OMB Clearance Request

Promoting Student Success in Algebra I

Appendix H: Site Recruitment Materials
Email communication to be sent to potential sites:

From: Walters, Kirk 

Sent: XXXX, May 2014

To: XXXX

Subject: Study of Promoting Student Success in Algebra I

[Salutation]

The American Institutes of Research, together with the Windwalker Corporation, is conducting 

a project focused on Algebra I practices that are designed to support the needs of students who 

are struggling in Algebra I. The purpose of this project is to highlight findings from the most 

rigorous and relevant research as well as eliciting insight from practitioners who are on the 

forefront of best practices in Algebra instruction.

In particular, our project team is interested in learning from practitioners– teachers, 

administrators, district officials, instructional leaders - about their school or district’s 

experiences developing and implementing exemplary programs that have fostered improved 

student outcomes related to Algebra I. Toward this end, our project includes a set of site visits

exemplar districts and schools. At present, we are in the process of identifying sites, and your 

[district/school] was nominated because of your promising work in [insert topical area here]. If 

your [district/school] is selected to participate, we would like to send two researchers to visit 

your [district/school] for two days to interview administrators, teachers, and [insert other 

respondents, as appropriate for the topic area].

I am attaching a short summary of our project, as well as additional details on the site visit

component. This may address questions you might have, but I am happy to talk further at your 

convenience.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Kirk Walters, PhD

Study Director

American Institutes for Research
Promoting Student Success in Algebra I Case Studies: 

Seeking Exemplar Schools and Districts for Algebra I Implementation –

Provide Feedback on your Successes to the U.S. Department of Education

Mathematics education researchers at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Windwalker 

Corporation are working on a new project with the U.S. Department of Education that is designed to 

equip state and local education agencies with greater knowledge and resources to promote students’ 

success in Algebra I, with a particular emphasis on helping all students complete the gateway course by 

the end of ninth grade.

For this project, Promoting Student Success in Algebra I, our research team is interested in learning from 

practitioners– teachers, administrators, district officials, instructional leaders - about their school or 

district’s experiences developing and implementing exemplary programs that have fostered improved 

student outcomes related to Algebra I. We are specifically interested in:

 Strategies, processes, and policies in schools that have made an effort to blend procedural and 

conceptual foci in teachers’ Algebra I instructional practices.

 Innovative practices in terms of professional learning opportunities designed to deepen 

teachers’ content knowledge, conceptual understanding, and instructional capacity with regard 

to Algebra I.

 The use of instructional coaches to support teachers as they continue to improve their 

mathematics teaching.

 Districts that have developed and implemented a curricular framework that promotes the skills 

and understanding needed to be successful in Algebra I prior to enrollment in an Algebra I 

course.

 Structures and implementation processes associated with instructional programs in which 

students receive a “double-dose” of Algebra I instruction. 

To gain insight into these five topic areas, our research team is recruiting 10 exemplar sites (two “sites” 

per topic area) to participate in on-site data collection activities during spring-summer 2014. These 

site visits will provide opportunities for practitioners and students to engage with researchers about 

their experiences with initiatives in these five areas and will inform the development of technical 

assistance documents designed to support other schools and districts in developing similar initiatives.
Participating sites will be chosen from across the United States, and depending on the specific Algebra I 

topic area, a site may refer to an interested district, a school, or both a district and schools nested within 

that district. We are currently seeking the following types of sites that are implementing an exemplary 

Algebra I program or initiative in the five topic areas:

Algebra I Topic Area Number and Type of Exemplar Sites To Be Selected

1). Instructional Practices Two schools

2). Professional Development Two districts (or schools if professional development decisions are made at 

the school level)

3). Instructional Coaching Two districts and two schools nested in those districts

4). Curricular Alignment Two districts

5). Supplementary Algebra Two schools in two districts

Particular data collection activities will vary by topic area but generally include:

 Site visit interviews and focus groups

 Telephone interviews

 Observations of classrooms and teacher professional learning activities

 Document data collection

Responses to this data collection will be used to summarize findings in an aggregate manner (within a 

school or district), or will be used to provide examples of implementation in a manner that does not 

associate responses with a specific site or individual. In the publications, pseudonyms will be used for 

each site. The project team may refer to the generic title of an individual (e.g., "project director," or 

"eighth grade teacher") but neither the site name nor the individual name will be used. All efforts will 

be made to keep the description of the site general enough so that a reader would never be able to 

determine the true name or identity of the site or individuals at the site. The contractor will not provide 

information that associates responses or findings with a subject or district to anyone outside the study 

team, except as required by law.

To be considered for this opportunity, and to receive more detailed topic-specific selection criteria, 

please contact Project Director Kirk Walters at kwalters@air.org or 202.403.5838.