### INTERVIEW **GUIDE FOR SCHOOL LEADER** **S**

TARGETED RESPONDENT: These interview question s will target School Principals and Assistant Principals, Site Director, School Superintendents, school leadership council members, and district curriculum chairs in schools/school districts served by the grantees, as well as those in the comparison group of SIG/Priority schools . CONTENT : This document contains interview questions to be asked of sc hool leaders. The timing and target group (grantee or comparison schoo l) for each question is noted as follows: (1) an interview for school leaders s erved by grantees [G] that will be administered at the beginning of the school year [PRE]; (2) an interview for school leaders s erved by grantees [G] that will be administered at the e nd of the school year [POST]; (3) an interview for school leaders in comparison schools [C] that will be administered at the beginning of the school year [PRE]; (4) an interview for school leaders in comparison schools [C] that will be administered at the end of the school year [POST]. We use [PP] to suggest that an interview question will be administered both at the beginning of the school year [PRE] and at the end of the school year [POST]. We use [GC] to suggest that an interview question will be administered to school leaders both served by grantees and in the comparison group. **1. [PRE]**  **[GC] Please describe**  **the community and student population your school serves (e.g.,**  **demographic composition) ?**  

### ___________________________________ **__________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________**  **_________________________________________________ 2.**  **[PRE] [GC] Please describe your school’s turnaround plan. Also, state the change model (turnaround, transformation, school closure, restart) that your school follows.** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **3. [PRE]**  **[G] Why was your school selected to participate in the**  **School Turnaround AmeriCorps**  **program?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 4.**  **[PRE] [G]**  **Who serves as the primary point of contact between your school and the Schoo**  **l Turnaround AmeriCorps grantee organization?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 5.**  **[PP] [G]**  **What roles do**  **School Turnaround AmeriCorps members**  **play at your school?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________**  **________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 6.**  **[PP] [G]**  **W hat are/were the 3** **- 5 most important**  **responsibilities of the School Turnaround**  **AmeriCorps members**  **? Did the activities change throughout the year? If so, then why?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 7.**  **[PP] [GC]**  **What are the formal or informal channels among school**  **staff for communicati ng with each**  **other about school improvement goals (for example, grade** **- or team meetings, faculty meetings,**  **informal meetings with teachers whose students you support, email communication from principal) ?** 



### ____________________________________________________ **_________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________**  **________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **8. [PP]**  **[GC] How is your school monitoring its progress toward meeting its**  **school turnaround goals? How**  **will you know if your school is successful? Who is responsible for monitoring?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 9.**  **[PP] [GC]**  **Who among the school staff is involved in using and discussing data on the p rogress of all**  **students? Who supports the use of data by teachers in your school for improvement**  **( e.g.**  **someone from your school staff, from the district, or an external consultant)**  **?**



### _________________________________________________________________________ **____________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________**  **___________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **10. [PP]**  **[GC] Please elaborate on othe**  **r school turnaround activities in which your school is participating** **, including...**  a. Teacher evaluation b. Professional development c. Changes to curriculum d. Other? (please describe)



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________**  **________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 11.**  **[PP] [GC]**  **If CNCS**  **were to conduct**  **a study that required access to individual student level data, would**  **you be willing to share student -**  **level data for the purposes of this study? Data would be secured and individual student privacy would always be protected. If so,**  a. Would you have to obtain pe rmission from the district to enter into a data sharing agreement with an outside researcher? b. Have you done this before? c. What steps would it take to establish an agreement? d. Are you aware of any major challenges in establishing data sharing agreements with outside researchers (e.g. insufficient staff capacity to provide the data, costs and fees, delays in the process, the lag time in getting current data, or privacy concerns and obtaining informed consent from families)?



### _________________________________ **____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________**  **___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **12. [POST]**  **[G] In which of the following ways did**  **School Turnaround A meriCorps members contribute to**  **your school’s capacity to implement its school turnaround plan? Specifically, how did AmeriCorps**  **members help the school build capacity through...** a. fostering staff collaboration? b. fostering respect among students and staff? c. involving families (e.g. in attending events, providing access to information and resources to support their child’s education, helping students complete homework, volunteering in child’s classroom)? d. improving the school environment and climate?e. helping to set school goals and monitor progress?

f. making changes to the curriculum? g. meeting the academic needs of specific groups of students? h. meeting the behavioral and/or socio - emotional health needs of specific groups of students? i. filling additional instructional/support staff positions? j. supporting changes i n teacher evaluation or professional development practices? k. supporting teachers in the use of data/assessments? l. p roviding before school, after school, or extended learning time programming? m. other activities and contributions? (please specify)



### ___________

**__________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________** 

**_________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **13. [P** **OST ]**  **[G] Are you satisfied with the effectiveness of interventions provided by**  **School Turnarou nd**  **AmeriCorps members?** (IF YES) what specifically? (IF NO) what needs to be improved? 

### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 14.**  **[POST] [G]**  **What kind of feedback have you received about the School Turnaround**  **AmeriCo rps program**  **from different stakeholders? In each case, what factors do you think contribute to this perception?** a. From teachers? b. From parents? c. From community members? 

### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **______ _______________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_______ ______________________________________________________________________________**  **15. [**  **PP ]**  **[GC] What kind of academic and social supports are currently in place to help the students in your**  **school succeed?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 16.**  **[ PP** **] [G]**  **How are/w ere**  **School Turnaround AmeriCorps members involved in providing**  **these supports?**

### _____________________________________________________________________________________

**_____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________**  **_______________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 17.**  **[POST] [G]**  **Are the supports provided by**  **School Turnaround AmeriCorps m**  **embers helpful? Why or why**  **not?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________**  **________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 18.**  **[POST] [GC]**  **What other supports do you believe are m issing?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________**  **_______ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 19.**  **[POST] [GC]**  **What do you think is the likelihood that the recently adopted or planned improvement**  **strategies of the**  **school turnaround program**  **will have an impact**  **on your school over**  **the next two years**  **? Why or Why not? If so, what do you think the impact will be?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_ ____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 20.**  **[POST] [GC]**  **How well**  **do you think school turnaround**  **strategies have**  **address ed**  **the i ssues**  **faced by the school?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________**  **__________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 21.**  **[PRE] [G]**  **Did your school host**  **a School Turnaround AmeriCorps program**  **last year ?**  **If so, how is this year’s program similar or different than last year’s?**  **If not, has your school previously hosted any type of AmeriCorps program and if so, what activities were AmeriCorps members engaged in?** 



### _______________

**______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________** 

**_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **22. [PP] [G]**  **Can you please describe your collaboration with the School Turnaround**  **AmeriCorps grantee**  **org anization?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________**  **__________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 23.**  **[POST] [G]**  **What challenges did your school face in establishing a partners**  **hip with**  **the School Turnaround**  **AmeriCorps grantee organization**  **?**



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **_____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________**  **_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ 24.**  **[POST] [G]**  **Have there been any changes over time**  **in the partnership between your school and the**  **School Turnaround AmeriCorps grantee organization?** 



### _____________________________________________________________________________________ **___________________________________ __________________________________________________**  **_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________**  **____________________________________ _________________________________________________**