Needs assessment, North Little Rock School District

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*DEVELOPING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT There are four basic steps in developing a needs assessment and utilizing the information. 1. Assessing needs. The importance of a needs assessment cannot be overemphasized. It allows the planners to address the most important and/ or manageable needs of a target population. It can avoid wasting time, energy, and resources. The results of a needs assessment shapes the contents of a complete list of goals and objectives listed in order of priority. 2. Developing Objectives. Goals should be clearly spelled out in simple statements. The means to reach these goals are the objectives. Objectives should be specific, observable, and measurable, including the who, what where and when of their accomplishment. They also serve as guide posts that help measure progress or as "reality checks" on the course of action taken. Objectives also serve as the basis for further planning activities and determine the focus of evaluation. 3. Assessing Resources. In order to achieve success in implementing goals and objectives, consideration must be given to what will be needed to be successful. Resources come in several forms: human, materials, organizational, financial, and facility. Do not be afraid to look outside traditional arenas. Be receptive to unusual ideas and nontraditional approaches
just because you've never done it that way before, doesn't mean it can't be done. 4. Developing Strategies Start by brainstorming and work towards refinements. Consider all ideas and approaches and then start analyzing and selecting the best for exploration and implementation. At this phase, you already have completed the first three steps. A needs assessment should be short, simple, and easy to return. Captive audiences work best because you don't have to wait for responses, nor trust that they will even be returned. Many people fail to respond to surveys even when free postage is provided. The downside to using the captive audience approach is that your results are tainted. You may get a certain result because the audience consisted of people with the same problems, beliefs, or biases
therefore, they would tend to have a strong common link and results might not be truly representative of the population that will be served. A combination of captive audiences, mailouts, and deposits at places frequented by the target population is recommended (neighborhood stores, beauty shops, churches, laundromats, etc.) * Based on Arkansas Scope And Sequence K-12 Guidance and Curriculum Guide, Appendix E, pages 56, 57 (1987) STAFFING NEEDS ASSESSMENT 1.How many students are enrolled Grade Pre-K Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade Black Male Black Female White Male White Female Total 2. If your enrollment is over 450, do you have an additional counselor in your building every day? Aside from the fact that a school is technically out of compliance when they have a student population over 450 and only has the part-time counselor in the building on certain days instead of every day, the lack of an additional counselor requires more time on the part of the principal to handle personal, social, and developmental matters usually referred to a school counselor. 3. Do you have a social worker? If so, is he/ she in the building every day? Social workers spend a great deal of time working with students and their families. Some of the services they provide include referrals to social service agencies, assisting with applying for public assistance, counseling, and home visits. Without a social worker, the school must depend on the principal to assume some of these duties. 4. How many students are referred to the principal's office for disciplinary matters on a daily average? Disciplinary actions are very time consuming, and depending on the number and severity of the problems, could have a negative impact on the principal's ability to concentrate on other areas of importance in the school. 5. How many students are enrolled in special education? Special education students bring unique problems and situations to a school. Couple that with students from economically and socially deprived backgrounds and the need for specialized intervention grows exponentially. Social workers are of enormous benefit to faculty and parents because they can serve as facilitators in arranging services or providing intervention for this high-risk population. They can train faculty and parents in methods to work with these students in areas that are not directly related to curriculum and instruction, but are important to their educational process. 6. How many students receive free/ reduced lunch? The answer to this question helps to determine the number and proportion of economically disadvantaged students in the school. The higher the number, the greater need for specialized social services. 7. Estimate the percentage of your students from single-parent homes. Single parent homes are generally headed by females. This often means smaller incomes and little to no male influence in child-rearing. The lack of proper role models or the presence of an overworked parent can lead to problems that place families at risk of winding up in the social service or criminal justice system. A social worker may be the difference between success or failure for some of these families. 8. How many homeless students attend your school. Foster Care Residential Care Facilities (Dorcas House, Battered Women's Shelter, Elizabeth Mitchell, etc.) These speak for themselves. 9. Do you have in-school suspension? The LRSD desegregation plan commits to placing alternatives to suspension in each school. (LRSD Desegregation Plan, April 29, 1992, page 34) 10. If not, is space available? Schools are required to develop a school-based discipline plan and to have discipline/ attendance intervention teams. (page 34) Incentive schools are required to have time-out rooms staffed with trained personnel. This person provides training in problem solving techniques. (page 175) 11. How many out-of-school suspensions did you have last year? Expulsions? High numbers strengthen the need for an alternative classroom specialist. 12. What is the average number of certified personnel absent each day? This helps to ascertain the cost-effectiveness of hiring a permanent substitute teacher. 13. What is the average number of post-observation conferences held with teachers each nine weeks? These conferences take the teacher out of the classroom during normal instruction time. If a principal averages three of these conferences a year per teacher, the need for a permanent substitute increases with the size of the teaching staff. 