Private School Principal Questionnaire

OMB #: 1850-0800

Expiration Date: 04/12/08

Private School Principal Questionnaire

Spring 2008

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 control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-0800 (exp 04/12/08) The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 10 minutes, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate or suggestions for improving this form, please contact: Marsha Silverberg, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208, [email protected]. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, e-mail directly to: [email protected].

Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

 

This is a time of change in education within the District of Columbia. To better understand the differences between public and private schools, this survey asks about policies, practices, and working conditions in your school. It is part of a multi-year study that will examine how public and private school conditions change over time and throughout the District.

Part 1: Admissions and Available Programs

The questions in this section ask about possible requirements for admission and the programs your school may offer.

Q1. Which of the following criteria does your school routinely use in admitting students?
( Check all that apply)

Interview	1
Academic performance as measured by a test your school or your school system administers	2
Other indicators of academic performance	3
Disciplinary record	4
Extent of special needs	5
Essay	6
Religious affiliation	7
Other (please specify ______________________)	8
School does not have any admissions criteria…………	9

Q2a. What percent of the students in your school are of Latino or Hispanic origin?

____________ (percent)

Q2b. Please indicate the percentage of students in the school in each of the following racial/ethnic categories.

	Percent
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders
Black or African American
White
Total	100%

Q3. Which of the following programs or facilities are available to students in your school? ( Check yes or no on each row)

	Yes	No
Programs with special instructional approaches (e.g., Success for All, Reading Recovery)	1	2
A foreign language program	1	2
Advanced placement (AP) courses (high school only)	1	2
International Baccalaureate (IB) program (high school only)	1	2
Special instructional programs for non-English speakers	1	2
Special instructional programs for students with learning problems	1	2
Special instructional programs for advanced learners or talented/gifted program…………………	1	2
Music program	1	2
Arts program	1	2
After-school program	1	2
Before-school program	1	2
Guidance counselors	1	2
Nurse	1	2
Individual tutors	1	2
Lunches prepared at the school	1	2
Computer lab	1	2
Library/Media center………………………………….	1	2
Gym	1	2
Cafeteria	1	2
Other, please specify	1	2

Q4. Please indicate your level of satisfaction with each of the following at your school. ( Check one box on each row)

	Very Satisfied	Satisfied	Neither Satisfied nor dis-satisfied	Dis-satisfied	Very dis-satisfied	Does not apply to this school
School Facilities:
Condition of the building(s)	1	2	3	4	5	6
The amount of space available for activities	1	2	3	4	5	6
Quality of science labs available	1	2	3	4	5	6
Quality of computer facilities available	1	2	3	4	5	6
Quality and availability of textbooks and other instructional materials	1	2	3	4	5	6
Quality of your library	1	2	3	4	5	6
Access to computers and other educational technology (e.g., calculators)	1	2	3	4	5	6
Transportation for students to and from school	1	2	3	4	5	6
Accessibility for students with disabilities	1	2	3	4	5	6
Students and Parents:
Student attendance and punctuality	1	2	3	4	5	6
Student preparation in subject areas	1	2	3	4	5	6
Student motivation to learn	1	2	3	4	5	6
Student behavior and/or discipline	1	2	3	4	5	6
Parental support for student learning	1	2	3	4	5	6
Teachers and Instruction:
Teacher expectations for how well students will learn	1	2	3	4	5	6
Provisions for low-performing students	1	2	3	4	5	6
The amount of instructional time in the school day	1	2	3	4	5	6
Instructional skills and abilities of teachers	1	2	3	4	5	6
Subject area expertise of teachers	1	2	3	4	5	6
Teacher attendance and punctuality	1	2	3	4	5	6
Teaching staff turnover	1	2	3	4	5	6
Teacher compensation	1	2	3	4	5	6

Part 2: Classroom Instruction

This section focuses on the ways classroom instruction is organized at your school.

Q5. Schools sometimes organize instruction differently for students with different abilities and interests. Which of the following does your school do for students? ( Check yes or no on each row)

	Yes	No
a. Within each grade level, all classes in a subject study similar content, but at different levels of difficulty (i.e., typically called acceleration)	1	2
b. Within each grade level, different classes in the same subject study different content according to student ability (i.e., typically called enrichment)	1	2
c. Within each grade level, classes are a mix of student abilities and teachers create groups within the classroom based on student abilities (i.e., typically called differentiated instruction)	1	2
d. Classes to provide support in basic skills are offered for low achieving students	1	2

Q6. For students who have difficulty learning at the same pace as their classmates, what proportion of these students are provided the following types of support? ( Check one box on each row)

	All	Some	Few	None	Not Offered
a. Place students in special classes	1	2	3	4	5
b. Rely on teachers to provide extra help during regular class times	1	2	3	4	5
c. Treat them as all other students are treated	1	2	3	4	5
d. Counsel students to enroll in other schools	1	2	3	4	5
e. Use peers as instructors	1	2	3	4	5
f. Provide individualized attention from an adult other than the main classroom teacher	1	2	3	4	5
g. Other (specify) ____________	1	2	3	4	5

Q7. What is your policy regarding exceptions to attendance at religious activities? ( Check one)

All students required to participate in all religious activities	1
All students required to participate in some religious activities but can be excused from others	2
Some students are excused from all religious activities at the request of their parents	3
Participation in religious activities is voluntary for all students at all times	4
This school does not have religious activities	5

Part 3: Parental Involvement

This section asks about parental involvement in your school programs.

Q8. Does your school routinely implement any of the following activities for parents?

