Action Research Project
Submitted by Keith Morris, Oakland University
Reason for Action Research Project
Topic Selected

Government Programs

Costly impact of child absenteeism
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Unintended consequences of Rules and Regulations

Tough Decisions parents must make in low income
households
Reason for Action Research Project
Topic Selected

This reason this subject of study for the author’s action
research project was chosen was due to a personal
experience in my profession. I remember while working
as an assistant principal in Highland Park School District
approximately ten years ago, a situation wherein, two
students were fighting and receive a suspension from
school for three days per the school code of conduct. The
parent meeting changed my perspective on social class
and parental involvement.
Research Questions
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How does the active role of parents in sub groups including social
class impact student achievement test score results?
How does the role of sub group parents participation in the
parent advocacy group at Wolfe Middle School impact student
achievement?
How does the communication process between Wolfe Middle
School and the sub group parents and the results of the impact
on student achievement?
Parent Interview Sample Questions

1) What do parents do that tell you they are involved in their children’s
education?
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2) What challenges do parents face as they try to become involved in their
children’s education?
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3) What would be reasonable indicators for you and your community, to
measure any increase in parent involvement in your school?
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4) What would be reasonable indicators for you to measure the impact of
increased parent involvement in your school?
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5) What are some of the things you do at home to support your child’s
education?
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6) How welcome do you feel at our school?
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7) Do you think other parents feel comfortable?
Encouraging Parent Participation
Parents were comfortable talking informally with
me, but seemed anxious when approached to take a
parent survey, participate in an interview, or other
activities to include them in the their child’s
learning process.
Parent Interviews

Jody Fleishcut, President of Wolfe Middle’s PTC asserts the school does a good job
keeping parents informed by using Robocalls, emails, and flyers to keep parents
“in the loop.”
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“It would be very hard to work a job or two, try to go to school, and help your
kids at school.”

“The language barriers between international parents and local parents can
make it difficult to communicate thoughts and ideas.”

“Although Parent Portal is good at letting parents know what assignments the
students are missing, it cannot help parents with questions about the work…..it
makes it hard to help your kids with homework.”

“an indicator that a parent is involved in their child’s learning is when they
physically attend meeting and school activities>”
Parent Interviews

Tracee Senyko a parent and staff member at Wolfe Middle School. She was
recently hired as one of four lunch supervisors (lunch moms). Mrs. Senyko
explained:
“ working at my child’s school gave me a different perspective of how
schools are ran…..its a lot of work.”
“when I was single with two kids, it was difficult for me to work at the
plant and make school events…..I had to prioritize which things were
really important.”
“it isn’t that they don’t care, most parents just can’t show up.”
Parent Interviews

Mr. Ladon Robinson is a single parent at Wolfe, his daughter is his second child
that attends Wolfe.

“With me working double shifts at the plant, I rely on emails and phone calls
to stay in touch with my daughter’s teacher.”

“I just make sure she’s doing all her work, behaving herself, and trying hard
in school everyday.”

“I don’t know if it would be easier to be involved in school if there was
another parent in the house, but I know its hard with just one.”

“ When I can, I attend parent teacher conferences, band performances, and
sporting events…...”
Overview

There are scores of research that supports the
notion of parental involvement and increased
student achievement. Considering the financial
hardship the state of Michigan experienced in
recent years, does the demands of parents to
financially provide for their families inhibit them
from actively participating in their child(ren)’s
learning process?
Overview (Continued)

The purpose of the evaluation is to examine the
correlation of social class and parental
involvement with the school learning process, and
if this involvement impacts student achievement.
This will be done through a review of the active
role parents of subgroups play in their school.
Subgroups sill be defined by social class using
Title I data
Overview (Continued)



In our society, the economic challenges many single
mothers, minority moms, or both must face daily is
truly a travesty.
Many parents in low income, high risk household
typically work long hours on their jobs and must take
care of domestic matters the minute they get home.
Many either have a second job, or going to school and
must miss conferences, sporting events, and other
activities their children may participate.
Focus: Problem Statement

After review of academic disparity of subgroups compared
to White students at Wolfe Middle School, African
American students and students with disabilities
achievement scores are significantly lower than other
groups.

