Keith+Phillips



Finally projected updated. 11/20/2011 **Improving Graduation Rate** **Keith Phillips** ** Student ID:A00257155 ** ** email: keith.phillips@waldenu.edu ** **EDUC-7103-1/EDUC-8843-1 Leading and Managing Educational Technology** **Dr. Rita-Marie Conrad** **Walden University** **11-20-2011**

**Executive Summary** Graduation is a vital part of any student success as well as the institution you are attending. Earning a high school diploma is the beginning road to your post secondary training, whether that is work or college. Graduating from high school will serve as the boundary for educational principles in the work force and higher education. The accomplishment of graduating high school can really motivate and inspire a person to continue working toward their academic goals. The problem that this intervention has encountered is to improve the high school graduation rate at Westwood High School. Some of the issues with low graduation rate is students dropping out of school. The solution to improving the graduation rate will be tracking students data, providing tutoring and mentoring program, ensure students attend school regularly. The intervention will require a financial package that will assist and provide teachers the resources needed to improve the graduation rate at Westwood High School. Helping students find a way to stay in school and graduate high school on time is an important step to a better quality of life, higher wages and less exposure to crime. Dropping out of high school has lifetime consequences for students, including poverty and a lower quality of life.

**Improving Graduation Rate Intervention** **Westwood High School** The problem that Westwood High School is experiencing is a decreasing in graduation rate over the last three years. In 2008, the graduation rate was 66.7% and dropout rate of 18.8%. In 2009 and 2010, the graduation rate were 59.1% and dropout rate of 11.4% and 8.4%. It is very important that all students are fully prepared and motivated to complete high school and go to the next stage of the life. That may be in the work force or college. Some of the issues that lies with low graduation are low social economics status, high risk of teenage pregnancy, low academic performance in students are attending their first year of high school. When there is success in any organization or business it have provided some type of growth and improvement over a period of time to continue a successful path. School system have to show or maintain a certain level of performance through the Adequate Yearly Progress each year. According to Chevalier (2007), business and organization need a measureable way to gauge productivity. In this case part of the evaluating process in the Adequate Yearly Progress is the graduation rate at Westwood High School. Several other states have some of the same issues with public schools in the inner city is the graduation rate. One of the main reason for target graduation rate is the need for improvement in the Adequate Yearly Progress and students graduating from high school. The reason for setting a reasonable goal is to give the stakeholders of the school a target that can be track and provide the motivation to continue meeting high goals (Chevalier, 2007).
 * Problem Summary**

Westwood High School is a school in the Memphis City School district. It was founded in 1959 in Memphis, Tennessee. This high school is one of many schools in the largest school district in Tennessee. This high school is structure for grades 9th through 12th students in the Westwood Community. This high school has 654 students. Ninety- seven percent of the students who attends this high school is African-Americans. The male to female ratio is one to one. Ninety-five percent of the students who attends this high school is economically disadvantaged. Westwood High School, in partnership with the community have provided a safe, nurturing, and challenging environment, which encourages all students to develop their full potential in becoming independent thinkers, lifelong learners, and responsible citizens who make positive contributions in the 21st century. The URL for the school www.mcsk12.net. The latest reports for the 2008 to present school year may be viewed on the Tennessee Department of Education Website which is (http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us). Here you will find the 2008 - 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress Report and a 2009-2011 Westwood High School Report.
 * Background of Organization**

The people who are affected by my plan are the students, staff members, administration team, community, parents, school board members and the superintendant. The most important personnel at Westwood High that can give provide information regarding the graduation rate are the principal, assistant principal and the instructor facilitator. The principal, assistant principal, and school facilitator will be the key personnel in the organization that will provide the insights into the performance problem for which will be propose the intervention. The principal is Mr. Issac White, the assistant principal is Dr. Helen Harper and the instructor facilitator is Mrs. April Smith.
 * Stakeholders and Decision-Makers.**


 * Performance Gap: Cause Analysis**
 * Actual Current Performance.** The graduation rate gap between Westwood High School is currently 59.1% and the state of Tennessee goal is 90%. Low graduation is causing the school report not meeting the Annual Yearly Progress is that required by the state of Tennessee. It is very vital that each school in the district continue to show progression each school year.


 * Desired Performance.** Westwood High School is currently targeting a realistic goal of 75% for this upcoming school year but would love for our school to make the jump to 90% meeting the expectation of the state.


 * Performance Gap.** Westwood High School would look to increase the graduation rate each school year. The main target percentage will be to me the State of Tennessee graduation rate.


 * Cause Analysis.** Some of the problems with low graduation rate at Westwood High School is students dropping out of school in the 9th grade. Majority of the students struggle their first year of school and began to lack motivation and drop out. Some of the students issues is with high rate of teenage pregnancy. Some of the students come from low social economics status and fill as they will do better getting a job than attending school, so they decide to drop out. One of the major situation with graduation at Westwood High School is students transferring or moving out of the school district or attending another school but is counted for at Westwood High School because they begin the school in the 9th grade at Westwood High School.


 * Organizational History and Background**
 * Goals.** The goal of Westwood High School is to improve the graduation rate each annual school year.

