Research Grant Proposal

Summer Literacy Program

Grant Proposal

Duration: Four weeks

Amount Requested: $10,000

Tiffany Wilson

Delta State University

ELR 701 Research for Educational Practitioners

Dr. Daphne Smith

Summer Literacy Program

Introduction

Over the recent years, young people have congregated on the dilapidated streets of the

Marks, Lambert, Darling, Sledge, Falcon, Crenshaw, and Crowder communities in Quitman County with little to nothing constructive to do. This behavior is not unusual and is reflective of most rural, impoverished communities in the Mississippi Delta. Summer programs could be godsend needed to engage our at-risk students. Participation in structured tutoring sessions and work-based learning is sure to help alleviate this growing issue in our communities.

While 1 in 5 young people in the U.S. are alone during the summer months, this number is increase in rural impoverished areas. Summer programs promote positive youth development and offer a safe space where youth can explore their potential. Effective summer programs provide learning settings that bring a wide range of benefits to youth, families, and communities. Summer programs can support social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development for children and youth. Components of the summer program have an established set of performance measures that ensure high quality academic enrichment and relevant activities. Such measures will help students meet State and local academic standards.

The remedial education activities and academic enrichment learning program will be conducted by certified teachers with the help of peer tutors, who will also serve as mentors to the students. Teachers will be chosen based on their subject area expertise. They will be required to give pre and post assessments, provide weekly lesson plans, and engage in project-based learning. Tutors will also assist students with homework, lessons, projects, etc. Tutors will be upper classmen who will encourage and incentivize students who are under their tutelage.

Needs Assessment

The International Reading Literacy Study determined nine-year-old children in America have not shown an increase in reading ability over a five-year period (Bracey, 2008). Only a small percentage of young adults can use literacy skills to accomplish moderately complex tasks (Martinez & McGee, 2000). Scholars and researchers have used this data to address recent concerns about children's inability to read at high levels. Student performance in reading and

th literacy has reached crisis levels. Implementation in school years 2021-2023 of grades 5

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through 8 reading and literacy program described in this proposal has become urgently necessary.

The crisis at the school is not an isolated case. 95% of Quitman County Middle School have increased class size since 2021. This is tied to the loss of 6 teaching positions at the school since 2020. State funding per student decreased on average 15.3% between fiscal years 2011 and

2021. The loss of teachers and funding has put additional stress on Quitman County Middle School students to meet testing standards on basic literacy examinations. Receiving grant funding for the proposed program is the school's best chance to significantly increase literacy in

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5 – 8 grade subject areas in view of the present budget crisis at our school, in Quitman County, and across the state.

Many of the families that live in Quitman County face serious challenges, including poverty, unemployment, health concerns, lack of structured recreation, food shortage, and low educational attainment. The information provided describes poverty rates and economic issues that face the community inclusive with school district data that was obtained from existing Federal Programs Comprehensive Needs Surveys and focus interviews with administrators, students, teachers, and parents. Tables I and II reflect an analysis of the data.

Table I: District and Community Profile

Total Enrollment by Ethnicity
Total Enrollment	744
Hispanic/Latino 1	%
African American	97%
White 2	%
Other 0	%
Limited English Proficiency 0	%
Poverty Rate	38.7%
Title 1- Free and Reduced Lunch	100%
Graduation Rate	84.8%

Source: 2020 U.S. Census Data; 2021/2022 District Records

Table II: School/District/State Proficiency Data 2-Year MAAP ELA Data

Quitman County Elementary School Proficiency Data	2021-2022 % Proficient or above	2022-2023 % Proficient or above
QCES – ELA	28.1%	29.2%
Quitman County - ELA	28.8%	29.3%
Mississippi - ELA	41.9%	46.6%
Quitman County Middle School Proficiency Data	2021-2022 % Proficient or above	2022-2023 % Proficient or above
QCMS – ELA	29.6%	27.5%
Quitman County - ELA	28.8%	29.3%
Mississippi - ELA	41.9%	46.6%
Madison S. Palmer High School Proficiency Data	2021-2022 % Proficient or above	2022-2023 % Proficient or above
MSPH – ELA	26.9%	36.5%
Quitman County - ELA	28.8%	29.3%
Mississippi - ELA	41.9%	46.6%