Additionally, Wolfe Middle School receives Title I funds
with over 70 percent of the students receiving free or
reduced price lunch programs; an increasing trend over
recent years.
Framing the Scope of Inquiry



Wolfe Middle School is located in Center Line, Michigan.
With a population of 2968 students, Center Line Public
Schools has three elementary schools, on middle school,
and one high school.
Additionally, Center Line has an early education center
and Academy 21; a virtual education program.
Due to the local financial impact the automotive industry,
local businesses closing, and home foreclosures, the
school district has experienced fiscal hardships; including
Miller Elementary School closing in 2010.
Framing the Scope of Inquiry
(Continued)

Time Frame: The Action Research Project will occur in the
2013-2014 school year.

Context of Setting: Discussions and questions were
developed to determine whether or not the level parental
involvement and social class varied, and if so the impact
on student achievement occur academically/behaviorally.
Framing the Scope of Inquiry
(Continued)
Participants Involved in the Research at Wolfe:
 Amy Maruca – Principal
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Colleen Berry – Guidance Counselor and SIP Chairperson
Jody Fleishuct – PTC President
Nancy Claeson – School Secretary and Keeper of Records
Klaressa Howery – Guidance Counselor
Department Chairpersons
Keith Morris – Assistant Principal
Data Gathering Process
There are four sources of data collected:
 School Improvement Plan (SIP),
 Parent surveys and interviews,
 Parent sign in sheets to conferences/activities,
 Student surveys.
 North West Educational Assessment (NWEA)
 Positive Behavior Intervention Systems (PBIS)
 Mi School Data
Sources of Information/Data

The primary sources of information will be obtained from:

Colleen Berry – Counselor and SIP Chairperson

Nancy Claeson – School Secretary and Keeper of Records

Jody Fleishuct – PTC President

Department Chairpersons
Data Analysis

The participants of the research will review the academic
achievement disparity of subgroups compared to white
students at Wolfe Middle School.

The evaluation results reflects the participation of various
social class parental involvement efforts.

Data gained by the research will be used as an instrument
to analyze the student achievement process.
Literature Review

Parent Involvement can be generally defined as the parents’ or caregivers’ investment
in the education of their children (LaRocque, Kleiman, and Darling, 2011). LaRocque,
et al, assert there are varied ways that caregivers can demonstrate their adherence to
this investment. In practice, parent involvement may be demonstrated via participation
in a hierarchy of activities such as the following:

Volunteering at school
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Helping children with their homework
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Attending school functions
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Visiting the child’s classroom
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Sharing expertise or experience with the class through guest speaking

Taking leadership roles in the school and participating in the decision making process
Literature Review (Continued)

Haydee Camacho (2013) of Demand Media contend a
person’s socio-economic status is based on a combination
of education, occupation and income, and it’s a powerful
factor that affects the quality of life for children and
families, and also the ability to thrive economically.
Higher socio-economic status has been linked with greater
parental involvement, higher self-esteem, optimism and
successful outcomes in school, while low socio-economic
status has been linked to rigid parenting style, anxiety,
depression, behavioral problems and poor school
performance.
Literature Review (Continued)

Dean et al, in Classroom Instruction that Works (2012)
when it comes to parent involvement in homework , it
often causes friction between parents and teachers, in
part because both teachers and parents lack clarity about
parental roles and responsibilities related to homework.
Dean et al, cite the McREL’s 1998 Meta-analysis suggested
that parent involvement should be kept to a minimum,
however, the 2010 analysis suggest that it isn’t so much
whether parents are involved as how they are involved.
Literature Review (Continued)

The 2010 McRel study found an example the study
cited parents might have discussion with their
children about the topics they are studying. In
addition to motivating students, such discussions
help parents understand the learning objectives
and foster communication with teachers about
the objectives and their children’s progress
toward achieving them.
Literature Review (Continued)

Mehan, Hubbard, and Lintz in Constructing School Success
(1996) argue that “asking low-income parents to attend
school events and help in the classroom…makes demands
on the time and disposable income of parents,” which are
more easily fulfilled by middle and upper class parents.
Simply state, they argue that working class parents are
unable to be as involved in traditional ways in their child’s
education due to the constraints of their jobs.
Literature Review (Continued)

There are studies that assert that parental involvement will not
increase student achievement as many professional learning
communities believe. Nelida Garcia in Understanding Working Class
Parental Involvement In The College-Going Process (2013) provide
and example from Finders and Lew (1994), in their study of lowincome African American parents, found that structural barriers such
as inflexible work schedules and limited access to public transit
prevented parents from attending college-related meeting with
teachers. In addition, resource inequities such as inadequate access to
computers and other types of electronics was a way that social class
limited parents’ ability to be involved in the college-access of lowincome students.
Literature Review (Continued)

