Narrative: This artifact is an analysis I did on the community in which

I teach that addressed the background, the area, the district, and upon
that evaluation made evaluations on best practice protocols that I
could take place in order to optimize student learning in this area. This
shows my ability to give and research contextual information to serve
the community in which I work. It shows the diverse ideas that impact
my students and capitalizes on what it will take to effect positive
change.

Sharessa Royster- Special Program Analysis

Background Information:
Background of district:
Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is a large urban school district made up of
227 schools and over 19,000 employees. Their goal is based on having 80 percent of
the students, college or career ready by the time of graduation. In order to continuously
uphold these values in each and every school the DISD Board of Trustees centered the
focus of all personnel on these 5 core beliefs:

Our main purpose is to improve student academic achievement.

Effective instruction makes the most difference in student academic performance.
There is no excuse for poor quality instruction.
With our help, at risk students will achieve at the same rate as non-at risk

students.
Staff members must have a commitment to children and a commitment to the
pursuit of excellence.

Background of school:
As one of the 227 schools in DISD and the second lowest rated middle school, Thomas
A. Edison Middle School Learning Center (TAE) is located in West Dallas. The school
has a perfect view of the Dallas skyline and was built in 1909 as one of the first schools
in the community and DISD. TAE serves about 700 students from grades 6-8. TAE is a
title one school and classified as needs improvement by AEIS for consistent
underachievement. It is also classified by the state as Improvement Required 2 for
multiple years of not meeting state standards. 93.9 percent of the students are classified
as low social economic status with 61.6 percent being Hispanic and 38.4 percent being
African American. 90 percent of students are classified as at-risk, along with a 40
percent Limited English Proficiency (LEP) population. TAE employees about 86
employees with less than 20 percent having more the 5 years in the profession. Due to
the high turnover rate of about 50 percent, it is tough to hire and retain quality teachers.
Community:

West Dallas is the area that is cut off by Interstate 30 on the south, and the Trinity River
on the east, north, and south. West Dallas was opened in 1886, originally on the
outskirts of Dallas. Around 1934 a secondary lead smelter company started operations
on about 64 acres of land. Based on the poorly controlled production, the company
leaked significant lead emissions. In 1956, a public housing community, where most
students still reside today, was built 50 feet from the lead smelter company. Most
residents were directly exposed to the toxins in the air because of the lack of ability to
afford indoor air conditioning and heating systems. In 1972, the health department of
Dallas did a study on the children in the neighborhood and found significantly high levels
of lead in their bloodstreams that had been transmitted through the air and soil. Even
after filing a lawsuit to add more pollution control in 1974, big changes didnt happen
until 1983, when the boys and girls club suspended outside activities because the lands
lead ratio was 36 times the amount that was considered lethal for a child. It was in 1993
that West Dallas residents celebrated when the Clinton Administration declared last
May that they live in the largest lead-contaminated Superfund site in the United States.
Portions of one of the nation's biggest housing projects and five schools, all located
within five square miles of a now-defunct lead smelter were slated for cleanup (although
Federal Environmental Protection Agency records indicate as much as sixteen square
miles of West Dallas are contaminated)." In light of these incidents in the community, the
schools are still serving the children of kids who were significantly affected mentally and
physically by the amount of lead found in their bloodstream (West Dallas Chamber
member, personal communication, September 2015).
Parent Involvement:
The estimated median household income in West Dallas is $36,049 (City-data, 2014).
Less than 10 percent of our students families own homes and stay in either apartments
or public housing based on school enrollment surveys. West Dallas is the pride of the
industrial part of Dallas and most families find work in large mills and factories. Due to
these large work obligations, parental involvement is basically nonexistent. Based on the
sign in sheet of parent night, out of about 700 students, 15 parents attended. Language
barriers and lack of child care for other children also play a significant role in the
involvement of parents. The parent associations were all disbanded for lack of parents
taking responsibility in the roles. Students consistently miss school and come to school
unprepared due to the lack of structure that enforces a strong system of learning and

Sharessa Royster- Special Program Analysis

growth.
Special Program Content:
In order to address a special program that can be further designed and
implemented, both the strengths and challenges of programs were analyzed to base
results in research based practices. Each administrator has the right to determine how
this program is handled within the realms of the school, as long as they have evaluation
measures for the district as mentioned below. Using preconceived goals and structures
in the school allow for a strong and solid way to get programs running to maximum
efficiency.
Campus Strength and Challenges Analysis
Strengths
After an analysis of the campus, the strengths that foresaw on the campus were the
wide variety of talents and experiences that each teacher had (Spurlock, personal
communication, September 20, 2015). Spurlock also stated that this is a school where
parents were invested. Even though they lacked the ability to constantly come to the
school, they constantly boast about the ability to bring their kids to a school that they
also went to. This gives us the ability to build upon the strengths that we have in parents.
Another strength is TAEs location inside of the strategic feeder pattern structure of DISD
that includes increased staff support and extra funding.
Challenges
Due to the varying conditions of such a low performing school, the school faced many
challenges with three being the main focus The challenges were identified as
engagement, discipline, and collaboration. Referenced by the school survey and the
high employee turnover rate, 82 percent of teachers believed that change was
something that was vitally needed in the school. Referenced by teacher surveys, in
order to get to a place were instruction could take place, it is important to have a familiar
structure that the students can be introduced to. Consistency is key in taking a top
behavior school to a top academic school. The next challenge foresaw was the students
engagement. Based on a student survey less than 30 percent of students wanted to be

