Action Research Plan

Goal: How can we improve the academic performance and limit the amount of missed instruction time of students who attend in-school suspension (DMC)? 

Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Benchmarks/ Revisions
Setting the Foundation:
1. Conduct a focus group meeting with the principal and director of instruction to gain deeper understanding of school vision for implementing change for improvement.	Principal – Michael Manness   Director of Instruction – Jamie Brotemarkle	Oct. 23 – Oct. 31, 2012	Reflection Questions	Identify the shared vision for the school in relation to inquiry.    Are we in agreement with the time allotted for the project?   Do I have support from the administration?
Analyzing Data:
2. Define what a “repeat DMC student” is based upon data gathered: ·      # of students who attend DMC/year ·      Of those students, look for a break in data that separates repeat attendance with sparse attendance (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.)	DMC Teacher – Sean Stiewart   Asst. Principal – Jim Thompson   Counselors – Mary Olejnik Ashley Isaacs Misti Vaughn	Oct. 29 – Nov. 8, 2012	DMC attendance data/records from the current and previous school year.	Provide a chart that displays DMC attendances
3.  Compare academic (classroom) performance of a repeat DMC student with peers who do not regularly attend DMC.	Counselors – Mary Olejnik Ashley Isaacs Misti Vaughn   Director of Instruction – Jamie Brotemarkle	Nov. 8, 2012 – Dec. 21, 2012	Six weeks and semester averages of select students.   STAAR & TAKS scores	When comparing these two groups of students, select peers that are academically comparable based upon STAAR and TAKS results.
4. Calculate the amount of missed instruction time for a repeat DMC student.	Counselors – Mary Olejnik Ashley Isaacs Misti Vaughn   Attendance Office	Nov. 8, 2012 – Dec. 21, 2012	Calendar	How much instruction time does a repeat DMC student miss each six weeks / semester?
Developing Deeper Understanding:
5.  Conduct interviews with faculty to gauge concern for DMC students missing instruction and falling behind academically.   Conduct interviews with DMC repeat offenders to understand their perspective on the struggles they face.	DMC Teacher – Sean Stiewart   Asst. Principal – Jim Thompson   The faculty   Repeat DMC students	Oct. 22 – Nov. 8, 2012	Questionnaire / survey sent out via surveymonkey   Individual & focus group interviews.	How does the academic performance of students who repeatedly attend DMC compare to students who do not attend?   What burdens do teachers face when students miss their class due to attending DMC?   Do the students who attend DMC regularly act out due to academic struggles?
Engage in Self-Reflection:
6. Reflect on my knowledge of webcam usage, skype, and legal matters related to video recording within the school.	Technology Support – Doreen Ranley	Nov. 22 – Dec. 8, 2012	Skype website   Webcam instructions	Develop documents that detail skype usage. These can be used by the DMC students.    Create a troubleshooting guide for my reference and for those who may be delegated  a role in this process.
Exploring Programmatic Patterns
7. Hold a focus group meeting with key stakeholders to determine potential pitfalls, pros, and cons of the solution.	Support – Doreen Ranley   DMC Teacher – Sean Stiewart   Asst. Principal – Jim Thompson   Director of Instruction – Jamie Brotemarkle	Dec. 1 – Jan. 9, 2012	Focus Group Interview with key stakeholders	List pros & cons discussed at focus group   Record solutions to potential pitfalls   Create a step-by-step guide for requesting usage of webcam.
Determining Direction:
8.  Identify what resources will be needed in order to implement the planned solution: (technology, personnel for managing the technology, availability of time to monitor student progress, etc.)	Technology Liasion – Kelly Gully   Technology Support – Doreen Ranley   DMC Teacher – Sean Stiewart   The Faculty	Nov. 22 – Dec. 22, 2012	Self-Reflection Questions	Are the tasks associated with this project delegated? Assign roles & gain buy in. Create a presentation to explain how the solution will benefit the students and staff.  Present at faculty meeting.
Taking Action for School Improvement:
9. Provide access to instruction for students in DMC via a webcam and skype.	Technology Liasion – Kelly Gully   Technology Support – Doreen Ranley   DMC Teacher – Sean Stiewart   DMC Student Assistants	Jan. 8, 2012 – June 5, 2012	Webcam Funding for webcam Resource person to set up webcam for lessons System that allows teachers to sign-up for webcam	How often is the webcam used by teachers?  (# of instructional hours)   Show log of DMC students who use skype to watch the lessons.
10.  Compare academic performance and behavior records of repeat DMC students who used skype to access their lessons with their academic performance prior to access to the lessons.	Counselors   Assistant Principals   Faculty	June 1, 2012 – Aug. 1, 2012	Report Cards   Discipline Records   Questionnaire	Did access to instruction via skype improve the academic performance of repeat DMC students?   Did access to instruction via skype decrease the amount of discipline referrals of DMC repeat students?
Sustain Improvement:
11. Reflect on positive aspects of the project   Share results with faculty, administration, and other schools if successful.	Faculty   DMC repeat students	April 22 – Aug 31, 2012	Questionnaire   Presentation of results	Do teachers see the webcam as helpful? Does it present more benefits than burdens?   What recommendations do the teachers have for improving this process?   Do the DMC repeat students feel they were able to remain caught up by having skype access to lessons?