8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dr-margaret-curette-patton-phd-dissertation-defense-dr-william-allan-kritsonis 1/80 Factors Influencing Greatness in Economically-Challenged Minority Schools Presented to the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education Prairie View A & M University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Presented by Margaret Curette Patton Dissertation Committee Douglas S. Hermond, PhD., Chair Camille Gibson, PhD., Member David E. Herrington, PhD., Member William A. Kritsonis, PhD., Member March 2009
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Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
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8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
1. What universal distinguishing characteristicspredict that economically-challenged minority(ECM) schools will be recognized or exemplaryin the state of Texas?
2. What practices associated with the transitionfrom elementary to middle schools arepredictive of student achievement in highperforming economically-challenged minority(ECM) feeder groups?
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
• The sample was selected based on the finalaccountability rating rather than specific indicatorslike attendance, drop-out rate, and subgroup testscores.
• The final sample of schools was selected from thesame educational Region in Texas.
• The application of all of the components of theGood to Great corporate model may not be easilyand fully replicated in the school system.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Comparison schools: Schools that are similar indemographic data: percentage of economicallydisadvantaged and minority populations; schoolsize; and campus location, but different in
academic achievement scores. For example,“matched pairs” was the terminology used in theArizona Study – schools that are alike in mostways, yet different in the performance
measurement that is of interest (Waits, et al.,2006).
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Economically-challenged student: A student whois eligible for the National School LunchProgram/free/reduced-price school lunch: (a)eligible for free or reduced-price meals under theNational School Lunch and Child NutritionProgram; (b) from a family with annual income ator below the federal poverty line (e.g. annualincome for a family of three is less than$22,880); (c) eligible for Temporary Assistance
to Needy Families or other public assistance;and (d) eligible for benefits under the FoodStamp Act of 1977 (McMillion & Roska, 2007).
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Minority school status: A measure of the level of historically disadvantaged minority studentgroups being served in a school. Low minority
schools have less than 5% disadvantagedminority students. Medium minority schools have5 to 50% disadvantaged minority students. Highminority schools have over 50% disadvantagedminority students (Shettle, et al., 2005).
Delivers Superior Performance relative to itsmissionMakes a Distinctive Impact onthe communities it touchesAchieves Lasting Endurancebeyond any leader, idea or setback
Disciplined People•Level 5 Leaders are self-effacing, quiet, reserved, and evenshy. These leaders are a blend of personal humility andprofessional will.
•The great companies made sure to hire the right people for
the right positions (First Who then What) before setting avision or creating the strategy of how to reach the company’s
goal.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
•Each good to great company maintained unwavering faiththat they would prevail in the end, no matter the difficulties,while always confronting the brutal facts of its current reality.
•The Hedgehog Concept reflects a deepunderstanding of those things thatindividuals are deeply passionate about,what they can be the best in the world
at, and what drives their economicengine.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Schools selected for the study met the following sampling
criteria…
1. Received an Exemplary or Recognized rating for at least two of the four years from 2004-2007 . Each middle school had to beassociated with an elementary school that received a rating of
Recognized or Exemplary within the same years.2. Consisted of at least a 50% economically disadvantaged
population;
3. Consisted of at least a 50% minority (African American andHispanic) population.
4. Considered a small, medium or large campus; and5. Located in or near one of the three largest urban areas in Texas –
Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas/Fort Worth.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
2. What do you see as the top five factors that contributed to or caused the upward shift in performance during the years 2004-2007 (years since TAKS)?
3. Now let’s return to those five factors, and I’d like you to allocate a
total of 100 points to those factors, according to their overallimportance to school improvement (total across all five factorsequals 100 points).
Research Question 2
18. Describe any activities or communications that goes on betweenyour feeder schools that assist students in the school community
with academics and/or transitions from one school to another.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
The leadership in the Good to Great companies knew the key to lastingsuccess. “Those who build great companies understand that theultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not …competition,or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keepenough of the right people (p. 54).”
Literature Review…Leadership was a strong indicator of strong performance in high achieving
“The research evidence consistently demonstrates that the quality of leadership determines the motivation of teachers and the quality of teaching in the classroom.” (Harris, et. al., 2006, p. 121)
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“Strong leadership was the key that led the way for success.The energy and ‘can do’ attitude filtered down from the topto the teachers and then to the students.”
“The principal supported the teachers with what they weredoing in the classroom. She counted on the teachers touse their professionalism to do what was needed and didn’tdictate to them how they should teach.
The administrators and teachers collectively “paid attention tothe real needs of the staff and students. They were awareof the subtle forces that shaped the daily life of our staff.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“The good-to-great leaders understood this…,creating aculture wherein people had a tremendous opportunity to beheard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard (p. 74).”
Literature Review…
Trimble (2002) found that high performing, high povertyschools have built-in criteria for making decisions. Theseprocedures are crucial when numerous issues attempt tocause distractions that could take the campus off track fromtheir goals.
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“Collaboration is the key to any campus becoming successful.
Our teachers have really come together to make our schoolsuccessful. Relationships and trust are of high importanceto our staff. This makes the collaboration process morecohesive.”
“The teachers felt that their input was valuable. Teachers feltcomfortable sharing ideas, plans, activities, and tests. Theenvironment was a learning one.”
“In addition, our principal has scheduled a common planning
time for grade level teachers to meet to plan lessons,develop assessments, and talk about student data.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine thetruth of your situation, the right decisions often become self evident.It is impossible to make good decisions without infusing the entireprocess with an honest confrontation of the brutal facts (p. 88).”
Literature Review…
“Focus on the needs of the individual child as they look atachievement per classroom, per teacher, per student. Thisapproach unmasks poor performance and forces everyone at theschool to take responsibility for student performance.” (Waits, 2006,p. 6).
