Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs

Appendix H:
Principal Questionnaire

Study of Title I Schoolwide

and Targeted Assistance Programs

Principal Survey

Label containing selected sample members name

2016-17 School Year

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number of this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per survey, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimates(s) or suggestion for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to:

Policy and Program Studies Service, Office Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202.

Dear Principal,

Thank you for your participation in the Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs.

• Purpose of Study: To better understand how Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs are implemented and how schools make decisions about the use of Title I funds.

• Sponsor: The study is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) under a contract from the U.S. Department of Education.

• Participation: Participation of Title I districts and their schools in this study is required under Section 8306(a)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. However, you may choose not to respond to certain questions or discontinue the survey at any time.

• Reporting and Confidentiality: Responses to this survey will be used to summarize findings in an aggregate manner (across groups or sites), or will be used to provide examples of program implementation in a manner that does not associate responses with a specific site or individual.  The study team may refer to the generic title of an individual (e.g. District Administrator or Principal) but neither the site name nor the individual name will be used.  All efforts will be made to keep the description of the site general enough so that the reader would never be able to determine identity of the site. The study team will make sure that access to all data with identifiable information is limited to members of the study team.  Except for that which is already public, we will not provide information that identifies you or your school to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

• Response Burden: This survey should require approximately 60 minutes of your time.

• Benefits: Your participation will help inform policymakers, educators, and researchers at the local, state, and national level about the implementation Title I at the local level.

• More Information: For questions or more information about this study, you may contact the AIR study team at [email protected] or call the study toll-free-number at, 1-800-XXX-XXXX.

Please write your answers directly on the questionnaire by checking the appropriate box, circling the appropriate number, or by writing your answer in the space given.

Thank you for your cooperation in this very important effort!

A. School Characteristics

A.1 Around the first of October 2016, what was the total number of students enrolled in grades K-12 in your school? Please provide a number in the box below.

Number of students

A.2 Of all the students enrolled in grades K-12 in your school around the first of October 2016, how many were…: Please provide a number for each row. If “0”, select the box “None”. Students can be counted in more than one category.

		Number of Students
a.	Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch?		 None
b.	Students with individualized education plans (IEPs)?		 None
c.	English language learners (ELLs)?		 None
d.	Migrant students (students who move from school to school because they are children of migrant agricultural workers, including migratory dairy workers and migratory fishers)?		 None

A.3 Of all the students enrolled in grades K-12 in your school around the first of October 2016, how many were…: Please provide a number in each row. If “0”, select the box “None”.

		Number of Students
Ethnicity
	Hispanic or Latino?		 None
Race
a.	American Indian or Alaska Native?		 None
b.	Asian?		 None
c.	Black or African American?		 None
d.	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander?		 None
e.	White?		 None
f.	Two or More Races?		 None

A.4 In the previous school year (2015-16), what was your school’s attendance rate for:

Enter a percent.

			Attendance Rate (Percent)
a.	Students		%
b.	Teachers		%

A. School Characteristics, (continued)

A.5 Has your school been identified with a federal or state accountability designation for the current school year (2016-17)? Please select yes or no in each row.

			Yes	No
Federal Accountability Designations
a.	Priority school		1	0
b.	Focus school		1	0
c.	Reward school		1	0
State Accountability Designations
a.	High-performing - received a reward or designation for high level of performance or improvement		1	0
b.	Expected performance - achieved expected performance, no special designation		1	0
c.	Low-performing - identified as a result of low performance or decline in performance		1	0

A.6 How many full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers taught in your school during the previous school year (2015-16)?

Please enter the FTE amount to the nearest 0.1. For example ½ FTE as 0.5.

Number of FTE teachers

A.7 How many full-time equivalent teachers (FTEs) were newly hired into your school this school year (2016-17)?

Please enter the FTE amount to the nearest 0.1. For example ½ FTE as 0.5.