Source: MDE 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 Final School Assessment Data

Statement of Purpose

The primary focus of the Summer Literacy Program is to provide remedial and enrichment opportunities to at-risk students to become College and Career Ready. As reflected in

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Table II, in every grade level from 3 grade through 12 , the majority of our students are not scoring at levels of proficiency in Language Arts. 100% of our students are eligible for Title 1 Free and Reduced Lunch services and 63% of the students, as identified by teachers, have limited vocabulary skills, low academic confidence, low endurance and persistence, and poor study habits. The Summer Literacy Program will serve to expand and strengthen these areas of deficiency through targeted remediation in Language Arts.

School and faculty leaders at Quitman County Middle School recognize the importance of reading in the facilitation of the students' literacy development. According to Routman (2016) children who become great readers read voraciously. Routman noted that independent reading works well when students:

· Have easy access to a wide range of interesting texts

· Know how to choose books they can read and understand

· Have sustained time and opportunity to read and talk about books

· Confer with the teacher to ensure understanding and enjoyment are occurring

· Receive useful, actionable feedback for how they are doing as readers

Moreover, the quality of the school library is positively connected to literacy development. Research suggests that access to a good school library can help offset the negative impact of poverty on reading achievement (Krashen & McQuillan, 2016.) This is why Quitman County Middle School is investing in these resources and considers them vital to the facilitation and enhancement of literacy.

Goals & Objectives

The central goal of the program is to significantly elevate student outcomes in reading and literacy. Students who participate in the reading and literacy program at Quitman County Middle School will improve their general academic achievement.

A key objective of the program is that average grades and state standardized test results for students who participate in the program for a minimum of one summer will show improvement that is more than the whole of the school data for the same indicators.

1. At least 40% of participants attending the summer literacy program a minimum of 16 days will show growth in Language Arts as reflected on State Tests.

2. 30% of participants attending the summer Literacy Program will increase writing skills by the end of the first benchmark assessment

3. 30% of participants attending the Summer Literacy Program will improve their

literacy skills

Moreover, students involved in additional tutoring activities for a minimum of six continuous months will demonstrate an academic improvement of .5 grade levels, measurable with instruments such as IB performance assessments, the Student Assessment Program, and Instruction Guide as a pre/post measurement. 90% of students will demonstrate noticeable literacy growth on an exit assessment.

Background & Rationale (Brief Literature Review)

The text discusses the background, problem statement, purpose, and hypothesis of a study on the impact of a four-week Summer Literacy Program on comprehension levels. Research has shown the challenges of creating a middle school intervention based on educational policies and the varied instruction and activities in the program. The researcher includes information on the methodology, results, and discussion of the study, as well as the focus on vocabulary and the goal of increasing comprehension ability and confidence. The researcher also mentions the research on federal and state policies and the use of individual student Lexile scores to determine reading levels (Haug, 2010).

Bottorff (2011) study analyzed SAT 10 scores to determine the impact of different summer school programs on student achievement. The study found that the longer six-week program did not significantly increase reading comprehension scores, but it did lead to a significant increase in math scores for African-American students. The district switched to the longer program to close the achievement gap and address issues such as summer learning loss and lack of supervision. The opinions of students, community, and staff regarding the six-week program were not mentioned. The study used a two-tailed z-test to determine the results. The district aims to improve student achievement and meet AYP goals. The survey also includes questions for parents and teachers about their experience with the summer academy.

