Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
accelerated intermediate academy, accelerated schools, charter schools, classroom discipline, classroom instruction, classroom substitutes, continuing education, inner city students, instructional strategies, middle school, parent involvement, Parent University, parents, powerful learning, professional development, public schools, school culture, student evaluation, substitute teachers, teacher attendance, teacher training, teaching methods, teacher evaluation, training programs
Abstract
Continuing the progression of innovation within the charter school movement, this applied dissertation was designed to provide increased attendance of teachers at professional development training at a charter school that services inner city students. As a brand new charter school, Accelerated Intermediate Academy (AIA) was faced with a limited number of available classroom substitutes to allow teachers to attend professional development training. Research has shown that parent involvement is beneficial to students, teachers, and parents. Studies have shown that teachers benefit from extra help in the classroom. AIA’s aim was not to place parents in the classroom as babysitters, but to maintain the level of instruction and promote powerful learning.
This study focused on training parents through Parent University to become a source of instructional support and substitute for teachers who attended professional development training. Although charter schools are a part of public schools, many of them lack the manpower to afford teachers the opportunity to attend off campus training. Parent University trained parents on a variety of topics to include, but not limited to: Instructional Strategies, The Culture of the School, Teaching Methods, Classroom Discipline, Accelerated Schools featuring Powerful Learning, and The Parent as a Teacher at Home.
A Teacher and Student Evaluation were administered at the end of the training. An analysis of the data and the perception of teachers and students revealed that Parent University significantly increased teacher attendance at training and maintained quality instruction in the classroom.