Khalsa Spring 2012Your name: Tennille Wilkens

615 DATA DRIVEN DECISION MAKING PROJECT – PHASE III and MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION INCLUDED HERE.

PHASE III – SCHOOL LEVEL INITIATIVE PLAN (15%)

Purpose of this assignment: This is the third and final phase of the three-part course Data-Driven Decision-Making Project and will be completed individually based on the Phase II group work. The goal of this assignment is to plan step-by-step actions for implementation of a level-wide data-driven improvement plan for students.  An individual multi-media presentation, in which the student reflects on planning collaboratively and using data as a base for discussions and improvement will also be included in the submission. 

Please fill in the answers to each question in the template below. Be sure to copy/paste the data/graphs/charts as appropriate for some answers. A visual of a timeframe or other uses of tables and images will add interest and clarity to the assignment. Please include these as you see fit.

1. Why did I choose this initiative and what learning will it support? In deciding on the first rule of action to implement initiatives that are to provide a plan of action for students, I’d like to first focus on students attendance. Maintaining proper attendance is the beginning of a successful student. Of course that may seem obvious but there are so many students whose attendance has had a tremendous effect on their performance. Absentee children miss out on the opportunity to learn daily lessons, and score well on assessments. It’s important for students and parents to understand that attendance is the foundation that plays a role in success.

2. What data was used to substantiate my choice of this initiative? The data reviewed in Phase I of this plan has linked student’s attendance to decline in reading, writing, and test scores. As shown in the graph below, a drop in attendance has had an impact for homework assignments. Arriving upon these findings, developing and implementing an action plan to improve students attendance became a priority. I found a study that was conducted at Arizona State University showing that, “students from kindergarten through high school found that dropout patterns were linked with poor attendance, beginning in kindergarten….with dropouts missing an average of 124 days by eighth grade” (Rodel Community Scholars)

References:

http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/behavior-discipline/644-school-attendance-issues.gs

Graph is from individual portion in Phase 1.

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3. What group of students will this initiative best serve?  In what curriculum area? The initiative is befitting for those students that have missed ten or more days. It is our goal to intervene to promote the importance of attendance in all curriculum areas. If we teach these growing children its ok to miss school, it embeds an attitude towards other instances involving accountability. Educating the family is the first step at ensuring young children are in school. Some families may be facing a personal circumstance that has an effect on the student’s education. According to a report by Johns Hopkins University School of Education researcher Dr. Robert Balfanz found that, “chronic absenteeism in American schools is a largely unnoticed and unmeasured problem”. With that evidence, many parents may not even realize the detrimental effects that those small absences have, and how they lead to an ongoing struggle.

Reference:

http://nbclatino.com/2013/09/04/attendance-awareness-month-is-your-child-missing-too-much-school/

4. What are the learning objectives for this initiative? In educating all parties involved on the importance of attendance, the greatest outcome of all will be an increase I knowledge. The goal of this initiative is to keep the children in school; never let them miss an opportunity to learn something new. Attending school regularly increases understanding, as well as provide the necessary tools for study at home. Not only is it our goal to get children to attend school indefinitely but to always leave with some level of understanding.

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5. What are the detailed steps for initiative implementation? The attendance initiative is to be reactive and proactive. It is an important goal to improve absenteeism and avoid other instances that may possibly impact a student’s attendance. Including both excused and unexcused absents, as well as lateness and early dismissals. It is a priority that the implementations of this initiative keep our young children present in school.

Steps for implementation:

1. The development of a plan to implementing such a plan is to first form an attendance team at the school. The goal of this team is to monitor absents, tardiness, frequent dismissals, and handle each students accordingly.

2. Then, develop an attendance target, this initiative will get all students at 95% or higher. This means 95% average for tardiness, early dismissal, and missed days.

3. Next, is to gather a list of all students that have been facing an attendance issue. At this point reviewing the student’s background to understand each one’s background and other possible contributing factors. Pay particular attention to those 10 or more absentees, just as those that have missed 3-4 days within one month.

4. Let’s intervene! The attendance team will first make contact with the parents. Reaching out via phone and email to the parents is very important to discuss the pattern that has been noticed. In addition to this, a letter is sent to the student’s home to educate on the positive and negative effects of attendance. Include details of the cause and effects of lateness, tardiness, and absentness to their education. This letter will be a description of the initiative strategy, as well as data to show the outcome of continued increase in attendance.

5. For more extreme cases, making physical contact is the only option. Arranging conferences with school administration or even possibly home visits are necessary.

6. Document everything!7. Assess the student after 30 days.

6. What is the timeframe for initiative implementation? The implementation of this initiative will be fully reviewed before further actions are taken. Students that have missed 10 plus days of the school year, or 3-4 days in one month will be included in this action plan. All parts of this intervention will be documented and recorded. Once a student qualifies for an assessment, they are to be carefully monitored for a consistent pattern of change for at least 30 days. If all of approaches have been implemented, and there’s no consistent change, a contract between the school and parents/caregivers are to be signed. This will hold all parties accountable for breach of contract and may be the accountability that will ensure regular attendance. To the attendance teams’ discretion, depending on each situation, further actions are required to be taken if such contract has been breached. The final draw is to get the child welfare department involved and let the courts handle this matter.

