Wilson Elementary School: Refocus Process Evaluation
Osanna Rodgers
Utah State University Literature Review
According to the Office of Special Education Programs (2000) school discipline is defined “as the steps or actions teachers, administrators, parents, and students follow to enhance student academic and social success.” How discipline is administered in a school has a significant impact on the overall school climate and academic success. In schools where exclusionary or punishing discipline methods are used, the school climate is viewed by students as punitive. In schools where educational and supportive behavior interventions are used, the school climate is viewed by students as constructive and supportive (Mitchell & Bradshaw 2013).
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Many such measures are based on PBIS in an effort to provide teaching environments that are safe, secure, positive, inclusive, competent, and accommodating (Tidwell, Flannery, & Lewis-Palmer, 2003.) Based on the idea that ‘one size fits all’ does not apply to behavioral interventions, PBIS helps to empower educators to create effective behavioral practices for all students through three basic principles. First, PBIS encourages educators to use positive approaches to behavioral interventions such as teaching appropriate behaviors rather than relying solely on punishment. Second, PBIS encourages educators to match the level of intervention resources to the level of behavioral offense presented by students. Third, PBIS encourages educators to create multiple positive intervention systems that deal with the different levels of behavioral challenges schools face (Muscott, et al. 2004; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, …show more content…
Data Collection and Analysis Wilson Elementary school will collect the following data for each student referred to the Refocus office for a full academic year: student name, referral date and time, name of referring adult, location of offense, arrangement (whole class, small group, individual work,) offense, and consequence administered. At the end of the academic year, the data gathered will help determine if the trends of Refocus referrals. If the Refocus program process is effectives, reoccurring referrals should decrease significantly. Data should be coded and analyzed by non-Logan City School District personnel.
Limitations
The data gathered through this process evaluation will be valid only for determining process efficacy of Wilson Elementary School’s Refocus program. It will not be generalizable to any other school.
Recommendations
It is recommended that Wilson Elementary School use this process evaluation plan to gather quantitative data from students referred to the Refocus program for a full academic year. In order to ensure the data is analyzed properly and without bias, Wilson Elementary School should collaborate with USU to arrange for non-Logan City School District personnel to code and analyze all data, and formulize the evaluation
The Morningside center is an afterschool program designed for at-risk youth. The Department of Human Services is requiring an evaluation component for all future contracts. Marian is in search of an evaluation program to show that Morningside center is achieving the right goals for the adolescents that attend the program. As a staff member, I suggested in the meeting that the best evaluation program to use would be the target-problem scaling. As I mentioned above, the target-problem scaling is a method of evaluating changes that take place over time. (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015) It is also a process where the problem is identified, a plan takes place, and changes in the target problem are measured. (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015) First off, I think this method would work best because the Department of Human Services is requiring a evaluation, which means a evaluation of the program has to take place to see if there is a problem. The second reason why I would use this method, I think this method would work best because in this method it evaluates change over time. The method will be able to determine if this program at Morningside has helped and made improvements in the adolescent’s lives. The third reason why I think this method is best because, it uses a target-problem change scale. This scale is implemented to view
Identification: Truxton Academy Charter School acknowledges that all students have both strengths and weaknesses in their learning styles. We understand that students who begin to struggle academically need quality instruction and intervention strategies immediately. We know that early intervention at the kindergarten and 1st grade levels as well as early intervention in the academic year at all grade levels is very important for students’ long-term academic success. (Burns, M. K., Griffiths, A., Parson, L. B., Tilly, W. D., & VanDerHayden, A. (2007). Response to intervention: Research for practice.
The researcher will use the population of Longview, Missouri to collect the data for this program evaluation. The current population will be pulled from seven public schools and three private schools. The population will be approximately 4,000 students from public and private schools on the Longview area. The methods that will be used to collect this data will be the use of a survey, focus groups, and historical data collected from local law enforcement and the board of education. The data will be collected pre-program implementation and post implementation for comparison purposes.
Assessing is a major priority in the school system because this is the only way principals are aware of the progress their students and teachers are producing. It is recommended that principals meet monthly with other administrators to stay up to date on the current changes in the curriculum, instruction, and assessments. The school leadership teams must ensure that they are choosing instructional works that have high success rates for enhancing student achievement. If the data results from the assessment show that the majority of students are not producing learning gains, the school’s principal should sit down with the teacher to discuss and reevaluate the lessons that are being taught.
