Target Group Improvement Action Research Plan
Nicholas Swift
Health Sciences High and Middle College
Analyze the Data
Describe findings generated from your student achievement data.
The primary data source I used for this class was the Student Voice data. I used three subsections of that data which included “Belonging”, “Sense of Accomplishment” and “Heroes”.
The entire high school took the survey in November of 2014, total of 568 High School Students took the survey.
- Males account for 39.7 percent
- Females account for 60.3 percent
- Total agreement, 62% of students felt that the are a valued member of the school community.
- 69% of males agreed, while 57% of females agreed. That is a difference of 12%!
- 25% of students feel they have never been recognized for something positive at school.
-Males account for 24%
-Females account for 26%
-70% of students at HSHMC have a teacher that they can talk to if they have a problem.
-Males account for 73%
-Females account for 69%
Females at HSHMC feel undervalued?
After analyzing the data, I wanted to make a focus group using my Fire Technology Seniors to help me understand their definitions and meanings of the words “community” and “value”.
Next, I analyzed the school attendance for my Sophomore class. I have 33 Sophomore Fire Technology Students,
22 are girls, meaning 66 percent of my sophomore class is female. I wanted to then identify the girls with the highest absence's and cross reference it between attendance of their internship of Fire Technology vs their core curriculum school days.
-On average, the top five girls have a attendance rate of 87% for four days of the week, which involve their core curriculum classes. (History, Math, English and Science).
-43 internship days for Fire Technology with an Average attendance rate of 97.7 percent
-The goal of the HSHMC is to exceed an average class attendance rate of 95%
After cross referencing the incomplete list with the girls who have high absences in the other classes, all have two or more incomplete’s. At HSHMC, one of our core pillars or staples is “Its never too late to learn.” In this instance, students are issued an “I” for an incomplete vs. that of a D or F like traditional schools. This is my area of concern.
The female students don’t feel valued and as a result have poor attendance and have incomplete’s. However, these same students excel in my class! Why?
Identify questions your data raise.
1) What is your definition of community?
2) How does your definition of community apply to HSHMC?
3) What does value mean to you?
4) What does a teacher do that makes you feel valued?
5) What does a teacher not do that makes you feel valued?
6) Why do you students have a higher average daily attendance for internship days in Fire Technology vs. core curriculum classes?
Identify priority needs. Select one as top priority.
1. Decrease Student Absences
2. Eliminate Incomplete’s
3. Increase student value in all classes
4. Enhance female students’ feeling of value and self worth.
Clarify the Problem
Collect additional data about your instructional program and how it serves students.
HSHMC:
HSHMC FIVE PILLARS of Culture and Climate:
- Welcome
Restorative Philosophies :
“Are an alternative to punitive discipline and focus on offenders facing their victim's and working to restore the community” (pg. 111) Using Data to Focus Instructional Improvement
Hypothesize root causes and contributing factors. Use the factors included here for your analysis.
Organizational Culture:
External Factors influencing Target Group:
Organizational Structure:
Student Demographics:
Instruction & Preparation:
Curriculum:
Root Causes:
Contributing Factors:
According to the data, students don’t feel as though they are an active member in the community. Moreover, the female student population feels as thought they don’t have a staff member they can talk to at school, all the while feeling like they don't get recognized for their positive achievements.
I am interested in analyzing the idea of student Self Worth. According to authors Quaglia and Corso, self worth occurs “when students know they are uniquely valued members of the school and community; have a person in their lives they can trust and learn from; and believe they have the ability to achieve-academically, personally and socially”(pg. 23). The authors help explore and support the idea of student self worth by analyzing and developing three conditions: Belonging, Heroes and Sense of Accomplishment.
In my opinion, belonging is very similar to what I learned in Dr. Pumpians class last semester regarding the concept of “Welcome.” I believe that when students and staff feel welcome, it fosters a greater community of academic achievement and personal growth. I believe that students self worth increases when they feel that they feel Welcome at school, feels free to express themselves, feel accepted, and appreciated. If students don't feel they belong at school, they won't be as successful. I can take this concept one step further and attach the concept of belonging to attendance. This is something I want to dig deeper into?