Number of FTE teachers

A.8 Please estimate the percentage of teachers currently in your school with the following years of teaching experience.

				Percentage of teachers in the school
a.	No teaching experience (first year teachers)		%
b.	1-5 years of teaching experience		%
c.	6-10 years of teaching experience		%
d.	11-20 years of teaching experience		%
e.	21 or more years of teaching experience		%
	TOTAL		100%

B. School Context and Interventions

B.1 In the current school year (2016-17), please indicate the extent to which your school is focusing on the following strategies in its improvement efforts.

Please select one answer in each row.

	School is…	Not a focus	Minor focus	Moderate focus	Major focus
a.	Using student achievement data to inform instruction and school improvement	1	2	3	4
b.	Aligning curriculum and instruction with standards and/or assessments	1	2	3	4
c.	Implementing new instructional approaches or curricula in reading/language arts/English	1	2	3	4
d.	Implementing new instructional approaches or curricula in mathematics	1	2	3	4
e.	Providing additional instruction to low-achieving students	1	2	3	4
f.	Restructuring the school day to teach core content areas in greater depth (e.g., establishing a literacy block)	1	2	3	4
g.	Increasing instructional time for all students (e.g., by lengthening the school day or year, shortening recess)	1	2	3	4
h.	Providing extended-time instructional programs (e.g., before-school, after-school, or weekend instructional programs)	1	2	3	4
i.	Implementing strategies for increasing parents’ involvement in their children’s education	1	2	3	4
j.	Increasing the intensity, focus, and effectiveness of professional development	1	2	3	4

B.2 Thinking about the current school year (2016-17), what do you consider to be the most promising strategies your school is implementing to support improved student outcomes?

	Strategies
a.	______________________________________________________________________________________
b.	______________________________________________________________________________________
c.	______________________________________________________________________________________

B. School Context and Interventions, (continued)

B.3 Please indicate if you strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree with each of the following statements about your school environment.

Please select one answer for each row.

		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
a.	Once we start a new program, we follow up to make sure that it’s working.	1	2	3	4
b.	I worry that we are adopting too many different programs and practices in this school.	1	2	3	4
c.	This school generally chooses only those school improvement opportunities that fit with our improvement goals and strategies.	1	2	3	4

B.4 To what extent is each of the following issues currently a challenge for your school?

Please select one answer in each row.

	Type of Challenge	Not a challenge	Minor challenge	Moderate challenge	Major challenge
a.	Large class size and/or case load	1	2	3	4
b.	Lack of safety in or around the school	1	2	3	4
c.	Inadequate or substandard facilities	1	2	3	4
d.	Inadequate supports for the lowest-achieving students	1	2	3	4
e.	Too few textbooks and other instructional materials	1	2	3	4
f.	Textbooks and instructional materials that are not aligned with state standards	1	2	3	4
g.	Poor student discipline	1	2	3	4
h.	Insufficient parent involvement	1	2	3	4
i.	Low and/or erratic student attendance	1	2	3	4
j.	Insufficient access to technology	1	2	3	4
k.	Frequent changes in district policy and reform priorities	1	2	3	4
l.	Changes in district leadership	1	2	3	4
m.	High rate of teacher turnover	1	2	3	4
n.	Shortages of qualified teachers	1	2	3	4
o.	Other (please specify below):	1	2	3	4

B. School Context and Interventions, (continued)

B.5 To what extent have you used student assessment results to…:

Please select one answer in each row.

		Did not use in this way	Used minimally	Used moderately	Used extensively
a.	Identify and correct gaps in the curriculum for all students?	1	2	3	4
b.	Recommend tutoring or other educational services for students?	1	2	3	4
c.	Plan professional development activities for teachers?	1	2	3	4
d.	Develop or revise our school improvement plan or strategic plan?	1	2	3	4
e.	Allocate financial resources?	1	2	3	4

B.6 Please indicate if you strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree with each of the following statements.

Please select one answer in each row.

			Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
a.	When district officials make a commitment to our school, they always follow through.		1	2	3	4
b.	Administrators in my district have expertise and skills that are relevant for our school.		1	2	3	4
c.	District officials send mixed messages about district policies.		1	2	3	4
d.	District officials express genuine concern about the challenges our school faces.		1	2	3	4
e.		I have sufficient support from the district for trying new things in my school.	1	2	3	4

C. Decision-Making in Your School

C.1 Please indicate if you strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree with each of the following statements.

Please select one answer in each row.

		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
a.	I understand how resources (personnel and non-personnel) and funding are allocated to my school.	1	2	3	4
b.	I have input regarding how the dollars in my school budget are spent.	1	2	3	4
c.	I have sufficient autonomy to implement an instructional program that meets the needs of the students in my school.	1	2	3	4
d.	I have the resources (personnel and non-personnel) I need to try new things in my school.	1	2	3	4

C.2 In this section we would like to gauge your level of familiarity with the following aspects of Title I. For each of the following statements, please indicate your overall knowledge about Title I funding.

Please select one answer in each row.

			I’m really not sure	I have a general idea, but I am not clear on the details	I have a good understanding of this, and I can explain it to others
a.		How Title I funding levels are determined across schools within my district	1	2	3
b.		Title I regulations and how they apply to my school	1	2	3
c.		The overall purpose of providing Title I funds to schools	1	2	3

C.3 Which statement would best characterize your school’s use of Title I funds over the past three school years?

Please select only one answer.

• We have not changed how we use our Title I funding over the past three years.

• We have made minor adjustments on how we use our Title I funding over the past three years.

• We have significantly revised how we use our Title I funding over the last three years.

• Not applicable – we have received Title I funds for less than three years.

C. Decision-Making in Your School, (continued)

C.4 How frequently do you make revisions to your Title I spending during a given school year?

Please select only one answer.

• We revisit our Title I budget more than two times during the school year and may make changes to our Title I spending.

• We revisit our Title I budget once or twice during the school year and may make changes to our Title I spending.

• We make ad hoc, as-needed adjustments to our Title I spending during the school year.

• I am not involved in decisions regarding the use of Title I funds.

• We do not make any changes to our Title I spending during the school year.

C.5 Which statement would best characterize your school’s involvement in making decisions about the use of Title I funds?

Please select only one answer.

• District staff make all decisions on how to use Title I funds.

• District staff make almost all decisions on how to use Title I funds, but we have some Title I funds we can spend as we choose.

• Our school provides input to district staff who then decide how to use Title I funds on our behalf.

• Our school works closely with district staff to decide how to use Title I funds.

• Our school largely decides how to use Title I funds with minimal input from district staff.

C.6 How much influence do the district or school have on the following decisions or activities?

Please select one answer per row.

	Mostly a district decision	Mostly a school decision	Shared district-school decision
Hiring new teachers	1	2	3
Selecting curricula	1	2	3
Selecting professional development activities for teachers	1	2	3
Developing a school improvement plan or strategic plan	1	2	3
Planning your school’s budget	1	2	3
Planning your school’s use of Title I funds	1	2	3

C. Decision-Making in Your School, (continued)

C.7 Now we would like to know in what month decisions about Title I budget plans were made for the current school year (2016-17).

Please enter month as a number (e.g., January = 01). If you have not been involved in this process, select “I don’t know”.

		Enter Month
a.	When does your school usually begin work on the Title I plan for the next school year?	MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.
b.	When do you find out about all of the Title I resources (funds and personnel) provided to your school?	MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.
c.	When do you find out about the amount of Title I funds that you can control (discretionary) at the school level?	MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.
d.	When is your final school-level Title I plan due?	MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.
e.	When do you receive the Title I funds that you can control at the school level?	MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.

C.8 In what month does your school usually conduct a needs assessment to inform your Title I planning for next school year?

