Action Draft Plan

Goals:
1. To decrease the necessity for disciplinary actions by establishing more effective consequences.
2. To individualize discipline yet remain fair.
3. Restructure ISS to better support student’s academic performance.


Steps:
1. Create a Discipline Review Committee consisting of the ISS instructors, myself and interested teachers.


Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Mr. Flowers


Timeline:
Last week of August

Needed Resources:
Sign-up sheet posted in workroom

Evaluation:
Those interested will sign-up to participate. The more interested parties the hotter the topic might be in my opinion.

2. Examine office referrals and look for patterns and repeat offenders

Person(s) Responsible
Tanna Padgett
Committee members

Timeline:
Last week of August.

Needed Resources:
Access to office referrals from the previous years. To be accessed through Mr. Flowers.
Findings typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Finding repeat offenders serves as a basis for necessary review of current practices.

3. Interview teachers and administrators to ascertain how they document student behavior and actions taken.

Person(s) Responsible
Tanna Padgett
Administrator (Mr. Flowers)
Teachers (to be determined)
Committee Members

Timeline:
First week of September.

Needed Resources:
Interview questions typed by myself using Microsoft Word.
Teachers and administrators willing to be interviewed.
Time to converse with various teachers and with the administrator.
Answers typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Different documentation practices.

4. Examine samples of documentation.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Committee members

Timeline:
First week of September.

Needed Resources:
Access to documentation from teachers and administrators.
Findings and Conclusions typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Actual documentation. Is it sufficient? Can it be more consistent and streamlined?

5. Examine current handbook and disciplinary policies to become familiar with them.

Person(s) Responsible
Tanna Padgett
Committee Members.

Timeline:
Second week of September.

Needed Resources:
Access to disciplinary policies and current handbook gained from Mr. Flowers.
Reflection typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Current policies and practices.

6. Search the Internet for literature regarding alternate disciplinary techniques

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Committee Members

Timeline:
Third week of September.

Needed Resources:
Internet access.
Findings recorded using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Do we have the resources to implement alternate disciplinary techniques suggested by our literature search?

7. Interview teachers to gain insight regarding their opinions of current policies and solicit suggestions for improvement and individualization.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Teachers (to be determined)
Committee members

Timeline:
Fourth week of September.

Needed Resources:
Interview questions typed using Microsoft Word.
Willing teachers and time to converse with various teachers.
Responses and suggestions typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Teacher responses.
Teacher suggestions – Are they feasible? Do we have the resources to accomplish what is suggested?

8. Examine grades of students that have had an ISS placement.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Committee Members.

Timeline:
First week of October

Needed Resources:
Access to student’s grades that had ISS placements in the previous years gained from Mr. Flowers.
Findings and conclusions typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Do students’ grades decline while placed in ISS?

9. Search for information regarding the effects of ISS on student performance.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Committee Members

Timeline:
Second week of October.

Needed Resources:
Internet access.
Findings recorded using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
Does what the literature suggest support what we see in student performance at our campus?

10 Interview ISS instructors to determine instructional needs.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
ISS instructors (to be determined)
Committee members

Timeline:
Third week of October.

Needed Resources:
Interview questions typed using Microsoft Word.
ISS instructors willing to discuss needs.
Time to converse with ISS instructors.
Responses typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
ISS instructor responses – can we accommodate their needs? How?
Do we have the resources for their needs?

11 Interview teachers, administrators and ISS instructors to gain insight to the communication problem.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Mr. Flowers
ISS Instructors (to be determined).
Committee Members

Timeline:
Third week of October.

Needed Resources:
Interview questions typed using Microsoft Word.
Willing teachers, administrator, and ISS instructors and time to converse with each stakeholder individually.
Responses typed using Microsoft Word.

Evaluation:
What prevents effective and timely communication at each interval?
How do we improve communication?

12. Survey students, teachers, administrators, ISS instructors regarding ISS placement, needs, and improvements.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Mr. Flowers
Teachers (to be determined)
ISS instructors (to be determined)
Students (to be determined).
Committee Members

Timeline:
Fourth week of October.

