This is the plan, man!

1.      Examining the work: Setting the Foundation –

After already identifying the issue of staff turnover in my internship plan, and then after seeing the faces of so many new educators on campus this year, I was curious as to how do annual staff turnover rates affect student success. I've been teaching 3 years, and last year there were 16 teachers in the Special Education dept, all but maybe 5 were new teachers. This year, all of Special Education teachers stayed, but the LSSP, the Diagnostician, all of the counseling team, most of the administrative team, all of the instructional coaches, the IT lead, and several core teachers changed to new schools/ districts. Honestly, I don't even know many of the new teachers (especially by name or subject), and I wonder how the students are experiencing this constant change. It's been an excellent change for us, the teachers, but I wonder how this impacts the students.   

Outcomes & Objectives by Action Research- Answer the questions:

1. How do annual staff turnover rates affect student success in academic progress, attendance, behavior, and morale?

2. What can be done as campus leaders to ensure that teachers come back and students have consistency in who educates them?

2.      Analyzing data –

Data Gathering Activities designed to achieve the objectives:

Charting student scores in their grades, benchmarks and TAKS data as measured against the subject and scores from the year previous. Use the attendance system already built into our campus. Run the data at given times. We do attendance data analysis every week with an overall view, but not broken down by demographic. In this case, take the data already calculated and break it down bit by bit to get to the score of: how many special education students were in attendance this week. If there is data from the year previous, compare, if not, use this year’s as a baseline. For gathering quantifiable behavior data, chart the amount of special education students and the number of referrals they receive, student’s records of in school suspension, off campus suspension, and designation to a long-term campus. In conjunction with writing goals, students will be able to journalize for a set time to appraise morale through a student/teacher survey. (Much like what was in the Dana text.)

3.      Developing deeper understanding –

Needed Resources:

Case managers will be an integral part in this inquiry. As the go-to person for the special education students’ resources, they will have first hand accounts of performance on assessments. Benchmark analytical software will continue to be utilized. Continue with the method we already have in place by case manager keeping updated assessment, IEP, BIP information in each student file. Additionally, having access to attendance audit reports, as well as time to plan with RELA teachers how to implement the student morale journals and the new teacher reflections through the campus mentor program.

4.      Engaging in Self-Reflection –

Just in completing this aspect of planning, I am finding myself drifting into various concerns about intervention plans, or drifting into information that doesn’t directly answer the correlation between new teachers and student success. I have to make absolutely sure that this research stays on track and doesn’t branch out into a huge, out of control snow ball. 

5.      Exploring Programmatic Patterns –

The idea is to find a pattern between the success of special education students in core subjects taught by former teachers and the success of special educations students taught by the new teachers who replaced them.  If there is a drastic decrease or increase in attendance, than before what can that be attributed to? Are less students being sent to in school suspension, long-term, home, are there more or less referrals by teachers this year than last? If so, or if not, what can qualify that trend?

6.      Determining direction –

Timeline:

Start, Fall 2010: First assessment data collection point will be on the first assessment, progress reports, CBA, or DBA (which ever comes first).

Weekly: Attendance Audit reports due.

Duration: gathering benchmark scores, progress report grades, Annual/ Review/ Assessment ARDs updates, decisions, and obligations, analysis of the student/ teacher journals every six weeks; percentage progress through interventions for students identified to need them;

Spring 2011: Spring TAKS data

3 weeks Before Christmas Break- teacher reflections, student assessment forms due to analyze progress

3 weeks Before Spring Break- teacher reflections, student assessment forms due to analyze progress

After Spring TAKS- student assessment forms due to analyze scores.

End, Spring 2011: Last progress reporting period

Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study:

Case Manager Feedback (what’s working, what’s not working, why is it not working and what will make things easier, more efficient).

Student Journals

Progress Reports

ARD 5bs, BIPs, and updated IEPs

Updated Student Assessment Forms

New Teacher Reflections

Evaluation:

Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives: There should be a spreadsheet that can be updated, tracked, and analyzed as this collection process continues. As the school year goes on, during department meeting and planning time, analyzing this data will occur to intervene if there are drastic declines in students’ scores and continue with making progress if scores are higher than before. Attendance will be monitored. Behavior documentation will need to be analyzed. Student journals and new teacher reflections will be collected and explored.

7.      Taking action for school improvement –

Since the teachers this year are visibly happier than last year, there has to be something that is affecting the students positively too. By getting results of this inquiry, it will be shared with the campus. That could also sway the amount of professionals that our campus retains for next year and beyond.

8.      Sustaining improvement –

Utilize the new questions generated by performing this inquiry to lead new inquiries. This could be beneficial in creating campus retainer committees in conjunction with the new teacher mentor program.  It could also possibly empower students to immediately take on a leadership voice of their own and express their concerns or their suggestions on how to better educate them so they will be successful. It appears that would be equally beneficial because the students don’t seem to chance, but the educators do.