### June 18 , 2014



# Fourth **Draft OMB Package , Version Two**  **Appendix E –**  **Student Notification Letters**

**PPSS TO 10: Studies of Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) Grantees**  **Subtask 3 .**  **5 : Prepare**  **Fourth Draft OMB Clearance Package**  Contract Number GS
- 10F
- 0554N; Order Number ED
- PEP
- 11
- O
-0090 SRI Project # P 21494

**Submitted to:** Andrew Abrams Policy and Program Studies Service U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 **Prepared by:** SRI International Kyra Caspary, Chris Padilla, Nancy Adelman, Rebecca Schmidt, Erica Harbatkin , and Kaily Yee1



### Appendix E: Study Notification Letters **1**
Exhibit 1: Chief State Schools Officer (CSSO) Notification Letter 2 Dear {Chief State Schools Officer name} : 3 I am writing to inform you about our upcoming **Study of Experiences and Needs of REAP Grantees.** The study will document and analyze practices funded by the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and Rural and Low

- Income Schools (RLIS) programs
— the two components of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)
— which provide funding for rural districts to help to effectively serve students in a rural setting. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the purposes of the study and to ask for your cooperation and support in this important endeavor. T he study is charged with collecting and analyzing information from rural districts that receive either SRSA or RLIS funds a bout the eligibility determination process for REAP, administration of REAP, and challenges and technical assistance needs related to REAP. Data for the study include: 1) a survey of a nationally representative sample of the approximately 6,000 SRSA grante es and RLIS subgrantees; 2) telephone interviews with a sample of 30 SRSA and RLIS subgrantee districts; and 3) telephone interviews with REAP coordinators in all states, including yours, receiving REAP funds. The survey take s approximately 30 minutes, and the interview take s approximately one hour. The results of this study will help to inform the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) , which provides over $24 billion annually to school districts and schools
. Participatio n of REAP districts in this evaluation study is required under the U.S. Department of Education General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR Sections 75.591 and 76.591)
. The study will keep i ndividual responses confidential, except as may be required by law. The study will assign u nique identification numbers to individuals and to s ites for the data collected. I hope that you will encourage your districts to cooperate with this important study. The study will administer surveys to districts between December 2 014 and March 2015, with follow

- up interview s conducted in late January through February in 30 districts. Interviews with state coordinators will be conducted beginning in December 2014. The study is being conducted by SRI International (SRI) and Impaq International under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. If you have any questions, you may contact the research team at reap@sri.com or by calling our study toll
-free number at 800

-xxx -xxxx, or you may call ____________ on my staff at (202) 401

-xxxx. Again, we appreciate your cooperation in making these studies a useful source of information for Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other policymakers and educators. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for their success. Sincerely, Elizabeth Eisner Jenelle Leonard Acting Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of School Support and Rural Programs Cc: [Name of State REAP Coordinator]

1 Notification letters shown in Exhibit 1 and 3 will appear on U.S. Department of Education letterhead and include the signature of the PPSS director and REAP program director. Notification letters shown in Exhibit 2 and 4 will appear on SRI letterhead and include the signature of the SRI project director. 2 This letter and the State REAP coordinator letter (Exhibit 2) will be sent 3 business days before the district letters (Exhibits 3 and 4). 3 All letters will be customized with names of individuals.2

Exhibit 2: State REAP Coordinator Notification Email

Dear {State REAP Coordinator name} : I am writing to inform you about our upcoming **Study of Experiences and Needs of REAP Grantees.** The study will document and analyze practices funded by the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and Rural and Low

- Income Schools (RLIS) programs
— the two components of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)
— which provide funding for rural districts to help to effectively serve students in a rural setting. I would like to take this o pportunity to explain the purposes of the study and to ask for your cooperation and support in this important endeavor. The study is charged with collecting and analyzing information from rural districts that receive either SRSA or RLIS funds about the eli gibility determination process for REAP, administration of REAP, and challenges and technical assistance needs related to REAP. Data for the study include: 1) a survey of a nationally representative sample of the approximately 6,000 SRSA grantees and RLIS subgrantees; 2) telephone interviews with a sample of 30 SRSA and RLIS subgrantee districts; and 3) telephone interviews with REAP coordinators in all states receiving REAP funds, including you. The results of this study will help to inform the next reaut horization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) , which provides over $24 billion annually to school districts and schools.. Participation of REAP districts in this evaluation study is required under the U.S. Department of Education General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR Section 75.591 and 76.591)
. The study will keep i ndividual responses confidential, except as may be required by law. The study will assign u nique identification numbers to individuals and to s ites for the data collected The results will never be presented in any way that would permit any response to be associated with a specific state, district, or individual. The research team will contact you in the next several weeks to provide you with the list of sampled districts i n your state and to obtain contact information for the district REAP coordinator and/or superintendent in each of these districts. I hope that you will encourage your districts to cooperate with this important study. The survey will be administered to dist ricts between December 2014 and March 2015, with follow

