District Curriculum Specialist

School code:

Interviewer:

DISTRICT CURRICULUM SPECIALIST PROTOCOL
1. We are examining efforts to improve student achievement over the past five years. Are you aware of
any improvements in student achievement in the last five years? What do you think accounts for this
improvement?
[Probes for turnaround school: Did the district intentionally seek to turn the school around? If so, what
steps did the district take to make changes in practices at the school? Was there a change in leadership
or staff? Did the district provide staff development for teachers, change curriculum, engage external
assistance? When? Did the district set specific expectations? Timeframe for improvement?]
[Probes for comparison school: Did the district intentionally target this school for improvement efforts? If
so, what steps did the district take to make changes in practices at the school? Was there a change in
leadership or staff? Did the district provide staff development for teachers, change curriculum, engage
external assistance? When? Did the district set specific expectations? Timeframe for improvement?]

2. Please tell me a little about yourself and your relationship with the school.
[Probes: How long have you been with the district? How long have you been at the central office? What
previous positions did you hold in this district or in other districts?]

3. How well did the actions fit with district policies? Did any conflict with district policies and practices?
If so, how did the principal act in the conflict? The central office? Were any waivers to district policies
granted? To the union contract?.

4. Did the district monitor progress toward meeting student achievement goals differently for this school
from how it monitors other schools? If so, please describe the differences.
[Probes: Is more intense attention paid to this school? If so, how is that intensity shown?] Does it still
monitor progress differently?

5. What support did the district provide to the school to encourage change in student achievement?
What supports are in place to ensure continuous improvement? Do these differ from supports
provided to other schools in the district? If so, what is the rationale for the difference?
[Probes: Support such as extra staff, targeted financial resources, additional fiscal resources, policy
changes, assistance from external agencies? Rationale such as to stimulate change? To reward positive
outcomes?]

District Curriculum Specialist Protocol
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6. Have the school’s goals or plan to achieve the goals changed over the last five years? If so, how? What
was the rationale for the change(s)?
[Probes: Challenges in implementing the original plan, changes in state or district policies, focus on new
priorities because of the successes in the first area(s) of focus.]
[Probe for turnaround schools: Have the goals or plans change in light of improvements in achievement
over time?]

7. What programs, practices, policies were introduced at the school to improve student achievement?
When? Why were these selected? If multiple strategies are in use, what were early actions? What
came later?
[Probes: On what basis were these selected? To what extent did the research base influence the
selection of strategies? To what extent did school-based data influence the selection?]

8. Describe the formative and summative assessment system for student achievement in the district. How
do you use data from these assessments?
[Probes: How/where did you learn to use these data? Have there been any changes in the assessment
system in the past 5 years?]

9. How did the district office react to the changes in the school?
[Probes: How did it support or inhibit reform actions? Did you encounter any resistance from the district
office or school board in implementing the actions? If so, what actions were taken to overcome the
resistance?]

10. Is there anything else I should know to tell the story of your school improvement efforts?

District Curriculum Specialist Protocol
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