7 Y2 Teacher Comparison

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS (Comparison)

TARGETED RESPONDENT: These interview questions are intended for teachers and counselors in the comparison group of SIG/Priority schools. 

CONTENT:  This document contains draft interview questions to be asked of teachers and counselors in the comparison group of SIG/Priority schools. 

SCHOOL & TURNAROUND PLAN CONTEXT

1. Please describe how long you’ve been at this school, your role, and how long you’ve been working in education.

2. Is there any additional information or context that you think is important for understanding your school and community?

3. How aware are you of your school’s turnaround plan? How does your school leadership team provide you with information on the turnaround plan and school progress towards turnaround goals?

STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS GOALS

4. How has the school’s turnaround status affected your role, if at all? How does your school’s improvement status and plan affect your responsibilities and focus, if at all? Note: This may include activities such as professional development, instructional strategies, tutoring, data monitoring, etc.

5. What strategies has your school utilized to address your turnaround goals?

6. How is implementation of particular turnaround strategies going (to the extent that you think of them this way)? What is going well in terms of your school improving and what is more challenging? Note: This includes successes or challenges with classroom strategies, perspective on professional development, relationship with administration, morale among teachers, etc.

7. 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?

8. [If have partners] What level of interaction doid you have with these volunteers, support staff, or external partners? In what capacity, if any, doid you work directly with these individuals?

   • Probes: In what capacity, if any, do these partners work with your students? In your classroom? Please explain how your relationship has been with these external organizations.

9. [If do not have partners] Do you think external partners could be a useful resource in helping your school address turnaround goals? If so, how?

10. [If do not have partners] What sort of training or preparation would external partners need to effectively address turnaround goals and the needs of students at your school?

PERCEIVED SUCCESS ADDRESSING TURNAROUND GOALS

11. Overall, to your knowledge, how successful has your school been in addressing turnaround goals?

12. Which turnaround goals have you been more successful in addressing? Which of your turnaround goals have you been less successful in addressing?

    • What strategies or activities have been most successful in addressing turnaround goals? What have been the least successful?

13. To what extent have external partners or other resources influenced or contributed to your school’s ability to address turnaround goals?

14. What are the biggest challenges your school has faced in addressing turnaround goals?

15. What type of additional supports would benefit your school and its turnaround efforts, if any?

16. What lessons have you learned from your school turnaround initiatives that might be helpful to other sites/schools? Is there anything else you’d like to share with me to help us understand your school’s experience with its turnaround goals?

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