Update on my Action Research Project

My action research project, Parental Involvement and Support, is moving along as scheduled.  The first phase of the project is creating an action research committee to include teachers, administrators, counselors, and technology staff is almost complete.  I have met with several teachers in the math department during their PLC’s and with campus administrators to discuss participation on the committee.  I have received confirmation of participation from six math teachers (2 from each of the core areas; Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry) and my site supervisor.  My campus principal has also given me confirmation that he will support any of my efforts that are aimed to produce student achievement. I have been unable to get membership from any of the school counselors or the technology staff.  However, the first month of school is always hectic for them with schedule changes, new student arrivals, and equipment issues.  I understand their hesitance to commit to another endeavor at this time.  The group that I have collaborated with has been encouraged by this project.  They all share the same passion that I have for the student population in our school. They want to see the parents get more involved with their student’s academics.  They also know that times have changed and the old way of doing things are non-effective.  As a matter of fact, one new action items that may be implemented is home visits. We all feel that “if you build it, they will come” mentality does not work with parental involvement.  We have to go to the parents. But, we want to make sure that we don’t violate any privacy acts and district policies in making these visits.  Also, our district has implemented a new and improved RTI (Response To Intervention) initiative and I feel like this research will run parallel and in partnership with this initiative.  I plan to meet with the coordinators of this program soon to discuss how my project can work cooperatively with their initiative.