4 Y2 Principal Interview

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR SCHOOL LEADERS (Treatment Schools)

TARGETED RESPONDENT: These interview questions will target School Principals and Assistant Principals in the program group of SIG/priority schools.

SCHOOL CONTEXT

1. [Y2-only principals] Please describe the community and student population your school serves.

2. [Y1 principals version] Last year we talked about your school’s population [review stats]. Is there any additional information or context that you think is important for understanding your school and community?

[Y2 principals version] Is there any additional information or context that you think is important for understanding your school and community?

3. [Y2-only principals] Please describe the major components, goals, and objectives of your school’s turnaround plan. Also, state the change model (turnaround, transformation, school closure, restart) that your school follows. Has anything about your turnaround plan changed since last year?

4. [All principals] Please describe any structural or policy changes you have made at your school to meet your turnaround goals. What other resources have you devoted to addressing your turnaround plan? Have these changes impacted the design or implementation of the program?

If need clarification: Changes could include turnover in school leadership, a change in school model, the introduction of new major programs or funding sources, changes in curriculum, etc.

5. [All principals] In addition to your School Turnaround AmeriCorps members, are there other school partners, volunteers, or external support staff with whom you work or are familiar with who support your school’s turnaround efforts? If so, who are they and what do they do?

   • How are the activities of external partners similar to those of School Turnaround AmeriCorps members? How are they different?

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

6. [All principals] What are the roles key activities do School Turnaround AmeriCorps members are engaging in play at your school this year?

• Have these activities changed over the course of the School Turnaround AmeriCorps program? If so, how and why?

7. [All principals] What is the process for selecting students to receive services from School Turnaround AmeriCorps members?

8. [All principals] Do your School Turnaround AmeriCorps members have an on-site supervisor, or some other kind of supervision? If so, is that person from the AmeriCorps organization or your school? What are the supervisor’s roles and responsibilities?

   • If have on-site supervisor, How effective is the on-site supervisor? How have they been helpful in managing and implementing the program? Is there anything that could be done to better manage the program?

SCHOOL-GRANTEE RELATIONSHIPS

9. [All principals] What lessons (both positive and negative) did you learn from the start-up stage of the grant in terms of your school partnership(s) that might be helpful to other grantees and schools?

10. [All principals] How effective do you think the partnership agreements are overall? Did you have a role in drafting the agreement?

• How did you determine the primary roles and responsibilities of your school and the AmeriCorps organization as outlined in your partnership agreement? Did you discuss what these roles and responsibilities would be with the AmeriCorps organization before drafting the agreement? Who wrote, read, and approved the partnership agreement(s)?

• How do you use and apply the partnership agreement, if at all, when discussing and implementing the program in schools?

• Have you revised the agreement since the beginning of the School Turnaround AmeriCorps program and if so, how and why?

• [As needed] How similar or different is the AmeriCorps partnership agreement to how you work with other partners?

11. [All principals] What is the relationship like between School Turnaround AmeriCorps members and school staff this year? How well do you feel staff understand the role of the AmeriCorps members? How has their relationship and understanding changed over time?

12. [All principals] Do you feel that members were well-prepared and had the skills necessary to be effective in your school this year? If not, how do you think School Turnaround AmeriCorps members could be better prepared?

PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS

13. [All principals] One central objective of School Turnaround AmeriCorps is to help schools meet their turnaround goals. How, if at all, have School Turnaround AmeriCorps members helped build your school’s capacity to address those goals?

14. [All principals] Which of your turnaround goals has the School Turnaorund AmeriCorps program been more helpful in addressing either directly or indirectly? Which iof your turnaround goals was the program less helpful in addressing? How so?

    • What specific member strategies or activities were most successful in addressing turnaround goals? What were less successful?

15. [All principals] What additionalother supports from AmeriCorps members or other external partners would benefit your school and its turnaround efforts, if any?