What I Have Learned So Far....

I find the entire concept of action research empowering.  It is empowering to know that through this defined process, one's ideas, frustrations, or wonderings, can be the catalyst for dynamic change that empowers others.  Processes like these can have a positive domino effect on a campus and create little or great waves of healthy change. In addition to action research being a powerful tool for professional growth, it allows all those who are involved to participate and engage in the process of determining the causes and best solutions to a concern.  Action research can facilitate a sense of community and cohesiveness as group members discuss and collaborate through the research process. Through the engagement of multiple persons, the experiences and wisdom of the many are combined with the collected data to craft viable and effective change.  This is empowering!
The  biggest aha for me was the use of reflection as an important skill to develop for effective leadership. Taking time to evaluate your decisions and determine areas of strength and areas for continued development is critical for effective professional growth.  As leaders, we must remain vigilant at reviewing our own skills and processes for leading and look for areas to continue to grow in.

I am excited to begin my action research.  I think my biggest challenge will be making time for the reflection piece.  I am by nature a reflective person, however, action research requires focused reflection and documentation for continued learning.  This challenge will be exciting to overcome.  I hope that the skills and lessons learned through using this process will be as immense as the learning achieved from the action research plan itself. 

RTI Action Research Plan - Revised

SST/RTI Improvement Action Plan By Leanne Crane
Goal:  I will research effective RTI documentation methods and SST procedures to enhance and streamline my campuses current RTI/SST processes. Through the use of teacher interviews and anonymous surveys, I hope to discern what is working and what areas we can improve. I plan to collect a sample of ideas from other district wide campuses and online literature of effective processes. Utilizing a focus of group of grade level teachers and campus specialists, I hope to create a cohesive group invested in analyzing the data collected and determining how we can revise our current processes to better meet the needs of our teachers and students. Design and implement an online database of RTI documentation methods and management tools to support the classroom teacher. Evaluation:  A teacher survey will be submitted to determine if changes and revisions are effective resulting in more teacher friendly RTI documentation methods and successful SST referrals.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Review current SST process and required paperwork. Utilize Forced Field Analysis Method	Leanne Crane Assistant Principal Special Education Teacher Diagnostician	September	SST flowchart List of required papers Sample student action plans and outcomes	Gain comprehensive understanding of current SST process and required RTI documentation What current paperwork is needed and what is not essential or effective?
Create anonymous teacher survey to discern current RTI documentation and SST needs, concerns, and successes.	Myself Assistant Principal	September/October	Survey Monkey - teacher survey -Use the Delphi Method to collect and prioritize needs	Create a list of pros and cons from the survey data to determine what is working and areas of need
Determine escalated behavior needs of classroom teachers.	Leanne Crane Assistant Principal Special Education Teacher Campus Psychologist	September/October	List of behavior referrals List of current escalated pathways	Draft a flow chart for behavior escalations and associated actions/consequences
Conduct grade level interviews with teachers to view and collect currently used  RTI documentation methods.	Leanne Crane	October/November	30-45 minutes of grade level planning time Samples of currently used RTI documentation from each team	Review informal interview notes, observations, and RTI samples collected to determine areas of professional development needed
Interview 3 - 5 other elementary campuses to determine their current SST processes.	Leanne Crane	October/November	List of campuses willing to participate in research process. List of prepared questions to aid in focused interview process. Samples of RTI/SST forms used.	Create list of processes used. Compare and contrast processes and determine pros and cons Create list of ideas for possible implementation
Form a focus group of grade level teachers and other support specialists to review data collected from survey, interviews, and literature best practices.	Leanne Crane Grade Level Reps from 2nd, 3rd, 4th ARI Teacher SPED Teacher	October through On-going	Calendar scheduled in advance Meeting space Flip Chart Laptop for note taking Timer to ensure we stay on time	The focus group will analyze data collected and determine suggested revisions to our current process Focus group will become campus mentors for continuous teacher support
Conduct best practices internet search of current literature research on RTI management tools and suggestions.	Leanne Crane and Focus Group	October/November	Internet Copier for group copies of ideas	Compile a list of additional best practices and ideas to consider for implementation
Create an online resource file of academic and behavior  RTI documentation ideas and management tools for continued professional support of teachers.	Leanne Crane	February/March	Space on share drive	Compile effective RTI documentation methods and management tools to support teachers RTI documentation and SST referral process
Create a list of reasonable expectations and time lines to guide decision processes in SST meetings if students fail to respond to  tier 2 interventions.	Leanne Crane Focus Group Administrator	February/March	Meeting space Flip Charts Tier 2 & 3 flow chart samples Best Practices research guidelines	Create a flow chart of Tier 2 & 3 options specifically to address what to do with those students who are RTI "lifers"?
Determine who are Tier 2 and Tier 3 clients are.  What determines moving a student from one Tier to another?	Leanne Crane Focus Group Administrator	February/March	Meeting space Flip Charts Tier 2 & 3 flow chart samples Best Practices research guidelines	Create a definition of Tier 1, 2, and 3 students that can be shared with teachers along with expected RTI for students struggling in each of these Tiers.
Create a list of professional development needs for RTI documentation and management as well as SST support.	Leanne Crane Administrator Focus Group	February/March	List of campus experts that could conduct in-house professional development	List will be created and prioritized for submission to principal
Post blog reflections and ongoing wonderings, ideas for continued development	Leanne Crane Focus Group	On-going through entire process	Blog Google Docs	Reflections of process that myself and focus group can utilize together.
Create post- T process  teacher survey	Leanne Crane	May and again in Fall of 2012-2013 school year	Survey Monkey	Compile data collected from survey to determine if changes are effective and teachers feel more supported with online database and professional development

