EDUC 655: Teacher Leadership Inquiry Project

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EDUC 655 Teacher LeadershipInquiry Project

• Crystal Heyward

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Statistics

• 9.3 of public school teachers leave the
  profession before they complete their first year
  in the classroom.
• 1/5 of public school teachers leave the
  profession within their first three years of
  teaching.
• 30 of teachers leave the profession within five
  years of entry (attrition rates are higher in
  more disadvantaged schools)

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Why do teachers leave?

• Personal characteristics
• School characteristics
• Organizational conditions
• Lack of administrative support
• Salary
• Student discipline

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Abstract

• This study investigates the attrition rate of
  teachers at Castle Heights Middle School. To
  figure out why so many teachers leave, I
  conducted a survey. Participants were 20 faculty
  and staff members with 10 of those surveyed
  responding, 3 former students, 3 students, 3
  transfer students, and teachers from schools who
  currently have a New Teacher Manual.

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• All participants were very honest in their
  responses and stated that the creation of a
  manual would be helpful. Faculty and staff
  members thought that their transition to Castle
  Heights was adequate. Nevertheless they thought
  the creation and use of a manual would decrease
  new teacher anxiety, offer a smoother transition,
  improve the teacher turn-over rate, increase
  awareness of the positive things happening at
  Castle Heights thus, improve the schools
  reputation. On average, students enjoyed or are
  enjoying their years at Castle Heights. They
  feel that a manual will better prepare the
  teachers and help them to become better teachers.
  

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• They think that the showcase of school attributes
  will increase the schools reputation. The
  concerns of the faculty, staff, and students,
  coincide with the data collected about teacher
  transitions, turn-over rates, and retention.

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How does this fit in with the goals of EDUC 655?

• One of the goals of this course is to apply
  current reform and renewal strategies to their
  educational settings. I felt that one way I
  could become a better mentor is to offer a useful
  tool to new teachers. This manual is an avenue
  to get and create a smooth transition to new
  teachers and, answer some of their questions and
  address many of their concerns.

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Welcome to the Castle!

• New Teachers Manual

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Table of Contents

• Slide 1 Motto and Mission
• Slide 2 Administrators/Counselors
• Slide 3 Office Staff
• Slide 4 Support Staff
• Slide 5 Department Head
• Slide 6 Office equipment
• Slide 7 Supplies
• Side 8 Mentor Partnership

• Slide 9 Digital tour
• Slide 10 Sports
• Slide 11 Clubs
• Slide 12 Standards
• Slide 13 Field trip procedures and forms
• Slide 14 Grades and Attendance
• Slide 15 Useful websites

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Motto and Mission

• Motto Engaging Students for Successful Futures
• Our mission statement is based on our commitment
  to academic excellence, Rock Hill School District
  Three will provide all students with challenging
  work that engages them in the learning process
  and prepares them for successful futures.

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Administrators/Counselors

• Kelly Kane- Building Principal
• Sommer Jones- 6th grade principal
• Linda Kennedy- 6th grade counselor
• Patrick Robinson- 7th grade principal
• Lorre Coone- 7th grade counselor
• Tammy White- 8th grade principal
• Reid Griffin- 8th grade counselor

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Office Staff

• Ruby Hargett - Front desk receptionist
• Tina Parrish - Attendance clerk
• Cynthia Bickel - Ms. Kanes secretary
• Kathy Harris Nance - Health room
• Shelia Hill - Bookkeeper
• Wandy Canty - Guidance secretary
• Rebecca Strickland - Instructional Coach

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Support Staff

• Larry Hart - Head Custodian
• Karen Olson - librarian
• Misty Massey - library clerk
• Gwen Mayes - Behavior Intervention Program
• J.P. White - Academic Assistant

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Department Heads

• Math- Ann Whisonant
• Language Arts- Trish Petrivelli
• Social Studies- Steve Sanford
• Science- Susanne Montgomery
• Special Education- Cathy Lavendar
• Electives/Exploratory- Sharon Templeton

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Office equipment

• Office equipment such as 3 risograph copy
  machines, 1 poster machine, 1 deluxe die-cut
  machine is located in the front office.
• A Xerox machine is located in the workroom of
  each hall.
• Two die-cut machines are located in the B-hall
  workroom.
• A scantron machine is located in the C-hall
  workroom.

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Supplies

• Classroom supplies may be ordered by filling out
  a supply request form (located in the supply box
  of the teacher boxes) and submitted to Shelia
  Hill.

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Mentor Partnership

• Each first year teacher is partnered with a
  mentor teacher. This mentor teacher is generally
  someone who shares the same content or grade
  level.
• If you are not a first year teacher, but a new
  teacher to the building you may request to be
  partnered with a mentor.
• Sometimes the best partnerships are with those
  who are on your team.

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Digital Tour of the Castle
Click here
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SportsAthletic Directors Sharon Templeton and
John Edmonds
Click Here
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Clubs

• Academic challenge
• Beta club
• Student council
• Newspaper staff
• Cheerleading
• Art club
• Breakfast book club
• Knightly News Team

• Puppet Team
• Robotics Team
• Drama Team
• Seeds for Success

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Standards

• Math
• Language Arts
• Science
• Social Studies

Click the picture above
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Field Trips

• check the calendar to be sure the date of the
  trip is not in conflict with other school events.
• Each student must have written parental consent.
• Plan transportation (contact Mr. Robinson).
• A list of students involved must be distributed
  to all teachers affected at least one week in
  advance.
• Make arrangements for students who are not
  attending the trip.
• Notify the cafeteria for bag lunches.
• Prepare and submit a roster of all students and
  teachers on each bus. Submit to the front office.
• More information can be found on page 32 of
  the Teacher Handbook

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Grades and Attendance

• Grades can be entered into a program called
  IGPro.
• CLASSXP is used for report card grades and
  attendance
• These two programs can be found on your
  computers desktop.

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Useful Websites

• Lesson Plans
• Classroom Management

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Conclusion

• I have enjoyed completing this project. This
  process has made me aware of the concerns of new
  teachers. It has also broadened my knowledge of
  Castle Heights and its operations. I hope that
  this manual will be useful in improving the
  transition to Castle Heights, reducing the
  attrition rate and also in assisting in the
  growth of teachers becoming educational leaders.

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Works Cited

• Angelle, Pamela. (2002). Mentoring the beginning
  teacher providing in differentially effective
  middle schools. High School Journal, 15.13.
• Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention
  Advancement. http//www.cerra.org/.l
  leaders/retention.html 
• Certo, Janine L. Fox, Jill E. (2002). Retaining
  Quality Teachers. High School Journal, 57, 19.
• Fore, Cecil, III, Christopher Martin, and William
  N. Bender. (2002). Teacher Burnout in special
  education the causes and the reccomended
  solutions. High School Journal, 36, 9.
• Lucas, Tamara, and Jennifer Robinson. (2002).
  Promoting the retention of prospective teachers
  through a cohort for college freshman. High
  School Journal, 3.12. 
• Payne, Ruby. (1996). A Framework for
  Understanding Poverty.(3rd ed.). Highlands, TX
  aha! Process, Inc