Bryan

__** Keith's High School **__

__Problem Description__ The problem, Keith's HIgh School is having, is with the realm of Data Collection. Last year I was approached to create a system to help track the Data Keith's High School needed for documentation purposes, like AYP. The Data was to be updated on a regular basis and saved to a central location for the administration to use another sheet I created, to compile all data for the school. The problem occurs because many of the teachers have fought the additional work that has been forced upon them, and therefore the data collection has suffered. [|DATA SHEET.numbers]

Here is a copy of the sheet I created. It is Numbers, since I am working on my Apple, but it was created in Excel, since that it what the teachers have at school.

__Summary of History and Background__ Keith's High School has now been open for eight years, and is located in East Cobb County of Metro Atlanta, Georgia. The School is a diverse school, of approximately 1800 students, that has seen many many changes in its brief existence. We have had six different schedules in the eight years, and we are currently on our second version of a hybrid schedule. We have had three different Principals, with our current Principal being in place now for four years. We have had approximately thirty administrators, and just this year were assigned three new ones. The school has not lived up to many people's expectations as far as excellence among the other schools in the County. We consistently rank right in the middle of the other fifteen high schools in our County/District. We have not made AYP two out of the last three years. Last year the Administration wanted to do a better job of tracking data to see where the short comings existed and how they might address them.

__Stakeholders and Decision Makers__ The people that will be affected by the plan will be the teachers, and the Administrators. The Administrators, of the school, are the ones that will be making the decisions to implement the plan once it is developed and refined. The Key personnel that will provide insight will range from teachers to administrators, and it would be difficult to list all of the people at this time.

**Module 3**
HPT Intervention Ideas
 * 1) Have Department Heads send the teachers in their department an email thanking them for updating their data collection sheets on time
 * 2) Have the Administration send an email to the teachers that have not completed their data collection sheets on time, reminding them to please be more cognizant of their deadlines and responsibilities
 * 3) Have the Administration praise the teachers that are collecting multiple classes of data, prior to the second semester, at a faculty meeting


 * Low Cost Strategy - I believe I can get the performance gap closed, while using less than $5,000. If I offer a small incentive to the department heads for taking the additional time to email all of their teachers, and thanking them for updating their data sheets, I think I could have a better outcome than we currently have. With a reward of $300 per department head, for both semesters, I would use almost $5000. I see that this reward system might work for a while, until the teachers discover that the DHs are receiving money for the extra effort while they get nothing.


 * Medium Cost Strategy - Given the fact that my project does not require any additional finding, other than what the district already provides us, in the way of equipment and software, I can use this money to reward the teachers in some manner. I could pay each of the 120 teachers to complete the data collection. I could pay each teacher, roughly, 100 dollars per semester, but I would run out of money in the first year. So, I guess it would make more sense to reward a larger group for their completion of the data sheets, so I could spread the money out over a longer period of years. A special event, for those that complete the data collection, may be a possibility. Since we are not far from the Atlanta Braves it might be possible to take the participating teachers to a game, and purchase a suite where all the food and drinks are catered. This may use the money over the course of more years.
 * High Cost Strategy - This amount of money would be nice to have to help close the performance gap. It is seldom that teachers receive the types of benefits that people in the corporate world world receive, in the form of bonuses. This would make the teachers feel more appreciated for sure, but with that comes more scrutiny to perform. If I was able to use this amount of money I could do multiple things, or levels of things, for the teachers that help close the gap. If I took the 50,000 and divided it by 5 years I could pay the teachers, that collected the data correctly, at the end of each semester as well as take them on a group outing. Dividing the money by five would allow this gap to be closed for multiple years.

I have a feeling that using the money to pay the teachers, or give them something tangible, would be the best solution. I do not think using the money to so something for the school would be the wisest use of the money. As I mentioned, teachers do not get the bonuses that corporate America receives and this is disheartening to some (even though they knew there were no bonuses given to teachers when they took the job). Teachers want to be treated like professionals, and this money might have some positive effects. I also mentioned that with this reward comes more expectations, and the teachers may not like that part of the equation.


 * Maria's response are below:**
 * I don't think you see my post under the discussion tab of this page so I am adding my comments directly to your page. I looked at each strategy and made pointers as I see them. To be honest if you have to pay teachers to participate in this project which should be mandated because it is for the betterment of the school and the students then that is sad. Teachers need to be paid accordingly anyways but do we really want to start the "I am not paid for this so therefore I am not doing it culture in your school?" I maybe a bigger question to think about.**


 * **Low Cost - I do not see the benefit in paying just the department heads after all it is the work of all members in the department that will make this project a success. In the long run it may cause issues between the teams and the department heads if this information where to become public knowledge. I think it is more important to provide the entire department who has gained 100% participation for this project with an incentive of some sort. To make it fair for all teams and departments a communication should be sent only from the Administrators outlining the project and the incentive package for 100% participation. In that way the communication was shared with everyone at the same time. Thereafter it will be up to each team to figure out what must be done to complete this task and gain the incentive. It is important to have guidelines for the monetary incentive (i.e. $ amount, what it can and can not be used for, how it will be distributed).**
 * **Medium and High Cost - I think the money can be better used by allowing the teachers to receive trainings. So that instead of just receiving 1 or 2 hours of a workshop, spend the money on getting substitues in during the day so the teachers can have a full day to learn and brainstorm how best to meet this mandate. Use the money to increase the skills of those teachers that are less technology savvy which will benefit the project, the teacher's confidence in using technology, and ultimately the students. Use the money to implement a grading system into the school, a learning management system, a laptop library where the laptops go to the classes for students to work on. I think you should consider the big picture which includes the needs and wants of the specific departments, therefore the teachers know that they are working towards benefiting their classrooms and their departments.**


