WGU D035 APM2 Task 2 | Passed on First Attempt |
Update | Complete Solution
APM2 Task 2
D035 Educational Inquiry
Task 1, Section B (Topic)
For my action research project, I will be looking at the daily atten-
dance rates, including on-time attendance for Humboldt Park High School
(pseudonym) in Chicago, Illinois.
One concerning affect of the Covid school closures of school years 19/20
and 20/21 has been the rise of chronic absenteeism among high school stu-
dents. As Koumpilova reports, “In Chicago, overall attendance remains just
as low as last year, district officials cautioned principals…[and] chronic ab-
senteeism—defined as missing roughly a month of classes in a school year—
remains well-above pre-pandemic levels” (M. Koumpilova, 2023). This
chronic absenteeism negatively affects many aspects of school life including
lacking academic performance and increased behavioral concerns. As a
high school leader, it is imperative that I seek to find solutions to address
the chronic absenteeism at my campus in order to ensure that students are
being provided the necessary academic and social-emotional resources and
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supports that they may need to be successful in and out of school.
Task 1, Section C (Problem Statement)
Chronic absenteeism, including low rates of on-time attendance, at
Humboldt Park High School is a post-pandemic pervasive problem, having
negative affects on student academic performance and social-emotional de-
velopment, which can have long-lasting implications for their long-term pro-
fessional and personal goals.
Task 1, Section D (Research Question)
For my action research project, I will examine the following research
question:
How does implementing a rewards-based positive behavioral intervention
system (PBIS), impact attendance rates at Humboldt Park High School?
Task 1, Section E (Proposed Solution)
The proposed solution to the above action research question is to im-
plement a rewards-based PBIS system at Humboldt Park High School that
encourages students to come into school daily and on-time. This large-scale
intervention will seek to support students by determining the barriers that
are currently in place for them to attend school consistently, and enacting a
PBIS system that rewards those students coming in daily and motivating
other students to improve their daily attendance rates.
The first step in my solution will be to huddle with Humboldt Park
High School staff to discuss my plan and rationale (increased attendance
leads to academic gains and more opportunities for social-emotional sup-
ports) for implementing a PBIS program centered around rewarding in-
creased attendance. Secondly, I will develop a Google Form to be sent to