Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Program Evaluation Proposal


Program Evaluation Proposal

Latriea Grant

EDU 679 Technology Solutions for Organizational Improvement

Professor Wheeler

February 15th, 2016
 

 Black Street Early Childhood Center is located in Walterboro, South Carolina. At the school there are currently 6 preschool classes able to house up to 120 children. Each class comes equipped with one teacher and one assistant. Each teacher is only allowed to have 20 students in their classroom setting. The schools preschool program is partnered with the local DSS services and is under strict guidelines.

The organizational mission statement of the preschool program at Black Street Early Childhood Center is simple, “BSECC where every child is a masterpiece, we are Spreading our Wings and Learning New Things.”  The main goal of the program is to find, evaluate, and teach children who are preschool aged the basics they will need before entering kindergarten. Teachers are able to catch any learning disabilities and get the children the proper assistance needed. According to the findings of The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2004);

“An effective program evaluation does more than collect, analyze, and provide data. It makes it possible for you-program stakeholders-to gather and use information, to learn continually about and improve programs that you operate in or fund.”

                For the learner, knowing this information is imperative for the leadership team. The leadership team will consist of all six teachers. The reason for this is to bring together the teachers. The teachers must all be on one accord when they first meet the families of their potential students. Families entering the school need to see that the school as a whole is working together to benefit the children.

                For this assignment the learner is proposing a program evaluation to the leadership team of Black Street Early Childhood Center. The goal of the proposal is to ensure that parents and staff both have the proper understanding and necessary steps needed to register a child for preschool. Educators have to be understanding that enrolling a student into school for the first time can be an overwhelming process for many parents. This is the point where those parents are releasing their children into care of someone else. Another purpose of this proposal is to make sure that the staff is equipped to handle such a task.

Registering Children into the Pre-School Program

Resources
Activities
Outputs
Short-& Long- Term Outcomes
Impact
In order to accomplish our set of activities we will need to following:
In order to address our problem or asset we will accomplish the following:
We expect that once accomplished these activities will produce the following evidence or service:
We expect that if accomplished these activities will lead to the following changes in 1-3 then 4-6 years
We expect that if accomplished these activities will lead to the following changes:
Parent Participation
 
Personnel (Leadership Team)
 
Testing Materials (Testing children’s capabilities)
 
Use Of Media Room for a Week to do Testing
 
PreK Application Forms (To be filled out by parents)
 
Flyers; created to give parents details of how the program works and testing dates.
 
The Leadership Team will work together to see that all families who have applied & shown interest in our PreK Program are screened (Children) and given a response in a timely manner.
 
Handing out flyers in the community
 
Back Pack Buddies
 
Holding a Back to School Bash at the School
Completed student registration packets that detail students test scores for placement
 
A list of students who have been accepted into the program
 
Class Rosters
 
Parent Involvement in School Activities
Leadership Team standing together as a unified team
 
More parents interested and involved in school activities
 
Goal of (120) students registered  and enrolled in the Program
 
Parents satisfied with the school as a whole
 
Students learning in a safe and adequate learning environment.
Greater number of families interested in the program
 
Improved Parent Participation
 
Development of Leaders among staff members
 
Parent Involvement
 
Children tested and getting the proper assistance they may need.

 

The proposed logic model gives in depth details into what can and what will happen if the leadership team works together to produce positive outcomes for the program.  W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2004) states that;

Logic models help identifies the factors that will affect your program and enable you to anticipate the data and resources you will need to achieve success.    

It is based on these findings that the learner recognizes that all resources being used will all be connected to the goal of having a successful preschool program. For the learner, the model must consist of everything that team is hoping can be achieved. The resources consist of the following; the leadership team, parents and their children, flyers, and access to testing materials. These resources are vital because one cannot work without the others.

                Employee performance is vital that is why each teacher who has been designated to work with preschool aged children is tasked with being a part of the leadership team. Employees must have knowledge and understanding of the CDEPP Program for which they will be working. The term CDEPP stands for South Carolina Child Development Education Pilot Program. This program is where staff will receive all their guidelines to the purpose and running of their classroom. There should be no employee issues, however if any arise the leadership team will bring those issues to the Principal who will monitor and adjust accordingly.    

                According to the article, “Great Kids” (1998-2016);

For many children, preschool is their first experience in a structured setting with teachers and groups of children. It’s an opportunity to learn to share, follow instructions, and begin the foundation for learning that will occur in elementary school. 

With this in mind the leadership team must work together to plan and coordinate a schedule that will be both beneficial to themselves as well as the students they will one day teach. For the learner the first step in implementing the proposal is to be effective with the use of their resources. Effectiveness is defined as; the extent to which the observed outcomes of a program are consistent with the intended objectives, (McDavid, J.C., Huse, I., & Hawthorn, L.L. (2013). The leadership team must be effective to see positive results in the preschool program.

