2 Coach Feasibility

Feasibility Study of the Minnesota Reading Corps Site Visit Protocol: Coach/Coordinator

Feasibility Study of the Minnesota Reading Corps
Internal Coach

School Name:
Site Visitor Name:
Date:
Location:
Interviewee Name(s) and Title(s):

Introduction

Good morning/afternoon. My name is [INSERT NAME] and I am with [NORC at the University of Chicago/Plus Alpha/TIES]. We are working on behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service to conduct a feasibility study of the Minnesota Reading Corps program.

We are conducting these interviews: to provide a quick overview of each project and identify best practices and to better understand the potential effects of the program on both the students and tutors.

This interview will cover these topics and others as we seek to understand your project’s processes and strategies and any aspects of your program that can be replicated in other AmeriCorps programs. The interview should take approximately 30 minutes. Your open and honest opinions are appreciated, but participation is voluntary and you may choose to skip any questions or end the interview at any time. Please also be advised that we will be sharing information on each individual project with CNCS. While we will not use your name or any others in this report, and we will attempt to minimize the use of identifiable information, it may be possible for CNCS to identify you through your position or through other details that you share in your interview.

If you have questions about the study after this interview, please contact the Project Director, Carrie Markovitz, at 301-634-9388. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research project, please call the NORC Institutional Review Board Administrator at 866-309-0542.

Do you consent to participate in this discussion?

[If “yes” then proceed. If “no” then terminate interview.]

COACHING RESPONSIBILITIES

We would first like to discuss your position as an internal coach in the program and the basic structure of the MRC program within your school .We also would like to discuss your process for selecting an AmeriCorps Member to serve at your school.

1. How long have you been a staff member at [school name]?

2. How long have you been a coach for MRC?

3. How many AmeriCorps Members are you currently working with? ___________

1. Are they Professional or Community Corps?

2. Are they full-time (40 hours) or part-time (20 hours) members? Both?

4. Were any school policies and procedures changed to support hosting an AmeriCorps member? If so, what were they?

STUDENTS

Next, we would like to discuss the students served by the program. We ask that you consider how you identify students for assistance and the extent to which you are able to provide them assistance. We would also like to discuss other programs your school uses for tutoring students who are not able to be served by the MRC program.

5. Please describe the process of identifying students for literacy interventions/ tutoring.

1. How do you determine which children will be assessed for tutoring assistance?

2. How are they screened? What other risk factors do they have?

6. If there are multiple AmeriCorps Members serving at the site/school, please describe the process/criteria for matching students with tutors.

7. At what points in the year do you identify students for tutoring assistance? When do you prepare the list of students for MRC tutoring? [POINT FOR RA]

CORE CURRICULUM AND SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION

We would also like to discuss other programs your school uses for serving a similar population.

8. What is the core curriculum for literacy instruction at this site/school? Please describe.

9. What other supplemental program(s) is/are used in your site/school for students that are struggling? Please identify.

1. How is/are it/they similar to or different from MRC?

[PROBE: Eligibility criteria; Time on task; Types of interventions; Assessment processes; etc ]

2. How many students and what types of students are served by this/these other program(s)?

	Title	Type/description	Types of students served	# of students served in school year
Program 1
Program 2
Program 3
Program 4

10. If your school had not been selected to receive an AmeriCorps Member to serve as a tutor(s), what would have happened? [PROBE: Would some other type of assistance be offered? Would you be able to do the same types of activities? Would you be able to serve as many students?]

MRC PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

We would like to learn more about how the interventions and tutoring actually occurs at [name of site/school] with students.

11. Last year, when you started the school year were only students nearest to target performance receiving services? YES NO Don’t Know

1. [IF NO] As the school year progressed did other students performing below target receive services? Please describe. [PROBE: English Language Learners, Students with an Individualized Education Plan ( IEP), Tier 3 students]

11. We would like to know when the interventions/tutoring sessions are conducted

Are tutoring sessions provided each day?

[PROBE: Daily, twice weekly, weekly, bi-weekly; day(s) of week; time of day]

1. What is the duration of the tutoring session? ________________

11. Does each of your targeted students receive the same number of tutoring sessions? YES NO

1. [IF YES] Is this an effective strategy?

2. [IF NO] How are these decisions made for each student and by whom?

11. Where do tutoring sessions take place?

Indicate place: ___________________________________________________

1. Where exactly does the tutoring take place?

2. Is this place conducive to [one-on-one tutoring or small group sessions]?

11. What is the process for assessing whether the AmeriCorps Member is conducting the assessments and/or interventions or delivering the program components according to the MRC model? Please describe the process.

1. Is each component implemented as intended?

11. How often do you meet with the AmeriCorps Member(s) for coaching sessions? ______________

1. What kinds of topics are addressed?

[PROBE: Engagement, delivery of content, challenges, discipline]

2. [Do you] provide additional training? If so, in what areas?

3. How do you handle tutors that you determine require additional training?

11. Did you adapt the materials or processes provided by MRC in any way at [name of site/school]? YES NO

[IF YES] How? Please describe. [PROBE: Who was involved? Was the adaptation approved by the Master Coach? Was MRC involved? Did MRC approve the adaptation?]

DATA CAPABILITIES

In order to determine the potential options for future evaluation, it is important that we understand the data gathering activities at each school.

11. The MRC collects both benchmark and progress monitoring assessment data on the students served by the MRC program. Are you collecting similar data on other students in the school who are not served by the program?

1. [IF NO] Are you able to collect similar data on non-MRC students if necessary for the study? [PROBE: Do you have a person to enter the data?]

MEASURING OUTCOMES/IMPACTS

It is important for any evaluation that we understand the ways that your program defines success. We would also like you to consider how you and other involved parties view the relative effectiveness of the program.

11. What kind of feedback have you received about the program:

1. From teachers?

2. From parents?

3. From community members?

4. In each case, what factors do you think contribute to this perception?

11. In your opinion, has MRC helped students better meet their reading proficiency targets? Why or why not?

11. MRC defines a program “completer” as achieving three to five data points above their aim line and meeting their next season’s benchmark target. Has this same definition been consistently applied for the duration of the program at your school?

1. In your opinion, is this an adequate measure of success?

Collection of Secondary Documents (if available)

• Parental consent forms/informational letters

• Assessment forms

• Information on alternative programs

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