Stephan Elsworth, in “Why Does Social Class Influence Parent
Involvement in Schooling?” (2013), contend many lower-income
parents feel that they do not have enough time to attend school
functions because of their long work hours. According to the Southern
Rural Development Center, many lower-income families are classified
as working poor. This means that they work but still live in poverty.
Most of the working poor, particularly single mothers, have a highschool degree or less and are not able to earn much money with the
job skill that they have. As a result, they have to wrk more hours or
multiple jobs to earn a living wage.
Literature Review (Continued)

Elsworth cites a 1998 study by Thomas J. Gorman published in the
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography found that some working-class
parents, particularly the working, have a deep-seated disrespect for
career that require an advanced degree. Many working-class families
do not see the value of higher education because they do not equate
educational advancement with a higher standard of life. Gorman
argues other families are hesitant to encourage their children to
pursue college degree because they fear that the children will
abandon their families and their roots if they move upward on the
social scale.
Literature Review (Continued)
Achievement Gaps

African Americans currently score lower than Caucasians on
vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as tests that claim to
measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence. This gap appears before
children enter kindergarten, and it persists into adulthood It has
narrowed since 1970, but the majority of African American students
still score 75 percent lower than Caucasian students on most
standardized tests.
Literature Review (Continued)

Christopher Jencks of America’s Prospect (2001), in
“America’s Next Achievement Test,” asserts the BlackWhite students test score gap does not appear to be an
inevitable fact of nature. It is true that the gap shrinks
only a little when Black and White families have the same
amount of schooling, the same intellectual come, and the
same wealth. Jencks contends despite endless
speculation, no one has found genetic evidence indicating
that Blacks have less innate intellectual ability than
Whites.
Literature Review (Continued)

While it is clear that eliminating the test score gap would require enormous
effort by both Blacks and Whites and would probably take more than one
generation, but he believes it can be done. He rests this notion on mainly
three facts:

IQ and achievement scores are sensitive to environmental change. Scores on
nonverbal IQ tests have risen dramatically throughout the world since the
1930s. The average White student scored higher on the Standford-Binet test
in 1978 that 82 percent of Whites who took the test in 1932.
Literature Review (Continued)

Black-White differences in academic achievement have also narrowed
throughout the twentieth century. The best trend data come from the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which has been
testing seventeen-year-olds since 1971 and has repeated many of the
same items year after year. From 1971 to 1996. The Black-White
reading gap shrank by almost half and the math gap by a third.
According to a study by two sociologist, Min-Hsiung Huang and Robert
Hauser, the Black-White vocabulary gap shrank by half among adults
born between 1909 and 1969.
Literature Review (Continued)

When Black or multi-race children are raised in what
rather than black homes, their pre-adolescent test scores
rise dramatically. Black adoptees’ scores seem to fall in
adolescence, but this what we would expect if, as seems
likely, their social and cultural environment comes to
resemble that of other black adolescents and becomes
less like that of the average White adolescent.
Literature Review (Continued)

Stanford University’s Marguerite Rigoglioso (2012)
contends income disparities are widening the achievement
gap. It is well known that the rich are growing richer and
the poor are growing poorer; there are fewer and fewer
people in the middle class station of society. What is not
so well known is how that income gap may be translating
into disparities in educational success and what that
might mean for the long term future of individuals,
economically challenged groups, and our entire nation.
Literature Review (Continued)

There is a gap in the test scores between the highest and
lowest-income students has grown by about 40 percent
since the 1960s and is now nearly twice as large as the
Black –White achievement gap. If the family income is a
predictor of how well people do in school, and if school
performance determines how much people earn in the
market, then economic inequality is only breeding more
economic inequality.
Literature Review (Continued)

The American Prospect (2001) state that most economist
and social scientist (including Jencks) to change their
perspective and traditional explanations for the BlackWhite test score gap do not take us very far. This has
caused some people to dismiss the gap as unimportant,
arguing that the test are culturally biased and do not
measure skills that matter in the real world.
Literature Review (Continued)