7. Who will be involved and be responsible for the successful implementation of this initiative?   Everyone needs to be involved in the implementation of this strategy. The students’ parents/caregivers, teachers, administration, attendance team, and community will all play an active role in promoting the value of regular attendance. Ultimately the parent or caregiver is responsible for getting the child to school. It is important that the guardians understand the power they reserve at academic success for their children. However, the school must enforce laws and ensure that priority is taken strongly for attendance. 

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8. What role will each member play in the implementation process and when? In implementing this process everyone has an important role for this to be as effective as possible. Firstly, students will be playing a key role in this because they are the target to get the maximum benefit from this initiative. The student will likely gain healthy habits of punctuality and self-discipline when they follow the policies in place. Obviously the implementation process hopes to get students in school to learn more often, leading to increased knowledge and increased scoring on assessments. For the teachers that are involved they are to provide the children with learning packages to update students on missing material. They will also help parents and students understand the importance of learning the material in class, through a leveled classroom environment, so that they will not fall behind trying to learn alone. The administration as well as the attendance team will see to it that each student is adhering to all legal policies. It is administrator’s role to step in and intervene when there are young children missing too many days. Not only will administration be responsible for implementation process but it’s important that they’re consistently using these procedures and policies.  The community role and participation in this initiative will have encouraged children to focus on their education. Promote regular attendance which will also account for each of our student’s safety.

9. What will be the assessment(s) of different parts of the implementation?  How will the assessments take place? By whom?  When? After the initial review has taken place for 30 days by the attendance team, it’s time to review the findings. The target was to get the students at 95% or more attendance rate, while lowering tardiness, and early dismissals. The attendance team should develop a graph to submit, to administration, showing the attendance rate against their grades. If there has been improvement to the percentile bracket of 95% or more, then they’ll be removed from the assessment. If not, the student will remain in the assessment while the attendance team review the student’s situation furthermore, and help as necessary.

The attendance mentors will be assessed for their consistency to the policies and procedures after the 30 day review as well. Administration will review all documented information from each of the monitored students. The attendance mentor will be reviewed for efficiency of information, timeliness, and the following of policies/procedures. If the attendance mentor does not follow proper instruction, brief training sessions explain what is expected will be discussed. In other instances when parents are involved, all guardians will receive a review as well. Ensuring the ongoing understanding of the policies and procedures in place will be of monitor. Each of these areas will continue to be assessed on 30 days windows. If there’s no change in due time, administration will use their discretion to get the courts and child welfare involved.

10. Overall how will I know whether or not this initiative will be a success?  What data, assessment processes and/or indicators will give me this information?  What are the expectations or 'criteria' for the assessment measures?The goal of this initiative is to get the entire school attendance rate at 95% or more. That is, if your child has attendance rate below the goal for the school, a plan of action will be implemented. Knowing whether this plan will be a success takes constant review and monitor. The purpose of reviewing the documentation and reviewing an updated graph is to evaluate progress. Frequent assessments every 30 days, will help the attendance team report their findings, so that administration can determine a reformed approach. Administration will guide instruction to ensure this initiative growing effectiveness.

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As stated previously, documentation and graphs are all key factors to determine the success of this plan. Once reviewed if there are no signs of improvement within 30 days, the student will remain in the review. Administration will use their discretion to modify plans as necessary. Participation and full involvement from all parties are to be expected. Parents will get a full progress report and if modifications are made they will be notified as well.

Summary: The purpose of this initiative is to provide practical advice about methods to prevent children of which grades have been suffering. The goal is to provide practical methods that will allow educators to improve upon the students that have been identified as requiring extra help. Additional help for the students that are getting off to a poor start and provide a mechanism before failure takes place. Regardless of socioeconomic status or family background, students succeed if they have a series of a great support system. Again our goal is to provide extra support so that our young people can reach their goals.

Conclusion: It is our intent to make sure that regular attendance is valued and a priority for both parents and children. The goal of this initiative is to improve the attendance of students with an attendance rate lower than 95%. These students are missing at least 3-4 days of instruction every month or sometimes more. There is a strong correlation with these students between attendance and homework completion, as it is rare for students in this grade level and course to have poor attendance and still meet expectations. In order to improve student attendance, teachers will reach out to administrators, counselors, and parents to help find ways to reduce truancy. Each student may have unique reasons for their absences, so a variety of strategies will be used to have the greatest impact. Our overall goal is to have all students with a 95% attendance rate or better.

Multimedia Presentation is available here: http://youtu.be/rPcmNVP4XZ0

In this presentation you will need to share your reflections on the team process for Phase II and answer the following questions. (No need to write here but be sure these questions are used as a checklist before submission of your presentation).  

1. What was the most powerful part of the team experience? 2. What was my weakest moment? 3. What was my biggest challenge during the process?  Why?  What can I do personally to eliminate this challenge

next time? 4. How did this Phase II team process and assignment add to my understanding of data-driven decision making in

the schools? 5. What suggestion(s) do you have to the team and/or the instructor so that Phases I, II, and III can be better

planned for next semester's 615 students?