Study of the Turnaround Schoool Leaders Program

Study of the Turnaround School Leaders Program (TSLP)

1875-NEW TSLP OMB Package_Appendix B_Survey Instrument (District Partner) 9-28-2016 version

Study of the Turnaround Schoool Leaders Program

OMB: 1875-0283

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Contract Number: ED-PEP-11-O-0088/TO28

Task Order 28

Implementation Study of the
Turnaround School Leaders Program


Study Instruments

Survey Instrument

Appendix B. District Partner Survey





September 28, 2016



Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development

Policy and Program Studies Service



Prepared by:

Westat

1600 Research Boulevard

Rockville, MD 20850-3129

(301) 251-1500


and


Policy Studies Associates

1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400

Washington, DC 20009

(202) 939-9780





Survey

Introduction

The Implementation of the Turnaround School Leaders Program study (TSLP) is examining how grantees recruit, develop, support, and retain leaders for turnaround schools. This study is being conducted by Westat and its partner, Policy Studies Associates, for the United States (U.S.) Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service.


This survey is part of the study. Your responses are critical to drawing lessons about the implementation of the Turnaround School Leaders Program.


The survey includes four sections:



  1. The roles project partners play in implementing projects and helping grantees achieve project goals.

  2. How grantees are adapting to challenges in implementing their projects.

  3. How programs recruit, select, place, develop, and support leadership candidates.

  4. How grantees are measuring the success of their TSLP projects.


Responses to this data collection will be used only for research purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.


Participation in this study is required under the conditions of the Turnaround School Leadership grant program (34 CFR 75.591). 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. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is: XXXX-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection.

  1. Partner Roles

I-1. Which of the following roles does your district play in the project?

Project function

Role

Not involved

Participate in discussions about this function

Assist other partners with primary responsibility

Share responsibility for this function equally with other partners

Primarily responsible for function with help from others

Solely responsible for this function

Conceptualizing the overall project

Identifying turnaround leadership skills or competencies

Recruiting leaders or aspiring leaders

Developing selection criteria for accepting applicants

Making the decision to select an applicant into the turnaround leader training

Developing training content

Delivering training

Providing coaching or mentoring to project participants

Developing criteria for assessing participant performance

Evaluating participant performance

Deciding who will be graduated from the training

Providing ongoing support for placed leaders

Deciding how to measure the success of the TSLP project

Evaluating the overall success of the TSLP project

I-2. Is there a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or other written agreement documenting the roles and responsibilities of each partner organization?

  • Yes

  • No

  • Other __________________________________


I-3. What were your two biggest successes in making your partnership work?

Text box for open-ended response






I-4. What were your two biggest challenges in making your partnership work?

Text box for open-ended response








  1. Project Changes and Sustainability


II-1. Has your TSLP project changed in any of the following areas since you received the grant?

  1. Recruitment of current or potential leaders

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

a.1 Developed better methods

a.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

a.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

a.4 Input from program participants

a.5 Financial constraints

a.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

a.7 Other (please describe) _____________________


  1. Methods of selecting project participants

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

b.1 Developed better methods

b.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

b.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

b.4 Input from program participants

b.5 Financial constraints

b.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

b.7 Other (please describe) _____________________




  1. Content of turnaround leadership professional development

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?


Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

c.1 Developed better methods

c.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

c.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

c.4 Input from program participants

c.5 Financial constraints

c.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

c.7 Other (please describe) _____________________


  1. Mentoring or coaching provided to current or potential leaders

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

d.1 Developed better methods

d.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

d.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

d.4 Input from program participants

d.5 Financial constraints

d.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

d.7 Other (please describe) ____________________




  1. Incentives for current or potential leaders to participate

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

e.1 Developed better methods

e.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

e.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

e.4 Input from program participants

e.5 Financial constraints

e.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

e.7 Other (please describe) ____________________


  1. Change in the population of schools being served

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

f.1 Developed better methods

f.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

f.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

f.4 Input from program participants

f.5 Financial constraints

f.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

f.7 Other (please describe) _____________________




  1. Changing professional development or support providers

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don’t know


If yes, how important were the following?