American Prospect assert equally important is the fact
that predominately Black schools enroll far more children
with severe academic and behavioral problems than White
students do. Such children consume many times more
resources than the average child. In addition, school
where many children have serious academic, emotion, or
disciplinary problems need more reading specialists, more
psychologists, and more security guards. That leaves less
money for regular teachers.
Literature Review (Continued)
In his article “Reframing the Achievement Gap,”
Robert Evans (2005) states that when society
places the achievement gap and schooling itself
in the broader context of how children are
raised. It far transcends the classroom. Its
origins lie well beyond the reach of schools,
and the underlying dilemma will require much,
much more than school based strategies and
programs. Evans asserts that more and more
evidence indicates the gap begins well before
kindergarten.
Literature Review (Continued)
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Evans outlines a list of “relevant non-school factors” that are known, but
rarely accord the weight they deserve:
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There are substantial inequalities in children’s school readiness right from the
beginning, low income kindergartners (a group that includes large numbers of
Black and Hispanic children) typically start school at least a full year behind
others in reading and with a vocabulary of 5,000 words (Verses 20,000 for
their middle class peers), in part because many don’t attend pre-school, in
part because low-income parents speak, on average, much less to their
children than do parents who are professionals (600 words per hour vs.
2,100), and in part because low income parents tend to read to their children
much less than other parents do.
Literature Review (Continued)

Black and Hispanic students watch much more TV than
other students. Indeed, their viewing tends to be well
above the levels that correlate with lower school
performance, especially in reading. More than 40% of
Black students and more than 20% of Hispanic students
watch more than six hours per day, while just 13% of
White students watch as much.
Literature Review (Continued)

Black and Hispanic students change schools much more
often than others. Between first and third grade 27% of
Black and 25% of Hispanic students change school three or
more times (vs. 13% of Whites); in many urban classrooms
the turnover rate of students approaches 50% per year,
which significantly affect the learning student who move
and complicates the efforts of teachers of maintain
continuity of instruction for those who do not.
Literature Review (Continued)
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Black children have significantly higher rates of
low birth weight and lead poisoning than White
and Asian American children. Both conditions can
seriously impair cognitive and academic
functioning.
Literature Review (Continued)
Recommended Solutions

In America’s Next Achievement Test Jencks believes a successful strategy for
raising Black children’s test scores will also include convincing both Black and
Whites that the gap is not genetic in origin. This is not a simple task. Genetic
variation does explain a substantial fraction of the variation in cognitive skills
among people of the same race. So does environmental variation. But once
hereditarianism percolates into popular culture, it can easily become an
excuse for treating academic failure as an inescapable fact of nature.
Literature Review (Continued)

Teaching children skills that do not seem to come naturally is hard
work. If American culture allows us to avoid such work by saying that
a child simply lack the required aptitude to mast the skill, both
teachers and parents will sometimes jump at this as an excuse for not
trying. While this often makes everyone’s life more pleasant in the
short run, in the long it is a formula for failure. Emphasizing heredity
is likely to have especially negative consequences for African
American children who start off behind White children and therefore
need to work even harder than White children if they are to catch up.
(Jencks 2001)
Literature Review (Continued)
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In “Income Disparities Widening Achievement Gap,” Rigoglioso (2012)
states that the solutions are economic and social. The best way to
reduce inequality with student achievement is to guarantee that all
students start on more even footing. That means efforts in society
that including more jobs with better wages and good healthcare
packages. Preschool programs for low income and middle income
children would relieve a lot of stress for parents, schools, and
communities that more energy will be devoted to the development of
the child.
Literature Review (Continued)

Rob Evans contended while it seems doubtful that the necessary
change will materialize, I think the evidence is overwhelming: without
real preventive investment in the pre-school experience of most
Hispanic and Black children, and the ongoing circumstances in which
they grow up, the achievement gap is unlikely to narrow appreciably.
Evans asserts that turnaround schools in low income, high risk schools
are truly inspiring, it is exceptional, temporary, and cannot exist on a
larger scale. Society should celebrate the small gains being made
toward minority achievement, pointing out that slow achievement is
better than no achievement at all.
Methods
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Wolfe used Data Director as the data warehouse system to examine trend
data on the following assessments:
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1. MEAP
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2. Star Reading
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3. De-commissioned Explore
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4. Explore
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5. Read 180 SRI
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6. Common pre-post
Methods (Continued)
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Math Concepts Intervention Program strategy is one day
per week, after school, identified subgroups will be
invited to attend math remediation sessions using math
manipulative. The subgroups targeted in this strategy are
Black students and students with disabilities.

Math Core Class Experience strategy is the commitment
that all math teachers will incorporate skill building
lessons in addition to their core curriculum that provide a
deeper understanding and application of math concepts.
Methods (Continued)

Four strategies were used to improve the reading disparity:
Elective Reading Class for Sixth Graders on Reading Level and Above,
Read 180 classroom and teacher, Reading Strategies, and Summer
Reading Immersion.

