensures the most effective learning strategies prevail in your school. Only by group evaluation of the effectiveness of different practices can the most beneficial techniques be found and implemented. A final benefit of action research is that it allows an administrator to slow down and actively focus on one issue at a time. Once action research is implemented on a regular basis, an administrator will be able to plan ahead and deal with issues before they become problems. In summary, action research is beneficial because it gets the professional input from many different individuals. As a result, the most effective changes can be implemented.