Do

Identify the part(s) of your plan you were able to implement (given the nature of leadership work, your project may actually continue beyond submission of your Capstone Portfolio).

I was able to complete the design and implementation of a pilot semester for the course with the help of Paola. We surveyed many teachers on what they felt they needed to learn to effectively communicate with their students and families. (Teacher responses cited as Artifact DO.1) Based on the data received, we decided to do a crash course in Spanish. We covered a huge range of vocabulary and conversations; from basic greetings to letting parents know their child is sick. We then found an instructor (Cassidy) to teach the class with Paola's help. Then I worked with the district to reserve my classroom and spread the course information to district employees.  Cassidy then took over the heavy lifting. She created videos and activities for the course and uploaded them on Google Classroom for students. From there, we ran the pilot course, we made a few changes to the scope and sequence here and there as needed. By the end of the course, all students who attended regularly were able to hold a conversation about likes and their occupations, as well as name basic classroom materials in Spanish. 

How successful was your action plan at addressing the challenge?  

Our plan was successful in helping those who attended the course regularly to learn some Spanish. (Completed sign in sheet cited as Artifact DO.2.1 and DO.2.2) However, in the grand scheme of things, there is still much work to be done. Of the hundreds of district employees, 33 signed up for the course, and 18 attended regularly. There are still so many employees who need to learn Spanish to communicate effectively with students and their families. This course was a step in the right direction, however, it isn't going to solve the problem completely.

Which stakeholders and association practices or programs were impacted?  How do you know (site evidence)?

Bozeman School District employees, community members, and students were impacted by this project. Our district ELL Coordinator stated "There is buzz about this class all over the District. Every building I'm in, I hear people talking about it." GL 4/16/2024. This shows that district employees were impacted by the course and were interested. Those who participated in the course were directly impacted and learned some Spanish skills. Other employees were impacted by hearing others talk about it, or seeing flyers in their building. One administrator even paid for her employees to take the course! Community members were impacted by educators talking about the course to their friends, schools communicating with Spanish-speaking community members more clearly,  and by having a more welcoming environment for their children in the school system. Students were impacted by experiencing clearer communication in the classroom and being able to create more meaningful relationships with their teachers. One educator stated "Thank you for doing this!  I really want to connect with my English language learners!  They are wonderful and I want them to know that and to feel welcome in my class!" FK 4/11/2024.

How were your four chosen competencies used in the implementation of your project?

Overarching Competency #1 Continuing Learning and Education: 

During my project I designed learning opportunities for others aligned to professional learning goals (better communication with Spanish-speakers), and created learning for others by utilizing job-embedded professional learning strategies(sharing my Spanish knowledge with co-workers during work hours such as PLC time) as well as activities outside of school (the Spanish course). 

Overarching Competency #2 Adult Learning: 

During my project I applied knowledge of adult learning to interactions with colleagues (designing a class for adult learners), and learned to meet the needs of adult learners to enhance their professional growth (adjusting the course as needed based on feedback from adult learners to help them learn to their best ability). 

Foundational Competency Explore and Challenge Inequity:  

During this project I identified and explained which cultures is dominant and privileged in our environment (explained that English-speaking families do not have the same communication problems  or amount of  communication problems with the school system as Spanish-speaking families do), I identified culturally dominant practices that created inequalities for other cultural groups (expecting all students and families to learn English to communicate within the school system), applied knowledge of cultural differences among individuals in our school to plan, implement, and adapt practices to address inequities (implementing Spanish classes for district employees), and engaged in ongoing self-education and self-reflection regarding cultural differences and equity (how can we make this class better to serve this population). 

Specific Leadership Pathway Competency Instructional-Community Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy: 

During this project I facilitated an action plan to create productive partnerships with students and colleagues, parents and community partners, and stakeholders to address the needs of students (finding a way for educators to communicate better with students), evaluated and strengthened the teaching profession (giving educators a way to build meaningful relationships with their students) and fostered a spirit of community and a sense of belonging for Spanish-speakers (implemented the foundation for educators to better communicate with Spanish-speakers). 

What obstacles, if any, did you encounter?  How did you address them?

We ran into many obstacles. First, we originally thought Paola would be able to teach the course, however, after receiving her semester schedule, we saw that wasn't going to be the case. We then started to look for a community member who was fluent in Spanish and had time to instruct the course. That brought us to Cassidy. She was an amazing instructor and was passionate about the class as well. 

We then had trouble reserving my classroom for the course. The district requires all after-hour activities to be registered through Facilitron, to reserve the space. Because we were charging a fee for the course, the district charged us to use the classroom space as per their policy. Then we also had to buy insurance for the space, and that was another $100. This doubled the cost of the course. Because of this, we needed thirty people to sign up and pay for the course; so we required a non-refundable fee of fifty dollars. 

By the time the class started, we only had twenty-five people signed up. That wasn't enough to cover the cost of the class, but we decided to proceed with the class and figure out how to cover the costs when the time came. After the first week of class, eight more people had signed up for the course! Their co-workers had told them about it and convinced them to join. We were then able to cover the cost of the course and give Cassidy a little extra. 

Given the outcomes, describe any changes you might make to the Capstone Project’s action plan.

Based on feedback from the students who participated in the course, (Cited as Artifact DO.3) we are going to slow it down for next semester and shorten it. Many students in the class were new to Spanish and had a hard time keeping up in the crash course. This fall we are going to start at the beginning and run the course more like a traditional Spanish course; starting with general introductions and slowly moving through vocabulary. We are also going to change the length of the course by 4 weeks. Many of the students who didn't finish the course found it was too much of a commitment to do 12 weeks of class, so we are going to shorten it to 8 weeks instead. We are also going to look for a different place to hold the course, to help keep costs down and be able to pay the instructor more.