there and felt like their classes were interesting. Lastly collaboration, it is important to
communicate with both the businesses around the area, the parents, staff and the
community. In a large industrial area it is important to be able to provide alternatives for
how the parents can truly get involved. It is also important to establish ways in which
teachers have time to work together.
Data Snapshot
When analyzing the data (DISD, 2014), for the last three years in Math the students at
TAE were scoring an average of 11 percent behind the district average and 22 percent
behind the state. While in reading in the last three years, the students were scoring
about 15 percent behind the district average and 30 percent behind the state.
Campus Improvement Process and Structure
Budget:
Based on the strategic feeder plan, the extra budget proposed for TAE was about
$442,000. This money includes stipends, students expenses, resources, and staff. This
is added to the budget that is already allotted for each school and student, in addition to
the money that Title 1 schools receive from the federal government. When looking at
this budget it is important that the administrator must evaluate several factors such as
funding, technical assistance, links to others programs, sustainability, and evaluation
(Pankake & Littleton, 2012).
Student population:
The student population has already been noted. It is important to realize that this
program would focus on the 90 percent of at-risk students and the 93.9 percent that are
classified as low social-economic status. It is also important to introduce culturally
responsive teaching into practice as the school is made up entirely of a minority
population.
Staffing:
Although the analysis of data it is very important to note the internal workings of the staff.
Due to the high mental and physically abilities left by the lead it is important to

Sharessa Royster- Special Program Analysis

understand the need of both families and students. It is also important to provide a
strong support system based on a smaller ratio of students. Kritsonis (2015) mentioned
the hard ability for students to transition from a place of chaos to a place of calm so they
need for more staff is essential. Assistant principals and counselors added one per
grade level to lessen the ratio for better support and structure. Department heads and
coaches were appointed and hired with schedules meant to support and mentor
teachers. Another addition would be a school social worker and psychologist to work
with community and families along with a student advocate coordinator to focus on
truancy and dropout intervention. The last addition of an urban specialist position that
would work specifically with the highest at risk students to insure their success would be
the last staff structure change. Initial measures show that interventions are being
provided in better times due to the ratio of students (Fromm, personal communication,
October 1, 2015). At the middle of the year, the amount of behavior RTIs and referrals
had only modestly decreased with teachers and students still frustrated at structure
(Fromm, personal communication, October 1, 2015).
Curriculum and Instruction:
In curriculum, an extra hour of instruction that consisted of homework help, one on one
instruction, extracurricular activities and mentoring would be added. There would also
be a math and reading focus that incorporated a blended learning model to have access
outside the classroom as well. The time would also allow for Professional Learning
communities for each teacher that would increase collaboration and instructional
practice. Initial common assessment data shows the improvement of both math and
reading scores. Students are also seeing the effects of mentoring and extracurricular
activities with increased attendance based on attendance counts. Note by the student
survey the average number of students attending increased by .4 percent and the
average teacher absences decreased by 1 day (DISD, 2014)
Coordination/Monitoring:
These programs would be followed out through community partnerships to engage both
the community and students. It would also be used through parent education and
engagement opportunities also the continued support of the students. A few businesses
teamed up with the school but lack of follow through of the principal, lost those structures

(Fromm, personal communication, October 1, 2015).

Evaluation at the district level:
This would be monitored by the ability to first meet state standards and get off of the
improvement required list. The next step would be demonstrated in a 10 percent
increase in student performance especially in reading and math. The district on the level
could also judge the number of college and career ready students. According to initial
measures, even with much persistence, the school would be restructured by the state
due to not meeting the requirements in continuous years (Fromm, personal
communication, October 1, 2015).
Best Practice Recommendations
Discipline
In regards to discipline, regardless of the ability one principal may feel about personal
classroom management, it is important to realize that, the head person in any
organization sets the tone for the total operation(Kritsonis 2015). As stated in Kritsonis
(2015) article, the principal holds a position to uniquely help in the discipline area by
serving as the implementer and enforcer. It is important to foster relationships within
these structures because, schools that foster positive interactions among students and
between students and teachers are more likely to have engaged, high-performing
students" (Pankake & Littleton, 2012, p. 242). By having a set structure and consistency
from administrators to staff, a structure is not only implemented but also, enforced. With
high risk and low SES students this structure allows them to form a strong learning
environment that facilitates growth and high expectations.
Engagement
The culture of TAE needed to add both Pre-AP and honors courses in order to use the
extra time efficiently. Based on a teacher from a class study in the book she believed
her students could succeed in the most rigorous curriculum, such as Advancement
Placement classes, but only need extra support provided (Pankake & Littleton, 2012, p.
90). In a school where support is already carved into the extra day this would be a
monumental time to add this rigorous curriculum in. It is also important to note in this

