Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs

Appendix I:
District Administrator Questionnaire

Study of Title I Schoolwide

and Targeted Assistance Programs

District Administrator Survey

Label containing selected sample member’s name

2016-17 School Year

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 90 minutes per survey, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. 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, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202.

Dear District Administrator,

Thank you for having agreed to participate in the Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs.

• Purpose of Study: To better understand how Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs are implemented and how schools make decisions about the use of Title I funds.

• Sponsor: The study is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) under a contract from the U.S. Department of Education.

• 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 survey at any time.

• Reporting and Confidentiality: Responses to this survey will be used to summarize findings in an aggregate manner (across groups or sites), or will be used to provide examples of program implementation in a manner that does not associate responses with a specific site or individual. The study team may refer to the generic title of an individual (e.g. District Administrator or Principal) but neither the site name nor the individual name will be used.  All efforts will be made to keep the description of the site general enough so that the reader would never be able to determine the identity of the site. The study team will make sure that access to all data with identifiable information is limited to members of the study team. Except for that which is already public, we will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

• Response Burden: This survey should require approximately 90 minutes of your time.

• Benefits: Your participation will help inform policy makers, educators and researchers at the local, state, and national level of the implementation Title I at the local level.

• More Information: For questions or more information about this study, you may contact the AIR study team at XXXX@air.org or call the study toll-free-number at, 1-800-XXX-XXXX.

Please write your answers directly on the questionnaire, by checking the appropriate box or by writing your answer in the space given

Thank you for your cooperation in this very important effort!

1. District Characteristics

A.1. Since September 2011, how many different people have served as Superintendent (or acting Superintendent) in your district?

Please provide a number in the box below.

Number of Superintendents since September 2011

A.2. Around the first of October 2016, how many of the students enrolled in your district were:

Please provide a number for each row. If “0”, select the box “None”.

		Number of Students
a.	Students in grades K-12 and ungraded levels		 None
b.	Students in public preschool programs		 None

A.3. Of all the students enrolled in grades K-12 in your district around the first of October 2016, how many were:

Please provide a number for each row. If “0”, select the box “None”. Students can be counted in more than one category.

		Number of Students
a.	Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch?		 None  Check here if any schools are implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
b.	Students with individualized education plans (IEPs)?		 None
c.	English language learners (ELLs)?		 None
d.	Migrant students (students who move from school to school because they are children of migrant agricultural workers, including migratory dairy workers and migratory fishers)?		 None

1. District Characteristics, (continued)

A.4. Of all the students enrolled in grades K-12 in your district around the first of October 2016, how many were:

Please provide a number in each row. If “0”, select the box “None”.

		Number of Students
Ethnicity
a.	Hispanic or Latino?		 None
Race
b.	American Indian or Alaska Native?		 None
c.	Asian?		 None
d.	Black or African American?		 None
f.	White?		 None
e.	Two or More Races?		 None

A.5. What is the total number of schools in each of the following categories in your district?

		Enter total number of schools below
a.	Title I Schoolwide Programs		 None
b.	Title I Targeted Assistance Programs		 None
c.	Non-Title I schools		 None
d.	TOTAL of all schools in the district

2. District Context and Interventions

B.1. To what extent do each of the following represent a districtwide challenge?

Please select one answer in each row.

	Not a challenge	Minor challenge	Moderate challenge	Serious challenge
Frequent changes in state policy or reform priorities	1	2	3	4
Frequent changes in district policy or reform priorities	1	2	3	4
Changes in district leadership	1	2	3	4
High rate of teacher turnover	1	2	3	4
Shortage of qualified teachers	1	2	3	4
Shortage of substitute teachers	1	2	3	4
Inadequate school facilities	1	2	3	4
Inadequate technology infrastructure	1	2	3	4
State and federal programs that come and go frequently	1	2	3	4
Paperwork associated with state and federal programs	1	2	3	4
Resistance from teachers for new initiatives	1	2	3	4
School safety	1	2	3	4

B. District Context and Interventions, (continued)

B.2. In the current school year (2016-17), please indicate the extent to which your district is focusing on the following strategies to help improve student outcomes.

Please select one answer in each row.

