ok+this+is+the+clean+version+with+the+intervention+added

  Charles A. Price  A000 charles.price@waldenu.edu   EDUC-7103-1/EDUC-8843-1 Leading and Managing Educational Technology Dr. Rita Conrad Walden University January 14, 2011
 * Increasing Social Studies CRCT Scores Beyond State Levels **

 ** Executive Summary ** On this page you will provide a brief summary of this proposal in no more than one page. This is similar to the Abstracts you have written for other projects. Think of this as your 60 second commercial. You have one page in which to convince someone of the value of your intervention. It is suggested you restate the problem, solution, cost, and benefits. Creativity in your summary will be appreciated.

 ** Increasing Social Studies CRCT Scores Beyond State Levels ** <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"> ** Pointe South Middle School ** ** Problem Summary ** Beginning in1985, Georgia‘s classroom instruction curriculum was derived from the Quality Core Curriculum. In 2000, Georgia began administering the criterion-referenced competency tests in  the content areas of reading, english/language arts and mathematics  and in 2002 science and social studies was added. In 2004, a change to Georgia Professional Standards was implemented. The change from QCC to GPS was done because an audit concluded the QCC provided inadequate academic rigor. According to the CRCT content description for social studies, the differences between the GPS and the former curriculum is GPS is a conceptual curriculum, requiring instruction be integrated and should not be viewed as discrete or taught in isolation (2009). Mastery of the social studies content requires a solid understanding of critical thinking skills such as analysis, interpretation, and identification. As students, for example, become more comfortable with identifying bias and viewpoint, interpreting graphs, and analysing open-ended questions their content mastery in social studies will support success in the other contents. Information about GPS is located at __[|http://www.georgiastandards.org]__. While Point South Middle School scores are making small gains toward narrowing the gap with the state in reading, english/language arts and mathematics, they are lagging behind the state scores in the social studies component of the  CRCT **.** The percentage of students meeting or exceeding in each of the grade levels is approximately 25% below the percentage of students across the state. ** Background of Organization ** Pointe South Middle School opened as Pointe South Junior High School in 1978, with a student population of 375, and a staff of seventeen. Since its inception in 1978 the school enrollment has risen from the aforementioned 375 to as high as 1238. The school is located in Jonesboro, GA. There is an almost 50/50 male to female split in the student body. 83% is black, 5% white, 5% Hispanic, and the remaining percentages divided into three other groups. In August of 2011 Pointe South Middle school is set to unveil a new wing of 12 additional classrooms and a new computer lab. Information on the school can be found at []. Information about the direction the district is headed in can be obtained from the Clayton County School district website at []. Additional information about Average Yearly Progress and other educational imitative can be found at the Georgia Department of Education website  at the link []. ** Stakeholders and Decision-Makers. ** The students, community members, and the faculty at Pointe South Middle School will be affected by the recommended plan. The literacy and math coaches along with the Head of Academics will provide instructional guidance. In their roles, Ms. Jay, Mr. Brigham, and Dr. Vickers, bring years of experience in data analysis and curriculum development. Principal Lillard, the president of the Parent- Teacher –Student Association, Assistant Superintendent Smith, Matthew Smith, the Social Studies Coordinator, and the members of the Leadership Team provide expert guidance and fiscal accountability. ** Actual Current Performance ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">For the 2009-2010 school year, the percentage of all students meeting or exceeding the standard for the state in social studies was 64% for 6th grade and 71% for 7th grade. Because the test results for the previous two years were invalid due to question design, no comparison results are available. For the 2009-2010 school year, the percentage of all students meeting or exceeding the standard at Pointe South Middle School was 39% for 6th grade and 48% for 7th grade. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">For the 2010 school year, the percentage of all students meeting or exceeding the standard for the state in social studies was 70% for 8th grade. This is a 7% increase from 2009 and an 11% increase from 2008. For the 2009-2010 school year, the percentage of all 8th grade students meeting or exceeding the standard at Pointe South Middle School was 39%. For the 2009-2010 school year, the percentage of all 7th grade students meeting or exceeding the standard at Pointe South Middle School was 48%. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">For the 2009-2010 school year, the percentage of all 8th grade students meeting or exceeding the standard at Pointe South Middle School was 48% in 8th grade. There was no movement in either previous year.(duplicate some of the information) ** Desired Performance. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Pointe South would like a 10% Annual Measurable Objectives for the next three years in each grade level. Students exceeding should increase by 5% each year. 7th and 8th grade results should have approximately 70% of all students meeting or exceeding the standards.
 * Performance Gap: Cause Analysis **

