Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part C, Migrant Education Programs

March 1, 2017

Evaluation of the ESEA Title I—Part C Migrant Education Program Serving Children of Agricultural Workers and Fishers

Task 2.2: Draft OMB Package #1: Appendix A, Notification Letters

Contract GS-10F-0554N/BPA Order ED-PEP-16-A-0005/TO01

SRI Project P24149

Submitted to:

Joanne Bogart

Carlos Martinez

Policy and Program Studies Service

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

Prepared by:

SRI International

Deborah Jonas

Rebecca Schmidt

Policy Studies Associates

Leslie Anderson

State Notification Letter

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, State, ZIP]

Dear [Chief State School Officer]:

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The study will include a survey of all state MEP directors and a survey of a nationally representative sample of district MEP programs. In addition, case studies will be conducted in 10 states, including site visits to conduct interviews in four local MEP sites in each state.

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that state and local MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the surveys and interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the state survey will require about 20 minutes to complete, the local survey will require about XX minutes, and the interviews for the case study sites will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact your state MEP director shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education

cc: State MEP Coordinator

Dear [state coordinator, case study and survey]

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The study will include a survey of all state MEP directors and a survey of a nationally representative sample of district MEP programs. In addition, case studies will be conducted in 10 states, including site visits to conduct interviews in four local MEP sites in each state.

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that state and local MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the surveys and interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the state survey will require about 20 minutes to complete, the local survey will require about XX minutes, and the interviews for the case study sites will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact you shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education

Dear [state coordinator, survey only]

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The study will include a survey of all state MEP directors and a survey of a nationally representative sample of district MEP programs. In addition, case studies will be conducted in 10 states; however, your state was not selected for the case study sample.

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that state and local MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the surveys and interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the state survey will require about 20 minutes to complete and the local survey will require about XX minutes.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact you shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education

Dear [district/LOA coordinator, case study and survey]

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The study will include a survey of a nationally representative sample of district MEP programs. In addition, case studies will be conducted in 40 sites, including your [district/agency]; these site visits will include interviews with up to four MEP staff in each site.

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the surveys and interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the local survey will require about XX minutes to complete and the case study interviews will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact your state MEP director shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education

Dear [local coordinator, survey only]

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The study will include a survey of a nationally representative sample of district MEP programs. In addition, case studies will be conducted in 40 sites; however, your site was not selected for the case study sample.

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the surveys and interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the local survey will require about XX minutes to complete.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact your state MEP director shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education

Dear [school/project coordinator, case study only]

We are writing to inform you about the U.S. Department of Education’s upcoming Study of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Programs (MEP), which will examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and serving students who are children of migratory farmworkers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the study purpose and design and to ask for your cooperation and support.

This evaluation is designed to examine how states, districts, schools, and other service providers support highly mobile children of migratory farmworkers, including the types of instructional and support services they provide, how they collaborate with other programs and agencies, and how they help students complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and the workforce.

An important part of the study is case studies of 40 MEP-funded schools and projects selected from nominations by state and local MEP coordinators, to enable the study to obtain a deeper understanding of the challenges MEP grantees confront in their efforts to serve migratory students and to describe potentially successful or innovative strategies to address those challenges. [Name of school/project] was selected for these site visits, which will involve interviews with up to four staff (e.g., school principals, counselors, and others who provide services to migratory children and youth).

As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires grantees to cooperate with the Department’s program evaluations (Section 8306(a)(4)), including this one. At the same time, we recognize that MEP staff have many demands on their time, and we have designed the interview protocols to minimize the burden of participation. We estimate that the case study interviews will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

The study is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI Education (SRI), in partnership with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) and Arroyo Research Services (ARS), and they will contact your state MEP director shortly to provide additional information about the study and to request a listing of local MEP coordinators with their contact information.

The study team has secured OMB clearance for this evaluation and will follow all legal and ethical requirements to protect participants in the evaluation. The study team will use highly reliable data collection procedures and instruments that are appropriate for the intended respondents, do not contain sensitive questions, and minimize the burden on respondents. SRI, PSA, and ARS will provide secure environments for all data collected for the study. Study team members will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of data collected. After completion of the study, the study team will destroy all data files. The team will not use the data for purposes other than this evaluation.

If you have any questions, you may contact the project director Leslie Anderson at landerson@policystudies.com or (202) 939-5327, or you may contact Joanne Bogart here at the Department at Joanne.Bogart@ed.gov or (202) 205-7855.

Again, we appreciate your cooperation and support in enabling this study to inform policymakers and educators about strategies for addressing the varied needs of migrant students. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger Lisa Ramirez
Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of Migrant Education