Power Schools and Academic Performance
Is there a correlation between access of the on line grade book
by parents and the academic performance of their children?
Needs Assessment Our campus implemented Pearson
School Systems’ Power Teacher and Power Schools ® three years ago. This grade book system is unlike the system
that it replaced in that it is online and access to the program is available to
parents. Our schools annual report card
has been stagnant during this corresponding time period. Our annual report card shows no growth and a slight
decline for certain subgroups of our population. http://ed.sc.gov/data/report-cards/
(See, 2009, 2010, 2011, Spartanburg 06, R.P. Dawkins Middle School, full
report). Further, data for the last three years, from the state’s 2009 report
card to the latest one for 2011, reveals that the level of communication
between stakeholders has also remained stagnant at about 20%. Therefore, the need for this project is
evident: student academic achievement must improve for all subgroups and active
participation by parents must drastically improve.
Objectives and Vision The objective of this plan is to examine the relationship
between parental use of Power Schools® (a web based
student information system that incorporates an online grade book) and student academic performance? In what ways can our school
encourage parental use of Power Schools? Therefore, the goal of this plan is
for our school to actively encourage parental use of Power Schools in order to
increase academic performance. The goal of my plan is to implement methods used
by the administration and myself at my school to encourage the use of Power
Schools by parents. The outcome of my plan will hopefully be to show that an
increased use of the program has also led to an increase in student academic
performance.
Review of the Literature and Action
Research Strategy The literature
review for this topic is very limited.
However, the articles and sources cited herein are on precise target
with the overall scope and sequence of this project. Those sources are:
In deciding
how to best implement this study, several factors were considered. First was to determine who would be involved
in this process. Initially, I had planned
to involve all 7th and 8th grade teachers but as confidentiality
issues arose, it was then necessary to limit involvement to just myself. I was able to include the assistant
principals, the principal, the district Director of Technology, and the assistant
registrar of the district. These people
are cleared for issues relating to student records. The process for evaluating the program
carefully considered the needs of the student while maintaining their privacy. The decision was made to only include current
students that I am actively teaching and have daily interaction with within my
class.
Articulate the Vision As
of this writing, I have not yet articulated the vision of this plan to parents,
students, and community members. Once
the project is completed successfully, the results will be disseminated to the
above mentioned groups via e-mail, district newsletter, phone master, school
board announcements, and hopefully, via local news sources. At this point, I have
explained my proposal to the staff involved with obtaining the data necessary
for this project via a mini-presentation during our initial staff development
days at the beginning of the year. My
hypothesis was explained and comments were noted. Since then, I have
communicated my actions regarding the steps of my research to those select
staff members necessary in allowing me to obtain the necessary data.
Manage the Organization At
the start of this project; I had planned to make use of three other 8th
grade teachers and four 7th grade teachers. In addition, I enlisted the aid of the assistant
principal responsible for report cards and the district Director of
Technology. I have since relinquished the
duties for all of the teachers except myself.
I am still receiving assistance for the asst. principal and the Director
of Technology. Therefore, the time management
was made simpler as all the duties were essentially conducted by me. I calendar was set that corresponded to the
timeline for the distribution of report cards.
No monies are involved in this project and materials are limited to
paper as everything else is on line. Student safety was and is maintained by
keeping all records confidential.
Manage Operations The first task to be completed was
to develop a timeline. This allowed me
to adequately prioritize tasks and steps along the way. The needs of the students allowed me to set
up my plan and to alter it at the suggestion of the district office. The only conflict that has arisen to this
point was regarding the issue of student confidentiality which was resolved by
meeting with the appropriate personnel and altering my plan. Communicating these changes occurred over the
last two weeks of the summer thereby allowing me to start fresh at the beginning
of the year. Since we have several staff
development days at the start of the year, I was able to gather the necessary
consensus from my colleagues needed to begin my project and to clearly
articulate my proposal.
Respond to Community Interest and Needs This
plan will assist all students, regardless of any special needs or backgrounds, equally. One of the needs of the community is to
increase communication with all stakeholders and to create a more welcoming environment
on the campus. As parents are more informed
of the daily activities of their children in their school classes on a day to
day basis, communication will improve between themselves and their children’s
teachers. That positive communication
will only result in a positive impact for all stakeholders. A stronger sense of community will be the
result.
