MSAP Project Director Survey

MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
Public Burden Statement:
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of
information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. Send
comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW,
Washington, DC 20210-4537 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 18800542 Note: Please do not return the completed MSAP Project Director Survey to this address.

MSAP Project Director Survey

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey. It will take 15 minutes. We are assessing the 2013
Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grantees’ current technical assistance needs, and this survey is
part of our initial data collection effort. There are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in identifying
your needs in program implementation and management to provide you with the most relevant and focused
technical assistance.

Background
1. How many years have you worked in K-12 education?
 0-2 years
 3-5 years
 6-8 years
 9 or more years
2. How many years have you worked for the district?
 0-2 years
 3-5 years
 6-8 years
 9 or more years
3. Has your district hired a new superintendent?
 Within past 3 months
 Within past 6 months
 Within past 9 months
 Within past 12 months
 No

MSAP Project Director Survey

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)

Project Management
4. What are your MSAP schools’ major project management challenges? (Please select all that
apply.)
 Lack of district-level buy-in
 Lack of school-level buy-in
 Recruiting qualified staff (e.g., theme-based teachers, evaluators, or marketing experts)
 Implementing plans
 Communicating across stakeholders
 Other, specify:____________________________________________________
 Do not know
5. Please characterize your district and MSAP-funded schools’ readiness to transition to a new or
significantly revised magnet school by rating your agreement with the following statements
as:
1=Strongly disagree
2=Disagree
3=Agree
4=Strongly agree

Statements
District

Rate
1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

a. Most district leaders have communicated that they believe it is necessary to
transition the funded schools to a new or revised magnet program.
b. The district leaders have shown their commitment to transitioning the schools.
c. The district has a process for staff to ask questions and share concerns about the
transition.
d. The district responds to staff questions and concerns quickly and transparently.
e. The district has managed change well in the past.
f. The district has a history of doing what is says it will do.
g. The project director has developed a plan to communicate with school staff about
the MSAP project and generate buy-in.
h. The project director has a specific management approach and strategies in place
for implementing and managing the grant.
School
i. Most of the school employees have communicated that they believe it is necessary
to transition to a new or revised magnet program.
j. In general, the principals support the transition.

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
Statements
k. Schools communicate the details of the magnet-school transition to those who will
be most affected by it.

Rate

l. The schools have processes for staff to ask questions and share concerns about the
transition.
m. The schools respond to staff questions and concerns quickly and transparently.
n. The schools have managed change well in the past.
o. School staff can usually count on receiving professional development when they
take on new roles and tasks.
p. School staff members generally understand how things will be different when the
transition has occurred.

Marketing and Recruitment
6. Please indicate which entity has primary responsibility for your MSAP project’s marketing
and student recruitment. (Please select one.)
 Local education agency, specify department:______________________________
 MSAP project
 Magnet school
7. Do your district, MSAP project, and/or MSAP schools have a designated student
recruitment/application period?  Yes  No
If yes, when is it? ______________________________
8. What are your MSAP schools’ major challenges when recruiting targeted students? (Please
select all that apply.)
 Poor school image
 Lack of student transportation
 Highly competitive school choice market
 High percentage of racial/ethnic segregation
 Changes in demographics/population
 Public awareness
 Recruiting diverse students and families from outside traditional school boundaries
 Other, specify:____________________________________________________
 Do not know
9. What is your MSAP project’s level of experience with marketing? (Please select only one.)
 Very little to no experience
 Some experience of basic marketing campaigns (e.g., distributing letters and flyers)
 Experience creating a recognizable magnet school brand
 Experience implementing an extensive marketing campaign
 Experience creating a recognizable brand and implementing a successful marketing campaign

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
10. For each of the marketing and recruitment strategies/activities below, indicate whether the
strategy/activity has been, will be, or will not be implemented in the majority of your MSAP
schools, and indicate how difficult that strategy/activity has been or will be to implement on
average by rating your agreement with the following statements in each category as:
Implementation
Difficulty
1 = Implemented
1 = Not at all difficult
2 = Will implement this grant cycle
2 = Somewhat difficult
3 = Will not implement
3 = Very difficult
Marketing and student recruitment strategies

In the area of student recruitment
a.