14. What percentage of the staff is nontenured? A large nontenured staff also poses the need for an additional person, preferably a certified teacher. That person could wear more than one hat. Questions 1-4 relate to the need for an assistant principal. Schools with large student populations, high numbers of disciplinary incidents, and significant absentee rates would benefit from an assistant principal. Questions 5-8 would indicate the need for a social worker if a disproportionate number of students fall into those categories. Questions 9-11 address the need for an alternative classroom specialist. Questions 12-14 help to identify the need for a permanent substitute. This person not only substitutes for absent teachers, but also serves as classroom replacements for teachers during post-observation conferences. NEEDS ASSESSMENT- PARENTS/ STUDENTS 1. I visit the school - daily weekly monthly twice a year once a year only when I have to (circle one) When parents visit the school, they generally see the principal, even if they have a meeting with the child's teacher. This is an important part of a principal's job, but it too can take time from other essential duties. 2. My child(ren) has been sent to the principal's office this year for breaking the rules. Y N This question is self-explanatory. Disciplinary hearings and other discipline related activities are very time consuming. 3. My child(ren) has been to see the principal as a reward for good behavior. Y N While principals should love these types of activities, they too take time, and plenty of time should be given to students who are being "rewarded" with a visit to or by the principal. 4. When I need to speak to the principal he/ she has time to listen. y N Self-explanatory. 5. I live within two miles of the school. y N Students who live in the neighborhoods of the incentive schools tend to come from families of low socio-economic backgrounds and are often headed by single parents. These circumstances sometimes requires the intervention or assistance of a social worker or counselor. The higher the at-risk population, the greater the need for a full-time social worker. 6. I have 3 or more children at home. y N Poverty can be defeating in itself, add several children and some parents have trouble coping. Sometimes a trained specialist is the only thing standing between neglect and assistance. 7. I am employed full-time part-time not employed This will help the administrative staff to determine the number of students that are from families of "the working poor." These families are often eligible for assistance and are not aware of the help that is available to them. Social workers are invaluable to these families. 8. My child has gotten into trouble at school for fighting. Y N Fighting leads to suspension or expulsion. Trained specialists help students to acquire the skills necessary to handle and express anger. They are also helpful in designing and implementing an equitable disciplinary policy. 9. My child likes his/ her school. y N If a child does not his/ her school, this dislike is often manifested in the form of behavior problems. Alternative classrooms can be designed to accommodate problem students and to help them to learn how to become members of the school community. My child has been sent home for getting into trouble at school. y N Students cannot learn when they are not in school. An alternative classroom should be a part of the school's structure. 11. My child has trouble sitting still in the classroom. y N Hyperactive children, kinesthetic learners, and some gifted children have trouble in traditional classrooms. It is like trying to put square pegs into round holes
they don't fit. Many of these children wind up in disciplinary trouble and too often out of school. While punishment isn't the answer, a good alternative classroom could be. (See 1991- 1992 Monitoring Report on the Alternative Schools, ODM, December 18, 1992) 12. My child likes to talk. y N See #11. 13.My child gets upset when he/ she doesn't know the substitute teacher. y N Children like stability. They like familiar surroundings and faculty that is familiar to them. Getting to know a new teacher takes time, and there is a need for a certain amount of bonding to occur before a new person is accepted into the "academic family." 14. The best time of day for me to come to school to talk to my child's teacher is If the only time a parent can visit the school is during the regular school day, then the teacher has to leave the classroom or the visit doesn't take place. This survey should be filled out by the parent and child together. The sequences of questions reveal the need for an assistant principal, social worker, alternative classroom specialist, and a permanent substitute teacher. Some of the other recommended positions in the incentive schools (pp. 190-191) would require similar assessments. The district must also take into consideration space allotment, number and types of special programs in the school and staff positions already in place. Some other areas of exploration are outlined below. PE - Does the school have a gym? If not, does it have a good play area, equipment, safe surroundings? How does PE fit in with the required wellness program? Do the nurse and PE instructor coordinate activities? What is the level of fitness/ health in the school? Art - What is available in the neighborhood or community to enhance art instruction (museum, historic buildings, local artists, art gallery, etc.)? How is art infused into the curriculum? Can it help to provide integrative experiences? Media Clerk - How often is the library used?. Is the library and its staff a regular part of instruction? Are students allowed easy access to the library? Is the library well stocked? Does it have the latest equipment? Can parents use the library? Are guest speakers and presenters a regular component of library services? Consideration should be given to the effectiveness of parent and volunteer participation in the school. How strong is the PT A/ PTO? Does the school have a functioning parent center? Are parents utilized in the school on a regular basis - do they serve as mentors, classroom aides, tutors, chauffeurs, office assistants, or guest lecturers? How can parent participation be strengthened so that the school can become self-sufficient yet economically viable? By looking at each position and analyzing information obtained through the needs assessment, the district can make informed decisions about staffing needs in any of the schools. The publication A Curriculum Audit of the Little Rock School District (1990) points out that the district has a wealth of data but is weak on information. By following the steps outlining how to develop and use a needs assessment at the beginning of this document, the district will have the technical ability to develop plans, guidelines and policies on any subject affecting the LRSD.
This project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.