Study of the ESEA Title VI Indian Education LEA Grants Program

Appendix E

Grantee Staff Interview Protocol

Introduction to the Grantee Staff Interview

• Introduce the interviewer(s).

• Explain the purpose of the study and topics to be covered in the interview. Interviewers will read the following statement to interview respondents at the beginning of each interview:

We are conducting this interview as part of the Study of the Implementation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title VI Indian Education LEA Grants Program, being carried out under contract for the U.S. Department of Education by Policy Studies Associates (PSA), a research organization, and SRI International (SRI), an independent, nonprofit research institute, as well as researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Alaska Anchorage. The study is not intended to examine the outcomes of the program, nor will findings be attributed to any one site. We are conducting interviews to gather descriptions of grant activities that can help illustrate the findings from a survey of all grantees. This interview will focus on the strategies grantees use to:

• provide culturally responsive services and activities and help Native students meet state standards;

• align and leverage program-funded services with those funded by other federal, state, and local sources;

• accurately identify eligible Native students;

• establish and implement project priorities with parent, community, and tribal involvement;

• measure progress toward Title VI project objectives.
  
  

Upon completion of the study, findings will be shared with all grantees and be available for the general public.

• Explain the provisions for protecting respondent’s privacy. Interviewers will read the following statement to interview respondents at the beginning of each interview:

As part of the study, the study team will share its findings with the U.S. Department of Education. However, the results of the interviews will be summarized across all the districts and programs participating in interviews. Individuals will not be identified by name in any form of analysis or report, and data will be reported in a manner that does not reveal your identity or the identity of your project. In addition, when we need to use quotes to help illustrate the findings, we will use them anonymously. Except for what is already public, the study team will store all data collected for the study in secure environments and will protect the confidentiality of the information you provide, to the extent provided by law. Finally, your participation in this interview is voluntary and you may decline to respond at any time.

• Advise the respondent that the interview will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

• Explain that a member of the study team may follow-up by phone to clarify responses to interview questions.

• Invite questions from the respondent.

• Ask permission to audio-record the interview using the following statement:

We would like to record this conversation to ensure that we accurately capture your comments. If you agree, we would retain the recording only until we can validate the notes, at which point the voice recording would be destroyed. The transcripts will be destroyed at the end of the study. If at any point you would like to say something off the record, I will stop the recording. Do you agree to allow us to record the interview?

• Confirm respondent’s current roles and responsibilities within the agency/organization and in terms of the Title VI Grants Program. Ask if there are others we should speak with regarding Title VI.

Notes: (1) Before going on site visits, interviewers will review all extant data on grantee (grant size, goals, services provided, demographics of students served) and school/project plans and policy documents (including any information available about the district’s comprehensive plan and Title VI Parent Advisory Committee). (2) Interviewers will ask all follow-up questions as specified in the protocol. In addition, interviewers will be directed to seek clarification of any response they judge to be vague or incomplete. The primary strategy for seeking clarification will be to ask respondents to provide specific examples to illustrate their responses. A second strategy will be to ask respondents to “say more” or to “expand on” or “explain the meaning of” a particular comment. Interviewers will adapt questions for BIE and tribe grantees and use locally recognized terms (e.g., in referring to the AI/AN population), as appropriate.

Grantee Staff Interview Protocol

Note: This protocol will be used with instructional personnel, counselors, and other staff (e.g., family liaisons) employed by the grantee.

I. Background

1. What are your job responsibilities for this grant program?

2. How long have you held this position?

3. Do you know approximately what percent of your time (in FTEs) you spend providing services funded by [project name’s] Title VI grant?

4. Do you serve on the Title VI Parent Advisory Committee? If yes, how long have you served?

II. Services Provided

5. What specific services and activities does your Title VI project provide to eligible Native students? [Probe for services reported on EASIE APR Report that interviewee does not mention.]

   1. When and where are these services and activities provided to eligible Native students?

   2. In what ways do the services and activities reflect the language and cultural needs of the Native children? Prompt for each of the following:

      1. Instruction in students’ heritage language (i.e., the language used by local tribes)

      2. Native history and culture are incorporated into the curriculum

      3. Learning is connected to students’ local contexts, such as their town or community (i.e., place-based learning)

      4. Teachers receive professional development in culturally responsive instructional strategies

      5. Native teachers and support staff are hired

   3. What are the challenges to providing culturally responsive services and activities to eligible Native students?

   4. Are you familiar with the key features of your district’s [tribe’s, school’s] comprehensive program for meeting the needs of Native children? If so, how do current grant-funded services and activities support your [district’s or school’s] comprehensive program?

6. In the last 5 years, as far as you know, has your project added, dropped, or modified the services and activities provided through this grant? If yes:

   1. What Title VI-funded services and activities have been added, dropped, or modified?

   2. What led to the changes? [Probe for role of stakeholder input, needs assessment, new information about culturally responsive practices.]

7. What services and activities do you think should be added, dropped, or modified among the portfolio of services and activities your [project] offers to Native students? Why?

III. Planning Services

8. What role do you play, if any, in planning grant-funded services and activities for eligible Native students? If involved:

   1. What process does your [LEA, tribe, school] use to develop a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of Native children?

   2. How do you identify Native students’ unique educational and culturally related academic needs?

   3. Who else is involved in planning services? [Probe for advisory committee, tribal organizations.]

   4. What mechanisms are in place to ensure consultation with the Title VI Parent Advisory Committee? [Probe for regular meetings, public hearings, written communication, other.]

   5. What is the focus of the consultation with the Title VI Parent Advisory Committee? [Probe for needs assessment, selecting services, planning for service delivery.]

   6. What mechanisms are in place to ensure consultation with tribes? [Probe for regular meetings, public hearings, interagency task force, written communication, other.]

   7. What is the focus of the consultation with tribes? [Probe for needs assessment, selecting services, planning for service delivery.]

   8. What other resources do you draw on?

   9. What challenges does your project face in planning grant-funded services?

9. Ultimately, what factors determine which services and activities are provided to eligible Native students? [Probe for use of needs assessment, input from stakeholders and public hearings, information about culturally responsive practices, local capacity and availability of services.]

10. If you could design an ideal program, what would it look like?

IV. Identifying and Counting Eligible Children

11. Are you involved in or aware of efforts to support the completion of the Indian student certification (ED 506) form that is signed by the child’s parent or guardian? If so,

    1. What processes does your district have in place for identifying students who may be eligible for Title VI-funded services? [Probe for specific procedures and policies.]

    2. How does your district engage with parents, school or district staff, community members, tribal leaders, health department, housing authority, child and family services, or other agencies and organizations to identify eligible students?

    3. What strategies are most effective in ensuring that forms are completed accurately and submitted in time to qualify for services?

    4. What challenges does your district face in its efforts to identify students eligible for Title VI-funded services?

V. Measuring Progress Toward Title VI Project Objectives

12. What are your project objectives for the 2017-18 school year? [Probe for the objectives reported on EASIE Budget Report that are not mentioned.]

13. How does your project measure progress toward each of these objectives? [Probe for specific tools, data sources, measures aligned with each objective and those reported on the EASIE APR Report.]

14. Are services and/or activities being modified in light of data or evidence of progress? If so, please provide an example.

15. To your knowledge, which data are most useful for purposes of informing decisions about project services and activities?

16. What challenges or other factors inhibit the use of data or other evidence for decisions about project services and activities?

VI. Wrap-up

17. What are your hopes for your community by having Title VI-funded services and activities available to serve the needs of eligible Native students?

18. Is there anything else that we did not cover but you think is important for the study to capture about your Title VI project?

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