Advance Letter, Ohs Letter,

a

APPENDIX A

ADVANCE LETTER, OHS LETTER,
AND GRANTEE QUESTIONNAIRE

January, 2007

Dear Program Director:

The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) is sponsoring an evaluation of the implementation of I am Moving, I am Learning (IM/IL) in Head Start Region III. Your program had the opportunity to attend a three-day IM/IL training event in the spring of 2006. This event presented strategies and resources for supporting Head Start children’s moderate to vigorous activity, structured movement, and healthy nutrition.

As described in the attached letter from XXX, the Office of Head Start and Region III are asking each Head Start program that attended the spring 2006 training event to participate in the evaluation by completing a questionnaire. The questionnaire should be completed by the person in your program who has been designated to lead the implementation of IM/IL. The questionnaire will ask about your program’s implementation of I am Moving, I am Learning enhancements—what activities your program has tried to implement, what successes you have achieved, and what challenges you have faced. OPRE, the Office of Head Start, and Region III will use this information to help plan and develop future training and technical assistance. Your participation is important.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) of Princeton, New Jersey is conducting the evaluation for OPRE. Later this month you will receive a packet from MPR with information about completing the paper version questionnaire and returning it to MPR. A toll-free telephone number will be provided in case you have any questions. We will contact you by phone if we do not receive the completed questionnaire within a few weeks of mailing.

Thank you, and we look forward to your participation in the I am Moving, I am Learning program evaluation.

Sincerely,

Linda Mendenko

Survey Director

Dear Program Director,

The Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in collaboration with the Office of Head Start contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of I am Moving, I am Learning (IM/IL) in ACF Region III. Agencies that attended a three-day IM/IL training event in the spring of 2006 are now asked to participate in this evaluation by completing a brief questionnaire that will be mailed to you shortly.

In the questionnaire researchers will gather information from grantees and delegate agencies about the types of movement and nutrition activities and strategies programs had in place before the spring 2006 I am Moving, I am Learning training and the strategies and resources agencies implemented following the training. Researchers will be interested in learning about your program’s implementation of IM/IL enhancements, including the activities your program has tried to implement and the successes and challenges you have experienced.

Ultimately, the information collected from grantees will be used by the Office of Head Start, Region III, and OPRE to help plan and develop future training and technical assistance. Thus, we ask that you give your full cooperation to making this study as comprehensive and informative as possible.

In the coming weeks you will receive a packet from MPR with information about completing the paper questionnaire and returning it to MPR as well as a toll-free telephone number for any questions you may have. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact Project Officer Laura Hoard (202-401-5600; lhoard@acf.hhs.gov) at OPRE, or Project Director Kim Boller (609-275-2341; kboller@mathematica-mpr.com) at MPR.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Channell Wilkins

Director

Office of Head Start