On Thursday, June 14, the CART Awardees met for the first time. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum for the recipients to meet and interact as well as share important information about budgets, ethical considerations, and strategies for collecting data.
We started with the 3-2-1 icebreaker. The participants partnered with each other and shared 3 things about themselves, 2 things about their grants, and 1 question that they wanted to have answered. As the participants introduced themselves to the whole group, Tim and I scribed the questions. There were many questions about budgeting as well as concerns about getting the research started.
Next, Tim and I reviewed the expectations of the Houston A+ Challenge for the CART teams. The recipients agree to
1) conduct the inquiry as outlined in their proposal,
2) complete an interim and final report,
3) present the findings at a public forum and submit the findings for publication, and
4) attend the CART support meetings three times a year.
The dates for the 2007-2008 meetings will be set in early August.
Catherine, Director of Finance for the Houston A+ Challenge, then answered many of the financial questions that participants brought. This grant has special challenges for our organization because of the variety of groups and the way they will get access to the funds. There are school-based groups, multi-school groups in a single district, a group with members from three different school districts, a charter school, and a university-based group. For most groups, the monies will be loaded with the school district and the grant recipient must follow school guidelines for making purchases. The multi-school group and the university-based group will leave the funds with A+ and must fill out expense reports to get reimbursed.
HA+C will send each team a budget spreadsheet with drop-down menus for the object codes and function codes. These budgets must be checked and returned to HA+C for the monies to be loaded with the districts. Transfers from one category to another are allowed, but must be approved by Tim. All receipts should be saved, and they must be itemized. HA+C does not reimburse for alcohol or hardware.
As we transitioned to talking about ethical considerations, Tim and I shared that we are doing our own action research around the questions “What is the role of an intermediary organization in supporting improved teaching and learning?” and “How can we best support the creation of sustainable, reflective, collaborative, professional groups in the Houston area?” Furthermore, Cheryl, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at U of H is investigating a project titled “Teacher Learning in Houston A+ Challenge Sponsored Groups: A Four Year Study.” We asked each participant to sign the “University of Houston Teacher Consent to Participate in Research” form and encouraged each group to consider ethical concerns in their own projects such as maintaining confidentiality and gaining consent of their research participants.
We ended the meeting with the participants at each round table sharing their strategies for collecting data and then everyone wrote reflections.
Excerpts from the reflections are in the extended entry.
1. What worked?
“Meeting others”
“This meeting was well run! I was a bit nervous at first because I thought (mistakenly) that it would be a formal presentation of award-recipients.”
“Talking in a small group made me think about what type of evidence I will need to collect. Student samples & pics/lessons, etc.”
“We will be able to network with others. Also, I was able to understand what to bring back to my team.”
“This first meeting helped to clarify processes for implementing the grant.”
“Talking with others in a group to discuss what the grant is about and means to us, and what we are to do as a team on campus.”
“I enjoyed listening and discussing the variety of grant topics with my table. Action Research is new to me so I am in the learning process.”
“A nice, succinct overview of the program!”
“Meeting other recipients. Putting a face to the finance person. Getting an idea of how A+ might use our work.”
“The relaxed ambiance & collegial approach the facilitators had.”
“A well organized agenda. Starting/end on time”
“Today’s meeting was very helpful in planning how to utilize the grant. The main expectations were layed out and questions were answered. We discussed the budget and how the money will be disbursed and used by campuses.
The quarterly meeting will help to make sure we are on the right track.”
“Today’s mtg was very informative. I was able to engage w/ other CART participants. I am eager to get started and involve others in the grant.”
2. What support do you need?
“Need guidance doing action research”
“I think the presence of A+ Challenge members readily available to guide and provide feedback is most supportive.
The resources mentioned on Action Research is just one of the many ways to help us find our way in being teacher-researchers.
The continued e-mail contact would be helpful, too.”
“I still need more clarification. I have so many questions, I don’t know what to have clarified.”
“—All grade level teams
--Administration”
“A+ & others who have done this before”
“I feel I need to focus on my question and understand how the budget works.”
“It would be nice to have a manual, or perhaps, a rubric to guide the grant process. A calendar would be helpful!
Also, we would love help with facilitation & planning of sessions. Thanks! J”
“We will definitely do case studies, so we will NEED samples for students & parents.”
“I can’t say now but I know if I have any questions I can ask.”
“Being able to have open access to Tim or Donna”
Other comments
“I would have enjoyed hearing everyone’s grant. We are really excited about our grant!”
“I was clueless when I arrived; however, I feel more knowledgeable and empowered to be a part of this process.
With this grant money, I believe that our plan of action will be a great way to increase student achievement through the arts.”