Project Hope, Essay Example

Executive Summary

Children in poor areas of America have a heightened risk of not receiving and adequate education due to lack of resources. In a study completed in 2007, it was found that 16 percent of fourth graders who received or were eligible for free lunch scored at proficient levels in reading. While 44 percent of fourth grade students who did not receive or were not eligible to receive free lunch scored at proficient reading levels. It is a known fact that schools serving poor and minority students have too few resources to serve the needs of their students. The quick solution seems to be to provide these school systems with more money to provide teachers with the necessary resources to educate these students. It seems that high poverty schools lack the educational capacity to significantly improve student learning. Some simple solutions to the problems would be to help schools improve standard operating practices or to increase the instructional capacity of the staff. Another quick solution would be to provide the students and teachers with incentive programs to entice them to do better jobs. Nonetheless, the real problem lies within the students. The social context of t he neighborhoods in which they live, the family and peer environment make it difficult for students from low income homes to value and see the worth in education. State policy makers are making the issues worse by making policies that punish teachers for factors that are out of their control. These policies cause many good teachers to leave the profession because of the daunting tasks they have at hand.

Operation

Project Hope is a program that aids parents and teachers in the academic and social development of middle school students. This program focuses on academic enrichment, recreation, and building confidence within all participants. Students will receive homework assistance, while participating in activities that promote interactive learning, and critical thinking skills. We have selected our schools due to geographical location and student population. Our goal is to provide students with multicultural enrichment programs while helping students to improve academically.

Opportunity

After school programs make a significant difference in the lives of students and communities by helping to improve academic achievement and providing students of working families with a safe productive environment to dwell in. Students who participate in after school programs are 20 percent less likely to end up as a drop out in later years. Annual data conveys that students who participate in after school programs show great improvement in both their reading and math scores. Teachers that work in low-income schools have repeatedly reported that students who participate in after school programs show less aggression and cause fewer classroom disruptions. Single parents and working parents miss an average of eight days a year in order to ensure that their children are safe after school. Decreased worker productivity is directly linked to parental concerns about cost and safety of their children after school.

Plan of Action/Objectives

Project Hope will run Tuesday-Thursday from 3:00-5:30p.m. It will be held in a structured and safe environment with trained staff and personnel. The staff ratio is 1:10. The staff will maintain the ideal atmosphere for students to learn and develop. Students will learn to critically analyze situations, brainstorm alternative actions, and predict consequences. Participants will gain an understanding of the social issues that affect their daily lives. They will learn the dynamics of thoughts, feelings, and actions. They will be taught to make alternative responses and actions to stressful situations through activities, such as physical exercise and creative expression. The program will be offered to parents at no cost. Programs will be held at designated schools. Project Hope aims are as follows: 1) Provide students with a sense of self worth and confidence. 2) Provide academic assistance. (3) Provide positive influences through mentorship in the lives of all that participate. This will be done through academic enrichment, multicultural awareness and extracurricular programming.

Timeline

Outcomes

Students who participate in Project Hope are predicted to show improvement in academics and behavior. Students with behavior problems are expected to show a reduction in misconduct over a year period of time. Students will learn to work productively without constant supervision of adults. We expect to see the reduction of drug and alcohol use in those students who have reported experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Over a two year period of time we expect to see 54 percent of our students to have an increase in school grades by two letter grades.

Evaluation

Every three months, objectives will be evaluated to ensure that Project Hope is meeting goals. The following will be used as measurement tools: attendance records; student self-assessments; instructor evaluations; standardized testing and specifically made teacher evaluations; and surveys of students, instructors, parents, and school representatives. At the end of every three months, the program coordinator will analyze the information collected from the measurement tools. He/she will then construct an evaluation report that assesses whether the program is meeting its objectives and specified outcomes. Upon completion of this process, the program coordinator and staff members will meet to discuss the findings and determine what adjustments must be made to the program layout, instruction, and or activities. The implementation of such adjustments will be made immediately.

Costs/Budget

The funding for Project Hope will be used in the following manner: Personnel $3,548; Supplies $2,002; Equipment $2,500; Contractual $15,350; other $1,600. This is a total requested amount from Wallace Foundation of $25,000. The personnel costs will allow us to have one certified teacher and four teacher’s aides to help the Project Hope. The number of staffing, with the assistance of the volunteers, will allow us effectively organize Project Hope. The salary for the aides comes from the districts current rate of $8.00 per hour for instructional tutors. This equates to 91 days at 1 hour at 4 staff members at $8.00 for a total of $2,912; The salary for the certified teacher comes from extending the hourly rate of $15.43 for extra duty pay to the 91 hours that this teacher will work in the program – 91 days at 1 hour at1 teacher for a rounded total of $1,404. Local college student mentors will be taking minimum wage value of their time – 91 days at1 hour at 50 tutors at $5.15 for a rounded total of $23,433. We will obtain books that are high interest and low reading ability so that these students can have access with the reading portion of the program. These books cost approximately $5.00 each. We will purchase $2,002 worth of books. The host schools will supply the additional items that the Project Hope staff may need to help the students with their homework and other areas of academic problems.

Supplements

Student Questionnaire

1. What do you think your teachers could do to help you to learn more and be successful in school?
2. Do your teachers keep you informed about how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve?
3. What are some of the reasons that students don’t do well, or succeed, at school?
4. What do you like best about this program?
5. What do you like least about this program?
6. Do you feel safe at while participating in Project Hope? Why or why not?
7. How well do you think your experiences at Project Hope are preparing you for your future?

Parent/Community Questionnaire

1. What are the strengths of this program?
2. What are the weaknesses of this program?
3. What are your greatest concerns as the parent of a student at program?
4. What things do you appreciate as a parent about this program?
5. What gets in the way of students learning or being successful in this program?

Employees Questionnaire

1. How have you been involved in the program’s effort to understand and implement Standards-Based Instruction?
2. What is your role in promoting student achievement?
3. Are you aware of any barriers to success for students of this program?
4. What are helpful things that allow students to succeed in this program?
5. Are there any barriers to performing your duties in an efficient and expeditious manner?
6. What is helpful to performing your duties in an efficient and expeditious manner?