Plan Of Action Revised

SIP or PIP (SCHOOL or PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT) PLAN OF ACTION

Why do some ninth grade students fail core content classes and what can be done to assist them in achieving passing grades?

SCHOOL VISION:  We pledge ourselves to the continuation of the tradition of excellence in which all students, with the support of family, school, and community, prepare for successful and productive lives.

GOAL:  The goal for the researcher after implementing strategies for helping struggling 9th grade students in core classes will be the reduction of the failure rate in each core content class of English, Biology, and Algebra by 10% within a two year period.

OUTCOMES:  The out come of this research plan is that 9th grade students failing core classes will be reduced in the next 2 years by 10%.

ACTIVITIES:
Study hall program for all incoming 9th graders that will allow:

1.    Tutoring time in the morning at lunch and after school to help students with their homework load.
2.    Opportunity for peer tutoring to occur by upperclassmen in core content curriculum

Providing a transition program in the summer between the 8th and 9th grades in order to introduce 8th grade students to the high school experience with the following activities:

1.    Introduce incoming 9th grade students to upperclassmen
2.    Introduce incoming 9th grade students to their core freshmen teachers
3.    Provide an atmosphere in which students feel a connection between their classmates and their school
4.    Introduce incoming students to the policies and procedures of the high school

RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED:
1.    Surveys for teachers, parents, and students
2.    Student failure reports
3.    Professional development that will focus on the struggles and needs of our student population
4.    Funds to pay teachers to run the summer program
5.    Tutors for the before and after-school tutoring program

RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES: Core Teachers, Curriculum Director, and Principals

TIME LINE:  January 2012 – May 2012

January
• Develop interview questions for students, and staff
• Develop parent consent forms for students
• Identify students eligible for research

February
• Set up student interviews
• Conduct student interviews

March
• Contact parents for interview times
• Interview parents by phone

April
• Identify core content teachers to interview
• Interview core content teachers

May
* Compact data and begin to analyze and summarize data

ASSESSMENT: Students will be assessed through report cards, progress reports, study halls and weekly grade checks

Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments:

If students do not meet the required passing rates, then the appropriate staff will re-evaluate what they are doing and make the necessary improvements.

CARE Model

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool
Identify Concerns (look to the future)
(Assign points to concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)
1. Low passing rate of freshmen in core classes
2. Ninth grade students are not doing their work; this will affect them negatively as they move to more advanced classes in 11th and 12th grade because they will not have the prerequisite knowledge for those classes

Identify Affirmations (look to the present)
(Assign points to affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)
1. Teachers are generally available for tutoring sessions before school, after school, and at lunch
2. Roo-Roundup, which is a one-day orientation program for new students

SMART Recommendations (look to the future):
(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)
(Assign points to recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations to implement.)

1.   The reduction of the failure rate in each core content class of English, Biology, and Algebra by 10% within a two-year period
2.  By January 2012, create study halls designed to target the academic needs of 9th graders
3.  By the summer of 2012, provide a summer program to introduce incoming freshmen to the high school experience

EVALUATE – Specifically and Often
(Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1. Use data-collection methods of survey and interview to determine which
strategies were the most helpful to the ninth graders who became successful
2. Weekly grade checks for the students involved in the program