 * I know that teachers are under paid and they spend a lot of money out of their own pockets to get stuff for their classrooms. I know it is important to provide additional monetary support so that they can do a great job but in corporate America you only get a bonus when you have gone above and beyond your responsibilities (this does not include the 1,000,000 executives) most of the time you will just get a price of living increase. Now of days some companies don't give anything at all. So if you are giving money make sure it is to all of those who are going above and beyond in their jobs, not just those who participate in this project.**


 * Maria,**
 * I agree with you that we should not have to pay teachers to do the things that are best for the students, and that is why it was so difficult to come up with something to use the money on. Teachers do not like to be out of the classroom and by putting a sub in there for us to go to more training is met with opposition by 99% of teachers in my building, because we usually see nothing come from such training situations. It may be hard to understand from an outside perspective, because what you are saying makes sense, but we are pulled so many times to do these little things it become monotonous. Many teachers are under serious time constraints to get the students ready for Standardized Tests that pulling us from a class, even for a day, seems like torture for a teacher.**
 * I think the Skype discussion we had the other day was very helpful for me to see things from an outsider's perspective. The problem with the good ideas from outsiders to the classroom is that the ideas are put into place every time some administrator thinks there is another good idea, and this weighs heavily on the teachers as they try to appease everyone all the time. As I tell my US History students, when we study the start of WWII, appeasement never works on any level.**
 * Thanks for the input, it is really helping me see things, and think about things, differently.**
 * Keith**


 * Module 4**

Justification for Intervention Strategy

I have decided to go with the High End Intervention, with a couple of tweaks, for a myriad reasons. Not only will I have the administration praise the teachers that are collecting data for multiple classes, but I will also have them praise the teachers that are consistently updating their data prior to the deadlines. This praise can take many forms, from simple email, a tally sheet located in a central place for all teachers to see, or small gifts donated by partners in education (i.e. - restaurant gift cards).

The strength of this intervention is with the Administration. If the teachers can see that the administration is cognizant of their efforts they may just participate more. No one likes to work for no reward, even if that reward is as simple as a pat on the back and "Thank you for a job well done". Teachers realize that monetary rewards are very rare in education, so being the caring people that teachers are a courteous gesture will go a long way to prove their efforts are making a difference.

The limitations to this intervention will come from apathy. Many teachers will simply not be swayed by something like a thank you in front of his/her peers. Unfortunately, there may be no way to reach everyone with a reward system. Some people may, begrudgingly, do the collection if the administration pulls them aside for a personal discussion on the merits of completing the process.

This intervention strategy seems to be the strongest, of the three, because it brings in a few different aspects of human nature. There is a positive aspect to this strategy; the positive affirmation from the "boss", the positive affirmation from your peers, and the positive of receiving a "gift". People enjoy positives. The more positives we can accumulate from our jobs the more likely we are to make it a career.

The other two strategies have some merits, as well. In strategy one, I am trying to keep a small group of people with a working relationship together through their Department Head. By having these people hear directly from their Department leader it may have more of an effect on their performance, especially since it is not known by the other department members who is, and is not, receiving the email. The second strategy has some merit, but not one most people would like to receive. Fear can do amazing things to people in short bursts, but when people are fearful a majority of the time it has a debilitating effect. If people are constantly scared their boss is about to, "call them on the carpet", they may become less productive. Just as strategy two has weaknesses, strategy one does too. Strategy one is relying on, essentially, another teacher to reprimand his peers. This may meet resistance as some teachers may not feel it is the place of their peer to reprimand them, and the department heads may not feel it is their place to reprimand a colleague.

The performance gap states that there is a disconnect between the administration and the teachers. If the intervention strategy mentioned above is to be implemented then we will have all parties working toward the same goal, data collection with meaning. While the Administration will need to continue to work with the data the teachers would feel a boost in the desire to complete collection of data based on the fact that they know for certain the administration is viewing, and reviewing, their efforts and the data.

All the teachers want to do is make a difference in the lives of the students, and make the school a higher achieving school. Getting everyone involved in this data collection process will create a sense of team work, which will make for a better working environment.

The Manager’s Many Roles

For this intervention, it will be key for me, as the manager, to work closely with the Administration while not overstepping my bounds. It will be important for me to facilitate the process, starting with specific goals. If the people involved, administrators and teachers, do not understand what we are trying to do then we will continue to spin our wheels. There will need to be goals for both groups involved in this. This should allow the informal groups to form as they work on the project. The teachers may create more informal groups for themselves, since there are so many trying to get the project completed.