Sharessa Royster- Special Program Analysis

area the important to address the students that possess cultural knowledge and skills
that can be leveraged for academic success through relevant classroom literature
(Stewart, Araujo, Knezeck, & Revelle, 2015). Engagement goes past the ability of
multiple response strategies but the innate ability that schools should foster a culture
that takes all cultures into account with their formal and informal curricula and policies
(Fraise & Brooks, 2015). As noted in Fraise & Brooks (2015), these situations best fit
them and allows for lowered anxiety to focus on learning because they can be
themselves. Schools should also incorporate multiple styles of learning that have shown
positive implications in urban communities (Baek & Freehling, 2007). Cultural
competence when addressing at risk and low SES in a majority population is mandatory
towards student success. This has to be taught in the reference that teachers hold high
expectations for all students and explicitly tell students they are capable of learning
(Mundy & Leko, 2015). The administrator and a push for high engagement and culture in
the environment can only achieve this through proper development of a sufficient staff.
Collaboration
Structure is so important when it come times for looking at the schools collaboration
structure. Structural elements include cross-system collaboration, partnerships, strategic
use of time, leadership, autonomy, and effective use of data (Pankake & Littleton, 2012).
In order for a school of little structure to focus well RTI is needed but in order to have
that, a well-organized and collaborative faculty, clearly structured campus schedule,
targeted resources, and job-embedded professional development are needed to
successfully accommodate RTI, (Pankake & Littleton, 2012, p. 263). This can only be
achieved through a principal that has set a vision for what a campus culture, not only
with students but also with staff should look like. Based on research, the components
and procedures used within the RTI framework have allowed for better understanding of
instructional quality and informed decision-making (Pankake & Littleton, 2012, p. 259)
which shows the need for increased structure, collaboration and development on the
administrators part. The whole point needed behind this is a strong administrator who
collaboratively builds a vision with staff that shows the collaboration they expect to see
throughout the campus. The set up of the professional learning community is essential
because "once the faculty and staff members believe that collaboration is beneficial,
then the time structures will be used for the purpose of professional conversations
toward the improvement of teacher." (Pankake, 2012 pg. 219). As it is noted, effective

teachers make the biggest difference in the lives of low SES and at- risk students.
Parent involvement is also so important and thats why schools should consider a
system to promote increased communications and organizations for families (Reynolds,
Crea, Medina, Degnan, & McRoy, 2015). Parent involvement is essential and in
industrial West Dallas it is important to see the collieries that might allow parents with
high work obligations to participate. Reynolds et al. (2015) believed that informal
activities, extracurricular events, or even parent leadership programs might facilitate
other forms of communication that would provide multiple opportunities for teachers and
parents to engage one another and foster a greater sense of community. These
relationships are essential to the school functioning. So often, teachers and parents do
not necessarily hold similar perceptions of parentteacher engagement, and partnershipfocused approaches will likely lead to mutual understanding (Reynolds et al., 2015).
Conclusion
Through research-based practices, I believe that TAE can use the data to make informed
decisions and witness the change that is needed in the community. Above are my
recommendations of the processes they should take to reach the district, state, and
school mandated growth. These practices in years should drive them to preparing not
only college and career ready students but also, a great hope for the future of America.

Sharessa Royster- Special Program Analysis

References
Kritsonis, W. A. (2015). THE PRINCIPAL'S ROLE IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. In, National
Forum of Educational Administration & Supervision Journal (pp. 31-37). Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
Pankake, A., & Littleton, M. (2012). Special Education. In Administration & Supervision of
Special Programs in Education (3rd ed., pp. 1-15). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Stewart, M. M., Araujo, J. J., Knezek, L. L., & Revelle, C. C. (2015). Tapping Into English
Learners' Lived Experiences through Relevant Literature. California Reader, 48(4), 1319. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Fraise, N. n., & Brooks, J. j. (2015). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Leadership
for School-Community Culture. International Journal Of Multicultural Education, 17(1), 621. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Mundy, C. A., & Leko, M. M. (2015). Uncovering and Informing Preservice Teachers'
Prior Knowledge about Poverty. Networks: An Online Journal For Teacher Research,
17(1), 1-10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Baek, E., & Freehling, S. (2007). Using Internet Communication Technologies by LowIncome High School Students in Completing Educational Tasks Inside and Outside the
School Setting. Computers In The Schools, 24(1/2), 33-55. Doi:
10.1300/J025v24n01_04
Reynolds, A. a., Crea, T. M., Medina, J., Degnan, E., & McRoy, R. (2015). A MixedMethods Case Study of Parent Involvement in an Urban High School Serving Minority
Students. Urban Education, 50(6), 750-775. Doi: 10.1177/0042085914534272
City-data.com. 2014. West Dallas, Texas Profile. Retrieved from http://www.citydata.com/neighborhood/West-Dallas-Dallas-TX.html.
Dallas Independent School District. 2014. Thomas Edison Middle School Learning Center.
Retrieved from
http://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001475/Centricity/Shared/SchoolProfiles/SCHOOL_PRO
FILE_74.pdf.

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