Contact Letter

American Institutes for Research®

Evaluation of the Carol M. White Physical Education Program -
Contact Letters and E-mails

April 1, 2011

Prepared By:

American Institutes for Research^®

1000 Thomas Jefferson St., NW

Washington, DC 20007

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Education

Policy and Program Studies Service

Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

Contact Emails for PEP Year 1 PDI Survey (LEA)

Pre-contact

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Policy and Program Studies Service has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an evaluation of the PEP program based on grantees who received their award in 2010. The goal of the evaluation is to gather information on various aspects of PEP projects’ services and activities aimed at improving physical education programs for K – 12 students. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4).

In the next week you will receive a link to the online survey directly from AIR. This survey specifically pertains to your PEP grant during the first year of implementation. The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

Your responses to the survey will help ED learn about the implementation of the new PEP program to enable it to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement. Your responses to the survey 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 grantee or individual. The contractor will not provide information that identifies a subject or district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Follow-up

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, last week we sent you an email informing you that AIR would be sending out an online survey. You can access the survey from the link below.

The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4). This survey specifically pertains to your PEP grant during the first year of implementation. Please base your responses on the operations undertaken during this period of time. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded. Your responses will be aggregated when presenting findings to ED and for reporting purposes.

As a PEP project director, your input is critical to understanding the degree to which the PEP grants are helping students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education. We would appreciate receiving your responses by Month, Date, 2011. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Contact Emails for PEP Year 1 PDI Survey (CBO)

Pre-contact

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Policy and Program Studies Service has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an evaluation of the PEP program based on grantees who received their award in 2010. The goal of the evaluation is to gather information on various aspects of PEP projects’ services and activities aimed at improving physical education programs for K – 12 students. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4).

In the next week you will receive a link to the online survey directly from AIR. This survey specifically pertains to your PEP grant during the first year of implementation. The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

Your responses to the survey will help ED learn about the implementation of the new PEP program to enable it to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement. Your responses to the survey 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 grantee or individual. The contractor will not provide information that identifies a subject or district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Follow-up

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, last week we sent you an email informing you that AIR would be sending out an online survey. You can access the survey from the link below.

The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4). This survey specifically pertains to your PEP grant during the first year of implementation. Please base your responses on the operations undertaken during this period of time. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded. Your responses will be aggregated when presenting findings to ED and for reporting purposes.

As a PEP project director and a leader in a youth-serving community-based organization, your input is critical to understanding the degree to which the PEP grants are helping students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education. We would appreciate receiving your responses by Month, Date, 2011. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Contact Emails for PEP Year 3 PDI Survey (LEA)

Pre-contact

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, you participated in the evaluation of the PEP program in 2011 through completion of a survey. The evaluation is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) under contract with the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Policy and Program Studies Service. Your input was really helpful for us to understand program implementation early in the grant cycle. We are now conducting a follow-up survey to gather feedback about program operations towards the later stage of the grant cycle and to identify barriers to implementing PEP projects. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4).

Within the next week, you will be sent a link to the online survey directly from AIR. This survey pertains to either the last twelve months of implementation or the overall operations of your PEP grant since the beginning of the grant cycle. The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

Your responses to the survey will help ED learn about the implementation of the new PEP program to enable it to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement. Your responses to the survey 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 grantee or individual. The contractor will not provide information that identifies a subject or district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Follow-up

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, last week we sent you an email informing you that AIR would be sending out an online survey. You can access the survey from the link below.

The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4). This survey pertains to the last twelve months of implementation of your PEP grant. Please base your responses on the operations of your program during this period of time, unless the questions ask about the overall implementation since the beginning of the grant cycle. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

As a PEP project administrator and an education administrator, your input is critical to understanding the degree to which the PEPs are helping students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education. We would appreciate receiving your responses by Month, Date, 2012/2013. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Contact Emails for PEP Year 3 PDI Survey (CBO)

Pre-contact

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, you participated in the evaluation of the PEP program in 2011 through completion of a survey. The evaluation is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) under contract with the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Policy and Program Studies Service. Your input was really helpful for us to understand program implementation early in the grant cycle. We are now conducting a follow-up survey to gather feedback about program operations towards the later stage of the grant cycle and to identify barriers to implementing PEP projects. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4).

Within the next week, you will be sent a link to the online survey directly from AIR. This survey pertains to either the last twelve months of implementation or the overall operations of your PEP grant since the beginning of the grant cycle. The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

Your responses to the survey will help ED learn about the implementation of the new PEP program to enable it to build on areas of strength and address areas for improvement. Your responses to the survey 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 grantee or individual. The contractor will not provide information that identifies a subject or district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Follow-up

Dear Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Project Administrators,

As you may recall, last week we sent you an email informing you that AIR would be sending out an online survey. You can access the survey from the link below.

The survey will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. As a recipient of a PEP grant, your participation in the study is required under ESEA, Sec. 9306(a) (4). This survey pertains to the last twelve months of implementation of your PEP grant. Please base your responses on the operations of your program during this period of time, unless the questions ask about the overall implementation since the beginning of the grant cycle. Not all questions in the survey may apply to your grant. When completing the survey, please respond from the perspective of the PEP project generally, rather than from the perspective of one administrator. If necessary, please share the survey with other staff members of your PEP project to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is recorded.

As a PEP project administrator and a leader in a youth-serving community-based organization, your input is critical to understanding the degree to which the PEPs are helping students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education. We would appreciate receiving your responses by Month, Date, 2012/2013. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact AIR at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Letters of Notification to LEA Superintendents

Dear Superintendent X,

Congratulations! Your district is one of the 77 award recipients of the 2010 Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant.

As you may be aware, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Policy and Program Studies Service has contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an evaluation of the PEP program based on grantees who received their award in 2010. AIR will be administering the evaluation in your school district. The goal of the evaluation is to gather information on various aspects of PEP projects’ services and activities aimed at improving physical education programs for K – 12 students. The evaluation involves two online surveys to be completed by PEP project administrators.

Thank you for your school district’s efforts in assisting with this evaluation. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact ED at [email protected] or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

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