At
this point in my research project, I am not quite as far along as I intended to
be. I had high hopes of maintaining the
schedule that I developed, but so far it has been a slow progression.
I
did not take into account that I would be teaching a new discipline while also
being in season coaching soccer, my assigned sport.
The
goal of my action research project is to prove that economically disadvantaged
sophomore students who participate in extracurricular activities have greater
academic success than the nonparticipating economically disadvantaged
students. This will then provide the data to prove that Trinity High
School needs to be proactive in getting students involved in the school community
to improve academic performance and accountability ratings.
So
far, I have obtained a report from the administration that identifies the
sophomore economically disadvantaged students.
I am in the process of collaborating with the counselors to obtain the
transcripts of the economically disadvantaged students that I have
identified. I am also in the process of
getting the list of participating students in the 40+ clubs and organizations
that we have on campus.
I
am finding that it is difficult to rely on other people to help with a
project. I know that we are all busy
with our own agenda, but I really try to give ample time for them to get me the
data. Part of this is my fault, because
I have been so busy that I have not been able to go and offer my help. Now that season is over, state testing
begins. So, I am really going to need to
offer my help in order to obtain the data that I need. I am trying to be considerate of other
people’s time and responsibilities—after all, I am the one seeking the degree!
I
am very excited about this project. We
have a very unique and diverse campus, ethnicity and economically, yet we are
still very successful academically. We
have a saying a school, “From the outside in you can’t see it. And from the
inside out, you can’t explain it.” I
work on a campus and within a school community that truly embraces
partnerships. We are all working
together towards one goal, for EVERY child to be successful. I could not imagine a better place to work. I
am blessed to be a part of this school community.
