State, Local, and Tribal Government - State Child Nutrition Agency, SFA, and Schools

APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

NOTE TO REVIEWER:
This appendix includes the SFA Study Notification and School Data Verification E-Letter and
the SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide which was sent as an attachment to the
letter.
The following were also sent with this email correspondence:
•

Copy of the Official Study Notification E-Letter from FNS to FNS Regional Liaisons
(see Exhibit O1-3 in Appendix O1: Sample Frame Development and Selection Process)

•

APEC III Fact Sheet (for SFAs and Schools) (see Appendix O10: APEC III Fact Sheet
for SFAs and Schools

APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

OMB Number: 0584-0530
Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Dear <>,
By now, you should have received notice from your State’s Child Nutrition Office that <> was randomly selected to participate in the third Access, Participation, Eligibility and
Certification Study (APEC III) series. For this effort, the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has contracted with Westat to conduct APEC III.
APEC III is authorized under the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act
(IPERIA) of 2012 to ensure the financial and programmatic integrity of programs such as the
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP).
APEC III is a research study, not an audit of any type. All information collected will be kept private to the
extent provided by law and will not affect meal reimbursements or meal program benefits for any
participating State agency, SFA, school, or household. The attached APEC III Study Fact Sheet
provides information about the study and data collection.
Your assistance is critical to ensure a representative sample, scientifically valid findings, and
improvements to the NSLP and SBP.
Sample of Schools from your SFA
We have compiled a list of schools in your district from the National Center for Education Statistics’
Common Core of Data. This data included school names, addresses, grade levels, number enrolled,
number of students certified for free and reduced-price meals and Provision 1, 2 or 3 status.
To get started with the sampling of schools from >, we request that your office
review the file and confirm the information or provide updates and/or corrections to us. The list of
your schools can be accessed from the study’s web-based portal. We have enclosed a reference guide
that provides instructions on (a) how to access the web-based portal, (b) how to conduct the review
of your data, and (c) how to submit updates and/or corrections.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this
information collection is 0584-0530. The time required for the SFA Director to complete this information collection is estimated
to average 3 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather and maintain the
data needed, and complete and review the collection of information.

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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

Next Steps
To begin, you can access the APEC III Web-based Portal using the URL and PIN number provided
below:
URL: www.apec3sfa.org
SFA PIN: <>
You may go to the Web Portal and begin reviewing this information at any time. In about a week or
two, an APEC III Research team member will contact you to ensure that you received this request,
answer any questions you may have about the study and provide assistance as needed.
We kindly request that your SFA’s information is confirmed and/or updated within the next 30
days.
Once again, please feel free to contact the research team at 1-855-820-6138 or email us at
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.
Sincerely,

Attachments:
1. Official Study Notification E-Letter from FNS to FNS Regional Liaisons [see Exhibit O1-3
in Appendix O1: Sample Frame Development and Selection Process]
2. APEC III Fact Sheet (For SFAs and Schools) [see Appendix O10: APEC III Fact Sheet for
SFAs and Schools)]
3. School Data Verification Reference Guide for School Food Authorities (SFAs) [see
Attachment on next page]

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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

School Data Verification
Reference Guide
for
School Food Authorities (SFAs)

July 2016

APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
1. SUMMARY......................................................................................................................... 1
2. WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO .................................................................. 1
2.1. At the School Food Authority (SFA) level ............................................ 1
2.2. At the school level: Review and update your school data. .................. 1
2.2.1 Reviewing school data .................................................................... 1
2.2.2 Removing a school .......................................................................... 2
2.2.3 Adding a school ............................................................................... 2
2.3. CEP Schools .............................................................................................. 2
3. NOTES REGARDING THE WEB PORTAL ........................................................... 3
4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR NAVIGATING THE WEB BASED PORTAL .............. 4
4.1. Getting Started........................................................................................... 4
4.2 Accessing the Web Portal ......................................................................... 4
4.3 Saving Your Work ...................................................................................... 7
4.4 Reviewing and Updating SFA Contact Information............................. 7
4.5 Reviewing and Updating School Information ....................................... 9
4.6 Adding or Removing a School ............................................................... 12
4.6.1 Add a New School ........................................................................ 13
4.6.2 Remove a School ........................................................................... 14
4.7 Reviewing your Progress ......................................................................... 15
4.8. SFAs with CEP Schools ......................................................................... 17
4.8.1 CEP schools in More Than One Group ................................... 19
Table 1. Review and Update Instructions ..................................................... 2
LIST OF FIGURES:
Figure 1 - Web Portal Landing Page .............................................................. 5
Figure 2 - School Data Verification Page...................................................... 6
Figure 3 - Saved data notification................................................................... 7
Figure 4 - SFA information ............................................................................. 7
Figure 5 - Edit fields......................................................................................... 8
Figure 6 - Verify information .......................................................................... 9
Figure 7 - Update school information ......................................................... 11
Figure 8 - School level information ............................................................. 12
Figure 9a - New school template with empty data fields .......................... 13
Figure 9b - New school with completed information ............................... 13
Figure 10 - Remove School ........................................................................... 14
Figure 11 - Updated information ................................................................. 15
Figure 12 - All schools verified ..................................................................... 16
Figure 13 - Verify that the list of CEP schools is correct ......................... 17
Figure 14 - Back to School Verification page ............................................. 17
Figure 15 - Type of grouping of CEP schools ........................................... 18
Figure 16 - Grouping of CEP Schools ........................................................ 19
Figure 17 - Thank You Page ......................................................................... 20
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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
1. SUMMARY
Thank you for your participation in the Third Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification
Study (APEC III).
The information about your School Food Authority’s schools presented in the School Verification page
of the APEC III Web Portal was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics’
Common Core Data (CCD). We need your assistance in verifying, and if needed, updating this
information for your SFA’s schools. The success of this important study relies on having up to date
and accurate data.
If at any time you need assistance, please call 1-855-820-6138 Monday through Friday between
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight time or send an email to [email protected].
Please see page 4 of this Reference Guide for detailed instructions on how to log on and navigate
the Web Portal.
2. WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO
2.1. At the School Food Authority (SFA) level: Provide your SFA’s main address and phone
number.