Please enter month as a number (e.g., January = 01). If you have not been involved in this process, select “I don’t know.” If your school does not conduct a needs assessment for this purpose, please select that option.

Enter Month
MM	 I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this process.  Our school does not conduct a needs assessment for this purpose.

C.9 To what extent are each of the following individuals involved in conducting the needs assessment for Title I planning?

Please select one answer per row.

	No involvement	Limited involvement	Moderate involvement	Substantial involvement
School administrators	1	2	3	4
District administrators	1	2	3	4
Teachers	1	2	3	4
Instructional Coaches	1	2	3	4
Parents	1	2	3	4
Community Members	1	2	3	4
Students	1	2	3	4
Other (please specify below):	1	2	3	4

D. Use of Title I Funds

For this section, it will be helpful if you can refer to your school’s budget (including Title I) and staffing plan.

D.1 For the previous school year (2015-16) what was the school-controlled portion of the Title I allocation for your school?

The school-controlled portion includes those Title I dollars directly provided by the district to your school to be used at your discretion to provide services under a schoolwide or targeted assistance Title I program.

$	School-controlled portion of the Title I allocation for school year 2015-16

• I don’t know

• Not applicable, our school did not receive Title I Funds in school year 2015-16 , Go to Question D.7 on page 16

D.2 For the previous school year (2015-16), how many full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated and other staff in each of the following categories were funded by Title I (either from your school-controlled portion or directly provided by the district)?

• Certificated staff are employed in positions that require a professional education certificate/credentials that are registered with the local district employer.

• Other staff are employed in positions that do not require certification.

Please enter the FTE amount to the nearest 0.1. For example if a teacher works ½ time enter 0.5. If “0”, select the box “None”.

	Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Staff
	Certificated	Other Staff
Teachers	 None	 None
Paraprofessionals (e.g., teacher aides, instructional assistants)	 None	 None
Instructional coaches	 None	 None
English Language Learner (ELL) specialists	 None	 None
Curriculum coordinators	 None	 None
Assessment coordinators	 None	 None
Data analysts	 None	 None
Administrative staff (e.g., principals, assistant principals)	 None	 None
Technology support staff	 None	 None
Parent, family, or community coordinator or liaisons	 None	 None
Other (please specify below):	 None	 None

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.3 For the previous school year (2015-16), please indicate in Column A if any of the Title I-funded certificated and/or other staff you listed in D2 were used to implement various improvement efforts.

Then, in Column B, please indicate where appropriate how many of the certificated and other FTEs were used in each improvement effort.

• Certificated staff are employed in positions that require a professional education certificate/credentials that are registered with the local district employer.

• Other staff are employed in positions that do not require certification.

If there is 1.0 FTE of a staff member whose effort is spent on more than one improvement effort, enter the appropriate fractions of their time in the different strategies. For example, if a teacher spends half of their time on reading curricula and half of their time on math curricula, then enter 0.5 in the Certificated Staff column for each of these improvement efforts.

Column A		Column B
Were Title I funds used to support certificated and/or other staff in implementing any of the following improvement efforts?		For this improvement effort, how many full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated and/or other staff were supported by your Title I funds?
Improvement Efforts		Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Personnel Resources
		Certificated Staff	Other Staff
If yes then go to Column B, otherwise go to the next row.		Enter the FTE amount to the nearest 0.1. If “0”, select the box “None.”
Instructional approaches or curricula in reading/language arts/English	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Instructional approaches or curricula in mathematics	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Instructional approaches or curricula in other subjects	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Extended-time instructional programs (e.g., before-school, after-school, or weekend instructional programs)	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Strategies for increasing parental involvement in children’s education	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Supports for English language learners (ELLs)	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Supports for students with disabilities	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Support for use of data to inform instruction and school improvement	 Yes  No	 None	 None
Support for use of technology	 Yes  No	 None	 None

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.4 For the previous school year (2015-16), please think about all of the non-personnel resources at your school supported by Title I funds (either from your school-controlled portion or provided by the district). Please indicate the approximate amount spent in 2015-16 across the categories listed below.

Enter $ amount to the nearest $500. For example, $10,500. If $0 or none select “None”. If you do not know the amount please select “Don’t know”.

	Total Amount
Professional development		 None  Don’t know
Materials		 None  Don’t know
Licenses / fees		 None  Don’t know
All other		 None  Don’t know
Total		 None  Don’t know

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D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.5 Please think about the spending on the non-personnel resources you listed in D.4 and indicate in Column A if any of this spending was used to support different improvement efforts.

Then, indicate in Column B where appropriate how much of the Title I allocation was used for each improvement effort.

Column A		Column B
Did you use Title I funds to support any of the following improvement efforts?		For each of the non-personnel resource categories, how much of the Title I funds (listed above) were used for this improvement effort?
Improvement Efforts		Non-Personnel Resources
		Professional development	Materials	Licenses / fees	Other
If yes then go to Column B, otherwise go to the next row.		Enter $ amount to the nearest $500. For example, $10,500. If “0”, select the box “None”.
Instructional approaches or curricula in reading/language arts/English	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Instructional approaches or curricula in mathematics	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Instructional approaches or curricula in other subjects	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Extended-time instructional programs (e.g., before-school, after-school, or weekend instructional programs)	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Strategies for increasing parents’ involvement in their children’s education	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Supports for English language learners (ELLs)	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Supports for students with disabilities	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Support for use of data to inform instruction and school improvement	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None
Support for use of technology	 Yes  No	 None	 None	 None	 None

D. Use of Title I Funds, (continued)

D.6 For the current school year (2016-17), is your school designated a schoolwide Title I school or a targeted assistance Title I school?

Please select one answer.

• Our school is a schoolwide Title I school Go to Question D.7 below

• Our school is a targeted assistance Title I school Go to Question E.1 on page 16

D.7 Which one of the following statements most accurately reflects your understanding of the composition of funding used to support your school’s Title I Schoolwide Program?

Please select one answer.

 The funds used to support my school’s program include Title I funding that is coordinated with other federal, state, and local funding sources.

 The funds used to support my school’s program include Title I dollars that are consolidated with dollars from other federal, state, and local funding sources to form a single funding pool.

 The funds used to support my school’s program include Title I dollars that are neither coordinated nor consolidated with other federal, state, and local funding sources.

 I don’t know.

E. Your Professional Development and Background

E.1 Considering your own professional development, please indicate in Column A how many hours of professional development you received in each of the following areas during the previous school year (2015-16, including summer 2016). Include only workshops, coursework, and conferences sponsored by your school, district, or state. Then, for each area you attended, please indicate in Column B if the professional development was useful or not.

Please enter total number of hours in each row. If none, please write “0” hours and go to the next row.

		Column A	Column B
	Area of Professional Development	Number of Hours	Was this professional development useful?
a.	Reading/language arts/English		Yes No
b.	Mathematics		Yes No
c.	Other academic subjects (e.g., science, social studies, foreign language)		Yes No
d.	Instructional strategies for English Language Learners (ELLs)		Yes No
e.	Instructional strategies for students with individualized education programs (IEPs)		Yes No
f.	Analyzing and interpreting student achievement data		Yes No
g.	Use of educational technology		Yes No
h.	School management or governance		Yes No
i.	Title I planning and budgeting		Yes No

E.2 Including the current school year (2016-17), how many years have you been employed as a principal of this or any other school?

Please count the current school year as one full year.

Number of years across all schools

E.3 How long have you been principal of this school?

Please count the current school year as one full year.

Number of years in this school

E.4 How many years of teaching experience do you have?

Number of years

F. Share Your Thoughts About Title I Funds

F.1 If there is anything else you would like to tell us about the use of Title I funds in your school, please enter your comments here.

Comments:

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEY! WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

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