FRSS District Techinical Cover Letter

Attachment 1

Cover Letter

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

June 2008

Dear Superintendent:

On behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, I request your participation in the national survey Educational Technology in Public School Districts. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the survey (OMB No. 1850-0733). Westat, a research firm in Rockville, Maryland, is conducting the study for NCES using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS). The questionnaire is designed to be completed in 30 minutes by the person most knowledgeable about educational technology in your district.

• Why is NCES conducting the survey? This survey is being conducted to provide nationally representative information about educational technology in public school districts, including topics such as infrastructure, treatment of older computers, acceptable use policies, technologies offered to students and teachers, and teacher professional development in educational technology.

• Why is participation by my district important? Your district’s participation, while voluntary, is important because it is vital to the development of national estimates. We need your input because your district is one of a small sample of districts selected for the study.

• How does NCES protect the confidentiality of the information that we provide? The information collected will be published in aggregate form only and will not identify school districts.

• What do we get from the study? A copy of the final study report will be sent to all participating districts once the study is completed.

The survey may be completed using either the enclosed questionnaire or an online version of the survey available through the Internet. The online version of the survey is available at www.frss-xxxx.org. Your username and password appear on the enclosed Web Survey Information Sheet. If you complete the paper version of the questionnaire, please return it to Westat in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. Please complete the survey only once, using either the paper or the online version.

We ask that the survey be completed within 3 weeks, and that you keep a copy of the completed survey for your files. The paper version of the questionnaire may be returned to Westat in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Brian Kleiner, the Westat survey manager, at 800-937-8281, ext. 4469 (toll-free) or 301-294-4469, or by e-mail at briankleiner@westat.com. You may also call Peter Tice, the NCES Project Officer, at 202-502-7497. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Mark Schneider

Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics

Enclosures

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20208—