By defining the data into smaller groups such as gender, age, grade level, and ethnicity, it will help the counselors and teachers identify the students’ needs and proper interventions. According to Hatch, by “disaggregating data allow school counselors to focus attention where resources are needed most” (Hatch, Green-Wilkinson, Holcomb-McCoy, 2014). If the data was disaggregated, a possible intervention that appropriately utilize is the Response to intervention (RTI). RTI can assist the school counselors and teachers with monitor the students’ process as well as promote academic achievement. According to Hatch, RTI has become a “comprehensive, data-based prevention model for helping students who are struggle to achieve. (Hatch, Green-Wilkinson, Holcomb-McCoy,
Schoolhouse violence and classroom disruptions have created zero-tolerance policies in many of our nation’s schools. More and more educators are charged with the task of managing these disruptive behaviors in the classroom. As systems are faced with these changing dynamics, many educators have begun to feel powerless when students present with extremely challenging behaviors. Yet daily, children, regardless of their disability designations are engaging in the display of these behaviors that often warrant formal intervention. Although most educators are familiar with Functional Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans, as they are most commonly used to address these issues, many of these plans are often “ineffective”, and are used inconsistently or incorrectly. In this regard, suspensions and expulsions have become the most commonly used interventions. Therefore, it is imperative that educators and practitioners effectively identify the function of behavior and determine the appropriate methods for intervention. This will allow schools to become safe spaces for educators to support the social and emotional development of their students. Moreover, the process for identifying the types of interventions and reinforcement schedules that are useful must become a standardized part of the (Tomlin &
The cost of implementation of the turnaround zone school process model is staggering. The appropriate allocation of funds poses a challenge to leaders. The increased autonomy of the process can also have non-anticipated results. With reduced oversight and fewer state mandated guidelines, some educators’ interpretations of what is required might lead to rigor in order for students to achieve
Participants received some form of intervention for two consecutive semesters. Participants were evaluated using the Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Achievement, Academic Competence Evaluation
A needs assessment was completed on Baker Middle School’s After School Program. The after school intervention program is for students that scored an Approaching Basic level or Basic level on the previous school year’s state assessment in reading, math, or both according to the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program(LEAP) or Integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (ILEAP). Once students have taken the LEAP or ILEAP testing, the general education teacher analyzes the data. If a student shows Approaching Basic or above, in reading or math, the student is approached to participate in the program. There were allocated forty slots, once the deadline pass then another round of recruitment was done for those on the waiting list. In order to receive services to the program the teacher must have a parent conference or phone conference with the parent(s) to share the data, explain the program and explain the expectations of the program. Once the teacher has signed paperwork from the parents of the child, they are eligible for the program. The child is able to start the program after school twice a week from January until Spring testing in April. Baker Middle School tries to identify candidates as soon as the test results are available from the state but students are able to join the program even if they enter later on in the school year. Both the after tutoring program with the use of Successmaker were established to ensure strong student achievement in both
The Student Performance Profile indicates and contains information that was gathered during Step 1: Prereferral was initiated. Initial Concern demonstrated by the accurate data that was collected, namely “Morgan’s inappropriate behavior of self-injury, hitting or biting others, and repeating questions she is asked.”
The rationale of this evaluation is to confirm that the goals of the program are being meet. That the children are being educated in making healthy choices and participating in the program. In order for the evaluation to be accurate research needs to determine if the program will be effective.
This research project will take place over the course of a year and half, from the Spring of 2018 to the Fall of 2019. The first six months will be dedicated to performing the needs assessment, while the full year will be used to implement the three iterations of the intervention. The site of this research will be three urban middle schools in Stamford Connecticut. Each with a population of about 500 students from grades six through eight, 45 faculty members and three administrators. Within the schools the sessions will take place in the administration offices and in the training rooms where the teachers meet. The participants for this study will include the principals, since
As the staff develops the problem of practice, they are unofficially admitting that there is a problem and that we need help from others to determine a resolution. Identifying alternative options/possibilities will ultimately assist in future decision making in help drive the school improvement plan. Having additional eyes view the proposed problem allows evidence to be collected in conjunction with the next steps towards a resolution. The instructional rounds process allows for the additional data outside the obvious to be collected and analyzed to provide multiple options for a school to move forward.
In this case study school information and data are gathered in numerous ways in order to provide much needed information for the teachers and administration to see performance strength and weaknesses of the students. It is critical that this data be handled properly to ensure accuracy, security, and reliability of the data. One method this school uses to ensure accuracy is to provide several training opportunities to teachers and Title I staff who will administer tests that provide this data. The teachers and staff are trained on how to give tests such as the STAR reading and Math assessments, the IRI (Idaho Reading Inventory), the standardized test from the state, as well as district benchmark assessments.
This article was a case study that aimed at using universal behavior expectations of all students in an Urban school with the inclusive student population. The study claimed that with a positive climate, students become more engaged and there is a reduction of disruptive behaviors. The positive climate can be achieved by using a school wide-positive behavior support ( SWPBS) program. Another key aspect of the program was using an action plan to solve the problem, involvement of leadership, including parents, professional development and teaching and reinforcing the desired behavior. The two-year study composed of a total school population of 784 in year one were 77 students were identified as a special education student. In