DATE Grant Research Plan - revised...

Well here's the plan on conducting my research.

1. Send out survey questions to the staff of my campus

2. Compare my campus results to the district results obtained from the Associate Superintendent of the district.

3. Pull AEIS data from the past four years for my campus and compare success from before and after the implementation of the DATE Grant.

4. Pull AEIS data for campus across the state of similar make-up and size.

5. Compare data of those campuses to my campus.

6. Along with looking at TAKS data I will also compare teacher retention when data is available.

So far I have sent out survey, received some back, received results from the Associate Superintendent and pulled AEIS data from the past four years. I'm moving right along.

DATE Grant Survey Update

Well I sent out a survey to the staff on my campus about 2 weeks ago. My campus has about 85 teachers and as of today 24 have responded. That's about 32% of the staff. So far the results are

Staff that chose fill out paper work to receive a the bonus check - 18

Did the grant effect your desire to tutor/mentor - 7 yes / 17 no

Did the grant encourage you to return - 7 yes / 17 no

Is the grant of our TAKS success - 10 yes / 13 no / 1 unsure

Is the money distributed fairly - 6 yes / 18 no


I was surprised to see that not everyone turned in the paperwork. All teachers will receive $500 at the very least for tutoring/mentoring. I was glad to see that the grant had a low effect on tutoring. Most teachers said they would tutorial with or without the grant money. The same goes for returning to the campus. Many teachers are happy and enjoy working at our school. Our OHI was 98% last year. When it comes to distribution of money all but one of the yeses teach a TAKS class.

I was also told the Assoc Superintendent did a survey about the DATE Grant as well. I emailed him and he was kind enough to help me out with his finding as well. As all 3 interviewees said - don't re-invent the wheel if you don't have to.

Week Two of 5301

Oh the things we learn....

In week two of EDLD 5301 Research I learned that doing research on a certain topic does not necessarily mean "you" have to do the research. As Johnny Briseno, Principal at Rancho Isabella Elementary in Angleton ISD, said "a 15 minute search on Google can you a campus hero." There is no use in re-inventing the wheel. This is my kind of research!!!!

DATE Grant effectiveness - getting started

So far I have sent out a survey to the staff of my school and am getting a steady stream of responses. Here are the questions being asked. I will share results soon.


Are you a participant of the DATE grant (do you fill out your paper work)?

Does the grant encourage you to tutor and/or mentor more than normal?

Does the grant encourage you to return to Peet each year?

Do you believe that the grant is an effective part of our TAKS success?

Do you think the grant is fairly distributed amongst all of our teachers?

The Use of Blogging for Educational Leaders

Blogging for educational leaders could be very useful if done correctly and with common sense. A blog could be a great place to post information for teachers, parents and students. This can be another place to post upcoming events and important dates, to survey parents and community members, or to share the successes of the campus. A blog could act as another monthly parent letter and be refered back to when needed. I can easily see more principals using blogs in the future.

Action Research

In the beginning of this course, Action Research, I have learned the difference in three types of educational research, Administrative Inquiry, Educational Research and Action Research. All three types of research are different in their own way, but still very important and useful to the success of the education process. The first type of research, Administrative Inquiry, is wondering how well a program is working, what is it's effectiveness? A principal or administrator will look at the data and success of a program. He/she may make changes to help improve the success rate or just follow the progress. The second type of research, Traditional Educational Research is typically done by people or groups outside of the classroom, usually university researchers. This research focuses on improving the educational process by linking theory to practice. The researchers gear their reports and findings to educators, classroom teachers and college students majoring Education, typically not to the general public. Lastly, Action Research is usually conducted by an administrator who is examining data from current programs on his/ her campus or another campus with the desire to make change. The change may either be by adding a needed program to improve student success or maybe even to dissolve an ineffective program that is a waste of budget resources. When preparing to ask the school board for money your Action Research plan must be well though out and well put together.

New course - 5301 Research...

I am about to embark on a new class on the way to my Master's Degree. This will be a research class. I plan on researching the effectiveness of the DATE grant on my campus. Hopefully my findings will be positive and encouraging.