(OII) Magnets and School Turnarounds and (OS) Future Ready Leaders

Magnets and School Turnarounds

Administrator 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 20 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 1880-0542. Note: Please do not return the completed Magnets and School Turnarounds Administrator Survey to this address.

Introduction: The goal of this survey is to better understand and evaluate strategies employed in successful magnet school and school turnaround efforts. It will take approximately 20 minutes and your responses will be kept anonymous. As an administrator, we believe you can offer important insight into magnet school and turnaround processes. Thank you in advance for your participation!

Instructions: Please answer this short survey. This survey is anonymous and we will not know your identity. No one at the MSAP Technical Assistance Center will be able to see individual, anonymous responses. For each question, please select one response that best represents your perspective.

Foundational Topics Related to Academic & Diversity Turnaround Efforts

Recruitment and Communication

1. strongly agree, (b) agree somewhat, (c) neither agree nor disagree, (d) disagree somewhat, or (e) strongly disagree

• Recruitment strategies are designed to target students from racially diverse backgrounds

• Programmatic theme appeals to students and families from racially diverse backgrounds

• Recruitment materials are available in multiple languages

• Central office assists with recruitment

• Designated staff is available to assist with recruitment

• Information for parents about school choices, including magnet programs are available and are distributed

• Open houses and informational sessions were offered at convenient and flexible times for parents

• Advertisements about the school and its offerings offered in a variety of formats including television, newspaper, radio, community programs, billboards, videos or websites

• Partnerships are formed with elementary and middle schools with racially and socially economic diverse student populations to increase or maintain a diverse (racially, socioeconomically, linguistically) student population

Transportation

1. strongly agree, (b) agree somewhat, (c) neither agree nor disagree, (d) disagree somewhat, or (e) strongly disagree

• Adequate transportation is offered for both admissions and recruiting (i.e., open house) events to families who live in various parts of the community

• Transportation is a barrier to enrolling children outside the immediate neighborhood of the school

• Free transportation is available to all students admitted to the school

Admissions and School Design

1. Yes (b) no

• The school has admission policies that include diversity goals (If yes answer the question below)

• These goals include diversifying the study body based on (race, socio-economic status, language, student achievement)

• The school serves students from multiple school districts

• Students are admitted to school on a basis of competitive criteria like GPA or test scores

• The magnet program is housed within a larger school

• The magnet program is school-wide or whole-school

- Admission criteria/components are available online and in print

- Admission criteria/components are available in multiple languages

- The timeline for submitting the application for parents is adequate

- The application process is clear for parents

- The selection and enrollment criteria are clear for parents

Student-Centered Instructional Approaches

How frequently do teachers in your building use these strategies?

(a) Regularly, (b) rarely, or (c) never

• Open-ended problem solving that requires critical and creative thinking

• Role-playing and participation in simulated situations

• Non-traditional writing assignments

• Collaborative team projects

• Individual, self-paced assignments

• Community engagement (building ongoing permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the community) and Service-Learning (combination of community service with academic instruction with a goal of reflectively thinking about personal and civic responsibility) assignments

Teaching Diverse Learners

How frequently do teachers in your building use these strategies?

(a) Regularly, (b) rarely, or (c) never

• Engaging students in studying multiple points of views

• Connecting new concepts and skills to students' diverse life experiences

• Planning curriculum so that it includes stories and content about diverse cultures and their contributions to society

• Supplementing your textbooks with outside materials that address racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity

• Assigning students to work in racially or ethnically diverse cooperative small groups

• Differentiating instruction to meet students where they are

• Setting up peer tutoring opportunities

Training for Diversity

How much training would you say your teachers have had in…..

1. A lot (2 or more professional development events,

2. Very Little (1 professional development event

3. None

• Meeting the instructional needs of students from racially diverse backgrounds

• Using strategies and materials specifically designed to help English language learners achieve

• Discussing issues regarding race and culture in classrooms

• Facilitating positive interaction among diverse groups

• Learning about the community your school serves

• Ensuring that economically disadvantaged students achieve

• Providing rigorous coursework to attract students to the school

Perceptions of Diversity and School Turnarounds

(a) agree, (b) agree somewhat, (c) neither agree nor disagree, (e) disagree somewhat, or (f) strongly disagree?

• A diverse environment for children means educating students from different races, income levels, religion, parent education levels, academic skills

• The academic success of students is primarily related to what teachers do in the classroom

• Schools should incorporate guidelines for enrollment to ensure children attend school with children from different races and socio-economic backgrounds

• The necessary resources (i.e. funding, personnel, curriculum materials) are in place to sustain a magnet school turnaround

• Multiple sources of data (i.e., test scores, grades, attendance records) can help guide school turnarounds

• Teachers’ responsibilities do not impede time related to assisting students

• Upgrading and acquiring new technology assists in efforts to attract diverse groups of students

Staff Collaboration

1. strongly agree, (b) agree somewhat, (c) neither agree nor disagree, (d) disagree somewhat, or (e) strongly disagree

• Most of my colleagues share my beliefs about the central mission of the school

• Teachers of different racial or ethnic backgrounds work well together in the school

• The staff feels comfortable discussing issues of race and culture amongst each other

• The staff feels comfortable discussing issues of race and culture with students

Leadership

How often is it the case that….

1. always, (b) often, (c) sometimes, (d) rarely, or (e) never

• Student discipline issues are dealt with in ways that are fair and guard against racial or ethnic discrimination

• Students of different racial, ethnic, or socio-economic groups are encouraged to mix together during lunch or in extra-curricular activities

• When diversity issues arise at school, these concerns are effective addressed

• Efforts to improve racial and ethnic relations are central to the mission of the school

• Strategic plans are put in place to create diverse classrooms

• Multiple sources of data guide instruction and assessment

• Staff training is provided to facilitate positive interaction among diverse groups teach

• Recruitment efforts target racially diverse and/or multilingual staff

• Appropriate academic (i.e., language services) and behavioral and social support are offered to students to assist with retention efforts

How significant are these issues when attempting to turn a school around

1. very significant, (b) significant, (c) somewhat significant, (d) not too significant

-Determining a policy/practice with the most promise

-Enhancing the skills and knowledge of these responsible for student learning

-Engaging teachers in setting goals and putting them into practice

-Engaging the community in setting goals and putting them into practice

-Replacing the staff

-Redefining the role of teachers and administrators

- Addressing disparities in academic achievement between students of different races and cultures

Community and Parent Engagement

1. strongly agree, (b) agree somewhat, (c) neither agree nor disagree, (d) disagree somewhat, or (e) strongly disagree

• Students’ home cultures are valued

• Students’ parents are involved in their children’s overall education

• School personnel are knowledgeable about the home/family circumstances of their students

• Parents feel comfortable to advocate on behalf of their children

• Emphasis is placed on increasing the awareness and promoting school offering to a diverse group of parents

• Community partnerships have aided academic and diversity turnaround efforts

Open Ended:

How do you define school turnaround?

How successful has your school been regarding its turnaround? How can you tell?

What challenges did your school encounter during the turnaround?

What changes did you witness before and after the school turnaround?

What resources are currently in place to sustain a magnet school turnaround?

Background questions for administrators

• Age

• Race

• Sex

• Language other than English?

• How long have you been at the school (1-3 years, 4-7 years, 7 year plus)

• Years as an administrator

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