EDUC 655: Teacher Leadership Inquiry Project

1. EDUC 655: Teacher LeadershipInquiry Project Crystal Heyward

2. 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)

3. Why do teachers leave? • Personal characteristics • School characteristics • Organizational conditions • Lack of administrative support • Salary • Student discipline

4. 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.

5. 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 school’s 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.

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

7. 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.

8. Welcome to the Castle! New Teacher’s Manual

9. 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 Table of Contents

10. 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.

11. 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

12. Office Staff • Ruby Hargett - Front desk receptionist • Tina Parrish - Attendance clerk • Cynthia Bickel - Ms. Kane’s secretary • Kathy Harris & Nance - Health room • Shelia Hill - Bookkeeper • Wandy Canty - Guidance secretary • Rebecca Strickland - Instructional Coach

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

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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Digital Tour of the Castle Click here

19. SportsAthletic Directors: Sharon Templeton and John Edmonds Click Here

20. 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 Clubs

21. Standards • Math • Language Arts • Science • Social Studies Click the picture above

22. 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

23. 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 computer’s desktop.

24. Useful Websites • Lesson Plans • Classroom Management

25. 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.

26. 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