** Performance Gap. ** The percentage difference of all students at Pointe South Middle School passing and exceeding when compared to the state is 25% in 6th grade, 23% in 7th grade, and 22% in 8th grade. ** Cause Analysis. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Students face the daunting task of understanding the various disciplines of social studies. There is a growing feeling of malaise toward the content which is evident by the lack of participation in social studies fairs, non-existence discussion of social studies in the national core curriculum agenda, and making social studies as the only core content students do not have to pass on the CRCT. It is a systemic problem. For example, results from a recent geography survey indicated adults struggled to get half the geography questions correct. Organizations such as 4-H, American Federation of Teachers, Asia Society, Association of American Geographers, National Geographic and the National Basketball Association are concerned about the results. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Social studies classes at Pointe South Middle school meet for 225 instructional hours per week. In comparison, english/language arts and math classes meet for 450 hours and an additional 90 minutes is allotted through separate connection classes for both math and ela. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Despite this challenge, social studies educators at Pointe South Middle School have done a remarkable job assisting students discover events in history, explore life-altering impact of geographical tragedies, examine political upheaval in countries throughout the world, and analyze the financial ramification of a global society. Michael Yell states (2009) social studies excellence occurs when every student, k-12, has equal access to deep, engaging, thoughtful social studies instruction on a daily basis. Social studies is a 24/7 365 day experience. Real world connection Classrooms should be filled with students engaged in activities such as discussing how public policy issues affect their neighborhood. Students could take this authentic activity and expand the scope in numerous ways in their other content subjects. For example, ela teachers could encourage students to draft a letter to an elected official about extending library hours. ** Organizational History and Background ** ** Goals. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Pointe South Middle School would prefer the scores to be compatible with the 6th grade statistics for the entire state. At this time the scores for social studies do not count towards Average Yearly Progress. Schools which do not make AYP face consequences such as removal of the principal, replacement of the entire staff, or on-site state representative. School officials would like to a eliminate the indifference most stakeholders demonstrate towards social studies, increase the instructional time without sacrificing gains in other core content, provide a balanced curriculum, and ensure interdisciplinary commitment ** History. ** Jonesboro, GA in the last 15 years has become a very transient city. In 2000, the school hit a rough period. In 2006, Dean Lillard came aboard and brought in his approach to creating a community school. After seven years the school made AYP and repeated this event two years later. 2010 will be a pivotal year because the expectations are higher than ever because of the recent success. ** Mission and Vision. ** ** The Pointe South Middle School mission s tatement ** as provided on the web site is  “to prepare students to enter high school at or above grade level in all content areas while exhibiting good character and citizenship.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The vision is to foster a strong school culture and to strengthen community bonds. At Pointe South Middle School the end goal is to help students develop strategies to overcome their academic and social challenges. Failure cannot and will not be an option. ** Three Intervention Strategies ** The intervention strategies implemented will focus on curriculum, students, and educators. Students will participate in the Advancement Via Indivdual Determination program, educators will utilize effective collaborative planning, and educators will incorporate flexible scheduling. Each strategy connects all stakeholders in supportive roles to provide an engaging and rigorous learning environment. ** Low end intervention. ** The interventions for this level are aimed at promoting a family environment. Celebrations, such as Parent University, Transition Festival and Academic Night will be planned and provide a festive environment in which all stakeholders can stay informed in a relaxed setting. Teachers will work with small groups and re-deliver content in several informal settings outside the classroom. Peer tutors, backward designing of lesson plans, and power standards will be incorporated and reviewed using a checklist to help determine their effectiveness. Teachers will visit feeder school and collaborate with the base teachers on strategies to help ease the transition from elementary school and help prepare them for high school.

** Middle end intervention. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">Three interventions used will be the software programs Study Island, Turning point and BrainPop. Study Island has components which provide opportunities for parents to assist students in content mastery. Teachers can match what students are working on in Study Island to what they are doing in class. BrainPop has lesson plans, quizzes, and short and extremely ** High end intervention. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">Students will take field trips to the areas they are studying. The exposure and extensive use of 21st century tools such as wiki's, podcast, and Skype will be implemented in the classrooms. Guest speakers and volunteers will provide the real world connect to enhance the learning experience. AVID will be the focal point of helping students prepare to be master students.

** Justification for Intervention Strategy ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Share which of your three intervention strategies you selected to propose to the organization. Describe the strengths and limitations of each of the strategies you selected. Share why the intervention strategy you selected is more likely to resolve the problem than the other two. Include data from documents provided by the organization, interview data, or other information gleaned from the Web to support your choice. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Share the strengths and weaknesses of each of the two intervention strategies you didn’t select. Describe why you rejected it supporting your decision with data and sound reasoning. Write one paragraph for each of the rejected intervention strategies. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Demonstrate how your chosen interview strategy best meets the organizational goals stated in the performance gap in Module 2. ** The Manager’s Many Roles ** Project management techniques: Explain your role as project manager for this intervention strategy. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Resource management techniques: Describe the resources that will be used for this intervention and how they will be tracked. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Delivery system management techniques: Identify the medium for the delivery of the intervention strategy and how the technology will be implemented within the instructional context. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Information management techniques: Describe how information related to this intervention strategy will be stored, accessed, and processed. This may include information that l be used for evaluation of the intervention. ** The Manager as Change Agent ** ** Financial and Budget Information. ** Tentative budget for your intervention strategy, along with supporting documentation; consider technology purchases, personnel training, additional support, and other considerations specific to your proposal. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Supporting documentation for your budget, including links to Web sites where purchases can be made and the costs of implementation. ** Project Assessment. ** Describe how the project objectives will be evaluated. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">Describe the formative evaluation plan you will use. Include your formative evaluation instrument in an Appendix. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">Describe the summative evaluation plans you will use. Include your summative evaluation instrument in an Appendix.

<span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">References <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">All references you used to develop your PII should be included in this list. Please remember to use APA 6th formatting for your references. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; tabstops: .5in; tabstops: .5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">You will also use hanging indentations for your references as shown in this example.