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Re-Engagement Center

Program Staff Interview Protocol (for Individuals or Focus Group)

IC#3 Other Center Staff Interview Protocol

Assent Script

Thank you for taking time today to talk with us about your program. We are interviewing staff from 

several programs like yours across the country to learn as much as possible about your work. The 

U.S. Dept. of Education has asked us to develop a resource guide on programs designed to 

reconnect out-of-school youth (often called re-engagement centers) so that others who want to set 

up similar programs don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The guide will be broadly disseminated and 

help build awareness about programs like yours. Do you have any questions about the purpose of 

the research?

In this interview, we are going to focus on the purpose of your program, the strategies you are using 

to re-engage disconnected young people, how you operate, and the results of your work. We want 

to learn about what’s working, and also about the challenges you’ve faced to make the resource 

guide as informative as possible. It should take about an hour, does that work for you? Everything 

we discuss is confidential. We tape-record the interview, but your name will not be included in the 

transcripts, and all information will be kept in a secure location in our offices at Johns Hopkins. 

Please let me know if there’s any point at which you would like me to turn off the tape recorder. 

Are you willing to participate in the interview? [hand out written consent form if not already signed] 

We need your signature on this form to indicate that you understand the purpose of the research 

and that you are participating of your own free will. [collect form(s)]. Thank you, let’s get started.

Questions

1. Information about Youth Served

a. Describe the youth your program serves? What is the age range? Does your 

program target a particular group or groups? [e.g. in/out of school; recently dropped 

out; AfAm males/females, teen parents, ELL/migrant, in welfare or justice systems, 

LGBT, homeless?

b. Was there any data analysis that guided decisions about which youth most needed 

your program services in your community?

i. If yes, please describe.

2. Purpose

a. What is the purpose of your program? At the end of the day, what are you trying to 

accomplish? 

3. Service Approach/Strategies/Roles

a. What is your role in the program? What do you do?

i. outreach and recruitment strategies?

ii. intake and assessment?

iii. referral and placement?

iv. Counseling?

1. What kind?

a. Career/College
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b. Academic

c. Health, Mental Health

d. Social service—e.g. child care, housing, 

2. What are the goals of the counseling you provide?

v. Instruction?

1. What kind? 

a. Credit recovery?

b. Proficiency (focused on passing assessments)?

c. Blended (computer & classroom)

d. Dual enrollment?

e. Career/internship?

2. What is the goal (GED, HS Diploma, Post-Sec enrollment)?

vi. follow-up or provide ongoing case management?

b. Are parents or families involved in your program? In what ways?

c. Do you work with partner organizations or agencies? How does that work?

d. Apart from what you have already mentioned, are there other ways in which 

technology is used in your program?

i. Are any services provided to students or prospective students online? How 

does that work? Is it effective?

e. Does your program use particular strategies or have specially designed programs or 

approaches to address the unique needs of the different youth subgroups you serve? 

(e.g. in/out of school; recently dropped out; AfAm males/females, teen parents, 

ELL/migrant, in welfare or justice systems, LGBT, homeless?

f. Do you receive feedback on the effectiveness of the services you are providing? 

How??

g. From the experience of your program, what have you learned are the most effective 

strategies for re-engaging youth?

i. Academic, behavioral, career preparation

h. Are there any ineffective strategies that centers should avoid?

4. Outcomes/Impact

a. How do you know when a student is successful in your program (or as a result of 

participating in your program)

b. How do you measure your impact?

i. E.g. # youth referred; # youth re-engaged; GEDs; HS diplomas; job 

placement; college readiness; postsecondary enrollment/diploma

ii. E.g. improved literacy, numeracy, credit recovery, academic tenacity and 

persistence, social skills, job skills

c. What outcomes have you achieved on those measures?

d. Are there any other outcomes you have achieved you’d like to share
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i. E.g. community impact, coalition building, influencing policy

e. Is there an independent evaluation of [program name]?

f. Do you use the information/data you gather through the course of your work to:

a. Reflect on and improve your program?

b. Inform others in the district and/or community about the unique needs of the 

young people you serve?

g. In an ideal world, how would you track the impact of your program?

5. Challenges and Lessons Learned

a. Are there any other challenges you’ve encountered in your work that you would like 

to share?

b. What words of advice would you give someone who wanted to create a program 

similar to yours in their community?