- up interview s conducted in late January through February in 30 districts. Interviews with state coordinators will be conducted beginning in December 2014. The survey take s approximately 30 minutes, an d the interview take s approximately one hour, including preparation time. The study is being conducted by SRI International (SRI) and Impaq International under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. If you have any questions, you may contact the res earch team at reap@sri.com or by calling our study toll
-free number at 800
-xxx -xxxx, or you may call ____________ at the U.S. Department of Education a t (202) 401

-xxxx. Again, we appreciate your cooperation in making these studies a useful source of information for Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other policymakers and educators. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for their success. Sincerely, Kyra Caspary S enior Researcher, SRI International3

Exhibit 3. District Superintendent Notification 4 Dear {District Superintendent name} : I am writing to notify you that your school district has been selected as part of a nationally representative sample to participat e in the U.S. Department of Education’s **Study of Experiences and Needs of REAP Grantees** 
. The purpose of this study is to understand the uses of the Rural Education Achievement Program ( REAP ) funds and the district’s technical assistance needs related to REAP. The study includes a survey with district REAP coordinators that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. [In addition, the study has selected your school district to participate in a follow

- up interview that take s approximately one hour. ] 5 The results of this study will help to inform the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) , which provides over $24 billion annually to school districts and schools. Participation of REAP districts in this evaluation study is r equired under the U.S. Department of Education General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR Section 75.591 and 76.591)
. The study will keep individual responses confidential, except as may be required by law. The study will assign unique identification numbers to individuals and to sites for the data collected. The results will never be presented in any way that would permit any response to be associated with a specific state, district, or individual. Your school district’s participation is important to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information. The study is conducting a survey with only a sample of school districts throughout the nation. This greatly increases the importance of your response since it represents many other school districts. The study is being conducted by SRI International and Impaq International under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. Your Chief State School Officer and state REAP coo rdinators have been informed about this research effort. If you have any questions, you may contact the research team at reap@sri.com or by calling our study toll
-free number at 800
-xxx-xxxx, or you may call ___________ on my staff at (202) 401

-xxxx. Agai n, we appreciate your cooperation in making the results of this study a useful source of information for Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other policymakers and educators. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time need ed for the success of the study. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Elizabeth Eisner Jenelle Leonard Acting Director, Policy and Program Studies Service Director, Office of School Support and Rural Programs Cc: [Name of District REAP Coordinator]

4 Di strict superintendents may also be district REAP coordinators. In this case, they will receive two letters: this notification from the Policy and Program Studies office of their district’s selection, and the notification on the following page from SRI of t heir obligation to complete the survey. 5 The letter will include this sentence only for the districts selected to participate in the interviews.4

Exhibit 4. District REAP Coordinator Notification 6 Dear { District REAP Coordinator name} : I am writing to notify you that your school district has been selected as part of a nationally representative sample to participate the U.S. Department of Education’s **Study of Experiences and Needs of REAP Grantees** 
. The purpose of this study is to understa nd the uses of the Rural Education Achievement Program ( REAP ) funds and the district’s technical assistance needs related to REAP. The results of this study will help to inform the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) , which provides over $24 billion annually to school districts and schools. Participation of REAP districts in this evaluation study is required under the U.S. Department of Education General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR Section 75.591 and 76.591)
. The study will keep Individual responses confidential, except as may be required by law. The study will assign u nique identification numbers to individuals and to sites for the data collected. The results will never be presented in any way that would permit any response to be associated with a specific state, district, or individual. Your school district’s participation is important to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information. The study is conducting a survey with only a sample of school districts throughout the nation. This greatly increases the importance of your response since it represents many other school districts. The research team will contact you in December with a link to the survey. The survey is expected to take approximately 30 minutes. [The study has also selected you to participate in a follow

- up interview after you complete your survey. The interviews are expected to take approximately one hour. ] 7 The study is being conducted by SRI International and Impaq International under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. Your Chief State School Officer, state REAP coordinator, and superintendent have been informed about this research effort. If you have any questions, you may contact the research team at reap@sri.com or by calling our study toll
-free number at 800

-xxx-xxxx, or you may call

___________ at the U.S. Department of Education at (202) 401

-xxxx. Again, we appreciate your cooperation in making the results of this study a useful source of info rmation for Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other policymakers and educators. We thank you and your staff for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of the study. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Ky ra Caspary Senior Researcher, SRI International

6 In the event that the district superintendent is also the REAP coordinator, both letters will be sent with t he appropriate signatures. 7 The letter will include this sentence only for the districts selected to participate in the interviews.