( Check one on each row)

	Yes	No
a. Parents informed about student’s grades halfway through the grading period	1	2
b. Parents notified when student is sent to the office the first time for disruptive behavior	1	2
c. Parents receive weekly or daily notes about their child’s progress	1	2
d. Parents receive a newsletter about what’s going on in their child’s school or school system	1	2

Q9. What proportion of parents participate in the following activities in your school?

( Check one on each row)

	All	Some	Few	None	Not Offered
a. Parents speak to classes about their jobs	1	2	3	4	5
b. Parents participate in instruction	1	2	3	4	5
c. Parents attend parent/teacher conferences	1	2	3	4	5
d. Parents accompany students on class trips	1	2	3	4	5
e. Parents help out with sports activities	1	2	3	4	5
f. Parent open-houses or back-to-school nights	1	2	3	4	5

Part 4: Safety Measures

This section asks about whether your school utilizes certain kinds of safety measures.

Q10. Does your school currently have the following? ( Check yes or no on each row)

	Yes	No
A requirement that visitors sign in or check in	1	2
Metal detectors through which all students must pass each day	1	2
Random metal detector checks on students	1	2
A requirement that all or most of the students stay on school grounds during lunch	1	2
Drug sweeps	1	2
Daily presence of police or security persons	1	2
Video surveillance	1	2

Q11. During this school year (2007-08), how many students were:

Suspended: ____________ (number)

Expelled: ____________ (number)

Part 5: DC Opportunity Scholarship Program

This section asks about your knowledge of and experience with the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, administered by Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF)

Q12. How did you hear about the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, the federally-funded scholarship program for students from low-income DC families administered by Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF)? ( Check all that apply)

I read about the program in the newspaper but do not know the details	1
I received informational materials in the mail	2
I talked to other private school principals about the program	3
I talked to WSF on the phone about the program	4
I attended one informational meeting about the program	5
I attended several meetings about the program	6
I discussed the program with the staff of organizations to which the school belongs (e.g., Center City Consortium, Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Council for American Private Education)	7
I have not heard of the program	8
Other (please specify ___________________)	9

Q13. Did your school agree to participate in the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program for the 2007-08 school year? Please check “Yes” if your school agreed to participate for the 2007-08 school year even if your school did not enroll any scholarship students.

( Check one)

No ¹

Yes ² _{(Go to question 15)}

Q14. Why didn’t your school participate in the DC Opportunity Scholarship program for the 2007-08 school year? ( Check all that apply)

Our school already had a waiting list and had no room or need for the new students from the DC Opportunity Scholarship program	1
School officials had concerns about discipline and school safety if DC Opportunity Scholarship students were admitted	2
School officials believed that DC Opportunity scholarship students were unlikely to select our school	3
School officials believed that DC Opportunity Scholarship students were unlikely to pass our admissions tests	4
DC Opportunity Scholarships were being awarded too late in the school’s admissions process	5
DC Opportunity Scholarship amount was not adequate to cover our school’s costs of educating the students	6
School officials had concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s independence, distinct character or identity	7
School officials had concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s admissions policies	8
School officials had concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s academic standards	9
School officials had concerns about regulations that might come with participation	10
School officials had concerns about the evaluation the U.S. Department of Education is conducting	11
School officials had concerns about the amount of paperwork and reports that are required of participating schools	12
School officials had concerns about potential future testing requirements	13
Other (specify_____________________________)	14

Q15. During the 2007-08 school year, have you made any of the following changes specifically to encourage DC Opportunity Scholarship students to enroll in your school or to assist those that do enroll? ( Check all that apply)

Added parent orientation or meeting to describe school offerings and performance	1
Encouraged greater parent involvement in school activities	2
Offered additional courses (e.g., introduced a course in computer technology or art)	3
Increased school safety provisions	4
Adjusted disciplinary rules	5
Altered class sizes	6
Added tutoring or other special services to help improve academic achievement	7
Participated in one or more WSF school fairs	8
Other (specify ____________________________)	9

Q16. Do you plan to participate in the DC Opportunity Scholarship program for the 2008-09 school year? ( Check one)

No ^{1 (Go to question 17 on the next page)}

Y es ²

Stop – Thank you for completing this survey.

(Go to next page for Question 17)

Q17. Why will your school not be participating in the DC Opportunity Scholarship program for the 2008-09 school year? ( Check all that apply)

Our school already has a waiting list and has no room or need for the new students from the DC Opportunity Scholarship program	1
School officials have concerns about discipline and school safety if DC Opportunity Scholarship students are admitted	2
School officials believe that DC Opportunity scholarship students are unlikely to select our school	3
School officials believe that DC Opportunity Scholarship students are unlikely to pass our admissions tests	4
DC Opportunity Scholarships are being awarded too late in the school’s admissions process	5
DC Opportunity Scholarship amount is not adequate to cover our school’s costs of educating the students	6
School officials have concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s independence, distinct character or identity	7
School officials have concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s admissions policies	8
School officials have concerns regarding the effect of participation on our school’s academic standards	9
School officials have concerns about regulations that might come with participation	10
School officials have concerns about the evaluation the U.S. Department of Education is conducting	11
School officials have concerns about the amount of paperwork and reports that are required of participating schools	12
School officials have concerns about potential future testing requirements	13
Other (specify_____________________________)	14

Thank you for completing this survey.

If you have any questions as you are completing the survey, please call Sabria Hardy at 301-610-5513 or email her at [email protected].

Please return the survey to:

Sabria Hardy, Westat

1650 Research Blvd, Room RA 1241

Rockville, MD 20850