Appendix J1 - Letter to Teachers in Particpating Classes

J1. Letter to Teachers in Participating Classes

National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey

Dear Teacher:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the National Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (NYPANS), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent and School Health. Results from the NYPANS will help to measure the physical activity and dietary habits of teenagers and to develop education programs to help promote healthy behaviors. When published, your school will receive a copy of the national results from the CDC.

We appreciate your school’s graciousness in hosting the NYPANS. Your class was randomly selected to participate and cannot be replaced. We have enclosed a variety of materials to help you understand the NYPANS, including the Summary of School Arrangements Form, a survey fact sheet, a sample survey booklet, instructions to be read when distributing permission forms, parental permission forms, reminder forms, and a Data Collection Checklist. If requested, parental permission forms and reminders are provided in Spanish.

The enclosed Data Collection Checklist should be used to track and record the return of all parental permission forms. Names or ID’s for all students in your selected class should be listed on this checklist, not just those participating in the survey. Names will be kept confidential and destroyed after the completion of data collection. The names are needed to take roll, make sure students not in the selected class do not “slip in,” identify students eligible to complete the survey (i.e., returned parental permission form with a “yes” response), develop make-up lists of eligible students who are absent, and determine the gender and grade of all nonparticipants. This form needs to be filled out BEFORE the day of data collection, preferably at the time you distribute permission forms.

You play a very important role in the survey. Your support and encouragement are necessary to ensure a high rate of participation among your students. A high participation rate is needed to produce valid national estimates of physical activity and dietary behaviors.

Please follow the instructions below to help us prepare for survey administration in your class.

1. Distribute the parental permission forms to students in the selected class as soon as possible, preferably at least 7 days prior to the survey date. Read to the class "Instructions to be Read in Distributing Permission Forms." Add your own words of encouragement and support of the survey. Encourage students to return the forms the next day.

2. Give a reminder form and/or another parental permission form to students as needed.

3. Track and record the return of permission forms on the Data Collection Checklist. Our data collector will meet with you immediately prior to the survey administration to review the checklist.

4. On the day of the survey, please plan an alternate activity for those students who do not have parental permission to take the survey.

5. Within a few days of administering the survey, our data collector will return to your school to measure the height and weight of participating students. Please refer to the enclosed Summary of School Arrangements form for further details on date and location.

6. If any students who have parental permission are absent on the day of survey administration, our data collector can administer a make-up survey on the day of his/her return.

Survey procedures have been designed to protect your students’ privacy and allow for confidential participation. During survey administration, you will be asked to remain at the front of the classroom to increase student candor. The survey will be administered by specially trained field staff. It will take about 45 minutes.

The participation of your students in the NYPANS will help the CDC, educators, and public health officials assess and improve efforts to reduce priority health risk behaviors among adolescents throughout the Nation. If you have any questions, please call me toll-free at 800-675-9727 between 9a.m and 5:00p.m. Eastern Time. Thank you again for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Alice Roberts, Project Director

National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey