May Progress

At this point, I am breaking down the test scores for the year.  These scores and the final grades for each student will provide me with the data needed to complete the project.  Many of my students are successful, many have parents that stay involved, but there are a few that do not have the support at home needed to keep them going in the direction needed.  Much of my research and data gathering should be complete before the end of the summer.

Continued Work

At this point in my research project, I am continuing to analyze the data from my students and their work.  I have been charting my students' grades in the class, on projects, and on tests, as well as documenting all parental involvement with parents.  This information is being charted for students whose parents are involved and those who are not.  At the end of the school year, I should have a report to show how parental involvement has impacted this small group of students.

As noted in previous posts, my project is designed to determine the worth of parental involvement in the classroom.  With my students, 6th graders, this is a very important time in their lives in terms of parental involvement.  Many of the parents believe that their child no longer needs the attention in school that they once provided and many of the students do not want their parents involved.  My goal is to show both that they should yearn for the opposite.  From my discussions with teachers and the research, it is noted that students with parents that are not involved tend to have more discipline issues and a higher failure rate in classes.  I do not want that for any of my students and I truly wonder if the parents realize this is a consequence to allowing their child to "grow up" by leaving their education totally in their hands.

I have already hosted the initial meeting to introduce my parents to the concepts of how to stay "connected"; however, I plan to host at least one more before the current school year is up.  Beyond that, I plan to restart this project with a new group of students next school year.  If successful, my roadmap to parental involvement could be something that the entire campus adopts.  Let's all hope for success!

Parent Meeting

The parent meeting took place on January 14, 2013 in the computer lab.  Twelve of my seventy-nine students had parents there to represent them - a little more than 15%.  Parents were given the opportunity learn from the counselor in charge or parental involvement, an assistant principal, and myself.  Items discussed include parent meetings on campus, Skyward parent access, communicating with teachers, and important dates in Pre-AP Language Arts to finish the year.  Monitoring will continue from here.

Research Update

My research is moving along smoothly.  I have completed the spreadsheets that contain the information on the students needed prior to beginning my research.  The same spreadsheet will be used later in order to compare my results after the research is completed.  The date for my initial parent meeting is set and the documents (invitation, informational sheet, Skyward access information, survey, etc.) for the meeting are just about completed.  I have solicited the help of the counselor in charge of parent contact and another colleague on campus has offered assistance for the meeting as well.  Let's hope the entire research process goes this well.