Internship+Project

The internship project is designed to make a noticeable and measurable impact in each fellow's internship school. Using the inquiry-action model to define and measure the success of each project, it is intended to model the process effective school executives use to make data-driven decisions about school change. Each fellow will identify a problem through inquiry, brainstorm solutions and facilitate a project/program that address the issue. In the spring, internship projects will be continued or started, then evaluated using the most current action-research methods. All internship projects will culminate with a poster presentation giving an overview of the project. Importantly, each project should target real issues in the school and effect real change. However, given the truncated time span for the internship, the scope of the project should be focused, targeting a relatively small student group.

Fellows will closely examine their internship site understanding and connecting to the various aspects of the school, staff, students, and the community. Components of this project will include:
 * Detailed School Profile, Needs Assessment and Internship Project **
 * Mapping of School Assets
 * Transformation readiness for change within the school
 * School Culture
 * Identifying Improvement Areas

__**Directions **__ Below are documents templates. Each fellow should follow for this process for each phase.*
 * 1) Download the template
 * 2) Immediately "Save As" with the first initial and last name of the fellow, followed by the phase name, i.e. "J.Doe.Phase1"
 * 3) Upon completion of each Phase, post to the "Internship Project" tab on your Digital Portfolio (Wiki page)
 * 4) Modify as necessary


 * Remember, for each phase, to utilize your Facilitative Leadership skills and seek Maximum Appropriate Involvement. Also, fellows will be well served to keep the NELA change process in mind during all stages of the project.

= = Assemble a profile of the school by collecting information that is readily available to the public (e.g. school report card, teacher working conditions survey, etc). Download the document for further instruction on how to compile this product. Upon completion of the document, please <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17.2727px;">post to the "Internship Project" tab on your Digital Portfolio (Wiki page).



=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Conduct a comprehensive school profile in the form of a historical narrative based on stakeholder experiences and stories. Fellows are to interview at least 10 stakeholders from the suggested list.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Principal
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Assistant Principal
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Physical Education Teacher
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Parent/guardian
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Support Staff (Teacher Assistant, counselor, cafeteria etc.)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Student from each grade level
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">1 Teacher from each grade level
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">School Resource Officer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Create or obtain a Human Capital Table

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Fellows will also create a Community Asset Map Digital Story during the Llando Grande retreat in the fall. Please see more details listed in the Specialized Trainings page. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Below you will find documents that will guide the process. Upon compiling the data, please post to your Digital Portfolio (Wiki).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Fellows will use the information compiled from Phases I and II of the School Entry Profile to conduct a comprehensive review of the school’s current educational program regarding student performance trends and achievement indicators. Include information from NCDPI, School Report Cards, Progress Reports, School Improvement Plans, self-assessment documents, action research, surveys, interviews, teacher or school-based assessments. Answer the following questions using data/evidence to support your responses.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What are the most pressing challenges or needs of this school? How do you know?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What student performance trends can you identify?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What student performance trends can you identify?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What teacher working conditions trends can you identify?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Below you will find documents that will guide the process. Upon compiling the data, please post to your Digital Portfolio (Wiki).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">

== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The Internship Project will begin in the fall and span the entire internship year. Fellows will use the information from their entry profile and other data to design a school improvement project with input from their mentor principal, NELA coach, and other school leaders. Fellows will identify a population of students who have not been successful academically. You will target a small (prefer less than 30) group of students so that you can deeply examine this group of students and their needs. Fellows will also collaborate with teachers, staff and stakeholders. Fellows will identify what interferes with the students' learning, design experiences to accelerate their learning, and then apply the resulting learning to the school organization. Feedback and input will be given by mentor principal, NELA coach, and NELA faculty throughout the process. You must have a written agreement with your mentor principal approving your internship project.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Below you will find documents that will guide the process. After fellows have built consensus among appropriate parties and received written agreement from both mentors and coaches, please post to Digital Portfolios (Wiki).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">During this stage, will develop a full plan of action, including a logic model that describes the project. Assistance will be provided by experts in the field, including Dr. Corn. Logic models will vary from school-to-school, although they will all emphasize clarity. In other words, inputs should be directly connected to strategies, which should also directly connect to the data used measure project effectiveness.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">After fellows have created logic models and received feedback from mentors, coaches and Dr. Corn, the document should be posted to Digital Portfolios (Wiki).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Below are several examples of Internship Project Logic Models: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Sean Murphy <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Fellows will present logic models to stakeholders (mentors and teacher leaders, as well as students and community members as appropriate). Stakeholders will implement the project., documenting artifacts. The project will most likely include meetings, professional development, PLCs, etc. Fellows should keep track of artifacts and post important documentation to their Digital Portfolio Internship Project page.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> This is where the rubber meets the road— followed by a long road trip down the school change process. As with any journey, maintenance is required. Fellows are encouraged to collect formative data to make "just-in-time" tweaks that are informed by discussions with peers, coaches, mentors and instructors. As "road warriors" check tire pressure, oil and other measures to ensure a successful trip, fellows should continually check the progress of their project and share their successes and/or roadblocks with the cadre of support that is NELA. Put another way, peers, mentors, coaches and professors should be consulted during this process. The instructors for the Action Research and Evaluation (Dr. Corn) and the Transforming School Culture courses will provide opportunities to discuss projects. Dr. Corn is also available for comments and should be leveraged as an expert opinion to troubleshoot and refine the project and its evaluation.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Critically, fellows should collect data early and often. This will be used to gauge project effectiveness, which will in-turn be used to craft the final Poster Presentations.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Using formative and summative data collected from your internship project you will analyze the outcome of your project. The following questions will be answered: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Fellows may use the following PowerPoint to document their progress: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What was the outcome?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What was successful and what was not?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What would you do differently?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Examples: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Fellows will compile and present data using a research poster format based on their Problem of Practice. The poster should be visually appealing, but also informative. Numerous online and textual resources are available on how to create effective poster presentations. These can be used in tandem with the most vital resources, the NELA family.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Sample Resources: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> http://www.brandeis.edu/experientiallearning/pdfs/PosterTips2web.pdf <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Sample Examples: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Sean Murphy