Week 4 Reflection

The one thing I learned this week is that having a dedicated site supervisor is essential in completing these assignments.  By getting started early and keeping in touch weekly, my site supervisor and I came to an agreement for the best plan to use on our campus.  Because of my constant contact with her, I have no revisions to make on my action research plan this week.

My Action Research Plan

Action Research Plan Student Truancy
Goal: Determine the campus based measures which can be enacted to decrease student truancy. Objectives: 1.      Identify the causes of low student attendance 2.     Implement activities to target students who are frequently absent 3.    Increase student attendance
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with attendance clerk and campus administrator	Billie Cisneros	July 20, 2013-September 1, 2013	Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden CIS Liaison Counselors	We will discuss problem of truancy in our school as it pertains to our seniors
Review Texas truancy law, BISD truancy policy, and campus guidelines and practices	Billie Cisneros	August 1, 2013-September 30, 2013	District Student Handbook BISD policy Texas Education Code	I will review these articles to familiarize myself with local, district and state laws regarding absence and loss of credit
Data collection to identify seniors	Billie Cisneros	September 1, 2013-September 30, 2013	Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden Counselors Registrar	To develop my activities , I will collect longitudinal data from 2011, 2012, and 2013 and determine course denial due to poor attendance
Select a random research sample of 10-15 students	Billie Cisneros	October 1, 2013- November 8, 2013	Janice Katawar	I will take the identified seniors and randomly select a group to follow through the course of my research.
Tag students in TEAMS	Billie Cisneros	October 1, 2013- November 8, 2013	Janice Katawar	With the help of our school technology liaison, I will tag the selected students so that I will able to track their progress
Identify prescriptive measures to alleviate the problem of credit loss due to truancy	Billie Cisneros	October 1, 2013- November 8, 2013	Collected data Literary reviews (previous research)	Use literary reviews to determine what has worked before and to determine if it can possible work on my campus
Design and implement my activities	Billie Cisneros	September1, 2013- ongoing	Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden CIS Liaison Counselors Janice Katawar	Through research I will create activities to implement in my study
Conduct student attendance orientation	Billie Cisneros	October 7, 2013- November 22, 2013	Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden CIS Liaison	This orientation will be designed to inform habitually truant students of what attendance requirement are expected in order to receive credit
Issue survey to targeted student	Billie Cisneros	October 7, 2013- November 22, 2013	Targeted student population Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden	I will use this survey to glean information as to why students are frequently absent and to assess their knowledge of attendance law
Conduct parent attendance orientation	Billie Cisneros	October 7, 2013- November 22, 2013	Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden CIS Liaison	This orientation will be designed to inform parents of habitually truant students of what attendance requirement are expected in order to receive credit
Conduct teacher attendance orientation	Billie Cisneros	October 7, 2013- November 22, 2013	Teachers who teach the targeted students	This orientation will be designed to inform teachers of habitually truant students of what attendance activities will be implemented in order to increase attendance
Alert messages through Blackboard	Billie Cisneros	December 2, 2013- January 24, 2014	Janice Katawar	These messages will be sent every time a student is absent from one or more classes a day
Timely notification of attendance infractions	Billie Cisneros	December 2, 2013- January 24, 2014	Attendance clerk CIS Liaison Counselors	Students in the targeted group will be counseled each time they receive a tardy urged to bring excuse from home
Assign the targeted student mentorship through the CIS Liasion	Billie Cisneros	December 2, 2013- January 24, 2014	CIS Liaison	Truant student will hold weekly meetings with the CIS liason to work on ways to increase attendance
Analyze data	Billie Cisneros	December 2, 2013- January 24, 2014	Attendance clerk	I will monitor targeted student attendance weekly to check for improvement or decline
Conduct a follow-up survey of students	Billie Cisneros	January 28, 2014- March 7, 2014	Targeted student population Attendance clerk Dr. Veronica Durden	I will use this instrument to determine the effectiveness of the chosen activities
Present findings to staff and Campus Education Improvement Committee (CEIC)	Billie Cisneros	January 28, 2014- March 7, 2014	Original student survewy analysis, list of programs chosen, follow-up student survey analysis	This will provide a comprehensive presentation for the CEIC and staff members

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

What I have Learned in Week 2 of Action Research

This week there was a huge push to select an action research topic.  I have learned that there are components that must be considered when selecting a topic.  Working with my site supervisor, we have selected a topic that benefits the students of our school.  My action research study will be on the effect of early intervention on student truancy.  On the high school level, I see an enormous amount of truancy.  Student are losing whole credit hours due to the inability or desire to attend school regularly.  This action research study is designed to improve student school attendance within the 90% rule, thus preventing students from having to follow a Principal’s Plan to make up time missed. The outcome will be practical recommendations and procedures for campus administrations to monitor and intervene to keep attendance within the 90% requirement.  The action research study will benefit every entity in the school, including administrators, teachers and students.  Low student attendance affects the entire school.  Students will benefit when they attend school more regularly and are more productive in the classroom.  The teachers will benefit from solutions to decrease truancy by making a greater impact on student achievement.  Finally, administrators will benefit because the increased performance of students will increase the scores on tests.  Everyone wins when students attend school regularly.

How eductional leaders might use blogs

I must honestly admit that I have no experience with blogging.  This is an uncharted territory for me.  The little time I have spent learning about blogs has opened my eyes to all the possibilities that blogging can offer to an educational leader.  First and foremost, blogging gives educational leaders a vast array of outlets for new ideas.  Secondly, blogging allows one to be more global and learn about the standards of other school districts, and even other countries, and how to implement those standards in their own school.  Finally, through blogging, leaders can create personal learning networks wherein they can bounce ideas off other principals.  This collaboration brings new ideas onto the leader's campus.  Blogging can provide a wealth of information and connections for educators.  It is truly a useful tool that I want to learn more about.

What is action research and how can it be implemented?

I must admit that I was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of this research class.  I think the word research panics most people, myself included.  I have spent some time researching what action research is and I perceive action research to be identifying a problem, finding research to attempt to solve the problem, applying the research, and scrutinizing your results and making changes in practices .  I gleaned most of the information I learned from Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Fitchtman Dana.  By definition action research "refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009).   Through action research, both teachers and administrators gain deeper insight into their practices and their role in school improvement efforts (Dana, 2009).  Action research is a way for teachers and administrators to collaborate and find ways to improve student achievement and overall school climate.  The wonderful thing about action research is that it is versatile enough to be used on the classroom level as well as the district level.  In the classrooms setting, it can be used to find ways to improve student achievement, and on the district level it can be used for the development of standards and programs for the whole district.  Action research is a simple tool that can be used to accomplish great things in schools and take peer collaboration to a new level.