The data I thought to be most profound was that 62% of the students at HSHMC feel they are a valued member of the community. While it is significantly higher than the national average of 45%. What makes the remaining 38% of students at HSHMC feel undervalued? Why do the not feel that they either belong at the school or don’t feel welcome? In my opinion, one way to improve this would be to cross reference the data with the condition of Sense of Accomplishment. The students voice data said that 25% of HSHMC students feel they have never been positively recognized for something at school. While 75% of students feel they have been recognized for something positive, this data concerns me. Why don't students feel they have been recognized? Have they slipped through the cracks? Are they the silent students that sit in class? What or how can we make get them more engaged?
Identify the target group you have selected for your plan and justify.
Target Group:
Create Your Action Research Plan for 2015-2016
Identify 1 goal and 2 to 3 supporting objectives.
GOAL:
Objectives:
Describe how you will involve each stakeholder group in this plan.
Leadership:
Teachers:
Families:
Interventions:
Identify what data you will collect to monitor progress toward the goal.
Supporting Data:
Identify professional development needed to implement the plan.
Professional Development:
Implement and Monitor Your Action Plan
Map out a calendar of activities for the year.
And
Create a timeline for data collection and analysis.
August: Two weeks before school!
I would like to meet and analyze previous years data to target students exceeding 13% absences from the previous year.
September
End of September:
October:
Every month:
Plan for communicating progress and results to stakeholders.
Leadership:
Decide whether revisions to the plan are needed.
Communicate progress on any needed changes.
Adapted from: Maryland State Department of Education School Improvement Plan, 2010.
Nicholas Swift
Health Sciences High and Middle College
Analyze the Data
Describe findings generated from your student achievement data.
The primary data source I used for this class was the Student Voice data. I used three subsections of that data which included “Belonging”, “Sense of Accomplishment” and “Heroes”.
The entire high school took the survey in November of 2014, total of 568 High School Students took the survey.
- Males account for 39.7 percent
- Females account for 60.3 percent
- Total agreement, 62% of students felt that the are a valued member of the school community.
- 69% of males agreed, while 57% of females agreed. That is a difference of 12%!
- 25% of students feel they have never been recognized for something positive at school.
-Males account for 24%
-Females account for 26%
-70% of students at HSHMC have a teacher that they can talk to if they have a problem.
-Males account for 73%
-Females account for 69%
Females at HSHMC feel undervalued?
After analyzing the data, I wanted to make a focus group using my Fire Technology Seniors to help me understand their definitions and meanings of the words “community” and “value”.
Next, I analyzed the school attendance for my Sophomore class. I have 33 Sophomore Fire Technology Students,
22 are girls, meaning 66 percent of my sophomore class is female. I wanted to then identify the girls with the highest absence's and cross reference it between attendance of their internship of Fire Technology vs their core curriculum school days.
-On average, the top five girls have a attendance rate of 87% for four days of the week, which involve their core curriculum classes. (History, Math, English and Science).
-43 internship days for Fire Technology with an Average attendance rate of 97.7 percent
-The goal of the HSHMC is to exceed an average class attendance rate of 95%
After cross referencing the incomplete list with the girls who have high absences in the other classes, all have two or more incomplete’s. At HSHMC, one of our core pillars or staples is “Its never too late to learn.” In this instance, students are issued an “I” for an incomplete vs. that of a D or F like traditional schools. This is my area of concern.
The female students don’t feel valued and as a result have poor attendance and have incomplete’s. However, these same students excel in my class! Why?
Identify questions your data raise.
1) What is your definition of community?
2) How does your definition of community apply to HSHMC?
3) What does value mean to you?
4) What does a teacher do that makes you feel valued?
5) What does a teacher not do that makes you feel valued?
6) Why do you students have a higher average daily attendance for internship days in Fire Technology vs. core curriculum classes?
Identify priority needs. Select one as top priority.
1. Decrease Student Absences
2. Eliminate Incomplete’s
3. Increase student value in all classes
4. Enhance female students’ feeling of value and self worth.
Clarify the Problem
Collect additional data about your instructional program and how it serves students.
HSHMC:
- POPULATION: 730 students
- 70% free and reduced lunch
- 65% are low income
- 20% are English Language Learners
HSHMC FIVE PILLARS of Culture and Climate:
- Welcome
- Do No Harm
- Never Too Late to Learn
- Choice Words
- Best School in The Universe
Restorative Philosophies :
“Are an alternative to punitive discipline and focus on offenders facing their victim's and working to restore the community” (pg. 111) Using Data to Focus Instructional Improvement
- Internship and professional development 9th-12th
- Fire Technology
- American Heart Association Health Care
- Sharp Health Care Facilities
- Certified Nurses Assistant Program
- Peer Teaching
Hypothesize root causes and contributing factors. Use the factors included here for your analysis.