Please click on the “Update/Comment” button at the bottom of the SFA information to enter
the SFA complete main address and telephone number including area code.

2.2. At the school level: Review and update your school data.
2.2.1 Reviewing school data







Please review a school’s information across each row.
As part of your review specify if a school is a CEP or not.
If all the rest of the information about the school is correct, click on the “Yes” button in the
Is this information correct? column (second to the last). A check mark will appear in the Status
column.
If any school level information needs updating/correcting, please click the “No” button in
the Is this information correct? column. You will be directed to the Update School Information page
where you will be able to update and correct any of the fields described on Table 1.
Table 1 provides a summary of the data elements at the school level and the update
instructions.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
Table 1. Review and Update Instructions
Data Element at the School Level
a. Confirm if the lowest and highest grades for
the school are correct.
b. Confirm that the number of enrolled students
falls within the range provided.
c. Confirm if the number of students eligible for
free and reduced meals falls within the range
provided.
d. Select whether the school is a CEP school.

e. Confirm if the school is a Provision 1, 2 or 3
school.

Update Instructions
There are two drop down boxes where you will
be able to select the lowest and highest grades.
If the current school enrollment falls outside the
range, please enter the actual number of
students enrolled. The system will calculate the
range.
If the current number of students eligible for free
and reduced meals falls outside the range, please
enter the actual number. The system will calculate
the range.

Click on the “Yes/No” radio buttons in the
column Is this a CEP school? or go to the Update
School Information page and use the drop down
box to select “Yes/No.”
To update this information you need to go to the
Update School Information page and use the drop
down box to select “Yes/No.”

2.2.2 Removing a school


If a school is closed or no longer has enrolled students, please click on the button “Remove
School.” It is the last column to the right. This button will take you to a verification page
where you will need to first enter a reason for the closure and then confirm the deletion by
click the “Yes” button. Remember to do it in this order because once you click on “Yes” you
will not be able to provide the reason. When you are done with this process, an
will
appear in the Status column in the School Data Verification page.

2.2.3 Adding a school


If you find that a school is not included on the list, please click on the button “Add School”
located at the upper left of the page just below the School Data Verification title.

2.3 CEP Schools
 If you do not have any CEP schools in your SFA and you verified all the school information,
you will be all done after you submit your responses.


If your SFA has CEP schools, and you submitted your verification, you will be directed to a
page that asks you to verify if the list is complete and accurate.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs


If the list is correct, you will need to click “Yes.” If the list is not complete, you will click
“No” and you will be directed back to the School Verification page where you will be able to fix
the CEP status for the incorrect school(s).



When the list of CEP schools is correct, you will be directed to a page that asks about the
grouping of the CEP schools. By groups we mean claim percentages used by individual
school, by group of schools, or district wide based on the identified student percentage
(ISP).



If ALL the CEP schools in your SFA are claimed district wide, please click on the “Yes”
button in response to this question, and you will be all done.



If your SFA claims percentages by a group of schools or on a school-by-school basis, please
click on the “No” button. You will then be asked to assign your CEP schools to their group
based on claiming percentage. If a school is in a group by itself, only assign that one school
to a group.
3. NOTES REGARDING THE WEB PORTAL



The system allows the option to sort any of the columns either from highest to lowest or
from lowest to highest values. The School Name column can be sorted alphabetically either
from A-Z or from Z-A.