                The resources are made to be simple but adequate. The first is to make sure that the leadership team is working together and knows all the facts about the program. They must ensure that every question asked by the parents is answered in a timely manner. Flyers need to be created so that they can be hung and given out in the community to make families aware all dates pertaining to the testing. It is important that the leadership team creates a flyer that stands out to families so that they know what to expect.

                Once these steps are completed and parents start to inquire into the program this is where the leadership team needs to be effective and make sure that parties involved have something to look forward to. At this point the leadership team will work to make sure that every parent that has shown interests in the program are given screening dates to be screened.  Once students have been screened the team needs to create a list of activities that to make sure they secure children in the program. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004) states;

That implementation activities are statements of what needs to happen to get a program to produce outputs- they focus on program implementation actions and not on the program outcomes.

                For the learner the implementation of activities are the steps needed to produce effective results.  It should be the intended goal of the leadership team to come together to plan activities that will lead parents to want to enroll their children each year into the program. This is the point where parents have to feel welcomed and secure with their children being enrolled in school. These activities will allow parents access to the school. It will also allow them to see the preschool program is safe and secure.  There are activities that the learner feels could potentially help parents determine whether or not they will allow their child to attend the program. Those activities are; making sure all children have been tested in a timely manner, flyers have been hung throughout the community, creating a back pack buddy program, and sponsoring a back to school bash. Doing activities of this sort gives the parents a chance to see that the school cares and only wants the best for their children.

                From this point the team will move to the outputs section. This is the portion where the team gets to see if what they have been doing thus far is working. At this the team should have a students completed registration packets detailing the students test scores and family history. The team should have a list of students who have been accepted into the program, a list of students who will be placed on a waiting list. They should also have class rosters and activities that will promote parent involvement in the school.

                For the learner the leadership team must make sure that their outputs are aligned with the activities they have scheduled and completed. They must be able to ensure that each students needs are being met and their parents are satisfied with the outcome of those results. The goals of the outputs should be to make sure that each family is treated equally and made to feel that they are a priority when they enter the school. If this happens parents will want to enroll their children in the program, boosting the potential numbers for the program.

                Program outcomes according to McDavid, J.C., Huse, I., & Hawthorn, L.L. (2013) are the intended results occurring in the environment of a program. For the learner for there to be successful outcomes to the program the steps leading up must be properly aligned. This essentially means that there must be strong leadership in place. The leaders must stand together all unified for the success of the program. The team must be able to answer questions before they are asked. They have to know the exact running of the program down to a science. Many parents will be looking to see if teachers are fumbling over their words or do not have adequate training on a subject. This will make them not want their children in the program. For the learner the leadership team is fundamental to the success of the program.

                Parent involvement is vital. Parents have to feel welcomed at all times when they enter the school. Being that their children are four years old many may want to visit the school on a regular basis, with that in mind the team needs to constantly reiterate to parents that the school is run with an open door policy. By doing so parents are in the school and can be reminded of events that will be taking place in the school.  If all programs in the logic model are aligned and fit the needs of the students and their parents, enrollment counts in the preschool program will be met.

                The impacts that will be made from this logic model are greater number of families interested in the program, improved parent participation, development of leaders among staff members, parent involvement, children tested and getting the proper assistance they may need. Preschool is the point where children are being introduced to a new way. This is the point where children are leaving their parents for the first time and entering unknown territory. For the learner the team has to work to make sure that this transition is smooth for all parties involved. 

                At this point staff members on the team should already be knowledgeable of the program and equip to handle anything coming their way. They may need assistance and this is where they will rely on each other. This will build great leaders and boost morale of others on the team. The article, “Great Kids” (1998-2016) states;

For many children, preschool is their first experience in a structured setting with   teachers and groups of children. It’s an opportunity to learn, to share, to follow instructions, and begin the foundation for learning that will occur in elementary school.”

This statement for the learner is the ultimate goal of the preschool program at BSECC. The goal is to give students their first experience in a structured setting around others that are not always in their home setting.

                Although this proposal will be geared toward the leadership team handling everything, the principal must still be able to evaluate the staff. Evaluations will be done before and after the registration process is completed. The ones done before will be done as an empowerment evaluation. The second will be done based on the findings of the principal.

                The evaluation process will take up to 4-12 weeks to fully get all students tested and then enrolled in the program. This will then go straight into the activities that the teachers will allow the children and their families to participate in. This time is needed to ensure that all activities are accomplished. Students who are placed on a waiting list will be given the option to attend another school in the district. The goal is to give parents options when it comes to getting the children enrolled in the program. For the learner the program can and will be successful if the leadership unites them and makes the students their top priority. 


Resources

McDavid, J.C., Huse, I., & Hawthorn, L.L. (2013). Program evaluation & performance measurement: An introduction to practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Using logic models to bring together planning, evaluation, and action: Logic model development guide. Retrieved from http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2006/02/wk-kellogg-foundation-logic-model-development-guide

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/why-preschool/ Retrieved February 16th, 2016

 

 

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