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Meeting with Site Supervisor

I met with my site supervisor this week to review my action research plan.  She was very supportive and seemed enthusiastic about the goals and tasks stated.  As we discussed the plan, we talked about some additional RTI needs and the possibility of expanding this beyond RTI and SST needs that relate soley to academics.  That was my intended original focus.  However, after discussing growing campus needs, we have decided to incorporate behavior concerns into the plan as well. This will be a huge topic.  I do have some concerns that this may be too broad of a topic, but at the very least it will be a "jumping off point" where behavior is concerned and possibly lead to a more in-depth action research plan in the future.  Since we are laying the foundation for RTI revision and will be talking with multiple campuses and campus experts, it does seem natural to take advantage of the time devoted to collecting data on the original issues and collect data on behavior as well.


I am excited to research something that I am so passionate about and know that my campus leaders are  invested in this process as well.

My Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal:  I will research effective RtI documentation methods and SST procedures to enhance and streamline my campuses current RtI/SST processes. Through the use of teacher interviews and anonymous surveys, I hope to discern what is working and what areas we can improve. I plan to collect a sample of ideas from other district wide campuses and online literature of effective processes. Utilizing a focus of group of grade level teachers and campus specialists, I hope to create a cohesive group invested in analyzing the data collected and determining how we can revise our current processes to better meet the needs of our teachers and students. Design and implement an online database of RtI documentation methods and management tools to support the classroom teacher.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Review current SST process and required paperwork	Leanne Crane Assistant Principal	September	SST flowchart List of required papers Sample student action plans and outcomes	Gain comprehensive understanding of current SST process and required RtI documentation What current paperwork is needed and what is not essential or effective?
Create anonymous teacher survey to discern current RtI documentation and SST needs, concerns, and successes.	Myself Assistant Principal	September/October	Survey Monkey - teacher survey	Create a list of pros and cons from the survey data to determine what is working and areas of need
Conduct grade level interviews with teachers to view and collect currently used  RtI documentation methods.	Leanne Crane	October/November	30-45 minutes of grade level planning time Samples of currently used RTI documentation from each team	Review informal interview notes, observations, and RtI samples collected to determine areas of professional development needed
Interview 3 - 5 other elementary campuses to determine their current SST processes.	Leanne Crane	October/November	List of campuses willing to participate in research process. List of prepared questions to aid in focused interview process. Samples of RTI/SST forms used.	Create list of processes used. Compare and contrast processes and determine pros and cons Create list of ideas for possible implementation
Form a focus group of grade level teachers and other support specialists to review data collected from survey, interviews, and literature best practices.	Leanne Crane Grade Level Reps from 2nd, 3rd, 4th ARI Teacher SPED Teacher	October through On-going	Calendar scheduled in advance Meeting space Flip Chart Laptop for notetaking Timer to ensure we stay on time	The focus group will analyze data collected and determine suggested revisions to our current process Focus group will become campus mentors for continuous teacher support
Conduct best practices internet search of current literature research on RtI management tools and suggestions.	Leanne Crane and Focus Group	October/November	Internet Copier for group copies of ideas	Compile a list of additional best practices and ideas to consider for implementation
Create an online resource file of RtI documentation ideas and management tools for continued professional support of teachers.	Leanne Crane	February/March	Space on share drive	Compile effective RtI documentation methods and management tools to support teachers RtI documentation and SST referral process
Create a list of reasonable expectations and time lines to guide decision processes in SST meetings if students fail to respond to  tier 2 interventions	Leanne Crane Focus Group Administrator	February/March	Meeting space Flip Charts Tier 2 & 3 flow chart samples Best Practices research guidelines	Create a flow chart of Tier 2 & 3 options specifically to address what to do with those students who are RtI "lifers"?
Create a list of professional development needs for RtI documentation and management as well as SST support.	Leanne Crane Administrator Focus Group	February/March	List of campus experts that could conduct in-house professional development
Post blog reflections and ongoing wonderings, ideas for continued development	Leanne Crane Focus Group	On-going through entire process	Blog Google Docs	Reflections of process that myself and focus group can utilize together.
Create post- T process  teacher survey	Leanne Crane	May and again in Fall of 2012-2013 school year	Survey Monkey	Compile data collected from survey to determine if changes are effective and teachers feel more supported with online database and professional development

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

*Revisions in RED