	District is…	Not a focus	Minor focus	Moderate focus	Major focus
a.	Using student achievement data to inform instruction and school improvement	1	2	3	4
b.	Aligning curriculum and instruction with standards and/or assessments	1	2	3	4
c.	Implementing new instructional approaches or curricula in reading/language arts/English	1	2	3	4
d.	Implementing new instructional approaches or curricula in mathematics	1	2	3	4
e.	Reducing class size	1	2	3	4
f.	Providing additional supports to low-achieving students	1	2	3	4
g.	Expanding the use of technology	1	2	3	4
h.	Increasing instructional time for all students (e.g., by lengthening the school day or year, shortening recess)	1	2	3	4
i.	Providing extended-time instructional programs (e.g., before-school, after-school or weekend instructional programs)	1	2	3	4
j.	Implementing strategies for increasing parents’ involvement in their children’s education	1	2	3	4
k.	Increasing the intensity, focus, and effectiveness of professional development	1	2	3	4
l.	Coordinating with other public agencies to provide health and social services for students	1	2	3	4

B. District Context and Interventions, (continued)

B.3. In about what month were Title I budgets made for the current school year (2016-17).

Please enter month as a number (e.g., January = 01). If you have not been involved in this process, select “I don’t know.”

		Enter Month
a.	When did schools in your district usually begin working on their Title I plans for the current school year?	MM  I don’t know
b.	When did the central district office release information on the Title I-funded personnel and non-personnel they provided to schools?	MM  I don’t know
c.	When were school-controlled (discretionary) Title I budgets for the current school year made available to schools by the central district office?	MM  I don’t know
d.	When were final Title I plans for schools due?	MM  I don’t know
e.	When were final budget plans for schools due?	MM  I don’t know

C. Title I Decision-Making in Your District

The following questions ask about the use of financial resources in your district, specifically with regard to Title I programs.

C.1. For the current school year (2016-17), are there any schools in your district designated as Title I Schoolwide Programs?

Please select one answer.

• Yes GO TO QUESTION C.2 BELOW

  

• No GO TO QUESTION C.4 ON PAGE 9

C.2. Please read the following definitions about Coordination or Consolidation of funding. Then select one of the following statements most accurately reflects how Title I Schoolwide Programs in your district use Title I funds and funds from other sources?

• Coordination of funding is when Title I funding is strategically used in conjunction with funding from other federal, state or local sources to best serve students, but records are maintained showing how the Title I dollars were spent on students eligible for this program.

• Consolidation of funding is when Title I funds are pooled together with funding from other federal, state or local sources to best serve students, but records that show how Title I dollars are spent on students eligible for this program are not required.

Please select only one answer.

 Not applicable — our district does not have any Title I schoolwide programs.
 GO TO QUESTION C.4 ON PAGE 9

 Most schoolwide programs coordinate funds from Title I with funds
from other federal, state, and local sources.

 Most schoolwide programs consolidate funds from Title I and other sources into a single pot of funds that is used to support activities under the schoolwide program.

 Most schoolwide programs use Title I funds more flexibly than
targeted assistance programs but do not consolidate funds from other programs.

 Most schoolwide programs use Title I funds in a similar manner as
targeted assistance programs.

C. Title I Decision-Making in Your District, (continued)

C.3. Please indicate the extent to which any of the following are challenges to consolidating Title I funds with funds from other sources in Title I Schoolwide Programs in your district?

Please select one answer in each row.

	Type of Challenge	Not a challenge	Minor challenge	Moderate challenge	Major challenge
a.	State accounting rules require separate accounting for federal program funds	1	2	3	4
b.	District accounting rules require separate accounting for federal program funds	1	2	3	4
c.	Concern about potential audit exceptions	1	2	3	4
d.	Lack of information about how to consolidate funds	1	2	3	4
e.	Reluctance associated with sharing resources and/or funding across programs	1	2	3	4
f.	Need for more training and understanding of program issues by district finance staff	1	2	3	4
g.	Need for more training and understanding of finance issues by district program staff	1	2	3	4
h.	Other (please specify below):	1	2	3	4

C.4. To help us understand how your district makes Title I allocations to schools, please indicate which of the following rules your district used for the 2016-17 school year:

		Yes	No
a.	Placed schools in rank order by poverty within each grade span	1	2
b.	Served schools without regard to grade span	1	2
c.	Used feeder patterns to determine eligibility for secondary schools	1	2
d.	Did not apply rank-order requirement because our district has fewer than 1,000 students or only one school per grade span	1	2
e.	Applied 125% minimum per-child allocation rule	1	2
f.	Did not apply 125% minimum per-child allocation rule because we are serving only schools with poverty rates at or above 35%	1	2

C. Title I Decision-Making in Your District, (continued)

C.5. Which of the following poverty measures are used by your district for Title I school allocations?

Please select one answer in each row.

