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Interviewer: |
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Date/Time: |
Interviewee(s’) Role(s): (select all that apply) ᴏ Principal ᴏ Other ____________________________________ |
Information for the Interviewer
For more than 50 years, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has aimed to improve the prospects of children in high-poverty schools by providing additional funding for their schools to develop educational services that will improve student outcomes.
Although the Title I policy began by targeting services to eligible students—low achievers in high-poverty schools—the program has increasingly emphasized schoolwide services based on research showing that schools can improve student outcomes by adopting whole-school strategies. Title I’s schoolwide program (SWP) provisions allow schools the flexibility to serve all students in the school and thereby design whole-school reforms. Unlike their targeted assistance (TA) counterparts, SWP schools also are allowed to commingle Title I funds with funds from other federal, state, and local programs. This study aims to obtain a better understanding of how SWP flexibility may translate into programs and services that can improve student performance.
PAY ATTENTION TO:
Title I Interventions. How TAP school uses Title I funds to select and implement interventions (RQ1)
Resource Allocation. How Title I funds are allocated to the school (RQ2)
Decision Making. How decisions are made about how to use and allocate Title I funds and who is involved (RQ2)
Targeted Assistance Programs. How TAP school uses Title I funds to support low-performing, high-poverty students and how Title I fits or conflicts with schoolwide improvement efforts (RQ3)
Professional Development. State and district supports to school leaders on Title I (RQ2)
Policy Context. Relevant state and district policy factors that affect Title I implementation (RQ2, RQ3)
By the end of this interview, you should have details and examples for each of these areas.
Key points to convey to the respondent:
This is a study conducted by American Institutes for Research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the study is to explore the implementation of Title I programs, focusing on the interplay among school decision making, use of funds, and implementation of educational practices supported by Title I and other funds.
This is not a compliance study; our purpose is solely to provide policymakers and the general public with insight regarding local experiences with Title I programs.
We are conducting case studies of Title I schools in a subset of the nation’s states and districts. We also are administering nationally representative surveys of district officials and school principals to collect data from a wider range of respondents. In addition to the case studies and surveys, our team is reviewing state and district resources and policy documents available to guide the implementation of Title I schoolwide and targeted assistance programs.
The study’s results will be discussed in a final report that will be available publicly. The main purpose of this study is to share your perspectives and experiences with policymakers as they continue to refine policy and technical assistance on important issues related to Title I.
We will not include any information in our public reporting that identifies your district. However, officials at the U.S. Department of Education will know that districts in your state participated in this study. In addition, staff from the U.S. Department of Education will see notes from our interview, but the notes we share will be reviewed and edited to ensure we do not include any information that could identify you or your district.
We know that you are very busy, and we appreciate your time. We anticipate that this interview will take approximately 60–90 minutes.
We would like to record this conversation so that we can be sure we have an accurate record of our conversation. We will not share this recording with anyone outside the research team, and we will delete the recording after the final report is complete. Is that okay with you?
You may discontinue your participation in this interview at any time. Throughout the course of the interview, if we touch on topics that you believe to be sensitive for any reason, please bring that to our attention, and we will not include these comments either in public reporting or in discussions with the U.S. Department of Education.
If asked why or how the district was selected for the study:
The districts and schools for the study were selected on the basis of a number of factors. We wanted to include larger and smaller districts and schools that are located in different regions of the country and include both Title I schoolwide and targeted assistance programs. We also selected schools on the basis of school characteristics, including school level (elementary, middle, and high), enrollment, and demographics, to ensure variation in the sample.
School Context
I would like to start with some questions about your school’s context and history so that I can understand your school better.
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Efforts to Improve Student Outcomes
Note to Interviewer (for reference only, NOT to be read to respondent): Review the school’s Title I plan prior to the interview. Keep the improvement efforts listed in the plan in mind in proceeding with this line of questioning and probe as appropriate.
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Use of Funds and Decision-Making Process
I would like to now talk more about the Title I planning process and how decisions are made related to use of Title I funds to support your improvement efforts.
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I’d like to now talk more about how Title I funds, including those controlled by the district and those at your discretion are used in your school. |
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What factors challenge or constrain the process? |
Commingling and Coordination of Title I Funds
Notes to Interviewer (for reference only, NOT to be read to respondent):
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I would now like to learn more about how Title I funds may be coordinated with other funding sources, including state, local, or federal funds, to support efforts to improve student outcomes and meet the needs of your students.
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State and District Support for Title I
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Do you know how the district uses the results of the monitoring? |
Conclusion
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Thank you so much for your assistance with this important project!
Purpose
American Institutes for Research (AIR), under contract with the Policy and Program Studies Service (PPSS) of the U.S. Department of Education, is conducting a study of school decision making, use of Title I funds, and implementation of education practices in Title I Schoolwide (SWP) and Targeted Assistance (TAP) programs. Specifically, the proposed study will provide a comparative analysis of SWP and TAP schools that looks at the school-level decision-making process, implementation of strategic interventions, and corresponding resources that support these interventions. To this end, the study will employ multiple data collection strategies.
To assist with the study, we are asking principals to participate in interviews. You will be asked about the following topics: the process by which decisions concerning educational resource allocation are made; how funding flexibility under Title I policy is used; the interventions and educational resources used that are supported by Title I and other funding sources; and, how state and district policies affect both how funds are used to support the subsequent strategies and the resources that are used at schools. The interview is designed to last approximately 60 minutes.
Risks and Discomfort
There are few anticipated or known risks in participating in this study.
Benefits
Your participation in the study will contribute to an understanding of the interplay between school decision-making, use of funds, and implementation of educational practices supported by Title I and other funding sources.
Participation
Participation of Title I districts and their schools in this study is required under Section 8306(a)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. However, you may choose not to respond to certain questions or discontinue the interview at any time.
Privacy
Responses to this data collection will be used only for research purposes. No part of the study involves evaluation of any individual. The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district, school, or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you, your school, or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law. If there is information that you do not want shared directly in any reporting, please let me know.
We would like your consent to record the interview. Recordings will be kept in a secure location and will not be accessed by anyone outside of the study team. The audio recordings will be destroyed at the conclusion of the study. You can participate in the interview but decline to have it recorded. Additionally, if you elect to have the interview recorded, you may stop the recording at any time.
More Information
If you would like more information about this study, you may contact the Project Director, Kerstin Carlson Le Floch, at the American Institutes for Research at 202–403–5649 or at klefloch@air.org. For questions regarding your rights as a subject participating in this research, please contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at IRBChair@air.org or toll free at 1–800–634–0797.
Informed Consent
I have read the above information. I have asked questions and received answers. I consent to participate in the study.
Signature: ________________________________ Date: ________________________
Print Name: ______________________________ Position: _____________________
District/School: ____________________________
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number of this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimates(s) or suggestion for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to:
Policy and Program Studies Service, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202.
OMB No. ####-####; Approval Expires on
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File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
File Title | Draft Principal Interview TAP School |
Subject | Draft Principal Interview TAP School |
Author | American Institutes for Research |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-01-23 |