Literacy Partner Program Update

My action research is well on its way to completion. The goal is to determine the effectiveness of the literacy partner program and how it effects DRA scores. My work has gone through many different phases as outlined in my plan. The initial phases of preparing quickly turned into an Implementation phase. Everyone involved fulfilled his or her obligation(s) creating a successful implementation. I am right on schedule with the timeline I have laid out to complete the project. Now, I await the critical pieces of data, both quantitative and qualitative. Once the data has been gathered, I will be able to determine how well this program helps close the achievement gap. The goal of my action research plan fits in line with our district goal of closing the achievement gap by insuring every student reads on grade level by third grade. At this time I am unable to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative or its effects on DRA scores. By the end of the month, I will be able to draw conclusions and evaluate the effectiveness. If this is a close the gap strategy, then we will continue to operate and utilize this program in our school, just as we did last year. If we find that it does not impact learning, then we will determine what worked well and what did not work well as a committee. From there we will reevaluate and make further recommendations to strength this partnership at our school.

Action Research

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine the effectiveness of the literacy partner program and how it effects DRA scores over the summer
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Prepare teachers for new literacy partner program. Training for the literacy partners. Informing parents of the collaboration Train students	Jennifer Ackermann (teachers attending training) District Jennifer Ackermann                   Jennifer Ackermann	May 2013-June 2013	*Staff development session *Literacy partner volunteer training *DRA scores from previous year *Parent letters *List of available summer learning opportunities *List of students who receive services	*Collaboratively set criteria to determine who the program will serve, using data *Discussions in trainings *Survey after trainings
Prepare for Launching of the collaboration	Jennifer Ackermann Volunteer coordinator Principal	May 2013-June 2013	*Books *Literacy partner meetings *Individual meetings *DRA data *Rosters *PIEMS code for tracking purposes	*Survey Part 1 for teachers and literacy partners; meant to discern teachers’ and volunteers’ initial impression of the literacy partner program
Implement Literacy partners	Jennifer Ackermann Volunteer coordinator Principal Students Teachers	June 2013- August 2013	*Books *The reading coach binder	Previous DRA scores of students identified for the program and compare to beginning of the (next) year data Make comparison to others who did not receive services through the summer
Review of program (qualitative)	Jennifer Ackermann Volunteer coordinator Principal Students Teachers	August 2013-october 2013	*Surveys *Location for interviews	Surveys and Interviews from students, literacy partners, faculty and staff, parents
Review of program (quantitative)	Jennifer Ackermann Volunteer coordinator Principal District Teachers	August 2013-october 2013	*DRA scores from 2012 and 2013 *DRA scores of individuals chosen to assess progression	DRA data (percentage increase/decrease etc)
Analyze Results and make recommendation for future early intervention initiatives and literacy partners	Jennifer Ackermann Volunteer coordinator Principal District Teachers	October 2013	*Qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis	Synthesis of qualitative and quantitative analysis to produce conjectures, conclusions and recommendations for the district

The role and responsibilities of an administrator is plentiful and can be overwhelming. Action research can be used to examine the current situation in order to make improvements and solve problems. Dana (2009) suggests nine areas ripe for principal wonderings/questions.  These include:

• Staff Development
• Curriculum Development
• Individual Teacher(s)
• Individual Student(s)
• School Culture/Community
• Leadership
• Management
• School Performance
• Social Justice or Equity Issues

After examining these areas it was easy to sort and mentally file all my queries into one of these nine categories. It really helped to organize my thinking! I also came to the conclusion that all action research should result in improved teaching and learning.

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 29-68.

5301 Action Research - Blogs

Educational leaders would benefit greatly using blogs as journals. Serving as a useful tool, it provides a blank canvas to record the inquiry and reflection process.  When problem solving and decision-making, using blogs to gather and collect data would be beneficial. Utilizing blogs would also be a great way to gather feedback from others after posting issues that need campus attention.

5301 Research Week 1- Action Research

Action research is an inquiry-based method that allows collaboration on identifying/solving problem and the investigation of inquiries to promote decision-making with others that can lead to improved teaching and learning.  Action research or administrator inquiry is a technique that goes farther than traditional research. Instead of taking the research and findings of "outsiders," practitioners use action research to look at the current situation on their own campuses. It asserts the use of data to analyze problems, inquiries, or initiatives and then make decisions based on the findings.  It is practical and in the moment; therefore, it brings just-in-time learning and relevance to the work. Reflection is of high importance throughout the process. It helps us uncover answers to our inquiries along the way. There are many opportunities and contexts that are “ripe” for action research, such as: leadership teams, PLC, district/Superintendent meetings, etc. Action research is used at all levels of the organization. When we analyze student learning as it relates to the various functions in education, we are able to make changes that enhance student success. Engaging in inquiry forces the different divisions of education to focus on one problem or issue at a time instead of jumping around from topic to topic. Overall, this type of research enhances our improvement process and positively effects student achievement.