The default number of schools per page is 10, if your SFA has more than 10 schools and
would prefer to see more schools per page, there is a drop down menu at the bottom left of
the page where you can select 10, 25, or 50 schools per page.



As you work on verifying the school data you have two options to save your work,
depending on what you plan to do next.
o You can click the “Save Responses and Continue” button if you want to save your work
and either keep working or stop briefly (i.e. stepping away from your desk for 15
minutes). If you select this option, you will remain at the screen that you were when
you saved your work.
o The second save option is “Save Responses and Exit.” You will select this option if you
have not verified all the schools, but want to continue in another session or another
day. If you select this option, you will see a page that lets you know that your work
has been saved.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs


When every school has a check mark
or an
in the Status column click on the
“Verification Completed, Submit Responses” button. The next steps are determined by whether or
not your SFA has CEP schools.
4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR NAVIGATING THE WEB-BASED PORTAL

4.1 Getting Started

 The screenshots included in these instructions were captured from a test version of the
website. The actual screens on the website may appear slightly different.
 You will need your SFA Personal Identification Number (PIN) and the web portal URL to login
to the Portal. This was provided in the cover letter we sent along with this guide.
 The Web Portal is designed to work with any browser, such as Google Chrome, Internet
Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.
 Please contact us Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight
time at 1-855-820-6138 or send an email to [email protected] if you need your
PIN or if you have any technical questions or issues using the Web Portal.
4.2 Accessing the Web Portal
1) To access the Web Portal go to www.apec3sfa.org. This link will take you to the landing page where
you will be able to:
 Login using your PIN
 Read an overview of what we are asking you to do, and
 Find contact information for help

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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
Figure 1 – Web Portal Landing Page

This icon represents an
electronic version of this
Reference Guide

Enter your PIN here and
click “Submit.” (Tip: you
can copy and paste)

Here is an overview of what
we are asking you to do.

For questions, contact the
APEC III research team.

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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
2) After a successful login, the School Data Verification page opens.

Figure 2 – School Data Verification Page

An electronic version of the
Reference Guide can be found
here.

SFA
information.

School
information.

Click here when the data
of all the schools in your
SFA has been verified.

Click here if you want to
save your work and
continue (in the same
session).

Click here if you if you have
not verified all the schools but
want to exit and continue in
another session.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.3 Saving Your Work
3) If you click on “Save Responses and Continue” you will remain in the same page you are working on; if
you click on “Save Responses and Exit” you will see the page below (figure 3). Once you are directed to
this page, you will be able to exit the Web Portal.
Figure 3 – Saved data notification

4.4 Reviewing and Updating SFA Contact Information
4) School Food Authority information is located in the upper portion of the School Data Verification page

and this is where you will provide the SFA’s main office street address and telephone number.
No review is required for the General Information section. The general information about the SFA appears to
the right of the contact information; it is dynamic and will change automatically when you update information
at the school level. This information includes:
 total number of students enrolled,
 total number of students eligible for free or reduced meals,
 total numbers of schools, and
 information if the SFA contains CEP and/or Provision 1, 2, or 3 schools
General information
This information reflects the
cumulative information of all
the schools in the SFA

Figure 4 – SFA information

Click here to provide the
SFA street address and
telephone number.

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APPENDIX O4. SFA STUDY NOTIFICATION AND SCHOOL DATA VERIFICATION E-LETTER

SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
5) This is the SFA Edit Contact Information page where you will provide the street address and telephone

number for the SFA.

Figure 5 – Edit fields

The SFA name field is
locked. If it is not correct,
enter the correct name in
the comments box

Provide address and
phone number, and if
needed a comment.

Click on Submit button
once all updates are made

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.5 Reviewing and Updating School Information
6) School level information is located in the lower portion of the School Data Verification page. This is

where you will review each school’s information for accuracy.
Each column can be sorted from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest values by clicking on
the column header. The school names can also be sorted alphabetically.

Review the number of students
enrolled. The information is
accurate if the number of enrolled
students falls within the range
provided.

Review the number of Students Eligible
for Free/Reduced lunch. The
information is accurate if the number of
eligible students falls within the range
provided.

Figure 6 – Verify information

Click here to adjust the number of
schools per page

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs

Figure 6 – Verify information (continued)

Review the lowest
and highest grade
levels for accuracy.

Select “Yes” or
“No” to indicate
whether the
school is a CEP
school.

If all the
information for
the school is
correct, click on
“Yes”.

Review if the
school is a
Provision 1, 2 or
3 school.

If any
information is
not correct,
click on “No”
so you can
update.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
7) If you entered “No” for “Is this information correct?” you will see this page. Here is where you will

edit, update, or correct inaccurate school information. Only correct the fields for information that
were inaccurate.

In this example we updated the number of students enrolled (from 550 to 850), the highest grade
level (from 5th to 7th grade), the CEP status (from “no” to “yes”), and the Provision status (from
“no” to “yes”).