Elective Reading Class for Sixth Graders on Reading Level and Above is
the strategy that all sixth graders not enrolled in Read 180 were
assigned a 10 week reading elective. This class will focus on
navigating increasingly complex texts, and will focus heavily on
inferential skills.
Methods (Continued)

Read 180 classroom and teacher is the commitment that
Wolfe Middle School will continue to utilize Read 180 into
meet order to meet the needs of targeted students. Read
180 is a research-based program which has been proven
effective in raising reading comprehension levels.
Methods (Continued)

Reading Strategies: All teachers will model and implement word study
and comprehension strategies as guided by the Reading Apprenticeship
Program in their content area.

Summer Reading Immersion: A summer school coordinator will
organize a summer literacy program targeting students more than
three grade levels behind in reading. The program will run for five
weeks, four days a week. Frequent progress monitoring will be built
into the program to ensure maximum reading growth.
Methods (Continued)

The strategy for the Economics goal is Entrepreneurial
Project Day. In the strategy, all teachers and staff will
guide students through a day long, hands on economics
activity where students must take a virtual product of
service from manufacturing to marketing and sales.
Students will apply their knowledge of economics to
successfully “sell” their product or service for profit.
Methods (Continued)

The strategy for Places and Regions goal is using Social Studies
Manipulative – Reusable Maps. In this strategy, teachers will teach all
students how to use maps. This will include being able to successfully
use a legend, being able to gage distance between locations, and
mapping potential travel routes. Students will be required to actively
demonstrate their increased understanding of map skills using these
manipulative. No special population is identified specifically since so
much growth is needed in the overall population.
Methods (Continued)

The strategy for Public Discourse and Decision Making is
the Junior Scholastic Series. In this strategy, social
studies teacher will use the Junior Scholastic Series at
least 2 to 3 times per month in the social studies
classrooms. In addition, staff will use as interventions
with special populations to strengthen skills when targets
have not been met as determined through progress
monitoring.
Methods (Continued)

The strategy for Writing Measurable Objective
Statement: Resources Sharing. In this strategy,
teachers will share strategies used to build
grammar and usage skill in addition to their
regular curriculum at departmental meetings.
The resources used will include the Prentice Hall
Literature series and supplemental materials
provided with the series.
Methods (Continued)

The strategy for Writing Measurable Objective Statement
to Support Goal: Writing with Specific Purpose. In this
strategy, non - language arts teachers will incorporate
writing activities for a range of tasks, purposes and
audiences that provide a deeper understanding and
application of the writing processes. Since the Common
Core test will measure writing in every grade level, this
strategy will focus on students of all grade levels.
Results:
Purpose and Direction
\\\\
Results (Continued):
Governance and Leadership
Results (Continued):
Teaching and Assessing for Learning
Results (Continued):
Resources and Support Systems
Results (Continued):
Using Results for Continuous Improvement
Conclusion

There are so many “layers” regarding social class and parental involvement
that I never knew existed prior to my Action Research Project. Much of the
data use to measure low income parents are blended with minority families.
There are several families at Wolfe that are paying full price for lunch;
preventing them from being considered low income, yet they are included in
the data. This is a national trend as well.

Social Capital is something that I would be interesting in researching in
determining the correlation of social class and parental involvement.

The development of “soft skills” which enable adults to navigate social
situations and institutions is another subject that can contribute to parental
involvement.
Conclusion (Continued)


I believe the complexity of the issue regarding the achievement gaps between
African American and Hispanic students compared to Caucasian students is
threefold: racial, economical, and social. In my opinion, the achievement gap
between the aforementioned students have been in place since
reconstruction. From slavery, prohibiting Blacks from reading to writing, to
Jim Crow laws which created two separate societies, through legal
segregation, the challenge is how can me close the achievement gap and
while fostering a systemic change for academic achievement for the long run?
Conclusion (Continued)

The reason I believe the racial subject is delicate, is the minority groups may
feel that many challenges that are permeated throughout the community is a
direct reflection of how “The Man” is keeping them from the opportunities
that should accorded them. The Hispanic/Latino population is the United
States fast growing population, yet they see laws, and ordinances that reduce
their stature in society, because many want to guarantee that any Hispanic
that society teaches, works with, or live by is a legal citizen. Another truth is
that many Whites recognize the achievement gap disparities and want to
help, but they do not want to be received with hostility nor made to feel
guilty for current conditions.