Action Research Project Title:
Turning Point Junior High Website
Action
Research Project: Turning Point Junior
High Website
As
a Special Education Lead Teacher at Turning Point, I had the privilege of
facilitating the creation of the Turning Point Junior High School website. The challenges faced in leading this project
were varied. Research in the area of
mindfully and deliberately creating school websites was lacking. Other challenges included limited resources,
barriers to change, and limited input from some stakeholders.
Turning
Point Junior High is a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in
Arlington, Texas. Our junior high
provides the required core curriculum (Science, Social Studies, English
Language Arts, and Math), Computer Technology, and Social Skills classes to
students that have been removed from their campuses due to violating the
district’s code of conduct. Further, we
provide special education services, counseling, and drug and alcohol
counseling. There are thirty-two staff
members. We have an ongoing enrollment,
but generally our student population is 100 % At-Risk students, 85%
Economically Disadvantaged students, 25 % Limited English Proficient, and 25%
Special Education Students. Our
ethnicity distribution at any given point in the year is roughly 50% Hispanic,
30% African American, and 15% White.
Other ethnicities are minimally represented throughout the year.
This
action research project drew from the research literature available and assisted
in providing a researched based framework for creating a (DAEP) school website.
It asked stakeholders to consider their needs and report their opinions
concerning common school website elements.
Further, it surveyed the common elements found in DAEP school
websites. It answered the research wonderings: What is
the frequency of appearance of common elements in disciplinary alternative
education school websites? ~ What are
our stakeholders’ judged values of common elements in school websites?
By
relying on research and best practices our research team created a new school
website. The research we did and the
meetings we had helped to plan, design, and publish Turning Point Junior High’s
first website. Further, we were able to use financial, human, and material
resources wisely, yet involve as many stakeholders as possible. We learned that
maintaining a school website takes resources that small schools do not
have. Further, we were able to include
parents, students, and faculty in the research.
The stakeholder research and DAEP, common school website elements
researched helped our team select the essential elements needed to best
communicate with all stakeholders and yet spare valuable resources needed for
larger school websites. In the short
time the website has been published, faculty has reported a reduction in
parents not being prepared for intakes. The website has begun to assist the
transition of parents and students from home campuses to our campus.