Enter the number actual
number, not the range

Figure 7 – Update school information

Using the drop
down menu
you can adjust
the lowest
grade.

When finished, click on the
Update Information button

Using the drop down
menu you can adjust
the highest grade.

Add any comments
that may be helpful
in explaining the
updated information

Using the drop
down menu you
can select Yes/No

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.6 Adding or Removing a School
8) The list of schools provided may not reflect the current list of schools in your SFA.
 If your SFA has a school not on the list, click on the “Add School” button.
 If a school on the list no longer has enrolled students, click on the “Remove School” button.

Figure 8– School level information

To remove a school on the list,
click here – see figure 10

To add a school not on the list, click here – see figure 9

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.6.1 Add a New School
9) If you click on “Add School” (see figure 8), you will go to the Add School Information page where you
will be able to enter information about the new school.

Figure 9a – New school template with empty data fields

Enter
school
information
on the right
column.

Enter school
contact
information
on the left
column.

Figure 9b – New school with completed information

Click on Add School Information when done. The new school
will be added to the list of schools in your SFA.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.6.2 Remove a School
10) If you click on “Remove a School” (see figure 7), you will go to the Remove School page.
Figure 10– Remove School

Name of
school.

First type a brief explanation as to
why the school is being removed
(i.e. building torn down or now
used as administrative building,
etc.).

Then click on “Yes” to
remove the school.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.7 Reviewing your Progress
11) This screen shot shows how the general information about the SFA automatically changed based
on the updates that were made. The number of schools remains 4 because we added and removed a
school. However the range of students enrolled changed and the range of students eligible for free
or reduced price meals has changed. Also, the information about CEP schools and about Provision
1, 2, or 3 schools has changed.
Another place to monitor your progress is the information located just above the “Add School”
button. That information will let you know the total number of schools in the SFA, and of those,
how many have been verified.

Figure 11 - Updated information

Address and phone
number have been
added.

Dynamic changes about the
general SFA information.

So far we updated 2 out of 4 schools.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
12) When selecting “Yes” in the Is this information correct column or by updating the information on the
update information page, you will see a
will see an
in the status column.

in the Status column. If a school has been removed, you

When all schools have been verified, please click on “Verification Completed, Submit Response” to
submit the data.
Figure 12 – All schools verified

means
school has been
removed

means
school
information has
been verified.

Click here to submit your
completed data.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.8 SFAs with CEP Schools
13) If you have no CEP schools, you will be directed to the Thank You Page after you submit your
verification – Figure 17.
If your SFA has CEP schools, and you submitted your verification, you will be directed here
(Figure 13). This page asks you to verify if the list of identified CEP schools is accurate. If all CEP
schools are accounted for, click on “Yes” and you will be asked about grouping of CEP schools (see
figure 15). If you discover that it is not accurate, click “No” and you will be directed to a
confirmation page (see figure 14).
Figure 13 – Verify that the list of CEP schools is correct

Review identified
CEP schools in
your SFA.

Click “Yes,”
if the list is
correct.

Click “No” if
the list is not
correct.

14) Please click “Ok” (see red arrow) to be re-directed to the School Verification page where you will be
able to fix the CEP status for the incorrect schools.
Figure 14 – Back to School Verification page

15) If your SFA has CEP schools and you verified that the list is accurate (you clicked “Yes” in the
page that confirms for accuracy) you will see this page (Figure 15). This page asks if all the CEP
schools are grouped district wide. Please click on “Yes,” only if all the CEP schools are grouped

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
district wide using the same claiming percentages. You will then be directed to the Thank You page
(see figure 17).
If your SFA claims percentages by groups, please click on “No,” and you will be directed to the
page that asks about the grouping of CEP schools.
Figure 15 – Type of grouping of CEP schools

Click “Yes” only if all the
CEP schools are grouped
district wide with the same
claiming percentages.

Click “No” if your SFA
has two or more
groupings of CEP
schools based on
claiming percentages.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
4.8.1 CEP schools in More Than One Group
16) On this page (Figure 16) we are asking you to associate each CEP school to other CEP schools in
the same group that use the same claiming percentage. To do this, follow the instructions on the
page. When you are done, click on “Complete” button (see red arrow) and you will be routed to the
Thank You Page (figure 17).
Figure 16 – Grouping of CEP Schools

Assign schools using the same
claiming percentage to a group
number (i.e., group 1, group 2, etc.)

If a school is in a group by itself,
that school will be assigned to its
own group.

Click on Complete when you are done
assigning CEP schools to their
groups.

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SFA School Data Verification Reference Guide for SFAs
17) When you see this page (Figure 17), you are all done! Thank you again for your participation!
Figure 17– Thank You Page

Remember we are only a
call or click away for
help!

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