Action Research Progress

My Action Research Plan is at a slow start. I am in communication with principals from othe districts about how the are handling discipline issues. My questions include: progress of discipline issues from last year to this year, any changes to decrease discipline issues, and any effects in student performance. Once I’ve obtained information from other administration leaders, I will determine what ideas will benefit our students and share with the DMC(Discipline Mangement Committee). The DMC has implemented a new Student Accountablility System to reduce the number of discipline issues in the classroom. I have compared the number of referrals from this year and last year during the first 3 weeks of school, and noticed a major decline in referrals. I plan to continue to review the data on the number of referrals on a monthly basis. Based on the Student Accountablility System, there are about 3-4 students who are in need of a parent conference because of the number of occurrences in all classes. The DMC are currently meeting to discuss discipline issues for these students with their parents. These meetings are designed to not only make the parent aware of the child’s behavior, but to also develop a plan to help student improve in behavior and on an academic level.

After these event have taken place, and more data analysis/comparison is done, then I will provide the staff with the pogress of the new Student Accountablility System. If proof is shown that a system is working, more teacher would buy-in to it. They would also be likely to add additional ideas on how to reduce discipline issues and keep students in class learning.

 

 

My Action Planning Exploration Revised

My Action Planning Exploration	Discipline Issues: Are the consequences fair and are our students benefitting?
	Research Question: What difference would the Disciple Management Team (DMT) make regarding the percentage of students in ISS per six weeks and the effectiveness of consequences for the level of each offense? How will the DMT be consistent in handling discipline issues as each situation is different? How do discipline referral consequences (ISS or PACES) affect student performance?
	Goal: The objective of this action research project is to reduce the amount of time a student is not involved in instructional learning, administer fair consequences to every student, and to determine if consequences affect student performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Process for Monitoring	Evaluation
1.          Interview other professionals about their discipline issues and how they are handled. Search blogs concerning the issue. (Setting the Foundation)	Theresa Coleman	August 2013- October 2013	Interview questions, blogs	NA	Gather information and determine which best practice would be practical for our campus.
2.          Interview a random group of students that fit into every demographic and social group about what they believe are fair consequences. (Develop a deeper understanding)	Theresa Coleman	October 2013-November 2013	Interview questions	spreadsheet	Conjoin all responses and make a list of suggested conclusions
3.          Meeting with the Discipline Management Team (DMT) to examine data from previous year and start decision-making process. (Develop a deeper understanding)	DMT Committee	October 2013	Skyward/Dmac reports (referral/student %, grade averages)	Chart or graph	Reflection: summarize thoughts and ideas from meeting; Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive
4.          Meeting with faculty and staff: the specifics and non-negotiables for classroom. (Setting the Foundation)	Murrell Stewart, Principal	December 2013	Results and ideas  from meeting	NA	Reflection: summarize thoughts and ideas from meeting
5.        Review report: skyward/Dmac       (Analyzing data)	Theresa Coleman DMT Committee	Monthly (Oct 2013-May 2014)	Skyward/Dmac reports	Chart or graph results that include student/referral %, types of infractions, Grade monitoring	Reflections
6.          DMT meeting: asking more questions, address needed issues (Exploring Patterns)	DMT Committee	End of every 6 weeks	Notes from previous meetings, chart	Chart or graph results that include student/referral %, types of infractions, Grade monitoring	Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive
7.          Faculty Meeting: share data, progress, modifications to staff	Administration team DMT Committee	January 2014	Notes form DMT meeting, Charts, oral and written presentations	NA	Note teacher reactions and questions/comments
8.          Teacher/student evaluation: Has in/out-of-school suspension effected six week’s grade or Faculty meeting (Exploring patterns)	Murrell Stewart, Theresa Coleman	End of every 6 weeks	surveys	Survey results, meeting minutes	Reflections: changes in behavior, student and teacher feedback and concerns
9.          DMT Meeting:  Assess progress and achievements, discuss any modifications in discipline. (Determine a direction, Take action)	DMT Committee	End of 3rd six weeks (January 2013)	All data collected: reports, charts, surveys, additional questions	NA	Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive; Reflection: noting changes in strategies
10.        Monitor the data concerning discipline issues and referrals observing any changes. (Sustaining Improvement)	DMT Committee	2nd semester	Skyward and DMAC reports	Note any drastic changes in the results	Reflection
11.        Faculty Meeting: share data, results; effective vs. ineffective	Administration team DMT Committee	May 2014	Notes form DMT meeting, Charts, oral and written presentations	NA	Feedback from teachers on overall opinion of discipline issues and student performance

