I had a meeting with Mrs. Parker, Traveler's teacher, today to discuss how we can improve the school to help the third grade students pass the EOG's and to get the school and this class of students back on track.
Some of the things we discussed were things I had outlined in a little report I created when we were supposed to have our first meeting that ended up being cancelled at the last minute.
Ideas for School Improvement
East Franklin Elementary School
1/16/14
What are the things we would do,
to solve the problem of failing reading and math scores, if we had the time, money
and unlimited resources? If we had these things would it solve the problem?
1. More
money?
2. More
teachers?
3. More
tutors?
4. More
time?
5. Textbooks
that align with the common core?
6. Unlimited
materials?
7. Enough
room and qualified teachers to teach the Response to Intervention
Three Tier system?
What else?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ideas:
1.
Time Management:
We should work “smarter not harder.” Use the time we
have with the students more efficiently to allow for more tutoring or
one-on-one time.
If we could work tutoring or one-on-one time into the
regular school day what extraneous time could be carved out and be replaced with
tutoring, but still get all of the essentials for a well rounded day for the
student?
Ideas for
carving time:
a.
Cut out trips to the library where the librarian
reads a book to a class or lets them watch a movie for 30 minutes.
b.
Cut lunch by five or 10 minutes.
c.
Combine PE and recess and use that time for
tutoring.
d.
Add 30 minutes onto the school day to allow that
time for tutoring.
e.
Open the school at 7:15 am for tutoring before
the school day starts.
f.
Possibly implement project based learning so
math, reading, exercise and computer skills are being learned at the same
time.
2.
Focus Group:
Create a focus group to do a study on the other schools in
the county that are Schools of Excellence and who have higher AYP reading and
math scores. There has got to be a reason why some schools continue to succeed
and other schools continue to have lower scores.
What should be evaluated?
1.
School Administration (What are the Principals
and Assistant Principals doing that might be different)
2.
Teaching techniques
3.
Classroom management
4.
Classroom size
5.
Demographics (in each school compare: ratio of
lower level performers to average and higher level performers, ethnic
diversity, economic difference in those areas of Franklin)
6.
School Administration
7.
Type of programs offered and how they are
different from other schools.
8.
What seems to be making a difference?
3.
Volunteer Tutoring Program (After School and
Weekends):
Create a volunteer program for one-on-one tutoring.
a.
Volunteers
The pool of
volunteers can be retirees, parents or teachers. Need a coordinator to organize
and find volunteers. The Literacy Council has this service in Highlands. Possibly get Rotary and other civic
organizations involved. They are there to help the community and this would be
where the rubber could meet the road for them.
b.
Parents
The parents need
to be on board and believe that tutoring after school hours and on the weekends
is important for their children’s academic well being and their futures. They
will need support such as transportation services and meals or snacks, etc. and
maybe an interpreter.
c.
Community (Tax Incentives for Local Business):
Partner with the
town and the county to see if they will offer a tax incentive or a tax break to
businesses to allow their employees or the business owners themselves to take
time out of their work schedule (once a week) to volunteer to tutor. Maybe that
tax break or incentive could trickle down to the employee and they would get a
paid day to volunteer. This would be a way for the business owners to give back
to the community that may be their employees or patrons someday in the future.
4.
Continuing Education for Teachers
Continuing Education should be mandatory and should be
free to the teachers, but should have accountability to show whether what they have
learned, works or not. But make the accountability efficient so it doesn’t takes
away from teaching time.
5.
Conduct an anonymous teacher survey.
Ask advice from the ones who live it every day. Conduct
an anonymous teacher survey to ask the teachers who see how students are
struggling every day, what it is they think they need to help them succeed. It
would be anonymous so they could be free to say what they want, no matter how
outrageous or outside of the box the ideas might be.
6.
Grant writer.
Recruit a volunteer grant writer or create a grant
writing committee to focus on raising money for specific school needs that are
not met by the PTO. Possibly have the committee focus strictly on fundraising
for materials, money to hire tutors or continuing education.
7.
Evaluate Teaching Techniques.
Evaluate K-2 teaching techniques to makes sure
students are getting the basics of what they need to succeed in 3rd
grade.
8.
Crowdfunding
Research Crowdfunding (or Crowdsourcing) as a possible
fund raising source.