Along the way I will need to observe and coach all members of the project. Since I have been an athletic coach for the past seventeen years, I am viewing each player's performance separately. In the classroom we call this differentiation, and it can be very helpful when done correctly. I will then be able to assess each member's progress, and give them individual feedback. Just as a coach has to be able to do on a sports field I will have to know which player, team member, needs more encouragement and which needs more one on time to work through any issues they may be having with the technology.

As the manager of the project, I may have the greatest job of all making sure all of the pieces come together so that we meet our goals, on time.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The management of the resources may prove to be difficult, since the resources may not be clearly defined. The teachers have the resources need to complete the project, their computers, software, and Blackboard. The Administrators will be in charge of their resources, the "rewards" given to the teachers. These "rewards" are accumulated by the administration from the Partners in Education, and I will have no say in that other than to check to see if they have procured them.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Tracking the resources may not be as difficult as defining them. It will not be difficult to log all of the teachers that are completing the task on time. It will also be simple to record the rewards given to the teachers, at the faculty meetings.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Another typical spreadsheet can be created to track everything, for subsequent reference or statistical data.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The delivery system for the data collected will be the use of the Blackboard system the District has provided. When each teacher updates data they will upload the newest version of the data collection spreadsheet to the Blackboard shell. Using the information available to the Blackboard administrator it will be, relatively, easy to track information regarding the collection process. The Blackboard administrator will be able to, quickly, see how many people are current and how often uploads are taking place. Given the ability to track these statistics can be tracked to find norms within the entire teacher group; such as the updates completionprior to the deadline, are there certain departments that update more frequently, are there certain teachers that do or do not update regularly.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Once the data collection has ended the administration will be able to create change. <span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">This system is accessible from any Internet accessible computer, so the system is not tied directly to the job site, school.

<span style="color: #191c1e; font: 13px/19px 'Trebuchet MS'; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">At the end of each semester, and school year, there will be the need to have a summary document written. The purpose for this document will be to explain what has transpired through out the school year. It will help in terms of data collection statistics. It will also show how the statistics have helped affect change that particular year for the upcoming school year. There will need to be a goal set for the upcoming year, and possibly a long-term goal of five years. There will need to be a review of the preceding goal, and discussion about the short comings of the goals or how the expectations will be exceeded, so that plans can be made to repeat the process or prepare not to repeat it. This document will be in place for any person to read, especially if the Administration changes, so the community (especially the teachers) do not feel as though the plan will be done for no reason, again. The management of the information should give life to the project to keep it running for the long term, or until the Administrators feel that the school is in a self-sustaining mode of excellence. All of this information should be kept as a hard copy as well as digitally, most likely in the office of the principal or school vault.

<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">**Financial and Budget Information.**
====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">The thing that makes this project so easy to follow through with, or get on board with, is the fact that there are no budget constraints. Everything the teachers, and administration, need to do the data collection has been provided for them by the School District, through District budgets and SPLOST monies. None of the items laid out in the budget for the items needed; laptops, desktops, Excel software, Blackboard, server space were ever purchased with the direct intent to complete this project. ==== ====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">The items outlined, above, to give the teachers will not be a budgetary concern either, as most of the items will come through donations or vending machine monies collect by the School already. ==== ====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">Due to the fact that no money has to be spent to make the school a better place through data collection and implementation it is an easy decision to undertake, and continue, with this project. ====

<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">**Project Assessment.**
====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">The project will be evaluated through an ongoing process. Each teacher will be asked to update their data, and place that updated spreadsheet on the school Blackboard. The assigned administrator will then check to see that all data collection is up to date. Failure to update, in a timely manner, will be reflected on the teacher's Evaluation Instrument, under the section of duties and responsibilities. This will be the formative evaluation for the project. ==== ====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">The summative evaluation will be done at the end of each school year. As mentioned in the Justification Section, above, there will be a summary document written each year, and this document will lay out the statistics for the year as well as the goals for the next year, and years, based on progress. This document will be kept digitally, as well as a hard copy locked in the school safe. ====

====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">As detailed earlier, there will be little more than a simple training for the teachers to use the software for this project. There will be a yearly training performed for all teachers new to the school, as it relates to using this spreadsheet. Training on all other technical issue are completed as they are rolled out to the teachers(i.e. - Blackboard). ==== ====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">**//I will have to load a screen shot from my PC when I return to work, since I am working on a Mac and the Spreadsheet does not translate very well.//** ==== ====<span style="font: 12px/24px Times New Roman; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">There will be no need to purchase anything for this project, as everything has already been provided, by the district, for each teacher, but not purchased for this project to be completed. All technical purchases have been made for the specific purpose of teachers being more technologically advanced in the classroom, and we are simply using these purchases to complete the project. ====


 * Keith,**
 * Once again I can't get the discussion board to work so I am posting my discussion on your page. It sounds like you have a good handle on what approach you are taking and you have confidence that this will work. I see you even considered some of the things we talked about over our Skype meeting several weeks back. Keep working on gaining buy in for the project and make sure that the adminstrators support your efforts.**


 * As far as this assignment goes, be sure to include your references and provide documentation to support the project.**


 * Good Luck!**