Barone (2012) research study explores the impact of a summer literacy approach on writing performance and writer self-perception of urban Housing Authority children. The study investigates the correlation between posttest scores on writing samples and the Writer Self-Perception Scale. It also examines the difference between observed and expected frequencies on the CampUs experience survey. The study finds that while students' perception of writing did not increase significantly, their level of writer self-perception did increase after participating in the program. Former campers expressed that writing had the strongest impact on their learning, and their attitudes towards writing improved. The study suggests that attending a summer literacy program with a focus on writing and being acknowledged for their achievement has a positive impact on future learning opportunities. The research was limited to the time of treatment and the ability to contact former participants. Further studies are needed to determine if the gains in writing performance and writer self-perception are maintained over a longer period.

This text discusses a research study on the retention and assessment of third-grade students. The study examines the impact of various factors, such as gender, socioeconomic status, and English language proficiency, on students' reading performance. The study includes both quantitative and qualitative components, with a focus on the perspectives of elementary school principals. The findings of the study can provide insights into retention policies and interventions to support students' academic success (Daniels, 2022). “It is relevant to surmise a learning loss of summer to learning loss due to COVID19 school closure and student absences. As COVID-19 cases were reported in school buildings throughout the school district, principals were required to quarantine entire classes for 14 days. In some cases, an entire grade level was quarantined. As a result, principals supposed that student reading performance on the spring 2021 FSA administration would be significantly lower than previous years” (p137). Previous studies have noted summer learning loss (Garst & Ozier, 2015; Kim & White, 2011) in normal – nonCOVID affected-- school cycles.

More recently, Kuhfeld et al. (2020) supported principals’ perspectives on anticipated learning loss, especially with regard to COVID-19. Their study indicated that not only are such losses to be expected when students are out of school because of student absenteeism, summer breaks, and weather-related school closures. But Kuhfeld et al. projected from extensive statistical analyses that because of COVID-19, students would retain only 63% to 68% of reading learning gains.

Methods of Evaluation (Data Collection & Analysis)

Objectives	Data Collection	Data Analysis
1. At least 40% of participants attending the summer literacy program a minimum of 16 days will show growth in Language Arts as reflected on State Tests. 2. 30% of participants attending the summer Literacy Program will increase writing skills by the end of the first benchmark assessment 3. 30% of participants attending the Summer Literacy Program will improve their literacy skills	The researcher will observe students using pre/posttest, benchmark assessments, report cards, and MAP end-of-year test. The researcher will use teacher formative assessments, student report cards/progress reports to monitor progress. The researcher will use teacher formative assessments, and bi-weekly assessments to monitor student progress.	The quantitative data the researcher will analyze is the data from assessments and reports of students who have low scores and whose performance evel is a one or two. The researcher must monitor and calculate student growth.

Proposed Activities & Schedule

Educational and youth development programs will run for four weeks during the summer. Services will be 16 hours per week. Students will meet four hours a day, four days a week for remedial and enrichment activities. Additionally, recreational and youth development activities will take place after lunch. It is anticipated that approximately 75 students will participate in the summer offerings. Listed below is the daily schedule for summer activities:

Schedule 8:00-9:00 a.m. Session I

10:00-11:00 a.m. Session II

11:00-12:00 a.m. Session III

Budget & Justification

The budget is allocated for six positions, which will be used to pay the salaries of the new position openings. The amount of funding needed to pay the six respective salaries is $10,000.00, which the allocation pays for. Hence, a grant amount of $10,000.00 is needed for the four week long program.

Job	Hourly Pay	Hours	Program Pay
Teacher	$30	64	$1,920 x 2 = $3,840
Tutors	$10	64	$640 x 2 = $1,280
Literacy Coach	$35	64	$2,240 x 1 = $2,240
Site Supervisor	$40	64	$2,560 x 1 = $2,560
Total			$9,920

Expected Outcomes

Based on best practices of program approaches, a proposal is being submitted that will provide strategies and activities that address areas identified in the needs session. The goals and activities of the proposal are aligned with the district’s strategic and school improvement plans, and with MDE College and Career Readiness Standards. The proposed center will incorporate tutoring and academic enrichment activities that support student achievement in the classroom

th and help students meet proficiencies in Language Arts. Students scoring in the lower 25 percentile, students needing homework assistance, and other students referred by teachers with academic challenges will receive focused and intense educational interventions. Students on Performance Level 3 will also be considered. These students will be considered as part of a targeted group to receive focused remediation. Small group intervention will be conducted with struggling students to improve Literacy Skills.

