Action Research Plan

Goal: Increase parent collaboration by 20% with teachers every month for student academic success.

Objective: To create Parent Partnerships to increase student homework completion rates and class participation.
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/ end	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Create committee to revisit the action plan and results of Parent Partnership night	Facilitator	-August 20th-Staff workday -September 28th - October 26th - November 30th - December 14th - January 25th - February 22nd - March 29th - April 12th -June 3rd Staff development for final review	-Give teachers time in developing Partnership night material	-Data print-out of total parents attending sessions -Monitoring homework completion rates for students whose parents attend Partnership nights -Analyzing detention data for students who do not complete work -Parents complete surveys at the end of each session
2. Solicit parents/relatives on ideas for times and incentives for attending Partnership night	Committee established	Begin August 20th and continue monitoring throughout the year	-Phone surveys -In person survey (door to door, business, etc.) -Post card mail outs with return envelopes from Title I funds	-Compile survey data to identify ways that parents would be more enticed to attend Partnership nights
3. Implement monthly Parent Partnerships	Administrators Core-curriculum teachers	Pending times all: - August 30th 6:00-7:30 p.m. -September 7th 6:00-7:30 p.m. -October 5th 6:00-7:30 p.m. - November 2nd 6:00-7:30 p.m. - December 7th 6:00-7:30 p.m. - January 4th 6:00-7:30 p.m. - February 1st 6:00-7:30 p.m. - March 1st 6:00-7:30 p.m. - April 5th 6:00-7:30 p.m.	-Give teachers time in developing Cram Night material -Focus materials on in-class activities, at-home activities, and homework (including notes, sample lessons, and fun learning activities for home use) -Title I funds -Secure money for advertising Parent Partnership Nights -Serve refreshments (invite community business to participate in helping to provide for Partnership night -Provide child care using elective teachers and/or high school students for assistance	-Create parent surveys -Gather percentages of parents attending Partnership nights -Offer bonus question on test/quizzes on whether parents attended Partnership night and if the help was beneficial
4. Tracking system to correlate the process that Parent Partnership night has been paying off for students	Core-curriculum teachers	Ongoing	-Time for planning and communication -Review discipline data and individual student progress reports	-Brainstorming and organizing during team meetings on individual student success as a direct result of parent involvement in Cram night. -Offer bonus question on test/quizzes on whether parents attended Partnership night and if the help was beneficial
5. Create individualized take-home packets for students weak in particular objectives that can be used for at-home use	-Core curriculum teachers -Partnership committee	Ongoing	-Encourage teachers to create fun, at-home activities for parents to use -Update materials as needed for targeted TEKS objectives	-TEKS objectives warm-ups/sponge activities -Performance on tests and quizzes -Students bringing back at-home activities for extra credit

Final Decision for my Action Research Project

The three topics selected for research are improving classroom management practices, increased staff participation in school functions, and increasing parent involvement through Parent Cram night sessions. Improving classroom management includes an investigation on behavior expectations within the classroom, how those behaviors are addressed, and how to make changes for effective classroom management. More staff participation in campus activities could change the climate of the school and lead to increased morale on the campus. Finally, using Parent Cram night sessions to investigate the level of parent involvement on the campus and the effectiveness of the program on student achievement.

Parent involvement is very low for my campus. Generally, most parents have a high school education and are classified as low socio-economic families. After discussing the various topics with my site supervisor, increasing parent involvement at my campus could improve all the following areas listed above. Parent involvement could increase staff participation, allowing for the school staff to become more involved in multiple endeavors. Parent involvement at the campus could help redefine the campus culture and climate, leading to improved classroom management. Most importantly, parent involvement will allow for our students to achieve better grades and have a clearer understanding of the material if they receive the help they need at home on classroom projects or homework assignments.

What is action research and how does it apply to me?

Simply, administrative inquiry is a process of investigation that school officials use to analyze and reflect on the current practices occurring at their campuses. Information gathered in this research is used to gain a better understanding into school improvement efforts and provide an opportunity for more effective practices/programs district-wide. Moving forward with practitioner inquiry can most easily be accomplished when reflections are made at each step of the action plan. The process “involves (1) clarifying and diagnosing practical situations that need improvement, (2) formulating action strategies for improving the situation or resolving the problem, (3) implementing action strategies, and (4) clarifying the situation” (Dana, 2009) to address more areas for improvement.

The key component to successful inquiry is reflection on the task, this ensures that those specific problems outlined in the research are being addressed and new problems are being handled systematically. Reflection is an important leadership skill because it allows the practitioner time to really see if the improvement process is working on the campus. It also allows time for modifications to the plan and gives time for those pieces to be implemented accordingly. Reflection can also be an empowering tool for teachers. If teachers have a say in what needs to be changed and those opinions are valued, then they are more likely to become part of the whole process. Practitioner inquiry engages teachers to be active in the research that is being conducted, it allows them to collaborate for a more tailored solution to the campuses issues, and gives them an opportunity to reflect on the improvement areas for continued growth. One of the primary benefits for implementing action research is the improvement it has on teaching while focusing on student achievement.

Making student achievement known to the school community can be done through the use of blogs and other media outlets. Using blogs can help an administrator focus on developing their thoughts and help them move into actions through journaling reflections. Blogs also store information that can be retrieved for future use and can provide news about topics related to the research the campus is currently engaged in. Moving from the mindset of “lone-inquire,” a principal can use their blog to link to other blogs that might provide insight into how other schools function.

Bibliography
Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.