Below is the early action plan that I created during Module 4:
1. Meet with my principal to discuss my plans and brainstorm ideas. Discuss meeting with our superintendent. Contact the PTA based on her recommendations.
2. Reach out to staff members to meet several times this year to document what worked in our classrooms in 2022-2023 as a result of the interventionist positions.
3. Reach out to Partnership Health Center (from 10/8/23 Missoulian Article)
— Program Manager Amy Kryzek, Community Health Worked Shanna Henderson, Licensed Clinical Therapist Curt Tweedy – about how their partnerships are working at Willard HS and Lowell ES and how we can connect with them and gather data from them, advocate together.
Discuss with admin and current staff about which kids and families received services in 2022-2023 and might be willing to be interviewed on the topic.
Contact families from Item 3 to set up interviews.
Carry out and document interviews with families. Ideally with help of other staff members.
Hold meetings with interested staff members — generate and record conversations about the benefits of the academic and behavioral interventionist positions.
Meet with students and families who worked with our interventionists and record their observations.
Gather academic and behavioral data from 2022-2023.
Create a digital portfolio of the qualitative and quantitative data gathered through out the year.
The overaching competency of personal effectiveness will influence my work because it will serve as a reminder to respond with resilience as I attempt to manage my time and fulfill my professional responsibilities without becoming overwhelmed. The overaching competency of interpersonal effectiveness will serve as a guide for how best to develop and articulate a clear vision for the long term goals I hope to achieve. The foundational competency of "collaborate purposefully" will be of critical importance as I build relationships and develop shared, collaborative, and achievable goals with stakeholders.
As I stated in the "Learn" section of this Capstone, I hope to develop leadership within two areas of the foundational competency of collaborate purposefully. The first is "recognize the need for flexibility, adaptation and cross-cultural communication skills when interacting with other cultural groups." The second is "recognize interactions with individuals and groups of different cultural backgrounds rather than [my]own because of [my] intentional desire to understand different perspectives. The Leadership Pathway competency I will focus on is "advocacy." From the competency document, the following description of "evidence" closely matches what I hope achieve moving forward:
"Facilitate an action plan to create productive partnerships with students and colleagues, parents and community partners, and stakeholders and policymakers to address the needs of students."
I hope that by taking the lead this year and beyond, building on my efforts in the spring of 2023, I will involve a widening circle of stake-holders who are committed to working collaboratively to reform the funding formula and to ensure our budget sustains programs and positions, such as the interventionist positions, that have demonstrably met the needs of students, families, and teachers.
The surveys I created in March of 2023 are a good example of how I used and hope again to use collaborating, questioning, and data to implement my action plan. In reflecting on the responses I receive, and perhaps more importantly, on observing which stakeholders did not respond, I hope to fine tune my work to see where it is falling short. I hope that I will manage to be open and receptive to opposing perspectives and to allow these to alter the direction of my goals. For example, perhaps I may learn that teachers in other in the district have not felt as positive about the interventionists at their schools, which in turn will force me to consider what conditions beyond funding, are necessary for the interventionist model to work as well as it did in our school.
I anticipate that the greatest obstacle to implementing my plan will be that all of the other financial pressures on the district will mean that the positions I seek to restore and defend cannot compete with larger ticket items. Ideally, of course, my action plan will be successful if all stake holders agree that the interventionist positions must be funded and the administration find a way to do so, and to hire and retain qualified candidates.
Realistically, I will know my action plan is successful if stake holders agree to continue to engage in a conversation about the tremendous benefits of the interventionist positions. I will have evidence in the form of emails from parents and teachers, and letters of public comment to the board, asking for these positions to be restored. My great hope is that we will not forget this amazing moment at our school when all the pieces fit together. My Paxson colleague and dear friend Autumn Johnstone wrote the following her eloquent letter to the board (see the link in the "Learn" section of this site.) It is this type of testimonial that we must return to as a reminder of what we achieved and what we can achieve again.
"I have felt more able to meet the emotional and academic needs of the kids in my class this year than I have in any of the previous years. I credit this to the support I have received from our two interventionists, Kate Spencer and Debbie Tipton. I implore you to reconsider terminating the interventionist positions at Paxson.
In an era where school districts are data-driven, Kate and Debbie are Paxson’s data specialists. Kate tracks the ODRs in our building, identifies patterns, problem-solves with teachers, and works with students. Debbie analyzes test scores, brainstorms with teachers how to fill in identified gaps, and pulls small groups for targeted instruction. Their work with both students and teachers ensures that identified needs are addressed, and they evaluate and track progress.
Everyone benefits from Kate and Debbie’s presence. Teachers and parents benefit from their expertise when brainstorming strategies to meet student needs, and all kids benefit from more instructional time. I have been able to have more time on task with my students, and I have heard this from other teachers as well. With Debbie and Kate pulling kids at targeted times, disruptions and time lost to transitions have decreased."