Form G Poetry Out Loud State Arts Agency Administrator Intervie

ATTACHMENT G:
STATE ARTS AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

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State Arts Agency Administrator Interview Protocol
My name is _________, and I am with Social Policy Research Associates, the organization that
is conducting a study about the Poetry Out Loud program. Thank you for taking the time to
talk to us. Our goal today is to learn about your experiences in Poetry Out Loud program.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes
per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. This agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection information unless that collection displays a valid OMB control
number XXXX-XXXX, expiring [date]. Our discussion here should last about 30 minutes.
Your participation in this interview is voluntary, and there is no right or wrong answer – we
just want to understand your experiences. There are no program consequences (i.e., loss of
benefits) for deciding not to participate in the interview, or for deciding not to answer any
particular question. Also please note that your name will not be associated with any
information you provide. We will keep your responses private to the extent permitted by law.
[if you will be recording] We will be taking notes so we can later recall your perspectives
more accurately. In addition, so we can stay focused on the conversation, we would like to
record today’s discussion. If at any point you would like me to pause or turn off the recorder,
please let me know. I want to let you know that Social Policy Research Associates will not use
your name in any reports.

Administrator Background
1. I’d like to learn a little bit more about you—how long have you been with the State Arts
Agency? What is your role there? (possible probes: do you have a background in
teaching? the arts?)
2. Did you play a key role in bringing POL to your state?
a. If so, please give a brief account of how that came to be. (e.g., did someone from
the NEA contact you? Did you hear about the program on your own and reach
out to them?)
b. If not, can you share what you know about how your state came to participate in
POL?

Relationship Between SAA and POL
3. Tell me a little bit about how the SAA supports POL.
a. Does it have a mission to actively expand the schools participating in it?
b. Does it host the state-level finals?
c. Provide publicity?
d. Connect teaching artists (poets) to schools?
4. Does the SAA supplement the funding for POL that it receives from the NEA? If so, what
are additional sources of funds and how much compared to the allocation from the
NEA?
5. Compared to the other arts programming that the SAA supports, what is special about
POL?
6. Why does the SAA continue to support POL? What does it see as the value of POL?

Implementation and Outcomes
7. Has the agency done any of its own research or evaluation on POL?
8. What is your perspective on the elements that contribute to successful implementation
of POL in a school?
9. Do you see differences in how successful the implementation of POL is at different
participating schools?
10. Do you think POL increases community exposure to the work of the SAA? If so, how?
11. Do you think POL increases community participation in public arts programming? If so,
how?

Wrap Up
12. Is there anything else you would like to share with me about the effects of POL
participation on schools, teachers, students, their families, the broader community?