In order to inform my thinking on the problem I had to look deeper into root causes and gathered the type of data an educator can only find out by asking questions to all stakeholders involved.
I thought it was quite interesting that whenever I asked parents if their child had ever had an SST, they asked me what that is. That led me to believe they have never had one. I explained the process to the parents, and they looked very interested and said that they had never been involved in an SST for their child. However, when I asked their teacher from last year I made the following discoveries:
I also discovered that everyone in this target group has had SSTs year after year. One student has a 504 plan for ADD/depression and another is in the process of having a meeting scheduled so that he can also have a 504 plan because he suffers from migraines, which cause him to have a high number of absences. The first of these two students is the only one who has not really made any progress with his reading this year. He started this school year reading at a 3.2 and is currently reading at 3.4, according to STAR. However, according to SRI he is reading at a 2.4. He has remained stuck with his comprehension and inferencing skills. All the other students have made steady progress, even though they are still below grade level expectations. In class, they all put forth their best effort. However, the student with ADD/depression has to be constantly redirected to the task at hand and has to have things explained to him more than once and in more than one way. He seems to be thinking of something else. He does not seem present. He used to take different medications while the doctors were trying to figure out if he has ADD or depression, but the medications were just negatively impacting his behavior and making the condition worse. The doctors are still not clear if he has ADD or depression. He seems to want to try his best, but gets very easily distracted by his thoughts.
I also personally interviewed each student and the ones that have made tremendous progress this year, but are still below grade-level, have a great perception of themselves, along with a “can-do” attitude. One of the boys feels he could do better if he would actually study at home and he gave me specific examples of what it means to study and what it would look like. The child who has ADD or depression just kept shrugging his shoulders not really answering any of my questions.
How students perceive themselves gave me great insight to inform my thinking on the problem because if they believe they can master something, they will! However, if they don’t show interest in school, they won’t meet expectations. It just confirms what we already know. Students need to be motivated.
2. After analyzing all data, what do you believe are the root causes of the problem you have identified? Comment on: organizational culture, external factors, organizational structure, student demographics, instruction and preparation, and curriculum.
The root causes of the problem I have identified cannot be a blanket statement. Each child has their own unique situation going on at home and as educators we can only address what is within our sphere of influence. However, this does not mean we ignore what is outside of our control. What is outside of our control is referred to as what is within our sphere of concern and it is very important that we acknowledge it and validate it so that we can understand where each child is coming from and come up with a solution that works for each child depending on their own unique situation.
Our school’s organizational culture includes developing Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits schoolwide and instilling the 7 Habits within our students. This helps all students feel welcomed and like they belong to something bigger. But it’s a lot more than just belonging to something bigger. Through the 7 habits, our students are set up for success on a daily basis as we validate their successful attempts to fit in to the school culture by contributing through their daily participation and projects and by being empowered to enrich each others’ lives through example. Their leadership skills go a long way.
External factors, such as a supportive, or unsupportive, community, has a direct effect on student academic progress. At our school we are very fortunate that we have excellent external factors. We have a very strong community that holds many events and fundraisers to benefit our students. Many weekends are filled with fun activities that our students look forward to participating in. Our students definitely benefit from positive external factors. Unfortunately, my target group cannot participate in many of these activities because their parents also work on weekends and, as much as they want to, cannot take them to all these wonderful events. I determined that this was another root cause to the problem I identified.
At our school we have a very strong organizational structure where staff model polite and courteous relationships amongst adults as outlined by the 7 habits. We expect students to act a certain way and we are very conscious of the behavior we display and address any disagreements in private, away from students. Everyone is clear as to what their expectations and job responsibilities are so that the school can run smoothly. We are very fortunate to have many happy parent volunteers who come to support everyone’s job from coordinating extracurricular activities, to supporting the librarian, office staff, running off copies for teachers, to coordinating and assisting in before and after school activities. We have many supports in place that strengthen our organizational structure. I have noticed that the parents who volunteer most, have children who perform better academically. Unfortunately, because my target group has parents who are very hard working people, they cannot dedicate as much time to helping them out with their homework. I discovered that that was another root cause to why they are not meeting academic expectations. One of the parents told me they cannot handle so many kids. This particular parent has three kids at home and was feeling overwhelmed and felt she could not dedicate one-on-one attention to her child to help them meet academic expectations.
Right now instruction and preparation at our school is experiencing a shift from instruction that involved paper and pencil with CA state standards, to injecting technology in the classroom, keeping the SAMR model in mind, and adjusting to Common Core and NGSS standards. We are going through a transition phase. Every teacher is on board and everyone is contributing, sharing and collaborating as much as is possible with the little bit of time we have. Lack of time is definitely a root cause to not having stronger instruction to support my students the way I would like them to be supported. I have all these great ideas for strong lessons, I even dream about them, but very little time to prep. It is very frustrating. I hope this summer to be able to prepare at least the first three months of school for the upcoming school year. That would be great.
The curriculum is for fourth grade. However, if students come to fourth grade without the prerequisite skills they need to be successful, the gap will just get larger. Switching in the middle of their elementary school careers from CA state standards to Common Core has created a gap in our students’ education because some things that were prerequisite skills, or concepts, before are no longer. And some things that were NOT prerequisite skills, or concepts, before, now are and students now come with a gap in what they know and should know. Apparently it has affected some more than others. My target group has definitely been affected by this sudden shift in curriculum, therefore creating another root cause to the previously identified problem.
Student Demographics for Riverview Elementary SchoolAsian
Asian: 12 (3%)
Black: 8 (1.69%)
Hispanic: 162 (34.18%)
Multiple Race: 12 (2.53%)
Native American: 8 (1.69%)
Pacific Islander: 3 (0.63%)
White: 269 (56.75%)
Female: 261 (55%)
Male: 213 (45%)
3. Based on an outcome you would like to attain for the target group, write 1 goal and 2-3 objectives that support that goal. (Create a SMART goal – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely.
SMART goal:
100% of my target group will be reading at a 4.1, or higher, by December parent-teacher conferences (December 1, 2015).
2-3 Objectives to support SMART goal:
*students will work on their fluency through weekly fluency paragraphs
*students will take weekly AR quizzes and score 80% or better each time
*daily small-group instruction with the target group
*develop comprehension question skills
I will have evidence that the target group has met its goals through the results of their end of the first 12 weeks STAR test.
I will also use SRI to calibrate whether or not my target group has met its goals.
1. Which additional data did you gather to inform your thinking on the problem?