Establishing a student recruitment team

b.

Setting annual and overall student recruitment goals

c.

Assessing the school choice market

d.

Identifying the target student groups

e.

Establishing strategies to retain current students

f.

Developing a student recruitment plan

In the area of branding:
g.

Assessing the public image of the project’s MSAP
school(s)

h.

Establishing a consistent message that communicates
the desired public image for each MSAP school

i.

Creating a logo that reflects your desired image for
each MSAP school

j.

Creating a tagline that reflects your desired image for
each MSAP school

In the area of marketing:
k.

Developing a marketing plan

l.

Creating a user-friendly, informative school
website(s) that is marketing focused

Implementation
1
2
3

1

Difficulty
2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

m. Evaluating your marketing activities and strategies

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
Magnet Curriculum
11. Please indicate which entity has primary responsibility for your MSAP project’s curriculum
development. (Please select one.)
 Local education agency, specify department:______________________________
 MSAP project
 Magnet school
12. What are your MSAP schools’ major magnet curriculum challenges? (Please select all that
apply.)
 Aligning with state assessment standards
 Considering all students’ needs
 Providing various learning formats
 Setting learning objectives within and across grade levels
 Linking to teacher professional development
 Linking to teacher evaluation
 Other, specify:____________________________________________________
 Do not know
13. For each of the magnet curriculum strategies/activities below, indicate whether the
strategy/activity has been, will be, or will not be implemented in the majority of your MSAP
schools, and indicate how difficult the activity has been or will be to implement on average by
rating your agreement with the following statements in each category as:
Implementation
Difficulty
1 = Implemented
1 = Not at all difficult
2 = Will implement this grant cycle
2 = Somewhat difficult
3 = Will not implement
3 = Very difficult
Theme-based curriculum development strategies

In the area of curriculum development:
a.

Assessing current school curricula for theme-based integration.

b.

Establishing curriculum development teams

c.

Setting annual and overall curriculum development goals

d.

Determining which subject areas, courses, or grades are initially
expected to integrate the theme into the curriculum

e.

Creating a plan for what full implementation will look like

f.

Establishing a framework to use when developing curricula

g.

Establishing a protocol to use for developing and mapping curricula

h.

Identifying promising practices and structures for integrating the
magnet theme

i.

Identifying perceived barriers to integrating the theme

j.

Providing support to align theme integration with State standards

MSAP Project Director Survey

Implementation
1
2
3

Difficulty
1
2
3

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MSAP Project Director Survey
(Web-based)
Theme-based curriculum development strategies
Implementation
1
2
3

In the area of curriculum development:
k.

Providing support to enhance curriculum development teams’
knowledge of innovative strategies for theme integration

l.

Identifying community partners that can provide instructional
support and/or staff professional development on the theme.

1

Difficulty
2
3

m. Setting aside time for curriculum development teams to work
together
n.

Developing curricula for theme-specific courses

o.

Purchasing curricula for theme-specific courses

Technical Assistance Needs
14. Please identify the top project management, marketing, and/or curriculum development
technical assistance need(s) that you and your staff have as a result of starting the MSAP
project.

15. Do you have an immediate technical assistance need that was not discussed?
 No
 Yes, please explain: ____________________________________
16. Are there any required state- or districtwide initiatives that may conflict with your planned
magnet program?
 No
 Yes, please explain: ____________________________________
17. Please select your top three preferred methods for receiving information, strategies, and
guidance that will help you implement and manage your MSAP project.





Conference workshop
Webinar
Consultation with MSAP Center
content expert
Toolkit






Web-based course
Online community of practice
Other, specify:
Other, specify:

18. Additional Comments:

_________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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