Leandra's+Work+Space


 * Name of Organization:** Hanby Elementary School


 * Problem Summary:** The staff at Hanby Elementary are struggling to implement the various media tools that have been provided by the district. To be more specific, the district purchased licenses for all students to use a web-based program designed by Compass __Learning__. This program allows teachers to differentiate student learning based upon individual needs and all the activities correlate to content standards. The district purchased this program as a way to incorpatate technology into the learning environment while providing engaging learning opportunities. However, Hanby has not been as successful as other schools within the district in using this web-based tool. Most teachers state that they don't have the time to learn the ins and outs of this program and how to use it effectively. In addition to not having enough time to learn and plan for successful implementation, they also state that access is limited. We have one computer lab and two laptop carts which are primarily occupied for state testing. The state test is computerized and given 3 times during the year which leave minimal opportunities for using the computer equipment. These problems are unique to Hanby and presents a challenge.

Hanby Elementary is located just across the PA/DE state line in Northern Wilmington. The school is known for providing and outstanding education to the community in which in serves. However, within the past 4 years, the district realigned the feeder patterns of all __schools__ within the district to include students from the inner city. When this occurred, the student population changed slightly and there were more underachieving students than in previous years. The district was trying to evenly spread the inner city students across all schools. Since this change the school has had a spike in the number of students who need additional support outside the classroom and these changes are reflected in the state test scores. Hanby faculty members believe that every child can succeed and works diligently with parents and students to ensure that students learn in a warm, positive, and caring environment. Links for Hanby Elementary and Compass Learning are listed below. Compass Learning Hanby Elementary
 * Organizational Background:**

Administration, teachers, students, and parents all have a vested interest in student achievement. Teachers and students will be directly affected by the performance intervention, but administration plays a significant role in the implementation of the plan. Grade level team leaders will be able to provide me with insight in the use or non use of Compass Learning and what it would take to successfully implement.
 * Stakeholders and Decision Makers:**

Module 3
Low-cost strategy: This strategy would entail training for only team leaders and the special education teachers within the school on how to successfuly implement Compass Learning into teaching and learning. Training would have to span a couple days to go through the functionality of the system and its many capabilites. These individuals would become the subject matter experts (SMEs) and would be responsible for training the rest of the teaching staff.

Medium-cost strategy: This appoach would undergo training as a grade level. This will allow for grade level teachers to receive training that meets their specific needs. This training will also have to span several days, but it would not be held consecutively. There would be time between training sessions for teachers to implement and practice what they have learned. This allows for more specific trainings that are still based on need and what they have experienced.

High-cost strategy: All educators would receive training together over the designated time frame. The training would be held in two locations since the computer lab is not big enough to accomidate everyone. The teachers would be broken into grade clusters for the training (K-2 and 3-5) with specialists mixed between the two groups.

//Decision: The medium-cost intervention will be the solution that I present as a solution. I selected this solution in particular becuase myself along with other educators have often complained about not having time to apply what you've learned with the opportunity for follow up questions. This solution because it takes place over non-conseutive days allows for teachers to practive what they have learned in the training with their students and document anything that they need further explanation or help with in the next training. Hopefully using this approach will help keep teachers interested and motivated in being successful with this program.// //The low-cost strategy while be the least expensive only allowed training for select individuals in the school. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of these individuals to train the rest of the staff. The problem with this approach is that the staff will not be able to answer questions that arise that are specific to the functionality of the system. On the other hand, the hight cost strategy provided an opportunity for the entire staff to train at the same time. Ideally that would seem like the best solution, however, there are some concerns with bringing the entire staff together in a large group. Since its a large group training, there would be two different locations. In addition to being in two different locations, faculty would also be using two different computers, netbooks and laptops.//
 * Module 4**

Module 5