The mission of Westwood High School is to provide all students with the skills and knowledge needed to become proficient in reading, writing, and math as we prepare them for post-secondary education, and/or today's work force.
 * Mission and Vision.** The vision of Westwood High School, in partnership with the community, is to provide a safe, nurturing, and challenging environment, which encourages all students to develop their full potential in becoming independent thinkers, lifelong learners, and responsible citizens who make positive contributions in the 21st century.


 * Three Intervention Strategies. **The intervention strategies that will help improve the graduation rate at Westwood High School will be to incorporate tutoring and mentoring program that will help assist students who are struggling in any course. The school will provide a tutoring and mentoring program for all students who need help in assisting them with classes they are not meeting expectations. This program will provide one on one assistant with academics and social challenges that students will encounter.


 * Low end intervention. **All students who are not performing well in their courses will be track through the school's student management system(SMS) and be referred to the tutoring and mentoring program


 * Middle end intervention. **All students who are not attending school regularly and not meeting the requirements academically will be tracked and referred to the tutoring and mentoring program.


 * High end intervention. **Tutoring will be a great tool to apply for all students who are struggling in their classes. If tutors are needed, funding maybe an issue if teachers are required to incorporate tutoring session after school. Due to budget cuts, this maybe a problem. If incorporating this intervention strategy will benefit those students who are at-risk for dropping out of high school, educators will need to work as a cooperative team to make this work.


 * Justification for Intervention Strategy**

The high end intervention was chosen to present to the stakeholders because the other intervention are included in with the high end intervention. Tracking low performing students is very important because the students not meeting expectations in their courses will need to be identified immediately. One of the strengths when identifying low performing students will be locating them and provide the appropriate inventions and assessments to assist that particular student take positive strides academically. If educators can help motivate students who are struggling academically, they can potentially affect these students' futures in positive ways. Motivating low performing students successfully can help reduce the retention and dropout rates and increase the number of students who graduate and go on to higher learning or productive career paths. When students are identified and offered academic assistance in the form of teacher tutoring, peer tutoring, subject-oriented initiative programs and recovery programs that specialize in helping students who have been struggling to "catch up" with their classmates and improve their grades. If a student can set a goal, along with measurable steps toward that goal, he or she may be more likely to achieve that goal. Likewise, anticipating a reinforcement, such as a special privilege, also may be a strong motivator. When educators show that they truly care, students are more likely to perform well. This tutoring program can provide counseling for students who may be suffering from various stresses that are affecting their motivation and academic performance. Documents that support the graduation rate at Westwood High School can be found at this website: http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us.  After speaking with the principal, he mentioned that the entire school have emphasized interventions for struggling students, such as extra academic classes in lieu of electives and after-school tutoring programs.

Master teacher salaries with at Least 5 least of experience - $ 45,050 a year Salaries are reference from the Memphis City School //website. http://www.mcsk12.net// In light of increased emphasis on schools meeting minimum state and federal performance standards, many schools pay teachers for after-school tutoring. Teachers may agree to serve as after-school tutors to supplement their income or to provide additional instruction so that their students will pass standardized tests. After-school tutoring increases the likelihood that the students will succeed and also increases a teacher's class pass rate. Student teacher will be paid $15 per hour for instruction/development Teachers will tutor Monday - Thursday from 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Additional tutors will be provided by the University of Memphis Student teaching program //[]//
 * The Manager’s Many Roles**
 * Teacher/Instructor**
 * Instruction/development** Teachers will be paid $30 per hour for instruction/development

Transportation will be provided by the parents.
 * Transportation**


 * Technical Information**

Computers/Workstations - $600.00 each //[]//

Smart board - $ 2000.00 //[]//

Calculators - $130.00 ea. //[]//

Technology can actually assist with some of these expectations and make teachers and their students more successful. Technology can support educational needs continue to shift from teaching and learning isolated skills and information within each content area, to teaching skills that enable students to solve complex problems across many areas. Educators must prepare for a technology-rich future and keep up with change by adopting effective strategies that infuse lessons with appropriate technologies. This makes authentic assessment needs even more important: Assessments must keep pace with effective instructional technology use. Teachers are expected to teach students to solve complex problems that require knowledge necessary across many subject areas even as they are held accountable for the teaching and learning of isolated skills and information. Computers in the classroom can help teachers prepare materials for their lessons and activities. With access to the Internet, teachers can prepare interesting worksheets without relying solely on books and offline reference material. The Internet also allows teachers to access websites with suggestions for lesson plans. Computers enable teachers to use interactive whiteboards, with which a teacher can project a page from a website or an interactive game for the whole class to enjoy. paper, notebooks, pencils, pens, books - $2000.00 //[]//
 * Materials/Supply**