Potential reason

Not a factor

Contributing factor

Main factor

g.1 Developed better methods

g.2 Change in state or district policies or priorities

g.3 Changes in capacity or commitment of other partners

g.4 Input from program participants

g.5 Financial constraints

g.6 Change in the demand for turnaround leaders (e.g., more or fewer vacancies than expected)

g.7 Other (please describe) _____________________


  1. Use the text box below to describe any other major changes not covered above and the reasons the changes were made.


Text box for open-ended response








II-2. Do you expect that your district will continue to work with the other partners on preparing turnaround school leaders after the TSLP grant expires?

  • Yes

  • No (skip to question III-1)


II-3. Do you expect to continue to work with these partners in any of the following ways? (Please check all that apply.)

  • To identify or recruit potential turnaround leaders

  • To provide input on the training/preparation needs of turnaround school leaders

  • To select or place leaders for turnaround schools

  • To provide training or development opportunities specifically targeted to turnaround school leaders

  • To provide coaching or mentoring support to turnaround school leaders

  • To help your district assess the training/development needs or performance of turnaround school leaders

  • Other (Please describe) _________________________________________________

  1. Recruitment, Selection, Development, Placement, Evaluation, Support, and Retention

III-1. Does your district do any of the following to identify potential candidates for turnaround school leadership before they become school leaders or apply to participate in your TSLP project?

  • Seek referrals from peers or existing school leaders

  • Collect and analyze information on prior performance of existing staff

  • Develop or review skills inventories

  • Obtain lists of those currently in teacher leader roles or other positions along the leadership pipeline

  • Use historical data patterns to identify the initial career paths of successful school leaders

  • Use historical data patterns to identify where successful turnaround leaders were recruited in the past

  • Other __________________________________________________________


III-2. Does your district provide training on any of the following topics to TSLP participants? (Please consider only training provided by the district, and not that provided by other project partners, if any.)


Yes

No

  1. Developing/communicating a school vision or strategy

  1. Developing a positive school culture

  1. Teacher hiring, evaluation, and retention

  1. Selecting instructional models or curricula

  1. Culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy

  1. Use of data for instructional and project decisions

  1. Parent communication/engagement

  1. Community engagement/partnership

  1. Communication/interpersonal skills

  1. Student behavior/engagement

  1. Resource allocation and budgeting

  1. Technology use

  1. Other topics on which your district provides training about school leadership to TSLP participants, beyond that provided through the TSLP grant


If response to m above is yes, please list topics.










III-3. To evaluate participants, does your district use: (Select NA in the appropriate rows if your project has no participants to whom the column applies.)


For participants who are currently school leaders

For participants who are not currently school leaders

Yes No NA

Yes No NA

  1. Course grades?

  1. Observation of practice by mentor, supervisor, or project staff?

  1. Self-assessment?

  1. Review of artifacts such as school improvement plans, budgets, or meeting agendas?

  1. Student surveys?

  1. Staff surveys?

  1. Parent surveys?

  1. Student achievement growth?

  1. Other student outcomes?

  1. Other ______________________________


III-4. When are aspiring turnaround leaders (those not currently leading a SIG,SIG-eligible, or turnaround school) matched with a leadership position in a turnaround school?

  • Not applicable; our project includes only leaders who currently lead turnaround schools <Skip to question III-8>

  • Before they apply to the project (e.g., applicant or sponsor designates school of placement)

  • At the time they apply to or are accepted into the turnaround leader training

  • During their training

  • After the completion of their training

  • Other (Please describe in text box below.)










III-5. What roles do district staff play in deciding where turnaround leaders who complete the TSLP are placed? (Check all that apply.)

  • Screen or assess qualifications for leading a turnaround school

  • Participate in deliberations about candidate fit

  • Recommend hiring or placement

  • Make final hiring/placement decision (subject to district governing board or committee approval)




III-6. In general, how important is each of the following when making placement decisions?