Organizational Culture:
- HSHMC Five Pillars ( as identified above).
- Staff, student and parent collaboration
- Internship
External Factors influencing Target Group:
- Low Income Status
- Family Difficulties
- Lack of formative education within the family history
Organizational Structure:
- Four days of core curriculum classes
- One day of a students choice of a health based Internship
- An academic advisor for each grade level
- A special education instructor for each grade level
Student Demographics:
- 730 students for HSHMC and HSMC
- 568 High School Students
- 156 10th graders
- 20% are English Language Learners
- 33 Sophomore Fire Technology students, 22 female which is 66%
Instruction & Preparation:
- Internship for the hospital is 3 hours vs. 5 hours of Fire Technology Internship.
- All core curriculum classes are 90 minutes
- As HSHMC is a Middle College, Students attend College classes taught at HSHMC, including mine.
- Use of technology via Blended Learning
- Professional Development every three weeks
- Implement Gradual Release of Responsibility
Curriculum:
- Common Core
- A-G Requirements
- Variety of College classes through San Diego Community Colleges, hosted at HSHMC.
Root Causes:
- Low income
- English Learner
Contributing Factors:
- Family High School graduation rate
- Community and Social influence
According to the data, students don’t feel as though they are an active member in the community. Moreover, the female student population feels as thought they don’t have a staff member they can talk to at school, all the while feeling like they don't get recognized for their positive achievements.
I am interested in analyzing the idea of student Self Worth. According to authors Quaglia and Corso, self worth occurs “when students know they are uniquely valued members of the school and community; have a person in their lives they can trust and learn from; and believe they have the ability to achieve-academically, personally and socially”(pg. 23). The authors help explore and support the idea of student self worth by analyzing and developing three conditions: Belonging, Heroes and Sense of Accomplishment.
In my opinion, belonging is very similar to what I learned in Dr. Pumpians class last semester regarding the concept of “Welcome.” I believe that when students and staff feel welcome, it fosters a greater community of academic achievement and personal growth. I believe that students self worth increases when they feel that they feel Welcome at school, feels free to express themselves, feel accepted, and appreciated. If students don't feel they belong at school, they won't be as successful. I can take this concept one step further and attach the concept of belonging to attendance. This is something I want to dig deeper into?
The data I thought to be most profound was that 62% of the students at HSHMC feel they are a valued member of the community. While it is significantly higher than the national average of 45%. What makes the remaining 38% of students at HSHMC feel undervalued? Why do the not feel that they either belong at the school or don’t feel welcome? In my opinion, one way to improve this would be to cross reference the data with the condition of Sense of Accomplishment. The students voice data said that 25% of HSHMC students feel they have never been positively recognized for something at school. While 75% of students feel they have been recognized for something positive, this data concerns me. Why don't students feel they have been recognized? Have they slipped through the cracks? Are they the silent students that sit in class? What or how can we make get them more engaged?
Identify the target group you have selected for your plan and justify.
Target Group:
- 5 female students, who have an average daily attendance rate of 87 %. These female students also have two or more incomplete’s and are identified through their internship which is Fire Technology. In their internship, these ladies have a near perfect attendance and a passing grade of 90 percent or higher.
- According to the student voice data, females at HSHMC feel undervalued and are not as successful, but my class proves otherwise.
- Why are these particular students more successful in my class vs their core classes?
- Next year these girls will be Juniors and I will monitor their progress and meet with the Junior teachers to ensure that they are being successful.
Create Your Action Research Plan for 2015-2016
Identify 1 goal and 2 to 3 supporting objectives.
GOAL:
- To improve the attendance of the female fire technology students, ensuring that they feel valued and that their academic achievements are communicated with others, including family and staff. I want these students to have an increase in attendance in their classes of 8 percent.
Objectives:
- Create a Google document that I share with the Junior or 11th grade team to ensure that all target students are identified and all correspondences are noted
- Via my Senior FIPT 101 Focus group, the preferred a hand written letter or a positive phone call to their parents
Describe how you will involve each stakeholder group in this plan.
