Study of the ESEA Title VI Indian Education LEA Grants Program

Appendix H

Superintendent/Board Member/
Tribal Education Leader Interview Protocol

Introduction to the Superintendent/Board Member/Tribal Education Leader 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 AI/AN 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.

Superintendent/Board Member (LEA and BIE grantees) or Tribal Education Leader (tribe grantees) Interview Protocol

I. Background

1. How long have you been in your current role as [the superintendent/board member/tribal education leader]?

2. How familiar are you with the Title VI Indian Education LEA Grants Program?

II. Services Provided

3. What are the specific needs of AI/AN children in your district [tribe]? What are the key features of your district’s [tribe’s] comprehensive plan that you believe help meet the needs of the AI/AN children in your district [tribe]? [Probe for culturally responsive practices.]

4. What are the challenges to providing culturally responsive services and activities to Native students and how are they addressed? [Probe for adequate funding, accessibility, internet connectivity.]

5. To what extent does your district [tribe] coordinate Title VI-LEA grants funded services and activities with other projects/funding sources that serve the needs of AI/AN students and families?

1. With what other projects/funding sources are Title VI services and activities coordinated? [Probe for Title I/II/III/IV, Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, BIE (e.g., Johnson-O’Malley), Impact Aid, IDEA, state and local programs/funds.]

2. What strategies or processes have you used to facilitate this service coordination? [Probe for cost-sharing agreements or Memoranda of Understanding, interagency task forces or committees, data sharing agreements, conducting joint trainings.]

3. What benefits have you observed through this coordination of multiple projects/funding sources in serving the needs of AI/AN students and families?

4. What are the barriers to coordinating services and activities to serve the needs of AI/AN students? [Probe for alignment of policies and regulations.]

6. How does your district [tribe] use Title VI to leverage other services for AI/AN students?

7. What impacts have you observed as a result of Title VI services and activities on AI/AN students and families in your district [tribe]?

III. Planning Services

8. What factors determine the services that your district [tribe] plans to provide to eligible AI/AN students? [Probe for use of needs assessment, input from stakeholders, information about culturally responsive practices, local capacity and availability of services.]

9. What process does your district [tribe] use for developing a comprehensive plan to meet the specific needs of AI/AN children in your district [tribe]? [Probe for needs assessment and other strategies they might have used.]

10. Which stakeholders does the district [tribe] usually go to in seeking input to plan grant-funded services and activities for AI/AN students?

1. What role do you play, if any, in engaging with your district’s [tribe’s] stakeholders, such as Title VI Parent Advisory Committee, AI/AN students’ parents/guardians/family, tribes, community-based organizations?

2. What challenges does the district [tribe] face collaborating with these stakeholder groups to plan grant-funded services? What strategies have you tried to overcome these challenges?

3. Of the stakeholders your district [tribe] consults with, which are most influential for purposes of selecting services and activities to support AI/AN students’ needs? Why?

IV. Identifying and Counting Eligible Children

11. What district policies and/or processes are in place for identifying students who may be eligible for Title VI-funded services?

12. 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

13. What kinds of guidance or support does your district (tribe) provide Title VI program staff with in terms of the measurement of progress toward project objectives?

14. To what extent are services and activities, or your district’s comprehensive plan, modified in light of data or evidence of progress? Specific examples?

15. What are the challenges or other factors that inhibit the use of data or other evidence for decisions about project services and activities? your district’s comprehensive plan?

VI. Wrap-up

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

17. What else that we have not covered but is important for the study to capture about your project’s Title VI grant planning, implementation, or outcome measures?

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