Not important

Somewhat important

Important

Very important

  1. Prior experience in the potential placement school

  1. Prior experience in a similar school

  1. Performance during the development project

  1. Prior experience in the placement district

  1. Experience/expertise with specific school improvement/turnaround strategies

  1. Other forms of leadership experience

  1. Other ___________________________

  1. Other ___________________________


III-7. Besides incentives associated with the TSLP grant program, does your district use any of the following financial incentives to attract or retain effective leaders in turnaround schools?


Yes

No

  1. A one-time bonus upon being placed or hired as a leader

  1. A special salary increase for taking a job as a turnaround leader

  1. A retention bonus or stipend after each year of leading a turnaround school

  1. A performance-based bonus or stipend specifically for leaders of turnaround schools

  1. A performance-based bonus or stipend similar to that for which other school leaders in the district would be eligible

  1. Other (please describe)


III-8. Are any nonfinancial incentives provided or available to turnaround school leaders?

  • Yes

  • No


<If respondent selects yes, show text box> Please list the non-financial incentives.






III-9. Who typically pays the tuition or fee (if any) for TSLP program participants from your district?

  • Federal grant funds

  • Participant

  • School district

  • Not applicable – there is no tuition or fee


III-10. After completion of the turnaround leader training, does your district provide any of the following supports to TSLP participants placed as turnaround school leaders?


Yes

No

  1. Periodic group meetings or seminars with other turnaround leaders

  1. Assistance with work products like school improvement plans, budgets

  1. Assistance with individual professional development planning

  1. Individual mentoring or coaching


<If respondent selects “Yes” to III-10d, present questions III-11 and III-12; if respondent selects “No” to
III-10d, skip to question III-13>.


III-11. How long after placement is the mentor or coach available to work with the school leader?

  • Less than 1 year

  • 1 year

  • 2 years

  • More than 2 years

  • As long as the leader remains in a turnaround school


III-12. About how often do mentors or coaches:

Activity

Not expected

Weekly

Twice a month

Monthly

Several times per year

Once per year

  1. Maintain regular contact with the participants?

  1. Provide social/emotional support?

  1. Suggest resources, strategies, or techniques to improve performance?

  1. Observe the leaders practicing leadership activities (e.g., conducting staff meetings, parent meetings, teacher evaluations)?

  1. Advise/assist participants with work assignments?

  1. Model appropriate leadership behavior?

  1. Provide input into a summative evaluation of the participants’ performance?


III-13. Does your district provide any of the following additional supports or resources to turnaround schools, over and above what typical schools in your district receive?


Yes

No

  1. Technical assistance from district staff or outside consultants

  1. Additional staff or funding

  1. Additional budgeting or staffing flexibility

  1. A longer school day or year

  1. Preferential opportunity to recruit more qualified or effective teachers

  1. Financial incentives to attract or retain qualified or effective teachers

  1. Nonfinancial incentives (e.g., smaller class size, planning time, reduced classroom hours) to attract or retain qualified or effective teachers



  1. Measuring the Success of Your Project

IV-1. In addition to your project’s GPRA Indicators, is your district using any locally-developed metrics to measure the project’s performance?

  • Yes

  • No (Skip to the end of the survey)


IV-2. Which of the following are included in your locally developed metrics?


Yes

No

  1. Percentage of participants receiving license, certification, endorsement, or degree

  1. Performance of leaders on competency assessments or performance evaluation instruments designed for the project

  1. Performance of placed leaders as evaluated by state/district school administrator evaluation process (i.e., ratings of performance or effectiveness)

  1. Participants’ perceptions of the project

  1. Supervisors’ perceptions of participants

  1. School climate/culture in leaders’ schools

  1. Achievement gaps in leaders’ schools

  1. Retention of participants remaining as a leader of a high-need or SIG school after training or placement

  1. Other _______________________________________________

  1. Other ________________________________________________


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