Leadership:
- I have already recruited three members of the Administration team. First, I have asked Mrs. Johnson, HSHMC school Principal to assist me in collecting data via Power School, our data program. Second, I have asked Mr. Smith, the Dean of Students, as he is the leader of restorative practices and the person in charge of attendance. Lastly, I have asked Ms. Aida Allen, the School Ambassador,to assist me with the girls as she is a very respected and loving individual. Most students at HSHMC are very comfortable talking with Ms. Allen and that is why I have asked her to help.
- I will meet with the Administrative staff once a week, on Monday mornings. This will allow us the opportunity to discuss and analyze data. We can analyze the attendance and the incomplete list.
Teachers:
- The Junior Teachers, aka the 11th grade staff and support staff, will meet with me every first and third Friday. Other than emails or texts, this affords the staff the opportunity to have a face to face meeting, concerning high risk students.
Families:
- Per my seniors, they think that value can be increased by Parent contact, so I will be contacting parents weekly with positive praise for their student.
- I prefer face to face contact. I am at school from 6:30 am to 5:00 p.m., so if I can meet with a parent for a few minutes to give positive feedback referring to their child I will. Otherwise, I will send an written letter home, an email or a phone call.
- Peer support and positive recognition
- Student attendance
- Contract for missed days, via Ms. Allen.
- Circles and discussion to promote student value, self worth and belonging to community
- Staff and student support groups
- Staff/ Parent communication
Interventions:
- Admin: Welcome Back Report – Highlight all students in the target group, and encourage all staff members to identify the students in passing and welcome them back. This lets them know that they are a critical part of the community.
- Faculty: Use of restorative language
- Faculty: If there is an extended and unexcused absence (2 or more days) make a restorative house call. Bring food, or other non-confrontational “peace offering.”
- Faculty: Direct parent guardian phone call. (first establish quality of relationship)
- Parent: Automated voice mail when students are absent.
Identify what data you will collect to monitor progress toward the goal.
Supporting Data:
- Number of students enrolled in Fire Technology Internship
- Attendance
- Incomplete List
- Part Contact Percentages/ involvement in school functions
- .Restorative Practices Conferences
- Notification regarding student praise.
Identify professional development needed to implement the plan.
Professional Development:
- Restorative training with parents and students
- Meet with Ms. Allen every Monday for 10 minutes to discuss data regarding absences.
- Every first and third Friday of the month, meet with the Junior teachers to discuss the high risk students.
- Every six weeks, when attending Professional development, identify those students who need the extra support.
- Keep track of all data using a google document which can be shared will the entire staff. Including attendance of students as well as their goals.
Implement and Monitor Your Action Plan
Map out a calendar of activities for the year.
And
Create a timeline for data collection and analysis.
August: Two weeks before school!
I would like to meet and analyze previous years data to target students exceeding 13% absences from the previous year.
- identify support team and make sure they know their responsibilities and offer suggestions as to how to increase student value within the HSHMC community.
- Create an internship Document, via Google Doc’s.which has all the students information. especially parent contact info.
September
- Analyze student attendance data before internships start.
- Compare to incomplete list
End of September:
- Interview all possible Fire Technology Cadets
- Meet with Junior team to discuss student applicants
- Share Google docs and ensure they are updated
- Identify any students with incomplete’s and poor attendance rates.
- Meet with Mr smith to discover why these students are not showing u to school.
October:
- Internship Starts
- Meet with grade level teams once every other week, every first and third Friday for the Juniors.
- Meet with Emily Allen to identify those fire Technology students who have an absence rate of 13 % or more.
- Decide what measures should be taken to ensure a higher attendance rate after consulting Restorative Practices expert Mr. Smith and the students parents.
Every month:
- Meet as grade level every first and third Friday
- Update Google Documents
- Identify new target students for current month, based upon attendance and incomplete’s.
- If students have improved, remove and use data to target the next student who have an absence rate of 13% and more than two incomplete.
- Increase student value and community within HSHMC via positive recognition.
Plan for communicating progress and results to stakeholders.
Leadership:
- Ms. Aida Allen will serve as the the administrator to over see the meetings which occur every first and third Friday of the month. Moreover, the admin team will help lead the professional development to assist the teachers in reaching their goals of increasing student value, attendance and grade amongst the female fire technology students.
- Grade level meetings every first and third Friday of the month.
- Share information with all staff at Professional development, every six weeks.
- Increased contact via phone, email or hand written correspondence
- Direct contact via small impromptu check In's, text, email and phone calls.
Decide whether revisions to the plan are needed.
Communicate progress on any needed changes.
Adapted from: Maryland State Department of Education School Improvement Plan, 2010.