		Yes	No
a.	Children eligible for free and reduced-price lunches	1	2
b.	Children eligible for free lunches only	1	2
c.	Children directly certified under the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) for free lunches	1	2
d.	Children in families receiving assistance under the state program funded under Title IV Part A of the Social Security Act (“Temporary Assistance to Needy Families”)	1	2
e.	Children eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program	1	2
f.	Other (please specify below):	1	2

C.6. How much influence does the district or school (school committee, principal, and/or individual teachers) have on the following decisions or activities?

Please select only one answer per row.

	Mostly a district decision	Mostly a school decision	Evenly shared district and school responsibility
Hiring new teachers	1	2	3
Selecting textbooks	1	2	3
Selecting professional development activities for teachers	1	2	3
Developing a school improvement plan or action plan	1	2	3
Planning school budgets	1	2	3
Planning use of Title I funds	1	2	3

C.7. To what extent are each of the following groups of people involved in making decisions about how Title I funds are used in your district?

Please select only one answer per row.

	No involvement	Limited involvement	Moderate involvement	Substantial involvement	Not applicable
District Title I administrators	1	2	3	4	5
District fiscal administrators (other than Title I)	1	2	3	4	5
District curriculum or instructional administrators	1	2	3	4	5
Superintendent	1	2	3	4	5
School board	1	2	3	4	5
Principals and other school administrators	1	2	3	4	5
Teachers	1	2	3	4	5
Parents and other community members	1	2	3	4	5

D. Use of Title I Funds

D.1. Please use the table below to report how Title I funding was spent in the previous school year (2015-16) for your district.

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $100,500.

If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

Be sure not to double count the dollars entered in a, b, and c, below.

	Amount in Dollars
a. Title I dollars spent by the district on resources for public schools and Title I dollars provided to individual public schools to use at their discretion
b. Title I dollars used for services for private school students
c. Title I dollars retained for spending on central district office resources
d. TOTAL Title I dollars in previous school year (2015-16) = sum of a, b, and c, above	Auto populated in web version

Should Equal

D.2. Please use the table below to report how district Title I spending on school-level resources and dollars provided to individual public schools were spent in the previous school year (2015-16).

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $100,500.

If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

	Amount in Dollars
a. Title I dollars spent by the district on personnel used at schools
b. Title I dollars spent by the district on non-personnel at schools
c. Title I dollars provided to individual public schools to use at their discretion
d. TOTAL Title I dollars spent by the district on schools (should equal amount in row a. of question D.1, above)	Auto check in web version

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.3. Please use the table below to provide additional detail on the Title I dollars retained for spending at the central district office in the previous school year (2015-16). The summed total in the first row should match row c in question D.1 on page 11.

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $100,500. If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

		Amount in Dollars
TOTAL DOLLARS RETAINED FOR SPENDING AT THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE The Total Dollars should Equal Amount in Row C of D1, Above.		Autopopulated in web version
PERSONNEL
TOTAL DOLLARS – PERSONNEL SPENDING		Autocalculated in web version
Administration
Instruction and Instructional Support Coordination	Curriculum Development
	Student Assessment
	Extracurricular Activities
	English Learner Program
	Special Education Program
Pupil Support Coordination	Student Health Services
	Psychology and Therapy Services
	Guidance and Counseling Services
	Social Work Services
Professional Development Services and Coordination	Professional Development
NON PERSONNEL
TOTAL DOLLARS – NON-PERSONNEL SPENDING		Autocalculated in web version
Professional Development
Supplies and Materials
Technology Hardware and Software

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.4. We would like more information about how Title I funding allocated to individual public Title I schools in your district was spent in the previous school year (2015-16). Each public school in the study sample is listed below. For each school, please provide the respective Title I spending in dollars.

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $10,500. If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

	SCHOOLS
	[FILL SCHOOL 1]	[FILL SCHOOL 2]	[FILL SCHOOL 3]	[FILL SCHOOL 4]	[FILL SCHOOL 5]
TOTAL Title I allocation for this school	$	$	$	$	$
Title I funding spent by the district on personnel in this school	$	$	$	$	$
Title I funding spent by the district on non-personnel in this school	$	$	$	$	$
Title I funding provided directly to this school for discretionary purchases of personnel and non-personnel resources	$	$	$	$	$

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.5. For each school listed below, what was the total number of Title I-funded Full-time Equivalent Staff (FTEs) in the following personnel categories for the previous school year (2015-16)?

Please enter the FTE amount to the nearest 0.1. For example 0.5 FTE. If there are no FTEs to report, please enter 0.