Needed Resources:
A survey developed by myself using Word.
Possible reference material:
Fowler’s Survey Research Methods (2002)
Czaja and Blair’s Designing Surveys; A Guide to Decisions and Procedures (2005)
Students, teachers, administrators, and ISS instructors willing to participate.

Evaluation:
Results of the survey.
What does the survey reveal to the committee regarding needs? Improvements?


13 Compile and examine data collected from surveys.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Committee Members

Timeline:
First week of November.

Needed Resources:
Completed surveys.
Excel to organize results.
Word to verbalize findings and conclusions.

Evaluation:
Survey results.
How can we begin to make improvements and ensure needs are met?

14 Present findings and make suggestions to administrators based on research.

Person(s) Responsible:
Tanna Padgett
Mr. Flowers
Committee Members

Timeline:
Third week of November.

Needed Resources:
Power point presentation prepared by myself.
Findings and conclusions typed using Microsoft Word.
Appointment with Mr. Flowers

Evaluation:
Did our inquiry reveal necessity for change?
Can we make recommended improvements?

Week 2 Reflection

I have to admit, I really struggled with coming up with an inquiry or project to research. I was drawing a complete blank. I am in transition right now from an elementary campus to a middle school campus and my new campus is without any administrators at the moment. I do not have a site supervisor to refer to therefore I sought out my superintendent and my assistant superintendent. I have since found out that my superintendent has taken a position with another district. In light of all of the changing going on I was not surprised to get no more than a response of "I will have to get back to you on that".
After completing the reading assignment for this week I realized I was trying to make this more that what it was. I realized that inquiry was just that...asking questions and then finding the answers. Every passion I read discussed very specific campus situations and wonderings that the administrators had. This seemed to put it all into a different perspective for me. We as educators ask questions all the time and seek out answers to resolve our wonderings. I am beginning to understand that action research is just the formalization of that process. It seemed less daunting when I began to understand this and I was able to focus my thoughts on my own wonderings. I was also encouraged by all of the interviews that I watched suggesting not to reinvent the wheel. Part of researching answers to questions that have regarding improvement is to find what other people have done and written about and pull from it what is applicable or use it to develop my own answers.
I have a completely different perspective of action at the end of this week's work as what I did before I began. I have also been able to pinpoint an inquiry that I will be able to pursue despite the lack of site supervisor interaction.

How Educational Leaders Can Use Blogs.

I think blogging can have profound effects on the leadership of administrators. First of all it links leaders all over the world. It allows administrators to verbalize their thoughts, inquiries, wonderings and ideas in a forum that allows others the opportunity to reflectively comment and add their ideas and opinions. Blogging gives administrators the opportunity to interact with leaders that they might not otherwise be able to interact and gleen information and expertise from a variety of sources. It also gives them the opportunity to work with others regardless of location. Blogging can be hugely beneficial to administrator's growth and development.

What I have learned about action research.

I have learned that action research is more interactive and reflective that traditional research practices. It came about following traditional research practices and is done by those directly involved in the daily inter workings of a school or classroom. It started as professional development for teachers and has grown to include administrators. When administrators facilitate action research with their teachers they must first lay a foundation. This starts with a strong collaboratively developed vision in which all decisions and actions can be measured against. All participants must also make an intentional commitment to making inquiry and research part of their daily activities as well as purposefully schedule time in their day to practice inquiry and reflection each week by reading an article from an educational journal, gathering new information or reflectively writing. Action research is a very valuable practice in educator and administrator professional development and requires continual inquiry, reflection and taking action to. Part of action research is a commitment to reflect on one's own practice and make intentional efforts to change as a result of one's reflection and research findings. Action research can be done as part of a leadership preparation program, district administrative meetings, in professional learning communities an in leadership teams. Participating in action research draws classmates/colleagues together as they interact with each other, offer thoughts and opinions to other's inquiry and go through the action research process together.
I think that once I complete this process and learn the skill set necessary to effectively engage in action research I will incorporate it into my administrative practice as often as possible. I believe it will benefit me in my own personal growth and development. As a "green" administrator I will rely on the experience and expertise of those more seasoned administrators to learn the "tools of the trade" however I believe that I will be doing my own research as well as reflection to gain better insight and develop my own leadership style. When faced with dilemmas or my own wonderings I know that I will use the process of action research to find solutions.