The process evaluation will include a systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to determine the extent to which the Summer Literacy Program is effective in meeting the needs of students, their families, the school district and the community. The outcome evaluation will assess program achievements and effectiveness in producing favorable cognitive, belief, and behavior affects.

Formal and informal communications between the external evaluator, project coordinator, program staff, students, and parents will take place on a regular basis to allow for modifications of the program throughout the summer. This continuous improvement, management, and evaluation model allows for modifications during the program, rather than solely pre/post-test evaluation procedures that allow for changes only at the end of a block of time.

Individual student data will include progress reports, standardized test scores, and teacher evaluations to determine achievement of the specified academic and behavioral performance measures. In addition to school academic records and teacher-generated data, the program will collect attendance records to assess students’ regular participation in the program. The priority is for the children to meet and exceed the state and local standards in literacy. Internally, program goals will be revisited prior to advisory council meetings. This revisiting will allow the review of program objectives, the status of objectives, and any changes that need to be addressed. This information provided will be used to measure progress and serve as a basis for making benchmarks of progress or program modifications. Specific measures of the success of the program will include those listed in the performance measures in Table 2-objectives section.

These outcomes should closely match the performance indicators established by the Mississippi Department of Education. The external evaluator will take the lead in developing specific procedures for data collection for the program objectives.

References

Barone, Toni-Ann. (2012) T he immediate and long term impact of a summer literacy approach on writing performance and self-perception of writing of urban Housing Authority children. (Publication No. 3537048) St. John's University (New York) ProQuest Dissertations.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/1320036513/84D37661CF6B4BFDPQ/6?acc ountid=27074

Bracey, G. W. (2008, March). Reading between the lines. Principal Leadership , pp. 56- 58

Bottorff, A. K. (2011). Evaluating summer school programs and the effect on student achievement: The correlation between stanford-10 standardized test scores and two different summer programs. (Publication No. 3440195) Education Faculty of Lindenwood University ProQuest Dissertations. https://www.proquest.com/docview/853648454/5010C335D70443B8PQ/1?accou ntid=27074

Daniels, V. A. (2022). An investigation of summer reading performance and principals’ perspectives on retention and assessment of third graders. (Publication No.

28964442) Barry University ProQuest Dissertations. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2624230786/EF275506E4B6489FPQ/3?acco untid=27074

Garst, B. A., & Ozier, L. W. (2015). Enhancing youth outcomes and organizational practices through a camp-based reading program. Journal of Experiential Education, 38(4), 324-338. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1053825915578914

Haug, J. J. (2010). A summer literacy intervention for struggling readers at the middle school level using strategies in comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and positive school climate to improve reading comprehension: An evaluation study. (Publication No. 3433097) Lindenwood University ProQuest Dissertations.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/835066220/fulltextPDF/F86104F7D7EF49D7 PQ/1?accountid=27074

Kim, J. S., & White, T. G. (2011). Solving the problem of summer reading loss. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(7), 64-67. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F003172171109200714

Kuhfeld, M., Soland, J., Tarasawa, B., Johnson, A., Ruzek, E., & Liu, J. (2020).

Projecting the potential impact of COVID-19 school closures on academic

achievement. Educational Researcher, 49(8), 549-565. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X20965918

Martinez, M., & McGee, L. (2000). Literature-based reading instruction:Past, present and future. Reading Research Quarterly, 154-169.

United States Census Bureau. (2021) https://data.census.gov/profile/Marks_city,_Mississippi?g=160XX00US2845240

Krashen, S., & McQuillan, J. (1998). The case for late intervention: Once a good reader, always a good reader. Retrieved from https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/02344Chap14 .pdf.

Marinak, B.A., & Grambrell, L. (2016). No more reading for junk: Best practices for motivating readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Routman, R. (2016). Make independent reading first priority. California Reader, 50 (1), 26-30.