Internship Progress

In attempts to start working on my internship plan early, I stumbled across an activity I volunteered myself for this year; updating the campus website. When I looked at another district's site and looked at ours, it was complete motivation to construct it to be more interesting and use it as an opportunity to show our students off. This week, with school starting in a couple of weeks, I wanted to update it with current schedules and campus information parents need to know prior to the first day of school. I had to be trained on how to access the website and add/take away specific information. It has been a fun but time consuming experience since school has not started yet. I have had to contact different staff members to get needed information; that is not always a walk in the park. The real test will be with students, teaching, coaching, committees, continuing this class, and other obligations. The way I see it, I am being groomed for the many upper level tasks to come. I realize that careful and thorough planning is a great necessity for this upcoming year. Let the TRUE tests began!

Action Plan Guide (Revised)

My Action Planning Exploration	Discipline Issues: Are the consequences fair and are our students benefitting?
	Research Question: What difference would the Disciple Management Team (DMT) make regarding the percentage of students in ISS per six weeks and the effectiveness of consequences for the level of each offense? How will the DMT be consistent in handling discipline issues as each situation is different? How do discipline referral consequences (ISS or PACES) affect student performance?
	Goal: The objective of this action research project is to reduce the amount of time a student is not involved in instructional learning, administer fair consequences to every student, and to determine if consequences affect student performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Process for Monitoring	Evaluation
1.          Interview other professionals about their discipline issues and how they are handled. Search blogs concerning the issue. (Setting the Foundation)	Theresa Coleman	August 2013- September 2013	Interview questions, blogs	NA	Gather information and determine which best practice would be practical for our campus.
2.          Interview a random group of students that fit into every demographic and social group about what they believe are fair consequences. (Develop a deeper understanding)	Theresa Coleman	September 2013	Interview questions	spreadsheet	Conjoin all responses and make a list of suggested conclusions
3.          Meeting with the Discipline Management Team (DMT) to examine data from previous year and start decision-making process. (Develop a deeper understanding)	DMT Committee	September 2013	Skyward/Dmac reports (referral/student %, grade averages)	Chart or graph	Reflection: summarize thoughts and ideas from meeting; Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive
4.          Meeting with faculty and staff: the specifics and non-negotiables for classroom. (Setting the Foundation)	Murrell Stewart, Principal	September 2013	Results and ideas  from meeting	NA	Reflection: summarize thoughts and ideas from meeting
5.        Review report: skyward/Dmac       (Analyzing data)	Theresa Coleman DMT Committee	Monthly (Oct 2013-May 2014)	Skyward/Dmac reports	Chart or graph results that include student/referral %, types of infractions, Grade monitoring	Reflections
6.          DMT meeting: asking more questions, address needed issues (Exploring Patterns)	DMT Committee	End of every 6 weeks	Notes from previous meetings, chart	Chart or graph results that include student/referral %, types of infractions, Grade monitoring	Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive
7.          Faculty Meeting: share data, progress, modifications to staff	Administration team DMT Committee	January 2014	Notes form DMT meeting, Charts, oral and written presentations	NA	Note teacher reactions and questions/comments
8.          Teacher/student evaluation: Has in/out-of-school suspension effected six week’s grade or Faculty meeting (Exploring patterns)	Murrell Stewart, Theresa Coleman	End of every 6 weeks	surveys	Survey results, meeting minutes	Reflections: changes in behavior, student and teacher feedback and concerns
9.          DMT Meeting:  Assess progress and achievements, discuss any modifications in discipline. (Determine a direction, Take action)	DMT Committee	End of 3rd six weeks (January 2013)	All data collected: reports, charts, surveys, additional questions	NA	Meeting survey to determine if goals were met and gathering was productive; Reflection: noting changes in strategies
10.        Monitor the data concerning discipline issues and referrals observing any changes. (Sustaining Improvement)	DMT Committee	2nd semester	Skyward and DMAC reports	Note any drastic changes in the results	Reflection
11.        Faculty Meeting: share data, results; effective vs. ineffective	Administration team DMT Committee	May 2014	Notes form DMT meeting, Charts, oral and written presentations	NA	Feedback from teachers on overall opinion of discipline issues and student performance