Attachment 3 - School Experience and School Communication and Involvement

Attachment 3

Building Futures: Head Start Impact Study - Spring 2007 –

PARENT INTERVIEW - COHORT B

(OMB No. is 0970-0229)

A. SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Now I’d like to talk to you about [CHILD]’s school experiences.

A1. What is [CHILD]'s current grade in school? Is s/he in... (CIRCLE ONLY ONE)

First grade 01

Second grade 02

Third grade 03

Fourth grade 04

Attending school, ungraded 05

Other (SPECIFY)_______________________ 06

CHART A2.– CURRENT SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

a1. Which of the following best describes the school setting that [CHILD] is in? Public school 01 Catholic school 02 Private school, other religious affiliation 03 Private school, not religiously affiliated 04 Home school 05 Other (SPECIFY) 06 ________________________________		a2. What is the name, address, and telephone number of this school? ______________________________ School Name ______________________________ Address ______________________________ City State (_____)______________________ Telephone	a3. What is the name of [CHILD]’s teacher there? _________________________ For coders only: Teacher=1	a4. What month and year did [CHILD] begin going to [GRADE IN A1] at this school? |__|__| |__|__| Month Year
a5. Altogether, how many hours per week does [CHILD] typically attend this school? |__|__| Total # of hours per week

A3. Is this [CHILD]’s first year in (INSERT GRADE)?

YES 1

NO 2

A4. Has your child had a different teacher this year or the same teacher he/she had last year?

Different teacher 1

Same teacher 2

A5. Has your child received any special instruction or tutoring in school this year?

YES 1

NO 2

A6. Approximately how many days has [CHILD] been absent from class since the beginning of the school year, that is, since last September?

|_____|_____| DAYS ABSENT

IF A6=0, SKIP TO A8.

A7. What is the most frequent reason for [CHILD]’s missing days? (CIRCLE ONE)

ILLNESS OF CHILD 01

ILLNESS OF FAMILY MEMBER 02

CONFLICT WITH PARENT’S WORK OR SCHOOL SCHEDULE 03

LACK OF TRANSPORTATION 04

BAD WEATHER 05

CHILD DID NOT WANT TO GO 06

PARENT DECISION NOT TO SEND CHILD OR TO SEND

CHILD ELSEWHERE 07

OTHER (SPECIFY ___________________________________) 08

A8. Since the beginning of this school year, has [CHILD] been in the same school?

YES 1 (GO TO B1)

NO 2

DON’T KNOW 8 (GO TO B1)

A9. How many different schools has [CHILD] attended?

|_____|_____| NUMBER OF SCHOOLS

B. School communication and involvement

B1. For each statement that I read you, please tell me how well [CHILD]’s school has been doing the following things during the school year:

[IF NECESSARY, READ AFTER EACH STATEMENT: Would you say [CHILD]’s school does this very well, just OK, or doesn’t do it at all? (USE RESPONSE CARD)(CIRCLE ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH ITEM)]

	Does it very well	Just OK	Does not do it at all	Don’t know
a. Lets you know (between report cards) how [CHILD] is doing in school	1	2	3	8
b. Helps you understand what children at [CHILD]’s age are like	1	2	3	8
c. Makes you aware of chances to volunteer at the school	1	2	3	8
d. Provides workshops, materials, or advice about how to help [CHILD] learn at home	1	2	3	8
e. Provides information on community services to help [CHILD] or your family	1	2	3	8
f. Understands the needs of families who don’t speak English	1	2	3	8

B2. In general how often and in what way do you usually have contact with [CHILD]’s teacher about his/her daily activities or behavior? (USE RESPONSE CARD)(CIRCLE ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH ITEM)

	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Less than Monthly	Never
a. Talk to the teacher in person	1	2	3	4	5
b. Teacher calls you	1	2	3	4	5
c. Receive written notes from teacher	1	2	3	4	5
d. Schedule meetings or conferences with teacher	1	2	3	4	5
e. Teacher conducts home visits	1	2	3	4	5
f. Teacher sends home examples of [CHILD]’s work	1	2	3	4	5

B3. When [CHILD]'s teacher sends home notes or newsletters, are these in a language that you speak?

YES 1

NO 2

B4. During this school year, about how many times have you gone to meetings or participated in activities at [CHILD]’s school?

|____|____| NUMBER OF TIMES

B5. This year, have the following reasons made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school? How about…

	YES	NO
a. Inconvenient meeting times? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
b. No child care keeps your family from going to school meetings or events? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
c. Family members can't get time off from work? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
d. Problems with safety going to the school? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
e. Problems with transportation to the school? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
f. Problems because you or members of your family speak a language other than English and meetings are conducted only in English? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
g. You don't hear about things going on at school that you might want to be involved in? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2
h. The school does not make your family feel welcome? Has that made it harder for you to participate in activities at [CHILD]'s school?	1	2

B6. How far in school do you expect [CHILD] to go? Would you say you expect [him/her]…

To receive less than a high school

diploma 1

To graduate from high school 2

To attend two or more years of

college 3

To finish a four- or five-year college

degree 4

To earn a master's degree or

equivalent, or 5

To finish a Ph.D., M.D., or other advanced

degree 6

B7. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements:

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Not Sure	Agree	Strongly Agree
a. Your child's school is a good place for your child to be	1	2	3	4	5
b. The staff at your child's school is doing good things for your child	1	2	3	4	5
c. You have confidence in the people at your child's school	1	2	3	4	5
d. Your child's school is doing a good job of preparing children for their futures	1	2	3	4	5
e. Your child's school is safe	1	2	3	4	5
f. Your child's school provides bad influences for (him/her)	1	2	3	4	5
g. Your child's school meets (his/her) academic needs	1	2	3	4	5
h. Your child's school meets (his/her) social and behavior needs	1	2	3	4	5
i. Doing well in school will improve [CHILD]'s chances of having a good life when (he/she) grows up	1	2	3	4	5
j. Getting good grades in school doesn't guarantee that [CHILD] will get a good job when (he/she) grows up	1	2	3	4	5
k. Even if [CHILD] is successful in school, it doesn't mean it will help (him/her) fulfill (his/her) dreams	1	2	3	4	5

B8. As far as you know, is [CHILD] going to be promoted to the next grade this coming fall, or will he/she spend another year in (kindergarten/first grade/second grade/other program)?

YES, WILL BE PROMOTED TO
NEXT GRADE 1

NO, WILL SPEND ANOTHER YEAR IN

SAME GRADE 2

NO, WILL GO INTO A TRANSITIONAL CLASS

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