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Data Driven Decisions FindingsExemplary/Recognized Schools
“Vertical teams reviewed the AEIS report, INOVA,ADM data, and the Campus Improvement Plan.Professional Learning Communities usedassessment data and tracked reading levels of
students.”“In 2007, our principal initiated professional learning
communities to allow teachers additional time todisaggregate data and make instructional
decisions.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Data Driven Decisions FindingsExemplary/Recognized Schools
“Looking at data and training teachers to look at datahas also been a shift in our thinking and ultimatelyto our success. Data drives instruction. Our
teachers are trained to look at data, andcollaborate on the results to decide what the nextstep is in aligning our curriculum to meet anddifferentiate for student needs.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“Our principal worked with department chair people to conductneeds assessments and to analyze data. Bi-monthlymeetings are held to monitor progress and to adjuststrategies as needed.”
“Our campus also lacked a data-driven decision makingprocess. Teachers all gave routine test on Friday, but didnot use the data to impact instruction. They never looked
back at the results. They just moved on to the nextconcept. The basic response was ‘my students did not dowell’ rather than ‘I didn’t teach that concept well’.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
According to Collins (2001), the more an organization knows what it canexcel in; it eliminates those things that are not being productive, andconcentrates on those things that provide opportunities for growth.
Literature Review…“In the ‘built to suit’ paradigm, high achieving schools went beyond the
big picture that standards posed to focusing on the individualperformance of each child. In essence, what was present was a vitalcycle of instruction, assessment, and intervention.” (Waits, 2006, p. 7)
S d I i Fi di
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“Struggling students work with instructional specialists inreading and math to receive extra help in a small groupsetting. Other interventions used are computer assistedinstruction, mentoring, and scheduled tutorial or enrichmenttimes, both during the school day and after school.”
Another teacher listed several interventions, “Extended day,extended year, pullouts, use of programs within the schoolday such as PLATO and READ 180, and double blocking
classes are used for students who are not being successfulin math.”
St d t I t ti Fi di
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Confidence ScoreLevel of confidence in campus decisions
On a scale of 1-10 (10 meant great confidence in good decisions.)
Exemplary/Recognized = 8.82“10. Decisions were not made arbitrarily. They were based on solid research and
student need.”
“10. I knew the principal and the teachers on the site based team had the
children's best interest in mind.” “10. Leadership”
2 Acceptable Schools = no score
3 Acceptable Schools = 7.85
“8, I think that having the school all on the same page is a good move. I trust our principal and her leadership. I feel like I have a say in what we do.”
“8, we were not shooting in the dark. We let the data guide us. We also
researched any program or plan we considered implementing.”
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
“A student entered the school from another district with what seemed to be behavior
problems. Within the school’s process, thestudent was evaluated and found tostruggle with numeration, subtraction,
multiplication, and division skills. Anintervention plan that included 20 minutes aday with the math specialist was created toassist with the deficient areas. The student began feeling more successful causing a
positive attitude and behavior shift.”
Transitional Stage:
“The principalput the worstteacher with
the studentsthat have thegreatestneed.”
Conclusion
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
The depth of this study could have been enhanced byadding an observation component. Future researcherscould select one high performing school along with acomparison school to conduct observations of instruction, decision making meetings, faculty
meetings, and other campus activities. The additionalannotations could provide a more thoroughunderstanding of each of the areas reported in thefindings. Additionally, gathering data through student
interviews could have provided another perspective.
Suggestions for Future Research
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Clearly, staff is crucial to all schools. There has beenresearch on what causes staff retention and turnover atschools (Barr & Parrett, 2007), but there is limitedresearch on the type of training certain teachers andleaders bring to a campus. How much of a principal’sor teacher’s success or lack thereof has to do with pre-service training? Researchers may want to examinethe type of institutions/organizations that are supplying
effective teachers and leaders to ECM schools.
Suggestions for Future Research
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
• The notion of student interventions surfaced inevery high performing ECM school.Educational researchers need to capitalize onthis academic trend. What types of interventions are creating academic successesfor students in economically challengingenvironments?
Suggestions for Future Research
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
• In an age where there are so many mechanisms andtechnologies that lend themselves well to makingclassrooms and schools transparent, there are stillmany issues of inequalities and ineffectiveness.
Researchers should take a look at successful schoolsthat are transparent. How does a leader bringeveryone to the table? What factors contribute to
creating a “culture of transparency”?
References
8/14/2019 Dr. Margaret Curette Patton, PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Committee Member
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap…and other’s don’t. NewYork, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Gibson, C. (2002). Being real: The student-teacher relationship and African American maledelinquency. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC.
Harris, S. (2006). Best practices of award winning secondary school principals. Thousands Oak, CA:Corwin Press and National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Kannapel, P., & Clements, S. (with Taylor, D., & Hibpshman, T.) (2005). Inside the black box of high-performing high-poverty schools. Lexington, KY: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.
Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Reeves, D. (2007). How do you sustain excellence? Educational Leadership, 65 (3), 86-87.
Senge, P. (2000). Schools that learn: a fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyonewho cares about education. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Texas Education Agency. (2007). Texas assessment of knowledge & skills performance report..Austin, TX: Agency Division of Performance Reporting-Academic Excellence Indicator System.Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/index.html.
Trimble, S. (2002). Common elements of high performing, high poverty middle schools. MiddleSchool Journal, 33(4), 1-13.
Waits, M. J., Campbell, H. E., Gau, R., Jacobs, E., Rex, T., & Hess, R. K. (2006). Why some schoolswith Latino children beat the odds…and others don’t. Tempe, AZ: Morrison Institute for PublicPolicy School of Public Affairs, College of Public Programs Arizona State University and Phoenix,AZ: Center for the Future of Arizona.