School Liaison Recruitment Call Script - PYFP School

Empowering students to be fit for life.

Founding Partners

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-xxxx

Exp. Date xx/xx/xxxx

[Date]

[Contact Name]

[School Name]

[Address]

[City], [State] [Zip Code]

Dear {First Name Last Name},

I am writing to you because [SUPERINTENDENT or PRINCIPAL NAME] gave us your name as someone who would be well qualified to serve as a liaison for the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP) Evaluation. The evaluation of the PYFP is being supported by a partnership between the PYFP, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and ICF International. You have been recommended to be a liaison between [SCHOOL NAME] and the team leading the evaluation at ICF. [SCHOOL NAME] will be one of a small number of schools participating in the national evaluation of the PYFP.

To give you some background, the mission of the PYFP is to provide a model for fitness education within a comprehensive, quality physical education program that includes all of the resources needed to empower students to live healthy and active lifestyles. The PYFP focuses on professional development for physical educators, a health-related fitness assessment for students, and motivational recognition to empower students to adopt and maintain an active lifestyle. We are eager to assess the impact the program has on students, PE teachers and their schools. In order to assess program outcomes, the PYFP evaluation has been designed to focus data collection activities in schools implementing the PYFP and in similar schools that have not implemented the PYFP.

Because the evaluation is being conducted in a small number of schools across the country, it is important to have someone available in each school who is familiar with the school and its staff, and can support activities associated with data collection. The primary role of the liaison will be to assist with recruitment at the beginning of the semester and coordinate data collection activities at both the beginning and end of the semester. The school liaison will:

• Participate in two brief virtual trainings (1 hour each) about the evaluation and recruitment in order to understand the overall project and the specific data collection activities.

• Participate in a 1 hour accelerometry data collection training. (select schools).

• Participate in weekly communication with the ICF evaluation team.

• Help to collect information about the school’s physical education (PE) policies and schedules.

• Assist with parent and student recruitment activities (e.g., providing PYFP evaluation overview to students, distributing parent/student recruitment packets, collecting consent forms and sending consent forms to the PYFP evaluation team).

• Help with scheduling end of semester fitness assessments and focus groups.

• Assist the PYFP evaluation team in administering student surveys at the end of the semester.

• Distribute accelerometers and supporting materials to the students selected to wear them, and collect accelerometers at the end of the data collection week and return them to the ICF evaluation team. This will be done at the beginning and end of the semester. (select schools)

• Distribute non-monetary thank you gifts for students who participate in accelerometry data collection. (select schools)

[If thank you gifts are allowed to be given to the liaison: As a sign of appreciation for your efforts, the liaison who assists with activities related to PE teacher, student and administrator surveys as well as fitness assessments will receive a thank you gift of $300 (approximately 15-20 hours). Liaisons assisting with accelerometry data collection activities will receive an additional $300 (an additional 15-20 hours) and those assisting with focus groups, an additional $100 (an additional 4-8 hours). ]

[If thank you gifts are not allowed to be given to the liaison: As a sign of appreciation for your efforts, the evaluation team will award $300 to the school for your help with activities related to PE teacher, student and administrator surveys as well as fitness assessments. Liaisons assisting with accelerometry data collection activities will receive an additional $300 for their schools (an additional 15-20 hours) and those assisting with focus groups, an additional $100 for their school (an additional 4-8 hours). ]

The school district superintendent and the principal of the school have agreed to participate in this evaluation of the PYFP. If you feel that you are qualified and available to serve in the role, we hope that you will agree to serve as the liaison for [SCHOOL NAME]. Information collected through the PYFP evaluation will be used to assess the impact of the program and inform program improvement. All of the evaluation procedures are designed to protect participant privacy and allow for confidential participation. Results from this evaluation will only be presented in aggregate; participating districts, schools, teachers, and students will not be identified in any published reports.

If you are willing and able to serve as the school liaison for the PYFP evaluation, please contact the project director Dr. Isabela Lucas of ICF International at 404-592-2155 or [email protected]. A member of the ICF team will contact you in a week to gauge your interest and see if you have any questions. Your support for this evaluation, which will help assess and improve the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, is appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Jane Wargo

Program Director

Presidential Youth Fitness Program

Enclosures

Cc: Sarah M. Lee, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[PRINCIPAL, SCHOOL]

Isabela Lucas, ICF International

[Recruiter], ICF International