Management of after school events and programs

Afterschool Events

Activity and Summary

The first activity in which a campus administrator must coordinate that I participate in deals with afterschool bussing. My duties for this activity include ensuring that a peaceful order is established as parents pick up their children and others are placed on the right busses. This activity is for 300 students K-6th grade.

The second activity of this nature, deals with a process called Test Sophistication. This afterschool activity is aimed at improving test scores for high achieving middle school students. The Assistant Principal (AP), is charge of this activity and I assist in teaching in this program. Cosden et al. (2004) suggested that these types of afterschool programs are beneficial for development. They wrote "After-school homework programs can provide students with structure, supervision, academic assistance, and the opportunity to learn study skills. At their best, participation in after-school homework programs can help students maintain their academic standing, feel more bonded to their school, reduce family stress, and develop attitudes and skills that would facilitate their success in school after the program is over. "

Program Outcome Rationale

These activities focus on the indicated program outcome of Instructional Leadership. This outcome suggests that learning includes how to " engage teachers in team building and facilitate the processes of developing and maintaining professional learning communities." Additionally the bussing program also reflects the learning outcome of Administrative and Ethical Leadership. This is represented by the bussing program involvement as "serving as an advocate for all children and promote their continuous development."

Administrator on Duty

The afterschool bussing activity requires the help and coordination of many teachers and faculty within the school system including parents, bus drivers, teachers and local police at times to coordinate traffic issues. The campus administrator has delegated the responsibility of this event to me as a teacher and I serve as the administrator on duty for this task. School policy requires that this event is conducted safely and that we are responsible for the children until they have been released to the busses or their parents.

The coordinated efforts of this task, require assistance from other stakeholders. Everyone involved with the child including the parents, are interested in how the child travels to school and this is a simple but important task. I was chosen for this task due to my ability to be a team player and the ability I have to facilitate a safe environment.

The Test Sophistication afterschool program is administrated by the AP. This program requires some extra materials but does not strain the budget in any extraordinary way. The stakeholders for this program are more academically focused. The intent of this program is to beef up test scores with our best students to help raise the overall average. Therefore, the entire school stands to benefit from this program.

The test sophistication program is useful because it aims to specifically address school needs. The program is aligned with the school's overall strategy and helps teachers refine their skills. This afterschool policy meets all regulations and policy standards outlined in the state, city and district laws.

Impact on Student Achievement

The impact of the bussing program is subtle on student achievement. The seemingly simple task of coordinating bussing expresses more of a supporting than a teaching role within the overall role of the teacher. The impacts on learning can be measured in developing rapport with the students outside of the classroom in a more practical and real -- world event such as loading busses and talking to parents.

The implicit aims of the Test Sophistication program demonstrate how student achievement is being impacted with this afterschool program. Thos students who attend these classes all demonstrate improvement on test taking skills. This program has helped increase the overall standard test scores in past years and is well organized and useful.