 * Project Assessment/Evaluation**

=
The project objectives will be evaluated according to the needs of each student who attends the tutoring program. The tutoring program will assist students with course assignments, test taking skills, motivating students to attend school daily, and teaching them how to manage teenage anxiety. Throughout this process each will be assessed and identify the areas were students need the most assistance. Students will be monitored in each area they are struggling to meet their needs. Some additional steps each student will follow in this assessment/evaluation process will be modeling, monitoring and motivation stage. During the modeling stage, students will always be positive when assisting with homework. Students will obtain information by connecting with teachers and staff members and ensure all educational resources are used appropriately. Motivation is vital to each student success. Teachers and instructors will assist students with a creative open, positive atmosphere and ensure they provide positive feedback for all students. During the monitoring stage, teachers and tutors have to look for verbal and non-verbal cues for attention and ask open-ended questions. =====

=
Formative evaluation helps you find out if you are achieving your goals and objects in the formative stages of your project, instead of waiting until you are have finished the project. This evaluation will allow teachers and tutors a chance to test the ideas and strategies that were implement before review the overall plan to improve the graduation rate at Westwood High School. This evaluation plan will identify a way to avoid finding out it could have been done more effectively if only you had known a way to test both the form and content of this plan. Summative evaluation plan will assess program outcomes or impacts. To determine the relationship of different factors to outcomes and results of the findings. The importance of tracking the data of each students plays a significant role in this evaluation stage. Summative evaluation plan also assess long-term effects, provide data on impacts and provide evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship. ===== Summative assessments should be differentiated to enable the student to effectively demonstrate understanding of learned concepts. Summative assessment assignments will be performed by students creating a graphic organizer of all assignment using the software of their choice thats required in this program which will be evaluated every two weeks.

References Chevalier, R. D. (2007). //A manager's guide to improving workplace performance.// //New// York,NY: American Management Association.

Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (Eds.). (2008). //Educational technology:// //A definition with commentary.// New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Taylor & Frances Group.

Memphis City Schools//. Westwood High School//. [] Tennessee State Department of Education. []

**Appendices**

Appendix A

Proposed Budget

Memphis City School //website. []// || Provide additional instruction and tutoring so that their students will pass standardized tests. || $45,050 salary for each teacher/per year  || University of Memphis Student teaching program //[]// ||  Teachers will be paid $30 per hour for instruction/development Student teacher will be paid $15 per hour for instruction/development Teachers will tutor Monday - Thursday from 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Additional tutors will be provided by the University of Memphis Student teaching program  ||  $30 per hour for teacher
 * **Expense/Detail** ||  **Support/Information**  ||  **Projected Budget**  ||
 * Teacher/Instructor
 * Instruction/Development

$15 per hour for student teachers ||
 * Transportation ||  Transportation will be provided by parents  ||  No Cost  ||
 * Computers/Workstations - //[]// ||  Computers in the classroom can help teachers prepare materials for their lessons and activities. With access to the Internet, teachers can prepare interesting worksheets without relying solely on books and offline reference material.  ||  $600.00 each computer  ||
 * Smart board //[]// ||  Computers enable teachers to use interactive smart boards, with which a teacher can project a page from a website or an interactive game for the whole class to enjoy.  ||  $ 2000.00 each  ||
 * Calculators //[]// ||  Teachers are expected to teach students to solve complex problems that require knowledge necessary across many subject areas even as they are held accountable for the teaching and learning of isolated skills and information.  ||  $130.00 ea.  ||
 * Materials/Supply //[]// ||  All students who attends this program will be provided paper, notebooks, pencils, pens and books to assist them in the subject area they are struggling in.  ||  $2000.00  ||

Appendix B

Personnel involved in the project


 * **Name** ||  **Title**  ||
 * Isaac White ||  Principal  ||
 * April Smith ||  Facilitator  ||
 * Keith Phillips ||  Project Manager  ||
 * William Kinard ||  Math Teacher  ||
 * Ashley Grandberry ||  English Teacher  ||
 * McKeller Gray ||  Science Teacher  ||
 * Anthony Jones ||  Technology Coach  ||

Appendix C

Summative Evaluation Student Graphic Organizer Report


 * **Student Name** || **Week one/two** || **Week three/four** || **Week five/six** || **Week seven/eight** || **Week nine/ten** ||

Appendix D Interview Questions 1. What are some of the issues that Westwood High School have with the graduation rate? Principal White stated: Some of the problems that his school have encounter with graduation rate is low performance in Mathematics and English. Students are not attending school regularly. Students also drop out and transfer from school to school and eventually don't attend another school during that year. 2. What are some of the issues that leads to low graduation rate? Principal White stated: Some of the students get discourage and lack motivation which leads to them deciding to quit school. The students who perform poorly in school often are the least interested in continuing with their education, causing them to drop out. Another reason for student dropping out of schools is because of their family income and low social economic status.

3. What are some of the other schools in your district doing to improve their graduation rate? April Smith stated: Many of the schools in the district have had success when they track all students who are not meeting expectations in the classroom are referred to attend after school tutoring and mentoring programs. 4. What program do you think your students can benefit to assist with improving their academics? Principal White stated: He believes the after school tutoring and mentoring program will help motivate and provide one on one instructions that all students who are struggling in subject areas can benefit. 5. What have your teachers observed regarding students not meeting graduation requirements? Principal White stated: Majority of the core subject area teachers stated some students are struggling because they are several grade levels behind before they get to the high school. Students are not attending school on a daily basis which lead to them falling further behind.