	SCHOOLS
Personnel	[FILL SCHOOL 1]	[FILL SCHOOL 2]	[FILL SCHOOL 3]	[FILL SCHOOL 4]	[FILL SCHOOL 5]
Administration
School Administrators
Instruction and Instructional Support
Classroom Teachers
Paraprofessionals
Substitute Teachers
Extracurricular Activity Coordinators
Library and Media Specialists
English Learner Specialists
Special Education Specialists
Pupil Support
Parent and Community Liaisons
Nurses and Health Workers
Psychologists and Therapists
Guidance Counselors
Social Workers
Other

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.6. In the previous school year (2015-16), what was the total amount of Title I funds spent by the district for non-personnel in each school listed below?

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $10,500. If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

	SCHOOLS
	[FILL SCHOOL 1]	[FILL SCHOOL 2]	[FILL SCHOOL 3]	[FILL SCHOOL 4]	[FILL SCHOOL 5]
NON-PERSONNEL TOTAL $ AMOUNT	$	$	$	$	$

D.7. In the previous school year (2015-16), what was the total amount of Title I dollars spent on the following non-personnel expenditure categories by the district at each school in the study sample listed below?

Please enter the dollar amount to the nearest $500. For example $10,500. If there are no dollars to report, please enter $0.

	SCHOOLS
Non Personnel	[FILL SCHOOL 1]	[FILL SCHOOL 2]	[FILL SCHOOL 3]	[FILL SCHOOL 4]	[FILL SCHOOL 5]
Professional Development	$	$	$	$	$
Textbooks	$	$	$	$	$
Supplies and Materials	$	$	$	$	$
Technology Hardware and Software	$	$	$	$	$
Other Contracted Services (not included in other categories)	$	$	$	$	$
Resources for Parent Engagement	$	$	$	$	$

E. Your Professional Development and Background

E.1. Including the current school year (2016-17), how long have you worked as a district-level Title I administrator, district-level administrator, and/or school-level administrator?

	YEARS	MONTHS
Total amount of time as a district-level Title I administrator	| | |	| | |
Total amount of time as a district-level administrator	| | |	| | |
Total amount of time as a school-level administrator	| | |	| | |

E.2. In your role as a district Title I administrator, have you participated in any training regarding Title I policies and regulations?

¹  Yes, I participated in training on issues related to Title I

 If yes, in what year?

²  No, I did not participate in any training related to Title I

E.3. During the previous school year (2015-16) or the current school year (2016-17, including the summer of 2016):

In Column A, did your district need technical assistance from an outside source (e.g., the state Department of Education) to do any of the following?

In Column B, regardless of need, did you receive technical assistance in these areas?

In Column C, if technical assistance was received, was the assistance sufficient to meet your needs?

In each row, indicate whether the specified type of assistance was needed, received, and if received, if it was sufficient to meet your needs.

District received technical assistance intended to…	Column A Needed?		Column B Received?		Column C Sufficient?
	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Work with Title I schools to perform a needs assessment and setting goals						
Provide assistance to Title I schools to develop strategic plans and corresponding budgets						
Monitor progress of Title I schools towards meeting their goals						
Improve our understanding of how Title I and other revenues could be used more flexibly through coordination or commingling of funding sources						
Analyze and revise the district’s budget to use resources more effectively						

F. Request for District Title I Allocation Data

As part of this study on Title I schoolwide and targeted assistance programs, we are requesting information about your district’s within-district allocation of Title I funds for each school for the 2016-17 school year.

Please provide a list of all schools in the district (including non-Title I schools) that includes the following 7 data variables for each school:

1. School name

2. National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and/or state identification code

3. Grade span

4. Type of Title I program (targeted assistance, schoolwide program, or non-Title I school)

5. Amount of Title I funds allocated to the school

6. Number of low-income students (used for determining Title I school eligibility and allocations)

7. Total number of students (used for determining school poverty rate for Title I allocation purposes)

Data Format: Please provide the data in a machine-readable electronic format (e.g., Excel spreadsheet or other type of spreadsheet, word processing file, or ASCII (text) format).

How to Submit the Data: You may submit the data file one of three ways. Please select the option that best fits you need

• I will EMAIL the attached the file to the following address XXX@air.org.

• Use AIR’s FTP website at ftp://xxx.air-ca.org to upload the data (username: _____, password: _____)

• I will MAIL a disk containing the file(s) to the following physical address: [insert address]

G. Share your thoughts about Title I

G.1. If there is anything else you would like to tell us about the use of Title I funds in your district, please enter your comments here.

Comments:

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEY. WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

OMB No. ####-####; Approval Expires on MM/DD/YYYY page. 19

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Author	Sonnenfeld, Kathy
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